What if…
ASP were not a safe place for students to reveal information? Could
we be effective Academic Support professionals if our students could
not confide in us? I doubt it. Part of the function of any ASP office
is being able to support students who are having personal issues.
After all, the ASP office is often the place where students feel that they can
reveal highly personal information to a faculty member who will be
supportive. Is there any better safe haven in a law school for the student who is ready to
“come out” or has experienced a birth control failure? I’ve certainly
been on the receiving end of all of this information as an ASP
professional.
But
then again, sometimes we cannot, and probably should not, guarantee
complete confidentiality. When do we reveal our students’ secrets to
the law school administration? What happens if a student tells you
that they have engaged in behavior that is a blatant violation of
school rules? Like cheating, plagiarism, or in some
religious-affiliated schools extramarital or homosexual relations?
Like
most cafeteria-style ethicists (and most lawyers), I suppose it would
depend. I think I would report cheating and plagiarism because I find
these things very offensive in potential lawyers. I would probably
keep personal events that occur outside of school under my hat. If a
student were being threatened or bullied by other students, I would
probably report the incident to our Dean of Students even if the
student reporting it to me asked me not to. I am happy to relieve a
student of the burden of tattling, and actually, I feel that it may be
my obligation to do so under some circumstances, particularly where the
student is in danger.
For example, I once had student tell me that she was being ridiculed
during class by other students in an "invitation only chat-room." Her
clothing, comments and appearance were all fodder for the students who
were dishing out the gossip. As a result, she had stopped attending
the class regularly and did not participate unless called on (where she
been happy to raise her hand prior to this incident). She was
mortified and hurt. She begged me to do nothing, but I could not,
mainly because I felt that her academics were being out in jeopardy by
students who were behaving as if this were Junior High School and not
Law School. She was angry at me for some time, but thanked me before
she graduated a year later. Did I do the right thing? I don’t know,
but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
So, the ultimate question is this: can you be an effective ASP
professional in an atmosphere that not only prohibits certain behaviors
but also prohibits encouraging those behaviors? What does it mean to
encourage? Is a failure to report a rule-breaker to the law school
administration tantamount to encouraging the student to do it again in
every circumstance? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I
know this: I am happy to be working at a school that doesn’t require
me to figure it out. (ezs).
