Authority & Obligation

Find one campus rule you disagree with. Do not break it. Instead, find the person who would enforce the rule. Meet with them or email them to ask them what, specifically, would happen if you broke the rule. Then see if you can find someone who has broken this rule. Ask them why they broke the rule, and what happened to them. You don't have to tell me who the rule breaker was. 

In your reflection, discuss why the rule exists, who benefits from the rule, who pays the costs of the rule, and whether you think it makes sense for people to break the rule. Does the stated rule differ from the rule as actually enforced?

On Day 1, cut in line without asking three different times in low-stakes settings (never in emergencies, security lines, or high-stakes contexts). Simply walk to the front. If someone objects, immediately apologize and return to your place in line. After each attempt, record how people responded, who the responders were, and how cutting in line made you feel. 

On Day 2, Attempt to cut in line three more times using three different strategies. (1) Ask politely if you may go first. (2) Explain that you're in a hurry. (3) Ask the other person to do you a favor by letting you go first. Compare the reactions to day 1. 

In your reflection, discuss the ethics of queuing, whether you did anything wrong when you cut in ine, who enforces social norms and whether it is good that people enforce social norms in these contexts. 

Identify something on campus or in your community that genuinely bothers you and engage in one peaceful act of protest. For example, you can hold up a sign, write an open letter or a letter to the editor, start a petition, wear a protest shirt, hand out flers, chalk the sidewalks, performatively sit in an administrative building, give a comment at a public meeting, make protest art or music, etc. Your goal is not to win. The purpose is for you to experience public dissent. 

In your reflection, discuss whether you felt vulnerable, ignored, judged, or supproted. Did you feel compelled to censor yourself? by who? Was the protest effective? What if anything did it accomplish? 

For three days, comply with every law, rule, policy, and posted instruction that you encounter to the best of your ability. Never exceed the speed limit, even by 1 mph. Come to a complete stop and fully pause and look in all directions at every stop sign. Park only where you are unquestionably permitted and maintain the appropriate distance from the curb or lines. Never jaywalk. Do not use products past their sell-by or "best by" dates if the instructions advise otherwise. Read and follow posted signs, building rules, and park regulations. Obey every queue, line, and procedural instruction exactly. Perfectly follow every recipe. For all products, perfectly comply with the instructions. Do your laundry in accordance with the washing instructions. Fully complete every assignment and task at work. Eat by the official food pyramid. Do everything as instructed. Obviously no underage drinking or drugs. 

Keep a journal of situations where perfect compliance was difficult, unnecessary, bad for other people, anti-social, or annoying. Did this make you question whether the rules were worth following? In your reflection, discuss which rules seemed morally important and which seemed purely conventional?Were any rules widely ignored? Did you ever feel social pressure to break a rule? Is a good citizen someone who always follows the law?