BYU Honor Code and Brandon Davies

In all the hype regarding the dismissal of Brandon Davies from BYU's basketball team for honor code violations earlier this week, many people have commented on how they feel about the honor code, about what Davies might have done, and how much he did or didn't know about the honor code.

But in all their arguments, one thing seems glaringly absent: The fact of the matter is, Davies had a full knowledge of the honor code he violated. I think people believe there exists this sort of nebulous set of rules out there somewhere that are inconsistently enforced and which the students don't really understand or accept. They just bide by them inasmuch as it suits them for expediency.

But that grossly undervalues BYU's system. The reality is this: every student who attends BYU is required to read the honor code each year and sign their name to a form declaring that, on their honor, they will obey the rules prescribed in the honor code. What's more, each year they are also required to be interviewed by an ecclesiastical leader (or someone with equivalent respect and stature before the university), who asks them to declare that they have obeyed the honor code and will continue to obey it.

So it doesn't really matter whether you think BYU's honor code is draconian, outmoded, silly, or unnecessary. And it doesn't matter if you think Davies and other students shouldn't be held to such standards.

I feel terribly bad for Davies. He has a heavy weight to bear now, and as a member of the LDS Church, a heavy repentance process of some form or another to go through.

But one cannot deny him the responsibility and consequences of his actions. He knowingly violated the honor code. Many students, sadly enough, suffer the consequences of violating the honor code. It has nothing to do with race, religious beliefs (I attended BYU as a freshman as a Presbyterian--I since joined the Church), or otherwise. And each of them is given the full opportunity to understand the honor code and live by it.

There, I've pontificated enough.