The story entitled “Room at the End of the Hall” was alarming considering the events that took place in a college fraternity house. However, the most disturbing part of the story was the willingness of the people in authority to cover up for the crime that took place because of very lame excuses. Such as the case of Dr. Madge Mullins who happened to be the assistant dean of students. Mike, a former member of the same fraternity in question, and now a rookie police officer is caught between his duty to his brothers and his alma mater, and his duty as a law enforcer. Despite these conflicting duties and obligations, Mike’s duty as a police officer and law enforcer should weigh more than his duty to his brothers in the fraternity and the school he graduated from. Under the principle of utilitarianism, in determining which amongst two options is right, one has to go with the choice that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number (Scarre). While it may seem that the “greatest number” in this story refers to the fraternity members, the student body and the staff of the university, because Yvonne is just one person, it is not the case. Yvonne represents the women in general and everyone who feel overpowered by a specific group and are forced to keep quiet despite the abuse.
For many people morality is subjective (Cahn, 1990). Therefore, the concept of morality varies with the norms or the standards that society uphold. In the case of the story, when Dean Mullins said, “…[Yvonne] does not have the best reputation in the campus,” the dean judged the victim based on what society perceived of the girl. Mullin was trying to imply that Yvonne has loose morals. However, the girl’s reputation should not be used as a basis for her to be violated or forced into something that she did not want to do. People should not depend on what the standards of morality or the norm are, but on what is right, just and proper. The norm or the standards set by society may be acceptable for a few who influences to dictate what is fair or otherwise, but it may not always be just (Popper, 2013). Often, we let society change our decisions and choices because contradicting the norm will make a person a nuisance or a deviant. In the story, Mike was being placed in a very tight situation. He was caught between following the call of his job and being considered a traitor to his alma mater and his fraternity. A fraternity is a group of people sharing the same interest, who supports each other in all kinds of situation. Fraternity members pledge their loyalty to their organization and is a member of the fraternity involved in the case. Mike might feel obligated to support and defend his brothers. Nevertheless, as a law enforcer, Mike must uphold the truth and protect the aggrieved and the victims.
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Considering all the clauses in the case, the legally responsible thing to do is to file a lawsuit and report the incident to the authorities. This would mean that Mike should inform Sergeant Womack of what he discovered when he went to the fraternity house. Mike must uphold the law. That would entail filing criminal charges against the men involved in the incident, Dr. Mullin for trying to obstruct justice, and all the bystanders who only watched and did nothing while the crime was being committed. It is also morally to defend and protect Yvonne, who has been judged under her “reputation.”
References
Cahn, S. (1990). Morality, responsibility, and the university . Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Popper, M. (2013). Social trust, norms and morality. Human Affairs , 23 (3). doi: 10.2478/s13374-013-0140-6
Scarre, G. (2016). Utilitarianism (1st ed.). Abingdon, United Kingdom: ROUTLEDGE.
