Opinions

Dissecting the College Scandal


Editor’s note: In this Future View, students write about how politicians should be judged for mistakes they made in college. Next we ask, “Is the campus free-speech crisis overblown?” Students should click here to submit opinions of fewer than 250 words before Feb. 19. The best responses will be published that night.

What Gets Lost When the Private Becomes Public

When I came out at Dartmouth, a group of upperclassmen thought it would be funny to force me to watch videos of ISIS beheading gay men. They had the gall to ask, “Did we offend you?”

They did. And when one of those students runs for office or gets chosen for a big job, some public recompense—vengeance—seems desirable. But that wouldn’t be fair to them. Those students did something awful, but that doesn’t mean they can’t change or repent. They can become better men than they were at 21 or 22.

It wouldn’t be fair to me, either. It should be my place alone to forgive those upperclassmen, not “public opinion’s.” Yet in exposing private incidents, the public pushes itself into the position of pardoner or political executioner, taking that power away from the victims. In many cases, those affected have moved on. But the media frenzy engulfs them all the same, no matter their wishes.

The truth is that every leaked photo or anecdote is pulled out of context. The public has no way to know what those involved were thinking or how they handled the situation afterward. Instead, intimate and real experiences are reduced to political cudgels—means of compelling apologies, settling scores and winning elections.

Maybe I’d get my vengeance. I could even extract a long-awaited apology. But no matter what happened next—whether the guy’s career ended in disgrace or the public took it upon itself to forgive and re-elect him—I doubt the result would be justice.

—Devon Kurtz, Dartmouth College, classics

Scandal Overload

Today’s conflicts over the collegiate sins of politicians will seem passé—even quaint—just a few election cycles from now.

Dissecting the College Scandal

Voters will soon confront far more than yearbooks or distressing stories from drunken nights. They’ll face cellphone videos of those wretched moments. They’ll see screenshots of every post or off-color message sent over a politician’s lifetime. The end of internet-free living means that many of each of our most shameful moments have been documented and preserved. They can quickly be made ready for exposure to cause maximum embarrassment as soon as any of us run for office.

Scandal will abound. Candidate A was a bully in high school—he’s a homophobe. Candidate B’s naked pictures are all over the internet. And did you see what Candidate C once posted about his ex-girlfriend? A misogynist, clearly.

The noise will only increase, but voters will still have to weigh each new tidbit. Maybe they’ll be overwhelmed by all the information, but it’s more likely that they’ll ask the same key questions of recency, severity and relevance: How long ago was the mistake or offense? How bad was it? What does it tell me about the candidate’s character or how he would govern?

This may seem like exacting work, exceeding the power of intuition. But there’s no other way. We’re entering an age when the public will know more than ever about those seeking to represent them. The job of the voter isn’t getting any easier.

—Joshua Pradko, Hillsdale College, American studies

You’ve Changed? Prove It

Why should I automatically forgive politicians who made offensive “mistakes” in college?

Some argue they deserve pardon because college is a time when everybody makes mistakes. That’s true. College presents a great opportunity for experimentation, and it’s often the first time people live free from their parents’ rules. This results in a lot of stupidity. But how stupid? Some gain the freshman 15, others mismanage their time and struggle academically, and many drink too much. But precious few put racist photos on their yearbook page or commit sexual assault. These go beyond the standard college mistakes and reflect personal character.

People can change, but radical transformation takes effort and dedication. Without any evidence of that effort, there’s no reason to believe that people who wore blackface or Klan costumes in their 20s are better now. It’s far more likely that they’re merely saying what’s needed to get out of trouble. And that’s not good enough. Not everyone deserves to wield the power of political office and set policies that affect us all.

—Alexandra Hill, University of California, Davis, agricultural and resource economics

Let the University Be Different


“Colleges invite excesses and mistakes from their students. To then use those mistakes against graduates years later would in many cases be deeply unfair.”


—Jacob Souleyrette, Santa Clara University

There is something special about universities that voters should take into account when judging politicians for their past mistakes. The university has a long history, going back to Plato’s Academy, of testing new ideas and exploring boundaries. It is only natural for students to “try on” ideologies that they will ultimately reject, and to take their positions to extremes to shock or simply see where they lead.

That’s why universities are often insulated from the outside world. They give students independence of action and thought, encouraging them to venture beyond the ideas they received from their parents and communities. In this way, colleges invite excesses and mistakes from their students. To then use those mistakes against graduates years later, once they’ve re-entered the community and seek to serve it, would in many cases be deeply unfair. It would also weaken the ability of the university to do its job. If students are afraid of future punishment, they will be less likely to think beyond the norms of their society. In the long run, that’s in nobody’s best interest.

—Jacob Souleyrette, Santa Clara University, finance

Click here to submit a response to next week’s Future View.



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