Student leaders offer words to live by

The honor code at West Point is simple – “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” Some Pittsburg State University student leaders think these or similar words would be good for all students to live by.

Audra Tope, a junior psychology major from Arkansas City, Kan.; Jodi Smardo, a senior elementary education major from Frontenac, Kan.; Beth Perrey, a senior accounting major from Joplin, Mo.; and Emily Alley, a senior communication major from Overland Park, Kan., all agree that a simple honor code can help students do the “right” thing.

Tope, Smardo, Perrey and Alley have all represented Pittsburg State at the U.S. Military Academy’s National Conference on Ethics in America over the past two years. The conference, held each year at West Point, attracts hundreds of student delegates from a wide variety of universities and colleges across the nation. The schools represented range from small private colleges to large state universities.

“A lot of private schools have codes of ethics,” Alley noted. “That’s not so much the case with larger state universities.”

The women noted that Pittsburg State and nearly all universities have a code or list of responsibilities that students are expected to abide by. There is a difference, they say, between a list of dos and don’ts that students are given and a code of ethics that students pledge to live up to.

“The students with an honor code take responsibility,” Peerey said. “Their peers are there to help them make the right decisions.”

Tope said some of the delegates from state universities were skeptical about how workable an honor code could be at public institutions, in part because of the wide diversity in opinions on larger campuses about personal moral issues. “But being moral and being ethical – doing the right thing -- are not the same thing,” Tope said.

Smardo said the key to developing a successful honor code at Pittsburg State or any university is simplicity. “It needs to be short and sweet,” she said, pointing to the simple, 12-word code at West Point.

The women said the frank discussions about ethics they had at West Point were helpful for them both personally and professionally.

“Employers are looking for employees with ethics and standards,” Tope said. “There are hard decisions that employees are expected to make.”

Perrey, an accounting major, agreed, saying that high ethical standards were especially important in the work she plans to pursue.

When or whether Pittsburg State students ever embrace the concept of a student code of ethics, Tope, Smardo, Perrey and Alley have at least brought the discussion to campus, and that in itself is important, according to Ed Wirthwein, assistant director for campus activities and adviser for the Presidential Emerging Leaders Program at PSU.

“All of these young women are leaders on campus,” Wirthwein said. “They have encouraged discussion about issues that are important to all students. They are great role models for other students.”

---Pitt State--