'Cherishing liberty' - Davidson College Essay- Honor Code

Davidson Honor Code
Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from cheating (including plagiarism). Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from stealing. Every student shall be honor bound to refrain from lying about college business. Every student shall be honor bound to report immediately all violations of the Honor Code of which the student has first-hand knowledge; failure to do so shall be a violation of the Honor Code. Every student found guilty of a violation shall ordinarily be dismissed from the College. Every member of the college community is expected to be familiar with the operation of the Honor Code.

Davidson Honor Code Essay: The Freedom of Honor

Any fruitful society has laws that all members follow. They live by that law not merely because it has been given to them by their superiors, but because with that law the society will be able to work at optimum efficiency. It is a lot easier to work all day if you know your house will not be robbed. A parent is more willing to send their child off to college if they know that there is a law that the community is bound by. A Davidson student will have a free mind when perusing the shelves of the library when they know their belongings are safe wherever they leave them.

On November 5th I spent a day at Davidson doing an overnight visit. While I was at the Union Cafï filling out my meal ticket I found an iPhone sitting on the counter. I took it to the cashier and she told me that the phone had been there for about an hour. This was shocking to me. An iPhone left for an hour in a busy cafï would easily have been stolen anywhere else. But at Davidson the very same phone sits for an hour untouched waiting for its owner to return. That is the power of an honor code.

The Davidson Honor Code liberates teachers and students from concern because it creates a secure family environment. No one would fear leaving their a wallet around their grandmother. At Davidson no student fears leaving their phone on a lunch counter. No teacher fears leaving an answer sheet on their desk. No student has to take his exams on a regimented schedule, because histeacher doesn't have to monitor them. The Davidson honor code takes the responsibility every student has and places it on a higher tier. If you violate the code you not only offend your fellow student, but the entire community that embraced you as part of it.

To me the Davidson Honor Code is more of a symbol than a guideline. It is a written representation of every Davidson alumni, student, and prospective student. That is a force to large for any student to haphazardly disobey. That is the power of the Honor Code. That is the liberation provided by the Honor Code. With the liberty provided by those six sentences every Davidson student will be free to cherish their education and every other part of their Davidson experience.

A parent is more willing to send their child off to college if they know that there is a law by which the community is bound by . ----> you make some god points here. This reasoning is also why trade relations with some developing nations are so complex. Businesspeople do not want to business with countries where standards and regulations are not enforced.


I don't know if it is the code that accomplishes this... or if it is something more that is required. What is it that causes the honor code to be upheld? Whatever it is, it should have a place in your essay.

:-)

I think I will enroll at this school! You convinced me that is it a unique place with wise leadership. Like I said, though, I think you should try to figure out what makes the leadership so successful and express that in the essay... not just to improve the essay, but also to improve your own wosdom by learning from the way they establish and maintain such an environment.

Wow thanks for the feedback. I'm gonna work on that right now.I'm not really that attached to the power of the honor code thing so I can fix that easily

How is this?
But at Davidson the very same phone sits for an hour untouched waiting for its owner to return. This is because every Davidson student has promised not only the school but themselves that they will hold themselves and their classmates to a higher standard.

...that they will hold themselves and their classmates to a uphold higher standard.----> it makes writing strong when you can say it in fewer words.