Students sign Honor Code poster and watch video during annual assembly

In+the+atrium%2C+a+group+of+sophomores+signs+the+Honor+Code+poster.+This+document+represents+the+students+agreement+to+the+terms+of+the+Honor+Code.+While+they+signed+the+poster+by+advisory%2C+others+watched+a+video+which+displayed+various+students+and+facultys+opinions+of+honor.+

In the atrium, a group of sophomores signs the Honor Code poster. This document represents the students’ agreement to the terms of the Honor Code. While they signed the poster by advisory, others watched a video which displayed various students’ and faculty’s opinions of honor.

On Tuesday, September 11, the Honor Council held the annual Honor Code poster signing assembly for each class. Signing the poster represented the students’ understanding of the Honor Code and their willingness to obey its rules.

During the meeting, each advisory signed the poster one by one, while others watched a video that consisted of students and faculty describing their interpretations of and experiences with honor.

The video was filmed last spring by Honor Council members, including sophomore representative Sahana Rangarajan.

“We worked hard from the end of last year to start making a video. Overall, the organization was better [than last year’s video], and it was just a lot more efficient,” she said. “This year we had people from Honor Council, people from Student Council, people who were known for something around school, but we could have people from different activities [interviewed] as well [for next year].”

A participant in the video, Vivek Sriram (10) thought the assembly was a great opportunity to consider and reflect on the meaning of honor.

“I thought it was really helpful as it gave other people’s views of the honor code of Harker,” he said.

Others, including Nina Sabharwal (12), have been attending this event for many years and have started to feel that it has “become a Harker ritual.” However, she believes some aspects of the assembly could have been better.

“Maybe [there could be] a more updated video, [and] the volume should be louder,” she said.

Likewise, many freshmen, who were viewing the video for the first time, had mixed opinions on the assembly.

“I thought it was very informative, and I liked how we could see people interviewed for what they thought honor meant,” Jillian Shaw (9) said. “[To improve,] maybe not make the video so long because people tend to get bored with it.”

Honor Council faculty chair, Dr. Mark Brada, felt that the meeting went smoothly and ran efficiently.

“There were some very small hiccups, but from what I heard from the other students, […] it went very well overall,” he said. “I think the main point of having this assembly is to bring the idea of honor and academic integrity to the forefront of students’ minds.”

According to Honor Council members, they will begin preparing for next year’s assembly and filming clips for a new video in the spring.