To Party or Not to Party?

Ok, what's everyone doing this weekend. Yeah, that's right. They're getting drunk. I was recently reading an article in our college newspaper where the reporter claimed of nothing to do in town except go to parties and drink. They referred to bowling and going to the movies as "lame." Fantastic. So you're admitting that by the time you get to college that you're not CREATIVE enough to think of something to do with your friends besides party, drink, or bowl? Really?
I'm not saying don't go out and drink. I'm not saying don't ever do that. But, c'mon you are smart enough to think of other things to do. Don't use the "nothing else to do" excuse as a reason for getting drunk every night. Play boardgames at a coffee shop with your friends, people watch at WalMart at 2am, go for a walk in the arboretum, see a play, but don't ever say that you couldn't think of anything else to do.

The Last Minute Crunch

Almost exam time, oh no! Students are finding themselves scattering to get last minute projects finished and turned it. While, it is a busy time with an unending workload, students may find themselves taking shortcuts to get their work down. Ok, we've all done it. Half-assed one assignment so that you could devote more time to another. In some circumstances this is necessary with professors pulling big assignments out thin air right when you have a million other things done.
Some students however have found other ways to try to get this work done by using each other as resources. I was recently talking to a friend that was doing an extra credit project for her class. The professor was letting her class attend up to 2 seminars for extra credit. She and another person in the class agreed to swap notes so that they could both get extra credit for 2 seminars. Is this ethical? If the professor had intended the seminars as a learning experience, are the students getting out of it what the professor wanted? In a time crunch, what would you do?

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving being this week, I feel obligated to blog about it. While many people focus on the food and football aspects of Thanksgiving, they're not the most important part. The term thanksgiving tells us that we should be giving thanks. To who? That is for you to decide. Make Thanksgiving a day where you tell someone what they've meant to you (family member, friend, mentor, lover, etc.). Tell them why you're thankful to have them in your life and the difference they've made to you. Take something positive that happened to you and pay it forward. Create positivity and true thanksgiving on this holiday!

College to Reality

"What are some behaviors that take place in college that may be considered a disorder or 'abnormal' behavior after college?" I remember the abnormal psych discussion oh so well. We talked about binge drinking and hook up culture.
Recently, after talking to some professionals where we discussed how these behaviors may seem commonplace in college, but are frowned upon (or just not the norm) in the "real world," it got me to thinking more about moral behaviors such as these and our generation. Going to a college that is 61% female, it is generally viewed that we are a "hook up" college. Men think they can get away with murder and still meet a girl at a party to take home that night because they are in high demand. Talking to some alum about this topic, the girls joke about how entering the job field and "real world" they were shocked to see how many men there were out there and how people went on dates. What is it like going from college culture to reality?

Kid's TV

For a psychology class last year we viewed a film about Disney movies and stereotypes. Surprised that I had never really thought about the topic myself, I was intrigued to see what they had to say about one of my childhood pastimes. As the movie began, it talked about how the stereotypes in Disney films have helped create these false beliefs and further prejudices and ultimately make young girls feel like they would need a man to save them. At first, I was very skeptical; my Disney didn't do that. They were just fun movies that I used to sing along to. Then I kept watching.
Using some clips and explanations, I thought maybe this could be plausible. Maybe. The movie talked about how minorities are not really shown in dominate roles, but African American voices are used for crows, monkeys, hyenas etc. They claimed this just further perpetuated the idea that African Americans are part of a lower class and really just continued prejudices. This is something I had never considered before and as I tried to think of a Disney movie with an African American as the lead and I couldn't.
A big focus of the movie however was on how Disney movies are degrading to women. Really? To women? Most of us grew up watching this. They claimed that Disney movies always have the beautiful "damsel in distress" that needs a man to save from the bad person/situation and that when this happens she'll live happily ever after. Ok, this seemed plausible although there may be an exception or two to it.
Then they continued to say that Disney movies perpetuated violence towards women and acceptance of this by women themselves. What?! That just sounds crazy. Ok, they argued, let's take Beauty and the Beast for example. Ultimately it shows a verbally and emotionally abusive guy (remember what he did to Bell's father and all the yelling), who after a long time finally came around. Ok, maybe this movie does kind of have this message, but do people really get that from it? Then, they interviewed a few young girls and asked what they thought about the movie and relations between men and women. One young girl said that even though he was a jerk, mean, and abusive, if she just stayed around and loved him enough it would get better. That made me sick. Then other girls said things similar about waiting for the guy to come around and that he would get better and that Bell could change him.
Maybe this movie is a little too extreme, but what messages are kids really getting from Disney movies? I'm not saying that they will make all women put up with domestic violence or feel like they need a man to save them. However, what about the girl from the abusive home, does this just further cement in her mind what she already knows about relationships that she learned from mommy and daddy? Who's responsibility is it clean up kid's TV?

