Students Compete in Regional Ethics Bowl

Five students traveled to Maryland to debate controversial ethical issues

In a time when the cacophony of differing opinions is almost deafening—figuratively and literally—members of Sacred Heart’s ethics debate team competed to bring important ethical issues to light.

Five SHU students traveled to Salisbury, MD, in November to participate in the Northeast Regional Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. The event is a competition in which undergraduate students debate current ethical issues.

Students gained a number of skills from this opportunity, said Ono Ekeh, associate professor and coach of the ethics team. “The students learned to master many of the nuances of contemporary social, cultural and political issues. They also had the opportunity to analyze these issues and critically present reasoned, ethical arguments that represented both sides of the ethical dilemma in question,” said Ekeh.

The team comprised seniors Laila McGeorge, Victoria Delphia, Nicholas Leo and Jessica Wade, as well as junior Samantha Curran. They competed in three rounds, debating open-source medical devices, having children in the midst of climate-change threats and decency laws against public urination and defecation.

When the debate began, competitors were assigned one of 15 possible issues, after which they had two minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to present. A series of responses and rebuttals from both teams followed. Participating schools included Tufts University, Villanova University, West Point Military Academy, Northeastern University, Boston College and Marist College, among others.

“Our students did a great job in all three rounds, and I very was proud of them. It was a great opportunity for the students to engage with their peers about some of the most pressing issues society faces. They learned how to verbally present their ideas with clarity and poise under pressure, and their arguments were compelling. Laila, Nick, Tori and Jess are graduating seniors, and we would like to thank them for being stellar ambassadors for the SHU community,” said Ekeh.

From left are Jessica Wade, Samantha Curran, Laila McGeorge, Victoria Delphia and Nicholas Leo.