The Honor Code

BYU is famous for its honor code. Before arriving on campus, all students agree to live by certain standards. Males must be clean-shaven. Everyone must be modest in dress and language, and everyone is expected to exercise honesty in academics. In addition, all students are expected to adhere to apartment curfews. One thing that has always amazed me is the amount of students who complain about the honor code. "If you don't want to obey the honor code, go to school somewhere else," is my initial reaction. Clearly, the honor code has been established by church leaders for our protection, therefore obeying the honor code is the exact same as obeying the commandments or listening to the counsel of church leaders. Well, for all those who complain about the honor code, please pay careful attention to my following experience.
Saturday night, I was on a date enjoying good company, pizza, and hilarious Seinfeld episodes when the clock turned to midnight. The curfew for BYU housing is midnight on all nights, except Friday which is 1:30 a.m.. Obediently, we boxed up the pizza, retrieved the Seinfeld DVD from the DVD player, and proceded to my car to take my date home. When we walked to my car, I saw an object that looked like a metal box next to the wheel of my car, and I saw a college-aged student walking towards my car. My immediate thought was "What are you doing around my car?!" Maybe some background information will be helpful.
The parking spaces in the garage underneath Liberty Square are so tight that I have to exercise daily just so I can squeeze into my door every day. Not only do I need to suck-in when trying to slide into my car, but I have developed a technique that includes pressing my "bum" (that one is for you Jon :) ) against the side of my car and then slowly slipping into the crevice that some might call a door opening. It is a rather awkward and sometimes painful process, especially after I have just eaten a full sweet pork burrito from Cafe Rio. Anyways, my roommate who parks right next to me was gone in Arizona for the weekend, and I was really enjoying the extra room next to my car. I knew my roommate wasn't returning home until late Sunday night, so I took the liberty to park over the line (a bit) Saturday night and enjoy the breathing room.
This is where the student and the car "boot" came into play. He saw me walking towards my car and smartly asked me, "Is this your car?" I calmly responded in the affirmative. He said, "Hey when the guys who parks here comes home he won't be able to park." I should have been more patient. I wasn't. I quickly responded, "Yeah, my roommate parks there and he won't be back until tomorrow night, dude." We shared an awkward eye-contact exchange, and then the moment was over. Crisis averted. No boot. No fine. Could I have been more polite in my conversation and especially tone of voice? Sure. The natural man took over for a moment. I am sure my date thought to herself, "Charming." As I was driving her home and we were talking about the situation that had just occurred, I realized that I should be more grateful--the honor code saved me $50! If we had been lenient with the honor code and left my apartment even five minutes later, my car would have booted, I would have been less than pleasant to be around, and I would have had a fine to pay.
When Friday comes along, many people exclaim, "Thank Goodness It's Friday (I loved that Friday night line-up when I was younger)!" To all those who complain about the honor code, may we similarly exclaim every day, "Thank Goodness for the Honor Code!"