TO: The South Carolina Corps of Cadets, The Citadel

Since the first Honor System was established in 1915, The Citadel has a long tradition of instilling honor into cadets through the Honor Code.  The Honor Code is unique to The Citadel.  It belongs to and is administered by the Corps of Cadets, serving only other cadets.  This all encompassing responsibility has been passed down through the Corps for generations.  While times have changed, the Spirit of the Code has remained the same.

The Cadet Honor Code must not be feared, but embraced.  The Code is part of life that we instill within ourselves that frees us from dishonesty, unfaithfulness, deceit, and other disdainful aspects of life that inhibit us from being the men and women this world so desperately needs.  At a time like this when society is at a moral crossroads, honor, integrity, and ethics are in high demand.

The Code helps build cadets with these qualities if they chose to make them a part of not only their cadet experience, but life outside of the gates as well.  You will take the values you gain as your time as a cadet and live that way outside of the gates.

As cadets we have the trust of those who came before us to uphold the code and not bring the code or those who live by it any discredit.  It is a cadet's responsibility to preserve an uncompromising commitment to the Code, just as those who came before us have.  As cadets, we have the trust of those who have stood in the Long Grey Line before us to uphold the reputation of The Citadel.

Robert L. Kilgo

Cadet Lieutenant Colonel

2010-2011 Cadet Honor Committee

Chairman

TO: The Corps of Cadets, The Citadel

The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, has long stood as a bastion of honor, integrity, and ethical virtue. The Long Gray Line looks to you to preserve this institution's rigid military discipline, high academic standards and, most important, its uncompromising commitment to the Cadet honor Code. The Citadel's great reputation rests upon these ideals, and it is each cadet's duty to uphold these high principles of distinction.

TO: The Corps of Cadets, The Citadel

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, has long stood as a bastion of honor, integrity, and ethical virtues. The Long Gray Line looks to you to preserve this institution's rigid military discipline, high academic standards, and most importantly, its uncompromising commitment to the Cadet Honor Code. The Citadel's dauntless reputation rests upon these ideals, and it is each cadet's duty to uphold these high principles of distinction.

The Cadet Honor Code was created in 1955 by a unanimous vote of the Corps of Cadets. This means that the Honor Code belongs to the Corps of Cadets. Administration of the Honor Code is conducted by the Honor Committee, which consists of members of the senior class who have been elected to serve as Honor Committee Representatives. The Honor Committee is integrated into the cadet chain of command for your benefit, with representatives at company, battalion and regimental levels. They are there to answer any questions you may have.

"A cadet does not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." There are few phrases that, while maintaining such a level of simplicity, necessitate such a dramatic change of lifestyle. For some, the Honor Code is the pinnacle of a cadet's virtue, to others it is something of which to be wary, and finally, there are those that offer it nothing but embittered cynicism. It is left for us to discern: what should it be?

Most people have little trouble accepting the first three tenants of the Citadel's Honor Code; the fourth tenant, toleration, is not always as well understood or embraced. Almost none of the other school's that possess honor codes include toleration of a dishonorable act as a violation of their code. Why does the Citadel maintain this higher standard, requiring cadets to enforce the code or risk their own conviction? There are many that would think it is simply out of convenience. Since the Corps turns a blind eye at many violations of military regulations, placing loyalty to their friends over their military duty, a toleration clause helps to ensure that the honor code is more widely enforced. While seemingly reasonable this type of thought process cannot be further from the truth.

There are a number of levels of acceptance that cadets offer to the honor system, ranging from individual internalization and embracement of the spirit of the code to disassociated cynicism. Perhaps a more popular stance that rests squarely in between these two extremes is a policy of strict avoidance, those that judge a successful relationship with the honor system by how little interaction they have had with it at any level. Define irony: that those who take the latter two of these stances often stand a greater chance to be unwillingly involved in the system because of a lack of understanding or a contemptuous rejection of the honor system's principles.