I think of myself as an ethical person but this showed me that life is very much grey. Because in my mind there is always a right answer but that might not always be the right answer for you. The situation that makes me believe this is the one about would you read your significant others messages. I believe that you should not read those messages but like what if I don’t trust you or I heard you were cheating, then for me I have to read those messages, and I am not at fault. I know the most adult thing to do is to just ;eave said person but I am still young and if I need answers I will get answers. I am ethical in I treat others how I want to be treated, but when it comes to matters of the heart I get a little unethical.

I love talking about ethics. What to do, what’s the right thing to do, and what would you really do?? In high school, I used to love watching videos from the TV series “What Would You Do?”, and observing how regular people react to ethical dilemmas. However, I never really got the chance to discuss these issue with people in real life, so being able to have this conversation with my peers was such an exciting and insightful experience! From small issues like telling your friend if their haircut looks bad to more sensitive issues like informing them that you think their significant other was cheating, we discussed how each issue had different perspectives and arguments for each side of how to address the situation. Overall, this discussion really got me thinking about my own morals and how I approach each decision in my own daily life.

The conversation we had with Mary Opperman concerning ethical dilemmas was nothing short of inspiring and informative. This is an imperative conversation that needs to occur given the circumstances around us. Ethics and ethical dilemmas are now becoming more and more prevalent in all careers and fields. This was especially brought to light as we navigated our way through several example scenarios and situations deciding what each of us do. We also discovered that very few situations actually involve a single right or wrong situations. Most situations are more morally complex than simply being black and white. I was intrigued to put myself in situations and contemplating the number of circumstances that play an important role when making a decision that has an impact.

I was especially captivated when Mary shared an instance where she had to make a decision in the face of an ethical dilemma. She shared that during the recession she had to let go of a number of employees and deciding who to let go first and how to reach that decision proved to be an extremely difficult ethical dilemma, especially because Cornell employs so much of the Ithaca population. This is one of the several instances that require one to keep several factors in mind, as most ethical issues are much more morally complex than they initially appear.

Everyone had the experience to make a decision between what is morally right vs what is the most beneficial. The scenarios in the table talk really make me think and evaluate my values and principles while making those decisions.

One key takeaway is that there are many variables affecting a decision. Outside factors such as the strength of your relationship to another individual and the magnitude of the implication. Another key takeaway is that there is no definitive right answer. Once I make a decision, there is always an opportunity cost.

Last Monday, I attended the table talk event led by Mary Opperman. When I first saw the title of this event, I thought we are discussing big issues. I think that the word ethics come into my mind as something very serious like issues connected to the research environment, academic integrity, and general work ethics. However, this Rose event presented ethical dilemmas that could commonly happen on a daily basis. We had a round table discussion regarding some ethical dilemmas that Mary presented and for some of the prompts, I was uncomfortable to share my thoughts. It seems like for some of these topics, there isn’t a right answer. For example, Mary asked us what we would do if our friend is wearing an abnormal outfit. Depending on the relationship that we have with that friend, our responses will vary and these responses aren’t necessarily wrong. This event was meaningful and helped me to think once more when dealing with these situations.

I left this table talk feeling a pit in my stomach, and it wasn’t for a lack of food. I was really uncomfortable by some of the anecdotes shared about personal ethical dilemmas that people had experienced as well as some that had previously appeared in courts. Talking about ethics is generally an uncomfortable topic for me, because I feel as though some people really see things in black and white where there is a lot of gray. Thankfully, I found this not to be true of the people at this event.

My biggest take-away from this talk was that ethical dilemmas are things we should consider when we are not immediately facing having to make a decision. It had never occurred to me, but it made a lot of sense that at the times when we are faced with circumstances that challenge our predefined values, we generally don’t take the time to think twice about it, whether by choice or by design. Having a predefined notion of what you value most and where your ethical standards are can be useful when faced with these situations. While I acknowledge that these ethical standards dynamic, it seems a good idea to know when or why you have changed your point of view to help justify your actions. This can help us make more conscientious decisions in the future.

I have spent the remainder of the week really considering what I value most of myself and other people. I really feel our generation is being faced with a set of new ethical challenges when it comes to industry (especially as someone who deals with and studies data). It would serve me well to know ahead of time where my personal boundaries are.