Princeton Sophomore Says College Honor Code Prohibiting Cheating Is Racist

In a world that values hard work and rational thought, “whiteness,” It makes sense that cheating prohibitions would be considered systemically racist. That’s precisely the “anti-racist” Princeton University sophomore Hill chose to proverbially kill upon.

In Article for Princeton’s college newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, sophomore Emilly Santos argues that “American systems of legal administration enact violence against minority populations,” This includes the criminal justice system. “Princeton’s Honor Code, tasked with holding students accountable and honest in academic settings, mirrors the criminal justice system in its rules and effects.”

Santos then outlines that the disciplinary actions imposed — such as suspension, withholding of financial aid, a record on your transcript, or even expulsion — on students who violate the honor code affect minority or “first-generation low-income (FLI) students” She believes that the majority of people who are not prepared to navigate such a system are the least prepared. Santos suggests that “the University should lead by example by dismantling the Honor Code system, which acts as a barrier to social mobility and a more equitable society.”

That prohibitions on cheating and plagiarizing are now conflated with systemic racism shows how effectively propagandized the nation’s allegedly best and brightest — at Ivy League schools, no less — have become. Santos strongly recommends that the honor code be abolished solely for racial reasons. “equity” She believes that students of low income must cheat or plagiarize in order to excel academically at Princeton. Santos is thus engaging in The soft bigotry that comes with low expectations At the expense her college peers.

Although low-income students and minorities should be provided with the necessary resources and support to excel academically in school, cheating is not allowed. Santos insults her peers’ intelligence by assuming removing academic standards will help them succeed. Ironically, Santos promotes a new type of pernicious racism that the left has adopted in the name of race equity.

Besides, Princeton’s honor code is not to blame for the problems Santos highlights. Affirmative action is the real culprit.

Many students granted admittance to the nation’s elite colleges solely or partly on the basis of their skin color are woefully unprepared for the academic environment at those schools. Many students drop out of school or fail their classes as a result.

According to the Heritage Foundation, a study showed that more than half of the top law schools had black students in the bottom ten percent of their class. Black law students dropped out at a rate twice as high as their white counterparts (11.3 percent vs 8.2%).

Another Study California’s ban on race-based admissions at public colleges led to a 4.4 percent increase in graduation rates for minority students. This could be explained by students choosing colleges that they felt were better suited.

Santos must realize that if colleges don’t base admissions on merit, students will continue to enroll in schools that are not suited for them.