Building Character for Yourself

Many choose BYU because of their Honor Code. And that is perfectly fine.  It even played a role in my decision to attend this university. The Honor Code does have its disadvantages though, and ones that few students realize when they accept to live by LDS-based standards.

A fundamental problem of the Honor Code is that it rarely punishes those who it should punish. Those people who are breaking serious rules aren’t getting caught. A friend of mine who attended summer semester saw many cases of students smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, and having sex while going completely unnoticed by BYU officials. In contrast, I have had and heard of frequent experiences where students are written up for being in an apartment of the opposite sex five or ten minutes past curfew.  Those who should be chastised aren’t and those who end up being penalized.

In addition, if you bind students under a law, their choices will never truly be their own.  When someone else has the ability to punish an individual for a choice, that individual will never gain the full rewards for making the right choice. It is only by making choice based solely on one’s own desires and intentions that you receive the satisfaction of that choice.

If BYU wanted to truly have this lifestyle adopted by their students they would follow Joseph Smiths admonition--“I teach the people correct principles and let them govern themselves. ”