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April 28, 2006

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Tuttle Rules

Hard as you try not to care, even at age 46 no one wants to be picked on. Coming to work one day last fall to see “Tuttle Rules” painted/polished onto windows at Northrup Hall and the Coates Center was both puzzling and disconcerting. Some thought it was a tribute. I knew better.

Typical of our students, someone chose sarcasm over what could have been much worse. Just imagine. I did. (One of my issues was with the vandals; the other was the colleagues who continue to taunt me with the “Tuttle Rules” slogan.)

Campus Security caught the students. A harmless group of guys had been bemoaning the actions of their dean related to a previous case that had been referred to the Student Conduct Board. In this role, as in the resident assistant and resident mentor job, one has to develop a thick skin. Knowing that students are griping about you comes with the territory. Seeing it raised to a public level is a different story.

So the homegrown complaining by the students led to action by some of them. Their tame revolt would be temporary, make a statement and do no long-term damage. That was the plan and that is where the story really starts.

The substance used on the windows did more than draw – it etched. Over two weeks and $7,000 later, the windows around campus were replaced.

Parents of one of the students got involved, clearly seeing the legal and financial implications as well as the possible Conduct Board-issued consequences. More importantly, they saw right and wrong and counseled this group of students.

Consequences follow choices, and truth, as with some paints, etches over the long-haul.

The students could make a case that something that should have washed off and didn’t was beyond their control. The Conduct Board saw that right away, and, as is typical of this board, it empathized. It felt that the students were honest, learned through the experience and had been forthcoming. The result was a minimal sanction.

But a lesson learned at the literal expense of other students is only partly learned. The University wanted its money, and the students involved understood why. So they paid.

The Student Conduct Board and the University constantly strive to serve an educational role in an environment where it is safe to make mistakes. Nevertheless, if there were no punitive or deterrent measures in place, the community ultimately pays. Some lessons learned are best learned when the consequences sting.

In the end, we got to have it all. The community interests were served. The students learned. Parents supported the University’s goals and saw the big picture over self-interest. And me – I came away humbled and terribly impressed by our students, again. I appreciated and respected their handling of the situation. I can live with the “Tuttle Rules” jokes because I know the truth: Our students are the ones who really rule.

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