November 18, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Ethics Bowl Team will compete at the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in 2010 following its third-place win at the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl.
The five-member UAB team competed against 19 other colleges and universities across the Southeast Saturday Nov. 14 at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, debating some of today's most difficult ethical issues. The team won its early matches against the United States Military Academy, NOVA Southeastern University and the University of Florida before losing to Eckerd College.
The UAB team prepared for months by studying 12 ethical cases taken from current events. The cases covered a range of controversial topics, from the use of brain-boosting drugs to enhance professional school entrance exam performance to the ethics of scientists using their own children for research studies.
The Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl is one of eight regional ethics bowls that advance teams to the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl March 4 in Cincinnati. UAB is among six teams in the Southeast region and 32 teams nationwide to qualify for the national bowl. For the second time in its two-year existence, the UAB Ethics Bowl team is making the trip to the national contest. This past year the team finished 12 out of 32 teams.
"We had a great team this year," said Professor Gregory Pence, Ph.D., the UAB Ethics Bowl Team coach. "All of the judges and coaches were amazed by our precocious team, which has two freshmen, and how well they did against seasoned teams of seniors. We will be back, and we get another chance in March."
Members of the UAB Ethics Bowl Team are freshmen Rachael Rosales of Athens and Ethan Mallick Hossain of Rainbow City, sophomore Chris Graves of Southside, and seniors Michael Lester and Ayushe Sharma, both of Huntsville. Rosales, Hossain, Graves and Lester are all members of the UAB Early Medical School Acceptance Program (EMSAP). The Ethics Bowl is part of an introductory ethics course open to all UAB students, from which 14 students auditioned for the five spots on the Ethics Bowl Team.
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