2006 Indiana University Ethics Bowl Team Looks to Continue History of Excellence
Hoping to repeat its recent successes, the Indiana University Ethics Bowl Team is preparing to compete in the Twelth Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition on March 2nd in Jacksonville, Florida. The new team has been assembled and will begin practicing in earnest this January, sponsored again by the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions.
This year's team members are: Amy Payne, a junior majoring in Psychology; Megan Robb, a sophomore in English and India Studies; Neil Shah, a freshman majoring in Mathematics, Finance, and Accounting; Laura Williams, a senior majoring in journalism and political science; and Emma Young, a sophomore majoring in Classics and Religious Studies. The faculty director is Richard B. Miller, Director of the Poynter Center and Professor of Religious Studies. The coach is Mark Wilson, a doctoral student in Religious Studies and a research assistant at the Poynter Center.
The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition is presented 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 day-long competition is held each year as a
method of involving students in viewing difficult situations from a variety
of perspectives. The competition is in conjunction with the annual meeting
of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
The forty 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.
In the past three years, the IU Ethics Bowl teams have placed within the top four in the nation, taking the national championship in 2004 and making it to the finals and semifinals in 2003 and 2005, respectively. Here's to another year of academic, personal, and professional excellence.