Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / March 26, 1927, edition 1 / Page 3
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Saturday, March 26, 1927 THE TAR HEEL Page Three Investigation Group Sustains Gambling Penalties, Etc. Continued from page two) t A m ATI PIT. P On March 7, "D" admitted hig guilt before the council; ne ioia tne siory about the agreement to lie, and said that he had agreed to the plan. He was suspended for the remainder of the winter quarter and all of , the spring quarter, 1927. A ,-. "E" i "E" appeared before the Council on March 7 of his own accord, before receiving the notice sent him by the Council. He admitted playing for money, but said that he did so volun tarily. Having been advised by a friend several weeks before the inves tigation by the Council to move away from "AV" room in order to get a way from the bad influences preval ent there, he , did so, and secured a room in town. But he continued to play poker in "A's" room, and was in the game which lasted all night on Saturday, February 26. "E" knew of the plan to tell the lie in regard to gambling, but did not agree to it, and there is no record of his having made any false statements to the Council. "E" was suspended for the remain der of the winter quarter and all of the spring quarter, 1927. v.- F" .. On March 7, "F" appeared before the Council, and admitted that he was guilty of gambling. He knew of, but did not agree to, the plan to lie in regard 'to playing for money. He had stopped playing at mid-term of winter quarter, and had played no more since then. "F" was suspended for the spring quarter, 1927. On March 9, "F" came before the Council on appeal, but his sentence was affirmed, "G" : : v." When "G" came before the Coun cil on March 7, h refused to give any information about the other men or about himself. He stated that he did not intend to tell a lie, and did not want any questions asked him. The first time he was asked if he had played for money, he refused to ans wer, but later said that he had played for money several times. He went to "A's" room to play wnen assea 10 thorn hv "A." "G" was sentenced to suspension, to begin immediately and extend to tne xau quarter, o. On March 9, -"G' appeared before fAnni! tn anneal, find his sen- tiim w -rr" . tence was mitigated, his suspension to be only for the spring quarter, 1927, on the basis that he was misled by talking to the otner Doys, ana am not intend to lie douc tne gamming "H" appeared before the Council on March 7, before he had ever been officially summoned, and admitted having gambled. .His testimony was clear and uncontradictory. He played in 'AV room 'about ten times. He was not a party to the scheme to lie to the Council, UiS sentence was suspension for the spring quarter 1QOT H" appeared before the Council on March 9 on appeal; his sentence was anirmed. "I" appeared before the Council on March 7, and admitted tnai ne nau been gambling; he was in the game which lasted all night Saturday, Feb ruary 26. He was not in on the plan tn lin in rocrorrl to camblincr. He Was sentenced to suspension for the spring quarter, ivzu "I" appeared before the Council on March 9, but stated that he preferred to let his sentence stand as it was, "J" appeared before the Council on March 7, and (Admitted tnat ne was guilty of gambling. He did not play nil nicrnf it anv fimfi. and he stoDDed playing about a month before the in vestigation was begun. He was sus pended for the spring quarter, 1927. "J" appeared before the Council on March 9; his sentence was affirmed. K" "K" appeared before the Council on MaTvh 7 arul nrlrmtfprl that he WaS guilty of gambling. He was not in tne plan to he m regard to playing for money. , He was sentenced to sus pension for the spring quarter, 1927. "K" appeared before the Council on March 9; he said he felt that the Council gave him justice; his sentence was affirmed. "K" appeared before the Committee voluntarily, after the investigation had been under way for two or three days, and withdrew his appeal, stat ing that he felt, that the action of the Council was justified in his case. ' L" "L" appeared before the Council on March 7, and admitted having played poker for money in "A's" room, but denied' that he had played until a late hour. He knew nothing about the Plan to lie in regard to gambling. No ' coercion was used by the Council to wake him tell on the others. He was suspended for the spring quarter, 1927. ' "M" - "M" appeared before the Council on March 7, and admitted having twice played poker for . money in A's" room. He played in the after noon on both occasions. ' He had no knowledge of the plan to lie in regard to gambling. He was given a sus pended sentence of suspension, under nich he is on probation as to class es and general conduct, and is re quired to report to the Student Coun- 7.ery Monday night. M is a medical student. The ommittee finds that the basis of the ouncirB decision in this case was the fact that 'M" had played less than Y Other participants, and that if jus suspension took effect he would ose credit for work already done r"5 yer i. e., a year's work In the "Mical school; whereas, in regard to other men sentenced, it was Pointed out that no penalty by loss work already done would be suf fered on account of the suspension. Further Recommendations on the basis of the problems of Student Gov ernment brought to light in the in vestigation. 