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Honor week asks students for integrity

Cheat sheets, hands with for- mulas written on them and base- ball hats with answers on the brim have no place at UNC. Especially this week.

Members of the UNC honor system, as part of Honor and Integrity Week, began holding events on campus Monday that will continue through Friday to help keep honest and ethical student behavior at the forefront of students’ minds.

“We really try to do it before all the studying for exams and final papers begin,” said Jessica Caldwell, honor system outreach coordinator.

The system hears cases when students violate the Honor Code and determines guilt and possible punishments, including suspension and expulsion. About 150 students go before the Honor Court each year.

All students sign a pledge when applying to UNC that states that they will uphold the Code.

While the student attorney general’s staff and Honor Court members deal with day-to-day administrative functions, the outreach branch works to keep students mindful of the honor pledge.

Beginning Monday, students involved with the system have been in the Pit to answer questions, talk about the system and distribute cookies, pens and other handouts.

“We do this in hopes that maybe someone will use that pen when they take an exam and keep the honor system in mind,” Caldwell said.

Flyers at the table in the Pit include information about Honor Court sanctions involving academic misconduct - such as cheating — and behavior-related misconduct — such as drug possession.

“We want people to know that if you do get a DWI, you are going to come to the Honor Court,” Caldwell said. “It’s not just all academic- related.”

An honor pledge book also will be in the Pit this week. Created in 2002, it is composed of signatures of students who want to re-emphasize their commitment to the Code. Several students in the Pit said they support honor week.

“I think it’s important to celebrate honor week,” said Nancy Thomas, a junior history major. “It not only raises awareness about the system but it also allows us to celebrate something that is unique to UNC.”

The Honor Code has been a fundamental part of student life at UNC for more than 130 years. One of the values students emphasize is the ability of fellow students on the court to empathize with a student coming before the court.

According to the system’s Web site, UNC is one of only a few universities that has a student-led system. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.

Sample violations and punishments:

 

The usual sanction for academic misconduct, such as cheating on a final or plagiarism, is a one- semester suspension and a failing grade in the course.

The minimum sanction for a sexual assault case is two semesters suspension.

The minimum sanction for pos- session of a Schedule I or II drug (LSD, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, etc.) is one-semester suspension.

When a student sells, manufac- tures or delivers a Schedule I or II drug, the required sanction for the first offense is expulsion. This sanction disbars the student from being able to attend any of the 16 UNC-system universities.

The minimum sanction for driving while impaired by drugs, alcohol or other substances is a one-semester suspension.

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