Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The Undercurrent is a biweekly news feature show written and produced by students from Michigan State University. Each episode explores multiple stories surrounding one central theme.
88.9, the impact. You're listening to
Speaker 2:undercurrent. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to season 16 episode eight of the undercurrent. The undercurrent is a news feature podcast where I highlight stories going on around campus and in East Lansing. Today, I am joined by Beth Hammond and Anna Lasage to talk about the second annual MSU Ethics Week, which will be taking place February 16 through the twentieth. This special week is a series of events that is meant to engage our community with current moral challenges.
Speaker 2:There will be panel discussions, workshops, and much more. Beth and Anna, thank you guys so much for coming
Speaker 3:on today. Thanks for having us. We're excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Absolutely. So before we start, would you guys just like to introduce yourselves and explain your role?
Speaker 3:So my name is Beth Hammond. I am the managing director for the Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership in the Eli Broad College of Business. I am really lucky to be able to work with students around ethics and social responsibility. We do a lot of programming so that they have a better understanding of what ethics is. We support faculty at through teaching and research grants, and I feel like I get to learn something new about ethics every single day, which is a very cool space to be in.
Speaker 3:And I'm an MSU alum.
Speaker 1:Awesome. I feel like it's hard to follow that. My name is Anna Lasage. I am the assistant director for the Ethics Institute, which is seated in the provost office. Like Beth, I get to work with a ton of different people, faculty, staff, students.
Speaker 1:We do programming to just further embed ethics into what is MSU. And I just have a really cool job. Every day is different, and we are just trying to make better.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Thank you, guys. So for listeners who may not know, could you just describe a little bit more about what ethics week is and what it does for MSU?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Ethics week started out as an idea. We were just having a conversation together and with some other members of our kind of ethics team from the various centers. We're like, what if we just, like, had a week where we got to elevate the super cool ethics things that people are doing on campus and use our platform to kind of highlight those things. And so last year, we I don't know.
Speaker 1:We gave ourselves, what, like, four months to plan it, and we ended up with 17 events over a thousand participants. And so the community really embraced it. And this year, we were like, oh, 17 was too much. Let's just open up an application for the entire campus to apply.
Speaker 3:It's I think it's really important, from my vantage point. You know, ethics has been part of the conversation on a university since the inception of universities. It typically in the very beginning was centered or lensed through, like, religious or philosophy, paragraph paradigms. And so ethics was typically thought of as right or wrong choices, whereas now it's so much more complex. It's so much more nuanced.
Speaker 3:You know, as Anna and I are doing programs with students, we really talk about ethical decisions as what is your goal in this situation. You know? And so, like, what are some goals of being a student? What's the point of being a student? Right?
Speaker 3:Like, Kennedy, I'm guessing you're gonna say to graduate. Yes. Probably. To learn, to gain new knowledge, to network, to get a job after you graduate. So that's the goal of being a student.
Speaker 3:And then when it goes from being a regular decision to an ethical one, I'm gonna ask you, like, what are your personal core values? Because those core values are gonna drive the decisions that you make, and then the action you take is when an ethical decision comes into action. So once you can identify those three things, your goals, your values, and the action you're gonna take, then you know how you're gonna move forward in an ethical space. And once students and people can start seeing that, it just elevates the power of ethics because ethics really does intersect with all of our lives on a daily basis. And it could be something as simple as do I as I'm out in the world and I see someone who appears to be unhoused, do I acknowledge them?
Speaker 3:Do I give them money? Do I give them food? Do I ask what they need, or do I just pretend that they don't exist? And all of those are valid options. I've done every single one of them, but that is an ethical decision.
Speaker 3:But we're making those choices at such a fast pace. We don't even recognize that a choice is being made. And so we start to create a space where we can say, what is happening in in this space, and how does ethics involve or getting get involved with that?
Speaker 1:Yeah. I think too to add to that is, like, we wanna make ethics feel accessible. Like, you do not have to be an ethicist to make ethical decisions. So as Beth was saying, like, leaning into our values, like, doing the work to identify what your values actually are and what it means to, like, put them in action. And so I think another goal of ethics week is to, like, make it accessible.
