We are part of a community that strives to grow as students and people. Learning how to trust and respect ourselves and other people are a part of this growing process that we, from time to time, tend to forget and value. The group of men who contributed to the Talcott formal pool undoubtedly neglected to show any respect to their dates. No matter how silly and harmless they may have perceived the pool to be, the group of men crossed a line into a realm of hurting and losing the trust of their friends and colleagues.
Maybe in seventh or eighth grade this kind of comraderie would have been acceptable to most of their peers, but here, at Oberlin,the group of men are alone in their comraderie. At least, many of us hope that they are alone. Students were upset and offended by this group's secret pool, and in turn, they made their views public about this particular event. The group of men were, in essence, caught red-handed whereas other individuals or groups on campus, guilty of similar situations, somehow manage to divert public attention.
We must realize as we hear and read about this Talcott secret pool that we are part of a larger community where individuals and groups easily get away with the same kind of judgement. It would be surprising to see in the near future this specific act repeated again, yet different acts may arise that will produce the same effect. At Oberlin, a community so small in comparison to the looming outside world, we should learn to appreciate and reflect our values of respect and trust.
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