By Angelica Martinez
On Nov. 15, the Cameron University Ethics Bowl team placed second at the regional competition hosted by St. Mary’s University and advanced to the national championship in St. Louis.
The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (APPE IEB) brings students together to discuss cases involving modern social and ethical issues. Teams receive the cases in early September and spend the fall preparing for competition in early November.
During each match, two teams of up to five students compete against each other. A moderator poses a question based on one of 15 cases. The presenting team confers briefly, then delivers an argument grounded in ethical and philosophical principles in response to the question. The opposing team then challenges the argument, and the presenting team then replies. Judges follow with their own questions to the presenting team before the teams switch roles for the next case. The teams are then judged on clarity, discussion of the case’s moral dimensions, insight on different viewpoints, the primary presentation, response to the opposing team’s commentary and the responses given to judges.
In the first round, Cameron’s team presented on Oh, SNAP!, arguing whether the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program should restrict unhealthy foods. The University of the Incarnate Word’s team won the round with their presentation on And Now You Care?, which examined whether artworks that cause harm to animals, such as the works of Marco Evaristti’s, are a violation of ethical principles.
In the second round, Northeastern State University presented on Red Flags, a case questioning whether government buildings should display symbols tied to ongoing social issues. Cameron won the round with their argument on All That Glitters, which explored the ethical implications of the Golden Visa Program.
In the final round, Cameron presented on Curb Your Overtourism, a case about tourism’s impacts and the ethics of tourist taxes. The team won against Texas A&M University–San Antonio, which presented on Pound of Flesh, a case debating whether inmates should be allowed to donate organs in exchange for reduced sentences.
Cameron finished second overall with 433 points. The team will advance to nationals alongside the first-place team from UT San Antonio and the third-place team from the University of Houston.
Andrew Brei, director of the Texas Regional Ethics Bowl and associate professor of philosophy at St. Mary’s University, coordinated the event. Brei emphasized the value of structured, well-facilitated dialogue in an era of increasingly polarized discourse.
“It allows students a space to really hone their ability to sort of cut through the noise and the irrelevant stuff, and really focus in on what matters and what’s important.” Brei said. “And it’s not to say that identity and emotions and these sorts of things aren’t important. They’re valid. But without an understanding of the heart of the matter, you’re just doomed to going round and round just yelling at other people. That’s not productive. That’s not authentic. So events like this need to go on so that people can practice that and have a stage for that.”
Brei notes that ongoing censorship and limitations in academic spaces make these opportunities even more essential.
“It’s becoming harder and harder to engage in really well-intentioned, authentic, meaningful discussions about really important issues,” he said. “We’re in a time and a place where conversations like the ones that went on between the teams in these rounds are really being actively discouraged. And so as many obstacles as go up, we need to respond with more things like this.”
Much work was put into the competition. Cameron’s team prepared through weekly meetings. Early sessions focused on understanding each case, selecting ethical frameworks and crafting arguments. In later practices, the students simulated competition rounds. The team discussed improvements they could make to each argument.
While in San Antonio, the team continued refining their arguments. They reviewed previous rounds over dinner, practiced in the hotel lobby late into the night and discussed which cases they hoped would be selected for the competition at breakfast.
For Michelle Nya, a senior studying business administration, those long hours and collaborative discussions made the experience especially meaningful.
“I’ve been on different teams before for capstones, for projects, but what I loved about the ethics bowl is it was a very good cohesive team,” Nya said. “Everyone was equally invested in the team, so it made it easier to want to work hard for your team, and typically it’s hard to get that.”
After the competition, students explored the city before reuniting for a celebratory dinner at Boudro’s on the River Walk.
The team will now compete at the national Ethics Bowl on March 7 – 8 in St. Louis. New cases will be released in early January.
For questions, contact the team’s coach at jmasters@cameron.edu.