UIW Ethics Bowl Team Qualifies for National Competition

The University of the Incarnate Word Ethics Bowl team finished in fourth place out of 16 teams in the Texas Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, a regional competition of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE). Their win in the competition qualified them to compete in the APPE’s national tournament at its annual conference this spring.

The APPE is a non-profit organization "dedicated to advancing scholarship, education, and practice in practical and professional ethics,” according to the association’s website. Its annual Ethics Bowl competition provides a unique, collaborative experience for undergraduate students who ultimately leave with valuable educational experience in practical and professional ethics.

As part of the competition, teams receive case files from the APPE office that present several broad ethical situations. The teams then analyze the cases and research the ethical dilemmas presented. During the event, a moderator questions the competitors about the case files to gauge the team’s understanding of the ethical dilemmas. Teams are then rated on their “intelligibility, focus on ethically relevant considerations, avoidance of ethical irrelevance, and deliberative thoughtfulness.”

“Being part of the Ethics Bowl team has always been a great experience, both to get to know people and to expand my critical thinking,” shared Carla Verver y Vargas, the team's researcher.

Including Verver y Vargas, the UIW team is composed of six student competitors, plus a student researcher who does not compete (Verver y Vargas), and a faculty member who serves as the team advisor. The team’s competing members include Baylor Frandsen (junior Biology student), Isabella Ortiz (freshman Biology student), Victor Torres (junior Biochemistry student), Beni Resendiz (junior Communication Arts student), Abraham Rivas (junior Business Administration student) and Nathan Smith (junior Biology student). Dr. Christopher Edelman, professor of Philosophy in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, serves as the team advisor.

Of the team’s performance, Edelman said, “As you can see, they represent four schools and a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. [We are] very proud of all of them. We put a lot of hard work over the last two and a half months, meeting two to three times per week, often after dinner, to research the cases and develop positions and presentations.”

“The Ethics Bowl has helped shape me into a better public speaker and critical thinker,” team member Beni Resendez shared. “I recommend Ethics Bowl to any student who is looking to challenge themselves while having fun at the same time.”

The top 36 teams from the regional competitions will advance to the APPE national competition held in Portland, Oregon March 2-5, 2023.