Senior Patrick Lattin gave a presentation about his LA 401 paper Tuesday as part of the University Forum series after receiving the Outstanding LA 401 Paper Award and $150.
Lattin originally received the recognition when he wrote his paper in summer 2004; however, because he was studying abroad in France during the 2004-2005 academic year, he was unable to give the required presentation and had to forfeit the award.
“I thought that was unfair, and so this time I threw him back in the pile … with all the others who had been nominated and then turned the pile over to one of the professors who didn’t nominate anyone,” said Donald Hatcher, director of liberal arts and the critical thinking program at Baker University. “His came to the top again.”
Lattin said his paper, entitled “The Union of Marriage and Public Policy: An Ethical Evaluation of the Role of Government in Defining, Recognizing and Rewarding Marriage in the United States,” came after Massachusetts became the first state to pass legislation allowing same-sex marriages and granting full rights to same-sex couples in 2004.
“It made me start thinking about same-sex marriages, and there had been some debates that had stemmed some ideas on various other types of non-traditional marriages,” he said. “So I kind of started thinking about the institution of marriage in general and how it related to a marriage in life and the American government. I decided to do an ethical evaluation of whether or not marriage is an institution that is supported or recognized by the government.”
Lattin presented the history of marriage from 850 B.C. to modern day, citing various relationships among more than two people and between people of the same gender throughout history, thereby giving reasons for and against the government’s right to define marriage. He used ethical principles to decide and present his arguments within his paper.
“Using the ethical framework, I found the position that the government should not be involved in the institution of marriage to be a more sound perspective.”
Professor of Mass Media and Communication Susan Emel taught the LA 401 section Lattin was in, and she said she enjoyed working with him and reading his paper.
“He really thinks through the arguments – it’s not as common as I wish it were in 401 classes,” she said. “It’s really nice when a student’s thinking can challenge my own thinking – that’s exciting teaching-learning.”
Lattin said he was surprised he received the award but honored that his paper received recognition.
“I thought it really turned out well, and I liked the arguments,” he said. “So I was proud that it was given the chance to be seen by more people than those who were in my class.”
