Freshman EC Representative Gives Thoughts on White Book, Honor System

Freshman EC Representative Gives Thoughts on White Book, Honor System
Yoong met with The Spectator and discussed his views about the Executive Committee.

(Yoong Wen Chong, W&L’s freshman EC representative | SOURCE: Yoong Wen Chong)

The Spectator interviewed the newly elected freshman EC representative, Yoong Wen Chong, who gave insight into his past and answered questions about his view of the Honor System.

Yoong is an international student from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he worked in local politics. He also founded a student council at his high school and served as student body vice president at his college. In both roles, he strived for “fair representation of the student body,” and “advocated for education policies that accounted for the multicultural influences in Malaysia.”

At Washington and Lee, Yoong is known to be friendly and personable, a demeanor he intends to keep even while maintaining professionalism in EC matters.

Yoong again stressed professionalism when asked about how he would respond to possible honor violations. “I will remain objective and not allow for personal beliefs to get in the way so every W&L student has due process,” he said.

Yoong does not necessarily intend to leave his mark in any particular way and simply hopes to execute his EC duties in a way that benefits the W&L community.

The Spectator also asked Yoong for his thoughts on discussions to change the Honor System, especially given last year’s White Book review process.

When it comes to problems with W&L in general, Yoong does not believe in “sweeping changes” because for Yoong these changes are “short-sighted.” Instead, Yoong wants to focus on informing people about the EC and making small changes to improve the Honor System because it “is not perfect.”

One recently proposed change would release demographic data about individuals accused or convicted of honor violations. The amendment did not pass, but when asked about it, Yoong said that it was “primarily about balancing transparency with confidentiality.” However, “confidentiality is very important to the EC and withdrawal from the university is a privilege,” he said. 

Yoong said that he will continue to look into the amendment but stressed that maintaining a balance is very important.

The amendment was in response to concerns that not all groups are treated equally by the Honor System. Yoong believes that “the White Book should apply to everyone equally” and pointed to the extensive training that EC members go through to recognize implicit biases that may appear in a decision.

Removing the Single Sanction is another often discussed proposal. “I personally do not believe the Single Sanction should be gotten rid of,” Yoong said. “However, if that opinion is shared by some students, it should still be represented and cannot be a cause of removal from the jury in an open hearing” — a reference to last year’s successful passage of an amendment allowing students who oppose the Single Sanction to serve on the jury in an open hearing.

Asked about the Honor System’s subjectivity, Yoong said that “it is frustrating to leave [the Honor System] undefined. Honor is neither unrealistic or outdated because it is always changing. Collectively as a community we value certain things and the EC defines it with precedent.”

For Yoong, this constant changing can be “annoying but the EC members are representatives of their class, and, by holding themselves to high standards, they are holding values like trust to a higher standard as well.” “If we define the Honor System,” Yoong warned, “then it is okay to tread the line, which is not particularly honorable.”