University of Virginia Library

Bad Check Committee
Insures Check Payment

The Bad Check Committee, an agency of the Honor Committee, was
established to deal with the problems created from the passing of bad
checks by students. It is our purpose to insure prompt payment of any
bad checks reported to the University. We must often punish or
recommend for punishment those offenders whom we feel are
intentionally or negligently passing bad checks.

The University provides many privileges for each of us. One of these
is the ability of the student to cash checks in and around Charlottesville
with relative case. With this privilege you must accept an obligation. In
the instance of check cashing, your obligation is to safeguard against
cashing a bad check. When you sign a check, you are in fact promising
on your word of honor that there are sufficient funds on deposit to
meet the promissory note. Your integrity and that of the University
stands behind each check.

One finds it particularly distressing that the incidence of bad checks
has increased steadily each year. The first-yearmen pass the greatest
percentage of those checks reported. The committee realizes that many
of the errors are honest ones. Thus, from the time of a bank's notice,
the student has five days to contact the committee's secretary in
Garrett Hall and correct the error. If no action is initiated by the
student within this period, the Bad Check Committee will send a notice
to the student. He must then present his case before the committee as
well as straighten out the bad check.

Those few who do not fulfill their obligation are undermining the
merchants' confidence. Any time a bad check is passed, it reflects a
discredit on the University, the Honor System, and ultimately on each
and every one of us. Any college student should be able to keep his
bank balance in order. It is his responsibility to do so. Gentlemen, I
urge you to make a conscious effort to ensure that we do not lose this
privilege.