Lying is the Option?

For a senior seminar, we're studying the history of the radio and television. We have spent a lot of time reading and discussing Erik Barnouw's great work, "Tube of Plenty." We recently read about the increase of spy TV shows in the '60s, getting Americans prepared for the Vietnam war they knew little about, and continuing propaganda about the Cold War and communists. Barnouw talks about how basically through these new spy dramas it was shown that it was ok to lie, cheat, and steal because that's what the enemy was doing and we had to outsmart the enemy. It is well summed up in, "the official lie was enshrined. Justification for deception was provided by the vastness and monstrousness of schemes devised by enemy forces, which were 'arrayed as never seen before.'"
This is a great example of a way the that Americans were basically subliminally sent a message in the form of entertainment. In what other ways have we been groomed towards something without realizing it? Fed information that we soaked in and took at face value? Is lying justifiable if "the enemy" is also doing it? Is it ever justifiable? What kind of values could we be learning from TV and be completely unaware of? What could they be teaching children?

Blast from the past

I recently found an article on college morals from April 10, 1907. Chancellor James Roscoe Day of Syracuse University had addressed a church about some of the moral wrong doings of college students. He spoke about some young men that he had withdrawn from the university because they were frequenting local saloons and resorts. He felt that heads of universities should enforce morals, that they have an intellectual and moral responsibility to their students.
At public universities today, many people would probably think this case was absurd, but the fact is that this still happens at my private institutions today. Should college presidents be responsible in enforcing decisions about smoking and drinking on their campuses? Whose moral responsibility is it -- the students or the presidents?

Following the Rules

I know I've previously mentioned integrity and leading by example, but what happens when being an example doesn't matter because someone thinks the rules don't apply to them? I think everyone organization probably has this problem. There's the person who has clearly heard all the rules, but when found in violation of them, doesn't seem to think it's a problem because they've done it before and plan on continuing to do it.
How can you run an organization or company on certain rules, if you cannot get everyone to abide by them? Can you punish some but not all? Do you let the little rule breaks slide and hope that the more "important" bigger rules will be followed?

Teaching Morals

I recently read an article by an ethics professor about whether or not he believed that ethics and morals were something that could taught. He argued that a better question was whether or not they could be learned. It was in response to a writer for a college newspaper saying that if a person didn't have ethics or morals by the time they reached college, they would not develop. Higher education does give students a chance to further delve into these ideas, but aren't there the ones that don't seem to care about them either way and suddenly grow up, have kids, and have morals? Can you develop morals after not abiding by them?

Multiple Meanings

Have you ever been at a party, sitting in class, lounging in the grass, or even walking through campus and overheard a conversation that you didn't want to? Did it go something like, "oh did you hear that so-and-so and so-and-so hooked up last night? Well, what does that mean? In college "hook up" can have a broad range of definitions which can be troublesome if you don't know what it means to the person you're talking to. On college campuses, you'll hardly hear the word "date," but "hook up" seems to be part of everyone's vocabulary.
After overhearing a conversation that I couldn't avoid, it made me think about the overuse of this phrase. Is certain behavior more easily acceptable because it can be described vaguely without showing actual intent of what you really meant?

All the same?

This definitely isn't the first time this is happened to me, but I was recently in a psychology class where we started discussing cultural differences. Someone in the class mentioned that they didn't think there were any differences and they just viewed people as people. Everyone is the same. This person proposed that people have similar fundamental values and core beliefs. I have definitely heard arguments like this before and it got me to thinking, is assuming that we all have the same fundamental beliefs what gets us into trouble in the first place. I think even within cultures we cannot assume that we're the same. Suppose a girl comes from a family where fidelity is valued and the guy she starts dating doesn't believe it is until rings are exchanged. They never voice their views because they assume that the other person has similar values. Are we really all the same?

Moral Gray Area?

We recently had a program at school titled "How to Maximize Your Buzz." The premise of the program is not to discourage students from drinking, but to teach them to drink responsibly through methods like learning their own limits based on body type, etc.
Throughout college we've had other programs that have a similar premise to this one. One that I distinctly remember was during our freshman orientation and covered topics like safe sex. It seems like the trend in college educational programming isn't to tell us not to do something, but how to do it more responsibly if we choose to do it.
I thought this was interesting, that as we've aged, the messages that are being thrown at us have changed from "don't do it" to "do it, and here is how to do without making 'bad' decisions." Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to knock either approach. It's just interesting how the message has changed. An issue that was previously black and white, now seems a little gray.
It seems that programs like this have some statistical backing that they seem to be helping people make better decisions. As was discussed last post, if someone is intent on doing something they probably will regardless. Is it better for students to know how to do something and be safer about it then to just be told not to do it?

