Ethics Bowl Team Places Fifth in Nation
February 29, 2008OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University’s Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team tied for fifth in the nation at the national Ethics Bowl competition last week in San Antonio.
The competition, which was held Feb. 22, featured the top 32 Ethics Bowl teams in the nation. WSU qualified for the national competition by winning the Wasatch Front Regional Ethics Bowl last November.
After going undefeated in the morning qualifying rounds, the WSU squad fell to Wright State University in the quarterfinals. This marks the second year in a row, and third time in five years, that an Ethics Bowl team from WSU has finished among the top eight schools in the nation.
This year’s Ethics Bowl squad featured team captain Brooke Robison, a junior philosophy and music major from Layton; junior Jacob Kunzler, a philosophy and psychology major from Willard; senior Eric Pope, an English and philosophy major from Ogden; and senior Mark Walker, a sociology and philosophy major from Ogden.
More than 100 colleges and universities nationwide participate in Ethics Bowl competitions featuring teams of three to five members. Several weeks before a competition, squads are given 10-15 cases to prepare involving moral dilemmas (e.g. the Ku Klux Klan wants to join the adopt-a-highway program). At competition, teams compete head-to-head with a moderator asking each team a question about one of the scenarios. They have 10 minutes to craft a response followed by a series of rebuttals by both teams. A panel of judges evaluates and scores each team’s performance, drilling team members regarding their positions. The teams then reverse roles with a new case and question.
Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
Contact: Richard Greene, Ethics Bowl faculty sponsor and coach
801-626-7177 · rgreene@weber.edu