BYU's honor code

PROVO — When Brigham Young University recently sacked four football players, the decision was the result of a top-secret investigation conducted by a mostly unknown team of five people sequestered in a quiet corner of campus.

The Honor Code Office remains shrouded in mystery, jerked out of obscurity at irregular intervals when its reviews of possible violations of the school's strict code of conduct involve high-profile students. For many inside and outside the BYU community, the Honor Code Office calls to mind an officious band of moralizing zealots spying on students and harshly enforcing unreasonable rules.

No sex between consenting adults? Bans on beards, body piercing and bars? Doesn't sound much like a typical college campus.

Of course, that's the point at this LDS Church-owned university.

And despite myths to the contrary, officials say, draconian methods of enforcement of the school's strict rules of comportment aren't necessary to create "an atmosphere consistent with the ideals and principles" of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"We don't go out and look for honor code violations," said Steve Baker, director of the school's Honor Code Office. "Philosophically and practically, that's not something we want to do."

Baker and four other "honor code counselors" would be hard-pressed to find time to spy while handling between 300 and 1,000 reported honor-code violations each year.

The honor code is basically a list of rules students are asked to follow. Among other things, the honor code prohibits premarital sex and consumption of alcohol and tobacco.

Cases handled by Baker's team represent 1 percent to 2 percent of the student body, according to a recent internal study, Baker said. The same percentage holds for athletes.

Obviously, many more students fall short of exact compliance, and Baker said his office actually shuns many cases.

"We tell people, 'Here's the expectation. We're here to help, and we'll always help if you'll identify yourself and provide information, but is there another way you can intervene?' "

There are a lot of ways to handle lower-level infractions, he said.

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"You can punch a friend in the arm and say, 'Knock it off.' You can put your arm around someone and say, 'Come on.' "

Most students list the school's "moral environment" as a reason they chose and support the honor code. In fact, they must commit to follow it before they can enroll and must annually recommit to observe it once they are students through a program called Ecclesiastical Endorsements.