University of Virginia Library

Miss Scott

I was most amused at Friday's
Cavalier Daily article concerning
Virginia Scott...

According to Miss Scott, "An
honor System is superfluous because
honor is something an individual
should determine for himself.
A system should not be imposed on
him." Perhaps the general term
"honor" is rather vague. I suppose
that it could mean different things
to different people. However, the
underlying principle of this university's
honor system is not vague. In
a word it is integrity. Integrity is
the promise that a man's (or a
woman's) word is his bond — it is
unquestionable. A man of integrity
can be relied upon by his peers to
be honest and dependable. This is
one aspect of the University's
atmosphere that is unique from
many other universities. The spirit
of integrity makes this university a
much more enjoyable institution.
The development of integrity in an
individual is a very vital part of the
maturing process. Where else could
such a concept be more appropriately
found than in a great
educational institution.

Miss Scott also takes potshots at
the coat and tie tradition. She
makes the comment, "I don't see
that dress is especially relevant to
what's happening in your head."
She is quite right. In fact, I rarely
wear a coat and tie myself.
However, I am not quite sure of her
reasons for saying this. The argument
could be made that the
wearing of "more comfortable
clothes — bells and loose shirt" is
also not particularly relevant to
what's happening in your head. My
point is that grubbiness for the sake
of comfort should not be a
substitute for neatness. Appearance
is important because it reflects a
person's self-evaluation of himself.
Bad appearances create bad impressions
on outsiders and thus reflect
on the entire university community...

In our efforts to change the old
into something better, we should
not be so indiscriminate that we
destroy the fine qualities along with
the bad. Surely such rashness will
lead to the establishment of ills just
as unacceptable as those which we
reject.