U
UKcatholicGuy
Guest
Here’s the deal:
For the final paper in my college English class, we were supposed to go to a “field site” and observe some kind of culture then write about it. For example, we could go to a little restaurant and observe the surroundings, take notes, and we were also required to get at least 2 interviews with people from our “site.” We could observe anything that could be called a “culture.”
I chose the culture of life, the pro-life culture. I’m already part of the student pro-life group here on campus, and part of a prayer group that meets once a week to pray outside a local abortion mill. So I figured I could “observe” my own culture b/c I really wanted to write about it. The only thing is, at first my teacher told the class that we had to pick a culture of which we were not a part. Well, since I really wanted to write on the pro-life culture, I decided to specifically focus on pro-life pregnancy centers, since I was not part of that aspect of the pro-life culture.
I openly admitted in my rough draft that I was pro-life, but was curious to find out more about the pro-life pregnancy centers. This was fine, she had no problem with it. Here’s where the moral problem comes in:
The pregnancy center ended up not giving me near enough info to complete my project, so I decided I’d have to also write about the prayer group outside the clinic. The only thing is, I was already in that prayer group. So, I said in my paper that a worker at the pregnancy center told me about the prayer group, and that I decided to “go check it out.” This of course is not exactly true, since I’ve been part of the group for several months.
So, I told a (small) lie in my paper. But NOW my teacher is telling the class that it’s okay if we’re “members” of the culture we write about! That means I could’ve just said flat out from the beginning that I was a regular member of the group, rather than lying and saying that the pregnancy center told me about it.
Also, I “made up” an interview with one of my friends in the prayer group. By this I mean, I did not actually interview them, but wrote as if i had interviewed him, and I based the answers to the questions on previous conversations we’ve had. So I didnt make up his stance on things-- I believe i accurately depicted his stance, but I basically impersonated him. I was the interviewer and the subject
By the way, he knows and he doesnt care. I told him the answers I gave on his behalf and he said he wouldve given those responses. But still, how bad is this? Is it a big deal or not?
What do I do?? I’m about to turn in a final draft today and I have a big decision to make: should I “come clean” about my interview that I was part of the prayer group and lied about the pregnancy center directing me there? Or should I just keep my paper the way it is, with a false statement about how I found the abortion prayer group and a false interview? How big a deal is this? Does this constitute lying?
If I change the paper, I’ll have to tell my teacher that I made up some stuff based on my previous knowledge of the pro-life culture. Is this worth risking my final grade? Help!
For the final paper in my college English class, we were supposed to go to a “field site” and observe some kind of culture then write about it. For example, we could go to a little restaurant and observe the surroundings, take notes, and we were also required to get at least 2 interviews with people from our “site.” We could observe anything that could be called a “culture.”
I chose the culture of life, the pro-life culture. I’m already part of the student pro-life group here on campus, and part of a prayer group that meets once a week to pray outside a local abortion mill. So I figured I could “observe” my own culture b/c I really wanted to write about it. The only thing is, at first my teacher told the class that we had to pick a culture of which we were not a part. Well, since I really wanted to write on the pro-life culture, I decided to specifically focus on pro-life pregnancy centers, since I was not part of that aspect of the pro-life culture.
I openly admitted in my rough draft that I was pro-life, but was curious to find out more about the pro-life pregnancy centers. This was fine, she had no problem with it. Here’s where the moral problem comes in:
The pregnancy center ended up not giving me near enough info to complete my project, so I decided I’d have to also write about the prayer group outside the clinic. The only thing is, I was already in that prayer group. So, I said in my paper that a worker at the pregnancy center told me about the prayer group, and that I decided to “go check it out.” This of course is not exactly true, since I’ve been part of the group for several months.
So, I told a (small) lie in my paper. But NOW my teacher is telling the class that it’s okay if we’re “members” of the culture we write about! That means I could’ve just said flat out from the beginning that I was a regular member of the group, rather than lying and saying that the pregnancy center told me about it.
Also, I “made up” an interview with one of my friends in the prayer group. By this I mean, I did not actually interview them, but wrote as if i had interviewed him, and I based the answers to the questions on previous conversations we’ve had. So I didnt make up his stance on things-- I believe i accurately depicted his stance, but I basically impersonated him. I was the interviewer and the subject
By the way, he knows and he doesnt care. I told him the answers I gave on his behalf and he said he wouldve given those responses. But still, how bad is this? Is it a big deal or not?What do I do?? I’m about to turn in a final draft today and I have a big decision to make: should I “come clean” about my interview that I was part of the prayer group and lied about the pregnancy center directing me there? Or should I just keep my paper the way it is, with a false statement about how I found the abortion prayer group and a false interview? How big a deal is this? Does this constitute lying?
If I change the paper, I’ll have to tell my teacher that I made up some stuff based on my previous knowledge of the pro-life culture. Is this worth risking my final grade? Help!
