One of the first formal activities of a new academic year, the Honor Code Convocation is part of BC’s induction process for freshmen and transfer students. In addition to pledging allegiance to the core values of the Christian college during the program, the students are asked to sign the Bluefield College Honor Code.
“The Honor Code affirms the core values of Bluefield College to develop students’ potential through academic excellence and the intentional integration of faith, the liberal arts, and professional studies,” said Dr. Marshall Flowers, vice president for academic affairs, “and to create a caring community characterized by respect, support, and encouragement for each member of the college community.”
The BC code of conduct calls on students to live lives of honor, above reproach and based upon Christian principles. It states that honesty and civility are required elements of an effective learning environment and that truthfulness and respect for others are shared values of the college and expected characteristics of its members.
Each member of the BC student body is encouraged to understand and agree to the concepts. In fact, during the Honor Code Convocation, all new students recite in unison the principles within the code, pledging “not to lie or cheat or still” and to be students of “integrity, individual responsibility, and mutual respect.”
As part of the program, the students, most of whom will graduate with the class of 2019, also ceremoniously sign the school’s Honor Code as a demonstration of their commitment to adhere to it. In return, BC faculty and staff agree to hold dear the principles of the Honor Code and to create a campus environment that promotes its concepts.
“Bluefield College is committed to the pursuit of truth, the dissemination of knowledge, and the high ideals of personal honor and respect for the rights of others,” said Charles Reese, a professor of theatre who participated in the program. “These goals can only be achieved in a setting in which intellectual honesty and personal integrity are highly valued and other individuals are respected.”
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View more photos from the Honor Code Convocation. Photos by Elizabeth Decker
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