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Letter to the Editor: An alum's perspective on Honor Code reform

To the Editor, 

As a Princetonian in the 1980s, neither I nor any of my friends had any fear of losing a year of school due to a mistake. Yet we abided by the stated rules of the Honor Code as today's students do.  Unfortunately, the Honor System as a whole has clearly mutated from a system based on respect to one based on fear.

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The fault for this should not be placed at the feet of the current committee members.  The change in practice probably happened over a period of decades.  At this point, however, a drastic correction seems necessary.

I support the proposals because they have a chance at alleviating some of the current madness.  However, institutional memory will still be a problem.  It is in our nature to hire people who agree with us. I therefore recommend that if the current referenda pass, students consider lessening the control of hiring new committee members by current committee members.

Andrew Berman ’88

Andrew Berman is a Princeton alumnus from the Class of 1988. He can be reached at andrewberman@outlook.com.

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