IU Ethics Bowl teams take first, second place in regionals
The first year Indiana University sent two teams to the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl, they returned with first and second place wins.
The teams competed against 24 teams from 14 other schools Nov. 1 at Marian University in Indianapolis.
“It was very gratifying and exciting to see IU once again bring home an Ethics Bowl trophy,” said Emma Young, who coaches the team and is program manager at IU’s Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, which sponsors the teams. “While I felt confident that our students would bring a lot of thoughtfulness to the competition, with a largely rookie team this year and short prep season, I never expected that both our teams would place so highly.”
The teams discussed cases ranging from public shaming as punishment to Haitian demands for cholera reparations.
Based on the two teams’ scores, Indiana University was named the regional first place winner and will be one of four Central States schools to select and send a single team to the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competition in Costa Mesa, California, Feb. 22. The regional and national programs are sponsored by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
“The national competition will involve an even higher caliber of teams from around the country, and we will have barely over a month to prepare 15 new cases,” Young said. “Our challenge will be to develop as much depth, nuance and diversity of perspective as possible.”