Speaker 1:Like, we're all able to have these conversations, and they're not black and white. And so let's just sit in the gray together.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Definitely. And I as I was looking at this rundown of the events, panels, discussions that you guys have for that week, one really stood out to me. I mean, as a journalism major, we experience a lot of fake news, like knowing kind of asking ourselves these questions, what's real, what's not. And I was taking a look at the blurred realities exhibit at the museum.
Speaker 2:You guys had that kind of tied into your ethics week. How what does that mean to the community? What can students learn from that exhibit? And I guess just tell me a little bit more about that. I actually recently had on the museum director on the podcast and we weren't able to talk a little bit about it, but I'd love to hear what it means to ethics week specifically.
Speaker 1:Yeah. We wanted to partner with the arts. Like AI is big right now, misinformation. At first, like, my mom was getting tricked by those AI videos on Facebook and now I'm like, oh, wait. Is this real?
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I've been guilty of that too.
Speaker 1:Like, there's that one with the bunnies jumping on the trampoline. I was like so amped about it, and then my partner was like, this isn't real. But we're excited to partner with the museum. I think they're opening like, reopening today or something.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They had some renovations. Mhmm. But I think, like, the blurred reality is kind of a way to experience, like, AI misinformation through art. The I think that some of the artists might pop in and out through
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:The time of the exhibit. And so we were just, like, excited to advertise it, excited to partner with them, excited to give them a platform to kind of think about that I don't know. I'm trying to, like, put it into words. But, like, I feel like when you think about AI, you just think about technology. But, like, there is that piece of, like, humanity and the arts, and we're excited that the blurred realities exhibit exists so they can just shed some light on that and help people think about this and misinformation and just have a conversation as we try to figure things out together.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Absolutely. And what are some other, like, panels or workshops or discussions you guys are having during ethics week that really stand out to you and that you think are super important to our community?
Speaker 3:If I can kick us off on Monday. On Monday, February 16, we are hosting an event called the ethics of corporate complicity, the economy of the Holocaust. And we've invited leadership from the Zeichelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills to come to campus. And so they're gonna show that it wasn't just the leadership of the Nazi party that made the Holocaust possible, but it was people just doing their jobs, that also made it possible to murder and kill 6,000,000, Jewish people. And so there's it it can be easy to get caught up in a space where somebody's just doing their job, and it's not my responsibility.
Speaker 3:And I think I've heard every single person I've ever had any conversation about the Holocaust say, I would never have done anything to support that. Right? It's such a horrific moment in history. And we can learn from the people who stood up and stood out in big and small ways against the Holocaust so that we can make sure we are not repeating history today or in the future. And so we're really, really grateful, that Harry Smith is coming.
Speaker 3:He's an MSU alum, and he's gonna just lead us through a powerful, space to to lean into history and to learn from people who had the courage to speak up and speak out in big and small ways.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:So that's gonna be on Monday, February 16 from 05:30 to 06:30. All of ethics week's events are open to everyone from our campus community and our community at large. So if any of these sound extra exciting to you, even if they're in a college or a space you may not spend much time in, please know that you are welcome and registration links for all of the programs we're about to talk about talk about Mhmm. Can be found on the ethics week website.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Awesome. And how what are some ways that students can get involved in this week? I know you just said, like, the community can come to any of these events, but are there any that kind of stand out to you that think that or that you think would appeal to students or that would be most beneficial for them, I guess?
Speaker 1:Well, the first one that kinda comes to mind, all students are invited to all of them. Mhmm. Talk to your faculty members. You might get some extra credit for some of them. I think that we're putting some events on the SONA website,
Speaker 2:which is
Speaker 1:in your college Yes. Commerce. But the one that comes to mind first is on Tuesday, February 17, during the lunch hour, we'll feed you lunch. We have a program called Lead Like Lasso Values in Action Care at the Core. It's at 12PM in Club Spartan.
Speaker 1:And so during this event, we're just, like, going to have a discussion about values and what you do in sticky situations kinda through the lens of Ted Lasso. Oh. That's fun. Yeah. It's a show that many people have seen.
