Honor Code in college... is it a good thing?

A very good basketball player was dismissed from his team for what the University has stated was not criminal.

He's not a bench warmer, he is the BEST player on the team. They dismissed the best player on the team days before the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. BYU dismissed Brandon Davies on Tuesday night after they were made aware if the violation. Apparently they are still debating whether Brandon will dismissed from school altogether.

Part of the University's Honor Code reads like this:

• Be Honest
• Live a chaste and virtuous life
• Obey the law and all campus policies
• Use clean language
• Respect others
• Abstain from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse
• Participate regularly in church services
• Observe the Dress and Grooming Standards
• Encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Honor Code

Now, I think this is a pretty stringent code. There's not much wiggle room here.

A lot of talk radio shows were all up in arms today about this issue. Ranting and going on and on about how the Code is too harsh and the "college experience" gets missed at this school. That it's an unfair set of rules.

I disagree. I disagree completely. The Code is the Code. It's the rules that ALL students at BYU live by. Brandon knew the rules and he broke the rules. When you break the rules you suffer the consequences. That's how life is.

It's a hard lesson for Brandon AND for the entire BYU men's basketball team. The coach... everybody involved.

This is the choice he made. Choose the action, choose the consequence... it's really that simple.

I don't blame BYU for dismissing him from the team. It's their rules and they have every right to enforce them. In fact, if they let Brandon slide because he is a star athlete, it would be FAR worse!