"Nothing is more important for the public wealth," wrote Benjamin Franklin, "than to train youth in wisdom and virtue." But as we read today's headlines, we wonder if that is happening on today's college campuses. We read about BYU basketball players suspended for possession of marijuana, about a football player picked up for shoplifting, and we wonder if athletes are more likely to be involved in honor code violations. We read about cheating, about a coed dismissed from the Air Force Academy for lying, about the buying and selling of term papers, and we wonder how widespread such incidents are. We wonder about honor codes and how - or if - they work. We wonder how many universities even have honor codes and what those codes mean to universities.
At Brigham Young University, "Our honor code is one of the things that distinguishes BYU from other schools," says Alton Wade, student life vice president. "They all have academics, but we have a mission statement and aims that go beyond that." The formally stated "Aims of a BYU Education" says that the BYU experience should be "spiritually strengthening, intellectually enlarging, character building and provide for lifelong learning and service."Honor codes do create a different atmosphere at schools, says Johan Madison, assistant provost and dean of students at Vanderbilt University. "We are telling our students they have to meet the highest standard of this community. That creates a different culture. It teaches trust and responsibility, and teaching both of those things is part of the reason we teach students. Integrity may be the most important thing we teach."
Next fall, he says, Valderbilt students will sign a pledge as part of freshman orientation. "We hope to convey to students how important it is. We hope to make more impact. It is one of our fundamental values."
BYU's honor code comes under the aim of character building, says Wade, and includes both basic principles and specific policies, including a provision on dress and grooming. "That's very unusual" in most codes, he says. "But to us, what happens outside the classroom is as important as what happens in class. We think teaching character is as important as any other academic discipline." Fundamental principles of BYU's Honor Code include honor, obedience, chas-ti-ty, integrity, obeying the law, honesty, modesty, cleanliness, respect and courtesy.
Honor Code violations do occur. Last year, from a student body of about 28,000 at BYU, 380 cases were referred to the Honor Code Office. Of those, there were 78 suspensions and five dismissals.
But, says Wade, the school doesn't look on the honor code as a judicial process as much as a part of the education experience. "If we don't hold the students responsible; if they don't learn that when they commit to something, they are held accountable; if they don't see that when they violate a commitment there are consequences, we are not carrying out our educational responsibility."
Parents send their children - and students come - to BYU, he says, "expecting a university community solidly consistent with the counsel and direction given by our church leaders. We have a responsibility to define, clarify, maintain and preserve that environment." Their job, he says, is not to reform students but to refine them.
BYU policies would not work at every school, Wade acknowledges. "We're not trying to say that we are better than anyone else. We respect the policies and procedures other schools have and hope others will respect ours. We are only trying to be who and what we are."
An honor code has been part of the Air Force Academy from the very first. "The cadets wanted it," says Maj. Scott Obermeyer, deputy chief for honor and honor education. However, after an incident in 1984, the school went a step further from just a code to an honor oath: "We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, so help me God."
The oath, says Obermeyer, recognizes that honor has a broader meaning than simply not lying, stealing or cheating. True honor requires active support of positive principles rather than simple abstinence from wrongdoing.
"We look on the honor oath as a minimum standard. We expect cadets to live in the spirit of the code not just the letter. We expect them to live above it."
Cadets run the system, he says. When allegations occur, they are handed to a panel for review and investigation. A Wing Honor Board is set up to hear the case, and it makes recommendations to the commandant, who them makes final decisions.
At the academy, the "presumptive sanction" is disenrollment. Last year 3.4 percent of the 4,000 cadets were involved in honor violations. And of those, about one in four of those sanctioned were dis-en-rolled. A majority of the cases involved cheating or lying.
"This year our numbers are down a bit, about a third less," says Ober-me-yer. He thinks it might have something to do with the fact that a big education campaign was launched in 1996. "We have a 42-lesson honor curriculum that runs through the four years." And, he says, the cadets teach all those lessons. "It's their code; they are the guardians of the honor system."
