Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden Sydney, VA) - Honor and Tradition
A Tradition of Civility and Honor.
Honor. It's more than an ideal, it's a way of life, and it inspires everything we do at Hampden-Sydney down to the smallest interaction, like greeting everyone we meet on campus. For more than two and a half centuries, we've lived according to two basic statements that summarize what honorable behavior means to us.
The first is the Code of Conduct, our promise to treat each other, members of the College community and everyone else we meet as we would like to be treated. This principle is as powerful today as it was when it was originally introduced in the early nineteenth century:
"The Hampden-Sydney student will behave as a gentleman at all times and in all places."
The second principle is the Honor Code.
We use it as a guide in every interaction - academic, professional, and social. By agreeing to follow it, we pledge our opposition to underhanded or illegal behavior. It applies at all times and in all places, but we don't view it as a set of rules. It's a set of ethical principles which make it possible for us to live in a community of mutual trust and respect.
"The Hampden-Sydney student will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do."
These principles guide us in creating a safe and dignified community. By constantly putting them into practice, we make them the core of a lifelong ethical standard.