By Fatima Salinas
The University of Iowa Ethics Bowl Team took first place out of 20 competing teams at the Upper Midwest Regional Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Competition hosted by the University of Chicago.
In February, the team competed in the national competition with the top 36 teams in the country. The team is awaiting their overall ranking.
The Ethics Bowl is organized by the Association of Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) and is a debate-style competition where college teams analyze and discuss complex ethical issues, present reasoned arguments, and respond to questions from judges and other teams.
The team included five competing members and two noncompeting members, who are CLAS students majoring in physics, chemistry, political science, ethics and public policy, and more.
“This is the first year that the University of Iowa’s ethics bowl team has existed and competed,” said Casey Scott, a philosophy graduate student co-coach for the team, said. “In just a few months, we were able to take on monoliths in our region at our regional competition in Chicago.”
Second-year physics and chemistry student Arissa Khan is the president and founder of the UI Ethics Bowl team.
“The discussions we were able to have been incredibly enlightening, and we met some amazing coaches and students from across the Midwest,” Khan said
Leila Assadi, a second-year student majoring in economics and political science, participated alongside Khan. Assadi was one of the founding members of her high school’s ethics bowl team and went to high school with Khan,
“Because of the amazing experiences I had then, I wanted to continue Ethics Bowl at the competing level,” Assadi said. “Arissa Khan and I worked together to bring it to life at the University of Iowa.”
Additionally, Assadi talked about the importance of studies and events like the ethics bowl and about the opportunities it gives students.
“Philosophy is needed no matter what someone is majoring in or what field they work in, so Ethics Bowl provides a lot of relevant life skills,” Assadi said.
“Additionally, this is a unique organization that has allowed us to build strong relationships with graduate students and the philosophy department.”
Scott shared his excitement and gratitude to the team. Sharing about their work and what this win means for them.
“Michael and I are incredibly proud of the undergraduate competitors who have worked so hard to make this team as great as it has been this season,” Scott said. “We hope to continue this winning streak next year and encourage other undergraduates that are interested in participating in the Ethics Bowl to reach out to us to learn more.”