A Casady Reminder to Be Authentic
Photo courtesy of Casady Communications
Jolie Jimenez, Sophomore Writer
The Honor Code Committee is a standing Casady tradition for the Upper Division. Dr. Powell, the faculty sponsor for the Honor Code Implementation Committee, explains: “Before the nineties, Casady School did not have an honor code.” He shares: “A group of students got together and said, ‘Let's bring the Honor Code to Casady School.’” The committee worked together to help build the wording of the actual Honor Code. Dr. Powell states the most important question the committee needed to address was “How do we bring this [code] to the community?” To resolve this question “the students on that implementation committee came up with a signing ceremony, posted honor codes in classrooms, and […] came up with the honor and discipline committee.”
Although the Honor Committee had its humble beginnings, now each grade annually elects two students to represent their grade committee. Two seniors, one junior, one sophomore, and one freshman are elected as well as one alternate per grade. These representatives are responsible for determining the best way to address various cases of academic dishonesty among their classmates. On September 7, near the start of the school year, students received a form to apply for the Honor Committee. After, students anonymously voted on who they felt they could trust when handling the fate of student consequences.
While the application was open to all students, only a few took the chance at becoming a member. The sophomore class elected Haydan Hansen (‘26) as their grade representative. Haydan was very honored to be selected, and explained, “I wanted to have an impact on the Casady community, and I figured the honor code was the way to do it. I was happy that they had faith and confidence in me, and that they were willing to put their trust in me to be a leader for their grade.”
Being a part of the Honor Committee means that the student embodies the traits of an honorable student, and that they will always be fair in terms of academic violations. UD Director Mr. Addington highly encourages students to apply for the committee: “As much as I think I have a good idea about what education is, no one knows the student body like the students themselves.” He revealed that putting yourself out there and deciding to join the committee “is the most powerful thing you can do.”
The words of the Honor Code states, “I will not lie, cheat, or steal, and I will, in good conscience, deal responsibly with any breaches of this code. If I do not act in a responsible manner, I will accept the consequences determined by the Honor and Discipline Committee.” The signing marks the beginning of Casady Upper Division students’ academic journey for the new year.
Along with the formal Honor Code ceremony, students are constantly reminded of the Honor Code they’ve signed. At the bottom of lab reports, quizzes, worksheets, tests or projects is a line where each student must write their signature. For example, a quiz might say “In taking this quiz, I have upheld the Casady Honor Code.”
Mr. Addington believes that this reminder is important. “When you sit down in a room, and you are about to put down your thoughts and your name on something, [it’s important] that you remind yourself that ‘Hey, this is me. I am the one doing the work.’” Mr. Addington describes, “We do our best to create an environment and remind students of their ethical responsibility. We don’t try to trap kids.”
As he states, when we do assignments independently and when we sit down to take that test, we sometimes will have the urge to participate in academically dishonest practices. With no teacher to enforce the Honor Code, the responsibility lies on the students. Their signature serves at the constant moral reminder, allowing students to recall the policies of the Honor Code and the consequences of disobeying.
The most important question Casady students ask is “What is honor?” Mr. Addington describes it as “really being authentic [...] sometimes honor doesn’t look very glorious. It may be [saying] ‘I am so sorry I didn’t have time to study for this test, and this is going to look ugly.’ That is honorable, because you are being authentic to who you are.” It is easy to believe honor is about what you accomplish via grades, awards, and trophies, but the Casady Honor Code Committee strives to ingrain in students that honor is about how they achieve things. It is important for students to value how we accomplished our goals and how we received certain grades by being authentic to ourselves and academic capabilities.
Dr. Powell believes the Honor Code “should go beyond an annual signing ceremony and it should go beyond something ridiculous on the wall. It should be more of a living concept.” He concludes by saying he wishes “it was more of a presence in our everyday lives.”
Mr. Addington also unveils a sneak peek into the Honor Code Committee. He explains, “Every 15 years or so, they have done a report on the state of the Honor Code.” The process of examining the Honor Code begins this year. Casady School will make any necessary changes to the code and committee to better the system–something for Casady students to keep their eyes on the lookout for.
