To our Revered Administrators, Esteemed Faculty Members, Caring Alumni, Illustrious Trustees, our Prestigious President and Provost, and Honorable fellow students– Good Afternoon. And to the members of the class of 2012 – welcome.  You have the distinct honor of being the One-Hundredth freshman class to be sworn into the Stevens Honor System!  It is now a different time than when the Honor System was founded. One-hundred years ago the school’s third academic building, Morton, opened its doors. The only degree offered was in mechanical engineering, and the entire student population of the college was smaller than the current class of 2012.  A lot has come and gone since then, but one thing that has not is the Stevens Honor System – a system that has stood steadfast for the last 100 years.

My first summer here I really learned what a privilege it was to take a test under our Honor System. It was one of the hottest days of summer and I had to take a midterm in E222. It just so happened that the Air Conditioner broke that day, and the room was sweltering. Mid-way through the exam the class hears the calls of an ice cream truck that’s pulled up right outside the little league field across the street. And it stood there playing that Mr. Softie Jingle, taunting us studious test takers. At this point the professor walks out of the room, and a few minutes later comes back with the most delicious looking ice cream cone I’ve ever seen. Someone joked with the professor and proclaimed “Do you have enough for everyone?” The Professor said – “Well there’s nothing keeping you here – go and get yourself one!” At that time half the class got up to take advantage of the ice cream truck. The Honor System allowed that professor to trust the students to leave the room and not to talk about the exam.  This trust between faculty and students is the hallmark of the Stevens Honor System and has defined the Stevens Education for the last one-hundred years. But like any other bulwark, one-hundred years of exposure to the elements will fatigue any foundation. And without timely upkeep and adaptation to the environment around it – this pillar, this bulwark, this rampart so central to the mission to our university can erode until it begins to falter under its own weight. The signs of fatigue are visible to our community.

 Last spring the Honor Board administered a survey to all of the undergraduate students, just under eleven hundred responses were collected. While the survey showed that students thought cheating is a problem on campus, it also showed that students want the respect and trust of their faculty members, and want a synergy where students and faculty are partners in their education. Students want to have the trust that is given by an Honor System.  Though our system may be showing signs of fatigue, there is no reason why we can’t strengthen its faults – there is no reason why we can’t recommit to the core value of our beloved institute as personified by our Honor System. The support for the Honor System is there at the highest level – every trustee, every vice president, every dean and alumnus whom I have ever interacted with has expressed sincere support for the Stevens Honor System. One even referred to it as the greatest gift one class can bestow to the next.

We have been working hard to re-energize the Stevens Honor System by bolstering its strengths; identifying and addressing its limitations; and otherwise bringing it to the forefront of campus discussions. Just last semester we had over a half-dozen student organizations involved in the conduct of a survey, the results of which will be released shortly, and used as a catalyst for a community wide discussion on the Honor System – a conversation I implore the class of 2012 to participate in.  As Alexander C. Humphries, the college president who pushed for an Honor System 100 years ago; as he knew – academic integrity cannot be forced by the administration, cannot be taught by the faculty. Academic Integrity must be desired by the students.

The onus is on us, the students – and the time is ripe for the students to again step up like so many times before, to tackle and overcome the problems facing the community, so that four years from now, when someone on this podium welcoming the freshman class to Honor System, they will genuinely be able to say that this is the greatest gift that any class could give another – to keep it close, to keep it well, and to always pass it along in better condition. At this time, I ask all of the new students to rise so you can be formally inducted as the one-hundredth class into the Stevens Honor System,  You will find the Induction pledge on the back of your program, please repeat after me.

 "I swear that I will conduct myself with the utmost honesty, honor, and integrity in all of my academic endeavors.  I also swear that I will uphold the principles of the Stevens Honor System, and the policies set forth by the Stevens Honor Board."

Congratulations, you may be seated.

Four years ago I sat where you now sit. After making that same commitment you just made, I couldn’t help but think about my place in the Honor System.  Really, I should have been thinking about the Honor System’s place in me.  I hope you do.

Thank you.