BYUSA Honor Week will kicks off Jan. 30 with a week of activities focused on the theme of “Rise to a New Day.”
Dennis Lee, team lead over Honor Week for BYUSA, said Honor Week is supposed to promote Christlike living and the values held in the BYU Honor Code. This year’s Honor Week is specifically focused on helping students have more hope and know they can do a little better each day, Lee said.
Honor Week is a yearly event, planned and executed by a group of student volunteers. Lee oversees the group of nine students that planned Honor Week this year. They began preparations for Honor Week in October, and he said he hopes that as a result of this year’s Honor Week, more students will know about Honor Week and look forward to it next year.
The theme of Honor Week, “Rise to a New Day,” was chosen to help BYU students come together and help each other up, Valeria Pozos, Director of Integrity with BYUSA, said. “We wanted to make sure students know that we see that they all struggle, and we see that we’re all human. But at the end of the day, like when we show integrity and when we show respect for each other, we are able to just grow,” Pozos said.
Lee said the theme “Rise to a New Day” logo was a way to visually capture the idea of hope and striving for something greater. Pozos said, “We want everyone to have fun and remember their purpose at BYU.”
Honor Week starts on Monday with the kick-off in Brigham Square, where students can get T-shirts, stickers and other prizes while learning more about Honor Week. Monday will also kick off a social media campaign where students can submit original poems about what honor means to them, Udim Obot said, who serves on BYUSA Presidency as Vice President of Honor.
On Tuesday, students can write uplifting notes to each other. Obot, who has been involved with BYUSA since her freshman year, said when people think of honor they think of the Honor Code, but it is much more than the dress and grooming standards. “I want people to understand that honor is who you are. It is your virtue,” Obot said. Tuesday’s event is supposed to exemplify that at BYU, they are trying to make a community that loves one another, Obot said.
Wednesday features a campus-wide scavenger hunt, where students can complete various tasks such as taking a selfie with someone new in order to win a free ticket to skate night and other possible prizes such as $150 Visa gift cards. The monthly skate night will take place on Wednesday evening, this month dubbed the “Honor Roll” for Honor Week.
On Thursday evening, Defend Your Honor Night will take place in the Smith Field House. Pozos said this is one of the events she is most excited about. Students will be in sumo suits or giant hamster balls and try to push each other out of a circle as they “defend their honor,” and there will be other games and food as well.
Friday wraps up Honor Week with poetry performances and Italian sodas in the Garden Court in the Wilkinson Center. Obot said students will have the opportunity to write and submit poems about what virtue and honor mean for them.
More information about Honor Week can be found on the BYUSA website.
