IU-Bloomington won first place in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl this month, hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, according to an IU news release.
The Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions has sponsored a team of four to six students at IU-Bloomington since 2001.
This year, two teams were sponsored to allow more students to compete in the Ethics Bowl.
The teams took home first and second place among 24 teams. The teams came from 14 colleges and universities.
The IU-Bloomington teams debated the ethics involved in Haiti’s government demanding reparations following the introduction of cholera into Haiti by ?peacekeepers.
They also debated the use of untouched photos of Lena Dunham published on the prominent feminist website Jezebel, the use of public shaming as a means of punishment and more.
IU will be one of four central states schools admitted to the National Ethics Bowl in 2015, according to the University.
The National Ethics Bowl will take place in Costa Mesa, Calif., and is sponsored by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
The bowl occurs in conjunction with the association’s annual meeting.
Each school that qualifies can only send one team to the National Ethics Bowl. Since IU sent two teams to regionals, participants will be re-interviewed to select which team will represent IU at nationals.
The Ethics Bowl format relies on civil dialogue and on analysis of real world problems.
Students who participate in ethics bowls gain skills in analysis, moral reasoning and engaging with different viewpoints, according to the University.
Grant Manon, a senior ?finance major, brought experience to the team, com peting in his fourth Ethics Bowl.
The six remaining IU students competed in the Ethics Bowl for the first time. They included Radhika Agarwal, a senior in biochemistry and biology; Shayna Goldsmith, a junior in studio art; John Hanks, a sophomore in economics, mathematics and philosophy; Ali Henke, a sophomore in political science and chemistry; Nikhil Nandu, a freshman in finance and management; and Rafal Swiatkowski, a senior in religious studies, sociology and Germanic studies.
The second Indiana team was made up of Manon, Agarwal, Goldsmith and Swiatkowski. The first was Hanks, Henke and Nandu.
The students met as a group during the weeks prior to the competition, ?according to the University.
The Ethics Bowl teams are led by head coach Joe Bartzel, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Religious Studies.
Anna Hyzy
