IU ETHICS BOWL TEAM WINS REGIONAL COMPETITION

The Indiana University Poynter Center Ethics Bowl team included: Neil Shah;Sam Ross; Megan Robb; Andrew Hahn; and Emma Young. Robert Crouch (standing next to Emma), a research assistant at the Poynter Center is the coasch and Sandra Shapshay (not shown) from Philosophy is the faculty sponsor for 2007-08.

Photo by Glenda Murray.

The Indiana University Ethics Bowl team, sponsored by the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, won the fall 2007 regional competition and earned the opportunity to compete in the national competition.

The Ethics Bowl team members are:

  • Andrew Hahn, a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Ethics
  • Megan Robb, a senior majoring in English and India Studies
  • Sam Ross, a senior majoring in Political Science and English
  • Neil Shah, a junior majoring in Mathematics, Finance, and Economics
  • Emma Young, a senior majoring in Religious Studies

            Robert Crouch, a research assistant at the Poynter Center, is the coach and Sandra Shapshay from Philosophy is the faculty sponsor for 2007-08. Young is competing in her fourth national Ethics Bowl, and Shah and Robb are competing for the third year in their university careers. 

    The Central States Regional Ethics Bowl Competition, which included 14 teams, was held Saturday November 10 at Marian College in Indianapolis. Winners from the regional will compete in the national competition February 21, 2008 in San Antonio in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. DePauw University Team I and Wright State University Team I placed second and third in the regional and will also be attending the national competition.

            The competition is presented annually by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The competition is a method of involving students in viewing difficult situations from a variety of perspectives.

            In the regional, each team competed in three matches. At the national competition, the 32 participating teams compete in three rounds in the morning. The teams are given thirteen complex ethical and policy cases to study in advance of the competition, though they are not told what questions they will be asked about any case. For each match, one team is required to present a view on a case and then respond to questions from the opposing team and judges. Then the roles are reversed, and the opposing team presents an argument surrounding a case, after which they respond to questions. Teams are evaluated at the end of each match for the quality of their arguments, responses, and counter-responses. The top eight teams advance to the quarterfinals, which are held in the evening. The IU teams usually score high enough to compete in the quarterfinals.