When disciplinary infractions occur at Hackley, members of the Board of Magistrates hold the responsibility of weighing in on the situation and possible consequences.  However, in recent years that hasn’t happened and the occurrence of a few vexing disciplinary issues this year has raised the question of why not, and whether  the Board of Magistrates should  be brought back into the disciplinary process.  

The Board consists of three senior voting members, two senior alternatives, and one junior clerk elected by the Upper School community. Established over ten years ago, the Board’s purpose has digressed from handling disciplinary matters to simply helping organize Community Council’s events.

Senior Julia Stevenson served as a clerk last year as a junior and is currently a senior voting member of the board. In the past two years, Julia does not recall meeting about disciplinary matters. “I think it would have been a good idea to call the board on some of those situations,” she said. “I think the Board of Magistrates is a valuable resource. The outcome of some situations may have changed with some student input. It would be a good idea to start implementing it more.”

Science teacher and Community Council advisor Bill McLay believes that there would have been little change in the outcome of student infractions with consultation from the Board. “There’s a possibility that [the repercussions] could have been different. You never really know when you get that many people. I think in the end, I highly doubt much would have changed,” said Mr. McLay. “In a lot of cases, the decisions were often based on precedent events and their consequences. Because of precedent events and consequences, I don’t think there would have a different outcome even with the Board of Magistrates.”

According to the Hackley Handbook, “Disciplinary matters are handled by the Headmaster, who may, in his sole judgment, act with the consultation of the Upper School Director, Class Deans, and in appropriate cases, the Board of Magistrates.”

Though initially created for consultation on academic dishonesty and larger-scale disciplinary matters, lack of proper implementation has left the Board of Magistrates with little to no input in student transgressions.

Junior Benjy Renton, who currently serves as the Clerk of the Board of Magistrates, thinks “it should be more of a bridge between the voices of the students and faculty, called upon when decisions concerning the students (not just disciplinary) need to be made.”

As the school year comes to an end, the deans and Upper School Director Andy King prepare for their end-of-year retreat in which the Board’s implementation will be presented as a topic. Hoping to see its success, Mr. King says, “We need to train the students who have been elected to the board: run them through scenarios. Done well, it helps to create a peer environment where students are able to understand what the rules are and the students regulate themselves but also regulate others.”

With the election of next year’s Board of Magistrates, students hope for an improvement on its implementation and possibly consulting the Board for future disciplinary transgressions. With student input, outcome of these transgressions may possibly change to reflect the student body’s sentiment and judgement.