The NFL has definitely taken some hard knocks lately.  One of these issues that the League has struggled with over the last decade is controversy over the brain damage that can be caused by repeated concussions. Studies tend to show that repeated concussions (and sometimes repeated sub-concussive blows to the head) can potentially result in … Continue reading "The NFL’s Concussion Controversy"

Growing up with a police officer in my family, I have always felt a great deal of admiration and respect for the police force and their service and commitment to making communities safer places to live. However, I also realize that I have been blessed in that I have never had a bad encounter with … Continue reading "Tragedy Strikes in Baltimore"

The vaccine debate is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: there is an article published on the topic almost daily, and it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t have an opinion on the subject. But for all the discussion, it seems that we are making very little progress towards resolving the issue: vaccination rates continue to … Continue reading "The Vaccine Debate: Where Do We Go From Here?"

Need some reading material for this weekend? Check out these links from members of The Prindle Post staff. An incredible story about a reunited mother and daughter (Carrie R.) Virginia Heffernan’s discussion of the muddied meaning of the word “mindfulness” (Rachel H.) A profile of the three powerful women who questioned Wall Street (Rachel H.) New restaurant in … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: May 8, 2015"

There are certain things about boys in relation to girls that I always assumed to be true. Boys eat more. Boys get into more fights. Boys drive more recklessly. And boys don’t do as well in school. While the first three of these claims can probably be validated by your own personal experience, the last … Continue reading "Failures in our Education System"

Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed ethics bill HEA 1002 this week in response to the recent unethical behavior of Rep. Eric Turner and former State Superintendent Tony Bennett. The newly signed bill is meant to require legislators to disclose investments over $5,000; the previous Indiana law required legislators to disclose investments over $10,000. This ensures that state legistlators cannot hide … Continue reading "Ethics in Indiana"

When we all were seniors in high school, we filled out the numerous applications to universities that we hoped would accept us and would one day be our home for the next four years. The Common Application made this process much easier for many students, since it allows one student to apply to several universities … Continue reading "Is it Wrong to Ask Where Else You’re Applying?"

As a member of the graduating class (yes, I said it) and a Prindle Intern, I feel that it is my ethical duty to bring the following question to your pre-graduation attention: What, if any, responsibility do we as graduates of DePauw University, have in living ethical lives post-graduation? I raise this question because of … Continue reading "Ethical Responsibilities of DePauw Graduates"

Every week, the Prindle Intern team weighs in on an ethical issue together. Each intern is challenged to keep their response to five sentences – Ethics in 5. Click on an intern’s name to check out their previous posts on The Prindle Post! This week’s question: Vaccinations The anti-vaccination movement has been gaining momentum over the … Continue reading "Ethics in 5: Printerns on Vaccinations"

Need some reading material for this weekend? Check out these links from members of The Prindle Post staff. Documentarians discuss the ethics of their craft (Camille V.) An Armenian-American perspective on Barack Obama and the truth about the Armenian genocide (Amy B.) Some leaders in Baltimore question the use of the word “thug” (Sarah E.) News about lethal injection from the American … Continue reading "What We’re Reading"

Two years ago, Boston Marathon runners and spectators endured a gruesome crime at the hands of the Chechnyan Tsarnaev brothers. Although the older brother and supposed mastermind of the operation, Tamerlan, was killed shortly after the bombing, American is still left asking: how do we punish Dzhokhar?

As a millennial and current college student, I understand the struggle of endless nights in the library, clinging to your coffee, dreaming about sleep, and wondering “what is all of this studying worth?”  While what you are studying is well worth something, what you are studying for (i.e. an exam) may not seem to be. The … Continue reading "Ethics of Meritocracy in Education and The American Dream: “Why I Hate School but Love Education”"

The rampant use of study drugs on college campuses has been the cause of extensive debate for some time now. It has become increasingly easy to acquire a prescription, and to then sell it cheaply to other students. Study drugs such as Adderall and Vyvanse have become hard to regulate and as a result, the … Continue reading "Are Legal Study Drugs still an Ethical Issue?"

