Moral dilemma here

[GoldenBear]

Here's the situation, for Physics I had to build a toothpick tower, and we had a month to do it.

It'll be due on Wednesday here, so this past Friday, I'd been done for a little while now, until some girl (nice but not someone I'm interested in or anything) comes up to me. She simply asks if she can "join", meaning I'd basically put her name on the thing and give her credit for doing nothing.

It was like a spur of a moment thing, and I couldn't say no, being the person that I am. So I basically let her join and stuff.

It's not really going to hurt me in anyway here by letting her leech on, but it would hurt her a lot more than it'll hurt me.

Did I do the proper thing?

 

[Bryan]

No, you didn't. It's her own fault she isn't finished, and you have no reason to let her take the low road. She's robbbing herself of her education. Tell her "no" tomorrow, so she'll have two days to make one, or at least learn a hard but valuable lesson.

 

[prodigy]

That would've been the right thing to do only if there were sexual or monetary favors involved.

 

[Russ]

You have enabled lethargy. This is an action best left to experts; the Federal Government.

Russ, NCNE

 

[vi edit]

She's the one that will be on the loosing end. I've never tolerated things like that personally.

 

[glenn1]

Well, truth is, that people get credit for things they didn't do all the time in life... witness Mr. Clinton getting the credit for the rosy economy, or Woody Allen for making funny movies.

It's better for you that you learned this important lesson early in your life... and as for her, hopefully the professor will ask her to describe exactly what her contribution to the project was, and her to show for utter (and no longer blissful) ignorance.

 

[nippyjun]

Is she cute?

 

Can you still get a shag out of the deal?

 

[GoldenBear]

I don't know..it's easy for you guys to say that, standing from the outside looking in. I know that if I saw someone else did this exact same thing, I would've felt the same way you guys did, but the situation is reversed now.

In fact, I was part of a similar situation in this very project, me and a couple other guys wanted to meet and do it, but I was away for those few days and they finished most of it while I was gone. Since they were guys and they knew me pretty well. They were brutally honest and made it easy for me by saying I really didn't do much so I shouldn't be in there.

But this is a bit different now, as I had plenty of time remaining to do it and such. It was during Christmas break and I spent several hours a day for almost a week perfecting it..so with like two days it's pretty much impossible to get a semi-decent tower up.

What really sucks here is that this thing is kind of good too, and that it ought stand its ground against the rest of the class.

I'm not a teacher or some kind of mediator here trying to make everything right and just.

If I said no it would only make her feel terrible, and me as well.

I figure now she owes me something, which may come in use as time goes on

 

[unxpurg8d]

GoldenBear, I applaud the fact that you built your own toothpick tower (does it have to hold up a dumb brick for a certain amount of time?!) and I also applaud your generous impulse to be kind and rescue the poor tower-handicapped girl. Yep, she SHOULD have to build her own, and yep, you SHOULD get full credit for your work and creativity. The sad reality is that girls are always gonna get by with things like this as long as men have hormones.

On HER side, I tried building one of these darn things to show my daughter it could be done. It can, just not by ME. I came to the conclusion that that MUST be one of the things God intended men for......toothpick construction projects. So just consider yourself happily fulfilling your destiny.



(Geeeeeeeeeeez that's so stereotypically lame eyelash-batting female, huh? LOL I can't help it though, if I were in school I undoubtedly would've worn the tightest, lowest cut top I could, three tons of mascara and begged all wide-eyed and sad. Ack. But I would've made it up later to the guy who was kind enough to help. By making dinner for him, or something. Sheeeeeeeeeeesh, evil-minded kidlets. )