Introduction to honor
When the University makes the national news these days, it is almost invariably in relation to the Bloomfield cheating revelations. That means most first years have heard a bit about our honor system. But there is probably still a lot that needs clarification in order to gain a clearer picture of honor's place at the University you now attend.
The Honor Committee is comprised of 22 elected representatives of the various schools at the University, from the College to the law school to continuing education. The Committee convenes weekly on Sunday evenings in the trial room on the fourth floor of Newcomb Hall. These meetings are open to the public, so it's a good idea to stop by one week to meet your school's representatives and get a concrete idea of what the Committee does on a regular basis.
There's a lot of talk about the single sanction - the only penalty for a guilty verdict in an honor case is expulsion from the University. But it's a myth that taking some paper from the computer lab or telling a white lie would get you kicked out if you're caught. That's because the honor code contains a seriousness clause, which means that an investigative panel decides whether an honor charge is serious enough to go to trial. If it's not, the charges are dropped.
That's not to say that you can get away with breaking the honor code, or that it's OK to steal small things. There's a lot more to honor than the possible consequences of breaking the code. By taking the principles of honor to heart, you can live honorably every day. The real goal of the system is to teach what Committee Chairman Thomas Hall calls "lessons of character" - to make each of us a better person.
But of course, dishonorable behavior does have consequences. Another myth about honor is that the system doesn't work - cheaters get away with it. We can't tell you that you won't see anyone cheating in class, because you probably will at some point. But in the wake of Bloomfield, who accused 130 students of honor offenses after discovering widespread plagiarizing his physics class, it should become obvious that students who choose to break the honor code face a very real risk of being asked to leave the University.
Honor is a serious matter, but that doesn't mean that that Honor Committee members are the bad guys. The Committee doesn't kick students out - in the vast majority of cases, random student juries make that decision. Committee members devote their time to various causes other than trials, such as educating the University community about honor and working to combat possible biases against minorities and athletes. Again, attending a Sunday meeting is the best way to get a feel for the Committee's various projects.
Now that you are living in a community of trust, honor will be an important part of your next four years - and hopefully, for a long time after. The more you know about the honor system, code and Committee, the easier it will be to focus on living honorably in your everyday life, at the University and beyond.
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