At first I figured this must be a parody, but I was wrong. It's part of a real ad campaign for modesty at BYU.
Think Inside The Circle.
That might as well be BYU's motto.
The rest of the posters are here.
To be clear, I don't have a problem with the standards at BYU per se, but the heavy-handed enforcement and propaganda like the above is a different story. They know how to take all the fun out of being good, that's for sure.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
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7 comments:
So, I've tried to write this comment about three times already, but it never comes out like I want it to. So instead, I'll ask a question:
What would be the proper way to remind students about the Honor Code?
In 5 years, I had 1 teacher and 1 library worker make a comment about my perpetual violation of the Honor Code (in the form of not shaving more than once a week). It's not like these posters are plastered all over campus. Most students couldn't even tell you where one of these posters could be found. (And even if they were plastered everywhere, students still wouldn't look at them as they walked by; they'd just ignore them.)
"What would be the proper way to remind students about the Honor Code?"
I would lean towards "not at all."
Why?
What would be the proper way to remind tenants about paying their rent on time?
If your answer is "put up cutesy posters in their apartments" then I will concede the point.
But my answer is "not at all." Once you sign the lease you're on the hook. You don't need any more reminders until you fail to hold up your end, and then the reminders come in the form of late fees and eviction.
Why shouldn't the Honor Code work the same way? I'm an adult, I signed my name to a contract. I'm prepared to pay the consequences if I fail to hold up my end. Why do I need the posters? They're ineffectual at best (as you've pointed out) and condescending and offensive at worst.
I concede that your rent paying analogy is compelling (though the proper comparison would be to putting "pay your rent" posters in common areas, not in the apartments) but then I realized that I have lived in places where rent reminders were posted in common areas. I agree that if we're all adults, signing the honor code and then forgetting about it ought to be good enough. But . . .
1: We see similar such reminders constantly in life, but no one gets worked up over them. I mentioned the rent reminders that would be posted in common areas. The cops post those signs that tell you how fast you're going and what the speed limit is to try to get you to obey traffic laws. The HR person at work reminds us every other Thursday that timecards are due the next day. I've never heard anyone get worked up over the speed limit reminder, but I've heard plenty of folks get huffy over an honor code reminder.
2. I've never felt that any posters or other honor code reminders were offensive or condescending. Certainly others have had different experiences, but I can only speak for myself.
3. The reminders that are given out in all areas of life are generally well intentioned and meant to decrease problems and/or violations. Some people react quite negatively towards simple things (posters). [I wish to point out that my comments are drawing from 5 years in provo and interactions with thousands of BYU students. In a way, I am responding to all of them here; these comments are not meant to be directed at any one specific person.]
I realize that you've made but a single statement about the Honor Code folks, and you're getting my response to years of other similar comments made by scores of people. But basically, I've never felt that the disdain for the HC office was proportional to their actual influence and effects on daily life as a student.
Sounds like you've got enough to say on the topic for a whole blog post of your very own. :)
Yeah, but now I've already said it all.
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