CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

"The greatest way to live with honour in this world is to be what we pretend to be." — Socrates

Some five weeks earlier, on 5 October, a very different 'ground-breaking' ceremony occurred. There were no spades, patches of soil, or construction machinery and building materials looking on silently from the fringes. The founding student cohort of CW Chu College stood together in College robes, placed their hands on their hearts, and made the following solemn promise:

As a student member of the CW Chu community, I pledge on my honour to comport myself with honesty, integrity and courtesy in my academic and personal life. I understand that failure to observe these standards violates the Honour Code and undermines the community of trust and respect, of which we are all stewards.

By taking this step, the students of CW Chu College have joined a long tradition in student self-development and self-regulation. This tradition stretches back to 1779 when the College of William & Mary in Virginia, at the behest of Thomas Jefferson, established the first student-run honour system in the former British colonies. There are now about 100 honour codes at universities and tertiary colleges in North America. The pledge taken by CW Chu students is inspired by the one in place at William & Mary.

Notwithstanding its historical antecedents, our students' pledge-taking last October was pioneering. CW Chu College is the first tertiary education institution in Hong Kong to introduce an Honour Code.

The rationale for introducing this tradition to CW Chu College is simple. A guiding principle in our foundation is the creation of an environment in which students can achieve their full potential not only academically, but also personally as their transition from adolescence to adulthood is completed. This means allowing the students themselves, as far as possible and subject to the University's disciplinary regulations, to deal with questions of student conduct. The Honour Code provides a means of allowing — indeed, requiring — the students to take ownership of student culture within the College. The students themselves will be primarily responsible for ensuring that relationships among themselves — and between themselves and people within the wider University and Hong Kong communities — are conducted on a basis that brings only honour and credit to students of CW Chu College.

As from Term 1 of the 2013–14 academic year, the Honour Code will be administered by a Student Honour Code Committee (SHCC). Initially composed of seven students elected by and from among the students themselves, the SHCC will take the lead in popularising the Honour Code and in its further development. The inaugural SHCC has already been elected by the entire student body: CHA Min Ji Chelsea, FUNG Yu Yan Mary, LIN Jiayi Eirene, LIN Yan Amber, LUO Ruizhe Derrick, WANG Shijie Mike, and YIP Ching Yi Chesley.

The Honour Code is mainly about cultural change and personal development, rather than student discipline. However, and as a last resort, the SHCC will also have an enforcement function by which breaches of the Honour Code may result in an official reprimand by the SHCC. A reprimand may be published to the entire College community. Appeals may be made from the SHCC to the College Student Discipline Committee. A mechanism also exists by which the SHCC can initiate changes to the Honour Code and its procedures so that they can develop in tandem with the growing size, experience and maturity of the student body.

In the case of a more serious violation of student discipline, the matter will still need to be referred to the College or University committees on student discipline in accordance with University regulations. It is expected, however, that most infringements of the Honour Code will be handled without the need for formal procedures or intervention by the College and University disciplinary apparatus.

Our students have embarked on a new journey in personal growth, cultural maturity, and individual liberty balanced by responsibility.

Stephen Hall

Chair, Committee on Student Discipline