During its meeting last week, the Honor Committee discussed a potential program which would allow students to pledge on their honor to pay for their food at Corner restaurants at a later date if they forgot their money. The Committee would pay back the merchant if the students fail to pay.
In general, encouraging students to act honorably in all aspects of life is a good goal. But how much of an effect this program would actually have is uncertain, and there are some concerns about how the program would function logistically. Andy McClure, owner of The Biltmore and The Virginian, expressed reservations about the idea partly because he didn’t think students would frequently find themselves unable to pay. If Honor were to get the Corner merchants on board with this policy, it likely wouldn’t have an impact on a large number of students.
Some Corner merchants have said they already allow patrons to pay for their order later. Take It Away Sandwich Shop owner Tom Bowe said letting a customer pay later makes sense for all parties, because the business gains nothing from taking back an order which has already been prepared.
McClure, however, said this kind of program may not be attractive to all business owners. Another concern he expressed was how the general public could take advantage of the system if they found out about it. Showing a student ID could be proof of enrollment, but if a student has forgotten his wallet, it is likely he does not have his ID, either. The merchant would probably just have to take the student’s word in order for the system to function effectively, but as McClure pointed out, not all merchants may be comfortable doing that, even with the Honor Committee’s promise to pay a debt which is not paid back. How can the Committee justify paying a debt that does not even belong to a student?
Vice Chair for Education Joe Martin said the Committee is not interested in punishing students who don’t pay their charges. The only punishment they would face is not being able to use the system anymore, but because students will not likely find themselves in this situation often, revoking that privilege will probably not have much impact on them.
So what is the purpose of the proposal then? Perhaps the main goal is to facilitate trust, hammering home the idea that the Community of Trust has practical benefits, thereby encouraging students to perpetuate it. But is it not more practical to focus on facilitating trust among students, faculty and staff, rather than merchants whose businesses are not connected to the University?
We have already discussed the concerns involved with extending the Honor system outside the University in our editorial about bad debts, particularly rent. Many Committee members thought the Committee should not play any role in settling financial matters between landlords and tenants. We argued landlords should not be able to use the Honor Committee to collect payments from tenants, partly because landlords’ ultimate interests are in business, not the values of the honor system. So we can ask the same question in this case — do restaurant owners prioritize the values of honor, or would they solely have business interests in mind?
This question may be answered as Committee members survey merchants to see if they would be interested in the program. Presumably, if the Committee cannot solicit enough participants, or if the Committee cannot address the concerns of potential participants, the program would not go forward. But even if it is enacted, the Committee should continue to come up with new ideas which impact a larger amount of students and address other flaws which prevent the Community of Trust from functioning, such as low and disproportionate Honor reporting rates. The Committee’s focus should remain on the flaws within the University community, before it begins to look too far outside it.
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