A committee of the American Medical Association has split on whether excessive playing of video games—which affects about 10 percent of players—can be considered an addiction. At a June AMA meeting, some doctors compared too much game playing to alcoholism, suggesting that just like alcoholics, hooked players experience denial, rationalization, and the inability to give up the activity. Other doctors however, saw no evidence linking video games to addiction and said those who play excessively may simply have compulsive personalities.

Do you think excessive playing of video games should be considered an addiction?

Responses to June’s Question

Lying to Be Dean

MIT recently fired its longtime dean of admissions, Marilee Jones, after discovering she had lied about her college degrees. Many observers say her termination was justified. But others argue that her degrees were meaningless; after starting out in a clerical position at MIT—a position that did not require a degree—Jones had in 28 years garnered the necessary experience and was doing a great job.

Do you think MIT was right to fire Jones, or should her falsehoods have been overlooked because she had the skills and experience to excel?

Setting a Bad Example

The dean or anyone else in the administration of an academic institution should set a good example for others. MIT was right to fire Jones the moment it found that she had lied. The skills she had acquired cannot compensate for the fraud she committed.

K.P. Mohandas
Calicut, India

Loss of Trust

MIT was correct for firing the dean. Regardless of how well she learned her on-the-job skills, she should not have lied about her background. Omissions can be forgiven, but lies undermine trust and set a terrible example.

However, had the lie been caught early on, it could have been addressed and remedied—she could have gotten a degree and corrected her résumé.

Kent Harris
Cupertino, Calif.

Guilty and Guilty

MIT is as guilty of not having checked Jones's credentials when she applied for that entry-level position as she is of lying about her academic background. Although there presumably is no statute of limitations in such a case, a public admission of guilt on the part of an otherwise competent dean and a monetary fine or other disciplinary measure would have sufficed.

S.M. Claassen
Molenhoek, Netherlands

Years of Experience Lost

I could have understood firing Jones if she had been a new hire, but after all those years as an excellent worker MIT should let her continue to work.

Vito Leggio
East Meadow, N.Y.

A Negative Statement

Firing Jones was the correct course of action. Overlooking her lies would have made a statement to current and future students that being dishonest on a résumé or college application is acceptable as long as they had other skills, experience, or did a great job. It also would have been unfair to the students who MIT may have rejected for stretching the truth on their college applications.

Michael J. Berman
Charlotte, N.C.

Credentials vs. Qualifications

The dean was with MIT for 28 years. I can name several engineers who have that many years of service and are revered and respected within their profession, yet don’t have a degree.

Some form of discipline was necessary, but I believe firing her was unjustified.

Patrick Corun
Mountain View, Wyo.

The Importance of Being Earnest

She had to be fired to communicate the importance of ethics to the community of students, faculty, and parents. In today’s world, we see an increase in the attitude that “the end justifies the means” or that being dishonest is okay if it gets the job done. I think all institutions—academic and otherwise—should maintain the highest standards of ethics. If they don’t, then it provides an excuse for individuals to rationalize their actions.

The fact that she or anyone else accrues knowledge from experience on the job is not a defense for having lied to get there in the first place. Perhaps someone else with the required credentials could have accomplished the same feat.

Stacy Strickland
Melbourne, Fla.

Saving Face

Degrees can be meaningless when it comes to job performance, but integrity is the bedrock of cohesiveness and stability in any organization. Lying about your background or abilities isn’t the right thing to do.

However, after 28 years at her job, Jones could have been given some alternative to an immediate firing. If she was doing quality work in her position, she might have been given the chance to offer the public an apology—and be allowed to continue on.

Paul H. Phillips
Dallas

A Second Chance

MIT had no choice but to fire Marilee Jones. Otherwise, it would send the message that it's okay to lie on a résumé.

Having said that, if Jones was popular and competent, they could allow her to reapply for the position with a corrected résumé.

Nancy Mead
Pittsburgh

Digging Deeper

Jones did the right thing by admitting fault and tendering her resignation. MIT did the right thing by investigating the question regarding her credentials and accepting her resignation.

Perhaps MIT should further investigate what role, if any, the false credentials played in its decision to give Jones her first position as an administrative assistant. If they played a major role—given that she adequately performed the job without actually having those credentials—MIT should further examine its selection and hiring processes to understand why so much stock is placed in such credentials, especially if no one checks them.

Either way, MIT shares some blame for the fraud going undiscovered for so long, as well as for not offering Jones an opportunity to correct her résumé, without prejudice.

Larry Morris
Redmond, Wash.

Excessive Punishment

Certainly some form of punishment—censure or penance—was necessary. However, I think firing Jones was excessive. Her very old lie was doing no harm to the institution, and she was obviously well qualified and doing an excellent job.

MIT lost a valuable employee.

Hans Peter Clamann
Bern, Switzerland