By Karen Burmester
burmester@newsroom.byu.edu
Stand for something.
Sound familiar?
Well, you're about to hear that phrase a lot more. The Student Honor Association has adopted it for its theme for the 2000-2001 year, and perhaps for years to come.
The SHA presidency chose the theme because of President Gordon B. Hinckley's book and because of the versatility of the phrase, said Ruth Cuevas, 20, from Santa Monica, Calif., majoring in public relations, and an SHA vice president.
'It's not hard to grasp or understand, but it has so much meaning to it. It can be incorporated into a lot of things,' Cuevas said.
The SHA is a BYU department that was organized over three years ago. Its purpose is to promote honor and integrity on campus, said SHA coordinator Jeannie Papic.
The organization runs campaigns each year to remind students about the commitments they made when they signed the Honor Code.
They are responsible for the familiar posters around campus that say, 'Don't get caught short' and 'Don't let your commitment get fuzzy.'
Since the beginning of the SHA, Steve Baker, the Honor Code Office director, has seen a change in the attitudes of students.
'The Student Honor Association has had a good impact. Generally, there is a more positive feeling toward the Honor Code,' Baker said.
In fact, the majority of students do feel good about the Honor Code, according to a NewsNet survey that was performed last year.
The survey found that 70.2 percent of BYU students feel neutral or positive about the Honor Code while 29.5 percent have negative or mixed feelings about the Honor Code.
Cuevas said she hopes the theme 'Stand for something' continues the overall positive feelings and will remind students of the importance of their commitment.
'We want the theme to encourage students to remember that their commitment is something to stand for. It's who they are and what they're about,' Cuevas said.