Students to Vote on Update to Honor Code
The College Council, a committee composed of faculty, students, and staff, has proposed changes to the College’s Honor Code. The proposed updates are designed to make the code more “concise and digestible.”
Next Monday, students will vote on a proposed change to the college’s Honor Code, which has not been updated since 1984.
If approved by the majority of students, the faculty will vote on the proposal on May 2. If the faculty affirms it, the new Honor Code will take effect in Fall 2025.
The current Honor Code is approximately four pages. In an email sent to students on Tuesday morning, the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) described the current code as “difficult to understand and internalize.”
The proposed version, which was developed by the College Council, a committee composed of students, faculty, and staff, has simplified the existing code into three sentences “emphasizing intellectual growth and integrity,” the AAS email said.
At least every fourth academic year, the College Council reviews the current Honor Code and, if deemed appropriate, will propose changes. If the proposed changes are not favored by the students and faculty, the current Honor Code stays in effect.
The College Council is comprised of co-chairs Timothy Van Compernolle, chair of Asian languages and civilizations, and Angie Tissi-Gassoway, dean of students and chief student affairs officer, alongside Corey Michalos, director of community standards, Victor Guevara, assistant professor of Geology, Jakina Guzman, assistant professor of Economics, and AAS Senators Rachel Howell ’26, Isabella Malmqvist ’25, Lia Miller ’27, Pablo Moreira ’28, and Gent Malushaga ’25 (ex-officio).
The full text of the proposed Honor Code reads, “As an Amherst College student, I pledge to be honest in my academic pursuits and commit to ethical scholarship. To foster a community of trust, I uphold the principles of respect, intellectual growth, curiosity, and diversity of thought. By embracing these principles, I will promote the integrity of our academic community and advance the pursuit of knowledge.”
The current Honor Code consists of the Statements of Intellectual Responsibility, Respect for Persons, Freedom of Expression and Dissent, and Student Rights.
Miller told The Student that the current Honor Code repeats much of what is said in the Student Code of Conduct. “The mission was to sharpen the language and make it much more concise, and make it much more digestible for students and future students,” she said.
The Student Code of Conduct will not change if the Honor Code is changed.
The proposed code will “reaffirm central values of honor in our work and in our academic life, but also as a community in general,” Miller added.
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