As an adolescent, growing up we do not comprehend much of the consequence of what we do, that’s why we have parents and teachers to guide us through our day to day activities and to teach us right from wrong. These teachings helped to guide us to adulthood. As an adult, we use these teachings to guide us in our everyday lives. Even though these teachings are embedded in us, it’s our choice as young adults to follow these steps because as adults we are now responsible for our own actions. We no longer have our parents or teachers by our side to guide us in the right direction. This task is now on us to follow. So, if a young adult does not follow these teaching sometimes there are consequences at the end. For example, if an adult is caught on a recording saying a negative slur, it will most likely affect his/her job status. I think that this should also be applied for young adults who are in school or applying for admissions.
As we enter college, our way of thinking and doing things tend to drastically change due to maturity. We are more mature now than when we were during our time of adolescents. That’s why now whatever we do, we should be held responsible for our actions. I feel as though social media presence should play a role in the college admissions process because we are old enough to distinguish between right and wrong. For example, America is so diverse now, that using racial jokes, is unacceptable. An example will be using blackface or dressing up in racial outfits that will offend other ethnic groups. Also, people who go online and speak of hate just to create tension and hatred. This can be linked to part of the steps in the ABCD’s of Ethical Decision Making, which gives a detailed guideline for decisions a person intends to make. It is a checklist to see if these opinions are ethical, in a case like this, the B, which stands for beliefs makes one reflect on if their moral beliefs, principles, values, and virtues that they stand by will help them make the best decision. It can also be linked to Personal Egoism which basically says that I am going to act in my own self-interest and everything else is irrelevant. This is in the mindset of some young adults that their action is
In this day and age, schools have the right to reject or revoke admissions if they deem your behavior immoral to the school norms. An example, the official Facebook group for Harvard’s class of 2021 explicitly states, “As a reminder, Harvard College reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under various conditions including if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character.” In this case, many people think that the offending students simply crossed the line. “I appreciate humor, but there are so many topics that just should not be joked about,” said another student interviewed The Crimson- “those actions really spoke about the students’ true characters.” This is a unique example that many schools should follow in their own admissions.
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As young adults, we must learn to take responsibilities for our action. So, if we do something immoral, the punishment should be enforced. Especially in the public eye. I believe that offensive social media use should lead to rescinding admission because as young adults we should know the difference between right and wrong. Also, if the school admits individuals that post offensive statements on social media it can tarnish the image of the school. Students are representatives of their schools so any offensive posting will be associated with the school and that will bring down the good image of the school. So as the losing admission to Harvard article states Colleges have a responsibility to place a check on their student’s social media behavior. This can be linked to Utilitarianism which basically says ¨that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness in bringing about the most happiness of all those affected by it.”
However, we should not restrict people behavior for every little thing to please a few individuals because we do have our first amendment which is Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Which is basically – Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press. If we restrict every statement a person makes, then this country will resend to a dictatorship. The society that we live in has norms that society expects us to follow.
For example, the n-word can be used by African-Americans but can’t be used by any other ethnic group because it is looked like a racial connotation. Another norm is that there should be a line between public and private social media but unfortunately, there isn’t because anything that hits the internet is now open for the world to see. The moment you put something online it becomes an open book for everyone to read. A video, picture, or post can be posted on your page but the next moment it can be seen on someone else’s page. There is no such thing as privacy in the social media world. With the advancement of technology, we see that privacy is invaded daily.
There has to be a common ground between students’ free speech and colleges interest in promoting a safe and welcoming learning environment. Before students are admitted they should watch a video that shows the school norms. This video will explain the do’s and don’ts that the university allows. Such as no ethnic slurs post on social media, no discriminative pictures such as blackface and dressing in the Ku Klux Klan attire as an African-American woman, this is a very upsetting topic for me because of the immoral history associated with it. After the video, the students can state their opinions. This will help find a common ground for the school and the students.
In life, we always make a right or wrong decision. Sometimes the wrong decision might seem like the easy and fun path to take while the right decision might seem less fun or harder of a path to take. But whatever choice you make has its consequences that will happen sooner than later. We must take account of our actions because it does not only affect ourselves but the people we associate with such as our friends, family’s, co-workers and classmates.
