This library includes cases written for the Middle School Ethics Bowl since 2019 and cases written by middle school and high school students as part of the Ethics Case Writing Project. These cases can be used in classrooms and other ethics forums.
Any middle school or high school student from anywhere in the world can help build the library by submitting a case. For more information, see the Ethics Case Submission Guidelines tab on the Questions page.
The cases are listed alphabetically by title. You can search for cases by year, keyword, and grade level.
Accommodations on Board: Are They a Moral Obligation?
Valerie Wang, age 14, Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, Texas
Accomodations, Community obligations, Duty
View Ethics Case →AI in College Admissions: Algorithmic Acceptance?
Robert Wei, age 16, Princeton Day School, Princeton, New Jersey
AI, College admissions, Education, Technology
View Ethics Case →Are Private Schools Inherently Unethical?
Melina Mickelson, age 14, Cleveland STEM High School, Seattle, Washington
Education, Parental rights, School ethics
View Ethics Case →Artists and Their Political Views
Aliya Muhametzanova, age 14, Gymnasium No. 175, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia
Art, Entertainment, Freedom of speech, Motivation, Music, Politics, Social responsibility
View Ethics Case →Assessing the Ethics of Group Projects
Seryeong Jo, Kate Allison, Klair Allision, ages 17, TMI Episcopal School, San Antonio, Texas
Community obligations, Duty, Education, Fairness
View Ethics Case →Balancing Safety and Privacy: Parental Access to Children’s Social Media Accounts
Madison Shen, age 14, Harvard-Westlake School, San Marino, California
Parental rights, Privacy, Social media
View Ethics Case →Behind the Bikini: Who’s Accountable?
Avery Mangan and Sara Pierre, age 18, Allen D. Nease High School, Ponte Vedra, Florida
Community obligations, Entertainment, Mental health, Relationships, Social media
View Ethics Case →Cash Incentives
MSEB Case
Duty, Incentive programs, Kantian ethics, Marketing, Workplaces
View Ethics Case →Choices in the Workplace
MSEB Case
Careers, Community obligations, Duty, Family, Honesty, Professional ethics, Workplaces
View Ethics Case →Concert Conflict
MSEB Case
Freedom of speech, Friendship, Hate speech, Music, Social responsibility
View Ethics Case →Data Collection Ethics
Shawn Zhu, age 16, Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Privacy, Technology
View Ethics Case →Defacing Art as a Form of Protest
Claire Cherrill, age 15, Kent Place School, Summit, New Jersey
Art, Environmental ethics, Politics
View Ethics Case →Dining Out During a Pandemic
MSEB Case
Pandemic, Public health, Social responsibility
View Ethics Case →Ethnolinguistic Nationality
Kieran Batchelli-Hennessey, age 16, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco, California
Nationality, Politics
View Ethics Case →Evaluating Historical Figures Through a Contemporary Lens
Joonyoung Heo, age 16, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire
Authenticity, History, Value of human beings
View Ethics Case →Honesty v. Loyalty Among Friends
Sophia Galova, age 18, Langley High School, Langley, Virginia
Community obligations, Friendship, Honesty, Integrity, Loyalty, Relationships
View Ethics Case →How Public is Public Land?
Bella Welch, age 18, Ingraham High School, Seattle, Washington
Fairness, History, Integrity, Ownership, Public land
View Ethics Case →In it for the Likes
MSEB Case
Altruism, Authenticity, Motivation, Social media, Virtue ethics
View Ethics Case →Informed Consent in Survey Research
Daliya Rizvi, age 18, Langley High School, Langley, Virginia
Anonymity, Consent, Privacy, School ethics
View Ethics Case →Internet Use at School
MSEB Case
Education, Mental health, Privacy, School ethics, Surveillance
View Ethics Case →Is Euthanasia Ethical?
Mason Cheng, age 17, American Heritage Broward, Plantation, Florida
Autonomy, Death, Mental health, Public health
View Ethics Case →Is it Beneficial for Teachers to be Armed in School?
Tovah Leathersich, age 15, Uwharrie Charter School, Asheboro, North Carolina
Gun violence, Safety, School ethics
View Ethics Case →Is Note-Sharing in Class Unethical?
Crichton Rockwell, age 14, The Harker School, Los Gatos, California
Education, Honesty, Integrity, Ownership, Privacy, School ethics
View Ethics Case →Is Social Media a Good or Bad Thing?
Yu-Ming Liu, age 16, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, California
Community obligations, Mental health, Social media, Technology
View Ethics Case →Like, Study, and Share?
MSEB Case
Authenticity, Finances, Marketing, Social media, Social responsibility
View Ethics Case →Lock boxes in Schools: Solution to Cellphone Distraction or Infringement on Autonomy?
Charles Lugo, age 15, Staples High School, Westport, Connecticut
Education, Safety, School ethics, Student behavior, Technology
View Ethics Case →Meat Without Harm?
