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ROTC reinstates its honor code

Written by Johnathan Silver, Contributor to The Shorthorn

Thursday, 29 January 2009 08:40 PM

Cpl. Earl Simpson plays dead during a training lab on how to evaluate casualties in the field Thursday outside College Hall. The ROTC program will implement an honor code similar to West Point Military Academy this semester. (The Shorthorn: Michael Rettig)

After years of an unenforced honor code, ROTC officials have restored it, much like the one used at West Point Military Academy, which states that a cadet “will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.”

While Maj. Ricardo Diaz, military science senior instructor, said that most cadets already adhere to the rule, making it official would make potential violators responsible for their actions.

Diaz deems a cadet trustworthy, assuming they follow the code, but said he hopes it will become second nature for his cadets, in society and outside of an ROTC or military setting.

Last semester, students voted on the code, and it passed by an overwhelming majority. Sophomore cadet Cpl. Aaron Renaud supports that stance.

“They would be against military values,” he said of cadets who opposed the new rule.

He said all cadets should exhibit loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage toward the honor code.
The underlying definition of honor is the golden rule — treating others the way they want to be treated, he said.

“Everyone watches for themself. Someone walks in and steals from you, and the person who sees doesn’t say anything,” Renaud said. “It encompasses stealing, lying, neglect, and allowing that to happen.”

Although Lt. Col. Albert Alba, military science chair and professor, permitted the reinstatement of the code, he said that he didn’t want the university to get the wrong idea about ROTC. He said the ROTC program has no power to hold students accountable outside.

In order to monitor and maintain the integrity of the code, an honor committee was formed by peer election.

According to the ROTC Web site, lying includes partial truths, vagueness, ambiguity and the intent to deceive. Cheating is characterized by gaining an unfair advantage and by plagiarizing. And a cadet who withholds information about his or her fellow cadets’ wrongdoings characterizes toleration of those who do.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 February 2009 03:58 PM )

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