December 6, 2023
Oakland University recently captured first place at the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl, defeating teams from 16 other schools to earn a spot at the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in February.
Each year, a total of 36 teams qualify for national competition. OU’s ethics bowl team has now qualified for nationals nine times in its 20-year history, including four out of the last five years.
The Central States Regional Ethics Bowl took place on November 18 at Marian University in Indianapolis. The teams debated a range of issues, including book banning, true crime entertainment, the Barnes museum relocation in Philadelphia, the difficulty of maintaining traditional academic standards in higher education, the ethics of outer space travel, and corporate environmental and social governance policies.
During competition, teams were awarded points based on the breadth and quality of their arguments, as well as their ability to respond to opposing viewpoints. Oakland scored 143.5 points, claiming first place by a 10.5-point margin and besting 23 teams, including flagship (University of Chicago) and Ivy League (Cornell University) competition.
OU students prepared for the regional competition by researching case studies, identifying the central moral issue of each case, formulating arguments and writing and practicing their speeches. They were tasked with preparing to debate nine cases, without knowing which ones would be selected for competition.
“This team was unique because we had nine members, which allowed us to field two teams in the regional competition,” said OU Ethics Bowl President John Rubarth. “Having a larger group during writing and practicing allowed everyone to be more prepared for competition. We also had a strong core of returning members who understood what it would take to win.”
Each OU team debated three cases. Oakland’s second team was composed of “rookie” members, who had never competed in an ethics bowl tournament prior to regionals. The rookie team turned in a solid performance, finishing 11th out of 24 teams.
“The regional competition was intense, but we prepared our cases well and were familiar with our philosophical frameworks,” said Danielle Taylor, who competed on the rookie team. “Although we are all new, training with Oakland's more experienced team really challenged us, which made competition a breeze.”
According to fellow rookie Abigail David, ethics bowl helps students cultivate skills such as oratory, open-mindedness and organization. Participating in ethics bowl has also helped David apply her classroom knowledge to real-life situations.
“Before ethics bowl, I struggled with memorizing philosophers and their theories, but applying them to my cases gave me hands-on experience and I now know so much more than I did before,” said the sophomore philosophy major. “I also knew it would be a great experience to help me with my future career as a lawyer because a lot of the skills I learned can be applied to that field, not just to ethics bowl.”
Oakland will send one six-member team to compete at the 2024 National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Cincinnati.
“The format will be the same as the regional competition, but we will need to prepare twice as many speeches in about half the time,” Rubarth said. “We have a very strong team this year and are excited for the challenge and opportunity.”
Open to students of all majors, OU’s Ethics Bowl team is hosted by the Department of Philosophy and receives generous support from many offices across the university. To learn more about the team, contact Lisa Campbell at llcampbe@faithfulwebdesign.net.