A group from the The Stute was just named “Most Ethical Team at Stevens” after competing in the 2015 Ethics Bowl, co-hosted by both the Gear and Triangle Society and the Honor Board this past Wednesday, November 18. Students from various organizations came together to discuss ethical issues on topics such as military use of force against civilians and proving U.S. aid to foreign aid. Six teams worked hard to prove clear comprehensible arguments, but in the end only one team could hold the title of “Most Ethical Team at Stevens.”
As teams, judges, and moderators gathered together in Morton 103, there were hums of anxiety and preparation building up among the participants. Whispers of strategy and methods filled the air as jokes of “forfeiting” floated in the background. All teams were given the prompts beforehand but were unaware of which order the prompts would be presented to them. All judges were given the prompts ahead of time and scoring sheets to provide point values for each team’s performance. Members of the Honor Board served as judges and designed prompts for the competition. Stevens faculty also participated to be judges at the Bowl, including Professor Middleton, Professor Mullan, and Professor McCormack.
Six teams participated in the competition including The Stute, Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, three teams from Off Center, and one team named the Unethical Ethicalists. The competition took place in several locations, including Morton 103, Jacobus Lounge, and Hayden Lounge. In each room there were three judges, one moderator, and two teams competing against one another. All judges were also given the prompt ahead of time and given scoring sheets to provide point values for each team’s performance.
For each case, one team was given one minute to read the prompt, one minute to discuss and come up with an argument, and three minutes to make an opening argument. The opposing team was then given one minute to discuss with their team members and two minutes to present their rebuttal. The initial team was given one minute to make their final remarks. The judges were then provided four minutes to ask questions and two minutes to give scores.
Overall, the teams worked together and depended on each other for support and arguments before presenting. Judges asked complex questions, bringing up issues such as the current state of Syria and the idea that many military targets are placed within civilian regions. The teams recognized the complexity of the question, as many of their responses emphasized that these issues are not black and white and many decisions need to be made based on context.
“[…] The purpose of the Ethics Bowl is to promote ethical decision making and fierce competition,” said Jane Cruz, the Honor Chair of The Gear and Triangle Society and organizer for this year’s Ethics Bowl. “It is great to see students break away from the everyday Stevens student norm of solving technical problems…and be so passionate about partaking in a debate and present the best argument possible for the case studies provided.”
Following the first place team from The Stute, which included members Sankee Maringanti, Christian Chiu, Namankita Rana, and David Ovsiew, was Unethical Ethicalists and Off Center in second and third place, respectively. The Ethics Bowl served as a rather intellectual event that illustrated how Stevens students can think on their feet, defend their opinions, and stop to consider major ethical issues happening around the world.