1. No definite sentence of susnension should be imposed for a period of more than a year. The Committee feels that suspensions for a longer period are inconsistent with the nature of suspensions and fatal to complete enectuation ot their purpose. A sus pension sentence is corrective, and contemplates reinstatement of the in dividual after he has had time during the period of the suspension, to think over his case. But any suspension for more than a year's time causes too great a break in a man's college career to be effective toward such an end. If a student is an undesirable citizen, he should be sent awav from the University permanently; but if it is felt that suspension would set him aright, he should be suspended for a reasonable time only, in order that his' educational plans would not thereby be defeated. In this parti cular case, the Committee feels that elfectual to do harm because the men upon whom they were placed are un- aesiraDie citizens. 2. It came to light during the in vestigation that in the past the Stu dent Council had suspended men bv a vote that was not unanimous of the quorum. However, in this case, tne vote ot the Council was unani mous, as was the vote of the Com mittee in sustaining the sentences. The Committee recommends that in future no student be either suspended or expelled from the University ex cept by a unanimous vote of a quo rum of the Student Council. Consideration of Confused State of Upmxon tn Kegard to the Honor Sys tem and Student Uovernment. The Committee was impressed, during the investigation and discuss ion, with the hazy and confused con ception that the student body had in regard to the Honor .system, and student government. Even the mem bers of the Council were not in a greement, nor did they seem to be en tirely sure as to the entity of and the relation between, student govern ment and the Honor System. However, the Committee does feel that it is expressing the sentiment of the student body in recommending that the Honor System be limited to cheating. stealing, and lying: that each individual, in the interest of the whole student body, is honor bound not to cheat, steal, or lie, and to re port these same dishonorable acts when committed by others. Gambling, drinking and immoral ity, all "shipping" offenses, are not laid down as matters of honor, but as courses of conduct that are detri mental to the rights, interests, and liberty of others and of the student body as a whole. These matters come under student government, which is self-government, and the regulations concerning them should be followed and observed in a spirit that does not countenance , interference with the rights, interests, and liberties of fel low students, and for the good of our Alma Mater. Not only is the burden upon the in dividual to regulate his own conduct, but he should be interested enough in his own fellow student and in stu dent government to report to the Stu dent Council men whose flagrant mis conduct is detrimental per se to the interests of the group, and to help and advise his fellow students in cases of minor infractions. THE COMMITTEE. In brief, the Committee recommends that the sentences of all the men in volved be sustained as imposed by the Council. It is obviously impossible to pres ent in this report every circumstance in the case. Only the material facts upon which the Committee based its conclusions are recorded here. Speak ing broadly," in sustaining the deci sions of the Council, the Committee was moved by the following elements in the case: 1. 'A, 'B, 'C,' and 'D' were not only guilty of gambling, but also of violating the Honor System as to lying. I 2. With the exception of "M" all of the men played habitually over at least, a moderate period of time, t 3. All the participants in the gamb ling contributed to the nuisance that disturbed oth,er students occupying the building. 4. "E" lived for a time in the room where the gambling took place, and even after he was persuaded to move away he persisted in coming back to play poker. ! Gambling is a so-called "shipping" offense, subjecting a student to sus pension from the University if con victed thereof. Such has been the status of the offense for many years, but that some students were sur prised to hear of suspension sen tences in this case was to be expected in view of the fact that it is well known that considerable gambling is done oh the campus and that the guil ty parties are seldom apprehended and punished. The committee s report upon the question of suspending men for fail ure to report other participants. As an objective institution, our stu dent government functions best when it functions least. It is essentially subjective; in short, self-government. Its fundamental principle is individual responsibility; the major, responsibil ity rests upon the student body as a group of individuals, and not upon the Student Council. The first corollary of that funda mental principle is co-operation. If students do not feel their special ob ligations, student government fails. The Student council is closer to the heart of student government and the Honor System than is the rest of the caimnus. and is a. powerful zorce in unifying student opinion in these mat ters of government. It truly deserves the co-operation and support of the student body, of which it is the func tioning organ in matters of conduct and discipline. In this case, the Council suspended three men for not reporting the namo of other men involved in the affair. The Council had two motives in their action. We will consider theso mo tives separately. 