OPINION & EDITORIAL
Choosing the better of 2 bad options
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by Matt Morin
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Growing up, there were several important lessons that my parents attempted to impress upon me. Sharing, treating others the way you want to be treated, and not wasting food are some that immediately stick out to me. Another lesson I remember being constantly reminded of is that choices have consequences.
My mom always told me that I was free to make my own choices, but I was not free to choose the consequences of certain actions. How right she was. I have made several poor decisions in my life, and I am pretty sure that the trend will continue for some time.
I am not proud of my poor decisions — but they are the consequence of my humanity. One particular decision I regret making is the decision to loan my room key to a friend of mine. Late for a review session and in a moment of rushed decision-making, I broke a rule. (In hindsight, there was no need to do so. My friend was accompanied by a fellow resident into the unlocked building and remained in a common area until I met up with them. However, when you have David Hume on the mind — no thinking is clear.)
So, what would Mom have to say about this particular choice and its respective consequences? Well, I think the answer to this question lies in another lesson that was taught in my house: Always work for justice.
Breaking certain rules require certain punishments. University Housing has set an undeniable historical precedent in choosing to deal with infractions that are (according to the sacred Housefellow Manual) as severe as the infraction I committed. Thus, if choices have consequences, then equally poor choices should have equally severe consequences. However, it does not appear to be the case that my poor choice is being treated as other similar poor decisions have been treated. Mom’s lessons on justice were meant to keep her lesson on choices and consequences in balance. If it is, in fact, the case that a consequence is administered unjustly — then naturally the question of other motives arises.
There are, of course, other choices that need to be made in response to my poor choice. University Housing has made the choice to administer the most severe consequence possible. It can be argued that, given the previous history of similar cases, they have made a poor choice. The consequence of this choice is that now this university agency must choose between two less-than-desirable alternatives.
The first option is to overturn the decision to terminate my employment, and in doing so admit poor decision-making by lower-level housing employees.
The alternative to this decision is to stubbornly and foolishly uphold the decision to terminate. According to the numerous legal practitioners who have contacted me (including one person who handles employment-discrimination lawsuits for an NCAA Division III university), the latter would be the more foolish of the two options.
Unfortunately for me, I cannot go back and undo my poor decision. I can only learn from it and move on. However, in the case of University Housing, they still have options. As a body, they have made a poor decision. However, the decision-making process is not over — they still have a chance to make the right choice.
Matt Morin is a senior majoring in marketing and philosophy.
