Discussing the “ethically right thing to do” has earned six University of Central Florida students a spot at the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl.
This is the third consecutive year that UCF has earned a spot at the national competition, which will be held in March in Cincinnati.
The team of UCF Burnett Honors College students recently placed second in the Southeast Regional bowl, beating teams from 22 other schools, including the University of Florida, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the United States Naval Academy.
“The success of our students is evidenced not just by their high placement in the competition but most importantly by their exceptional research for, argumentation about and presentations on the ethics cases,” said Nancy Stanlick, associate professor and assistant chair in the Department of Philosophy.
During the regional bowl, the UCF team debated a variety of moral dilemmas, ranging from the need for objectivity in journalism and Facebook privacy policies to Americans’ duty to vote and the legal issues children of illegal immigrants face.
All of the team members are Burnett Honors College students, and five of the six are enrolled in the Case Studies in Ethics honors course. Team members include Alexander Kaplan, a senior Philosophy major; Jessica Fears, a junior Economic major; Stephen Oldham, a junior Philosophy and Political Science major; Kevin Dupree, a senior Humanities major; Ramon Lopez, a senior Political Science major; and Catherine Perrault, a senior Molecular Biology major.
The team is coached by Stanlick, Michael Strawser, an assistant professor of Philosophy, and Madi Dogariu, director of Student Services at The Burnett Honors College.
The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl began as a small intramural program at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1993. Since then, it has expanded into a national competition that develops students’ intellectual abilities, deepens their ethical understanding and reinforces their sense of ethical commitment.