1. The Council wanted to get the other men before it in order to clari fy the charges against "A," "B," and "C." The Committee feels that the Council was justified in its action, in that it had evidence to the effect that "A," "B" and "C" were lying that they were guilty of gambling, and it wished to obtain still stronger evi dence, either .to corroborate or refute the testimony of "A," "B" and "C," in order to clear up the matter en tirely in regard to gambling and ly ing (the latter a breach of the Honor System). '2. The Council wanted to get the other men before it in order to ex amine them on the charge of gamb ling. The Committee commends the Council for its earnest efforts to clear out this particular gambling nest, and in no particular questions its sincer ity. However, in this instance the Committee feels that it cannot sus tain the action of the Council. Grant ing, and even declaring, that a man is obligated to report misconduct such as gambling, the Committee is of the opinion that a man is not in honor bound to do so, as he is so bound in the case of lying, cheating, and steal ing, and that he should not be com pelled to bring men to' trial who have not already been charged. Of course, once a man is charged and before the Council, any student summoned must tell the truth about what he knows of that man's case. ; The Committee wishes to be clearly understood in this opinion. The Com mittee feels that the sentences im posed by the Student Council be af firmed. The accused were all con fessedly guilty of an offense for which they could be suspended. They were given a fair trial, and the punish ments imposed were strictly in keep ing with the nature and degree of the offenses. In the ultimate analysis, justice was done. It is not correct to say that the accused were done an in justice because they were guilty and justly deserved to be brought to trial. Minority Report We, the undersigned, being in' the minority' on the committee appoint ed to investigate the recent action of the Student Council desire to ex ercise our prerogative and hereby submit a report of the minority. J We wish to make it plain at the beginning that we do not go on rec ord as approving gambling on the Campus, but there are inconsistences in the majority report which we can not, in our sense of justice to all parties concerned, adhere to. The Committee voted unanimously to sustain the sentences imposed by the Council (With the exception of the case of B). Yet following this action the Committee passed the' fol lowing motion: "Upon the basis of the facts that the Council wished to charge other participants with gam bling was the Council justified in suspending the first three men for failure to report the other partici pants?" The majority held no. The vote concerning the' measure in controversy was nine to seven. The evidence shows that not A, B, and C were reported, but that the group as a whole was reported, al though A and C's names were the only names actually turned in at first. The specific charge that was prefer red against A was as follows: "Cre ating a disturbance in the dormitory, gambling in the form of playing pok er, and leaving the room open for other boys to come and play poker." It can be seen from this charge that a group of men were reported and we feel that the Council, in order to do complete justice to the Campus, to the parties concerned, and to this institution was in duty obliged to get at the bottom of the affair and im jose upon all their share of the bur den. It can be seen that A was a part of a "poker den" and the Coun cil felt, and we think that they were justified in this attitude, that it was their duty to ascertain the names of the other participants even though they were obliged to employ the meth ods they did employ. A, B, and C admitted on the third hearing before the Council that they had played pok er, that they had played for money, and that a large number of men were frequently involved and at this time refused to divulge the names of oth er men implicated or to cooperate with the Council in clearing up an insidi ous gambling den which was spread ing its poisoning influence through out the student body. It appears to the undersigned that the following issue has been clearly raised: When three men in. open confession before the Council admit that they have grossly and frequently violated the accepted code of honor, as well as the laws of the state,-and upon request refused