Delta struggles with student code of
ethics
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
ERIN ALBERTY
THE SAGINAW NEWS
At first blush, it seems like a sentiment college officials
would embrace: "We recognize our responsibility to support the mission
and values of Delta College and will honor our obligations to fellow
students, to faculty, to staff and to the community."
But the proposed code of ethical conduct for Delta students proved
controversial for members of the Board of Trustees, who Tuesday
returned the policy to faculty and students for revision.
"If you're a student, you pay your tuition, you go to class, you learn,
and that's the end of the transaction," said Trustee R. Earl Selby of
Saginaw. "It's almost presumptuous of us to say to our customers,
'You've got to support our mission and our values.' I'm a little
troubled by that, especially in an academic institution, where maybe
the mission and values should be challenged.
"I can't vote for this simply out of my great respect for the concept
of civil disobedince that I was raised with."
Students of philosophy instructor Kirk A. Wolf drafted the code last
semester to mirror a faculty code of conduct the college adopted last
year.
Wolf pointed to a provision that supports "the rights of others to
express their views in the spirit of academic freedom," saying the
sentence gives room for disagreement with the code itself.
"That's what academic freedom is," Wolf said.
Trustee Karen Lawrence-Webster of Saginaw took issue with the code's
demand to "treat all students and instructors with respect, honesty and
fairness, and uphold their rights to autonomy, privacy and safety,"
saying such broad virtues are subject to interpretation.
"This is soft stuff that can turn into problems," she said before
joining a unanimous vote to send the code to the Delta Senate, a group
of faculty, students and administrators that crafts academic policy.
Wolf noted the class that wrote the original version has disbanded for
the winter term.
"I have no idea how we'll redraft it," he said.
President Jean J. Goodnow said finalizing an ethical code is important,
especially in light of recent scandals and corruption surrounding
high-profile businesses and politicians.
"It's imperative of higher education institutions to take a stand that
we believe in having a sense of respect and value on academic freedom,
excellence, diversity and lifelong learning," she said. v
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