Upon applying to the Uni-versity of Virginia, students are asked to sign a statement pledging their allegiance to the honor system -- not to lie, cheat or steal -- on penalty of expulsion.
But, are refraining from lying, cheating and stealing the only ways to live an honorable life?
Webster's dictionary gives "honor" 10 definitions, including "a keen sense of ethical conduct" and "one's word given as a guarantee of performance."
Second-year College student Erin Golden said she believes honor "involves a way of lidfe with values such as honesty and integrity," and second-year College student Christina Aquilina said honor is "something that everyone at U.Va. accepts."
According to the Office of Health Promotion, deeds such as "stopping at crosswalks," "being the DD," "smiling at someone you don't know" and "holding the door for someone" are all honorable behaviors.
Drawing attention to these actions, some of which are seldom though of as honorable, are part of the Office of Health Promotion's Grounds-wide Redefining Honor campaign.
Social Norms Marketing Assistant Caitlin Knotts said an advisory student panel for the Office of Health Promotion found honor to be a relevant topic to discuss at the University.
Fourth-year College student Jay Ward, a member of this student panel, said the topic of honor was brought up in the context of what people associated with the University.
"The way U.Va. defines the three-tier honor system academically becomes a more focused definition," Ward said.
Knotts said one purpose of the Redefining Honor campaign is to urge students to think of honor in their own terms.
"We want to look at honor in a broad sense, including responsibility," Knotts said.
Knotts said all the examples of honorable conduct that appear in the Redefining Honor campaign came from student suggestions.
"We want to expand the idea of honor, [it is] not just academic," Knotts said. "We want students to realize what they're [currently] doing is honorable ... by highlighting honor in everyday actions."
Given the actions of not cheating, stopping at a crosswalk, being the designated driver, holding the door for someone and smiling at someone you don't know, Aquilina, who is a support officer of the Honor Committee, said not cheating was the only deed that fell under the category of honor.
"I don't think [the other activities] are honorable -- I think they're just polite," Aquilina said.
Golden, who is not involved in the University's Honor Committee, said she thought not cheating, stopping at a crosswalk and being the DD were the ones that apply to honor.
"Holding the door [for someone] and smiling [at someone you don't know] are certainly wonderful things to do, but I don't think they fall into the category of honor," Golden said.
Golden said while living in a university community where honor is emphasized increases student awareness of honor, she does not think it necessarily makes a person more or less honorable.
"I don't think being at U.Va. would change [the honorability] of anyone," Golden said. "I don't think we are any more or less honorable than any group could be, but because we propose [honor] as an important aspect of our community, it takes a greater role in our lives."
Aquilina said a person's definition of honor depends on his or her surroundings and upbringing.
"I think [for non-U.Va. students], it just depends on [his or her] university and its honor system," Aquilina said. "For someone in the Charlottesville community, an honorable action may be smiling at someone. It depends on the things you've been told your whole life."
Greg Akselrod, a sophomore at Cornell University, defined honor as "acting with integrity."
According to their Web site, Cornell University's honor code rests on three principles: freedom with responsibility, protection and promotion of the university's pursuit of its educational goals and the distinction between the university's governance of community conduct and the criminal and civil laws of society.
"The word 'honor' isn't really used much," Akselrod said.
Given the same choices as Golden and Aquilina, Akselrod said not cheating, stopping at crosswalks, being the DD and holding the door for someone all fell under honorable actions.
"When honor is shoved down your throat, honor loses meaning because honor ought to be coming from within, not in order to obey something imposed on you," Akselrod said.
To demonstrate his point, Akselrod described why he believes stopping at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross is an example of honorable behavior.
"Stopping at crosswalks is a good contrast," Akselrod said. "It's a law, but it's an optional law. You can not do it and no one is going to chase you down for it. You're complying, but it's still voluntary."
Akselrod said four out of the five activities were classified as honorable. Golden, a University student not involved in the Honor Committee, said three of the five activities were classified as honorable. Aquilina, a University student involved in the Honor Committee, said only one of the five activities was classified as honorable.
Although the concept of honor is more emphasized at the University than Cornell and many other universities, Aquilina said she believes the University does not over-emphasize the topic.
"I think it's emphasized as much as it needs to be to make sure people know it's serious," Aquilina said.
Golden said honor at the University is not over-emphasized so much as emphasized in only a few aspects.
"When we talk about honor, a lot of it is about the Honor Committee and their proceedings, but really honor should be more about how to conduct your life," Golden said. "It shouldn't always be in reference as to whether it's lying, cheating or stealing per Honor Committee standard."
Despite the uneven emphasis, Golden highlighted the impracticality of broadening the University's definition of honor to other areas.
"While we do attend the University, it's not our entire life or entire being," Golden said. "It's not the University's area to control how we behave in all aspects of our lives."
Aquilina also noted UJC's jurisdiction over other codes of conduct that could pertain to a broader definition of honor.
Despite the criticism and ongoing debates, Aquilina said she believes honor will always have its place at the University.
"Honor is instilled at U.Va. to keep everyone on a level playing field so no one is gaining anything by cheating or doing anything that hurts the rest of the community," Aqualina said.