A new proposal to reform the Residential Judiciary Council — a body of students and administrators who oversee the discipline of peers who violate the residence hall code of conduct — would reinstate the council and establish position elections for the first time.

The reform was presented at a town hall meeting Tuesday night, and a final version will be passed on to administrators for approval this week. If approved, elections for the representatives will occur in March.

The council was put on hiatus this academic year due to persistent criticism and a lack of student interest.

“The approach we’re taking, I hope, will motivate students to want to be a part of this,” Ed Gilhool said. Gilhool is the associate director of Residence Life and was the council’s advisor before it was discontinued this fall.

Founded in 1999, a year which saw an unusually high number of disciplinary infractions, the RJC aimed to foster an environment of student responsibility. Before it was put on hold, the council handled Category A violations of the Code of Student Conduct, which include defacement, disorderly conduct, minor alcohol and drug offenses, ID card offenses, noise violations, violation of the guest and party registration policies and other housing rule infractions. The council also dealt with the simplest Category B violations, which are typically more serious and largely handled by the administration.

In recent years, however, some felt that the council was not doing its job.

“The RJC had been sort of shrouded in mystery for a long time,” said Natalie Punchak (COL ’11), a former chairperson of the council and one of the four members of the student review team that proposed the reforms.

Shea Houlihan (SFS ’13), InterHall’s vice president for student advocacy and a review team member for the council, said that last year a majority of InterHall members did not realize that the RJC even existed.

“There were just a lot of misconceptions,” he said.

The students on the review council hope that the reforms will change these perceptions.

Each class would elect three representatives, with freshmen elections to be held in fall. Previously, students applied to be a councilor through the Office of Residence Life.

“We not only gain greater visibility; we also gain a greater ability to represent students,” Punchak said.

The reform would also shift sanctions away from the more traditional ones imposed by the administration and streamline the meeting process. Instead of meeting four nights a week, the group would meet once a week with a different set of members each hour to hear cases.

Members of the review team said they hoped the change would make the time commitment more manageable for students interested in joining.

The basic structure of the council would remain the same under the current proposal. Sessions would consist of one chairperson, three student councilors and one hall director.

Although not all details of the proposal have been finalized yet, the review team plans to submit a revised proposal to the administration next week. If it is approved, they will host a second town hall meeting during the first week of March.

The March session would also serve as a meeting for students interested in running for positions on the council; elections would be held a week later. Punchak said she hoped the partnership with Georgetown University Student Association and InterHall would encourage a wide variety of candidates to apply.

“My hope is that this is seen as a leadership opportunity,” Gilhool said.

Ryan Gavigan (COL ’11), a resident advisor and the InterHall president, said that as a campus resident he felt it was important for students to have an option like the RJC.

“It was frankly a shame that we discontinued it,” he said. “But I’m excited for these new ideas. I think they’ve done some wonderful work.”

Gavigan said that he was concerned about some of the finer points of the proposals, however.

“There still needs to be some work on hashing out the details.”

Tyler Holl (COL ’13), a member of the Honor Council, said he was excited to see the RJC return.

“It’s important to have that student input,” he said. “College students are adults.”

Holl also said he supported the proposal to hold elections for the council positions.

“When student voices are heard, it’s the voices that students themselves have picked.”