Quethics 4/10

Is it ethical to work for the Office of Admissions if you know that by encouraging people to attend Reed, you will cause them to suffer?

-Milyon Falselove

Dear Milyon Falselove,

I can see where your concern is coming from. If you work for the Admissions Office but don’t believe encouraging people to come to Reed is a good thing, then you may have a moral obligation to no longer work that job. 

There’s a lot of context I’m missing, so I will do my best to consider different factors and propose some solutions. I assume you may be working in a position that encourages students to come to Reed, whether you’re a tour guide or someone who communicates with prospies. Of course, one should seek to be honest when answering prospie questions, including being honest about the types of students who thrive at Reed. While many students love Reed, the majority of students who are looking at colleges will not enjoy Reed. Be honest about school culture, the rigor of programs, and the reality of the college. Many students who are looking for a “typical” college experience including fraternities and sororities and big football games will not find Reed fulfilling. Furthermore, if a student isn’t interested in doing a lot of reading, then they will likely find it difficult to succeed in required courses like HUM. Telling those sorts of students that they will enjoy Reed would be dishonest, and you have an obligation not to mislead students into attending Reed who would be miserable. 

However, you also have a moral obligation to some level of objectivity. Painting Reed as a place where all students hate the college and everyone is miserable would be just as dishonest as pretending every student loves Reed. Be honest about your feelings towards the college or degree program, even if that means being candid about the parts you dislike. But, of course, you can disregard my advice and go on Fox News for the purpose of making Reed College look as insane as possible, leading to a whole new culture war saga with Reed College at the center. Surely, this would discourage anyinterested students from coming lest they wish to be implicated. But, surely there are more reasonable ways to deal with your feelings, including finding a happy medium between being honest and maintaining your employment!

Best of luck,

The Quethicist 

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