"HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF"

Once again the Dartmouth undergraduate body has lined itself up in opposition to the adoption of an honor system, this time by the decisive margin of more than 100 votes. On the mere face of things the decision is not complimentary to Dartmouth students, but appearances in this case are deceitful. It was not an unwillingness to place themselves on their honor during final examinations and quizzes, but rather opposition to a singe clause in the proposed constitution which was manifested by the undergraduates in the referendum.

The vote followed a widespread discussion of the honor system in undergraduate publications, on the campus, and even in classrooms in some courses. The discussion was brought to a climax the night before the vote by a formal debate in which undergraduate teams argued the merits of the system before a large audience of students. At that time the only indication of the way in which the vote would probably swing lay in the award of the Lockwood debating prize to one of the speakers for the negative, G. E. Carmody '22. By arrangement with the public speaking section of the English department this prize was awarded on the strength of best performance at the honor system debate.

The plan for an honor system, as drawn up by an undergraduate committee, comprised three salient features. First, the signing of a pledge after every examination to the effect that the signer has not given nor received aid during the examination; second, the submission of all violations of the honor system to an undergraduate board for trial; third and last, the requirement that any violations seen by undergraduates shall be reported by them to the proper authorities.

This last provision, although shown to be absolutely essential to the success of an honor system, failed to meet with the approval of the Dartmouth student body. Rather than accept a plan which they believed to contain one impractical article, they rejected the whole proposition. For the time being, at least, the adoption of an honor system cannot remain a vital issue in the College.