Student athletes at the University have an integral relationship with the honor system, and over the past few years the Honor Committee and the athletic department have worked to keep that relationship positive.
"We get some of the greatest benefits from the honor system," said Jenny Harmon, volleyball team captain and a liasion between the athletic department and the Committee. "It gives us the ability to take exams on the road and to work with tutors when we miss class."
Student athletes' rigorous schedules present problems in educating them on honor policy and have spurred the Committee to make an extra effort to work with them.
"The Honor Committee has always identified the student athlete community as one that needs extra effort from us because they live in a different environment," Committee Chairman Thomas Hall said. "I have been particularly concerned with this issue in my time here."
According to Hall, the Committee now is focusing education efforts on athletes in part because some members of the University communityfeel the system unfairly singles out athletes. In the 2000-2001 academic year, 20 athletes were investigated for honor offenses, representing one fourth of all investigations. None were found guilty of any offense.
"I think the system is fair to everyone, but athletes are spotlighted because everyone knows who they are," Harmon said. "Though the number of cases brought up are disproportionate, the system handles them fairly. This is not a bad thing, it gives us the opportunity to be role models."
Athletics and Committee leaders agree that athletes' visibility makes their knowledge of the system even more important.
Because many student athletes participate in pre-season competition before their first academic year begins, they often do not receive material explaining the honor code's intricacies and the penalties it entails. For athletes traveling and working in close proximity with each other, it is important to clarify the lines between helping and cheating.
To solve this problem, the Committee and the athletic department have instituted many programs aimed at educating athletes. Committee representatives meet with entire teams, educate student athlete mentors and work with the Captain's Counsel, a committee of all varsity team captains, mentors and coaches.
"We have been very pleased; [the Committee] has shown a willingness to be proactive in efforts to provide information to teams," Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. "There has been tremendous feedback on the quality of the presentations."
Recent efforts to connect with athletes on a personal level also were well received.
"I have been very impressed with Thomas [Hall's] actions, getting leaders to talk to him and them talk directly with the athletes has been a great change," Harmon said. "Having captains and upperclassmen talk to athletes is much better than hearing it from people they don't know."
Last summer Harmon and Littlepage began a new education strategy, sending a letter outlining honor policy to all incoming first-year athletes. The letter, signed by all varsity coaches, indicated the importance of the honor system to both the athletic department and the University as a whole.
"It was a great way to let them know that there is an honor code and that it does pertain to them, even though they are gone half the semester," Harmon said. "It instigated a lot of conversations and questions which was the goal."
Hall stressed the importance of such efforts.
"The Honor Committee has applied a full court press and put as much effort into this as possible," Hall said.
Despite strain that athletes' unique situation may cause, students and faculty members agree efforts at the University help create a comfortable environment for all.
"I have been very impressed," Harmon said. "Athlete involvement in honor can only do good things for the University in the future"
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