Quirk

I disagree. I think that requiring people to agree shifts the burden of responsibility, especially if the agreement is publicized as important. Everyone clicks on "I accept" on license agreements without reading them; this honor code is different. It's not imposed on you in the same way that license agreements are imposed. You're given the option of cheating, and if you do, you will probably go undetected or nobody will report you. If I caught you cheating, I probably would just pretend I didn't. But you KNOW that YOU made the decision to not cheat. The school trusts you not to cheat, and you are violating that very explicit trust. It's not breaking the rules but violating trust. I think it carries a different moral weight.