By Sean Scott (Reporter, ‘25)
The FCS Honor Council meets on Thursdays at 7:45 a.m. in Mr. Jim Rosengarten’s room, Main 32. The Honor Council is responsible for revising Friends’ Central’s Honor Statement, as well as holding open discussions on topics brought up by students.
The FCS Honor Statement consists of queries that accompany each of the Quaker testimonies: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality/Equity, and Stewardship (SPICES). The Honor Council periodically makes changes to the queries as its members see necessary in order to keep the Honor Statement relevant and modern. The Honor Statement is present in every classroom as a reminder of the Quaker testimonies. There was an Honor Council assembly earlier this school year about the Honor Statement. It introduced a unique blend of practical applications of each Quaker testimony and comedic scenarios involving lunch trays from the Dining Hall. Some non-tray examples of where the queries come up in daily school life are peacefully handling disagreements in a class discussion, cleaning up after oneself, and being mindful to stay present during class. At the end of the assembly, there was a thrilling Kahoot game where students practiced matching scenarios to the Quaker testimonies.
A typical Honor Council meeting starts with Mr. Rosengarten giving a brief welcome and reviewing the events of the previous Honor Council meeting. Then, meeting participants can suggest a topic to discuss, whether it be a new topic or a topic that people feel should be revisited. One thought leads to the next, and people commonly build upon each other’s statements to further develop the topic at hand. Some discussion topics that Honor Council has had so far this school year include cheating academically, open grade books, students parking on campus, and procrastination. Usually, there are several different views of the topics, but there tends to be a consensus of what people agree on regarding each topic. The open grade book discussion, as well as the discussion about cheating academically, were opened up to the community outside of the Honor Council. This was done in an attempt to hear the perspectives and opinions of a wider array of people.
Honor Council always welcomes new members, and everyone should feel free to join in on the productive Honor Council discussions in a stress-free environment.
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