The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-03-19
HONOR IN COLLEGES.
The Need of Higher Standard There
 as Elsewhere

The Need of Higher Standard There
 as Elsewhere
 At the beginning of the present col lege year the Seniors at Yale Univer- sity agreed to adopt the 'honor sys- tenn" This expression in college cir cles is understood to refer to an ar rangement under which the students declare their intentions not to cheat in recitation or examination. It's founda- tion rests upon the conviction that the commandment Thou shalt not steal' applies to intellectual activity, and that tre true ideal of a gentleman cannot be associated with one who seeks a bet ter mark by dishonest means. The Yale Seniors found that their new plan worked so well that they now propose it's extension to include the lower class es. Some doubt is expressed, however, whether the Freshmen should be so trusted.
 College Freshmen quickly learn the ways of the upper classmen. They look with interest upon the older member of the college community Who displays a roller crib" which has been handed down from one generation to another and has been used in many an exmina- tion for the salvation of some shaky student. They are taught quickly the importance of the commandment Thou shall not be found out" They come to understand that "swping" is not steal ing, and that, no matter what the value of an object may be, it is all right for a college man to steal it or destroy it. If Freshmen are not ready for the "honor system the fault largely rests upon their teachers in the upper class es.'
 At Princeton it is said that no man can cheat in examination and stay in the institution, the overwhelming con demnation of his fellows being sure and merciless. The same thing is true in most Southern colleges, according to the account given in Sheldon's Student Life and Customs" The fine sense of honor long the heritage of the South manifests itself in this way also, the professor taking no precautions in an examination, sometimes leaving the room, the students being quick to de- tect and punish an offender against their unwritten code. In the Northern colleges little attempt has been made to check the custom of cheating in class or examination, and no special censure follows in such a course so far as the student body is concerned.
 It is unfortunate that "honor' is so scarce a commodity among the boys and girls who are in the colleges. While the Yale Seniors were discussing the value of their plan for extending the "honor system" the Yale librarian was preparing a press bulletin announcing that a student had been expelled from the institution for multilating the files of papers in the library utterly uncon- scious apparently, of the petty mean ness of his selfish act. In a local university few days ago three posters designed for the advertising of stud ent show given to raise money for student prizes were stolen almost as soon as they were put up, those who made them being deprived both of the desired advertising from them and of the money their sale was expected to bring. The q did not think reply to censure is common one, because students have been educated to wrong ideals. Most of the attempts to better conditions have failed. It is a slow process to overcome the influence of +ra di+innc in college It is unfortunate that so many of these traditions take little account of "honor. Chicago Tribune.