Editor's Note: For several weeks, students in the Get and Give Program learned about and discussed the ethics of journalism, which included lessons about the history and importance of a free press; the rights and responsibilities of journalists; the limits of this freedom under U.S. law; and the potential legal consequences for violating those limits.

Recently, the students were given a FICTIONAL scenario to debate and write about:
A newspaper reporter is given a tip that a professional baseball player was seen screaming at a fan who asked for an autograph. The reporter printed the information, but it turned out not to be true.  The baseball player sues the reporter. What should the outcome of the case be?

"I think the reporter should win because he just wrote what a person told him. Also, if the baseball player was innocent, he wouldn't have to sue no one. I also think the reporter should win because it wasn't his fault."  - Jasenry

"I think the reporter should go to court, because he shouldn't have been listening to people. The baseball player should win because he didn't scream, and some guy just started spreading rumors. The baseball player will win because it isn't true. The reporter doesn't know if it's true or not, so he shouldn't claim it." - Jeremiah

"I think the reporter shouldn't get in trouble, because he got that rumor from a person on the street, who I think should go to court because he is the guy who told the rumor. He is the one who told the lie…. So I think the guy who said the rumor should get sued." -Brayam

"I think that the reporter should get in trouble because he should not be telling lies about somebody, especially about the person you told the rumor to. That is why I think that the reporter should get in trouble." - Donavin

"I don't believe the reporter should get in trouble, because, from the way I'm hearing the story, the reporter's doing nothing wrong. He was told by someone that the reporter was yelling at a fan, and from the reporter's point of view, it sounds true. That's probably why he put it in the newspaper. I think the baseball player is yelling at the reporter because he knows the one who wrote it in the newspaper, but what he don't know is who came up with the rumor." - Emily Calderon

"Yes, I think the reporter should get in trouble because he was the one who told everybody and put it in the newspaper. Also, the reporter should be in court because he opened his mouth. The baseball player should defend himself, and blame the reporter." - Brian

"Yes, I think the reporter should get in trouble, because he doesn't really know if that was true or not. I think the reporter should be in trouble because he should not have listened to people off the streets." - Demetrius

"I think that the reporter should get in trouble, because I know he probably made an error, but he did an error on a famous person. I think he should get fired. If I were the baseball player, I would have sued him. The reporter had no right to write that." - Jose

"The reporter should get in trouble because it's his fault he wrote it. Even if people think that it the guy's fault, he still should have found out so that's not really the crazy guy's [person spreading the rumor] fault. If the reporter would have found out if it was really true, I would have thought he should not get in trouble. I think it would have been better if he just really asked the truth." - Dada

"I think the baseball player should win, because he had been accused of yelling at a fan and it was not true. The baseball player actually did not do anything bad. I think the reporter should get in trouble. I think the reporter should be asking a person that the baseball player doesn't know. I also think also think the reporter should be asking the baseball player.

I think the reporter should have used his ears and eyes to see and hear what actually happened. I don't think the reporter shouldn't ask a man who lived in the same neighborhood." - Amberly

“I think the reporter should win, because somebody told him that the baseball player yelled [at the fan]. A reporter should always tell the truth." - Ebony

"The reporter will win because the man lied, and the reporter didn't." - Aylan

"The reporter will win because he did not make it up. Someone told him a lie and he did not know. So the reporter wins, and the baseball player loses, even if he's a famous person." - Tia

"The reporter will lose, because he lied to the baseball player. The baseball player should win, because he didn't lie to the reporter." - Joslaine

"The baseball player should win, because the reporter lied and the man or woman who told the reporter does not even know if that's true." - John

" The reporter will lose because that was a lie, but the reporter doesn't really know if that's true, because somebody told him that, so that could be true or false." - Helena