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 and behaving as gentlemen at all times and in all places.
For more than two and a half centuries, we've lived according to two basic codes that define 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:
"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, illegal, or unethical behavior.
"The Hampden-Sydney student will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do."
These ethical principles guide us in creating a safe and dignified community of mutual trust and respect. By constantly putting them into practice, we make them the core of a lifelong ethical standard.
At a young age I had some pretty heavy responsibilities and different groups that were counting on me to deliver. That prepared me for success in the Marine Corps. Hampden-Sydney traditions have always been the base for me to fall back on: being a gentleman and serving with a sense of honor and social responsibility.
Colonel Chris Hughes ‘88, U.S. Marine Corps, ret.
The responsibility is yours.
These codes — and the accompanying discipline for any offender — are student-governed, and it is up to the members of this brotherhood, year after year, to preserve the standards of decency and ethical behavior that have been the foundations of student life since before the American Revolution. The strength of this system — and the foundation of this community — depends on the integrity and ethical actions of every single member of the Hampden-Sydney community.