Very little research has been done on whether specific subgroups of students tend to violate honor codes more frequently than others. One study involving fraternity and sorority members did find that cheating levels were slightly higher: 75 percent of the Greeks surveyed admitted to one or more incidents of cheating, compared to 61 percent for independents; and 42 percent of the Greeks said they were likely to help a friend who asked for help on a test or examination compared to 36 percent of the independents.
So, what about athletes? It seems to vary from campus to campus. Few athletes have been involved in honor code violations at Vanderbilt, Madison says. "My impression is that it is hard to detect any patterns, other than maybe undergraduates or freshmen." And at Virginia Commonwealth University, says Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs William H. Duvall, "the only common bond seems to be students under stress." But both the Air Force Academy and BYU report a higher incidence of honor code violations among athletes.
"The data is not conclusive, and there has been minimal research," says Donald L. McCabe, professor of management and associate provost at the Newark campus at Rutgers University. "But there seems to be a widely held belief that there is a higher level of cheating among athletes. My own feeling is that those numbers are probably higher."
A couple of factors are probably involved, he says. "As with the fraternities and sororities, the type of student attracted to that kind of activity is often very busy, very involved in the school. And he or she may tend to think, `Look at all the ways I'm helping the school. If I don't have time to study, it's OK if I cut corners.' "
Another factor is the opportunity these students may have to cheat. There is more of a community atmosphere, more of a help-your-buddy feeling, more of a possibility that there might be files on tests or old papers around, more opportunity to go out together and get into trouble.
And one more possibility, says McCabe, is that as a group, athletes don't measure up to the academic standards of other groups. "The NCAA may have statistics that prove me wrong, but I have a feeling that overall, athletes have a lower GPA, and students with lower GPAs have been shown to cheat more often."
But, he says, all of this is rather speculative. And any real trends are hard to pin down. That's a feeling shared by Obermeyer. A couple of years ago, he says, the Air Force had a lot of problems with athletes, - about 40 percent of the allegations involved athletes. But they never did pinpoint why, not even when they sat down and talked to them.
"Is it because of the time constraint? Our athletes have to carry the same load as everyone else; they can't spread it out and graduate in five years. Were they tired from extra activities and practices? We never did get a consensus."
But they did sit down and talk to all the teams, and violations have been significantly lower, he says. "We don't know why that is, either. Whether it was our talking to them or something else."
When athletes are involved in honor code violations, are they treated any differently? No, say school representatives.
"The perception is that they are, but they are not treated any differently," says BYU's Wade. Athletes are victims of their high profile position, he says. If an English student and an athlete commit the same violation, no one hears about the English student. But the athlete makes the headlines.
Both students go through exactly the same process, the same procedures. The only difference may be that the athlete could have more to lose, and in that way maybe is held to a higher standard. But, says Wade, "the coaches don't bring any pressure to bear. All students are treated the same."
We read in the paper about BYU football player Ronney Jenkins serving out his suspension for honor code violations and returning to the team, despite the fact he was recruited by other schools - codeless schools where it might matter less what he does off the field. "If I would have been at another school, there would have been no room for change. I want to change, and that's why I'm here. Being here almost forces you to change for the good," he told reporters.
We read about BYU basketball coach Steve Cleveland saying that suspending his players was a hard thing to do, but that he was more concerned about their lives than about basketball. "Life is much more important than bas-ket-ball, and this is a lesson in life I'm determined to get them through."
We read Air Force cadet Andrea Houk's comments on her suspension from the academy for lying: "Integrity should be the pillar on which everything else in the military rests," she told Newsweek. "I am hard-pressed to believe that any American would want a liar, thief or cheat to defend his or her home and family and way of life from those who would try to destroy them. Integrity is fundamental. It should always come first and never under any circumstances be compromised."
And we wonder if, in the end, news of an honor code violation should not be considered a failure as much as an encouraging sign of the state of integrity on today's college campuses.
We wonder if maybe the message is more positive than we thought. After all, if no one cares that someone violates a code or doesn't honor a commitment; there is no punishment, but there is also less chance for character development. And maybe character is the final test we want our college students to pass.