Ethics Bowl tests the Honor System
Gear and Triangle teams up with Steven community to successfully kick off new event
Matt Neuteboom
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Campus News
Which academic department is the most ethical? Is it the logically minded math majors or the eloquently spoken philosophy majors? Can history majors use their knowledge of historical precedence to trounce the sound reasoning of computer science majors? Such questions were put to the test on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 3 in Gear and Triangle's first annual Undergraduate Ethics Bowl.
The first day of the competition took place this week on the second floor of Babbio, where 14 departments went head-to-head with each other in a bracket-style tournament. The departments represented were Art & Technology, Biomedical Engineering, Business & Technology, Chemical Biology, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, History, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Music & Technology, Philosophy and Physics.
However, only four majors were allowed to advance to the semi-finals: the two victorious teams of each bracket and next two teams with the highest average judge score. The Philosophy and Computer Science departments managed to bulldoze their way to the top, with Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering stepping in as wild cards in the finals for their average scores of 122 and 119 respectively. These teams will compete in the finals in DeBaun Auditorium on Wednesday, February 10 at 2 p.m..
Natalia Bilchuk, Honor Chair of Gear and Triangle, was pleased by the turnout and the composition of the teams. "I think because we specified departments, more people came," she said. "Some of the largest majors didn't have a team and some of the smallest did. Hopefully next year we'll even be able to get every single major."
Departments were also limited to having two team members per graduation year to diversify the composition of each team. "I think this promoted seniors to interact with freshmen," said Bilchuk.
The teams, which consisted of three to five members, were given case studies a week before the event to discuss and establish their positions. These case studies were created by a collection of faculty members who collaborated with the Honor Board and Gear and Triangle. Each case fell into the categories of societal, political, bioethics, engineering and business.
The first day of the competition took place this week on the second floor of Babbio, where 14 departments went head-to-head with each other in a bracket-style tournament. The departments represented were Art & Technology, Biomedical Engineering, Business & Technology, Chemical Biology, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, History, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Music & Technology, Philosophy and Physics.
However, only four majors were allowed to advance to the semi-finals: the two victorious teams of each bracket and next two teams with the highest average judge score. The Philosophy and Computer Science departments managed to bulldoze their way to the top, with Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering stepping in as wild cards in the finals for their average scores of 122 and 119 respectively. These teams will compete in the finals in DeBaun Auditorium on Wednesday, February 10 at 2 p.m..
Natalia Bilchuk, Honor Chair of Gear and Triangle, was pleased by the turnout and the composition of the teams. "I think because we specified departments, more people came," she said. "Some of the largest majors didn't have a team and some of the smallest did. Hopefully next year we'll even be able to get every single major."
Departments were also limited to having two team members per graduation year to diversify the composition of each team. "I think this promoted seniors to interact with freshmen," said Bilchuk.
The teams, which consisted of three to five members, were given case studies a week before the event to discuss and establish their positions. These case studies were created by a collection of faculty members who collaborated with the Honor Board and Gear and Triangle. Each case fell into the categories of societal, political, bioethics, engineering and business.
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