Jordan is a resident assistant in a college dormitory. As part of his

Official Explanation:

Jordan is a resident assistant in a college dormitory. As part of his job responsibilities, he is a mandated reporter for issues of sexual or domestic violence, discrimination, abuse, and mental health crises. If someone tells Jordan that they have been victimized or are considering hurting themselves or others, Jordan is legally obligated to report this to relevant authorities. One of Jordan’s residents, Gabriela, confides in Jordan that her professor sexually assaulted her in office hours but told her not to tell anyone. Gabriela asks Jordan not to tell anyone but that she “Just really needed to get it off her chest”. Jordan informs Gabriela that he must tell the Dean of Students Office at his university about the incident but indicates that she can choose to not engage with the proceedings.

Which of the following, if true, best explains Jordan’s decision?

A. The confidentiality between Gabriela and her professor extends to Jordan.
B. Jordan must respect the professor’s wishes, as repeated by Gabriela, with respect to the incident.
C. Jordan must respect Gabriela’s wishes with respect to the incident.
D. Jordan is only morally obligated, not legally obligated, to report this incident.
E. Because what Gabriela relayed constitutes sexual violence, he is legally obligated to report the incident to campus authorities.

Question Type: Strengthen
Boil It Down: As a “mandatory reporter,” Jordan is legally required to notify the school if a student tells him if he/she is the victim of violence or considering hurting themselves. A student tells Jordan she was sexually assaulted by a professor, and that the professor insisted she not tell anyone. Jordan tells her he’s required to report it anyway, and that she isn’t required to be part of any proceedings.
Goal: Find the option that best explains WHY Jordan would tell the student he must report the assault - even if she may not want to be part of any future hearings, proceedings, trials, etc.

Analysis:

The first step in determining WHY Jordan made the decision he did is to read over the passage, and then determine what decision he actually made. We find that in the final sentence of the passage:

Jordan informs Gabriela that he must tell the Dean of Students Office at his university about the incident but indicates that she can choose to not engage with the proceedings.

He actually decides to do 2 things here:

1. Report the incident to the Dean of Students Office about the assault.
2. Inform the student that she doesn’t have to be part of the proceedings if she doesn’t want to be.

He has decided to both try to honor Gabriela’s wishes to not be part of it, and his own legal obligation to report the assault. Let’s determine which option best explains Jordan’s thinking process on why he chose to do these 2 things:

A. The confidentiality between Gabriela and her professor extends to Jordan.
A is incorrect because there is no implied confidentiality between Gabriela and the professor and this in no way applies to Jordan. Just because the professor tells Gabriela not to tell anyone does not mean she is required or legally obligated to stay quiet.

B. Jordan must respect the professor’s wishes, as repeated by Gabriela, with respect to the incident.
B is incorrect because Jordan has no legal obligation to the professor. Mandatory reporting does not exclude school faculty or staff from being reported.

C. Jordan must respect Gabriela’s wishes with respect to the incident.
C is incorrect because Jordan, though respectful of Gabriela’s position, has a legal obligation to the university.

D. Jordan is only morally obligated, not legally obligated, to report this incident.
D is incorrect because it is clear in the passage that Jordan is legally obligated to report this incident.

E. Because what Gabriela relayed constitutes sexual violence, he is legally obligated to report the incident to campus authorities.
E is correct because, regardless of the professor’s and Gabriela’s requests to keep this information to himself, Jordan is legally obligated to report the incident to the proper authorities.

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Great job winterschool and ramlala! You both cracked the code on this one! Kudos to you both!

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