University of Virginia Library

Charles Weir

Sipping Mint Juleps

For a long time I have promised
myself that I would not got
involved in the present debate over
the Honor Code. I am going to have
to break that promise. In a recent
CD, a column by Mike Fontham
was reprinted from The Virginia
Law Weekly. This was the straw
that broke the camel's back.

I must agree with Mr. Fontham,
"The Honor System should be
given 24 hours to get out of town."

There was a time when The
University deserved to live under
the Honor Code. Too bad we no
longer deserve it. Why not?

The Spirit of the Honor System
is not and cannot be enumerated at
The U. We must be honorable men
before we come here. The number
of those left in society is very small.
To call Gene McCarthy one would
relax the standards too much. I
have been unable to find an honest
politician.

By virtue of its being the law
among honorable men there is no
way that it can be unfair. We have
no room for petty thieves or grand
larcenists. One is just as bad as the
next. This spirit has pervaded the
Grounds for over 140 years and
that is a few too many. Just as all
other traditions here have been
slowly and quietly done away with,
so has this one. It was not until
recently that the Honor Committee
made that its public policy. If
students are excused for taking 32
soft drinks from a machine, I hope
the Honor Committee looks
favorably upon the next student
who takes $4.80 from someone's
wallet.

Students who believe in the
Honor System should hardly be
aligned with the likes of the CIA
and the KGB. I am yet to meet a
student who plays Sherlock
Holmes. If someone commits an
offense it is your duty to the
Community of Scholars to
investigate the incident so that the
intruder to our sense of
Community will be asked to leave.

My feelings about the University
must be compared to my feelings
about America. I can no longer see
the wisdom in laying down my life
so that you will remain free.
Likewise, I see little to be enriched
around here by prosecuting a
violator of the Honor Code. Why
should I care if someone else cheats
off of your exam or steals your
coat?

Student support for the present
one penalty decision by the
Committee is waning. In its place
should come a new graduated
system of penalties. There will
probably be more crimes, because
there will be less threat to a
student's future. At least more
crimes should be brought to trial.

As long as we live in a
dishonorable society we can not
hope to attract honorable students
to Virginia. They will not be found.
With the increase in the size of the
first year class, it has become
impossible to introduce and
invigorate them with the Spirit of
Honor.

Just as we are coming to realize
that there are women and minority
groups in society that are deserving
of an education in our hallowed
halls, we must also realize that
there are very few students who
deserve to live in a Spirit of Honor.

So, thieves of Virginia, I say the
hell with you all. You deserve to
have stolen from you whatever is
stolen. As for myself, I am going to
pull up my rocking chair, rock
away the days of Spring, keep the
sun out of my eyes with my
Planter's hat and sip my Mint
Juleps.