In Closing

These are my personal thoughts about the fall 2008 semester in one succinct paragraph. It has been a whirlwind of a semester with a host of challenges and little time to fulfill all of my goals. However, I think we have put in place a solid foundation for great programs and services to come in the future. Our Citizen-of-the-Month Award is increasing in popularity, new programs will be implemented in the spring semester, and we have even begun laying out a process for mediating conflicts outside of a disciplinary hearing. All good things to take pride in. However, it cannot go without saying that I had a lot of help along the way. So to my best friends in the Office of Community and Ethical Standards, to the members of the wonderful Division of Student Affairs, and the amazing students, faculty, and staff that have helped in creating a new OCES this semester, I offer my sincerest thanks, appreciation, and admiration for the work that you have done. 

Here's to a new semester,

-JC-

A Friend of Ben

Many of you who read this blog, know of the program "Friends of Ben." This group came together to turn a tragedy into a positive for Clemson University. This program has been well-received in our community and attendance has been high as these men make a passionate appeal to heavy drinkers. It is a member of this group that was nominated and I would like to highlight as our last Citizen-of-the-Month for the Fall 2008 semester. Below is the nomination letter from Rusty Guill, Associate Associate Dean of Student Affairs, in support of Ben Leader, our November Citizen-of-the-Month: 

"I would like to nominate Ben Leader. Ben has been very instrumental and a lead coordinator with alcohol education programs in connection with the Ben Sprague death one year ago due to alcohol poisoning. Just in the past month he and a group of friends have presented the program "Friends of Ben" to groups at Clemson and Furman. It is estimated that about 1500 students have attended this presentation. Media was on hand for the presentation in Tillman Hall about 2 weeks ago. They have just been invited to take this program to Wofford. It is a program dedicated to discussing the dangers of risky drinking behavior. It is a very open and honest discussion about what can and does happen with alcohol at social events and the consequences of the risky behavior. 

Ben was also the lead coordinator with the candlelight vigil this past Sunday night to remember the passing of Ben Sprague. This was a very large and very well organized event." -Rusty Guill-

Thank you Ben, for your demonstration of the Clemson Core Values in such a meaningful way.

-JC-

Something Needs to Happen

Last year (August-May) OCES had one computer misuse case that involved using a peer-to-peer file sharing network to download copyrighted material. This year we had a total of 143 cases (August-October). Why do you think this is? Has something changed on campus? What can we do to educate students on this problem?

Thanks,

-j-

October Citizen-of-the-Month

The Office of Community and Ethical Standards tries to promote an environment which encourages students to uphold Clemson University's core values and community standards. To help us with this goal, our office awards a monthly award to a student who embodies the core values of Integrity, Honesty, and Respect. This award known as the Citizen-of-the-Month honors one Clemson student who was nominated by a member of the Clemson community because of the example he or she has set and for serving as a role model for other Clemson students.

This month our office would like for the entire Clemson community to help us honor Monica Ryskamp. Monica, is a senior Health Science: Health Administration major. Monica serves as the Treasurer for Clemson Undergraduate Student Government and she is a Resident Assistant in the Lightsey Bridge Apartments. Monica was nominated for this award by Verna Howell, Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs, for her role in bringing to light some of the questionable content on a Clemson related broadcast station. Working with the General Manager of the station, the problem was quickly alleviated and guidelines for future practice are in place.

Many thanks to Monica for ensuring the core values of Integrity and Respect have a place here at Clemson.

-j-

National Alcohol Awareness Week

I am not sure how many of you are aware of this, but this week is National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. To support alcohol awareness and safety education across campus, the Office of Community and Ethical Standards sponsored a contest among the different residence hall staffs. This contest offered two $500.00 awards to the best program proposals relating to alcohol education. 

While we received several amazing program proposals, we can only offer two prizes. Therefore, the winning staffs are McCabe Hall and Holmes Hall. McCabe Hall is planning  "The Rave" on November 18th at 9:00pm and Holmes Hall is planning an invitation only "Party with your RA!" This event is scheduled for November 14th at 8:18pm. If you are interested in attending either of these events, please contact the Resident Director for McCabe Hall, Brian Hopkins, at hopkin2@clemson.edu, 0r the Holmes Resident Director, Amy Askren, at askren@clemson.edu.

