In this column I will attempt to answer ethical questions that you, the readers, email me. You can direct your questions to ethics@jhunewsletter.com. I am in no way an expert on ethics, but I enjoy thinking and talking about it, and I’ll do my best to answer your questions in a reasonable and straightforward manner.
I was recently traveling and saw this great piece of art that I thought one of my professors would really enjoy. It wasn’t particularly expensive, so I bought it for her and brought it back to Hopkins with me. I gave it to her as a gift at the end of the semester, before finals but after the class had ended. She seemed nonplussed by the piece and even sent me a thank you email. However, a few of my friends basically accused me of bribing her for a better grade, even though that wasn’t my intention at all! Was it alright for me to give her this present, or is it an unethical attempt to influence my grade, no matter my original intentions?
Google defines the verb “bribe” as the act of “persuading someone to act in one’s favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.” Since you didn’t offer any persuasion along with the gift, the question comes down to whether or not any gift to a professor during the semester is subconsciously taken as an attempt to persuade them to give you a better grade. The other question is whether or not what you did is “illegal or dishonest.”
While I can’t speak for how your professor interpreted your gift, my guess is that had she interpreted it as an attempt at bribery, she would not have accepted it. While I couldn’t find a definitive guide on gift-giving between Hopkins students and professors, I did find (somewhat) relevant sections from the Carey Business School and the School of Medicine. The Carey School does not allow professors to accept “any gifts and entertainment that might influence a decision,” while the medical school forces professors to disclose any “gift [that] is directly or indirectly related to activity performed in one’s capacity as a faculty member,” and any gift with a value above $2500 must be given to the department. Presumably there are similar rules for Homewood as well.
It is important to note that neither of these manuals prohibits professors from receiving gifts but merely tells them to either disclose it, or use their own judgment on whether or not it is ethical for them to receive it.
In your case, if your professor thought that it was a bribe, the onus is on her to reject your gift, since you are giving it without assumptions.
Since what you did was neither illegal nor dishonest, and it was not your intention to persuade her to act in your favor, what you did was ethical. However, the professor must take care that your gift does not subconsciously change how she grades your performance in the class, otherwise she may be violating her own code of ethics.
The sidewalk between Subway and the corner of N. Calvert and 33rd has been a skating rink for the past couple weeks. I’ve seen multiple people fall, and I figure it’s only a matter of time before someone really injures themselves slipping there. Whose job is it to get rid of the ice and who is held responsible if someone hurts themselves trying to walk on it?
The responsibility of the sidewalk falls squarely on the shoulders of those residing inside. The City of Baltimore Housing Code says that “The Occupant of a single-unit building and an Occupant of a unit with exclusive use of an exterior property area (i.e. a tenant in a first floor apartment with sole use of the backyard yard) must maintain all lots and exterior premises, including abutting sidewalks, gutters, and alleys in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.” According to the Baltimore Snow Center, residents have three hours after a snowfall to remove the snow, unless the snow ends between 3 p.m. and 6 a.m., in which case it must be cleared by 11 a.m. the next day. If not, the city can issue a fine.
The City makes it clear that the sidewalk in front of the building is the responsibility of the resident to clear (or if a multi-resident building, then the owner). Not having equipment or time is no excuse since it is part of the contract of living in a single residence that you will maintain the sidewalks. Additionally if someone were to hurt themselves walking on the sidewalk, that would be the responsibility of the residents, since they were negligent in not clearing the walk.
