MORAL CASES*

CASE 1: DE-SEXING CHILDREN

Most children grow up gradually learning to make decisions about what they like to eat,
what games they like to play, and when to do their homework. Typically, children do not have to
choose their gender identities because most parents assume that their children will identify with
the gender associated with their physical sex and raise the children accordingly. But recently
some parents are allowing their children to choose their own gender identities free of outside
influence.

Traditionally, the birth of a new child is followed by gender-specific gifts from friends
and family: blue gifts if the child is a boy, pink if a girl. But not in the Talvarez family. The
gender of the Talvarez children was not included on birth announcements. Instead, they just
listed two gender-neutral names: Jordan and Riley. Their friends (and even close family) were
mystified. ―Baby girls like some things and baby boys like others. That‘s not a radical theory;
it's just reality,‖ said Ronnie Bratman, a close friend of the family.

The Talvarez family plans on going even further than not disclosing the sex of their
children to family and friends. They also plan on letting their children make all of their own
choices about gender. ―We don‘t dress them in just one kind of clothes. And once they get old
enough we plan on letting them choose their own clothes from the store. We‘ll just let them pick
something that appeals to them as individuals. If Jordan wants to grow long hair and wear
dresses, so be it. If Riley decides to take up dancing and play with trucks, we'll support that too,‖
says Chris Talvarez. Ultimately, the family just wants to give their children the freedom to create
their own gender identities instead of allowing society to dictate who they should be and how
they should act.

Child psychologists and educational experts would tend to agree that the Talvarez family
has the right to raise their children the way they see fit. But they also note that this decision is not
without risks to their children; the Talvarezes should be conscious of those risks. Child
psychologists and educational experts argue that while adults have a lot of information and
experience with which to make choices about gender roles, children can feel lost and confused if
left to their own devices. Parents can be tempted to think that children naturally know what is
good for them, but that may not always be true. Some draw an analogy to food: if you let a child
make all of her own choices in the grocery store, it is unlikely she will get adequate nutrition.

The parents respond that they do not plan on hiding anything from their children, just
promoting choice. ―We just think that society wants to put us all into neat little categories. Life
can be so much richer than that. Gender is about more than what happens between your legs. Our
society needs to stop making so many choices that limit our children‘s lives.
 How would you address human rights and social responsibility in relation to the issue of
Gender and human sexuality?

CASE 2: FREEDON OF EXPRESSION

A short independent film entitled The Innocence of Muslims sparked a huge controversy
over the world particularly among the Islamic nations. The movie "trailer" was written and
produced by NakoulaBasseleyNakoula. It allegedly showed an image of the Islamic faith’s
prophet which is highly forbidden in their tradition. Moreover, the 14-minute video was initially
uploaded to YouTube in July 2012, under the titles The Real Life of Muhammad and
Muhammad Movie Trailer. Videos dubbed in the Arabic language were uploaded during early
September 2012. It was alleged that Anti-Islamic content had been added in post-production by
dubbing, without the actors' knowledge.

What was perceived as a disparagement of the Islamic prophet caused demonstrations

and violent protests against the video which escalated across the Muslim nations and to some
western countries which led to hundreds of injuries and over 50 deaths. Several fatwa were
issued against the video's participants and a Pakistani minister has offered a bounty for the
killing of Nakoula, the producer. Protestors argued that the movie is an absolute propaganda of
hate against their religion. The director of the film however argued that the film is a form of a
freedom of expression and speech. Post-9/11 scenario in Western secular countries created a
social atmosphere of Islamophobia. The film has sparked debates about freedom of speech and
Internet censorship.

What moral responsibility does this social issue require of us? Should freedom of speech
and the freedom for information step aside when it comes to an open discussion of religious
tradition? Should liberal thinking tiptoe quietly on topics that may traverse religious traditions?
Can there be an ethical basis without an appeal to religious tradition?

CASE 3: WEB PORN AT WORK

Al Smetana is the founding President of a medium-size, Midwestern manufacturing firm,
Rayburn Unlimited. He’s proud of the way his company has grown, and done so on the basis of
an organizational culture committed to honesty, integrity, and the intrinsic value of each
individual. But now those values are being put to the test.

It began when Al learned that an employee had tapped into the company’s computer
system and figured out how to read people’s e-mail and to learn what Websites they visited.
Determining who the culprit was wasn’t difficult. When confronted about it, the employee
admitted what he had done. Al immediately terminated his employment. But as he left, the
employee said angrily, ”Just ask Lindley about his computer usage,” referring to Craig Lindley,
associate vice president for human resources and an old friend of Al’s. Although Al didn’t trust
the discharged employee, he was disturbed by his comment and reluctant to let it go. So he
called Craig Lindley into his office and asked him about it.

After a few minutes of gentle questioning, Craig started weeping. When he recovered
himself, he explained that for the past year or so he has been hooked on pornography on the Web
and at the office sometimes spent an hour or so a day looking at it. Al asked him whether his
wife knew. Craig said she didn’t. He was too ashamed of his habit to talk to her or anybody else
about it. Al then told him to take the rest of the day off, to think the matter over, and to return to
Al’s office the next morning. When Craig left, Al stood and looked out the window, silently
asking himself what he should do.

Is Craig Lindley’s behavior a sign of some psychological problem that Rayburn

Unlimited should help him overcome, perhaps with personal counselling? Or is dismissal called
for? Should Al Smetana fire Craig to send a message to other employees not to misuse company
time and resources?

CASE 4: SHOULD WESTERN NATIONS JUST PAY ISIS RANSOM?

