Legal perspective: Although it may not violate local or federal law, giving or accepting copies of old exams may violate the university’s honor code, which serves the same purpose of a legal code in this case. If you use the old exam and it turns out that you violated the University’s honor code, both you and your friend could be in trouble. Your family and your friend’s family could also be impacted by any adverse consequences to you or her. Academic institutions establish policies against academic dishonesty because cheating hurts everyone—the student who commits the act, the other students in the class whose rights to fair treatment are violated by cheating, the professor, who must endure hours of investigating, reporting, and perhaps testifying.