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The Big Q A dialogue on the big questions college students face.
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The following postings have been filtered by category Parents, Beliefs, and the Real Me. clear filter
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Monday, Mar. 25, 2013
The best student comment on "Can You Keep a Secret?" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, Sunday, April 7, 2013. Subscribe to the blog (by RSS or by e-mail in the right hand column) for updates.
**DISCLAIMER: All characters and scenarios in this post are fictional.**
Scott couldn’t believe his eyes when he checked Facebook this morning. A new page, “SCU Confessions,” had just been created, and one of the first “confessions” was about him! Someone shared a story where he had gotten really drunk last week and did a few things he wasn’t proud of. Granted, he wasn’t mentioned by name, but it was a unique enough situation that everyone he knew would recognize it as being about him.
Scott had heard about other schools starting pages like this, where people message the page administrator their secrets, hook-up stories, dirty deeds, and anything else that they would want to share anonymously. Scott initially thought these pages were hilarious, and even “liked” the ones from other schools just so that he could be entertained. However, now that he was reading something about him, he felt embarrassed and upset. Already it had 50 “likes” and counting, and several of his friends tagged him in the comments so that he would see it. To make matters worse, the post was anonymous, so he had no way of knowing who was spreading the story around.
Scott’s friends told him to laugh it off; it wasn’t that big of a deal. Even he had to admit that the story was objectively pretty funny, and most of the other posts on the page were relatively harmless as well. On the other hand, he could envision how people would take advantage of the anonymity and could potentially cause somebody real harm.
What do you think about Facebook college “Confessions” or “Hook-Up” pages? Do you feel like this type of anonymous sharing can be hurtful and even dangerous, or do you think it’s a harmless way to tell funny stories? Have you ever submitted anything to a page like this, or been mentioned in a post?
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Monday, Oct. 15, 2012
The best college student comment on "Rock the Vote" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, October 28th. Finalists are selected by likes, so get your friends to like your comment. Subscribe to the blog (by RSS or by email in the right hand column) for updates.
Maggie is voting for the first time this year. She has made a particular effort to educate herself about the important issues in her state's race for the U.S. senate.
The issues Maggie cares most about—along with the majority of her peers—are jobs, healthcare, and education funding. She realizes that the dismal job market is looming just beyond graduation, that the current healthcare system is flawed, and education funding is lower than ever before. She has found a candidate that she fully supports and that advocates policies and changes that she feels she can trust. However, there is just one problem—she does not agree with the candidate’s permissive stance on abortion.
Her friends tell her that her moral qualms about the abortion issue are vastly outnumbered by the positive qualities that her favorite candidate has to offer; however, she is having trouble accepting a candidate who directly contradicts her passionately held, pro-life position.
Should Maggie vote for the candidate she thinks is less qualified to lead in this capacity, but who agrees with her stance on abortion and will legalize the morality she believes should guide U.S. policy? Or should she vote for the candidate she agrees with on every other issue, and also risk perpetuating a belief that she finds morally reprehensible?
Photo by mrmannnn available under a Creative Commons license on Google Images.
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Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012
The best college student comment on "Passion or Practicality?" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, September 2. Finalists are selected by likes, so get your friends to like your comment. Subscribe to the blog (by RSS or by email in the right hand column) for updates.
Mark has always loved to draw, creating images from things he’s seen around him and things he conjures up in his own imagination. He is fascinated by the fine arts, and when he pictures his future, he sees himself as a curator of an art museum, or the owner of his own gallery.
There’s just one problem. With the recent economic downturn and two younger siblings to think about, Mark faces many daunting financial obstacles in order to pursue his education. As a college freshman, he’s picked up some federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans, but his school’s endowment is less than stellar so he hasn’t received many grants. In essence, he’s looking at about a 150k debt that he’ll have to pay off when he graduates. He plans on continuously applying for merit-based scholarships, but he knows that he’s still going to have a lot on his shoulders. With all of this to consider, his parents are encouraging to pursue something a bit more… “lucrative.” In their minds, something like business or engineering would have a much bigger return than a fine arts or art history degree. They are so serious about this, in fact, that they have decided they will only pay off Mark’s loans if he pursues something that they consider to be practical. If he chooses to pursue something in the arts, Mark will take on his debt by himself.
Mark understands the situation he is in, and wants to be realistic… Perhaps he could become a businessman and sketch on the side, or volunteer at a local museum. However, he also feels like he can’t deny the part of himself that wants to completely follow his number one passion. How can Mark deal with this tug-of-war, respecting both his family’s wishes and his own hopes for the future?
