Santa Clara University

Best student comment wins a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate. Responses must be received by midnight September 11, 2011

Isaac moved off campus his sophomore year into an apartment with his friend Jason. Isaac and Jason met in their dorm during freshman year. Isaac always thought Jason seemed like a really cool guy until he discovered that Jason was into cocaine. Not only was Jason a user; he also distributed cocaine to others on campus. Isaac doesn’t want to rat Jason out because they’re friends, but Isaac doesn’t want to run the risk of being kicked out of his apartment, or worse, going to jail.

Should Isaac confront Jason and tell him that he knows he has been using and selling cocaine? Should Isaac tell a school counselor? the police?

 Here are some resources you may find useful:

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making 

Signs of Drug Use

College Drug Use 

Photo by International Relations and Security Network available under Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivs License.

Best student comment wins a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate.  Responses must be received by midnight August 21, 2011.

Paige, a college freshman, needed to put the finishing touches on a poli sci paper that was due at 11. After her 9 a.m. class, she returned to her room in the residence hall to check the footnotes, but when she unlocked the door, her roommate Cheyenne was in bed with the comforter pulled up above her head.

Paige flicked on the light. It wasn't her problem that Cheyenne was such a party girl. She hadn't come home the night before, and that was hardly the first time. She decided to ignore Cheyenne and opened her laptop to begin her work. But when she started typing, Cheyenne growled at her to go somewhere else.

Paige had told some friends to come by her room before class, and now she had to let them know she wouldn't be there. On her way out of the residence hall, she posted a new status to her Facebook: "Cheyenne (AKA the skank) is sleeping it off in the room. I'll be in the library."

By the time she reopened her laptop, her friend Ivy had commented on her status: "That girl is going to be pregnant before midterms." And Leanne followed with lol.

Paige was astonished when she got back from dinner that night to be approached by Tara, the Resident Fellow on her floor. Tara said she wanted to talk with Paige about cyberbullying Cheyenne.

Do you think Paige was engaged in cyberbullying? If so, do you think the university should get involved in the issue?

Some resources you may find useful:

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making 

 Destructive Bullying 

Facebook Crimes on Rise

Photo by Herbstkind available under Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivs License.

 $50 Amazon gift certificate to the best student response on this case received by midnight, July 17th.

Brad and Wilson are roommates. Brad is an outgoing, free-spirited, notorious "ladies man." Wilson prefers to spend his time in the dorm, reading and doing homework. At first, they got along well, with their personalities complementing each other.  But then Brad started bringing women to the room unannounced. During the day, he'd make some not very subtle comment about wanting to be alone and expect Wilson to split.  Sometimes he brought a date home for a "sleepover," and he seemed not to care if Wilson stayed in the room.  But that made Wilson feel like a voyeur, so he slept on the couch in the lounge.  Once he even missed class because, without his alarm clock, he overslept.

Wilson doesn't want to upset Brad by asking him not to bring women back to the dorm so late and so often, nor does he want their friendship to become awkward or tense.   But he'd also like the use of his own room.  How should he approach this problem with Brad?

Here are some resources that might be useful:

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Sexiling 101

7 Tips for a Better Rommate Experience

Photo by Chrissy Hunt available under Attribution- Non Commercial- No Derivs License.

Starting the first week of Will's freshman year at a large state university, there was always a party going on. There were frat parties, tailgates, theme parties, and dances. Even within Will's dorm, some group was always having a good time--playing poker, watching movies, or just hanging out.

At first, Will enjoyed the social scene and getting to know people; he didn't see a problem with adjusting to the social atmosphere before really getting into the academics. But two months into college, he found himself behind in a couple of classes, and handing in work that he wasn't very proud of. He would promise himself to study, but then get sidetracked when one of his buddies dropped by his room and asked him to go out.

Will had come to college to prepare himself for a career in law, and he knew he needed to perform reasonably well to get into law school. But he also figured that college was supposed to the best time in his life, which it certainly wasn't going to be if all he did was study. What was the right balance? What difference would it make either way?

Some Interesting Facts and Resources

About 29 percent of incoming students chose their colleges based on the reputation of their "social activities."

Chronicle of Higher Education, 2003

Most guides recommend about 2 hours of study a week for each hour in the classroom. Generally this will work out to between 30 and 45 hours. But the National Survey of Student Engagement found that many students try to get by on far less. Of freshmen at four-year residential colleges, only 12 percent spent 26 hours or more preparing for class.

"A" students average 3.1 drinks per week
"B" students average 4.4 drinks per week
"C" students averages 5.6 drinks per week
"D" and "F" students average 9.5 drinks per week The Bacchus Network

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Photo by mel_rowling available under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial License.