Okeremi, Lee, Wabunoha and Won to Serve on DC

Exeter’s Discipline Committee turned over on Friday, April 27 and will add lowers Oluwatise Okeremi, Suan Lee, Matthew Wabunoha and Rachel Won to its ranks of student members starting next fall.

The lowers will join current members uppers Yaseen Ahmed, Euwie Park, Gillian Quinto and Matthew Kang. Students on Exeter’s Discipline Committee represent the student body’s voice to voting faculty members.

During winter term, students voted on eight finalists from a list of 21 candidates. These students then underwent further review by the current committee and Dean of Residential Life AJ Cosgrove.

According to Discipline Committee Head Jeffrey Ward, the finalists have 15 minute interviews with the entire committee. He said, “After all of them have been interviewed, the committee discusses the interviews and the students themselves, then selects the new student members.”

Modern Languages Instructor Pedro Perez-Andreu, a committee member, explained that the decision is always “difficult to make.” He emphasized the importance of students’ role on the committee. “Students sometimes see things in a different way, and the way they give us input can influence how we decide about a case,” he said. “I’ve always found that they’re very fair and thoughtful, not blindly defending their fellow students simply because they are also students.”

For Kang, open-mindedness is an essential quality for DC members. He added that it is important to be able to “consider other ideas” and change one’s mind once given further information. However, he also stressed that there’s “no clear cut image of what a DC member looks like.”

Quinto, meanwhile, commented that DC members have an important role in maintaining justice on campus. “Students were involved in every step of the process and had an equal if not larger say about the selected candidates,” she said. “I think DC members have to have a critical mind but be empathetic and willing to accept when they’re wrong.”

The news came to students during Climate Action Day when they were preparing to attend the afternoon workshops; Cosgrove sent out a congratulatory email to all the selected members inviting them to the next discipline case. Cosgrove could not be reached for comment at this time.

“They said they’d call us the day before; I thought it was over,” Okeremi said, recalling her anxiety before getting the news. “When I got the email I was in the middle of Wetherell and screaming. I was so happy.”

She continued, “At my old school, I’ve learned to not only take care of myself but take care of my school and my community. DC is the best way to do that at Exeter.”

Okeremi considers taking care of others an essential part of her new role. She applied for the position to give back to the community that welcomed her.

While he cannot say that he is excited given the grave nature of the committee’s work, Wabunoha appreciates the students’ and faculty members’ trust. “I am ready to do my role,” he said.

Won was enthusiastic to assume this position. “Ever since I first heard about it beginning of lower year, I was astonished by the idea that students on the committee can listen to people’s stories and have a voice,” she said. “It was eye-opening for me to see the school so trusting of its students.”

During her campaign, Won created a video which detailed her dedication to the position. As a committee member, she aims to listen to everyone’s story and not judge other peers based on societal biases against drinking or substance abuse.

“For each person who appears before the committee, there’s a possibility that it was a mistake or misstep,” Won emphasized. “I want to distinguish the line between whether their intent was to harm or they just tripped up.”

Lee hopes to bring a sense of balance to the committee. “I’m hoping with my outlook of empathy and understanding and my experiences of being a student at Exeter, I can bring an empathetic view to the table while maintaining my sense of right and wrong,” she said.

Lee described how she felt “grateful” for the opportunity to serve the Exeter community. “Exeter is a place where we are held accountable for our mistakes, but [it is] also a place to learn,” she said. “I think being a student myself…will allow me to have a better understanding of where certain mistakes may come from.”