Honor Education Council works to make Archer safer, more ethical community

By Nicki Rosenberg, Managing Editor|October 23, 2017

Photo credit: Jackie Thompson

HEC Members, Sammy Raucher ‘19, Anna Brodsky ‘20, Hannah Joe ’21, Jessica Tuchin ‘21, Charley Griffiths ‘20, Kaeli McLeod ‘21, Cameron Thompson ‘18, Saskia Wong-Smith ‘18, Summer de Vera ‘18, Stella Smyth ‘19 and Abigale Lischak ‘20 participate in a HEC sleepover. “We talk a lot and are super collaborative. We talk a lot and discuss, and everyone has an equal weight — no matter grade or if you’re faculty,” Thompson said.

Twelve students and three faculty on the Honor Education Council [HEC] sit as equals every Tuesday to discuss ethical scenarios and plan events to make Archer a safe and honorable community.

HEC is made up of three students from each high school grade, along with three faculty representatives. Their role in the Archer community is to ensure that the Honor Code is upheld. In order to accomplish this, they plan events, promote the honor code in meetings and make recommendations for violations of the Honor Code.

However, according to members, being a part of the Honor Council is more challenging than just planning lively events. HEC encourages members to stray from implicit biases and to be open to new perspectives.

Thompson is in her fourth year on the Honor Council and is currently Senior Chair.

“I’ve always loved talking about ethics and educating the community,” Thompson said. “I always, from a young age, have had a sense of what was right and what was wrong, and I really wanted to explore that through the Honor Education Council.”

According to Thompson, the members are often pushed to broaden their perspectives and consider issues from a different point of view.

“I think that my favorite part is… when we’re having discussions [and] there are a lot of awkward silences. No one is saying anything, but we are all thinking really hard,” Thompson said. “I personally love that because we’re all being pushed to think about new ideas.”

Charley Griffiths, a sophomore, is in her second year on HEC.

“I’ve learned a lot about the Archer community by being on HEC and about myself too. I have really learned how to empathize with other people, and in my daily actions I have learned how to exemplify the Honor Code and uphold the Archer standards,” Griffiths said.

Part of HEC’s role is making recommendation when infractions of the Honor Code are made.  when a student appears in front of the Honor Council for a hearing, the members of the Honor Education Council are pushed to find the balance between having empathy and what makes sense ethically when making a decision.

According to faculty representative Mathis, the faculty also learns a lot from their experiences on the Honor Council.

“I am really becoming more empathetic and realizing that it’s not as easy,” Mathis said. “When I was in high school it was detention and Saturday school and all of these things that were so black and white, and I think that it’s such a great opportunity for students to have this opportunity to learn from what they’re doing instead of just being cut out of the community.”