A question of honour: U.S Army Colonel speaks at Ashesi on the importance of ethics

As part of the discussion around integrity and honour at Ashesi, the Dean of Students and Community Affairs office invited Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Dwayne Stanton, a U.S. Army graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, to speak with students, staff and faculty about his experiences with an Honour Code. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a world-famous institution that embraces the Honour Code.  Known for delivering some of the most rigorous training regimes in the world, West Point is renowned for its emphasis on honour, discipline and allegiance, in all spheres of its students’ lives.

Speaking about his experiences growing up, being a student at the U.S. Military Academy, and serving as a Foreign Area Officer in the US Army, LTC Stanton gave real examples of ethical dilemmas he had seen and faced, the actions taken and the consequences that came with it. From recent stories like that of Lance Armstrong, to stories about his classmates and himself at West Point, LTC Stanton made a strong case for the need for an Honour Code in every society, and encouraged the Ashesi community to respect, enforce and promote its own.

LTC Stanton explained that in most cases, making the personal decision to do the right thing was not the most difficult part of an Honour Code; rather, ensuring that other people around you did the right thing was what most people could not do. He explained that at West Point, the tenet in the Honour Code for this was called “Toleration”. (The tenet reads: Cadets violate the Honour Code by tolerating if they fail to report an unresolved incident with honor implications to proper authority within a reasonable length of time.)

“This is the clause that West Pointers have a hard time with, and you are going to have a hard time wrapping your head around, embracing and living,” LTC Stanton explained. “It will not be just here in the classrooms at Ashesi, but out there in the ‘big, bad world.’ You are going to see things that are unethical, and that should not be tolerated, and you are going to face a dilemma on what to do.”

“But at West Point, we try to communicate that you put the onus of responsibility back on the offender, by telling them that ‘you cheated, you lied, and now it is your responsibility to resolve it. I do not want to be ‘snitch’ but I will be if I have to.”

The conversation was lively, as LTC Stanton answered and shared his opinions on questions from students who in turn shared their own experiences, challenges and misgivings about the Honour Code. “It’s not about you and the test that you’re cheating on, but it’s about all the people who are a part of this institution. If you cheat, or lie, you tarnish all their reputations.”