“The Spirit goes to sleep at midnight.” I’ve heard this proverbial phrase time and time again—especially since coming to BYU. In all actuality, I don’t think that anything that happens past 12:00 is particularly wicked or entirely immoral merely because it occurs after midnight. However, we have all promised to obey the visiting hours outlined in the Honor Code and we need to stay true to that promise. Respecting living standards shows that we will honor and respect other aspects of our lives. By upholding the visiting hours we show that we have respect for ourselves, respect for others, and, most importantly, respect for our commitments.
From personal experience I can tell you that things get considerably louder when members of the opposite sex are around. I’m sure you can all relate to this. It is hard to get to sleep so that you are able to wake up for an early class with so much noise. I have often taken comfort in knowing that boys will be out of my apartment at eleven and out of the lobby at twelve because I know it will be much quieter once these times hit. I know that because of the visiting hours, I am able to get to sleep at a decent time. If it were not for the visiting hours there would be no designated time for things to start quieting down. Who knows if they ever would. When people honor the set visiting hours they show that they are thinking about others instead of just themselves. The visiting hours foster as sense of respect for the other people you live with and their different schedules.
BYU goes to great lengths to ensure that its students have an opportunity to live in an environment conducive to their learning. The visiting hours are designed to aid in this effort. While it is true that visiting hours are not a bedtime or a curfew, they do gently guide students in a certain direction. This gentle nudge helps students get more sleep and have more time to study. Thus, honoring the living standards can help you achieve your academic goals. This shows that obeying visiting hours is a reflection of the respect you have for your long term desires: the respect you have for yourself.
Many people think that the visiting hours are too strict and that they place unnecessary restrictions on students; this is hardly the truth. In general, BYU trusts students to make the right decisions when it comes to obeying the living standards--especially in off-campus apartments. This trust should encourage a respect amongst students for honoring their commitments. Also, the visiting hours are not the be-all-end-all; people can be outside or in public places. In actuality the living standards are fairly lenient.
The Honor Code outlines the living standards for the Resident Halls as well as off-campus apartments. Helaman Halls does not allow members of the opposite sex in bedroom areas except on designated open house times; they allow members of the opposite sex in the lobbies from 8 a.m. to midnight on Monday through Thursday and until 1:30 a.m. on Friday. Heritage Halls allows members of the opposite sex in kitchen areas from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and in the lobbies from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on Friday nights. Off-campus apartments allow members of the opposite-sex in apartments 9 a.m. to midnight and 1:30 a.m. on Fridays. These visiting hours allow ample time for socialization. They are not overly strict or completely overbearing.
As a resident of Heritage Halls, I often hear others complain about the rules. When eleven o’clock rolls around, many people don’t feel it is necessary to go into the lobby. They think that there is no difference between being in an apartment kitchen and being in a lobby because they would abide by the honor code no matter their location. However, obeying this simple rule shows that we have respect for honoring our word. We promised to obey the visiting hours and, if nothing else, respecting visiting hours shows that we will be true to what we have promised to do. It is an exercise and test of our obedience and integrity. Being responsible for checking the clock shows that you want to follow through with what you have said you would do. It shows that you are a person of honesty and truthfulness.
Perhaps the most important reason to honor the visiting hours is also the simplest one—we promised to adhere to the standards. When we signed up for housing, whether in the dorms or off-campus, we all knew what the visiting hours stated and we agreed upon those terms. Whether you agree with them or not, you gave your word to follow them. Keeping your word alone should be enough. Simple as that.
Obeying visiting hours shows that we have respect for ourselves, others, and for our commitments. The spirit may not exactly go to bed at midnight and we don’t have to either, but we do have a responsibility to follow through with what we have promised to do.
7 comments:
I think that the overall thesis for this paper is that visiting hours need to be obeyed. The paper talks about how there are many reasons for these rules and are many reasons why they should be adhered to, but the most important is because we all signed the honor code.
I think that the specific audience was people who maybe don't really particularly like the visiting hours rule. This paper seems to just explain why they are important and why they must be obeyed.
I think overall it was a very convincing argument. I think the biggest point is that we signed an honor code. I mean no matter how much you hate visiting hours rules you can't argue with the the fact that each and every student here has signed an honor code. I don't think there are any particularly weak arguments in this paper so good job!
1. I think I still need to do some work to adequately address the concerns of the instructor that we discussed in the meeting. I tried to reorganize it so that I didn't easily offend the reader early on. I also think that it is better organized this way. I think that I still need to revise stylistically in order to relate to the reader.
2. Based on my review, I need to go through the paper and revise my voice just a little bit. I need to make it a little more engaging and be careful to not offend my reader. I also think that I can do some more revision to make it more coherent. Based on the comments from my peers, I need to make my thesis stand out more and really get across the point I am trying to make.
This issue is definately very appropriate for the student population. You have good arguments, but in your first paragrph I think your sentences might be a little too wordy. I would try varying your sentences a little more.
I think that you had really god points in this paper. I agree with your argument, but I also agree that you need to be careful not to offend those who disagree with you.
1. The three best things you have going for your paper are that it is able to read easily and the sentences flow really well. Also your voice shows through very well and organization is well written. The paper does not jump to any strange conclusions it all is very fluid.
2. I think that three things you could improve would be to maybe your thesis, at first i thought the paper was about the spirit, but the paper is actually about keeping commitments. Also i would maybe add more transition phrases before paragraph to help it be more smooth. But your writing style is very good and you write well.
I really liked how you re-worded your first paragraph. Your first sentence really caught my eye and I was intrigued. As a suggestion I would maybe just go through and double check that each paragraph has a sentence that relates directly back to the thesis. Nice work!
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