The Ethicist

Author: Amanda Greene

In many ways it is incredibly surreal that the election is over. The never-ending presidential race has been on Middlebury students' minds for months. Clinton or Obama shifted to Obama or McCain as November 4th approached and Middlebury students were not shy about expressing their political preferences. Groups have been phone banking, "postering" campus and vocalizing their political allegiances with laudable fervor. Who said our generation was uninvolved?

Recently, ubiquitous Obama Biden= USSA (United Socialists States of America) posters were placed on nearly every campus lamppost. These posters, devoid of a clear message, suggested that Obama promotes a socialist agenda. The posters were not claimed by a campus organization and their meaning was cryptic. Personally, I found the posters incredibly frustrating and am annoyed when I walk by one. My friend, Mike, was equally repulsed by the posters. He began ripping down the posters when he passed them, arguing that freedom of speech works both ways. Mike stressed that the individuals who printed the posters have the freedom to voice their ideas and that he has the freedom to take the posters down. For Mike, both he and the "posterers" were exercising their basic rights by putting up or removing the USSA flyers.

I agree with Mike's actions. If someone hung a poster that maligned someone else or contained incorrect statistics, another individual would have the right to remove that poster. It would be unethical for Mike to remove an informational poster about an organization whose values he disagreed with. That is, Mike cannot take down advertisements for a College Republicans meeting because he is a Democrat. In this situation, Mike's actions were ethical because the posters he removed contained assertions that were not supported by fact or claimed by a group. The USSA posters were more provocative than anything else and Mike effectively responded to this provocation.

And now for this week's question:

Q: I'm a sophomore and J-term registration is approaching. I've received an internship offer for the month of January that I've already accepted. It's in the financial sector so I'm a bit nervous that my offer might be withdrawn as the holidays approach. I've looked at the course offerings for J-term and a number of the classes look wonderful. Sophomores register first and am planning on signing up for a class even though I will most likely drop it. Are my actions unethical? Am I taking another student's spot?

- Reservations-regarding-Registering

A: If you believe that there is any chance that you will be on campus this January then you should feel free to register. This J-term is the only time you will be able to register first and you are entitled to benefit from this standing. If you knew for sure that you wouldn't be on campus then registering "just because you could" would be unethical as you would be hurting other students' chances of enrolling in their first choices. As it stands, you should jump at the chance to get your name on whatever class list you desire because your plans for this January are, unfortunately, not set in stone.

Want to consult the ethicist? Send submissions to amgreene@middlebury.edu