I will be in attendance and I hope to see you there too.

Justin 

Clemson's September Citizen-of-the-Month

Our office received many nominations and heard a lot of great stories of Clemson students demonstrating the Clemson core values. While we wish we could honor all of our nominees, there was one nomination that stood out from the rest. Thank you to all of our nominees for their service to Clemson.

However, I hope the entire Clemson community will join me in congratulating Tyler Graham, freshman student at Clemson University, as our Citizen-of-the-Month. Here is the nomination letter: 

"Just wanted to submit the name of Tyler Graham, a student at Clemson for his good deed done today. Tyler called our home phone looking for a 'Michael Speer' which happens to be both my husband and son's name. Tyler had found our son's ATM card and was hoping to return it to him. My son promptly received a call from Tyler and was able to retrieve his debit card within about 10 minutes of my call from Tyler. So nice to know the Clemson community is made up of fine, honest students like Tyler."

Submitted by Barb Speer, a Clemson parent.

This is just another example that Clemson students strive to live the Clemson core values and consistently make the right choices. Tyler thank you for your service to the Clemson community. Special thanks from the Office of Community and Ethical Standards, the Community Educators, and the Division of Student Affairs. When you see Tyler, roaming on campus please be sure to congratulate him.

-j-

Letter to Clemson University

Dear Clemson University,

In the Office of Community and Ethical Standards we strive to have positive interactions with each student we come in contact with. Even though students are referred to our office because their name was documented as part of an incident, we still take pride in the fact that we are educators first and we are here to support the students in their learning environment. We believe our efforts are working, as 85% of respondents to our satisfaction survey last year stated that the disciplinary process helped them to understand the standards and expectations of Clemson University. In our role as educators, we have begun a process to work with students to proactively educate the entire student body on the community standards, expectations, and Core Values to reduce the number of students referred to our office as part of an incident that occurred on or off-campus. In doing so, we have started two new initiatives that we wanted you to know about.

Citizen-of-the-Month

This program is an opportunity for our office to honor those students that are serving as a positive role model for others here at Clemson. Embodying the Clemson Core Values, these individuals set an example of integrity, honesty, and respect in everything that they do. Anyone from the Clemson community can nominate a student. All nominations are due by the 15th of each month (September-April) and can be sent to jcarte2@clemson.edu. The nomination should include the student’s name, email, and a brief statement as to why he or she should be the Citizen-of-the-Month. The winner and the names of all nominees for the month will be announced by the final Friday of each month on our Core Values website (Cucorevalues.blogspot.com), the OCES Website, and through Facebook. The winner will also receive a small token of our appreciation. So if you have an amazing friend, an awesome roommate, a caring mentor/mentee, a model resident, or an outstanding organization leader, please consider nominating them for this award.

Students Responsible for the Clemson Community

This group is sponsored by the Community Educators here at Clemson University. If you are unfamiliar with the Community Educators you can learn more on our website (http://www.clemson.edu/studentaffairs/oces/communityed/commeds.php). Students Responsible for the Clemson Community is a Facebook version of an initiative to find at least 1000 students this year to sign the pledge of the community educators stating that they are committed to supporting the core values of our institution and will question unfair, unjust, or uncivil behaviors of all members of the Clemson community. If you are interested in joining this movement, please search for us by title in Facebook. Currently, we have 29 members and are quickly growing. Soon you will also see us at tables set up in different areas of campus and can join that way as well.

In addition to the other programs and services we have put in place to better serve the student body, we hope these two initiatives will demonstrate our desire to be an entity that works with students on a variety of levels to continue to promote a safe and nurturing educational environment that encourages students to uphold Clemson University’s core values and standards. If you have any questions about these initiatives or want to know more about what OCES is doing to support our students, feel free to contact me. Thank you and have a week.

