Mary Washington College - Battlefield Yearbook (Fredericksburg, VA)

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cations of an ideal of conduct and character that are indchbh associated with the University of Virginia. To describe the Honor System as a priceless heritage is to speak tritel - but truh ' . What makes a unix ' ersitv great? Sureh- it is not merely the number of students enrolled. Nor do beauty and amplitude of buildings and grounds, JefFcrsonian though they may be, determine greatness. A con- gregation of noble minds is perhaps the surest test, and yet a faculty roster of distinction and prestige is not the final measure of the worth of an institution. Does not the greatness of a uni- ersity lie in the nnpress it makes upon the minds and character of tliose who come under its influence? Weighed in the balance with other alues m life, personal integrit ' and honor are properly assayed as the most precious elements in the education of a man. The contribution that the Honor S stem makes to the realization of this ideal is indeed priceless — not the system alone, but the high regard in which it is held and the jealousy with which it is guarded by the students of the Universitv. The Honor System uas inaugurated oyer a cen- tury ago. While sentiment for some plan of this kind had no doubt been in process of crystaliza- tion, it is generally agreed that St. George Tucker was directly responsible for its adoption. A dis- tinguished lawyer and jurist, Judge Tucker came to the University in 1841 as Professor of Law. He had previously declined the offer of a similar posi- tion in 1825. However, a desire to spend more time with his famih than he as able to arrange as a member of the Circuit Court of Appeals, together with the fact that his sons were now of an age for collegiate training, prompted Judge Tucker to accept a second tender of the professorship. Professor Tucker is described by Philip Alexander Bruce as a man of commanding talents, ripe experience, and charming person- alit ' . He ' as not simply a distinguished prac- titioner at the bar, writes Dr. Bruce in his Histoiv oi the Univeisitv oi Viiginia; he had alread ' won an extended reputation as a teacher in the pri ate law school which he had established at W inchester; had Titten a eommentar - of the laws of Virginia, ' hich was held in just esteem by the profession; and had presided with great learning and easy dignity over the Court of Appeals. The polish of his manners as remark- able e en in that superior social age. Moreover, like most of the prominent Virginians of those times, he was deeply versed in polite letters . . . An indication of Tucker ' s reputation is that he was appointed chairman of the Faeult ' b ' the Board of Visitors at the same meeting at which he as elected professor of law. He ' as subse- quenth ' reappointed in July 1842 and in July 1843, and, but for failing health, might ha ' e been continued in the position indefiniteh ' . Bruce states that he performed the duties of his chair- manship with that unfailing fidelity, thorough- ness, and geniality which characterized ever ' phase of his fruitful and varied career. The chair- man of the Faculty incidentally, was for nearly a century the highest administrative post at the Uni ersit ' . It was not until 1904 that Dr. Edwin A. Alderman became the first president of the Uni ' ersity of Virginia. Tucker ' s chairmanship marked the beginning of a period of expansion and reformation. The student body increased in number, the faculty was enlarged, new courses were introduced, and additional classrooms were provided. The regu- lations requiring students to rise at dawn and to wear a prescribed uniform, a constant source of friction and discontent, were re ' oked. A new- spirit of self-government, the ideal which JefFer- 24

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jne 0(}n(}fi 3i $iem The human character is susceptible of other incitements to correct conduct more worthy oi employ than fear, and of hettei effect. — Jefferson f The Honor System at the University of Vir- ginia is more nearly a spirit than a code. Reduced to its simplest terms, it requires that a man or woman shall act honorably in all the relations and phases of student life. Lying, cheating, stealing, or breaking one ' s word of honor are rightfully con- sidered infringements of the Honor System and result in dishonorable dismissal from the University. It has been said that the University of Virginia writes her highest degree on the souls of her sons. Especially is this true of the Honor System. It is difficult to imagine a student ' s attending for e en a single session without assimilating at least a modicum of that high sense of personal integrity that characterizes the student body of Jefferson ' s University. To the alumnus who revisits scenes of his college days the Rotunda is more than a creation of architectural beautv. To him, its symmetry, its purity, and its nobility are personifi- 23

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son was so anxious to realize, began to emerge. The establishment of the Honor S} ' stem repre- sents the most significant aspect of this gradual maturation of an institution. It was in 1 842 that Professor Tucker presented the following resolution which was immediately- adopted h the faculty: In all future written examinations for distinctions and other honors in the Uni ersity of Virginia, each candidate shall attach to the written answers presented by him in such examinations a certificate in the following u ' ords, ' I, A.B., do hereby certify on honor that I ha ' e derived no assistance during the time of this examination from any source whatexer, whether oral, written, or in print, in giving the above answers. ' This pledge was later extended to include gix ' ing as ' ell as recei ' ing aid. The present form of the pledge appended to all quizzes and examinations at the Uni ' ersity reads, I hereb ' eertif ' on honor that I have neither given nor recei ' ed assistance upon this examination. During the years prior to the adoption of the Honor System the most elaborate precautions were taken to prevent cheating. A committee of professors supervised the administration of each examination. Students were forbidden to speak or to leave their seats until the examination had been completed. This rigid and relentless super- vision seems to have provoked a competitive spirit among the students to circumvent its restrictions. The suspicious attitude of the faculty toward the integrit - of all no doubt weakened the sense of moral obligation to act fairly. The adoption of the Honor System with its implicit faith in the word of the student marked a new era in relations between the faculty and student body. It ' as several years before the numerous restric- tive regulations governing the administration of examinations were revoked. However, it became increasingly evident that the student felt a strong sense of personal obligation not only to abide by his own pledge but to see that other students were faithful to theirs. As time went on, the enforcement of the Honor System passed more and more from the control of the Facultv to that of the student body. In fact, it became a matter of jealous concern among the students that they be given the proper peroga- tives in matters affecting their honor. It was not until after the War Between the States that the Honor S ' stem reached its full fruition and became the exclusixe instrument of the students. It was the -, rather than the faculty, who forbade violators of the pledge to return to the University. The right of appeal to the Faculty was abolished. The function of the presiding professor at an examination became that of an adviser and con- sultant rather than a suspicious overseer. Any- thing remotely resembling espionage by the Faculty during examinations came to be regarded as unwanted and unjustified. The Honor System today is a student code, interpreted and administered exclusi ely by the student bod -. In the words of the catalogue, It imposes no burden on the faculty. Experience 25