Author: rattef

Honor at Reed

A core aspect of Reed that sets it apart from other institutions is the existence of the Honor Principle. While many colleges and universities have honor codes or statements clarifying the expected behavior of their community members, Reed leaves the interpretation of honor largely up to its community members. While the honor principle has no formal definition, the most common interpretation of the Honor Principle mentions that any action that causes unnecessary pain or discomfort to any member of the Reed community, group within the community, or to the community as a whole, is a violation of the Honor Principle. The Honor Council attempts to re-encapsulate what the Honor Principle means to the community at large every 20 years.

This code of conduct allows for the Reed community to develop our values together. Coming to an understanding of what honorable behavior is and what the Honor Principle means is a morally and intellectually challenging part of the Reed education. It is up to each member of the community to engage with the trust, as well as responsibility placed on them by the Honor Principle in order for the community to support everyone!

Flowchart outlining how the Honor Principle comes into play when a Reed community member causes harm

Below are some accounts about the honor principle from alum Andrei Stephens ’08 and current J-Board (Judicial Board) member Nicole Li ’25 respectively.

“The Honor Principle was a huge part of Reed when I was there. It permeated everything and was constantly reinforced. Professors would do things like give us a test on Monday and say it was due Saturday but to only spend 3 hours on it. They were able to do that because of the Honor Principle, it was understood. We all left food and electronics and anything else out in public spaces — if it wasn’t marked “K”, nobody would take it. You can test things that you can’t test in the absence of the Honor Principle. If you can’t cite sources directly or use the software that practitioners of your field would use because professors are worried about ‘cheating’, they can’t test the ability to use those tools effectively. The Honor Principle doesn’t mean never getting things wrong; it means that when you do get things wrong you did it from an honorable attempt to engage, and you take responsibility and seek to make things right. The assumption that in an argument all parties were engaging not to ‘be right’ but to probe the truth allowed us to learn more and deepen our perspectives in ways that we simply could not if we had different community expectations.

Unfortunately most of the world does not operate on the Honor Principle. I appreciate my time in the Reed community all the more because I know that we can speak openly with each other, and the assumption of good faith engagement drives our spaces.”

 – Andrei Stephens ’08, self-proclaimed Honor Principle Zealot and President of the Alumni Board

“As a J-Board member and student, the Honor Principle is near and dear to my heart. It shows me how much trust we have in this community, and the immense amount of care we hold each other to. Its beauty lies in its ability to be flexible and capture not only individual perspectives of Honor, but the communities beliefs and culture. That is why it is extremely important to me that the Reed Community continue ongoing conversations around the Honor Principle, encouraging education to give incoming students the foundation to critique and reflect about their own relationships with the Honor Principle, and for older students and alumni to revisit how their understanding of the Honor Principle has changed. 

In my life the Honor Principle goes beyond my role of J-Board, but thinking about the greater relationships I have with my peers, how we can support each other, and uplift the community. From an academic perspective I often think about Honor through making learning accessible and empowering for others in my other campus roles. Being able to live with the Honor Principle sparks a different type of purpose, a standard that you hold yourself to in hopes of building a strong and healthy community.” 

– Nicole Li ’25, Student J-Board Member

As the Honor Principle exists only in the confines of the Reed community, I hope that this reminder of its principles and ideals encourages Reedies of all kinds to remember the values that connect us.

With honor,

Taliah Churchill ’25

Reedies Volunteer!

In Greek, “Xenia” embodies hospitality between a host and a guest, centering generosity and reciprocity. In this spirit, we celebrate the volunteer and community work done by Reedies throughout this past year through the Alumni Board’s Xenia Initiative. We’d like to share a few of our favorite photos and comments from this year! Comments have been edited for length and format. 

Tina Le ’08 writes:

“Over the past 12 months, I led Nasdaq’s Green Team, a supportive employee group for people with environmentalist values. We invited speakers from nonprofits like The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Voter Project, Climate Voice, etc. and carried out local volunteer activities around the world. We also held an Environmental Justice series in collaboration with another support group called GLOBE (Global Link of Black Employees), because minority groups are almost always victims of environmental destruction.”

Tina Le, class of 2008, picture second from the left, poses with fellow volunteers for Nasdaq's Green Team during a local volunteer cleanup event.
Tina Le ’08 leads Nasdaq’s Green Team.

Lawrence Sherman ’86 (BA); ’87 (MALS) writes:

“I have been a volunteer manager and coach for Southwest Portland Little League or other Little Leagues since 2005 when my kids played baseball/softball, and after they moved on continued coaching softball every year. I also have been a volunteer coach and manager for a travel softball team for the past six years (the players are now seniors in high school), and even managed to get the players through the pandemic, providing them with an opportunity to get outdoors and play the sport they love.”

Lawrence Sherman, class of 1986, pictured center, poses with his Southwest Portland Little League team. Lawrence has been a volunteer coach for Little League since 2005.
Lawrence Sherman ’86 (BA); ’87 (MALS) has coached for Southwest Portland Little League since 2005.

Duncan Parks ’92 writes: 

“[I am the] Team Director and level 3 coach for youth mountain bike team (Portland Metro Composite), part of the Oregon Interscholastic Cycling League and National Interscholastic Cycling Association.”

Duncan Parks, class of 1992 pictured center, fist bumps a member of the Portland Metro Composite youth mountain bike team. Duncan volunteers as a team director and level 3 coach.
Duncan Parks ’92 coaches the Portland Metro Composite Youth Mountain Bike Team.

Sharon Toji ’58 writes:

“I represent the Hearing Loss Association of America as a voting delegate and Co-Chair of the Communications Task Group on the American National Standards Association (ANSI) A117.1 Committee on Accessible and Usable Buildings and Sites.”

Sharon Toji, class of 1958, works to represent the Hearing Loss Association of America and the Communications Task Group on the American National Standards Association (ANSI) A117.1 Committee on Accessible and Usable Buildings and Sites.
Sharon Toji ’58 is a leader on Hearing Loss representation and Accessible and Usable Buildings and Sites.

Barbara Bates ’67 writes: 

“JourneySongs Hospice Choir where I run the Google Workspace for the group and also sing at the bedsides of folx in hospice; Newton Conservators (a land trust preserving open space in Newton) where I maintain the website (Newtonconservators.org) and their Google Workspace, as well as lead nature walks in Newton, give nature talks, and tech host webinars on nature.”

Barbara Bates, class of 1967, pictured on the left, leads a nature walk for Newton Conservators. Barbara also spends time volunteering for a hospice choir.
Barbara Bates ’67 leads a nature walk for Newton Conservators.

The world needs more Reedies!

Love Reed,

The Prexy Ghost