High School Ethics Bowl
by Milan Riley
The National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB), first held in 2012, is a competition in which two teams of seven (five participating at a time) discuss real-life ethical dilemmas. Unlike a debate, a team can choose the position they defend and members take turns presenting their opinion. The other team then asks meaningful questions that challenge the morals, values, and efficiency of the opinion. The winner of a match is determined by which side presented their opinions the most thoughtfully and were the most considerate of the moral principles at play.
Structure of the Bowl
At the start of a match, one team is randomly selected to be Team A and the other Team B. Each round consists of five periods:
- Moderator period (~3 min): case introduced
- Presentation period (2 min conferral, 6 min presentation): Team A presents opinion
- Commentary period (2 min conferral, 3 min commentary): Team B asks questions
- Response period (2 min conferral, 3 min commentary): Team A responds
- Judges’ period (10 min Q&A): judges ask questions, Team A responds
During conferral times, teams can discuss and pass notes between themselves to formulate a response. After the round is done, Team A and Team B switch roles and repeat the process with a different case. Finally, judges add up scores for each section and announce the winners.
The Science Academy’s Ethics Club
Co-presidents Elodia Honigstein (9th) and Jordin Lim (9th) created the club that now meets Tuesdays at lunch in Mr. Nuno’s room. There, club members discuss different cases and ethical questions. This year’s Ethics Bowl, held on the 3rd of February, was the club’s first time participating as a team for the Science Academy. The event took place at Chapman University in Orange County. Winning 2 out of our 3 matches, it was a huge success for our school’s first time competing! Hopefully, the Science Academy will perform even better in the future.
The club is open to both middle school and highschool students. If you’re interested in joining, here’s the Schoology group code: N47D-ZK6N-SC3H6. You can also come by to our meetings and check it out!
2024 National High School Ethics Bowl at Chapman University