This Guest Author post by Dr. Jeff McCall was originally published in The Indy Star on April 24, 2015. NBC’s high-profile anchor, Brian Williams, has been suspended for telling tall tales. ABC’s highest-profile news personality, Diane Sawyer, has gone super-hype with her two-hour, prime-time interview of Bruce Jenner. CNN has redefined news to include travel … Continue reading "The Deterioration of TV News"

There has been much debate recently over the potential Iran nuclear deal. The US and Iran have a long and complicated history and this diplomatic move is certainly a continuation of this. For more info on the deal itself and the potential benefits and consequences, take a look at this Prindle Post article on the subject. … Continue reading "Ethical Dilemma: Iran’s “Signing Bonus”"

The term “designer babies” is becoming more and more common around the world today as genetic engineering continues to revolutionize how we think about human development.  China has some of the most in depth research on genetic engineering, which is putting its researchers under scrutiny from those who question the ethical implications of this field … Continue reading "The Present Status of Genetic Engineering"

On Thursday, President Obama announced that a U.S. drone strike accidentally killed one American and one Italian hostage in January. Both men were aid workers who had been held captive for a couple of years. Mr. Obama took the blame for the deaths as commander in chief, but officials stated that they did not know the hostages … Continue reading "Obama, Drones, and Hostages"

This post was written by Ayo Animashaun, a 2014 graduate of DePauw University. Ayo was an Economics major, Management Fellow, and Bonner Scholar. This article details his post-grad experience integrating sustainability and business with Earthships Biotecture Academy as well as his ambitions to bring the Earthship model to his home country of Ghana. Graduating presented me with the … Continue reading "Discovering Biotecture: What are Earthships and Why Should We Care?"

Every week, the Prindle Intern team weighs in on an ethical issue together. Each intern is challenged to keep their response to five sentences – Ethics in 5. Click on an intern’s name to check out their previous posts on The Prindle Post! This week’s question: Advertising Advertising is frequently in the ethical hotseat. From … Continue reading "Ethics in 5: Printerns on Advertising Ethics"

Cultural appropriation is when a dominant group adapts the customs of a minority group and tries to trademark them as their own in an effort to be edgy and/or to use them to propagate stereotypes about that minority group. A popular example of this is Miley Cyrus’s infamous use of the dance style “twerking”, which … Continue reading "Cultural Appropriation in Entertainment"

Doctor Sergio Canavero has been interested in performing head transplants since learning about Doctor Robert White’s experiment in 1970, which involved switching the heads of two different monkeys. 45 years later,  Canavero is ready to emulate the experiment using two humans instead. The procedure planned for 2017 is called head anastomosis venture, or HEAVEN and involves … Continue reading "Head Transplants: HEAVEN or Hell?"

“Apps track users once every three minutes, “ Emily Dwoskin reports in The Wall Street Journal. Personally, this was a shocking, and quite alarming statistic considering how many apps I currently have on my phone. To make matters worse, I am the person who readily accepts the message, allowing sites like Google to “find my … Continue reading "Where are you now?"

With a record-setting net worth of over $700 billion, Apple has become the largest U.S. company and produces some of the most widely used technological devices in the world.  As the number of Apple product consumers increases, the need for packaging and assembly of these devices also increases.  Many people do not consider the amount … Continue reading "Apple’s Proposed Conservation Effort Raises Questions"

Pfizer, a drug-making company that manufactures many well-known and commonly used drugs such as Lyrica, Viagra, Lipitor, and Zoloft  in court over the controversy stemming from the drug Zoloft.  It is a drug designed to treat depression, which costs an estimated $30.4 billion a year and debilitates 17.5 million Americans with feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing, … Continue reading "Depressed about Zoloft?"