University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Honor Ethical, Not Moral

I was dismayed that Miss Powers
misunderstands our Honor System.
The System does not require
adherence to a universal, absolute,
ethical ideal, as she implies. Rather,
it requires one to act honorably in
all phases of student life. I does not
regulate personal morality, as
would a religious system, to which
she compares the Code.

The concept of honor is defined
by the present student generation,
not by a supreme deity or
authority. Thus we are responsible
only to ourselves. Indeed, the
student body and the Honor.
Committee constantly reevaluate
the Code to insure that it reflects
the opinion of the student body.
Thus questioning the System is
hardly a "thought crime."

I would like to point out the
essential nature of the System, as
Mr. Whitebread made clear in his
orientation speech, is that the sense
of honor is collective, and that the
System is perhaps the most liberal
form of student government, of
the students, by the students, and
for the students, "If I might
paraphrase.

A student is required to agree
to live under the System, and to
help maintain it. In as much as
"enforcement" of the System
requires merely that one help
protect his fellow student, I cannot
agree with Miss Powers' ethical
objections to helping maintain the
Honor System, which operates for
the benefit of the student
community.

Rush, Find
The Truth

Once again, on the'eve of dorm
visits, the Cavalier Daily editorial
staff has begun its "annual fall
ritual. Don't Rush. Don't Pledge"
campaign. By now, fraternity members
are used to this new C.D.
tradition.

The attack on the fraternity
system may be justified in part. But
your terribly one-sided stunt and
gross generalizations are both unpalatable
and unjustifiable. While
you devote one small token paragraph
to the pros of fraternity life,
the rest of the editorial is presented
in gospel form with the hope that it
will be swallowed as such by all
first-year students.

Gather all the facts- then write
your article. Let the first-year men
(and women) find out the pros and
cons of fraternity life for themselves,
objectively.

Maybe don't pledge- but rush
and find out the truth.