Mike Denny (January 14, 2002)

Honor is a complex moral virtue dependent on the formation of leaders who understand the value of individual and collective responsibility. Honor is nearly vacant in the high school environment and in modern adolescent society. The concept of honor is no longer taught to the upcoming youngsters destined to take over the leadership of the world. Surely the values of honesty are taught, but many times these concepts are thrown out the window when grades come in to the picture. By sacrificing a little personal honor and cheating to get that perfect grade, some students think that they are clearly more acceptable to society and parental figures than if they get a D+. In our backward society, it seems that the cheaters and liars often prosper more than those who stand by and take responsibility for their actions do. The contradiction of what is right versus what is more acceptable causes conflict of interests in the school system. 

Recently the idea of creating an honor code at George Mason High School has been floated to combat a perceived rising tide of cheating on assignments ranging from tests to term papers. Many colleges and universities have long traditions of using honor codes that bring an air of prestige to their institution. As any student can attest, cheating is rampantly common, so common in fact that many do not stop to consider the ramifications of their actions. An honor code would help curb the excessive cheating that has infiltrated the classrooms. The code would make a statement that as a student, you are personally responsible for your own actions, and there are consequences for cheating. The honor code foremost will aid in the enforcement of cheating regulations, creating a benchmark for the enforcement standards

Most importantly, an honor code may, as the name suggests, actually create a feeling of personal honor. It has great possibility to teach the value of someone’s words and actions as being meaningful to their character and their education. In addition, the honor code will add prestige to the George Mason community, showing that the school takes definitive action to curb the problem of cheating, reinforcing the George Mason ethos of academic excellence.