Honor 4-6

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The Spirit of the Honor Code

Purpose and Learning Objectives

Purpose: To inspire the Fourth Class to live by the Spirit of the Honor Code

Learning Objectives: At the completion of this instruction Fourth Class Cadets will be able to:

Identify personal challenges to their ability to live by the Honor Code

Set personal goals for honorable living:– Truthfulness– Respect for other personal property– Adherence to non-toleration

“A cadet does not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do.”

The Honor Code should change the way we live our lives, during and after our time at The Citadel. It is designed to train cadets to live honorably both on and off campus.

The Honor Code

Vision - Achieving Excellence in the Education of Principled Leaders

Mission - To Prepare Citadel Graduates to Become Principled Leaders in all Walks of life by instilling Core Values in a disciplined Academic Environment

Citadel ValuesAcademics – We produce graduates who have insight into the issues, ideas, and values that are important to society and possess the skills necessary to deal with them successfully

Morality – We believe that an individual’s character is of utmost importance and, therefore, we provide training which emphasizes ethical principles and core values

Duty – We emphasize the importance of individual accountability and the moral obligation of responsibility for the welfare of others

Discipline – We operate a leadership laboratory which emphasizes a structured environment, acceptance of responsibility, self-confidence, and service to others

Honor – We adhere to a code which teaches that uncompromising personal integrity is the primary guide in all situations

Diversity – We promote diversity in all segments of our campus community and in all aspects of college

Challenges of Living by the Honor Code

• Before coming to The Citadel, how were you challenged to do or say the right thing even if you knew you could get in trouble?

• What unique challenges does living under the honor code produce?

• How do you balance personal loyalty to a friend/ teammate/classmate over the need to be truthful and honorable?

The Spirit of the Code

• What do you think the phrase Spirit of the Code means?

• How does living by the Spirit of the Code differ from simply living by the Honor Code?

• Have you ever seen a disconnect between cadets living by the Honor Code but not by the Spirit of the Code?

Spirit of the Honor Code

• Though the Honor Code serves as the minimal standard it also:

– Embraces truthfulness in its aspects of cadet life – prohibits lying

– Calls for complete fairness in human relations and personal endeavors – prohibits cheating

– Requires respect for the person and property of others – - prohibits stealing

– Demands a personal commitment to uphold the ethical standards of The Citadel – prohibits toleration of unethical acts

Live by the Spirit of the Code and Live by the Spirit of the Code and live “above the common level of life”live “above the common level of life”

Reflection

How have your impressions or opinion of the Honor Code changed since you have been here?

How do you think that living under the Honor Code will affect your life after The Citadel? Explain

What goals can you set to help you live by the Spirit of the Code and not just the language?

Each cadet must internalize the Honor Code in his or her own life. Use the following questions to help you internalize this ethical standard:

Case Studies

• Question #1:

• Cadet Smith is the commander of J Company. After an SMI, one of his platoon leaders tells him he discovered a photograph of Cadet X (male, junior, sergeant) and Cadet Y (female, knob, private) at a bar. Cadet X has his arm around Cadet Y. Cadet Smith has both cadets report to him and the First Sergeant, and tells them he has grounds to believe they are fraternizing, and he refers to the photograph. Both cadets remain silent, so Cadet Smith pulls them for fraternization. Cadets X and Y claim on their ERWs that this is an improper question because Cadet Smith and the First Sergeant have no first-hand knowledge of the alleged fraternization.

• Does the pull for fraternization amount to an improper question?

Case Studies

• Question #2

• Cadet X returns from general leave on a Friday night around 2300. He goes directly to the weekend duty junior’s room and informs him that he will not be in his room for all-in check. When the weekend duty junior asks Cadet X where he will be, he says that he will be in another company watching a DVD. Cadet X does go to another company and begins to watch a DVD; however, he does not stay for more than 20 minutes and leaves the battalion before the gates are closed. The weekend duty member, believing that Cadet X is still in the battalion, does not pull Cadet X AWOL.

• Has Cadet X committed an honor violation?

Case Studies

• Question #3

• Cadet Y submitted a special leave request. As justification, she indicated she had to attend a wedding that weekend. Cadet Y asked to leave Friday at 1200 (missing parade) to attend the wedding. There was no further elaboration. The wedding was in Sumter, SC. The leave was granted. Cadet X saw Y at a party at Folly Beach that evening with her boyfriend. Cadet X, commander of Cadet Y’s company had signed off on the leave, so he asked Cadet Y why she was not at the wedding. Y said the wedding did not start until 0800 the following morning. Cadet X turned in Y for an honor violation, feeling she had gotten out of parade and lunch formation under false pretenses.

• Is this an honor violation?

• Tolerating a dishonorable act is a clear demonstration of cowardice. It proves that you are unwilling to stand for what you believe is right at the cost of approval or friendships.

• The Honor Code belongs to the entire Corps and is not imposed on the Corps by the administration or a group of seniors. Remember that you have an obligation to report any violations that you have first-hand knowledge about.

Toleration

Congratulations

• As a second semester knob you have been granted the privilege of taking overnights and weekends.

• Remember that when you sign out for a weekend or overnight that you are ensuring that you are academically, athletically, and conduct proficient.

Overnight/Weekend Sheets and Online Sign out

•“My signature below certifies that I have the required leave available and I must be Academic, Conduct, Physically Proficient as of the date and time I sign out on leave.”

•Ensure that you are proficient before you sign out on leave. Ignorance is no excuse for committing an Honor Violation

Current Committee Initiatives

• Combating abuse of the Honor Code

• Continuing education of the Corps

• Education of faculty and staff of the college

• Addressing weaknesses in the current training plan such as attendance issues from different groups of cadets

• Training of the 2011 Honor Committee

Education of College Faculty

• The Honor Committee officers have engaged in an effort to educate the faculty of the school about the Honor System

• So far, we have met with the Psychology, History, and English departments to discuss issues of plagiarism and encourage cooperation with the committee.

• We have plans to meet with the rest of the academic departments as their schedules permit.

Abuse of the Code

• Reports have been received regarding college officials abusing the Honor Code– We have met with the commandant to ensure

that he understands that this is a potential problem with some school officials

– He will support our efforts to ensure that the Honor Code is used properly and is not an investigative or disciplinary device to be abused by cadets or faculty

– Please report any abuse of the Code to your company honor representative

Brief Reminder…

• Plagiarism has accounted for a large number of honor accusations and violations in the past few months.

• Please remember to give credit to the source of your information when you are writing a paper.

2009-2010 School Year Statistics thus far

• Accusations: 51• Resignations prior to trial: 2• Trials: 23• Dropped Accusations/resigned: 26/2• In Violation: 22

– Leniency Granted: 1

• Found not in-violation: 1

Leniency• This year has presented the 2010 Honor Committee

with two cases that merited leniency verdicts.• The cadet that received leniency in the spring of 2009

successfully completed his program and will be reinstated as a cadet in good standing with the college.

• Another cadet (member of the class of 2011) received a leniency recommendation at the end of last semester.

• Be on the lookout for messages from him in the Mess Hall and The Brigadier regarding his leniency this week.

Honor Rep Training

• Training of the 2011 Honor Committee hopefuls will be begin in a couple of weeks.

• The training program will involve 11 lessons about the Honor System and will occur during drill periods and lunches.

• This is a great opportunity for these cadets to learn the Honor System more intimately.

• Completion of the program is mandatory in order to run to become an honor representative.

Training Continued

• Name some qualities that you think would be important in an honor representative.

• After having listed some qualities that you think would be important for an honor representative to possess. Think to yourself: “What juniors in my company might be a good addition to the committee?”

Questions