Speaker 1:And if you haven't, you should. And we're just gonna talk about how Ted builds this type of environment where people are able to achieve their goals while caring and being empathetic and growing. And should be a really fun time.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Definitely. And Beth, I know you were just talking about the holocaust discussion with the professional that's coming in from Farmington Hills. What are some other professionals that are partnering with ethics week, and what will they be contributing to the workshops and sessions and discussions, I guess, that will be held?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. The other big event that we're hosting in Broad is gonna be the Roy S. Pung ethics lecture. And this year, we're really excited to bring in Kay Firth Butterfield. She is an AI expert.
Speaker 3:She's world renowned. If you're involved in ethics, it's very or not in ethics. If you're involved in AI, it's very likely that this is a familiar name to you. Mhmm. She was the first chief AI officer for the World Economic Forum, and has been named, like, AI person of the year.
Speaker 3:So when we think about AI, obviously, that intersects with our lives on a daily basis. Hopefully, it's not just to make a grocery list because every time I hear about people doing that, I'm like, oh, we're killing the planet over a grocery list. But AI is here. It's not going anywhere. It is gonna change and evolve work.
Speaker 3:It's gonna change and evolve our our culture. And so let's come together for a chance to learn about how this is happening and what can we do about it, from somebody who this is everything that they study and learn and teach about. So that's gonna be on Wednesday from 05:30 to 06:30. Again, it's gonna be hosted in Broad, but is wide open to anyone who's interested in coming and learning from from an AI expert. She's gonna, do a presentation for the first half hour, and then the second half will be questions a question conversation driven by the dean of the Broad College.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Awesome. I think that's super important, especially for students or just classmates I can think of just because a lot of people in my classes will, utilize AI just to help plan their assignments or just like day to day things. And I'm guessing they never really ask themselves like the ethical questions or anything like that related to AI and I think that could be super important for people to learn about just because you don't know what you don't know and I feel like hearing from someone who is so experienced with AI and has so much knowledge about it, I think that's really important for students and faculty and the community to just know
Speaker 3:about. For everybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:I agree. Yep.
Speaker 2:What kind of conversations and insights are you hoping that students and faculty walk away with after they come to these events during ethics week?
Speaker 3:What I'm hoping for so when I engage with students, the one of the first questions I ask is how many of you have been involved in ethical situations? And and a few hands will go up. And then my follow-up question to that is how many of you have been involved in a group project? Obviously, every single hand goes up. Then I ask, how many of you have been in a group project where somebody didn't pull their weight?
Speaker 3:Obviously, all of the hands stay
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And that is an ethical situation because there is not a clear cut. Here's the right way forward. Here's a wrong way forward. Do you suck it up and do the work yourself? Do you tell the faculty member or professor and potentially hurt or impact their grade?
Speaker 3:Like, do you have a conversation with that person? Do you just get mad at them and ignore them? You know, like, all of those are viable options, but it is an ethical choice on how you're gonna move forward in that space. And the reason that I start with that example, Kennedy, is because I want the students to start recognizing that they're making ethical decisions already so that they can start to see it and recognize it in other spaces and spheres. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:So my hope is that people, when they come to I mean, if people wanna come to All twenty six, great. We will see you there. But if you only are able to come to one or two, I hope what you will do is walk away being better able to recognize when you yourself are in an ethical decision and maybe have a tool or two on how to handle that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Definitely.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I think, like, Beth, like, my hope is that, one, people will come and engage in the space, and then, two, walk away more curious about situations they encounter. People are more self reflective about things that are coming coming up. And like, I don't know, they feel empowered that they have full authority to think about ethical decisions and lean into their values. And so and maybe just more curious.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.
Speaker 3:Coming back to Ted Lasso.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And as, a journalism student, we're all required to take a class called journalism, or I think media law and ethics. And this class seems so daunting to me because I just did not know at all what we were gonna be learning about. But, it was actually one of the most useful classes I've, taken because our professor would give us these ethical situations that we would probably run into in our career with journalism because that will just happen a lot. Like, do you about publishing, what to publish, what to not publish, whether to go with like your gut or with your company or publisher.
