Introduction

The Professor came home one afternoon and saw several of Gilligan's friends hanging out on the roof of the bungalow. These friends appeared to be significantly younger than Gilligan and were smoking and standing on several of the bungalow's ledges. After discussing these events with Gilligan and with several Security officers, the Professor contacted the Dean of the College about Gilligan's activities in the bungalow. The Professor and the Dean agreed that Gilligan should move out of the bungalow immediately and that the issue should be brought to Honor Council as a possible breach of the Honor Code and college policy. Council decided that the situation warranted further investigation. Since college housing regulations appeared to be one of the issues involved, Honor Council reached consensus to send the matter to a Joint Panel comprised of 4 members of Honor Council and 2 Deans.

Investigation

The panel met with the Professor and the Skipper (two residents of the bungalow), Gilligan and his support person, and Ginger (another resident of the bungalow).

The Professor and the Skipper

The panel met with the Professor and the Skipper at the same time, and asked them to relate their interpretations of the recent events. The Professor said that he arrived home one afternoon to find several boys standing on the roof area adjacent to Gilligan's window. The boys appeared to be between the ages of twelve and fourteen. Several of them were smoking and one boy was moving in and out of Gilligan's window. The Professor considered this to be a dangerous situation because there is no railing around that section of the roof and it appeared that the young boys were playing in the area without supervision. The Professor went upstairs to Gilligan's room to speak with him about the situation. He asked Gilligan if he worked with the boys; Gilligan replied that they were friends of his. The Professor told Gilligan that he did not seem to have control of the situation and that the boys' behavior -- climbing on the roof and smoking -- was disturbing and unacceptable. Around this time, the Skipper saw several of the boys preparing to leave on their bicycles. He approached them to ask what they were doing at the bungalow, but the boys evaded answering the Skipper's questions. Gilligan then came downstairs and the Skipper asked him what was going on. Gilligan said the boys were friends of his and began to walk away from the bungalow with them. At this point, a Safety and Security Officer drove up on a routine check of the area. The Skipper spoke to the Officer about the events and the Officer decided to contact his superior. Gilligan soon returned to the house and the Skipper told him that the three of them needed to talk about what was going on.

ater that evening, a student rang the bell at the front door several times. When it appeared no one was answering the door, the Professor left his room to answer the door himself. The person at the door identified herself as Marianne, a student coming to see Gilligan. The Professor told her that it was the bungalow's policy that she could not go upstairs until Gilligan came down to admit her. Marianne was angered by the Professor's insistence that she remain downstairs. The Professor called Security who, upon arriving, found yet another student, Mr. Howell, trying to enter the bungalow to visit Gilligan through the fire escape that led to the bathroom near Gilligan's window. Mr. Howell became very aggressive towards the Professor and Skipper, who had joined the commotion by this time, and pushed the Skipper, claiming he was going to call the police.

After the Security Officers left, the Professor went to speak with Gilligan who said that Mr. Howell had been visiting him and that he was the only friend of his who came in through the bathroom window. The Professor told Gilligan that nothing of this nature had happened during his time living in the bungalow and he would not tolerate it. He told Gilligan that he had two days to move out of his room. The Professor and the Skipper told the panel they were shocked by Gilligan's behavior because they had lived with students for some time and had encountered few problems. The Professor explained that all inhabitants of the bungalow met the first week of school and agreed to house rules. He believed Gilligan knowingly disregarded those rules. The Professor pointed out that the activity involving juveniles climbing on the roof and smoking had the potential to create a very dangerous situation.

Ginger

Ginger, a student living downstairs from Gilligan in the bungalow, came to speak with the panel. She said that she had approached Gilligan with concerns about his friends using the fire escape outside the bathroom window as a way of entering the bungalow. Ginger had spoken directly with a friend of Gilligan's, one of the students, and had asked him not to use the window as an entrance. The student said he would not enter through the window, but continued to do so. Ginger felt Gilligan's friend had breached the Honor Code by this behavior. Ginger said that when people use the window as a doorway it remains open all day and creates a safety hazard in that anyone could enter the bungalow uninvited. Ginger also had concerns about the minor's smoking and Gilligan's personal use of marijuana.

Gilligan

Gilligan agreed to most of the factual information presented by the Professor, Skipper and Ginger, but did not agree that his or his friends' behavior had been dangerous or unacceptable. He believed that the Professor and Skipper had treated his friends and himself in a disrespectful way. He said that, after speaking with Ginger, he had asked his friends to discontinue entering the house through the window. He maintained that he should not be held accountable for his friends' actions if they continued to enter the bungalow through the window.

Deliberations

Members of the panel felt it was important to examine the areas in question in order to determine both the extent to which Gilligan's guests may have been in danger and to what extent Gilligan's allowing his friends to enter through the window put other residents of the bungalow at risk. After visiting the bungalow, the panel agreed that allowing people access to the roof area was not safe. The panel also recognized the Professor and Ginger's concerns that allowing guests to enter through an open bathroom window could compromise the safety and security of the bungalow.

Deliberations focuses on several issues, including: whether Gilligan was aware that he may have endangered his friends along with the residents of the bungalow by allowing young boys access to the roof and window and whether the Professor and Skipper were interested in repairing any breach of trust which occurred between them and Gilligan. The panel generally agreed that Gilligan did not appreciate the gravity of the situation and that he did not accept responsibility for his actions. The panel discussed the most effective way to encourage education and repair the breach of trust in this situation and debated numerous possible resolutions of various severity. Some members of the panel were troubled by aspects of the Professor's and Skipper's behavior concerning Gilligan; they discussed the appropriateness of this panel as a forum to discuss the behavior of the Professor and Skipper, but ultimately decided this was not the proper place for such a discussion.

Statement of Violation

The panel decided that Gilligan had not violated the Honor Code, but had behaved in a manner which threatened the safety of other residents of the bungalow. Therefore, the panel reached consensus on the following statement of violation:

Gilligan placed his guests, the bungalow, its residents, and the entire College community at risk by exercising poor judgment when he permitted his guests access to the roof via the window in his room of the bungalow. Gilligan also displayed a casual disregard for the safety and security of the bungalow residents and guests by not taking responsibility for house policies regarding the use of windows and fire escapes.

Resolutions

The panel reached consensus, with one member standing outside, on the following resolutions:

1) Gilligan will not be permitted to live in campus housing for the remainder of the semester.

2) To repair the breach of trust between Gilligan and the residents of the bungalow, Gilligan will write a letter to the current residents of the bungalow. This letter will be submitted to the Dean of the College.

3) If Gilligan wishes to return to campus housing for the following semester, he must write a letter to the Dean of the College requesting permission to return to college housing. This letter will allow Gilligan to reflect upon his actions, the reasons he was denied college housing , and why he believes he should be eligible for college housing at that time. Gilligan will meet with the Dean of the College to discuss the letter, after which a decision on the request to return to campus housing will be made by the Dean of the College. The letter should be submitted, and the meeting should take place before the end of the first week of classes of the semester. If college housing is restored, Gilligan will not be permitted to live in the bungalow again.

These resolutions were presented to and accepted by Gilligan, the Professor and the Skipper.

Questions

1) Should Gilligan have been held responsible for the actions of his friends, the boys and Mr. Howell?

2) Does it matter if The Professor is a student or member of the faculty?

3) Should violating College housing policy also constitute a violation of the Honor Code?

4) Other comments?

Note: If you have further comments or questions about this abstract, Honor Council offers the opportunity for you to discuss this abstract with an actual member of the panel. Please contact the Honor Council Co-Chairs for more information. If you have general comments about this or any other abstract, please contact an Honor Council Representative.