Ethics Bowl Team Places Second at Regional Competition

The University of Rochester Collegiate Ethics Bowl team took second place at the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl Competition on Saturday, Feb. 19. The event was hosted by Union College and organized by Rochester alumnus and Union College visiting assistant professor Michael Mathias, who received his doctorate in philosophy from Rochester in 1998.

Rochester’s team, coached by Professor of Philosophy Randall Curren and philosophy doctoral student Andrew Cullison, was composed of Patrick Brennan ’05, Ethan Craig ’05, Danielle Friedman ’05, Tim O’Brien ’06, and team captain, Lewis Powell ’05, all philosophy majors at the University.

The Collegiate Ethics Bowl provides a format for intensive work in ethical case analysis and discussion. Teams receive a set of 12 to 15 detailed case descriptions to study in advance on such topics as plagiarism, gun control, free speech, or healthcare. In each round of competition, the two teams facing each other present and critique each other’s analyses. Judges score the teams based on the quality of ethical understanding and reasoning.

The University Ethics Bowl team was awarded a plaque that will be displayed in the Department of Philosophy’s Lewis White Beck Memorial Library in Lattimore Hall.

About the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

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