While Schneider said he always tells the students who consult him for advice to be completely honest with their resident dean, he also cautions them to be “extremely guarded” in these conversations.

“The resident deans are essentially conveyor belts of everything that you say back to the Ad Board,” Schneider said. “And so if you say something that depicts you in an improperly bad light, that’s going to get back to the Ad Board.”

And for some, the resident dean’s role as a “conveyor belt” is particularly troublesome in light of the current cheating scandal.

While administrators have said that they are reviewing each of the roughly 125 cases on an individual basis, Daniel said that the sharing of information among resident deans necessarily links what are supposed to be seen as unique cases.

“What I tell them could ultimately influence how they vote on other people’s cases,” Daniel said.

But some say that these criticisms miss the fact that resident deans do help students weather a difficult process.

Arthur, a student who was required to withdraw following a different disciplinary case, said his resident dean was nothing but supportive throughout the process.

“My dean was very patient with me and listened to all my ideas and brought all my proposals to the Ad Board, even though he knew they were unrealistic,” said Arthur, who requested that his name be changed because he did not want it to be known that he was forced to leave school.

Every current resident dean declined or did not return requests for comment on this article. But Paulette G. Curtis ’92, who served as resident dean of Dunster House from 2002 to 2008, said that while she was not an advocate for her students, she did not view her role as contradictory.

“Students were always told that we didn’t vote on their cases, and that I would do my best to represent their side of the story,” Curtis said. “We were as transparent as we could possibly be about the process.”

THE LAWYER

Schneider said that the College’s inadequate advising for students going through the Ad Board process undermines the credibility of the Board’s decisions.

“The lack of an real advocate inside the room with a student has really condemned the process to a farce,” he said. “Not allowing an experienced advocate for them really makes it very difficult for them to present a full-throated defense, and I think they really get hurt by it.” In Schneider’s opinion, this “experienced advocate” should be a lawyer.

However, the College has resisted allowing lawyers into the process, fearing that the addition of attorneys would detract from the educational value of the Ad Board by making it more legalistic.

Sundquist said the reform committee discussed the possibility of including lawyers in the process but was also wary of bringing people with a profit motive into the room.