Ethical Responsiblity

I am at the coffee shop working on my class assigments for my Legal Aspects of Higher Ed class and with each case, I am required to look at not only the legal issues in the case, but the ethical responsiblity of the administration as well. This has been very interesting to me. Basically, what we are learning is that there is a very fine line for ethical responsiblity.

If a university provides too much notification or "hand holding" as I like to refer to it to their students or employees, they are running a high risk of being held liable for law suits if something goes wrong. However, if they don't provide some notificiation of things that could be dangerous, they will still be sued and even if they aren't held responsible, they have to live the the ethical ramifications of not doing what the probably should have.

Point in case...the UofA is currently looking at making substantial changes in their staffing of the front desks of their residence halls. At the present moment, the front desks are staffed 24 hours a day. The RAs and RDAs are required to spend time at the front desk throughout the week at all hours. The university is considering pulling these 24 hour responsiblities. Part of this is due to financial reasons which we all know is an always going battle in education. The other reason is because of the legal responsiblity implications. By having someone at the desk 24 hours a day, the university is saying that they are willing to be responsible for anyone who might get in the hall that doesn't actually belong there. Basically, if someone gets in the hall and commits a rape or theft, the university could be liable, because they have someone on staff who "should be able to keep out those who don't belong." Anyone who has worked a front desk knows that it is impossible to keep every unwanted person out. People come in side doors, they can sneak in if you turn your head for a second to look something up, etc.

At the same time, is it not important to provide a sense of security for the residents of such a large campus where there have been issues even this year dealing with peeping Toms or attempted rapes? I attended a program this month where two young ladies shared their stories about being raped. One was a UofA student. She was raped in her dorm room six years ago and is just now able to come back to school here. At that time, the didn't man the front desk 24 hours a day. Now, having a person at the desk wouldn't have necessarily helped her avoid being raped since it was a friend that she invited up to her room, but after the assault, she couldn't find anyone to tell (game weekend and everyone was either gone or out partying).

I guess, my question is, where do we draw the line between our ethical responsiblity to our fellow man/woman and our fear of litigation? After working at a university, I can see both sides of this situation very easily. In the larger picture, how many times do we play this game in our heads...should I help or not? Should I stand for what is right or not? We play the ethical responsiblity game everyday. It is not always because of a fear of litigation, but we still play the game.

I don't know the answer. That is for each person to decide for themselves I think. I would hope that I would stand strong for what is right regardless of the reprocusions legally or otherwise, but who knows. I can see taht being as proactive as possible can really make a HUGE difference in these matters because the more proactive you can be, the less you chance you will have that you have to make the ethical debate. Actually, I think that the highest ethical responsiblity we can subject ourselves to is to be proactive in our lives...personally and professionally.

Ultimately, this is just more rambling from my inner self. Things to think about nonetheless.