What is a MAAP?

A MAAP, or Medical Alcohol Amnesty Program for short, is a widespread and very popular policy enacted by student governments in colleges and universities around the nation. Generally, it states that if a student was intoxicated noticably beyond the legal limit and was in need of medical help, the student his/herself, nor those acting to seek this help will be judicated by the university against university policies. This is a wonderful policy, in my honest opinion, set in motion in large part, by our current student body president, Callie Boyd. However, there are some "ethical" questions about this policy. My research of this topic led me to the Temple University student newspaper, which said, "If you’re underage and out for a night of drinking, it’s best that you drink to the point of hospitalization so that you won’t be punished by Temple." This is an utterly rediculous statement, but does make you think. How can someone, though underage, caught responsibly and controllably drinking a beer and watching a movie get punitive consequences through the college they are attending, while someone drinking to the point of a coma is left scotch-free. As negative as these issues are, I feel that MAAPs are great ideas, due to the fact that alcohol consumption is instinctively almost a right of passage for college. And most, including myself, will spend three years consuming it illegally. I certainly wouldn't want anyone thinking twice if I was in need of hospitalization because they, or myself was underage.

A ton of Ethical Statistics

This article threw a whole lot of logos and statstics at readers, but really did not surprise me to a great extent. In my little job experience for about 5 years at jobs of landscaping, lifeguarding, and working in a restaurant, I've encountered ethically questionable situations nearly everyday. No matter what we may want to think, ethics come in to play in every type of job. It may be a little matter, such as passing a job down the ladder of command that could easily be done, or a huge matter, such as embezzlement or fraud, but ethics are definitely involved in the workplace. Needless to say, these situations cause a load of distractions. People who witness unethical happenings question their right to challenge or "rat out" their co-workers, while most everyone in their own right has been guilty of unethical behavior at some point in their lives too. Thus, it's a double-edged sword. The only thing that can be fixed in the workplace is to install the right people in the right jobs and building a relationship of trust. Inevitably, unethical situations will arise and it will show true character how co-workers and bosses handle themselves when faced with these crossroads.

Writing+Web vs. Writing on Paper

This week, we're supposed to take a look at writing on varoius mediums. What I mean when I say mediums is either the new-age era of writing on the web, which includes e-mails, AOL Instant Messanger, and facebook, or the traditional way of communicating by writing on paper. The new technological breakthroughs in communication have almost created a new language in a sense. Also, style has been changed when communicating on the web. I personally feel that sentences are shortened and the true meaning and expression of feelings is not completely represented by the online medium. Conversely, traditional forms of writing communication, like business letters, seem more official now. More value is placed on these forms, as it is understood now that more time and effort have to be devoted to hand-writing a letter. For example, take college atheltics and recruting: recruits are going to value a hand-written letter from a coach a lot more than an e-mail or text message. Knowing that the person put time and effort into it makes a world of difference when selling a school to a perspective recruit. When transferring a written document onto the web, it is crucial to make sure you keep the meaning of the letter the same. Online mediums can be less personal and seem a little cold. Another thing to keep in mind when transferring a document online would have to be errors in translation as well.