UAA Ethics Team returns to the competition scene

“Is that the position we’re going to take?” Athenia Large, a natural sciences major and neuroscience and philosophy minor, asks of her teammates on UAA’s Ethics Team during a Saturday Zoom meeting in early February. Large and her teammates, Cora Lyon, a biological sciences and health sciences major and communication minor; mechanical engineering major and mathematics minor Birch Boyer and Keldon Irwin, a philosophy major, are preparing for the national Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competition. They nod in unison with Large through their Zoom screens, and the group continues with their weekend practice.

In late November 2021, UAA’s Ethics Team returned to the competition scene after a five-year hiatus and participated in the Northwest Ethics Bowl. The team won rounds with formidable opponents from Gonzaga University, Washington State and Whitworth University, earning second in the competition and securing their place to advance to the national competition.

It’s a yearly event with state, regional and national competitions across the country, but like many events over the past two years, in-person competitions were paused due to COVID-19. This year, many competitions returned, although this time to a virtual space, which made it possible for events to happen but posed challenges in an environment where reading one’s opponent can provide a competitive edge.

“It’s a really great event,” said Joel Potter, associate professor and chair of UAA’s Department of Philosophy. He said the department was happy to be hosting the event again, even if it was challenging to hold online. It is a cornerstone event for the department, and students from UAA, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Pacific University (APU) are invited to participate. “This is something we look forward to each year because it helps drive home the real-world significance of what they are learning in the classroom.”

Traditionally, UAA’s Department of Philosophy hosts the Alaska Ethics Bowl in advance of the regional competition, using the same model and cases that will be judged at the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl later in the fall. In addition to offering students a preview of the regional competition, the Alaska Ethics Bowl also serves as a community outreach event, connecting the Department of Philosophy with community partners from law enforcement and nonprofits to alumni, who serve as moderators and judges for the event.

This year’s state competition hosted teams from UAA and APU, with UAA taking home top honors for their efforts. There is crossover between UAA’s accomplished Seawolf Debate team and the Ethics Team. Potter said the Ethics Team pulls in students from all disciplines across the university, not just philosophy majors and minors. He said this year’s national team combines the top two winning teams from the state competition and includes Large, Lyon, Boyer and Irwin. The four-person team will enter three rounds during the match and will be scored based on the clarity and intelligibility of their position, their ability to identify and discuss the central ethical dimensions of the case and deliberate their viewpoint thoughtfully.

In the few weeks leading up to the competition, Potter will be helping guide the team through the potentially 16 cases the team will need to be prepared to discuss during the match.

“Each student on the team takes the lead on a case or several cases,” said Potter. “We run mock sessions, offer critiques and look for possible issues in a viewpoint.”

He said he is hopeful for the national competition this year and is excited to see what UAA’s Ethics Team can do.

“I believe participation in this event will provide UAA an opportunity to showcase the achievements of our students and the quality of education provided by UAA,” said Potter.