The Honor Code
To celebrate the Class of 2024, students gathered on Tempel Green to sign the Honor Code Matriculation Pledge on Saturday, Sept. 26, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1922 when the College’s Honor Code was first developed by students.
“When many of us said ‘Yes’ to Conn, we immediately thought about the Honor Code. Each student here has the privilege of walking around on a campus where the Honor Code is prevalent in every aspect of student life,” Class of 2024 President Shamar Rule wrote to students.
When many colleges and universities across the country are operating on a mostly remote basis due to the pandemic, the “privilege of walking” on Conn’s campus has rarely been felt more by students.
“One of the great traditions students have is to sign the Honor Code Matriculation Pledge at the start of the semester, but we were unable to do this during orientation this year, due the campus quarantine restrictions,” said Geoff Norbert, assistant dean student engagement and new student programs.
“The purpose of Saturday was to provide a chance for students to get together outside as a community, enjoy the great fall weather and have fun. It was intended to be a celebration of the work they have done as a student community to get to alert level yellow.”
Conn has designated four levels of alert—red, orange, yellow and green—based on community transmission of COVID-19 with red indicating the need to significantly reduce campus operations to a minimum down to green, which indicates operations of a “normal” level where the College is operating with baseline adjustments that address the existence of COVID-19.
“The signing of the Honor Code pledge is a Conn rite of passage. Now more than ever, students are expected to uphold community guidelines, so of course, the tradition of signing is even more meaningful,” said Luci McGlynn ’22.
“Watching the first-year class connect with fellow class members and enjoy the beautiful day was a sweet reminder of the value that the Honor Code has at Conn.”
Ella Ross ’23, a representative on the honor council, said that the event, which included a DJ and local food trucks, highlights how hard the faculty, staff and students are working to create a fun, safe and welcoming environment this semester.
“Although the tradition looked a lot different this year, I felt the event stressed the importance of community even more so than in previous years, as individuals’ presence was contingent on them wearing a mask, social distancing, and protecting those around them,” Ross said.
Conn continues to follow the State of Connecticut’s guidelines for colleges and universities, as well as federal guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Conn’s COVID-19 Dashboard, since Aug. 17, Conn has run 16,470 tests with six students testing positive, and one positive employee test. As of Sept. 27, Conn had zero active cases among students and one active case among employees.
