The Charlottesville Daily Progress adds water to the whiskey:
In a recent vote, 59 percent of students agreed that a “multi-sanction” system was needed. However, the proposal required 60 percent of the vote. The next time this issue comes to a vote, there may be little difficulty achieving that level of support.
Although a student referendum was conducted, there are mechanisms by which changes can be made without student voting approval. Considering the closeness of the vote, the Honor Committee might even pursue changes on its own.
One of the reasons why I chose to attend the University of Virginia over say, the University of Richmond, was specifically because of the UVA Honor Code — a student run standard that admits no lying, cheating, or stealing. It’s an aphorism that my grandfather hammered into my head as a young man: a gentleman does not lie, cheat, or steal; nor does he associate with those who do.
Thankfully, efforts to water down UVA’s honor system failed in a student referendum. Yet the editors of the Daily Progress seem to indicate that, because times have changed, standards and values must as well:
This bent toward pragmatism is, in itself, a modern development. Older generations would have, yes, “honored” the ethical construct of one high and beautiful value at the pinnacle of noble conduct. They would have agreed that a single, decisive and stern penalty would be the proper punishment for violating such a lofty standard.
Today’s students — indeed, today’s society — want a more practical route.
I could not disagree more.
Perhaps the counterpoint is this: in a world where pragmatism and relativism reigns and where “older” generations revered the concepts of honor, in an era where equality seems to have trumped freedom and liberty, and where the excellent and true are eagerly pulled down by the vicious and false, perhaps lofty standards are precisely what the educated men and women of Virginia ought to be pursuing?
UVA’s honor system has served as a paragon and standard for many other institutions the world over. Perhaps more than any other institution, it is what sets UVA apart and defines the community. When legends are grown from those who present the credential of “I attend the University of Virginia” in lieu of present payment, that matters in an era where trust, loyalty, and honor are bygones. Virginians can be trusted to keep their word. Perhaps more than the degree itself is the reputation of honor. Sophocles was right, after all.
Society today doesn’t need more practicality. What we deserve, quite honestly, is more excellence — higher standards rather than vulgar commonality.