-JC-

The Dark Knight at Clemson

Many who have seen the summer blockbuster, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale as the ever-popular Caped Crusader believe it to be the best Batman movie ever produced. Also Heath Ledger's performance of the popular nemesis, the Joker, has caused many to suggest that it is a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination. Even the performance of Aaron Eckhart as Gotham's white knight later turned twisted, double-personality, coin-flipper Two-Face, was a hit among hard core comic book fans.

The cast of the movie are also appearing in Clemson all over campus. The movies popularity around the world has so many Clemson students excited, that some have decided that they could not wait for the film's impending release to DVD and Blue Ray Disc and so have used their internet access available through Clemson University to illegally download the movie. Unfortunately, this type of activity is frowned upon by the music and film industry and is discouraged here at Clemson University. The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are quick to prosecute individuals who are responsible for illegally downloading copyrighted materials. 

What this Means for You 

If you are a student who has used "University computing resources, including network facilities, account numbers, data storage media, printers, plotters, microcomputer systems, software," to illegally download copyrighted materials such as a movies, songs, etc., this is a violation of the University's Computer Misuse Policy. For more information on the Computer Misuse Policy please see the CCIT website. Continued misuse of Clemson's computing resources could result in termination of your internet access. 

If you have not used our resources to illegally obtain copyrighted materials, but still you are in possession of illegally downloaded music and/or movies, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are actively seeking you out. Akin to theft, piracy is a crime and it does violate Federal, State, and Local Law. Every semester we receive letters from the recording and movie industry telling us of students who are currently violating U.S. Copyright Law. Even if you received something from a friend, according to the Motion Picture Association website, "The illegal downloading and swapping of movie files is a serious crime. Pirates and their affiliates will be tracked for engaging in Internet piracy." 

Some students seem to believe that committing piracy is a victimless crime. However, there are many consequences for engaging in this behavior and it does effect everyone, including movie-lovers. Much like department stores and shoplifting, ticket, music, and movie prices will continue to rise to compensate for the loss. 

Students Responsible for the Clemson Community

What does One Clemson mean to you? What does the term Clemson Family mean? Well, to a group of students, faculty, and staff it means holding ourselves and those around us accountable to the core values and standards of our community. It means speaking out and challenging unfair, unjust, or uncivil behaviors. If you are not a very vocal person, it could also mean to help promote the values of the Clemson community, or role-modeling the standards of our community that every student should live up to.

There is a new Facebook group available to Clemson students who are interested in becoming a part of this movement. Search under groups Students Responsible for the Clemson Community. There, you will find more information on how you can become involved in helping to create the nation's "most engaged, satisfied, and successful student body."

-j-

RA Training

I just wanted to give a big shout-out to all of the amazing Resident Assistants I have met over the past two days. I am very optimistic about this new group of RA's this year and I think the residents in University Housing will really benefit from the excitement, knowledge, and spirit of the Residential Life staff this year. While I was only supposed to be there to discuss procedural stuff, we ended up talking about so many other things both during the presentations and afterwards. 

First, I must say that this is a very honest group. None more honest than L.S! You want to know how they are feeling, all you have to do is ask. I also appreciate the fact that this group of RA's readily admits mistakes and wants to improve. We already know this group is filled with integrity just by the fact that they were selected to be an RA. However, having a chance to work with them again today for the Gantt Intercultural Center's One Clemson program I can see that this group is filled with a lot of respect for each, their residents, and other people in general. 

Kudos to Clemson University Housing for hiring such a fine group of role models for the Clemson community. Finally, the Byrnes boys continue to be one of my favorite groups by virtue of their energy, quirkiness, and the fact that they are in the OCES office as I type this for today's building time (an honorable mention must go to Manning, Lever, and Mauldin Halls as favorites as well).

-j-

Photo courtesy of www.hp-lexicon.org

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Albus Dumbledore tells young Harry, "It is not our abilities that show us who we truly are, it is our choices." This is a very important point to consider when we are addressing the issue of ethical choices. Are the values that you hold dear, being reflected in the choices that you are making? If they do, we commend you and want to hear from you. Please post a comment about a time when you had to make a difficult choice, but considered your personal values before making the choice.

