Ethics Case Study: Drinking In The Residence Hall

As outlined in the Case Study, Joseph reported his roommate, Greg, for being too loud in their residence hall after previously asking him to quiet down. It can be argued that Joseph was maintaining the Common Good. The Common Good is something that does not just happen, instead it requires the cooperation of others to be established and maintained properly. Additionally, the Common Good is something that is larger than the people that create it. By reporting his roommate for making too much noise and drinking where it was prohibited, one could claim that Joseph was contributing to the Common Good. Drinking in the residence hall and making noise is not beneficial for the whole community inside of the dorm. People trying to sleep would not be able to, students trying to study or do work would be distracted, the people drinking could make a mess that the maintenance staff would have to clean up, and the students that were drinking were putting themselves in an unsafe environment. Conversely, it can be argued that since Joseph filed a noise complaint on his roommate and others in his residence hall he was working through the pursuit of individual ambition.
Although the students that were drinking and being loud got written up, their removal ultimately benefitted the rest of the residence hall community. The dorm became quieter, a more subtle environment for students who wanted to sleep or study, and be reporting them it also eliminated the chance for someone to drunkenly get injured. The noisy student’s absence could also serve as a deterrent for others who could be considering drinking and making noise inside of the dorm, for they could see the consequences that these students faced and decide against