Photo by cstmweb available under a Creative Commons license on Google Images.
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Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012
The Big Q contest for the best student response to this case is being hosted by PolicyMic, "the first democratic online news platform to engage millennials in debates about real issues." PolicyMic rules will apply in selecting the winner of the prize, a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, Sunday, March 4. A link to PolicyMic follows the case.
Nathan has always thought, to be the best, you have to believe you’re the best. Recruited to a top Division I school to play basketball, he is ruthless on the court. If he knocks a player down, the player shouldn’t have been in his way. If he scores a three in his defender’s face, he lets his opponent know how bad his defense was. Most guys dislike playing against Nathan because of his competitive callousness. But confidence, alone, can’t take you to the top, and Nathan knows that. He is the first guy to arrive at practice and the last one to leave. Nathan may be called inconsiderate, rude, and egotistical, but being the best means making other people worse than you.
Off the court, however, Nathan seems like a totally different person. He is polite, soft spoken in class, and is willing to help others if there’s homework they don’t understand. Noticing this shift in disposition, one of Nathan’s teammates—one that Nathan had recently called out in front of the whole team—accused Nathan of being two-faced: although he tries to appear friendly off the court, he’s really just an arrogant jerk.
Weigh in: So, is Nathan a good guy or a bad guy? What impact have sports had on his character? In general, do you think participating in college sports has a good or bad influence on the players?
Useful Resources
A Framework for Ethical Decision Making SCU
Do Sports Build Character? (Chronicle of Higher Education)
To be eligible to win this week's contest, you must post your comments on PolicyMic.
Comments To PolicyMic Here
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Monday, Aug. 29, 2011
Best student comment wins a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate. Responses must be received by midnight September 4, 2011
Katherine entered college with a very high standard for herself regarding sex. She is proud of her choice to remain a virgin until marriage. Now she has met the most amazing guy during the fall term of her freshman year. Max, her boyfriend, believes physical affection and even sex are important ways of showing how much two people care for each other. He has pressed Katherine to express their growing romance sexually, but so far she has said no.
Should Katherine revise her beliefs about sex because someone she respects and wants to have a deep relationship with believes differently? His views are probably the mainstream views among their friends, she realizes.
Should Max keep pressing her for sex? Is his bringing it up often a legitimate part of his wanting to express his love for her? Or do his frequent suggestions show a lack of respect for her beliefs?
Some resources you may find useful:
A Framework for Ethical Decision Making
More College Hookups, but More Virgins Too
10 Truly Shocking Stats on STDs and College Students
Photo by AWKWORDrap available under Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivs License.
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Monday, Jul. 18, 2011
$50 Amazon gift certificate to the best student response on this case received by midnight, 7/24/2011
Megha was excited to start college. During her summer orientation she started learning about all the possible majors at her university. She decided on history because it was something she was truly passionate about. In high school, she had been so inspired by her American history class that she was now reading books on the founding fathers just for pleasure. When she announces her decision to her parents, she is stunned at their reaction.They insist that she major in engineering.
Megha has been a good all-around student, so she can certainly handle the engineering curriculum, but the subject just isn't something she can see herself pursuing for four years--let alone for an entire career. In her parents' minds, however, engineering is practical and will guarantee her a job when she graduates, while history will not.Should Megha go against her parents' wishes and declare a history major?
Here are some resources that might be useful
College Board Majors and Career Central
Highest Paid Degrees
A Framework for Ethical Decision Making
Photo by Ben Oh available under Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivs License.
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Tuesday, Jun. 7, 2011
Warren is an Orc. In fact, he's a level-60 Orc, a feat he has achieved by playing a lot of World of Warcraft. He belongs to a successful guild, whose members he considers friends. He spent last summer at home playing about eight hours a day--basically until his parents nagged him to come to dinner.
Now that he's in college, there's no one to nag him, and he devotes every minute he can to WoW. He usually manages to go to class, but he's behind on his homework, and there are days he doesn't get around to showering.
At the beginning of the term, his suitemates invited him to join them at various activities, but now they pretty much avoid him. Warren sometimes thinks his gaming is out of hand, but nothing seems as interesting as WoW and the people he's met playing it.
Does Warren need to join the real world now that he's in college? Should his suitemates push him to do so?
Here are some resources that might be useful:
Are Video Games Good or Bad for Teens?
WoW Detox
A Framework for Ethical Decision Making
Photo by Rebecca Pollard available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License.
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