Spring Break
SLiCE: Students should establish unique core values [AUDIO SLIDESHOW]
Natasha Pepperl
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: News
Every mom has told her children at one point or another that just because everyone is jumping off a cliff doesn't mean they should join.
But that lesson doesn't necessarily last, according to Pam Sampson, the director of the Office for Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement at CSU.
During an interactive workshop Wednesday held to teach students how to establish solid individual codes of ethics, Sampson, citing a lack of positive public figures, said many students shape their moral bases after personal role models, which makes it easier for them to justify unethical behavior.
"If the way to get ahead is to cheat, lie, steal … you can start to rationalize and excuse that (behavior) away," she said, adding that exhibitions of poor behavior by celebrities and high profile politicians in American society doesn't help. "I think public figures assist us in rationalizing poor decisions. … Part of the responsibility of being in the limelight is you are a role model whether you want to (be) or not."
Assistant sociology professor Tara O'Connor Shelley said in an interview before the workshop that public figures have the ability to influence students' decisions, adding that public figures are "powerful symbolic examples" and especially impact young children.
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