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Case 15a :

Two Boxes of Paper, Two Colleagues Divided

Yan-Yan walked into the humming copier room, looked around her and exclaimed,

"Amman! What are you doing?!".

Amman, always annoyed by Yan-Yan's nagging him, responded gruffly,

"I'm making copies, can't you see that?"

Yan-Yan rolled her eyes and replied in an exasperated tone,

"Amman, there are two boxes of paper empty here. Why are you making all of these copies? Professor Rolapo asked us to make copies of all of the files for the conference participants and to put them into drop box so that all participants can access the electronic files".

Amman, having seen Yan-Yan roll her eyes, snapped back,

"Yes, I read that. I can read, Yan-Yan! I've made copies for all of the conference participants, all 47 of them, and will drop them off to their room-boxes at Robert Black College. What is so hard to understand about those directions, Yan-Yan?".

Yan-Yan retorted,

"Professor Rolapo asked for electronic copies, not paper copies. She is sensitive about environmental issues. This is an ecology program, after all!"

Amman growled angrily,

"Who cares, Yan? It's paper. And, look! It is recycled. No one will make good comments on an electronic file anyways. Even if they do, they won't remember to send their comments, just like the last conference. Now, leave me alone!"

Later that day, Jose, a fellow PhD student of both Amman and Yan-Yan, listened carefully to both students complain bitterly about the other.

Amman complained to Jose,

"I do not get what Yan-Yan is on about all of the time. It' always 'sustainability' this and 'recycle' that. Does she not pay attention to the stupid amount of paper the university produces? Why does she always have to make me feel bad about making a copy!?"

Yan-Yan complained to Jose,

"Amman lacks sensitivity and intelligence. He cannot apply what he learns in his theoretical study to the 'real world'. I do not understand how he can study deep ecology in our 'Ecological Theories' class then make two boxes worth of paper copies. I believe he does this to anger me".

• What are the obligations of students to ensuring the university resources are used judiciously?
• Amman was using a conventional resource—paper. What if Amman was using an expensive reagent? Would you believe that Yan-Yan has any more grounds to complain to Amman of his choice?
• Is the problem between Amman and Yan-Yan strictly a problem with sustainability differences?
• How should universities promote sustainability in research environments?
   

Imagine that you are Jose speaking to Amman:

• How would you explain the idea of sustainability in a research setting to Amman?
• How would you relate the idea of sustainability, or 'reducing one's consumption of natural, renewable, and especially non-renewable resources, to the lowest possible level to preserve these for the next generations' to research practices, such as conference proceedings?

Imagine that you are Jose speaking to Yan-Yan:

• How would you explain to Yan-Yan the importance of teaching others about sustainability rather than preaching to others about sustainability?
• How would you relate the idea of collegiality, or 'respecting one's colleagues for their contributions to the research enterprise and fostering a sense of toleration for differences in perspectives and practice?