Essay --

Fantasia Goodwin is junior at the University of Syracuse and a starter for the varsity women’s basketball team. Fantasia finds herself in a precarious situation upon learning she is pregnant during the 2007 basketball season. Faced with many uncertainties, Fantasia encounters what is undoubtedly one of the biggest ethical dilemmas she has faced thus far in her life. There are many layers to her dilemma and they all need to be carefully taken into consideration. In order to help Fantasia make an informed decision she must first identify all of the ethical issues surrounding her pregnancy and the cause-effect relationship they will certainly have. First and foremost if she remains silent and continues to play through the season she faces the consequences of potentially damaging her unborn baby to the extent of birth defects, injuring herself and/or miscarrying. On a tertiary level, Fantasia is also faced with the consequences that disclosing her pregnancy could bring, such as, losing her scholarship, losing her eligibility, losing her position on the team and/or being pressured to abort the baby. Stakeholders in which Fantasia must take into consideration before making an informed decision include Fantasia. As the mother of the baby she is the primary stakeholder in this situation. The decision she makes could potentially have profound effects on the outcome of her future. The Syracuse department of athletics, teammates, the University of Syracuse and other Universities team members should be taken into consideration. Finally, regardless whether or not the father is involved in the decision making process, consideration of his thoughts and feelings must be given proper attention in this matter. Before a final decision ... ...thletes that became pregnant. Syracuse University at the time did not have guidelines nor did they have their female athletes sign any formal documentation to the effect of mandatory disclosure or a promissory note indicating scholarship funding would be pulled as a result of pregnancy. However, also in 2007 a track and field star from Clemson University set the stage for many Universities to address and add provisions as it pertained to pregnancy. Clemson University did have their female athletes sign promissory notes indicating funding and eligibility would be suspended as a result of pregnancy. Upon learning that their track and field star was pregnant her scholarship funding ended immediately as did her place on the team. Interestingly enough, there are absolutely no guidelines for male athletes that are fathers and this disparity has yet to be addressed.

A heroic Act

It began to rain as he pitched the last mound of soil onto the boy's grave. He let the shovel slip from his hands and fall on the earth beneath his boots. Picking up the boy's bag which he had found with a clay jar that had been smashed into pieces near the boy, he looked at the contents and stared at them for a while, remembering what had occurred which seemed only moments ago†¦The boy’s name was Kaj. He was an orphan. His parents died at the hands of some forest bandits while delivering baby wolf skins to the Pronteran Marketplace. His father used to hunt for their meals, now only he was left to do the job for himself and his little sister, Chala.A small bag hung across the skinny lad’s shoulder as he walked across the forest clearing. He knelt by the river and opened his bag. A look of sadness showed on his face as he looked at what he would be bringing home for supper, a few small carrots he had found in a rabbit’s hole, some herbs he gathered from plant s, and an apple.He took out the only other item in the bag, a clay jar. He filled up the jar with water from the pool before bending down to take a drink himself. Carrying the jar in one hand while slipping the bag across the other hand’s shoulder, Kaj stood up and proceeded on his way. Preoccupied with his burden both on his hands and in his heart, the boy failed to notice a thin, dry piece of wood that was lying on his path.CRACK!The sound of the branch breaking beneath his bare foot was more audible than what would have been normal. It was a terrifying shout that commanded ancient powers into reality. As the old forest saying went, â€Å"It is bad luck to step on dead branches†.â€Å"The boy is not a match for you, as you are not one for me.† The knight’s voice was calm and stern, â€Å"Come on, I’ve been itching for a fight.†A burst of steam came out of each of the horned figure’s huge, ringed nostrils. With eyes of livid anger it raised its sight above the figure of the frightened child and looked straight in the eyes of the armored warrior on top of a heavily feathered PecoPeco.â€Å"You will die today, insolent meatling!† It growled ferociously, slapping the form of Kaj away with the back of its massive left hand to make room as he slowly walked towards Blueberry.As the distance between them shortened, the minorous charged at the knight. Blueberry stood defiant as the huge creature lunged at him with its great hammer. In a rush of anger and fury, the hammer smashed against the side of the knight, drawing a brief smile from the creature’s face which almost instantly changed to a look of fear and disbelief as it saw Blueberry’s great steel shield holding the blow of it’s hammer without so much as a dent.The sudden shock of the minorous prevented it from seeing its opponents other hand pierce a frost-tipped spear through the armor of its hide and passed its brutish heart. The knig ht’s weapon continued its assault, pushing through every sinew until its tip emerged from the creature’s back, burying the entire arm of its wielder with its shaft deep in minorous flesh.With the minorous hanging lifeless at the length of his ice pike, Blueberry withdrew his weapon from the creature, letting the brute fall heavily on the bloodstained grass. Pandora sat down at her master’s whim, as the knight’s free hand reached for the ring between the dead creature’s nostrils and pulled it out.Blueberry looked at the dull silvered piece of jewelry for an instant before throwing it at the direction of the still prostrate form of the boy.â€Å"You can stand up now. You might want to sell that thing in Prontera.† he called out.

I Had A Pretty Normal Childhood - 837 Words

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