Ethical Reasoning Case Study

In this case study of Cheerleader or Banished, I will utilize the ethical reasoning model to determine some ethical actions in response to the situation. Starting with step one, we are looking for facts in this case. Students involved include Evan Wilson, an Addison School District graduate and previous athlete; Thomas Phillips a current Addison School District senior that has no extracurricular activities; and Laura Thompson, a current Addison School District senior that is a current cheerleader and volleyball player. Both of the current students have had no documented discipline with the school district and Thompson is a candidate for a six-year medical program. Information received about the incident indicates it occurred on the football …show more content…
The easiest and most obvious option is to choose discipline that is equal for both students, regardless of if that is in school suspension or out of school suspension. On the surface, everything appears to be equal and fair. Both parties have received punishment for their actions, and the district has a zero tolerance substance abuse policy. The second option is to punish Thomas Phillips as he was aware and part of the crime being committed. This option would not punish Laura Thompson as she was not consciously making the choice to tear up the fence or football field. This option will please Thompson as it does not affect her long term but is not fair to Phillips. The public may not be as thrilled with this option as not all responsible parties are held accountable. The third option is to punish Phillips with something such as in school or out of school suspension, based on the school handbook and include community service for him if possible. For Thompson, she could be benched for all or part of the games, with a lessened in school detention or even none at all, but community service is critical in this instance so that she can learn from her mistakes. The community service helps to appease the community by showing them that the responsible parties have to help clean up the problem they thoughtlessly …show more content…
I would stand behind this decision for multiple reasons. First, the punishment the students receive is confidential and not to be discussed with anyone other than each student separately and their parents separately. However, if this had to be announced to the community, confidentiality issues aside, I would still stand behind it. I can say that I went through the process, abided by the handbook, accounted for the situations of each student, how much they were involved, the role they played, and the affect that the consequences might have on the students involved. I took into careful consideration how much of an inconvenience it was to reschedule, the amount of money involved to repair the damages, and time it would take to fix the issue. I also looked at any safety aspects and there were no additional innocent students that might have been injured at the time. It did not occur during school hours or at a school sponsored even. I think the biggest issue is that each of the students were not disciplined exactly the same. However, the circumstances and involvement were different and each of the students had different things at stake with very different outcomes. Our