The Pledge of Academic Integrity has recently been rewritten to include a more personal aspect of commitment to the students’ promise to Elizabethtown College.

Last year, Seth Previty, a current senior business major, realized that the former Pledge did not include elements that his peers felt strongly about. Etown students recognized they were promising to behave well on campus, but could not relate to it otherwise. He had the idea to redraft the Pledge, adding elements that the campus community could relate to. He considered several changes that could be made to it, finally taking the initiative to “just write it down.”

The Pledge was revised and then approved by Student Senate on Oct. 23, 2014. The Faculty Assembly approved it on Nov. 11, 2014. It will take effect in the upcoming fall semester. First-years will receive student endorsement of the Pledge in their First Year Seminar, with upperclassmen, rather than their professors, advising them on how applicable the Pledge is, relating its message to the everyday activities of college life.

Previty, who works for the OSA heading the Body Shop, worked with Dr. Kyle Kopko, assistant professor of political science, to reflect decisions and values made apparent by recent integrity-related events in the world in the new Pledge. “We just added the social element,” Previty said. He feels that this personal touch will make students more invested in their promise to act with integrity.

Joining Previty at the head of the Committee for Academic Integrity is sophomore biotechnology major Kendra Ormsbee.