Of course I signed it right away when it appeared on my screen in TU/e InSite: the Code of Conduct (CoC). In fact, I clicked on it expecting to see the text, but that click itself constituted approval.

So I looked up the CoC online and scrolled through its seven pages (in Dutch, ed) to see what I had signed and whether there was anything unexpected in it. Not really, as it turned out, although there are always formulations that can be questioned.

And while, for a scientist, there is of course no greater or more beautiful freedom than academic freedom, I see the CoC as a good thing, precisely because it can serve to expand that freedom. I do not see the code as a restriction on behavior or expression; I see it as a way to help resolve potential misunderstandings.

We now have a way to properly discuss disputes in cases where one person feels misunderstood, offended, or unsafe, while the other does not see what went wrong. Moreover, such a CoC can give people the confidence to speak up.

Could it have been more concise? Certainly. I think of the Ten Commandments (from the Bible, ed.) as a good example of clearly and concisely formulated do’s and don’ts. Not that I am suggesting we adopt the Ten Commandments as our CoC—although number nine, “do not bear false witness,” seems concise and fitting in this context. But they are verifiable and memorable.

Because although our code states, “We expect from every member of TU/e’s community that they are aware of and committed to this Code of Conduct”, I do not expect there is anyone who knows those seven pages, or who can quote a specific do or don’t from our CoC.

I also found the final five lines interesting:

“In rare but impactful cases, individuals may repeatedly accuse others or representatives of the organization of misconduct, referring inappropriately to the Code of Conduct. Such behavior is possibly a misuse of the system and/or TU/e resources. Such cases are always forwarded to the TU/e reporting system so that they can be investigated in a balanced and fair manner for all parties involved.”

The Code of Conduct as a weapon. (By the way, what does “inappropriately” referring to it mean?) And I see this as a concrete example of a familiar phenomenon: there is a system, you want to measure or change something, you introduce a rule, but that rule becomes part of the system, and as a result, it has an unknown effect on the system.

Think, for example, of productivity criteria, where the criteria themselves become the goal. It will be interesting to see whether and how this CoC affects the system.

Frits Spieksma is a full professor of Combinatorial Optimization in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. The views expressed in this opinion are his own.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.