Ayushi Wadhwa, age 15, Kent Place School, Summit, New Jersey
Animal ethics, Food ethics, Technology
View Ethics Case →No More Teachers, No More Books
MSEB Case
Education, Pandemic, Public health, Utilitarianism
View Ethics Case →Number on the Scale
MSEB Case
Body image, Fairness, Mental health, School ethics, Sports ethics
View Ethics Case →Relying on Civilian Intelligence in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Zachary Lin, age 17, Huron High School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Military ethics, War
View Ethics Case →Respect for the Dead: Displaying Human Remains in a Museum
AKW, age 16, Ballard High School, Seattle, Washington
Bioethics, Consent, Museum ethics
View Ethics Case →Returning History: The Ethics of Artifact Repatriation
Juley Guan, age 16, American Heritage Broward, Plantation, Florida
Art, Colonialism, Museum ethics, Ownership
View Ethics Case →Revenge in Major League Baseball: Should MLB Issue Harsh Penalties for Beaning Batters?
Niall Rubin, age 12, Woodstock Union, Woodstock, Vermont
Justice, Sports ethics, Vigilantism
View Ethics Case →Scroll, Swipe, Sleep?
Lakshya Yadav, age 17 and Aarush Reddy Vurady, age17, Allen D. Nease High School, Saint Johns, Florida
Addiction, Mental health, Social media, Student behavior, Technology
View Ethics Case →Should Artists’ Ethics Affect Our Artistic Judgments?
Nikki Gao, age 16, Academy at Palumbo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aesthetics, Art, Gender inequality
View Ethics Case →Should Developing Countries Prioritize Economic Growth or Environmental Preservation?
Suvid Bordia, age 15, The Pingry School, Short Hills, New Jersey
Development ethics, Environmental ethics, Sustainability
View Ethics Case →Should Influencers be Sponsored by Businesses
Valerie Wang, age 14, Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, Texas
Integrity, Social media, Technology
View Ethics Case →Should Judges Be Active on Social Media?
Impartiality, Professional ethics, Social media
View Ethics Case →Should Science Media Have Political Stances?
Emma Zhang, age 17, Branham High School, San Jose, California, USA
Impartiality, Politics, Science ethics
View Ethics Case →Should the Military Recruit in Schools?
AKW, age 16, Ballard High School, Seattle, Washington
Autonomy, Military ethics, School ethics
View Ethics Case →Should We Watch True Crime Dramas?
Claire Cherrill, age 15, Kent Place School, Summit, New Jersey
Entertainment, Fairness, Injustice, Representation, Virtue ethics
View Ethics Case →The Benefits and Harms of Gene Editing
Prudence Frein, age 16, Haverford High School, Havertown, Pennsylvania
Bioethics, Public health, Technology
View Ethics Case →The Dress Dilemma
MSEB Case
Consumerism, Equity, Finances, Social responsibility, Virtue ethics
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of a Cashless Society
Sammy Lou, age 17, Trinity Preparatory School, Winter Park, Florida
Equity, Fairness, Justice, Technology
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of AI in Warfare
Agnut Asfir, age 17, River Islands High School, Lathrop, California
AI, Military ethics, Professional ethics, Technology, War
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of Fast Fashion
Henry Russell, age 14, Tandem Friends School, Charlottesville, Virginia
Consumerism, Environmental ethics, Fast fashion
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of Favoring Donor Families in College Admissions
Sehwan Park, age 17, Saint Paul Preparatory, Seoul, Republic of Korea
College admissions, Discrimination, Education, Equity, Impartiality
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of Private College Advisors
Chloe Archibald, age 15, Ramaz Upper School, New York, New York
College admissions, Education, Equity
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of Tipping
Mason Cheng, age 17, American Heritage, Plantation, Florida
Consumerism, Fairness, Finances, Tipping
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of Unintentional Wrongs
Keane Miller, age 12, The Evergreen School, Shoreline, Washington
Bystanders, Community obligations, Loyalty, Offensive jokes
View Ethics Case →The Ethics of Using Facial Recognition Technology
Jennifer Tang, age 15, Huron High School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Discrimination, Privacy, Surveillance, Technology
View Ethics Case →The Final Semester
MSEB Case
Honesty, Inappropriate videos, School ethics, Student behavior
View Ethics Case →The Invasive Species Plan
MSEB Case
Animal ethics, Environmental ethics, Utilitarianism
View Ethics Case →Throwing Stones at a Plastic House
Lily Simmer, age 17 and Sanjana Kamalraj, age 17, Allen D. Nease High School, Ponte Vedra, Florida
Social media, Social responsibility
View Ethics Case →Using AI in the Classroom
Avi Skuben, age 13, Astra Nova School
AI, Education, Equity, School ethics, Technology
View Ethics Case →Web Proxies in Schools
Julien Bryzek, age 15, Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro, New Jersey
Education, Equity, School ethics, Technology
View Ethics Case →