Readers React: USC’s best reform option: Make ethics courses a graduation requirement

To the editor: As USC professor Jacob Soll warns, the remarkable academic success that my alma mater has achieved in the last few decades may be jeopardized if the recovery from the recent scandals is not managed carefully.

I agree with him. Also, I think because the scandals were caused by lapses in morals and ethics, the management of the damage control must include a fundamental addition to the educational programs at USC.

The mission of a university should be the education of the whole person — not just the training of students in the practical skills of science, technology, the arts or the professions, but also include a guide for the exercise of those skills toward the good of the individual and of society and away from the corrupt.

The teaching and learning of morals and ethics must be included in the curriculum — not just as an elective but as a substantial requirement for graduation from USC.

Ricardo Nicol, San Clemente

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