Speaker 2:And honestly, I feel so like well equipped for my future after taking that class and I think ethics week really just like highlights like the importance of that and what students can get from that. Because I think it does it could sound daunting to students, but having all these events and like the Ted Lasso one, like people people love that. People love that show and I feel like connecting ethics and Ted Lasso together is really gonna make people wanna learn about it way more. So, I'm curious what so this is the second, annual ethics week. What do you hope ethics week looks like in the future, like in the next couple of years?
Speaker 2:And what do you hope for the future of that program? I hope which I
Speaker 1:it's hard to say this because we are part of the chaos coordination team. But I hope it grows and I hope that people wanna engage with us, and it's something that they look forward to. That, I don't know, that they feel like they can come as their full self and be authentic and genuine and vulnerable in these conversations. And I want people to just feel comfortable talking about ethics, talking about their values
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And it not feel like this massive, daunting, scary thing. Yeah. Just part of our day to day. Definitely.
Speaker 3:I was thinking, like, does it need to be a two week process? You know, do we need to extend it? I was thinking, do we need to make some swag and have, like, ethics week, but instead of the believe, from Ted Lasso, you know, have it say these are all the things that Kennedy I'm starting to roll on. Yeah. I I completely agree with Anna.
Speaker 3:It just needs to keep growing. You know? Ethics and having an ethical understanding of how we as individuals are gonna work walk through the world, whether we're at work, whether we're at home, is just gonna continue to get more complex as the world continues to evolve. And so if we can create a space where people can come and be open to, new or different information to ask questions to get more grounded in who they are, then I think that ethics week will be a success.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Definitely. And are there any other sessions or discussions or events during this week that you guys would like to highlight or even your personal favorites that are gonna be going on during this week?
Speaker 1:I would like to highlight so on Friday, February 20, we are holding a MSU leadership panel from ten to eleven in the multicultural center. And so on that panel, we'll have president Guskowitz, provost McIntyre, EVP, Vinnie Gore, vice president and chief communication officer, Emily Garant, and vice provost for teaching and learning innovation, Marcio Oliveira, who maybe I said Olivia. I don't know. I probably said Marcio's name wrong. Sorry, Marcio.
Speaker 1:It'll be moderated by Theresa Masten, who's the vice provost for our faculty and academic sorry, Theresa. Their titles are so weird. But our leaders will be in the same room having a conversation about what it means to be an ethical leader and how it impacts campus and impacts our community. And last year, we did this. President and interim provost Yaishko were there and as well as some other leaders.
Speaker 1:And it was just like an authentic, genuine, vulnerable conversation. And Mhmm. I think it's super cool because people get to see our leaders in this space and they feel accessible and like just real human beings. And so shout it out despite the fact that I should've looked up everyone's text. Think
Speaker 3:the other event that I'm really excited about is on Monday, we're doing a lunch and learn focusing on local entrepreneurs and, like, the challenges and successes of running an ethical business. And so we have Chad from Cravings, a popcorn store in Old Town coming, Megan, who is the owner and the the the force behind a store called Tiny Bit of Wood and Jen from Redhead, a marketing consulting company, are all gonna come and talk about how have they been successful, what challenges have they faced from an ethical standpoint being an entrepreneur and running a business? Mhmm. And so we're really excited to partner with Burgess Institute to make that event happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Awesome. And before we close out here, what is something that you guys would like the community to know about ethics week?
Speaker 3:That's a great question.
Speaker 1:I feel like I would like the community to know that you're invited. We have some events in person, also some virtual, if you would rather engage that way. And, yeah, we just want them to feel welcome.
Speaker 3:Hopefully excited about an event or two or maybe 26. Mhmm. Different events.
Speaker 1:Maybe we need a punch card for athletics week. Yeah. Next year. With prizes? Oh, our swag.
Speaker 1:That'd cool.
Speaker 3:Alright, Kennedy. We'll keep you posted.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Stop.
Speaker 3:I yeah. I would say the same thing as Anna, that this is a series of events that's obviously our our priority audience is gonna be people who are part of the MSU community. But if there are interested community members at large, they are also welcome to come because it's important for all of us to be having conversations centered around ethics and the intersection of our lives.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, thank you guys so much for talking to me about ethics weekend coming on today. I loved hearing about it and I'm so excited to see how it turns out. But yeah, thank you guys so much.
Speaker 3:Thanks, Kennedy. Thanks, Kennedy.