Following is the complete text of Associate Professor Maurice Levesque’s remarks about Elon’s Honor Code to the Class of 2008 at New Student Convocation, Aug. 28, 2004:
“Good morning. Much has changed since my college convocation, but I imagine that your thoughts at this time are reminiscent of my own as I transitioned to college. I was excited about taking ownership of my life in a new way. Truthfully, I found myself wondering whether my parents were ever really going to leave. I was also uncertain about what college life would be like. What would my roommate, classmates, and professors expect of me? What should I expect of myself? Many or perhaps all of you are curious about the nature of those expectations. Let me suggest to you some of what the Elon academic community expects of you as we prepare to help you make this important transition.
“It is probably evident to you by now that Elon values the concept and practice of community. You have chosen to become members of this community and that choice, like all choices, comes with expectations, privileges, and serious responsibilities.
“As a community, Elon has a common mission to provide you with a quality education and the tools necessary to achieve your ambitions and to become life-long learners. The statement on academic citizenship that Dr. Lambert shared with you sets forth this mission as it applies to you….to make learning your first priority. But more than that, the faculty expect you to be passionate about learning. I encourage you to recapture the passion for seeking knowledge, for asking ‘why?,’ and for questioning answers that characterized you when you were much younger. Your parents, I’m sure recall the curiosity you exhibited when you were 2 or 3…the endless questions you asked and the answers they gave until, in the end, they were left with ‘Because I said so.’ You’re more sophisticated now and will learn at Elon more advanced tools for critical thinking and making informed choices, but don’t forget to renew your curiosity and passion. We expect your passion for learning will lead you to thoughtful engagement. Be engaged. Take opportunities to put into practice what you learn and to use experience and reflection to energize your learning. Remember that engagement is an intellectual exercise not just an experiential or physical one. Every reading, every assignment, every class is an opportunity to be engaged by challenging yourself to achieve a more complete understanding through careful reflection and critical analysis. We expect you to be engaged, and passionate about learning in every facet of your life at Elon.
“But passion is not enough. To accomplish our mission, the Elon community requires a set of shared values, values that each member of the community accepts as a guide for his or her behavior. Whether you are in the dorm, a classroom, the greater community, another country or on the athletic field, we expect that your actions will be consistent with these community values. The Academic and Social Honor Codes represent our statement of shared values. Although the Honor Codes are written as behaviors to avoid, let me summarize the values that underlie our honor code. The honor code calls each of us to be honest, to respect the dignity of others as unique individuals of worth, to respect intellectual and material property, to take responsibility for our choices, and to accept responsibility for the well-being of others, including helping them to abide by these values. Simply put, we expect that you will behave with integrity.
“An academic community celebrates the open exchange of ideas, but the environment required for learning through honest dialogue is only possible when we embrace our goal of learning and behave with integrity. In the next few weeks, you will be asked to sign an Honor Code pledge. It is my sincerest hope that you will do so with full understanding of your obligations and a deep appreciation of the importance of the codes for what is now your community. As Samuel Johnson wrote and I quote, ‘Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.’ We expect that your time at Elon and your lives will be marked by seeking knowledge, and by acting with integrity.
“We often talk about college as a transition to independence. Certainly you will achieve an independence of sorts, but your behavior, your choices, do not occur in a vacuum removed from the larger community. We inhabit the same physical space, have a common mission and share a set of values that guide our behavior. We are not so much independent as we are interdependent, our choices affect not only ourselves but others and the larger community. When an individual fails to abide by the fundamental principles of the community, the community is called to action. Our behavior has consequences. Violations of the principles represented in the Honor Code damage all of us and the community. But the nature of our community is that we have faith that you will cherish and nurture your interdependence with others as you develop lasting bonds with friends, find life-long mentors, and establish a connection to the institution.
“In short, we expect great things from you: a passion for learning, personal integrity, and a sense of your connection to others. We are confident you will exceed our expectations and thrive at Elon. As a faculty, it is our privilege to be part of the journey you undertake today. Thank you and best wishes for a successful year.”
Maurice Levesque
Associate Professor of Psychology