The Honor Committee recently started taking steps to better educate University students about honor and improve the University’s community of trust.
This semester, the Committee changed the structure of the educator system from a few large groups to a conglomeration of 17 small groups that can focus on different outreach projects, Vice Chair for Education Ryan Burke said.
“We really want to try and engage in more of a dialogue with students,” Burke said, explaining that it has always been a goal of the Honor Committee to make sure students are educated and comfortable with the honor system. Now that the Committee has introduced a new system for Honor Educators, Burke says this goal should be easier to attain.
In addition to the smaller project groups, educators are now in charge of planning and carrying out their own projects, thus expanding what the Committee might be able to accomplish.
“We just have a lot of ideas bubbling around because there are so many more students involved [with the new educator system],” Burke said.
Some of these ideas include cosponsoring with other student groups, Burke said. For instance, the Honor Committee will have its own table at Dance Marathon and will have information and honor representatives present during the event, so that interested students can learn more about how the system works. The educators also will announce a new Honor fact every hour.
Another approach Honor is taking is to create forums where professors and students can discuss honor “on a broad and philosophical level,” Burke said. During these proposed forums, professors can discuss how honor and ethics have functioned within their own careers, as well as the role of honor in business, politics and education.
Students can also look for Honor Awareness Week in April, when the committee will host several events, including an Honor Benefit April 2.
“The event will be informal with people stopping and asking questions” said Tyler Alexander, vice chair for community relations. “We have found that the best way to get students, especially graduate students, educated on honor is to go out and talk with them.”
Burke noted that other programs — including handing out brochures about honor in different languages for international students, conducting a survey to make clear how much students know about the system and placing informative posters around Grounds — also may soon be implemented.
At least one student agreed that it is important for the Committee to better educate the University community about the honor system. Fourth-year College student Matthew Hanlon noted that he believes the Honor Committee should improve its relationship with students, and should also do a better job communicating with them about how the system works.
“I don’t really hear a lot from the Honor Committee,” Hanlon said. “And it wasn’t until this recent referendum that I had heard [much about honor].”
Members of the Committee said they hope the new educational programs will alleviate some of these issues. The recent single sanction referendum also has started an ongoing conversation about honor, Burke said. He added, though, that he still feels more can be done to better serve members of the University community.
“Honor is only going to be alive if students feel like it’s a part of their everyday life,” he said.
Read More
Shots fired reported at 100 block of Harmon Street, no injuries reported
By Thomas Baxter | 3 days agoThis is the first community alert of June.
Full Board discusses financial aid challenges, medical research and entrepreneurship
By Thomas Baxter | 4 days agoBoard members discussed the Pan-University Entrepreneurship Initiative, a project that aims to help develop more entrepreneurial ventures at the University.
Finance Committee approves 2024-25 operating budget and Major Capital Plan
By Zackary Holt | 4 days agoThe proposed 2024-25 fiscal year budget for the Academic Division includes a 6.8 percent increase in spending over the previous year.
