Ethical Dilemmas: Life In A Fish Bowl

As a Resident Advisor(RA), we go through a rigorous training before the few weeks of school. One of the most important training sessions is Life in a Fish Bowl. It basically teaches that no matter where you go, on or off campus, others will see you as a representative of the University of Houston Student Housing and Residential Life (SHRL). Any mistake you make could reflect poorly on SHRL and it could undermine the respect residents have for you as well an RA. It’s also the responsibility of other RAs to make sure that their fellow RAs are representing SHRL correctly. In my experience, this has led to most ethical dilemmas that I’ve had to face. The most recent issue I’ve had to deal was an RA who made the decision to drink with other RAs who were underage. This RA posted a video of themselves and other RA participating in underage drinking on social media. My ethical dilemma was whether I should report this to my Residence Life Coordinator (RLC). An RLC is basically a supervisor for RAs. …show more content…
If I reported it, the RAs involved would more than likely be terminated. If I decided not to report it and it did get back to the RLC my job could be at risk. I also thought about what could be happening in their life for them to make such a decision like that. If it was a cry for help, reaching out to that RA would make a stronger difference than just reporting it. Furthermore, if it wasn’t then it would cause me to feel hypocritical to report another for underage drinking when it’s a part of the college experience for many to drink underage. There were a lot of thoughts of what could happen going through my

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