College Life

A case presents some difficult ethical choice going forward. A choice between at least two preliminary options appears difficult to decide from an ethical point of view. Cases will be assessed according to the following criteria: 
One page typed (at least 200 words), double-spaced, with MLA citations as appropriate (for example, wherever the writer makes reference to public facts that can be documented or when the writer draws upon case materials published elsewhere). 
A case presentation should summarize the outlines of a predicament, crossroads, or tough decision where it is difficult to decide upon the best course of action from an ethical point of view. Sometimes this is a choice of action, sometimes it is a choice of policy, sometimes the choice is being deliberated for individual action, sometimes for collective action. Please note: a difficult ethical choice is different from knowing very well what is ethical but facing an enticing, and clearly unethical, temptation. 
Cases should reflect some contemporary predicament that presents some possible choice in your own “mature” experience going forward. Agents confronting the choice should be at least your age or older, at a calendar date no older than this week. 
Show the ethical difficulty by presenting two preliminary options for action and explaining why it appears ethically difficult to choose between them. Each preliminary option should be considered in light of its possible outcome. 
In cases developed for this course, do not indicate which choice is or should be taken. That will be the subject of an application exercise. So be sure to stop the action at the moment of choice, but prior to any decision or course of action. 
Case Types: the primary agent in a case may be individual or collective, and the primary choice may involve an act or a policy. Cases involving an individual agent facing a particular action will take story form, describing the details of a particular place and time where an action is called for. Cases involving collective agents making policy choices will present the policy question in the title. Usually, the story form is inappropriate for collective policy cases. 
College life, on campus or off. See general guidelines above. Write a case involving some difficult choice faced by a college student on campus or off. This is an exercise exploring ethical challenges of college life construed broadly. It may include academic classroom situations, roommate relationships, work life, social events, or other aspects of life faced by college students. The case may involve anonymous strangers or people who are known by the principal agent.