to cooperate with the Council in securing the names of oth er such offenders implicated with them, is the Council, which is pledged to enforce the commonly, accepted code of honor and which is in duty bound so to do, justified in resorting to indirect compulsion in order to secure the names of those offenders? We feel that the two motions men tioned above are inherently irration al, illogical and inconsistent on the basis of the entire findings of the Committee. Men cannot blow hot and cold with the same breath and yet that is what these two motions attemDt to do. The first motion by a unanimous vote agreed that, "The Council was justified m suspending the first three men for failine to re port other participants as a means of THEATRE "Almost a Part of Carolina" SHOWS DAILI 3:00,4:45 6:45,8:30 4 REGULAR ADMISSION 10 and 25c Candy, Popcorn, Cold Drinks, a d Gum on Sale in Lobby. SATURDAY, MARCH 26 Laura La Plante and Tom Moore in "THE LOVE THRILL" MONDAY, MARCH 28 SNEER to MAMYASTOUt ,ry WARNER BROS PRODUCTION Admission: Matinee and Night 50c clarifying the situation." Yet the sec ond motion condemns the Council for giving a suspended sentence for "fail ing to report the other participants in order to bring charges against those men implicated." Their inconsistenc ies in these two motions which the minority cannot reconcile. It is ap parent that the only means of . clari fying the situation was to investigate the conduct of the men involved. The first motion granted unanimously that the situation ought to be "clarified," yet the second motion condemns the only means which the Council possess ed to bring about clarification. As re garding the "situation" the minority feel that this embraced the entire af fair considered as a unit and still leaves open the question as to what shall be done with the last ten men. The motions were passed with two inconsistent attitudes in mind, first to sustain the sentences imposd by the Council and, secondly, to condemn the Council for securing evidence suf ficient to convict the last ten men. The first motion agrees that the men ought to have been punished, arid that the Council was obligated to punish them while the second motion implies that the Council was not obligated to in vestigate an offensive situation and to do what was in its power to rem edy the evil. . Granting, for a moment, the mo tion passed by the majority condemn ing the Council and its tactics is correct then the last ten men were unjustly summoned before the Coun cil and unjustly condemned. On this basis the Committee is admitting to be true the first point in the appeal of the accused men, namely: the meth ods used in securing the evidence for convicting those last ten men. There is, in the motion to sustain the sen tences imposed by the Council and the motion to condemn the Council for the methbds used in securing the information on which the sentences were based, an irreconcilable incon sistency which cannot stand in the face of close scrutiny. If the latter motion is to be interpreted as the true opinion of the Committee then those appealing are justified in their contention that unfair methods were used and the sentence should never have been imposd. Th majority view in the first mo tion expressed the sentiment, which will be considered by all outside the student body, as the attitude of the entire student body. It is this. Al though the Council may be assured from words and rumors of those out side the student body, and implica tions from evidence that an offensive situation exists upon the campus, yet if the men themselves refuse to testi fy the hands of the Council, are bound. By the report of the majority the Council is made a passive organiza tion, restricted in its power to rem edy evils, whereas it should be an active force with the power to inves tigate and determine th truth, and rnder its decision accordingly. , . . Signed: V W. H. STRICKLAND J. O. DUNLAP H. N. LOCKHART W. H. MADISON J. N. CALLAHAN J. M. WILLIAMS : C. II. WHITE ! . DR. R. R. CLARK v DENTIST Office Over Bank of Chapel Hill Telephone 385 4 'Each performance brings with it its attendant net vousness and I relish the opportunity for a soothing smokewhileplaying.Dur ing the course of 'The Play's the Thing I am called on to smoke at fre quent intervals It istaU ways' a Lucky Strike, 1 know from many years' use of this cigarette that my throat is constantly protected and that it will give me the greatest en joyment." ; The Noted Actor, Holbrook BHnn says "it is always a Lucky Strike" Lucky Strikes are mild and mellow the finest cigarettes you ever smoked They are made of the finest Turkish and domestic tobac cos, properly aged and blended with great skill, and there is an extra process in treating the tobacco "It's toasted" no harshness, not a bit of bite. C5 It's toasted Your Throat Protection 3!" 'When tn New York you artcardU ally invited to see how Lucky Strikes are made at our exhibit, corner Broadway and 45th Street.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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March 26, 1927, edition 1
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