University of Virginia Library

Lying For Liquor
Not Honor Violation

The following is a statement from the 1968-69 Honor Committee.

The Honor Committee wishes to announce a change in a
policy adopted by a previous Committee in 1956. Prior to
1956 misrepresentation of age to obtain alcoholic beverages
was not considered an honor violation. In 1956, the Honor
Committee decided that the matter should be covered by the
System. It is the present Committee's view that the decision of
1956 should no longer be followed. Logic would seem to treat
as interchangeable a misrepresentation to a Dean and a
misrepresentation of age to obtain liquor. It is clear to the
Committee, however, that the moral sense of the current
student community does not accept this logic.

The choices would seem to be between expulsion of
students for behavior which is not widely condemned by the
present generation of students and the exclusion of such
conduct from the reach of the System. The Committee has
chosen the latter course, in the belief that only if such
judgments are made from time to time can the System retain
its credibility as an effective force in our society.