COLUMN: The Best Policy

From Lee Bailey's "The Immaculate Perception?," Fall '95 From Lee Bailey's "The Immaculate Perception?," Fall '95Almost everyone can, on request, regurgitate a pithy, trite quotation about honesty. As a value, it is frequently discussed and lauded, hailed as a hallmark of the good person. Fortunately, contrary to that which one gathers from "social mon-From Lee Bailey's "The Immaculate Perception?," Fall '95Almost everyone can, on request, regurgitate a pithy, trite quotation about honesty. As a value, it is frequently discussed and lauded, hailed as a hallmark of the good person. Fortunately, contrary to that which one gathers from "social mon-itors" such as William Bennett, ours is a relatively honest society. Of course we have the Helmsleys and the Clintons, the Kennedys and the Boeskys, but in the final analysis, Americans are sincere. There are countless tales of cunning and fraud, and everyone knows a few. Answers in watchbands and cabals in calculus are legend. Last year, the crib sheet caught up to the nineties when it was discovered that macroeconomics students at the University were programming their graphing calculators with half of the text book. Someone complained, and now calculators are contraband in economics exams. This was a bit of an overcorrection by the antiquated economics department -- perhaps the banning of all programmable calculators would have proven more appropriate. The issue, however, was not a matter of classifying calculators. It was shocking that most students were upset about the ban, rather than the actual violation of the "honor code." Are students so desensitized to transgressions of academic integrity that they ignore them, and hope for the best nonetheless? I say no, not everywhere. While at this University such nonchalance seems to be standard, I know for a fact that other schools put there GPAs where their mouths are, and have realistic honor codes which students follow strictly. What's the difference? Why was my text book stolen from the library? Why are a vast majority of students forced to deal with kinks placed in a curve by a few unprincipled losers? Perhaps the answer lies in a classic "nature versus nurture" analysis. Could it be that Penn simply attracts students who are inclined to cheat, or at least don't care if others do? This seems unlikely, unless the admissions office has been playing with subliminal messages in its viewbook. Or maybe they accept only those who respond in the affirmative to the question "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" A former hallmate, who hails from rural Pennsylvania, commented, "We, the people of the North, who are accustomed to rugged living, don't see theft as so bad a thing-- we do what we have to in order to survive." Is this Philadelphia or the State of Nature? So Hobbesian an explanation does not fly with me. So one turns to nurture. Does Penn encourage among its students the propensity to be dishonest, converting them from innocent National Honor Society cherubs to callous, conniving undergraduates? This too is doubtful. The real key is here: while a large percentage of students are honest, those who are not can do damage only in an environment which lacks pressures against such reprehensible behavior. Most people have friends at Middlebury, the University of Virginia, or West Point. Ask them how often they hear of cheating. These schools value integrity, and there is evidence in more than just their blue books. At Middlebury, professors are actually prohibited from being present during examinations. At the U.S. Military Academy, cadets are obligated to reveal their knowledge of honor code violations. At Wellesley, women leave books, bikes, and computers all about the campus, without fear of theft. Why, then, can we not expect to enjoy the same benefits? I tried to find out, but if you have ever attempted a perusal of the student judicial code, or whatever theUndergraduate Assembly likes to call it, you know that its not light reading. West Point, and schools like it, know the way: Thou shall not cheat or steal, or tolerate such activities. If you do, you will leave. Honesty is that simple, and it is the best policy.