On and Off Campus
As originally appeared in the Summer 2011, Independent School, online edition
| The dilemma we present here is real, told to us for your consideration. We change only names and occasionally some of the details to protect privacy of the individuals and/or organizations involved. If you have an ethical dilemma that you would like to share, please contact the editorial staff at Independent School (ismag@nais.org). |
Nathan Hale is head of the John Doe High School, an independent day school that prides itself on being a place where integrity and other core ethical values are prominent and drive the culture of the school. This does not mean that all JDH students are perfect. Recently, a couple of popular male students made a video off campus and posted it on Facebook. The video discussed members of various sports teams, ridiculing some and praising others. News of the video got around campus and soon landed on Hale’s desk. He is torn about what to do. Some faculty and parents feel the students should be reprimanded severely, while others feel a big reaction would be “sweating the small stuff.” Similarly, while some students were hurt by the comments on the film, others just shrugged it off as “no big deal.” Hale feels that action should be taken, but the severity of the discipline is the puzzle, especially since both boys are contrite about the incident. They claim that they simply got carried away with the technology, and didn’t think very hard about the video’s impact on others. Hale believes them. Neither senior wants this incident on their records for prospective colleges, and neither has any other history like this at the school.
Hale thinks long and hard about the best way to resolve this right vs. right dilemma. He is most concerned about the “justice vs. mercy” balance here. The boys have been very hard on some of their fellow students in the video and Hale wants to send a clear message that this behavior— on or off campus — is not in keeping with the school’s culture or values. On the other hand, he senses that this is an unfortunate misstep, not a trend line for these boys and that they thoroughly realize their mistake. Hale suspends the boys and sends notice to their prospective colleges, as is standard practice at his school. But he urges each boy to contact the colleges first and to explain personally before the news comes from school.
Both boys do so, and in the end, they are accepted at the college of their choice.
Copyright © 2011, Institute for Global Ethics(IGE). All future rights reserved.
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Originally published in Good Kids, Tough Choices: How Parents Can Help Their Children Do the Right Thing by Rushworth M. Kidder. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010) p. 179-180.
David had just finished high school when he was asked to help coach the school’s water polo team. He wasn’t much older than many of the boys on the team, and he knew a number of them well. As the season progressed, he gradually became aware that one of the other coaches, an assistant coach one level above him and just a few years older, was supplying marijuana to team members and smoking it with them. David knew the arguments about marijuana. Its proponents saw it as a cheap, commonplace social accessory. To them it was only a matter of time before it was legalized. Its opponents viewed it as a gateway drug to harder stuff and were happy to see it remain an illegal substance. He himself felt no ambivalence: to him, using it was wrong, especially in an athletic context that took an unyielding stand against alcohol and tobacco.
While he felt certain that the head coach was unaware of what was happening, David nevertheless had ample reason to ignore what he was seeing. The assistant coach, who was doing a fine job and getting winning results, had been with the team for several years and commanded the respect of the head coach. David was just starting out. With a desire to protect his reputation for the sake of future positions but with no coaching record to fall back on, he felt particularly vulnerable. Besides, this wasn’t about crack or crystal meth or even steroids, which have proved so troubling to professional and amateur sports in recent years. This was, as some of David’s classmates used to point out, “just pot man!”
What, then, was his role? What should he do?
Excerpted from Decision Skills for Colleges. Copyright 2008, Institute for Global Ethics
A number of players on the soccer team have a reputation for drinking alcohol during their season despite a strict policy against such behavior. A lot of students know about these infractions and have seen members of the team drinking. In addition, some students believe that the administration is aware of what is going on, but has done little about it. Community service has been assigned to a few athletes who were caught, but no more serious punishment. The team plays well, has a winning reputation among other colleges, and is a source of pride for the college.
Scott, the captain of the team, refrains from drinking but has witnessed some of his teammates breaking the written contract stating that they will not drink. The coach calls Scott into his office and tells him that the administration is clamping down on the athletic staff to control the prohibited drinking among athletes and that Scott needs to tell him which athletes are breaking the contract. The institutional support for the team may well depend on resolving this violation of the drinking policy. Scott is good friends with all the players and doesn’t want to get them into serious trouble.
Excerpted from Building Decision Skills, 4th edition. Copyright 2008, Institute for Global Ethics
Jessica is very proud to have been chosen for the high-school cheering squad. She will be the only freshman; most of the other cheerleaders are juniors and seniors.
On the bus coming home from her first game away, Jessica sits with Beth, a sophomore with a locker near hers at school. While Jessica and Beth discuss the highlights of the game, one of the seniors sitting in front of them casually passes back a spiked can of Coke. After Beth takes a sip, she passes it to Jessica. Jessica is just tasting the drink (and grimacing at its strong taste) when the cheerleading coach appears behind her and confiscates the can.
The very next day, Jessica is called into the principal’s office. The cheerleading coach has already reported the situation. The principal gives her a choice: She can tell who gave her the drink and get suspended from cheerleading, or she can keep quiet and get suspended from school. A school suspension would become a permanent part of her school record. What should Jessica do?
Excerpted from Building Decision Skills, 4th edition. Copyright 2008, Institute for Global Ethics
The mood at Baileyville High School is tense with excitement. For the first time in many, many years, the varsity basketball team has made it to the state semifinals. The community is excited, too, and everyone is making plans to attend the big event this coming Saturday night.
Paul, the varsity basketball coach, has been waiting for years to field such a team. Speed, teamwork, balance–they’ve got it all. Only one more week to practice, he tells his team, and not a rule can be broken. Everyone must be at practice each night at the regularly scheduled time. No exceptions.
Brad and Mike are two of the team’s starters. From their perspective, they’re indispensable to the team, the guys who will bring victory to Baileyville. They decide–why, we’ll never know–to show up an hour late to the next day’s practice.
Coach Paul is furious. They have deliberately disobeyed his rules. The penalty is one full week’s suspension. If Coach Paul punishes Brad and Mike for breaking the rule, they will not play in the semifinals. But the team and community are depending on them. What should he do?
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