<p>Certainly, looking at old tests is not considered directly cheating – but you gain advantage if the questions reappear or are similar in nature, and therefore this becomes a form of cheating. If professors prohibited students from studying old tests, it is clear that they would be recycling questions in the exam, which would only encourage more students to seek these old tests. And who has the advantage? I would say Greek organizations for sure. Plus, no professor in UVA to my knowledge has put old tests on file in libraries. He/she would give them out to the entire class for practice or put them up on toolkit.</p>
<p>barboza, this was WAY prior to “toolkit” days (back when computers took up whole rooms and we used punch cards to program them), but, trust me, professors did, way before your time. Moot point, now that those days are past.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to watch the evolution of the honor code, but I have no dog in this fight, and I don’t like to argue, so I wish you all the best in your time in lovely C’ville.</p>
<p>My uncle (COL '64) commented that had you been caught trying to buy alcohol underage (this was back when beer/wine was 18, hard liquor 21) it was an honor code violation. Today, underage drinking is rampant and people use fake IDs allllll the time. To older alumni this was a huge no-no, but today, students don’t see it as an HC violation. It isn’t that we don’t hold the HC as high, it’s just that we see it in a different light. The beauty of the HC is that it’s student run: if the student population doesn’t see an act as a HC violation, it isn’t reported. Something that doesn’t fly today may have back then, too.</p>
<p>It’s key to remember the student-run view. What I think of a violation may be different from hazel which is different from an alumnus’ view. Again, it’s all based on the student(s).</p>
<p>Let me know if this link works:
[Mr</a>. Jefferson’s University :: :: University of Virginia Library](<a href=“Mr. Jefferson's University :: :: University of Virginia Library”>Mr. Jefferson's University :: :: University of Virginia Library)
But it says buying underage was never an honor violation… But cheating at cards was! It’s an interesting read.</p>
<p>I believe UVA’s Honor Code would be much more effective if the “Single Saction” did not exist. I highly dislike cheating, but even I wouldn’t report someone for lying/cheating because I would not want to feel as if I were responsible for destroying an individual’s professional life.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you should know that it is part of the honor code to report someone if you see them cheating! I don’t know if you can be reported for failing to report someone, that seems completely ridiculous, but when you realize how great the honor code is in theory, when you can take a cab if you don’t have money with you because on your honor you will pay the company at a later date through UVA, you can have all take home tests, you can take a test in a different location within the time constraints (like in the dining hall), your professor upright leaves during tests because they trust you this much, and other courtesies extended to you in this fashion, you will not want other people ruining your community of trust and these priveleges. I do not think that honor in its current form is functioning at 100% but I still support the idea of an honor system and I hope they can fix their problems. After the problems I’ve been through with the current case I have filed I don’t know if I will report another case again, but I can’t say yes or no for sure until I am in that situation again.</p>
<p>High five to you too bigwill.
I had a conversation recently with a couple of '10-ers and we all agreed: we had seen some blatent cheating, but we wouldn’t have been able to live with ourselves had we reported it. Some of the individuals have very, very bright/lucrative careers beginning…it’s tough to wonder if they got there because of the cheating or that they shouldn’t have because of the cheating. In the end, most everyone agrees, cheating on one test means you fell behind and tried to find a solution to the problem rather than falter. It’s dumb to send someone on the torturous rollercoaster the Honor Court is and then possibly ruin their lives. It’s WAY easier (and lots of us, including myself, have done this) to talk to the person and say “hey, I know you cheated hardcore, that isn’t cool, do your work next time”. Alumni and outsiders can think what they want, but this goes back to my age old saying: Every Hoo loves another Hoo…we stand by one another and we want each other to succeed.</p>
<p>Thanks shoebox! And that’s definitely what I would do, and what I have done (in High School). I tell the person that I know he or she cheated, and that they should stop. But there is no way that I could EVER report someone to the Honor Committee knowing the consequences he or she will face if found guilty.</p>
<p>hazelorb: I definitely understand, and I support UVA’s Honor Code 100%; however, I do not support the Single Sanction—it’s too harsh. And the problem with the Honor Code is that people are afraid of expulsion rather than dishonering themselves. The Honor Code in its current form is nothing but a scare tactic.</p>
<p>Bigwill wrote:
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<p>If you reported someone for lying and cheating and he was found guilty, he would be the one responsible for destroying his own professional life. By agreeing to support the U.Va. honor code and then failing to do so, you undercut its strength. Are you afraid to stand up for what you believe because of fear of being called a snitch, or do you not really believe that lying and cheating are wrong? </p>
<p>When I was a U.Va. law student years ago, I was grateful that I could leave my belongings on a desk in the law library without worrying that they would be stolen. I hope that is still true today.</p>
<p>Uhh… please don’t leave your stuff in Clemons, because that will be gone in any second. And any UVA library is a public library so anyone can get in there and steal your stuff.</p>
<p>The honor system doesn’t work since a lot of students are hesitant to report cheating. As many have pointed out, you don’t want to destroy others’ careers or may not want to get in the middle of something ugly. It is best to have proctors in the room to monitor students, which is the case during virtually all exams at UVA anyways.</p>
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<p>My answer is “no” to both of your questions. I’m not afraid of being called a snitch, and I do believe lying/cheating is wrong. Like I said, I just cannot allow myself to report someone knowing that his or her life could potentially be ruined with help from me. This is why I believe the single sanction should be abolished, and a multi-sanction policy should be put in place. With the multi-sanction policy, students can have a second opportunity to redeem themselves, and the individuals who would normally ‘get off’ for triviality under the single sanction policy would get punished under the multi-sanction policy.</p>
<p>So you’re basically saying that you’re not going to follow a rule because you don’t agree with it? That’s a great outlook on the legal system. Mmhmm. By coming to UVA, you agreed to follow the honor code, whether you agree or not you said you would abide by it. If someone cheats, they knew the ramifications and there should not be leniency if there is intent. Get past this “ruining someone’s life” thing, they ruined their own life when they chose to cheat. And the honor code hasn’t changed in over 100 years, votes always fail in massive numbers, it’s not going to change while you are here so get over it and enforce the current system.</p>