Freshman hall gossip invades ‘NYT’

The New York Times Magazine — remember when the Inquirer had one of those weekly magazines? No? Me neither! — has a weekly column written by Randy Cohen called “The Ethicist,” in which the author answers ethical questions.

Most of the time, the answered question is an actual, bona fide ethical dilemma about whether to act on a situation or knowledge a person has or a similar situation. For example, the first question in this week’s Ethicist column is from a man who’s dating a woman who told him two of her three children aren’t her ex-husband’s, even though he visits them, dotes on them and pays child support. That’s an actual dilemma. (I guess.) Question No. 2 is, well, this:

My school is in the Ivy League, which means that it may not award athletic scholarships. But it can recruit talented athletes unlikely to make the cut scholastically. A recent addition to the cross-country team quit after the first practice. Some believe that she allowed herself to be recruited only to gain admittance to the university’s prestigious business school. Ethical?

So, basically, the New York Times printed a whiny letter from a Penn girl about freshman hall gossip. Coming next week, the NYT answer’s an NYU girl’s letter about Eugene, who’s totally cheating on Christine with Daria, and like ohmigod isn’t that just rude?! And what about reading other people’s IM conversations when they leave to use the bathroom? OMG LOL!

Paternal Care [NYT]