I can tell you the story of one student, which once you read this may sound like a story that is very familiar to you. This student decided to go with some friends to a party at a local apartment. There was plenty of people there at the party, and there was plenty of alcohol available to drink too. No one was checking identification, and anyone who attended the party could drink freely and without interference. Even though several of her friends were drinking and encouraged her to participate as well she chose not to drink as engaging in that type of behavior was not something she valued. Tell us your story.

Leadership and the Core Values

I have been out of the office for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I wasn't working.  I gave a presentation to a group of Student Affairs staff members and College of Health, Education, and Human Development faculty on incorporating core values education into the classroom. I think it was a very good presentation even if I do look like a dork! 

Check out the link below and tell me what you think. For those using Mac's, it may not come through. Let me know if you are having troubles and I will post for you some directions.

JC

http://dle-mediasite-hehd.clemson.edu/Mediasite/Viewer?peid=2219d261-798f-45e5-8ecf-e39a94f928d1

The Days before Orientation

The campus has literally come alive within the past week. You can feel the exuberance all around you as you walk the campus. Even though the heat may be unbearable at times. The sun is no match for the energy, the liveliness, and the animation that orientation brings to the campus every June. If you want to get a taste for how much work goes on behind the scenes at Clemson University, become an orientation ambassador next year. 

Reflecting on the past couple of weeks, I have personally seen the core values of our institution used consistently in different ways. In most cases, these values were in use subconsciously by all involved, sort of like a director of a Hollywood movie. As your watching the movie, you know that there is someone there secretly directing the action, but no one mentions him or her by name, you never see them, and soon you forget that they were even there. However, when reflecting upon the movie you can see how the director left his or her mark in every scene, in every movement, and in every word.

Last year during orientation, we had a session called, Community of Respect. This session showed students different ways in which they too could be respectful of others in our community and also methods to protect themselves from harmful situations. 

From a different perspective I have seen how Clemson University is a community of respect. Not in terms of roommate conflicts among summer residents, but in terms of the respect that all members of the Clemson community has for each other and the job that each person has to do. We completely rely on our custodial staff to maintain the beauty and dignity of our campus. We look to our President and his executive staff to continue to communicate those messages that are so important to us all: "One Clemson"; "Top Twenty Institution"; "Clemson Family"; "Solid Orange". We ask that our staff members be inviting, welcoming, and available to our many parents and new students who will walk our campus in the coming weeks. We trust in our faculty to begin the education of our students not in August but in June. And these "august" members of our community are already busy preparing the life lessons that our students will need to learn. Most importantly, we ask our students that are here with us this summer to help the rest of the community from all of this. From those students who are working on the Residential Facilities paint crew, to the orientation ambassadors who will be front and center come Friday, the 13th.

I think what is so magical about summer orientation, is that it is the simplest interactions that make meaningful relationships. If you remember the community of respect videos, I had lunch with "Jim" from the video last week. If you see Jim on campus, be sure to tell him I said hello. Anyway, I met Jim as he was the orientation ambassador I worked with during those sessions. Throughout this past year, we have kept in touch, called each other when we needed help, and continued to work together. These are the types of interactions we hope all of our students will have this summer.

Always in your service,

Justin Carter 

Associate Director, OCES  

New Method...Same Message

First, we want to welcome all of you to The Core Values at Clemson University blog sponsored by the Office of Community and Ethical Standards at Clemson University. This website is dedicated to the Core Values of Clemson University and to the students that live by them each and everyday. We know our students are doing positive things everyday and we wanted an opportunity to showcase stories of our students actively demonstrating our Core Values of Integrity, Honesty, and Respect.

You might be asking why did we choose a blog to highlight these stories? Unfortunately, there is no real definitive reason for a blog. However, I can say, we were looking for a way to communicate with the Clemson community with a little more flexibility than a newsletter can provide and wanted something new and different. Technology, being what it is, will always be changing and adapting. It is always exciting to try and explore new ways to communicate with others.

This is the first step in a completely new process for the Office of Community and Ethical Standards. We hope you enjoy reading our posts from time to time. If you have any questions or comments please contact Justin Carter at jcarte2@clemson.edu. We appreciate your time, and thanks for reading.