Last year, Whitworth’s Ethics Bowl team brought home silver at regionals and bronze at nationals. This year, Whitworth’s 6-person team has set their eyes on the podium again.

How does Ethics Bowl work?

Ethics Bowl is similar to Debate or Forensics but with philosophical issues. A moderator asks a question, which one team will answer with a 10-minute presentation drawing from hypothetical cases and philosophical theories. The opposing team then gets a 5-minute period where they can either pose a question or a response to the presentation. The first team gets another 5 minutes to reinforce their argument or respond to the question. Judges then get 10 minutes for their own questions, which the presenting team answers.

The cases are given to participating universities months in advance to allow the team to research and formulate arguments if moderators choose to ask about them at the competition. Here are some of the cases for the 2024-2025 Regional competition:

• The cultural and animal welfare lenses of banning hunting with dogs. (4. That Dog Don’t Hunt!)
• How to determine consent for medical procedures when patients aren’t completely coherent. (6. You Did What?)
• Does a person still hold ownership over matter that comes from their body but is no longer a part of their body? (8. Whose DNA Is It, Anyway?)

Ethics Bowl at Whitworth

This year, Whitworth’s team has six members. Melaina Kloberdanz ‘27, Olivia Kizer ‘28, Samantha Ellis ‘26, Nabi Khan ‘25, Angelique Kaupa ‘27, Ryan Burges ‘25. Dylan Richardson ‘25 will switch in and take Melaina’s seat during the Spring Semester. The team is coached by Dr. Keith Wyma, Rebecca Korf, and Jed Young. They will compete against teams from schools in Washington and California in Regionals this weekend.

At Whitworth, Ethics Bowl is an activity class you register for—and it counts for Honors credit. In the words of Olivia Kizer, a Political Science and History major, Ethics Bowl is a very public-facing aspect of the Honors Program, and for good reason. The team practices and researches for months on cases that are inherently interdisciplinary.

Melaina Kloberdanz and Olivia Kizer

Melaina Kloberdanz credits her participation in Ethics Bowl as the reason why she added a Philosophy major. Kloberdanz states, “Ethics Bowl has been integral to my education of mind and heart at Whitworth. I don’t know what Whitworth would look like without Ethics Bowl. It has just been such a big part of my education.” She also states that Ethics Bowl is the experience she has gotten the most out of from all her classes at Whitworth.

Olivia Kizer says the things that she learns and practices in Ethics Bowl are bleeding into her everyday life. “I’m starting to see the theories in different places and how they can be applied outside of the classroom.” Kizer went on to say that Ethics Bowl is a built-in community and accepted her whole-heartedly the moment she stepped foot on campus. She also appreciates the mentorship she’s gaining from the upperclassmen

Northwest Conference Regionals

Ethics Bowl fosters an interdisciplinary academic community that the Honors Program strives to cultivate. Be sure to cheer on any Ethics Bowlers as they head off to competition on Saturday, November 23, at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.