ISIS demanded 100 million euros ($132.5 million) in ransom for the release of James
Foley, the American journalist kidnapped and killed by the terrorist group in Syria, according to
a spokesman for GlobalPost, the news website for which Foley freelanced.
But the demand does shine a light on two uncomfortable facts about “Kidnap and
Ransom.” The first uncomfortable fact is that if you pay a ransom a hostage is more likely to be
released. The other is that every time a ransom is paid it increases the chance that the other
hostages will be taken to help fill the coffers of a terrorist group.
According to an investigation by The New York Times, al Qaeda and its affiliates have
netted at least $125 million in ransoms since 2008. That finding is similar to a 2012 U.S.
Treasury estimate that $120 million had been paid to terrorist organisations during the previous
eight years.

Much of this revenue reportedly comes from France. French media reported that the
government had paid 20 million euros (about $28 million) for the release of four employees of a
French nuclear firm. They were held by an al Qaeda affiliate for three years in northern Niger
and were released last year.

The French government’s purported policy of negotiating with militant groups for the
release of kidnapped citizens does appear to work. Four French journalists—Nicolas Henin,
Pierre Torres, Edouard Elias and Didier Francois, who were kidnapped in Syria last year by ISIS
–were released near the Turkish border in April, blindfolded and with their hands bound.

One of these hostages, Henin, had been held by ISIS alongside Foley. Henin is free, and Foley is
dead.

Given this situation, should world leaders pay ransom to protect their people or should they let
their countrymen held by ISIS just die?

CASE 5: TEACHER’S DILLEMA

Mrs. Sereno is a popular senior faculty of the College Department of the university.
Unfortunately, due to the implementation of the K-12 curriculum that affected enrollment in the
university, she was one of those faculty members who were affected. The university provided
options for her such as, teaching in the senior high school while having additional workloads on
the college level, availing early retirement package, having alternative work for displaced
teachers provided by the government, be retrenched, or be reverted as a part-time teacher.
However, the said options are still financially burdensome for her part as she is a mother of five
children who are still studying. As such, she mustered a group of faculty, with similar
sentiments, and initiated to form a Faculty union to forcefully address their common concerns.
In doing so, she has to skip her classes in order to hasten the application and approval of their
plan by the Department of Labor.

What is your moral evaluation of the case? Is the school still morally responsible for what
happened to Mrs. Sereno given that it provided her options? Does the situation excuse Mrs.
Sereno from skipping her classes? Prove your stand.

CASE 6: MENTAL HEALTH AND SCHOOLS

Oftentimes, schools are viewed as training grounds to prepare the students for their jobs in the
future. For students to manage stress and meet the demands of the workplace, they are trained by
making them learn how to accomplish several tasks, requirements, and examinations all at the
same time by their various classes. In doing so, effective time management and stress
management are mostly left in the hands of the students. In the past, there are some cases of
mental health issues caused by stress and pressure from school that led to self-harm, anxiety, and
severe depression. Case in point, two college students in Batangas committed suicide over failing
grades in 2013.
Are schools morally responsible for mental health problems acquired by students from their
studies? In your opinion, what should be done by schools to address these kinds of problems?
Explain your moral stand.

CASE 7: PLAGIARISM OF A GRADUATING STUDENT

Karen, a college student in her graduating year, was reprimanded by her school after her
thesis panelists discovered that several parts of her manuscript were plagiarized. As it is a major
case of academic dishonesty, Karen failed her thesis in the first semester and was asked to start
again the next semester. Come her second try, one thesis panelist again discovered a plagiarized
section in her thesis. When asked about it, Karen tearfully confessed that she was struggling to
balance her schedule as she works part time after school and that plagiarizing a section of her
work was the only way for her to submit it on time. Moreover, she begs to be given a chance to
revise her thesis again as she needs to graduate on time as her father who works abroad already
bought ticket to attend her expected graduation. As per the student handbook, a student who
commits a second case of plagiarism on a major school requirement will be penalized with
expulsion.

If you will decide on the fate of Karen, what will you do? Will you follow the handbook or
resort to another penalty to consider her situation? Should schools exercise compassion even in
cases of serious academic offences? Explain.

CASE 8: USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Tony, a second year college student, was reported by his classmate to their professor.
According to the classmate, Tony uploaded several posts in his social media account accusing
his professor of unfair treatment of his students. Through these posts, he detailed how his
professor did not allow him to take up a quiz he missed while allowing others to have make-up
quizzes in the past. In the posts, Tony used profane words against the professor and questioned
the latter’s effectiveness as a teacher. When summoned by the discipline officer about it, Tony
argued that the posts were only made out of anger and were only intended to be seen by his
social media followers as his account is not set in public. Moreover, he explained that his posts
are his way to vent out his frustrations and weariness that he cannot share with his family.

As a student and as a social media user, what can you say about the actions taken by Tony?
Do schools have the moral obligation to correct how their students behave in their social media
accounts? Should the school penalize Tony for lashing out on his professor online given his
circumstance? Defend your moral stand.
CASE 9: SCHOOL PROTESTS

In September 21, 2017, nationwide protests and demonstrations were held by different
groups and organizations to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the proclamation of Martial
law in the Philippines and to address the prevailing social and political issues faced by the
government. Among these groups who organized and joined the march were the big universities
and colleges in Manila. As such, some people questioned the participation of these academic
institutions and voiced out their concerns over the involvement of their students. Accordingly,
these schools are putting the students who join rallies and protests in danger and are teaching
their students to have anti-government stance and to have leftist ideologies. Moreover, some also
say that these schools should be neutral as their political views do not necessarily represent the
sentiments of all their students and may disregard the difference of opinions and beliefs of their
students.

What should be the role of universities, colleges, and schools in addressing social and
political problems? As a student, do you agree that educational institutions should not participate
and not encourage its students to join political demonstrations? Explain your stand.

*The list of cases is adopted from LPU Ethics Bowl, 2015-2017.