University of Virginia Library

Direct Accusation

Turning in a fellow student is
not playing the role of an informer,
for the accusation is direct and thus
requires the highest courage. The
Honor System demands honest
relationships among all members of
the academic community, and any
creeping doubt that students are
worthy of absolute trust will bring
the entire system crashing to the
ground. There is no place at
Virginia for students—completely
tolerated by their fellows at most
universities of the United
States—who boast openly of their
success in cheating against a
professor.

In matters of Honor Code
enforcement students can in no
measure rely on the faculty. A
faculty member might question a
student suspected of dishonesty in
the writing of a paper or
examination. He might bring the
evidence of wrongdoing in his
possession to the attention of
one—preferably two—students. Or
he might bring the matter to the
attention of the Honor Committee
itself. But any formal accusation
must come from the students
themselves.

That the Honor System
continues to function suggests that
the student body overwhelmingly
accepts, observes, and attempts to
enforce the standards of honor
against the few who from time to
time violate the fundamental
precepts of the Honor System.
There are probably fewer violations
of honor at the University of
Virginia than any other school in
the country.

There is only one penalty under
the University's Honor
System dismissal from the
University. There are no lesser
penalties available for mitigating
circumstances. The Honor Code on
cheating, lying, and stealing is
absolute; it permits no compromise.
Nor does it provide for a second
chance. What safeguards the
student against injustice is the
Honor Committee's demand for
evidence that demonstrates beyond
a doubt the breach of the Honor
Code and the requirement that 4/5s
of all committee members present
vote for conviction and dismissal
from the University. Beyond that
what justifies the single sanction is
the system's narrow scope.

At the University of Virginia the
environment is one of freedom and
trust; it exists that way because,
through almost 130 years,
successive generations of students
have captured the University's spirit
and have assumed the obligation to
live honorably even when they
could do otherwise. They must
know that success built on deceit is
ephemeral. Integrity still governs
all satisfactory and lasting human
relationships. The most destructive
part of dishonesty is what it does to
oneself, especially when the
dishonesty was made easy by the
trust of others. It matter little that
University of Virginia students are
not and never have been paragons
of virtue. What matters is
fundamental honesty. It is this that
creates a congenial, free, and
productive community which
encourages a maximum of personal
fulfillment.