University of Virginia Library

'Custodians Of A Sacred Trust'

Dean T.B. Woody Discusses Virginia's Pride: Honor

The following is the address given each year by Dean T. Braxton
Woody to entering students about the spirit of Honor at the
University. This year Mr. Woody felt another approach would be
more beneficial, but consented to let The Cavalier Daily print the
old annual address as a valuable part of orientation to the Honor
System.—Ed.

Our Honor System, in its essence, is very simple. It means that a
Virginia man holds in abhorrence lying, cheating, stealing in any
form, at any time, in any place, and that he will not tolerate lying,
cheating and stealing in any of his fellow students. Now, it's rather
easy for a man who is inclined to be honest to say, "Well, I myself
will not cheat, nor lie, nor steal, but I have no intention of being an
informer. If somebody else wants to cheat, that's his business, not
mine." Don't fool yourselves. It is your business, and it's not being
an informer. An informer goes behind the back of someone else and
tells a higher authority so-and-so cheated, so-and-so lied, so-and-so
stole something. You don't do that. You face the man you consider
to be guilty of an honor offense. You face him, man to man, and
say, "I saw you cheat, I believe you told a lie, I believe you stole
something. I give you twenty-four hours to get out of the
University." Now, is that being an informer, is that a cowardly thing
to do? Oh no, that takes the greatest courage a man can possibly
muster. I hope and pray you are never in a situation in which you
must do that, but if you are, you cannot shirk that obligation. When
you register as a student of the University of Virginia, you bind
yourself to uphold the Honor System, which means not just that
you will not lie, cheat, or steal, but that you will not tolerate in our
academic community anyone who does.

One Sunday morning near the end of the second semester
examination period my doorbell rang. I answered the door and there
stood a gentleman I did not know. I have never seen a man suffering
such anguish in my life, and I'll never forget it. I sat down with him
and he said, "Mr. Woody, I want your help. I have a son. You are his
dean. He is our only child; he's always been a good boy, made top
grades in his high school. All his life he wanted to go to the
University of Virginia; we never thought of any other school. He
came up here last September and did well the first semester." Then
the father said, "Yesterday my boy came home and I asked him
'Son, what's the matter? You've got another exam on Monday. We
were going up to Charlottesville to get you and bring you home.
What are you doing back home now?' " And the boy told his father,
"I had a physics exam this morning, and I don't know what
happened to me, I just . . . I cheated. I copied from a another boy's
paper, and a fellow in the class accused me of cheating; I realized I
had, so I came home." You have no idea of the suffering of that
father. He couldn't understand that that was the end of the road for
his son. He said, "Something must be done. What can you do?" I
said, "I'm sorry, sir, there's nothing I can do." He asked, "Should I
go to see President Shannon?" I said, "It wouldn't do you any good.
There's nothing he can do." And then he said, "Well, I just don't
believe anybody ever made it clear to my boy he'd never have a
second chance." He said, "Will you please in the future impress
upon all the boys you can that they don't get a second chance?" I
pledged my word to him that I would, and I've done it every year
since. Don't forget it. You don't get a second chance.

I've been told by students that they've gone through orientation
and all this talk rolled off them like water of a duck's back. They
didn't believe a word of it. They say, "Oh, I've heard that stuff
before. We had an honor system back in our school. It was just a
joke. It's a joke here; they're trying to make something out of it; I
don't believe it." And then fellows have told me they've seen The
Cavalier Daily-that's our student newspaper, you know-they see on
the front page down in the corner in a little black-bordered box:
"The Honor Committee regrets to announce that a student has been
dismissed from the University. The offense was cheating." And they
say, "You know, that hit me like a ton of bricks." They say, "Gosh,
the thing works! They really kick out a guy!" You bet it works.
That's why I told you the tragic story of that father and that boy
who cheated on his physics exam-it works, it works.

But there's another aspect that sometimes puzzles first-year men.
I remember last year-it wasn't very long after this orientation
speech- I was talking with a group of students, first-year men and

upperclassmen, and one first-year man said, "You know, Mr.
Woody, you talk about the spirit of honor and all that sounds
mighty fine, but it seems to me it's just a spirit of fear. The guy's
afraid to get caught." Well, before I could answer, an upperclassman
spoke up and said, "Yes, of course, in the beginning it's based on a
spirit of fear. You'll abide by the Honor System because you're
afraid of getting caught, but," he said, "after you've really gotten
the spirit of the thing, the only person you'll really be afraid of is
yourself." I think that was beautifully put. The worst part of
dishonesty is being dishonest with yourself, and that's what you
learn here if you don't already know it. You'll have many an
opportunity to cheat, to lie, to steal, with almost complete
impunity. You know you'll never get caught, not by anybody else,
that is; but then look at yourself in the mirror and say, " liar,
how do you feel today?" It's not pleasant.

I have traveled around the country a good bit in recent years
talking to alumni groups. I usually go on Mr. Jefferson's birthday,
which is April 13, because he alumni chapters the country over like
to celebrate Mr. Jefferson's birthday. I remember a couple of years
ago I was in Miami, Florida, and being one of the deans, I was very
much interested in telling them what we were doing in the College.
The man sitting by my side put a little note on the lectern in front
of me; it said, "Talk about the Honor System." That's what they
were interested in. I have found that every alumni chapter I have
visited without exception feels exactly the same way. What's their
first question? "How's the Honor System holding up?" Do they ask
about the football team? No, not much. Do they really care much
about our tremendous strides in the academic life? 'How's the
Honor System holding up?" They are immensely proud of it, and I
have the great pride to read to you tonight something which perhaps
you have already seen, but if you have, it doesn't matter. It surely
bears hearing again.

Well, now here's an article, a TIME essay entitled, "Larceny in
Everyday Life." It's an appalling story. It tells you how the
American public spends most of its time in petty thievery. Women
go to supermarkets and pack themselves with stolen articles and
what not. I'm not going to read all of that. It's downright
seating; we come to this paragraph. Listen.

Gentlemen, don't you feel pride already in being Virginia men,
even though you haven't been here but a couple of days? I can
guarantee to you that the alumni of this school throughout this
country will read this with a glowing warmth in their hearts. They
know that the greatest treasure they left behind, or rather that they
carried away with them, because it's both, is the spirit of honor?
they know that they have bequeathed this priceless legacy to you;
they know that you are the custodians of a sacred trust. You must
not, you can not, and you will not betray this trust.