On Monday, Tray Smith wrote a column calling for an honor code at UA. As the vice-president of the Academic Honor Council, I wanted to respond and explain what my organization does and wants to do.

Ten years ago, the AHC was established in the College of Communication & Information Sciences with the goal of establishing a medium for students to discuss matters related to academic integrity. The students who first sat on this council were charged with promoting integrity within the College of C&IS.

Today, the AHC has expanded its borders to include a council in each of the Capstone’s eight colleges, as well as a council representing the Honors College. The AHC is an appellate judicial body comprised of students who strive to promote an atmosphere of integrity on campus.  Our goal is not unlike the original justices 10 years ago – We are working to help transform the University of Alabama into a place where integrity is the defining characteristic of each student’s endeavors both in and out of the classroom. A commitment to honor transforms a good student into a great one. So too, a commitment to integrity will affirm our University as a true capstone of higher education.

Nevertheless, this is not something that will happen overnight. This change demands the diligent work of all students, faculty and administrators alike. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines integrity as “the quality of being complete and undivided.” However, a more basic, elementary definition is “doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do.”  Academic integrity is more than not cheating on a test or plagiarizing a paper; it requires instilling honor and a desire for excellence in all facets of your life. If we are truly going to change the culture of this campus, every individual associated with the University will need to place all of their vested interest in this fight for honor.

Despite the challenges of a campus-wide reformation of this magnitude and significance, the Academic Honor Council already has many programs in place that will ease the transition into an integrity-oriented campus. For the past two years, the Honors College AHC has hosted a freshman convocation that incoming Honors students are required to attend. Incoming students are charged with placing integrity in the forefront of all of their decisions, both academic and nonacademic, while a student at the Capstone. Students then sign a pledge of membership into the Honors College, which focuses on living with integrity.

The Academic Honor Council also hosts Academic Integrity Week each year during the fall semester. Throughout the week, integrity is promoted across campus through various forums and roundtable discussions. The overarching theme of the week is to establish progressive dialogue between students about the importance of integrity on campus. The more dialogue that occurs between students, the quicker campus transformation will occur. Academic Integrity Week has seen increased attendance and popularity each year it is held, so the fire is slowly being lit.

These are just two examples of the many positive steps students on this campus are making towards a more integrity-based university. The plan is in place; it is now in the hands of the student body to take this ideal and run with it. If each person reading this article can convince one other person that the commitment to integrity is an imperative undertaking, and that it will change this University, the results would be unparalleled.

Ask yourself this one simple question: When you walk across that stage to receive your diploma, will you be able to say that you helped changed this campus for the better? A simple idea of upholding integrity and promoting it to your friends can be an immeasurable change that will improve this campus for years to come. If a change is to be made, it is the responsibility of the University of Alabama student to make it happen.

To take a page out of Coach Saban’s book, what the Academic Honor Council is trying to do on campus is a process. We understand that this is not going to be a quick change and that at times this transformation will be extremely challenging. But if we can get the University as a whole to buy into this process, to promote integrity in everything they do, then the lives of all students — past, present and future — will be dramatically enriched.

Every student on this campus has inside him or her the power to bring integrity into every decision they make. The necessary programs are in place and the ball is beginning to roll.  It is now time for us, as students and representatives of the University of Alabama, to envision this change and make it happen.

Nick Lambert is a senior majoring in finance and the vice president of the Academic Honor Council.