Does the House System Violate the Honor Code?
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The California Tech Volume CXViii number 11 Pasadena, California teCh.CalteCh.edu january 12, 2015 Does the House System violate the Honor Code? during a uniquely challenging X in that first week, and your odds disparate among the same Houses participation in the system when JOHN O. DABIRI undergraduate education at of graduating in four years jumped (X, Y, and others) each year. they offer that compliance. Dean of Undergraduate Students Caltech. It is a vital component to 92 percent. If you rotated into Furthermore, the available data Let me repeat: I believe a House of the Caltech experience. Yet, as House Y, the probability dropped does not indicate that this disparate system in the spirit of our current In my prior role as Chair of the I began undertaking the task of to 71 percent (X and Y are indeed performance is a result of differing structure is an essential and defining Faculty, I learned that effecting learning more about the House two of our eight Houses, but they House demographics (i.e. gender, feature of Caltech’s undergraduate change at Caltech typically requires system, it became clear that the are kept anonymous here for the race, household income, or major). experience. But we cannot treat the a clear answer to the question, “What system itself presents a problem sake of public discussion). Six- Concerning, yes; but an Honor status quo as inviolable. Moreover, problem are you trying to solve?” that should not be left unsolved: year graduation rates for cohorts Code violation? I intentionally kneejerk objections to any In the absence of a compelling it potentially violates our Honor entering Caltech from 2004 to left this as a question in the title changes to the system perpetuate response, new initiatives—however Code by taking “unfair advantage” 2008 show a similar trend: over because Caltech tradition is to a disservice to the student body noble in intention or potentially of our incoming freshmen. 98 percent of students in House X allow our students to adjudicate that, regardless of whether it is transformative in their positive One should not raise such graduated in six years, a rate better such matters. However, it seems correlative or causative, appears impact on Caltech—are usually a possibility without evidence, than every college in the United plausible that the current House to have persisted as far back as we dismissed in favor of a status so consider the following: each States. By contrast, in House Y, system takes “unfair advantage” of have data available. My purpose quo that ostensibly serves us well fall we welcome 230 or so of the only 84 percent joined the ranks the freshmen by predetermining, in writing this article is not to enough. brightest minds in the world to of our esteemed alumni in that at least statistically, their future endorse a particular solution to the I have found the same to be our campus. Four years later, 82 time frame (for comparison, the educational success at Caltech problem. Rather, it is to reject the true as the Dean of Undergraduate percent of those students will UCLA football team graduates 88 and doing so (a) without their current educational outcomes as a Students. Many of our students graduate. However, graduation percent of its players in six years). prior knowledge and (b) without fait accompli and, in the interest of and alumni are quick to defend the statistics from the past 10 years Examination of individual cohorts offering a meaningful alternative undergraduate self-governance, to institutional structure of campus show that the distribution of those from 2004 to 2010 suggests to the current system. The House encourage our students to propose life, which largely revolves around 82 percent is consistently skewed that this is no statistical fluke. system only survives with the substantive solutions. the House system. I, too, have come among the Houses into which the House performance—in terms tacit compliance of the entering to appreciate the integral role that freshmen are sorted during the of graduation rate, grade-point freshmen, but they are not afforded Please email me with your the House system plays in providing first week of their undergraduate average, research participation, a full view of the costs of their thoughts at [email protected]. a sanctuary for our students careers. If you rotated into House and other metrics—is consistently Fundamentalists murder Charlie Students travel and explore on Hebdo journalists in France offices Caltech Y India Ki Khoj trip CASEY HANDMER ‘Yes, I understand you,’ said the but also steps beyond and exists in Contributing Writer wise, ‘you’re right.’ A witness at the the universality of the mind.” scene exclaims to the wise man in • Michel Renaud, 69, travel On Jan. 7, the offices of Parisian wonder, ‘How can you tell both that writer and founder of the Rendez- satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo they are right? It is not possible!’ vous du Carnet de Voyage art were stormed by three heavily ‘You’re right,’ replied the sage.” festival, and a guest at the meeting. armed attackers, killing 12 and • Bernard Maris, 68, economist, • Georges Wolinski, 80, injuring 11. This article is not a editor, and columnist. “Let cartoonist. “Humor is the shortest rehashing of the poorly informed [economists] put on a pointed cap, road from one person to another.” and highly opinionated clickbait a red nose, let them wag with their “Luckily the world is evil. I could that tries to cash in on this sort of ears and tickle the armpits. What not bear to go wrong in a world that tragedy. This article is a condensed were economists for, one will ask a is well!” record of statements by the victims hundred years from now? To make • Bernard “Tignous” Verlhac, and survivors closest to the tragedy. people laugh.” 57, cartoonist. “A caricature … is Where needed, translations to • Stéphane “Charb” Charbonnier, the hardest thing to get right. You English have been provided. 47, Charlie Hebdo editor-in-chief. have to put everything into a single Photo Courtesy of Pushpak Baviskar Under guard since 2011, he stated image.” The dead on numerous occasions, “I am “My work never seems to be Exhausted by the trials of finals week, 10 Caltech students • Frédéric Boisseau, 42, a not afraid of reprisals, I have no done.” boarded an Airbus 380 and headed off to the opposite end of building maintenance worker for children, no wife, no car, no debt. the globe. After 24 hours of traveling, we were greeted by stu- Sodexo and Krav Maga enthusiast. It might sound a bit pompous, but The injured dents from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Gandhi- He was killed in the lobby. I’d prefer to die on my feet rather • Philippe Lançon, 51, journalist, nagar in the Ahmedabad airport in the state of Gujarat. • Franck Brinsolaro, 49, a police than living on my knees.” shot in the face and in critical For some of us, this trip was a return to India, and for oth- officer assigned as a bodyguard for “Muhammed isn’t sacred to condition ers, it was the first time in a new country. For all of us, howev- Stéphane Charbonnier. me. I don’t blame Muslims for • Fabrice Nicolino, 59, journalist, er, this brief glimpse of India would unfold into a serendipitous • Ahmed Merabet, 42, a not laughing at our drawings. I shot in the leg adventure of discovery. We embarked on a journey of India Ki police officer on patrol in the live under French law. I don’t live • Laurent “Riss” Sourisseau, 48, Khoj (In Search of India) to witness the society, culture, econo- area. Wounded in the crossfire, under Koranic law.” cartoonist, shot in the shoulder my, and people of India as they are today. a witness’s video shows him • Jean “Cabu” Cabut, 76, Charlie • Simon Fieschi, 31, webmaster, Rita Kothari, an author, linguist, and professor of English approached by one of the attackers, Hebdo cofounder and cartoonist. shot in the shoulder in the humanities department at IIT Gandhinagar, and Jai- who asked, “Did you want to kill “Sometimes laughter can hurt, • Several police officers and a son Manjaly, an assistant professor in the cognitive science me?” Merabet replied “No, it’s OK, but it is our only weapon, humor, nearby driver whose car was struck program at IIT Gandhinagar, conceptualized and created an boss.” He was then shot at point derision…” as the attackers fled eight-day schedule consisting of trips throughout Gujarat and blank range. • Elsa Cayat, 54, psychoanalyst talks by experts in their respective fields (covering topics such • Mustapha Ourrad, 56, copy and humor/advice columnist. “The The perpetrators as Indian fashion and the role of caste in India). editor. “Two men have a dispute, knowledge of the unconscious The attacks were carried out by Our search was meant to be not a reflection on a precon- they will then consult a Sufi sage shows us something of the difficult- three French nationals, identified ceived notion of what comprises the nation of India, but rather to decide between them. The first to-realize, the autonomous, and the as Hamyd Mourad, 18, who an opportunity to observe and analyze the shocking, confus- puts his case; the wise man said, ‘I power of life in us. The existence surrendered to police, and brothers ing, or exciting moments that make India such a remarkable understand you, you’re right.’ The of a thought which transcends us, Said Kouachi, 32, and place to visit. second then presents his vision; which arises from a singular mind, Continued on page 4 -Aleena Patel FeAtuRe | pAge 3 FeAtuRe | pAge 4 spORts | pAge 5 FeAtuRe | pAge 7 In thIs nAIlen RevIews sOCIAl pRACtICes BAsKetBAll teAms BRAd/ChAd tAlKs CAtFIsh And the hIndeR tRAns BAll sO hARd FInAnCe Issue BOttlemen’s AlBum RIghts news 2 january 12, 2015 the CAlIFORnIA teCh Caltech Y Extended ASCIT Minutes: Board of Directors Column votes to update ASCIT Bylaws and Resolutions CALTECH Y SEAN MCKENNA approved by the Caltech Clubs Vice President for Student Affairs; accordance with the Institute Policy ASCIT Secretary Steering Committee.