Undergraduate Conference Focuses on Ethics and Integrity

See the Schedule of Events

Nearly 100 first-year Carolina students will discuss issues of honor, ethics, and integrity at a public conference set for November 12 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. on campus at the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in Graham Memorial. The conference features the work of students enrolled in English 10, 11, and 12 classes.

For many, it will be their first experience to serve as a presenter on a scholarly panel.

"It will be an opportunity for students to see that the work they do for a course makes important contributions to the university's academic mission," said Dr. Randi Davenport, associate director of the Johnston Center.

"We thought it was a good time to collaborate with the Writing Program and provide an opportunity for students to talk to one another across classroom borders about the issues that are at the heart of the Chancellor's year-long HonorCarolina initiative," said Davenport, who also co-chairs the HonorCarolina committee that is sponsoring a series of events focusing on honor and integrity on campus and in daily life.

"This conference also has made it possible for Teaching Fellows to collaborate within the Writing Program curriculum and develop a program that we hope they will think of again and again as they move forward in their teaching careers," said Davenport.

Teaching Fellows developed assignments that focused on public issues ranging from questions raised by Summer Reading Program selections to how expectations of honorable conduct on the part of students informs current campus issues. Students have developed presentations and multimedia projects on local integrity, national integrity, low-wage workers, and health and ethics. Three films running continuously will explore alcohol use, academic cheating, and music downloading at Carolina.

Teaching Fellows Stephanie Morgan, Stephanie Snyder, Gena Diamant, Melissa Graham Meeks, Cynthia Current, and Scott Halbritter met with Writing Program Director Dr. Jane Danielewicz and Davenport to refine and focus their assignments and prepare their students for the conference. Current took on the job of organizing the students into panels related by content or emphasis.

"I was keen to involve the Writing Program in this project," said Danielewicz, "By investigating and writing about these issues, students were able to understand in a profound way how such values are enacted at Carolina. Students will participate in legitimate public debate when they present on the night of the forum, exactly the ideal we aim for in teaching them communication skills in the first place. Also, it was a perfect chance to connect two programs-the Writing Program and the Johnston Center-that share the same focus, to improve undergraduate education. It's been a fruitful and energizing collaboration."

The conference is free and open to the public. Complete program information can be found on the Johnston Center web site, www.johnstoncenter.unc.edu, the Honor Carolina web site, honorcarolina.unc.edu, and the Writing Program web site, english.unc.edu/comp/.