BRENT HAL
Honor Code Council.
The mere name conjures images of an underground patrol lurking behind bushes on campus and under tables in the Cougareat search for that poor unfortunate student wearing shorts a fourth of an inch too short.
Once caught, the guilty party is whisked away to a campus courtroom where 12 self-appointed Honor Code justices with black robes and Grim Reaper hoods act as judge, jury and executioner to their newfound victim.
This portrayal is obviously inaccurate, but many feel that in some way or another the HCC is an organization designed to make the lives of unsuspecting students miserable. So when it comes to the Honor Code Council, what is fact and what is fiction?
“Our focus is promoting an understanding of the Honor Code,” said Shannon Monroe, a senior from Martinez, California, majoring in psychology and French. Monroe serves as the council’s peer support committee chair.
“The purpose of peer support is simply to help students who may have questions about the Honor Code,” she said. “We work with all kinds of students, not just the ones who are in trouble.”
“I don’t think the Honor Code Council has gotten their message across to the general population of the student body,” said John Larsen, a senior from Vancouver, Washington majoring in accounting. Larsen said he has heard very little about the Honor Code Council since coming to BYU three years ago, and that he thinks the HCC suffers from a lack of notoriety.
“I support the Honor Code and think it’s great there’s an organization out there willing to promote it,” he said. “But because I haven’t heard much about the HCC, it’s easy to believe the misconceptions I’ve heard.”
The misconceptions are few, but seem to run homogenous around campus.
“Some people think the HCC is a power-driven group that get together to gossip about the struggles and mistakes of other students,” said Richelle Anderson, former adviser to the Honor Code Council. “In reality, the students who join the Honor Code Council just want to serve their peers in an effort to maintain the uniqueness of the university.”
Other students refer to a referral card which appeared a year ago in the Daily Universe as proof that the HCC wants to get students in trouble. The referral card was never meant for students, but was actually an educational experience meant for administrators.
“That was all part of promoting an awareness of the Honor Code on campus,” Anderson said. “HCC members have never been allowed to refer students to the council.”
In fact, the HCC isn’t involved in any kind of disciplinary action of other students. All discipline of Honor Code violations are handled by university administration. Desmond Eppel, the chair of the HCC, said the council is all about education.
“We want students to love and appreciate the Honor Code for what it does for students and the university,” he said. “If we policed students or caused them to rebel, neither side would be benefited.”
The HCC is also taking measures to get their message out. Eppel said that “Honor Week”, celebrated each semester, is designed to promote the principles behind the Honor Code. The “Circle of Honor” posters displayed around campus are also designed to promote this message. The council is also planning a faculty lecture series and will soon be performing firesides for interested BYU wards.
The HCC is planning an interactive web site at which students may obtain information about the Honor Code and participate in discussion groups.
“The better students understand the Honor Code the more it will be loved and obeyed.” Eppel said. “We hope the education efforts will help accomplish this goal.”
