University of Virginia Library

Candidate's Responsibility

Others would keep the
system on a national scale but
would eliminate certain specific
offenses, i.e., passing a phony I.D.
The important point is that there
appears to be a widespread dissatisfaction
with the present status of
the Honor System. The discontent
is not new. There has always been
some individuals who have found
fault with the system. But the
dissatisfaction has now reached a
point where it cannot be ignored. It
is of the utmost necessity that the
candidates for the Honor Committee
face up to these problems and
attempt to solve them, and not
discard them in the name of
tradition and honor.

We take pride in the fact that
our Honor System is completely
student run. Neither the faculty nor
the administration can impose their
own ethical concepts of honor
upon us. The Spirit of Honor by
which we live is governed by the
beliefs of the contemporary student
body. The effectiveness of such a
student run Honor System is
jeopardized, however, when the
rules that govern the students are
no longer congruous with their
ethical values. If most of the
student body believes that passing a
phony I.D. is not an honor offense,
then to say that it is an honor
offense is a travesty of the system.