Champs Again: Eckerd College Ethics Bowl Team Tops Southeast Region Sixth Year In A Row
[ST. PETERSBURG, FL, November 18, 2009] – If women use more health services, are gender-based insurance premium differences justifiable? Does food insecurity and global climate change permit thousands of Kenyans to settle illegally in their national parks? The Eckerd College Ethics Bowl Team delivered the best solutions to these ethical dilemmas during the final rounds of the Sixth Annual Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl held at USF St. Petersburg this past weekend.
Eckerd College defeated University of Central Florida to emerge victorious for the sixth straight year in a row.
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“The Eckerd College Ethics Bowl Team represents the best results of Eckerd’s educational mission to strengthen intellectual tools and sharpen moral judgments,” said Lloyd W. Chapin, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. He added, “A special word of appreciation goes to Naomi and Leonard Block, head coaches for all six years, and the key element of continuity in Eckerd’s Ethics Bowl success.”
The members of the Eckerd College Ethics Bowl Team are: Catee Baugh ‘10, Kelli Barr ‘10, Trent Sterneck ‘12, Kate Hamilton ‘12, Elizabeth Renihan ‘11, Becca Hutchinson ‘11 (alternate), and Sean Lawlor ‘12 (alternate).
“The students have been preparing since September with a deep dedication to do the very best possible presentations at the competition,” said Naomi Block, co-Head Coach. She continued, “They are to be commended for their hard work and diligence; we are so pleased to represent Eckerd at Nationals in March 2010.”
Eckerd’s winning team is led by head coaches Naomi Block and Len Block, both members of Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC). Kirk Eason and past team member Craig Bothwell ‘09 were assistant coaches. Faculty sponsor Julienne H. Empric, Professor of Literature, and Stephen Weppner, Associate Professor of Physics, also assisted the students and attended the team’s training sessions.
Twenty teams represented nineteen schools in the regional contest. The top schools joining Eckerd College at the National Championships next spring are: University of Central Florida, University of Alabama at Birmingham, U.S. Naval Academy, USF St. Petersburg, and University of North Florida. Eckerd’s team came in third place at the March 2009 National Competition.
Teams from across the nation are provided with 15 case studies, derived from current events and kept secret until the day of the event, to prepare for their regional competitions. This year’s case topics cover a broad range of topics: “sexting,” scientific research on one’s own child, freedom of speech, testing one’s virtue, the use of cognitive enhancement drugs, the medical profession and torture, to name a few.
READ THE DESCRIPTIONS OF ECKERD’S WINNING CASES,
http://ethics.iit.edu/index1.php/Programs/Ethics%20Bowl/Regional%20Ethics%20Bowls
#11, Women and Health Insurance and #6, Parklife
The Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl competition is jointly sponsored by Eckerd College, USF St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg College.
ABOUT THE INTERCOLLEGIATE ETHICS BOWL, http://ethics.iit.edu/index1.php/Programs/Ethics%20Bowl
While featuring elements of classical debate, the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl teams are also encouraged to agree when appropriate. The goal is to foster a constructive ethical dialogue while examining dilemmas from many perspectives to find the best solutions. The national competition is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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ABOUT ECKERD COLLEGE, http://www.eckerd.edu
Located in St. Petersburg, Florida, Eckerd College was founded in 1958 as a private, coeducational college of liberal arts and sciences related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Eckerd’s 1,840 residential students from 45 states and 28 countries choose among thirty-eight majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. In addition, 1,000 students are enrolled in the Program for Experienced Learners, a bachelor’s degree program for adult learners. Eckerd’s Leadership Development Institute executive education program, Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC), Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Elderhostel identify the college as a national leader of innovative programs in continuing education and lifelong learning. A Phi Beta Kappa institution, Eckerd is one of only 40 schools listed in Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives.”
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