The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship, organized by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), saw the Oakland University Ethics Bowl make history by besting previous school records on Feb. 25. The team placed 17th nationally, beating big-name schools such as Tufts University and Yale University.
Before the competition, members of APPE write cases that focus on complex ethical dilemmas. Teams are provided with the cases in advance of the tournament and are tasked with preparing ethical solutions to the dilemmas.
Over spring break, OU’s Ethics Bowl team made the trip to Cincinnati, Ohio for the annual championship event. Lisa Campbell coached the six-person team, comprised of OU students John Rubarth, Ethan Pemberton, Payton Bucki, Calla Bazinski, Abigail David and Erika Luft.
Oakland’s National Championship appearance was the product of months of preparation. Following the team’s regional win at the 2023 Central States competition in November, the students spent the first half of the winter semester building their cases for the national competition.
‘For nationals, we are given 17 cases that we have to prepare,” Bazinski said. “We are only able to bring six people who can compete at a time, we have to do work on two to three cases as the primary quarterback, then six more as additional work.”
In the time before the IEB national championship, the team juggled practice, intense university work and other extracurricular activities.
“Personally, I had to take on three cases as the quarterback or the main person would be presenting the case,” Bazinski said. “I had to do three backgrounds. For myself, my strong suit is when we have to do commentary for the other team. I’ve always been a huge debate person.”
For these traits to shine, the team had to get past the nerves that come with being in a high-pressure environment.
“The national championship was actually very nerve-racking,” Bazinski said. “My case, that I was the main quarterback and point-person on, was called. I was very nervous about it. Not only was this the first round of nationals, but this was a case that I had to completely rewrite about two weeks before nationals. Even then, I was very proud of the presentation that I provided.”
The Ethics Bowl team is always looking to expand. After placing the highest it ever has on the national stage, the OU team finds plenty of reasons for other students to join.
“One of the really important things with Ethics Bowl is that it gives a lot of exposure to philosophy that doesn’t necessarily require taking courses,” Bazinski said. “You get a lot of frameworks that are applicable to a bunch of different dilemmas you face every day.”
Driving that point home, Bazinski views knowledge in ethics and philosophy to be traits that are highly valued by employers.
“Critical thinking is the main skill that is needed for most jobs,” Bazinski said. “You need to be able to critically think about situations, look at it from a bunch of different angles and come up with a solution. Many people are realizing that philosophy is one of the best ways to train that. Ethics Bowl is a really great way to dip your toes in the water.”
The Ethics Bowl team is currently in the process of recruiting team members for the 2024-25 school year. Those interested in trying out for the OU Ethics Bowl team can email John Rubarth, the club’s president, at [email protected].
