The Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) is conducting over 100 interviews to survey students’ views on the Honor System, the White Book and the Student Body Constitution.

As written in the Student Body Constitution, a CRC should be appointed every three years after the 2019-2020 academic year to “ascertain the opinions of those in the Washington and Lee community regarding all aspects of student self-government” and suggest potential amendments to the constitution.

This year, however, the Executive Committee voted for the CRC to also make White Book recommendations. 

“We did this because we felt that there was significant interest from the student body this year, which is unusual,” EC President Meaghan Endres, ’26, told the Phi in an email. “It has been difficult to get the student body to interact with the system and review committees in the past, so we thought it best to direct this engagement to something productive.” 

Members of the CRC are appointed by the EC. The selection process requires interested students to submit an application and participate in an interview. 

Eighteen students were selected to serve on the CRC in October, with both law and undergraduate students represented.

“Our biggest priority during the selection process was to ensure that a multitude of different perspectives were covered and that every grade was represented,” Endres said. 

After the committee members were selected, they sent out invitations to all members of the student body to participate in an interview about their thoughts on community, trust and the single sanction. 

Lilli Marshall, ’26L, the chair of the committee, said the questions range from when students first heard about the Honor System to how the system affects their day-to-day life.

Student responses have mostly been related to the White Book and the Honor System, rather than on the constitution itself, Marshall said. 

“The EC decided to include in our review the White Book and the Honor System as a whole and so I think that the constitution falls under that,” she said. “But definitely people are most animated about the Honor System and White Book.”

The CRC will compile a report based on interview results to present in the upcoming winter semester. The committee could also decide to propose amendments to the White Book or the constitution.

Proposed amendments to the White Book were made in 2024 by the most recently appointed White Book Review Committee (WBRC). The WBRC is set to be appointed by the EC every three years after the 2023-2024 school year.

In 2024, the committee proposed amendments including requiring the EC to collect personal information based on race, religion and national origin of students accused of an honor violation, according to previous reporting by the Ring-tum Phi.

The proposed amendments did not pass after a vote by the EC.

Endres said she believes all students should take part in the current review process. 

“I believe it is important for the student body to be involved in the process of trying to create the most effective system, one that benefits them and impacts the value of their degrees,” she said.