Students propose integrity pledge
By: Connie Ding
Issue date: 10/2/09 Section: News
Furman is the type of place where you can leave your laptop out in the James B. Duke Library and expect it to still be there when you get back. Despite the pervasive sense of trust on campus, Furman has neither an outright honor code nor a clear philosophy of personal integrity. One group of students is seeking to change that.
A student group called the Integrity Committee has developed an integrity pledge for Furman University. The pledge will be voted on for adoption by the student body as part of the vote for Homecoming Court. Though the pledge is not an honor code, it emphasizes personal integrity in terms of humility, respect and responsibility.
The Integrity Committee itself is comprised of approximately 15 students and has been officially meeting at least once a month since spring 2009. It is entirely student-run and student-led, although Student Services Coordinator Carol Daniels has served as a mentor in the process.
"We're just trying to get this pledge to try to write down how Furman students are expected to behave as individuals and as a community," said sophomore James Wade, a member of the Integrity Committee. The committee is willing to revise the pledge if the student body expresses interest in doing so.
Members of the Integrity Committee are aiming for a ceremony at the beginning of each academic year in which all freshmen are given the opportunity to sign a physical copy of the integrity pledge, thereby establishing a new Furman tradition while simultaneously stressing the importance of integrity.
Provided that the student body approves of the integrity pledge, other goals of the Integrity Committee include finding the funding so that copies of the integrity pledge can be posted in all academic rooms and organizing Cultural Life Program events related to cheating, plagiarism and integrity.
"This isn't an honor code by any stretch, but if students want to take it there, it can be taken there," said senior Sally Morris.
A student group called the Integrity Committee has developed an integrity pledge for Furman University. The pledge will be voted on for adoption by the student body as part of the vote for Homecoming Court. Though the pledge is not an honor code, it emphasizes personal integrity in terms of humility, respect and responsibility.
The Integrity Committee itself is comprised of approximately 15 students and has been officially meeting at least once a month since spring 2009. It is entirely student-run and student-led, although Student Services Coordinator Carol Daniels has served as a mentor in the process.
"We're just trying to get this pledge to try to write down how Furman students are expected to behave as individuals and as a community," said sophomore James Wade, a member of the Integrity Committee. The committee is willing to revise the pledge if the student body expresses interest in doing so.
Members of the Integrity Committee are aiming for a ceremony at the beginning of each academic year in which all freshmen are given the opportunity to sign a physical copy of the integrity pledge, thereby establishing a new Furman tradition while simultaneously stressing the importance of integrity.
Provided that the student body approves of the integrity pledge, other goals of the Integrity Committee include finding the funding so that copies of the integrity pledge can be posted in all academic rooms and organizing Cultural Life Program events related to cheating, plagiarism and integrity.
"This isn't an honor code by any stretch, but if students want to take it there, it can be taken there," said senior Sally Morris.