BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Ethics Bowl Team has won the national championship.
The five-member, UAB team competed against 31 colleges and universities at the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl held March 4 in Cincinnati, debating some of today's most difficult ethical issues. They defeated the 2009 national champion Indiana University and the 2008 semifinalist Westminster College to win, along with teams from the University of California Santa Cruz, Carleton College and Weber State University.
The topics included various controversial ethical cases taken from current events, including health care for illegal immigrants, the Octomom, legalizing casinos and allowing teachers to carry guns in schools to protect themselves.
The 2-year-old UAB Ethics Bowl team made its first trip to the national competition this past year, placing 12th. It won its bid to compete in the nationals this year after placing third at the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl Nov. 14, 2009, at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.
"With two freshmen and only our second appearance, we were the Cinderella team of the 32-team tournament, said UAB Professor Gregory Pence, Ph.D., the UAB Ethics Bowl Team coach. "I was so proud of how our students blended their science majors with ethical reasoning that the last victories brought tears to my eyes.
"We had thought that getting to the final eight would be enough this year, but we are thrilled to be lucky enough to win it all with such a young team."
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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