The Big Q

Making the Cut

bigqethics@gmail.com (Samantha Mazza) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:00 PST

Patrick and Lindsey, two high school students, have different priorities as they apply to colleges... and receive very different outcomes.

Insta-Interruption

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:56:00 PST

Beth and Katie, two friends, are out to lunch. However, they are constantly interrupting each other with their social media use.

A Tale of Two Cheaters

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:14:00 PST

The best student comment on "A Tale of Two Cheaters" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, Sunday, May 5th, 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.**

Rebecca is a freshman this year, and the transition from high school to college has been pretty academically difficult for her. She has always been an excellent student, however, so she takes the challenge in stride.

After turning in a final paper for one of her English classes, Rebecca receives an e-mail from her professor informing her that she has failed the class. Rebecca can’t believe it—perhaps she put less effort into this paper than her others, but she certainly didn’t produce F-quality work! She immediately responds and asks why. Her professor informs Rebecca that she had included a paragraph in her paper that was copied and pasted verbatim from an online source, and that Rebecca had failed to provide a citation. The professor then refers Rebecca to the section on academic integrity in the course syllabus, which clearly states that any student found plagiarizing will fail the course.

At the same university that week, Nick wraps up his first round of sophomore year exams. He’s thrilled to be heading home for break after an extremely tough quarter, and is pretty happy with his grades as they begin showing up online. However, he notices he received a C in a class that he was expecting a solid A in, and e-mails his professor to ask why. His professor responds that she found several instances of plagiarism in his final paper, so he failed his final assignment, and that affected his final grade. She also notes that this is consistent with her policy on academic integrity as stated in her syllabus.

Ultimately, for similar acts of plagiarism at the same school, Rebecca and Nick suffer very different consequences. Rebecca fails a course, while Nick fails a final paper. Is this fair? Should schools force faculty to have the same policy about plagiarism across the board, or should it be up to the faculty’s discretion? What would be a fair punishment?

Useful Resources

Cheating on College Campuses

Framework for Ethical Decision-Making

Academic Integrity Protocol

Time is of the Essence

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:12:00 PST

Stephanie must make a difficult decision about whether or not to be honest with a future employer in order to be hired.

Can You Keep a Secret?

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:07:00 PST

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?

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Students Confess Their Darkest Secrets on Facebook

Students Tell All on Anonymous Facebook “Confessions” Pages

SCU Confessions

Picking Up the Slack

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:35:00 PST

The best student comment on "Picking Up the Slack" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, Sunday, March 24, 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.**

Greg and Natalie have been in business classes together since freshman year. While they’re not close friends, they have always enjoyed each other’s company in class and have been in the same social circle as they’ve moved from lower division courses to where they are now: senior capstone. Greg and a few of his friends invite Natalie to join their group at the start of the term, and they begin to work on their project.

Fairly quickly, though, Greg realizes that Natalie isn’t pulling her weight. Any aspect of the project that’s assigned to her has to be redone by other members of the group, she doesn’t pay attention in meetings, and she consistently shows up late or hung over. Greg and his other groupmates think that Natalie needs to step it up and take this project seriously, but they ultimately agree it would be more trouble than it’s worth to confront her about it. They decide to just push through and let her do her own thing. Natalie continues to participate marginally in discussions, planning, and writing, but makes it clear through her actions that their final presentation is not her biggest priority.

After Greg’s group gives its final presentation, the members are asked to write an evaluation on their teammates that the professor will use to determine individual grades. When it comes to most of his teammates, Greg easily gives them all A’s and B’s for their participation and contributions to the project. However, when Greg comes to Natalie’s evaluation, he is faced with a dilemma. It’s their last big project before graduation, and if he were to evaluate her in a harsh way, it could negatively affect her cumulative GPA. He doesn’t want to throw her under the bus; however, her apathy and poor work ethic put a huge burden on everyone else’s shoulders, and Greg had to personally sacrifice a lot of time and effort to make up for her mistakes or tasks that she left undone.

Is it worth giving her an honest evaluation, just so the professor will give her the grade she deserves? Or is giving her a bad evaluation petty and unnecessary, considering that they are all about to graduate and their group received an A, regardless of her performance?

Useful Resources

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

4 Steps to Surviving that Group Project

Hackworth Fellow: Patrick Coutermarsh

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:51:00 PST

Patrick is a senior at SCU working toward a double degree in Economics and Philosophy. He is currently a Hackworth Fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, founded and captained SCU's first Ethics Bowl team, and writes for the Center's new blog "Business Ethics in the News." Outside of school, Patrick competes in triathlons and martial arts competitions.

Student Intern: Chloe Wilson

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:49:00 PST

Chloe is a Seattle-area native and a senior at Santa Clara University, with a major in Sociology and a minor in Music. She currently works as one of the Big Q social media interns, and writes the posts for the blog. Chloe is also a part of the University Honors Program, a member of SCU's first Ethics Bowl team, former CMO of Kappa Alpha Theta, co-President of SCU A Cappella, co-leader of Supertonic!, a worship leader at her church, and the Campus Relations Coordinator for Core Christian Fellowship. Chloe will be graduating early in March, and is currently deciding where her post-college path will take her!

Student Intern: Alex LeeNatali

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:05:00 PST

Alex is a senior Law and Social Justice/Psychology double major at Santa Clara University. She currently works as one of the Big Q social media interns and will be graduating at the end of March. Currently, Alex is also the public relations coordinator for the Multicultural Center, the New Orleans Spring break immersion coordinator, a Discover/Magis retreat leader, and a campus ministry intern. In June, she will begin working as a teacher for Teach for America in San Jose.

