Integrity - are you living the value?

It’s only a lie if you’re found out.

That’s as I was told many, many years ago by a woman who despaired at the lack of values within the community she served.

“They continue to do wrong until they are found out. There’s no conscience about it being morally bad. For many, it’s only a lie if they are caught.”

Having been raised in a house where right from wrong was inculcated from an early age, this was difficult to get my head around … didn’t everyone know that it was wrong to tell lies, that you were never to take anything that didn’t belong to you and that you never hit other people (though brothers and sisters were fair play).

And you never, never ever tried to copy another person’s work because that was also the same as stealing.

But with age and wisdom (yes, there are some advantages to getting older), I now know that not everyone is blessed with parents or caring others who instill sound values in their offspring. What was commonplace for me is not necessarily the norm elsewhere.

Thankfully, these values – the positive guidelines that underpin all that we do in our everyday lives – can still be learnt and instilled within us.

We’ve seen them in action at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where we have six values (ubuntu, respect for the natural environment, respect for diversity, excellence, taking responsibility and integrity).

It’s the latter that particularly jumps to mind because our George Campus is “walking the talk” – they are practicing the value of integrity.

Not one of their 1000-odd students writing an even larger number of examinations was caught cheating thanks, in part, to a dedicated academic integrity campaign.

(I am assuming, however, that the good news does not stretch to our main Port Elizabeth campuses because we haven’t been forwarded such information).

The George students all behaved honourably, doing the right thing by resisting any opportunity to cheat.

So well done George students for flying the flag of integrity – and doing the right thing, even when no-one was watching.

Because yes, it’s a lie even when you’re not found out.