Given Mines’ ongoing deliberations about whether to allow concealed carry guns, last week’s news of a school shooting prevented by gun-toting good guys has the campus abuzz. “We finally have proof,” said pro-gun sophomore Ryan Schmeits, “that allowing responsible students to carry guns on campus may provide more than just an illusion of safety.”
Dilemma
When I got accepted to Mines my grandfather offered to pay for my college tuition. He said an engineering degree is a worthwhile investment. He doesn’t think a marine biology degree is a worthwhile investment, though, so he’s not paying for my brother’s college tuition. The bad news is that I’ve decided I want to change my major. To physics.
Is it unethical not to tell him? Is there anything wrong with letting him see for himself on graduation day? Maybe he won’t come to graduation and he’ll never have to know. Or maybe I’m obligated to keep studying what he offered to pay for because life isn’t supposed to fun anyway or something like that.
–Physics Rebellion
There is a reason I don’t watch political pundits on television: most simply act as reactionaries for their declared side. There is a reason they call paramedics “first responders” (I can only imagine how terrible life would be if we had to be rescued by “first reactors”). My point is this: at every level of social, political, and professional interaction there is a tension between the urge to react and the intellectual wherewithal to form a response.
The Student Health Center is considering unsubscribing from the ezine it began offering two weeks ago. “When we subscribed,” explained SHC’s administrative official Heather Turett, “we expected some level of professionalism and maturity. What we got was thinly-veiled shame alchemy disguised as medicine.” The “shame alchemy” that concerned Turett was an article called “Choosing Parenteral Nutrition”, which interviewed college students practicing a food-free lifestyle (FFL).
Amongst all of the fervor for science on the Colorado School of Mines Campus, students only enjoy one thing more than their academics, and that is a day off from school. Whether it is an infrequent snow day or President’s Day, Mines robots need that break from work so they can recharge their batteries. The question is why the student body does not get Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day off? After much digging and a little investigative journalism, the Oredigger staff has found the solution.
It has been nearly a year since I penned an opinion piece for The Oredigger. Much has changed in that time and now I sit poised to finish my career at Mines and venture into “the real world.” The truth is toward the end of the original “Two Cents” series I began to lose steam and finding interesting topics of discussion simply took a back seat to school and life. Alas, being in my last semester I once again have time to (hopefully) stir up discussion on campus.
Dilemma
Don’t worry; I don’t live in the dorms or in Mines Park.
Recently a friend was studying at my apartment. He noticed some bugs on my reclining chair and said they were bedbugs. As soon as I was convinced that he was right, which took about two minutes of a Google search, my friend helped me carry the chair to the alley. We could not lift it into the Dumpster, so we left it beside said Dumpster. My friend didn’t stay much longer, and he texted me on the way to his car to tell me that the chair was gone.
What should I do? Am I ethically obligated to put up a notice in my building to warn people that the recliner has bedbugs? Or do I let them alley-shop at their own risk?
–Recently Exterminated
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I had the fun and exciting experience of going through the TSA’s enhanced security checkpoint. Overall, it was an uneventful experience, but, I still have some problems with it.
Recently, a friend showed me a website, birthornot.com, created by a Minnesota couple, Pete and Alisha. Pete and Alisha have been married for about 8 years, and are expecting a child. On their site, they post news about their pregnancy, including updates on doctor visits and current ultrasound photos. This site is also a poll in which web-users can vote on whether Pete and Alisha should keep or abort their unborn child.
Dilemma
Recently, I was taking a test, during which we were not allowed to use calculators. This is an upperclassman-level test, so the professors are fairly trusting. I noticed that a friend was using a calculator, which, as I have said, was not allowed on the test. Based on my discussions with him/her prior to the test, I am certain that this was totally an honest mistake on his/her part.
What should I do in this particular situation, and what is ethical in the general case?
–Witness of Unintentional Cheating