Ethics Bowl team prepares for regionals

The Ethics Bowl team will compete in the California Regional High School Ethics Bowl Competition on Feb. 2.

Team captain senior Kevin Chen started the Ethics Bowl team this year to provide a competitive side to the Philosophy Club.

“I saw how close team members could get when I looked at other teams, such as the History Bowl and Quiz Bowl teams,” Chen said. “The atmosphere really brings people together, and that was what I was going for.”

The team includes seniors Chen, Edward Dong, Jacqueline Gu, Nessa Kim, Sasan Saadat and Neal Siganporia. Chen and adviser Erick Rector chose the members through an audition, a discussion on the role of man in society.

The tournament is divided into a series of rounds, each round with two cases. One team presents the first case, the opposing team provides commentary, and the first team responds to the commentary. Then the teams switch sides for the second case. A panel of judges scores the students on aspects such as clarity of the presentation and awareness of different viewpoints in the case.

This year’s cases include topics such as enhancing academic performance with prescription drugs, the role of the SAT in college admissions and captive breeding of polar bears.

“My goal for the upcoming competition in February is to just have fun,” Chen said. “We have a very strong and talented team, and I am confident in their abilities. We're just going to try our best and have fun with it.”