|
Each year members of the Villanova undergraduate
community participate in a national intercollegiate ethics competition involving
36 colleges and universities. Beginning in the Spring of 2000 Villanova has
sent teams of four and/or five students to represent the University. We have
done quite well each time we have gone.
The Ethics Bowl centers around 15 cases that are
distributed to the teams six weeks prior to the event which always takes place
the last Thursday of February, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the
Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. There is a morning series of
rounds in which each team competes against three other teams. The points
accumulated during the morning round are computed, with the top eight teams left
to compete in a "sudden death" series of rounds in the evening.
The Ethics Program hosts the northeast regional
Ethics Bowl competition on Saturday, November 10, 2007
Colleges and universities across the United States and throughout the world
are invited to enter teams of undergraduate students in the Intercollegiate
Ethics Bowl which is overseen by the Association for Practical and Professional
Ethics (APPE).
The Ethics Bowl is a team competition that combines the excitement and fun of a
competitive game with an innovative approach to education in practical and
professional ethics. Thirty-two teams will be selected from regional Ethics
Bowls. Villanova is hosting the northest regional Ethics Bowl on November 10,
2007. The judges and teams will meet in Connelly Center at 7:30 am on
Saturday, with the morning rounds to be held in SAC 110, 210, 310, 410, and the
Honors Seminar Room. The semi-final rounds in the afternoon will be held in B
1001 and B 1002, with the final round in the Cinema of the Connelly Center. The
winning teams of the regional events will compete on the national level at the
APPE annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, on February 21, 2008.
Villanova’s team has been coached by Drs. Mark Doorley and Darlene Weaver .
Villanova Team (Requirements & Instructions)
Requirements
The Villanova team is composed of four or five
students who emerge from a selection process that begins with an open call for
nominations from the University Faculty, in all the colleges. We look for
students who have taken ETH 2050, as A&S and C&F sophomores typically have, or
who have taken other courses that provide the student with sufficient
theoretical background.
The nominated students are contacted and an information
meeting is held early in the Fall Semester. Interested students then go through
an interview process with the coaches. This process provides the coaches with
the ability to put together a team that is balanced in terms of its strengths
and weaknesses. Not everyone on the team needs to be a debate star, but
everyone must be able to bring to the table what is needed to prepare and
compete, namely:
- Initiative
- Creativity
- Intelligence
- A team attitude
|
- The
ability to think on one's feet
- Analytical tools
- Solid public speaking skills
|
Instructions
The cases arrive at Villanova around the 15th of
January.
- The coaches and the team members begin regular meetings immediately.
This typically means two 90 minute sessions a week until the competition.
- The
cases are divided up among the team members according to interest.
- Each team
member becomes the point person for several cases. This means he or she will be
the primary person presenting the case at the competition, and he or she is the
primary person to prepare the case, however, each case preparation benefits from
the entire team.
We go through each case, brainstorming ideas and arguments.
We then go back through each case, with a dry run at the argument by the point
person for the case. This gives the team the opportunity to make suggestions,
imagine counter-arguments, and become familiar with the outline of the argument.
When appropriate, we call on the expertise of
Villanova faculty to understand the scientific, legal and/or political
dimensions of particular case. Each time a request for help has been made the
particular faculty member has been gracious in providing us with what we need.
Our gratitude for the responsiveness of the faculty is deep.
We leave for the competition site the Wednesday
before competition. Faculty have been very accommodating to the students' need
to perhaps miss a mid-term and/or class. Students are invited to stay for the
conference that follows the competition. Travel arrangements and all related
costs are the responsibility of the Ethics Program.
View past teams.
Coaches:
For more information
on the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl...
|
