Sorry, Accepting Academic Cheating Won't Bring Equity

The colleges indoctrinating young minds with wokeism probably have never imagined that the first institutions students seek to take down are their own.

Photo by Changbok Ko on Unsplash

Social justice warriors' pursuit of equal outcomes, or equity, on college campuses has reached a new level of absurdity. A Princeton student argued in the school's newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, that the Honor Code unfairly hurts first-generation low-income (FLI) students, often racial minorities.

Princeton University's  Honor Code "defines policies and rules with respect to accepted standards of conduct for students," and includes "the constitution of the Honor Committee and a detailed account of standards governing academic integrity and behavioral conduct." Since most written examinations, tests, and quizzes take place in class without proctors, Princeton requires students to abide by the honor code to preserve academic integrity. All Princeton students must write an honor pledge, "I pledge my honor that I have not violated the Honor Code during this examination,"  on their examination paper and sign it. 

Violations of the Honor Code include helping other students cheat on their exams or plagiarism -- claiming another's work to be one's own. A student suspected of a possible violation of the Honor Code will undergo a lengthy investigation and multiple hearings conducted by the Honor Committee, which consists of 15 student representatives. Penalties for Honor Code violations, depending on the severity, range from receiving zero for the examination to suspension for one semester or one, two, or even three years. Students can appeal the Honor Committee's decision.   

According to Princeton, its Honor Code "was established by the undergraduates in 1893 and has been in effect without interruption since that time. It has been successful because generations of undergraduates have respected it and, by common agreement, have given it the highest place among their obligations as Princeton students." Between 2014 and 2019, the Honor Committee received 118 reported Honor Code violations; after investigations, only 24 students received penalties. But according to a student reporter, the number of Honor Code violations has tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In an op-ed for the school's newspaper, Emilly Santos, a physics major in the class of 2025 at Princeton who also pursues certificates in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Portuguese Language & Cultures, argues that Princeton's Honor Code mirroring the Criminal Justice System (CJS), has disproportionally oppressed students of minorities and those in poverty.