The Civility Project, a collaborative effort between The Papers of George Washington and the Civility Project Committee, is moving forward in its effort to revise George Washington's "Copy of Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation" for use in the 21st century.
Washington's document consists of 110 rules of conduct that the first president copied down when he was only 16 years old and by which he lived thereafter. To kick start the next phase of the project, Miss Manners, also known as Judith Martin, visited a meeting last week to advise the committee on how best to proceed.
Theodore Crackel, editor-in-chief at The Papers of George Washington, said the project started because the University-related organization thought students might be interested in creating a more contemporary copy of George Washington's rules.
"We're collecting as many rules as we can," Project Chair Erica Mitchell said, "and we'll try to find the most pertinent and whittle down to 110."
On the Civility Project's Web site, suggestions reflect the conflict between face-to-face communication and digital communication, Mitchell noted. Comments include, "Don't talk on your cell phone while ordering at restaurants or fast food places. It is so rude," and, "Don't post messages in ALL CAPS to convey anger. It makes you look ridiculous."
The committee also solicits rules of appropriate conduct from University students through publicity events, as well as through a Web site. An event also will be held tonight at 9 p.m. in Clemons Library, during which students may exchange a rule of civility for a slice of pizza.
The project, however, will not be a complete overhaul of George Washington's rules.
"A lot of his rules will be kept because they are still worth living by today", Crackel said, adding that Washington found the rules useful in curbing his own excesses.
The committee hopes to complete the project by December and to publish the revised set of rules in a pamphlet.
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