University of Virginia Library

Coke Case

This letter is in reference to the
"coke case" and the honor system.
I feel that the objective of the
honor system is to promote a
community characterized by the
mutual trust and integrity of all its
members in all their dealings. This
is presently accomplished by
requiring permanent dismissal of
anyone who breaches this
all-pervasive trust. This severe
penalty must necessarily be invoked
only in instances of extremely
reprehensible conduct. However,
even though this sanction is applied
to only severe violations, the
presumption is that students will
conduct themselves honorably in all
their actions within the
community.

The motive for honorable
conduct should not arise out of a
fear of the single sanction, but
rather out of a realization of the
benefits of honorable conduct to
the individual and to the
community. Thus, there will be an
overflow of honorable conduct into
those areas where the penalty of
the system is not involved. This
could be considered the spirit of
the system.

I feel that the spirit of the honor
system was broken in the "coke
case". Certainly many other acts
similar to this have been overlooked
and tolerated. This type of behavior
is clearly dishonest, but not
reprehensible enough to warrant
permanent dismissal.

Indeed, the effectiveness of the
honor system is not reflected in the
number of permanent dismissals
but rather in the amount of
honorable spirit among the
community members. The honor
system's effectiveness is lessened
when events like the "coke case"
occur. Students must perpetuate
the spirit by contributing to it in
their daily actions. This is essential
to save a tradition that makes our
University unique.