“On my honor,” a student hastily scribbles on her assessment before handing it in. Choate Rosemary Hall’s Honor Pledge –– in full: On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid –– is often taken for granted on campus, with a framed copy of the code in each classroom. But where did it originate, and how?
According to the April 12, 1912 edition of The Choate News, Choate’s honor code began with an “Honor System” during Mr. George C. St. John’s time as headmaster, from 1908 to 1947. As part of this system, tests and exams were left in charge of students with teachers free to leave the room. “Students are responsible for their own honesty,” the newspaper reads. “[The Honor System] will strengthen the School’s conscience.”
The Choate School’s Honor System was reportedly modeled after that of Princeton University. Mr. Sam Thomas, 1938, was integral to establishing this system. After visiting Princeton and noticing how successful the college’s Honor System was, he returned to Choate and formulated a plan for the school’s own program. Mr. Dan Coyle, a member of the Choate faculty who graduated from Princeton, supported Mr. Thomas’s ideas and eventually wrote the first draft of Choate’s Honor System.
Sometime in 1931-32, a written pledge on each paper — I pledge on my honor as a gentleman that I have neither given nor received aid on this paper — was established as part of this system. A shorter version, I pledge this paper on my honor, was used by students.
A revised version of the Honor System was inaugurated in February 1939, with its constitution printed in the November 18, 1939 edition of The Choate News. The pledge guided generations of academic work until it fell out of use in the mid-1970s, soon after Choate School and Rosemary Hall merged in 1971.
Ms. Judy Donald, an alumna of Rosemary Hall who currently works in Archives at the Andrew Mellon Library, does not recall the honor code being a tradition at Rosemary Hall. “The honor code goes in and out of fashion,” she commented. “There are other ways to remind people of academic integrity.”
The Honor Pledge officially returned following Thanksgiving break in 2001: On my honor as a student at Choate Rosemary Hall, I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work. It served as “a reminder to students of a fundamental value of an academic community: the principle of academic integrity,” said former Dean of Students Mr. E. Edmondson Maddox. Rather than taking place of the Statement of Understanding that all students and their parents must sign prior to the school year, the pledge was meant to “affirm as a community a commitment we have to a fundamental principle in which we believe.”
Head of School Dr. Alex Curtis echoed a similar sentiment in Choate’s Academic Integrity Resource Guide. “The pledge ‘on my honor’ recalls our school motto, Fidelitas et Integritas, (fidelity and integrity) which reminds us of the Choate community’s commitment to principles of honor and personal responsibility,” he wrote. “By putting these principles of academic integrity to work in your daily lives, you will be able to write out the honor pledge in good conscience, protect your untarnished reputation, and take pride in your own work and authorship.”
There’s no doubt that Choate’s honor pledge exemplifies the values Choate holds in regards to academic work. “It’s an important part of academic integrity and necessary in establishing an environment that values original work,” Angelina Heyler ’18 said. “Students sign the statement of expectations before they come to Choate, so I think the honor pledge is more of an reminder.”
Certainly, “to be under the Honor System gives one a sense of freedom,” as the September 1946 edition of The Choate News reads. “Choate should indeed be proud of her Honor System.”
