"How Will the Honor Code Impact My Academic and Campus Life?"

 “How Will the Honor Code Impact My Academic and Campus Life?”

Honesty, respect, accountability, these are all the words that the honor code stands by.  The honor code is a foundation on which academic integrity abides, and a line drawn between what’s right and wrong.  As an Xaverite, the honor code means more than just a statement to me, it is a living entity, a guideline that the University vows by, and those that break the code have to meet the consequences.  During my four years at Xavier, I plan on striving for leadership and academic excellence by incorporating the ideas of the honor code into my daily life.  I realize that the honor code will be fundamental to my life, both during and after college.

Academic knowledge is the basis on which future prosperity and financial security have been determined.  Now while some students sink to obtain good grades by cheating, I feel that this is just morally wrong.  Cheating will not help a person get far in life; it will only harm a student at the end and keep them from achieving their potential.  Not only can cheating take a devastating toll on a student’s future, but their social life as well.  The opportunity to work so little and achieve excellent grades is staring all students in the face, however cheating places a student at great risks for ruining the rest of his/her life.  Personally, I’m not trying to gamble with my future just to perform above average, it’s not worth it. If I want to receive an “A” in a course, I know that I must work hard and study.  I feel that the true pleasure to be gained from academic effort is pride in one’s self for working toward a goal and reaching it.  Cheating makes such pride and pleasure impossible. Some say that dishonesty isn’t as bad as stealing because academic assignments are more like “exercises” and not apart of the real world, or because no one is really hurt by cheating.  Upon entering the real world, however, those who have been dishonest through high school and college years are almost certainly trapped by habit, especially if they have escaped disciplinary actions.  In the working world, cheating often results in negative effects such as job loss and/or legal penalties