Co-Ed Housing = Sex Driven Livin?

I recently read some responses by college students to parental outcries they heard about co-ed housing and how it was just a set up to foster immoral behavior amongst college students. The premise of the students' arguments was that if it was going to happen it was going to happen with or without co-ed dorms. If students are going to be sexually active they are going to be regardless of whether they live in same-sex or co-ed dorms. The greater convenience doesn't necessarily equate to greater likelihood. "It is an individual’s own choice and morals that influence sexual behavior, not coed living arrangements. If a student is sexually active, it is not necessarily the result of coed housing."
It's not a secret that parents worry about their children while they are away at college. College is a time for more temptations than they have experienced before. However, it's up to the student to decide what values they want to continue to uphold (although to many parents dismay, some of these may be gone long before they get to college anyway) and which they want to continue to stand for. If a student chooses to be sexually active in college, it's their choice, not the choice of co-ed housing. "College students are emerging adults, capable of making their own decisions of morality."

Retrospective

Just stop for a moment. Think about your life right now. What are your goals, dreams? What are you working towards becoming? Who are you now?
Now I want you to think about your five year old self. Who was that person? Did you dream of becoming a firefighter, an astronaut, a police officer, or the president? Where are you in reaching that goal? Ok, so maybe you're not going to be what you thought you would at age five. But what would your five year old self think of you today? Would they respect you? Have you turned out to be the kind of person you wanted to? What can you do to reach that?
Think Disney's The Kid........

Grade Grubbers

Have you ever been sitting in class and gotten back a test, the professor talks about the class average and says that any individual questions can be saved for after class, but that one person raises their hand to ask a question anyway? Their question is definitely an individual question and they cannot understand how they got a certain question wrong, it was obviously phrased wrong or everyone else must have missed it too. No, it was just them. Now they're wasting your precious learning time (and $) by arguing the professor for those 1 or 2 extra points that won't in fact change their overall score into the next range anyway. Ah yes, grade grubbers are everywhere.
What do you think about grade grubbing? Do you think they should wait until after class or make this injustice public? Are you a grade grubber or do you find them to be irritating?

Everyday Morals

A lot of focus on morals is on big issues that seen detached from most people. However, it's everyday decisions that really come into play. What if you let something slip up once, are you more likely to let this keep happening? I think so. It's the little things that create one big cycle. How are your everyday decisions deterring from what you think is morally right?

Being the Example

I previously talked about integrity in leaders. I think this also falls into setting examples for others. A phrase that is talked about in many leadership circles is not asking anyone to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. I think this should apply to all leaders, but especially to student leaders on campus. Knowing a lot of people in leadership on campus, I hear discussions about where this frequently fails. They see leaders who ask people to put in the hard work, but themselves sit on the sidelines and watch it happen. What do you value in leadership?

Integrity

Integrity is what you do when no one else is watching.

In my leadership class this week we were talking about integrity. An overalp in a person's talk, walk, and beliefs create integrity. The more overlap, the more integrity. It's not easy to follow this. We were discussing examples of times when a leader let us down by not doing these things. It reminded me of a class I took freshman year. It was first semester and it was an introduction to philosophy class. My professor invested a lot of time in talking to us about rational action. He wanted us to have clear, concrete reasons for the decisions that we made. He encouraged us to think things through. He believed that a lot happened in college and we would be all the better if we thought about how our decisions would affect us in the long run.
My class also happened to be during a presidential election year. When we went to class on election day, students were talking about whether or not they had sent in their absentee ballots or if they were going in to vote locally and the like. Everyone was pretty excited because it was the first time that we got to vote. My professor walked in and someone asked him if he had gone to the polls. He said that indeed he had. They continued to ask him if there was a philosophical reasoning behind who he had voted for, if he was comfortable sharing it with the class. He said that he would. He told us that he had voted for the Democratic candidate because he always had and he "would vote for a dead dog if it was a Democrat." Wow.
I was stunned. It wasn't his political choice that got to me. It was the fact that he had spent months telling us to have a logical, rational reason behind our actions. Here he had just told us something completely illogical that he had done and believed that that was good enough reasoning. He didn't say what he did to get the class to question it, like some may think he did. He was being completely honest about how he chooses candidates. His talk and walk did not match up and that day he lost his integrity in my eyes.

Think before you act.