Contributing Writer: Anthony Gill

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:26:00 PST

Anthony is currently a freshman at Santa Clara University, originally from Spokane, Washington.He is undeclared in the College of Arts & Sciences. He is involved with Into the Wild, our outdoors club; Christian Life Community, an organization through Campus Ministry; and event and activity planning for Unity RLC. In the fall, Anthony and a few friends worked to start SCU Snapshot, a photography club for beginners through experts.

Contributing Writer: Kaitlin Fuelling

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:53:00 PST

Kaitlin is a senior at Santa Clara University. She is planning to graduate this June with a major in marketing and a minor in communications. She currently works in the Bronco Athletic Department, and is a member of the Triathlon Club and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Contributing Writer: Mikaila Read

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:48:00 PST

Mikaila Read is a junior at Eastern Washington University, where she is also the president of the university philosophy club, The Trascendental Apathetic. She self identifies as an, "old soul," and a "closet musician." In her spare time she enjoys reading, hiking, volunteering in her community, and songwriting/singing. Mikaila hopes to go onto graduate school and eventually become a professor of philosophy.

Forgive and Forget

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:45:00 PST

Two college students could be deeply affected by the passing of a new student loan forgiveness bill.

Caught in the Middle

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:40:00 PST

Ben witnesses his friend Tyler cheating on his girlfriend. He feels caught in the middle.. What should he do?

Sister, Can You Spare a Dime?

mschulman@scu.edu (Miriam Schulman) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:19:00 PST

The best college student comment on "Sister, Can You Spare a Dime?" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. 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.

Jack is a fixture of the neighborhood right outside the gates of a large, urban university. Homeless for the past 13 years, Jack carries all of his belongings in a shopping cart, to which he also hitches his faithful dog, Rufus. Every day, Jack takes up a position outside the fast food joint across the street from the campus, where he solicits passersby for change. Most nights, he sleeps in a nearby parking lot, but when it gets really cold, he has been known to sneak into the campus library and labs to keep warm. A veteran of the Gulf War, Jack obviously has his demons, and he can sometimes be seen drowning them in a bottle of wine half-concealed in a brown paper bag.

As a freshman at the university, Mandy encounters Jack in the second week she is on campus, when she goes off campus with fellow members of the water polo team for a late night snack. When she sees his cardboard sign— "Homeless Vet. Please Help"— Mandy throws a few quarters into the paper cup he holds out.

"Don't give him money," Jocelyn, a junior teammate warns her. "He'll just spend it on alcohol."

"If everybody would stop giving these freeloaders a handout, they would go hang out somewhere else," adds Ella. "They're scary."

"Oh, Jack's harmless," Meg, a senior, chimes in. "I give him something when I can."

"You just do that to salve your conscience," Jordan says. "Giving money to individual panhandlers doesn't do anything about the root causes of poverty in this country. You should join Students Act Against Homelessness if you really want to make a difference."

Do you think students have a responsibility to help the homeless? If so, should they give money to anyone who asks? Should they buy food for the panhandlers instead? Should they not give to individuals but make donations to charities instead? What can students do about the root causes of homelessness?

Useful Resources

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

National Coalitiion for the Homeless

Swipes for the Homeless

Photo Credit: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-12227485/stock-photo-asking-for-help-a-homeless-man-panhandles.html?src=lb-16096948>

Happy Holidays from the Big Q

mschulman@scu.edu (Miriam Schulman) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:10:00 PST

We at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics wish you a joyous holiday and all the best in the new year. Back in 2012.

It Would Be an Honor

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:32:00 PST

This post is not a part of our bi-weekly Big Q contest, which will return in January. However, with finals coming up, please comment on this relevant and controversial topic! Subscribe to the blog (by RSS or by email in the right hand column) for updates.

Does your school have an Honor Code?

If so, do you think that it really works?

Why or why not?

For further reading on this topic, check out these articles:

Academic Dishonesty: Honor Codes and Other Contextual Influences

Empirical Support for Academic Honor Codes

Do University Honor Codes Work?

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Photo by CollegeDegrees360 available under a Creative Commons License on Flickr.

Boys Will Be Boys

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:16:00 PST

The best college student comment on "Boys Will Be Boys" wins a $100 Amazon gift certificate. Entries must be received by midnight, November 25th. 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.

Julia and Ricky have been dating for about a year now, and are completely committed to one another. All of their friends feel that they have a strong relationship with a solid foundation.

Despite this, however, Julia has been noticing a pattern that concerns her. Ricky regularly watches pornography, which she really doesn’t like. After ignoring it for a while, Julia mentions that it bothers her, and makes her feel like Ricky is cheating on her.

Ricky apologizes, but explains that it’s solely for “release,” and means absolutely nothing beyond that. Julia feels that pornography objectifies women in a way that undermines their relationship, and her self-esteem also suffers a hit when she thinks about the images that go across her boyfriend’s screen. Her best friend tells her not to worry because “boys will be boys,” and Julia reluctantly acknowledges that she knows that many college guys do this. She thinks that she may be blowing things out of proportion, but she can’t shake the feeling of betrayal.

Is Julia overreacting, or should Ricky change his habits to honor the relationship? Do the moral implications change whether or not Ricky and Julia are sexually active?

The Porn Myth

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Pornography Facts: What's the Big Deal?

The Porn Predicament: Is it Really So Bad?

Photo by fb available under a Creative Commons License on Flickr.

Members Only

bigqethics@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:04:00 PST

Two students disagree over UC Hastings' student involvement policies with regards to a religious club.

Rock the Vote

ethics333@gmail.com (Chloe Wilson) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:36:00 PST

A college student must weigh different ethical factors in her decision to vote for a senator.