By Mitchell Cook
In the early fall of 1876, principal Karl G. Maeser stood before the first 29 students of the newly-formed Brigham Young Academy and charged them to live by the principles of trust, honor and integrity.
The words that came from his mouth, which are the bedrock values of the Honor Code, have helped form generations of former and present BYU students into the people they are today.
The Honor Code, contrary to what many students believe, is not the dress code. It is an ethical code that helps students to govern their lives, based on the principles of trust, academic honor and integrity - the same core values of which Maeser spoke.
Although the values and principles of which Maeser spoke more than 100 years ago have remained the same, the content and administration of the Honor Code have been periodically revised.
In 1949, the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity chapter proposed that the BYU student government revise the student constitution to include a written honor code. This revised constitution was supported by then BYU President Howard S. McDonald, universally accepted by faculty and made binding by a student vote of 2,184 to 722, more than 80 percent.
Initially, the Honor Code was a lengthy document, complete with legal jargon, of how a student was supposed to live his or her life on- and off-campus.
Most recently, in 1990 BYU President Rex E. Lee formed a committee of students, alumni, faculty, staff and administrators to examine the Honor Code and its administration.
In the first committee meeting, President Lee reminded the group that at BYU 'we feel strongly that our Honor Code and Dress and Grooming Standards contribute significantly to the spiritual, moral and intellectual development of our campus.'
'There are some aspects of the code and standards that are value based and doctrinally founded, and they will not change,' Lee said. 'At the same time, as new issues emerge and dress modes and behaviors evolve, we see a need to update our standards so they can address these changes.'
The committee worked for months to formulate a code of honor that would address every aspect of life on- and off-campus. Soon thereafter, the current Honor Code was born.
Approved by the Board of Trustees in March of 1991, the new Honor Code was essentially the same in terms of desired goals as the old one, but noticeably brief (only 300 words), direct and easy to understand.
With Maeser''s principles in mind, the Honor Code Office, which is responsible for the oversight of BYU''s Honor Code, aspires to be a full partner in the educational aims of BYU and to be recognized as a vital contributor to the accomplishment of the educational imperatives of the university - and to make honor the hallmark of every BYU graduate.
As each student who comes to BYU signs the blue paper pledging their allegiance to the Honor Code, they commit to represent BYU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in maintaining the highest standards of honor, integrity, morality and consideration of others in personal behavior.
As Maeser said in his speech more than 100 years ago regarding his word of honor, 'Place me behind prison walls - walls of stone ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground - there is a possibility that in some way or another I may be able to escape, but stand me on that floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of that circle? No, never! I''d die first!'