Archivist note: Originally published on the Elections WordPress site. Apr 19, 2014 @ 22:01, “Head of the Student Curriculum Committee”
Rayna Allonce
My name is Rayna Allonce and I am running to serve as a One Year Representative to the Honor Board from the Class of 2015. The Honor Code, and community adherence to this code, is one of the integral parts of what distinguishes Bryn Mawr from most college communities, and one of the first things that made it feel like home to me.
The continued presence and maintenance of the honor code suggests that there is a collective belief that all members of the community want to, as much as possible, live and act with integrity. This environment that pushes people to strive towards mutual trust in the goodwill of fellow community members, and respect of all individuals, is extremely rare. I am honored and proud to be part of such a community, and seek to further serve it through this position.
I realize that we, as individuals, are not without our flaws. People make mistakes. People are sometimes unsure of what is expected of them, and what they should expect from others. Conflicts happen, rules get broken, and ideals are sometimes put aside. These are all difficult things to navigate. A board with representatives from members of the community, all working together, is in the best position to navigate these issues, facilitate community wide discussions on expectations, and perhaps prevent certain events from occurring or escalating. I believe in this, and that our system works. I believe in community, holding high expectations for a community, and giving that community the means to meet those expectations.
I hope to be able to learn, grow, and serve through this position.
Contact information: rallonce@brynmawr.edu
Jenn Thoman
Candidate Statement- Honor Board 2015
I’m a first-year, transfer, McBride scholar- and next year, I’ll be a senior. I don’t have a lot of time here, but with the time I do have, I want to make an impact, not just for McBrides, but for the whole community. I want to be able to leave this place better, stronger, and more sustainable than it was when I got here.
One of the reasons I decided to spend the final two years of my undergraduate education at BMC was the strength and conviction of the community with regard to the Honor Code. Where else but Bryn Mawr could you have self-scheduled exams? Or leave a cup of coffee in Park, only to find it there (growing friends) a week later? I value the accountability and ownership that the Honor Code brings to not only serious academic and social behaviors, but also small things, like conversations about grades. I really realized the impact that life under the Honor Code has had on my life outside of Bryn Mawr when I asked my Mom if it was okay to discuss my Fall semester final grades with her. She was, understandably, kind of confused.
I believe so strongly that a foundation in what it means to have this kind of responsibility to the entire community is what will make the Honor Code even better, and more effective. I am interested in the ways we, as a collective and as a board, can get Bryn Mawr to be a place where we don’t take the seriousness (and magic!) of the Honor Code for granted. It can be easy, I think, to assume that we’re all on the same page, because
we have this incredible document to fall back on, but something is missing from that kind of understanding. The Honor Code should be able to support and protect the entire community, and that can only happen with a stronger presence of the board, and more education not only around what it says, but also why it’s important, and what accountability actually looks like. I’m running for a position on the Honor Board because I think that the Honor Code is part of what makes this place truly special, and I want to help make it even better.