A Collegiate Dilemma Essay

Favoritism is the tendency of an individual to discriminate against another person or a group of persons. It happens when an individual favors another over others. In most cases, it occurs as a result of an individual’s value judgment and thus it is an attitude( http://dictionary. die. net/favoritism ). For instance, in many learning institutions especially those dealing with higher education favoritism occurs when professors favor some students simply because they want to have intimate relationship with them.

Such inclination or or disposition to favor some students or even treat others unfairly on the basis of prejudice motivated by the lust to have sexually exploitative relationship confirms the presence of favoritism in universities and colleges. College professors are supposed to display both ethical and scholarly standards in the best way possible. These standards are guided by ethical principles which include the following. Professors should not engage in any form of dual relationships with their students. They should not sexually harass the students.

According to American Association of University Press (AAUP, 1987) professors should provide a free learning environment to their students and respect them. They should serve as role models of a scholar and also a thinker. They must not harm the people they work with either physically or emotionally ( http://www. google. com/search? num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=Keith-Spiegel+et+al. %2C+2002+on+consequences+of+favoritism&btnG=Search). They should treat every person equally. They should also award grades in a transparent manner and provide a ream for grades appeal to avoid what can be referred to as Sexually Transmitted Grades (STG’s).

Dignity should guide their relationship with those they work with. Violation of any of these principles as a result of favoritism is unethical. Romance between professors and students will encourage favoritism and thus it is unethical. Romance between professors and students results to severe negative consequences. Many students are either physically or emotionally harmed in the process. Students concerned acquire STG’s which are unfairly acquired demoralizing the other students.

The professor and the student involved devote a lot of time in the relationship and produce “half – baked” professionals who cannot execute their roles properly in the future. It is therefore the professors responsibility to strictly observe the limits in their relationship with the students while defining both their roles together with their respective behavior even when out of the academic setting (http://www. collegevalues. org/articles. cfm? id=1416&a=1). Refferences Definition: favoritism retrieved from http://dictionary. die. net/favoritism on 14th april, 2008

A Collegiate Dilemma: The Lack of Formal Training in Ethics for Professors retrieved from http://www. collegevalues. org/articles. cfm? id=1416&a=1 on14th April, 2008 Keith-Spiegel et al. , 2002 retrieved from http://www. google. com/search? num=100&hl=en&safe=off&q=Keith-Spiegel+et+al. %2C+2002+on+consequences+of+favoritism&btnG=Search on 14th April, 2008. De Russy 2003 on consequences of favoritism retrieved from http://www. collegevalues. org/articles. cfm? id=1416&a=1 on 14th April, 2008 Rupert and Holmes on favoritism retrieved from http://www. collegevalues. org/articles. cfm? id=1416&a=1 on 14th April, 2008