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).