Ethics in Student Leaders

About 3 weeks ago, we found out on our college campus that our student government president took 7 (of 8) of his platform campaign issues from students at another university. This lead to a bit of a debate and ultimately to his resignation. I mention this because it sparked some heated conversation around campus.
A lot of students that knew him well said they supported his decision, but when it came down to the bottom line they were disappointed. Disappointed with the way he portrayed our school to other schools in our state. Looking at other schools ideas can be considered research, but taking ideas without sourcing them is not. Should student leaders be held to higher expectations? Should we expect them to set an ethical example for us? Is this just another public fall from grace?

Cheaters

Although students are required to know their university's honor code and the ramifications of violating it, cheating still happens. When I like about cheating I think about a discussion I had with my freshman year philosophy 101 class. We were discussing morals and ethics and how that came into play in the classroom. Someone argued that cheating wasn't a big deal and didn't really violate morals and ethics--it was exempt.
Being the naive freshman that I was, I didn't realize that cheating could be an epidemic--or at least that it was in my philosophy class. I was the only person who argued against cheating while everyone else aruged that it wasn't a big deal because everyone does it. Does everyone do it?

Taking Responsibility

Responsibility, it's a word that we've been hearing for years, especially since college. While we're constantly told that we need to be responsible and take responsibility, what should we be taking responsibility for? How about our actions? I was reading an article, written by a student, about taking responsibility for our actions regarding the environment. Face it, it's our fault that desertification, water management problems, and forcing animals & plants out of their habitat.
This student felt very strongly about consequences of actions and taking responsibility for decisions we make. From that I started thinking about everyday decisions that we make and what comes from them.
I recently sat down with a friend who is directing a play. One of her actors, after being notified of the dates of the performance during his audition about 4 months ago, told her that he wouldn't be able to make one of the performances due to religious reasons, about 3 weeks before the play was set to open. By doing this he hindered the whole cast and ultimately decided to leave the show and had to be recast. Where is his responsibility? What should his consequences be? Was it the director's responsbility to take in account this particular religious holiday or was it his to realize a performance was on that day or was it both?

Moral Challengers

I was reading some research done by a professor at a Midwestern University of a fraternity and the moral development of their members. Previous research has stated that membership in a frat does little to enhance moral development. However, this researcher found a higher correlation with a particular frat and said it was effective in maintaining the cultural and moral values of its constituent membership. While I admit that I was slightly surprised at reading this--a frat with morals? Great stereotypes and Animal House visuals--the researcher continued to talk about his interests in morality research.
He stated that there are many aspects of college student development - intellectual, physical, psychosocial, vocational, spiritual, and moral. Previous research has indicated that college fosters moral development, but how? He always felt that faculty played a large part in affecting students' thinking. He said that in his research it become obvious that professors aren't moral educators, but moral challengers, getting students to question their thoughts and beliefs.

Are You Morally and Socially Responsible?

While searching 'morals' through the web I came across this quiz from the BBC that is a morals-social responsibility questionnaire. By taking the questionnaire, you can see where you fall in the cateogory of higher reasoning. Scores on the questionnaire form a scale that tracks the development of reasoning from childhood through to adulthood about social, ethical and moral issues. I thought this questionnaire was interesting and my results were basically how I view myself and my thinking, but I also think that while taking the questionnaire, you can tell how you shouldn't answer a question. See where you fall in these categories or if you just answered a certain way because you didn't want to seem like a jerk!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/morals/index_11.shtml?age=&gender=&occupation=&education=&rate1=1&Q01=6&rate2=2&Q02=13&rate3=1&Q03=12&rate4=1&Q04=12&rate5=1&Q05=4&rate6=1&Q06=13&rate7=1&Q07=11&rate8=1&Q08=11&rate9=2&Q09=3&rate10=2&Q10=8

Morals in College

College either makes you stronger in who you are or breaks you. That statement might sound a little rash or like it's based on black and white thinking. To better understand my point by saying that let's deeper into the topic of college. Think of the word college for awhile and all of the associations it brings to mind. Did you think academics, student government, clubs, religious organizations, volunteer work, or morals? Most likely not and that’s not what came to my mind either. Today college is glamorized as being that big party where you can skip class, take tests and give presentations hung-over, continue your weekend string of one night stands, and all together take part in behaviors that usually aren't acceptable once we enter the "adult" or working world.
When I say that college either makes or breaks you, I mean that it's the everyday behaviors and decisions that you'll make to decide who you are and who you want to be. College is not solely about academics but it’s about deciding what kind of person you will become. What does the "college is a party" image do to students' morals? Do college students worry about their morals or follow defined sets of values? Are morals dominant on campuses and is this glamorization wrong? This is something is usually viewed more pessimistically. Through ancedotes, class discussions, and research, let's find out where morals have gone on campuses (or if they've been there all along).