Ethics Bowl team places in nation's top 10
April 8, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- A student team from Western Michigan University placed ninth out of 36 colleges and universities competing recently at the Eighth Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Cincinnati.
WMU has competed in the national Ethics Bowl competition every year since its inception in 1994, consistently placing in the top 10. The Ethics Bowl competition requires students to defend their positions on ethical questions related to a variety of areas, including medicine, law, government policy and communication. The students receive 15 extensive case studies to study about six weeks before the competition. Teams are judged based on the focus, thoroughness, clarity and logic of their positions.
This year, WMU competed in preliminary rounds against North Carolina State University, Texas Wesleyan University and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Only eight teams could advance to subsequent rounds, and WMU missed qualifying for the final round by just two points. Wright State University ultimately won the competition.
The team members are Nicole Stark, a senior majoring in communication from Battle Creek, Mich.; Joshua Upson, a junior majoring in secondary education/English from Galesburg, Mich.; Robert Wedge, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences and philosophy from Birmingham, Mich.; and Michael Zehnpfennig, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences from Sterling Heights, Mich.
The team's faculty sponsors are Dr. Sandra Borden, WMU assistant professor of communication, and Dr. Insoo Hyun, WMU assistant professor of philosophy. Both Borden and Hyun are associate directors of the University's Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, which sponsors WMU's team every year with support from the Lee Honors College. The team's coach is Alycia Iwan of St. Joseph, Mich., a WMU graduate student pursuing a master's degree in communication. The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. For more information contact Borden at (269) 387-3146.
Media contact: Marie Lee, (269) 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu