**SJSU Ethics Bowl Team Wins Regional Competition--On to Finals in Ohio!!
From our coach, Professor Rita Manning:"The Ethics Bowl won first place at the regional competition in Chico California. It was a nailbiter of a day. We won 2 of our 3 morning rounds, then we ate a quick lunch across the street, while waiting to see if we'd made it into the semi-finals. I discovered that it's hard to eat and hold your breath at the same time. All the students got a chance to either present or rebut, but as we approached the final round, Cassandra got more and more nervous because she still hadn't done one. Well, her moment came when she got to present the case about banning coal and she pulled out all the stops. I knew we were in good shape when the other team's coach leaned over and said "pretty impressive". All of the team did a great job--Hiram was cool, calm and collected. Duy defended the Sea Shepards with firm grace. Aaron stuck to his guns even when it was clear that 2 out of 3 judges disagreed with him. Fiza defended pregnant athletes with righteous indignation. James rocked the vote with his case about compulsory voting and clinched the semi-final. All in all, I couldn't be more proud of them. So it's on to the finals in Cincinnati!"
The Philosophy Department at San Jose State has sponsored an Ethics Bowl team for the past seven years. The Ethics Bowl is a national program sponsored by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, which is a group composed of academics and professionals from a wide variety of fields. (See their web site: APPE
) Each year the national competition hosts approximately 40 student teams from colleges around the country. Modeled on television’s College Bowl, the Ethics Bowl requires students to analyze difficult ethical problems drawn from practical and professional contexts.
This past year's cases included cases in Business Ethics, Legal Ethics, International Law, Health Care Ethics, Ethics in Education, and Ethics in Policing. Students present and defend their solutions to these problems in response to questions asked by judges in a format that closely resembles a debate. They compete with other schools from around the country and are judged on their understanding of the issues, the cogency of their solutions, and the strength of their oral presentations. Participation in the Ethics Bowl will enhance your educational experience as you develop research skills, skills in philosophical, political and legal analysis, and communication skills.
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