<p>It would certainly be an interesting trial. A case like that would be very opinionated, and the topic of discussion could very quickly run astray from the topic at hand.</p>
<p>Not really.</p>
<p>canuck01: Do you mean that there would be a tangential controversy over “underage” drinking? I don’t personally believe in the age-of-21 law either, but the furthest extent of my civil disobedience yet has been knowingly helping undocumented immigrants and file-sharing. I’m not really into the fake-ID stuff. Well unless, that fake ID assists a migrant’s documentation.</p>
<p>I did think there would be a controversy more over the idea of whether a small honour violation is still a serious honour violation. And you have a possible Sorites paradox (if 6-8 dollars is not too serious, is 9 dollars also not serious? $11? $15? $25? $57?)</p>
<p>galoisien, there certainly are Honor offenses that are at the margins, so to speak. You should look into trying out for Honor in the fall. It’s a fairly competitive process, but I found it to be worthwhile.</p>
<p>Yes to the age of 21, but more so to the topic of what differentiates a minor honor violation from a major honor violation. </p>
<p>Now I know little of how well defined the Honor Code is for such circumstances, but I could see the trial shifting towards a discussion of whether $5 is minor, and $11 is major. Where you draw the line depends heavily on a large number of factors, including the background of whomever is deciding the severity of the offense. Our concept of what is and what isn’t a lot of money is heavily based on where we come from and how we were raised. Being a diverse University, I see a potential for conflict.</p>
<p>I imagine the stereo equipment one will be the easier one to settle, and I have a feeling he will be asked to leave. Not only did he steal, but he was trying to gain something off of it. Not cool.
The beer part is, like everyone has said, the tricky one. I don’t think he’ll be convicted, because he could argue that he thought he paid for it, thought it was his even though it was someone else’s, etc. Bad excuses, maybe, but could see how it would be hard to point out that he was intentionally stealing with harm in mind.<br>
And, I too am all for adopting the Redskins. Heck, keep their name even.</p>
<p>A lot of it also depends on the other party, doesn’t it? After all, if such acts were common, shops would have to be on guard against students, which would be a pity because I recall from Orientation that the honor system often extends to commercial transactions within Charlottesville (which helps convenience).</p>
<p>Not to sink your happy ship, but the honor code isn’t some majestic thing that rules the school. Sure, people adhere to it and won’t outright steal your things or not help you out when need be, but people lie, steal, and especially cheat, all the dang time. It’s just a matter of others reporting it. I have witnessed, as I won’t say whether I personally took part in this or not, an incident of cheating, and the person was not reported, just talked to and reminded that if it ever even slightly happened again, it would be reported. The person, I doubt, will ever do it again. But UVA isn’t ruled by the honor code in any means, it’s just there to keep a even ground and for basic security.
And you’ll find store security features and bouncers and cops and all of that around C’ville. This stuff does happen, and it’s not a huge deal, it’s life.</p>