Living the BYU Honor Code
I’ve been totally captivated by the Brandon Davies story this week and have found myself basically beating my chest with pride at BYU’s unequivocal decision to suspend the star basketball player for a violation of the Honor Code, even though that decision may cost the school a much-anticipated spot in the Final Four.
At first I thought this situation would make sports enthusiasts around the nation mock BYU and its “old-fashioned” rules. Instead, I was surprised that BYU fans and sports analysts alike applauded BYU for its no-nonsense position, although everyone also expressed disappointment over the loss and genuine concern for Davies.
The one thing that has irked me in the media coverage, however, is that many sports reporters are acting mystified as to how BYU can persuade its students and athletes to abide by the Honor Code.
In one interview with Boston Celtics President and former BYU player Danny Ainge, for example, the interviewer uses phrases like “you were subjected to the Honor Code” and even asks Ainge what part of the Honor Code was the most tempting to violate.
What people don’t understand is that students don’t go to BYU in spite of the Honor Code, they go because of the Honor Code. They want to go to BYU to be around like-minded men and women with the same values.
As Ainge says, he went to BYU because he wanted the kind of lifestyle and environment that went hand-in-hand with the Honor Code. He wasn’t forced into anything.
It’s not like students get into BYU and then have to decide whether they are willing to give up sex and cigarettes for four years. The Honor Code does not start at the BYU doorstep, and most BYU students don’t adjust their behavior accordingly.
They are already living the Honor Code, day in and day out. Signing their names doesn’t change anything.
As a Mormon and a mom, it makes me immeasurably proud and hopeful that there are youths out there living the values and ideals I want for my daughter. Not every student at BYU is perfect, but it gives me hope that they still maintain a standard – even if everyone can’t reach it all the time.
That’s a huge contrast to the parenting theory of many today who say you are setting your kid up for failure if you set the standards too high. So we teach safe sex rather than abstinence before marriage. We teach kids not to drink and drive rather than just not to drink at all. And we do it because parents throw up their hands and say, “Kids will be kids. It’s impossible to live these ideals.”
Well, there’s a group of 35,000 young men and women living in Provo – and millions more throughout the world – that are proving otherwise. And it’s not just because they signed a piece of paper.
What are your thoughts on the BYU Honor Code and the attention it has been receiving from the Brandon Davies situation?
Erin Stewart is a regular blogger for Deseret News. From stretch marks to the latest news for moms, Stewart discusses it all while her 4-year-old daughter crams Mr. Potato Head pieces in her little sister’s nose.