Brigham Young University Honor Code - History

History

Early forms of the BYU Honor Code are found as far back as the days of the Brigham Young Academy and early school President Karl G. Maeser. Maeser created the "Domestic Organization", which was a group of teachers who would visit students at their homes to see that they were following the schools moral rules prohibiting obscenity, profanity, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Maeser also, however, relied largely on students' honor and honesty in keeping such rules, intending faculty visits as times of counsel rather than espionage. After Brimhall, enforcement became somewhat more lax (there were no more faculty visits). However, the same basic principles were encouraged: morality, abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, and a dependence on the honor and honesty of students. The 1930s and 40s saw increased standards regarding rules related to student housing, as well as dress codes. Women were allowed to wear slacks only on Saturdays, and men wore uniform for a short time.

The Honor Code itself was not created until about 1940, and was used mainly for cases of cheating and academic dishonesty. The Student Honor Council, created around 1949 oversaw case violations. This council met with enough success among students in alleviating cheating that President Ernest L. Wilkinson suggested in 1957 that the Honor Code expand to include other school standards. This led to an expansion during the 1960s which created the bulk of what the Honor Code represents today: rules regarding chastity, dress, grooming, drugs, and alcohol.

In the 1960s several rules regarding longer hairstyles in men were introduced as a result of the many liberal movements occurring around the country. However, long hair and beards were not completely against the rules until the mid-1970s. The 1960s also saw changes in rules regarding women's dress, as Church leaders made statements against low-cut dresses and short skirts. Women by this time were allowed to wear slacks and pant-suits, but jeans were not allowed until 1981.

In 2007, BYU reworded its honor code to clarify policy on homosexual behavior. Several students, including gay and lesbian students, thought that the previous wording was confusing and unclear. While both homosexuals and heterosexuals must abide the church's law of chastity (i.e. no sexual relations outside of marriage, no crude language, and no pornography), the Honor Code additionally prohibits all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings (i.e. dating, making out). There is no similar restriction against expressing heterosexual feelings. No one may advocate homosexuality or promote homosexual relations as being morally acceptable. It does make clear, however, that sexual orientation is not an honor code issue. Several civil rights organizations, including Soulforce, have criticized BYU's Honor Code for its practices. Also that year, Fox News highlighted BYU's blocking of pornographic and other sites, including Youtube, from campus Internet connections, pursuant to the code's prohibition of the viewing of pornographic material. After three years, BYU lifted the YouTube ban in 2009, again receiving nationwide press attention.

In March 2008, The University of Texas at San Antonio was accused of plagiarizing a portion of BYU's honor code related to cheating and plagiarism. Southern Virginia University, which espouses Latter-day Saint standards, also uses a similar code of conduct.

The Honor Code received national attention in March 2011 when the university dismissed BYU basketball player Brandon Davies from the team for violating the code, reportedly having engaged in premarital sex, the same day the college basketball rankings came out listing BYU as the #3 team in the nation. Davies was reinstated to the university the next school year, and returned to the basketball team, where he is scheduled to complete his athletic eligibility in 2013.