Week 10: Community Standards, Honor Code, and Civic Engagement

Issue #10

Community Standards and the Honor Code

Community Standards and Campus Policies

As you’ve seen showcased throughout Ready, Set, Oberlin!, Oberlin is a welcoming, vibrant community with a vast amount of opportunity. To make sure that everyone in our community feels safe and supported, students are expected to adhere to specific policies and procedures related to their academic work and personal life.

Oberlin’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards maintains these policies, which are outlined on this website. Our student conduct system seeks to create an environment that educates students about the relationship between their personal freedom and their responsibilities to their community, that holds all members of the community accountable for their behavior, and that promotes habits of effective and engaged citizenship.

We also understand that everyone makes mistakes. When a student does violate a policy, Oberlin prioritizes educational and restorative outcomes whenever possible.

For more information regarding the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, please view the office’s website.

Alcohol and Hazing Education

As part of our commitment to keep members of the Oberlin community safe and to meet federal requirements, all incoming students are required to complete an alcohol education course.

To meet this requirement, we have partnered with Vector Solutions to provide you with online courses titled "AlcoholEDU" and "Hazing Awareness and Prevention". You will receive an email later this summer directly from Vector Solutions. Students are required to complete this educational course by Friday, August 23, 2024.

Should you have any questions, please contact Thom Julian, Associate Dean of Students, at tjulian@oberlin.edu.

Honor Code

Oberlin’s Honor Code, initially adopted in 1930, is the policy that upholds academic integrity at Oberlin. What is unique about Oberlin’s Honor Code is that it is administered by a student board—the Student Honor Committee (SHC)—and it puts additional trust in the hands of students by not having exams proctored by faculty members.

For each assignment, students must sign the honor pledge, which states: "I have adhered to the Honor Code on the assignment."  This pledge is an acknowledgment that the student did not cheat, plagiarize, fabricate, or falsify information.

Students will learn more about the Honor Code during New Student Orientation and during LEAD 050. For questions regarding the Honor Code, please email the Student Honor Committee at ohonor@oberlin.edu. 

‌OC Votes

As many of you know, there is an upcoming General Election this year on November 5th, 2024! OC Votes, Oberlin's democratic engagement coalition, is here to help prepare Oberlin students to vote! Oberlin students are future global citizens and changemakers, and we are here to help you exercise your right to a voice in our democracy. Did you know that, as Obelrin students, you are eligible to register to vote in Ohio? Here are some tips on how to prepare to vote this November!

1) Voter Identification Requirements: Ohio requires voters to have an Ohio driver's license, passport, or one of these forms of photo ID to vote in person on Election Day. As you're packing up to come to campus, make sure to bring one along if you have it! If you don't have one of these forms of ID, don't worry! You can still vote with the last four digits of your Social Security Number.

2) Voter Registration: Voter Registration will be available throughout the Fall semester. Look out for OC Votes updates around campus. You'll find us around campus during Move-In Day and Welcome Week. Registration takes less than 5 minutes, and our goal is to register as many incoming students as we can. Get your OC Votes sticker and start your journey as an Obie who votes.

If you are not an Ohio resident, registering to vote in Ohio will not affect your student aid, taxes, or car insurance. If you have any other questions, please reach out to us at ocvotes@oberlin.edu.

3) Prepare to Vote: OC Votes will have a host of events throughout the Fall to provide information about how to vote in-person or by mail. If you do not have one of those forms of acceptable photo IDs, you will have to vote absentee - but don't worry! OC Votes can help you fill out an absentee ballot request along with your registration. All you need to do is fill out your ballot, and we'll even help you ride to the polls to drop off your ballot. Get to know what local issues and candidates are on the ballot. Learn more information about voting and events on our OC Votes website.

If you are an out-of-state student who isn't sure yet whether you want to vote in Ohio, you can also check out your state's voting guide here. We can't wait to have you on campus!