Several years after James Hay Jr., the former editor-in-chief of Corks & Curls, graduated, he penned “The Honor Men,” which is given out at Convocation to first-years and expresses, in somewhat purple prose, how UVA emphasizes Honor on Grounds:

“if you live a long, long time, and hold honesty of conscience/ above honesty of purse/…pursue no woman to her tears/ and love the beauty of noble music and mist-veiled mountains and blossoming valleys and great monuments…then…you may say I have worn the honors of Honor. I graduated from Virginia.”

It is believed Hay had this knife made in England during his postgraduation sojourn across Europe.

To see more objects related to important moments in UVA history, see the "Object Lesson" story.