On February 20th, A2Ethics.org issued a press release to local media outlets about the outcome of Slam 3. Please share this article and help spread the word about the A2Ethics.org and The Big Ethical Question Slam:

Greenhills School Team takes first prize of $600 and the  Philosopher’s Hat

Even bone-chilling temperatures and a winter storm alert couldn’t discourage the largest crowd ever from filling Conor O’Neill’s Irish Pub on February 7 to watch local teams compete in the third annual Big Ethical Question Slam. The annual “think-up” has become so popular that host organization A2Ethics.org had a minor ethical dilemma: reluctantly turning away spectators at the door once the capacity limit of 110 had been reached.

At the end of the evening, the teachers/administrators of Greenhills School  walked away with the top prize—which included $600 in cash and the coveted Philosopher’s Hat, patterned on the Hogwarts’ school sorting original. The People’s Choice Award went to the mediators of The Dispute Resolution Center.

In addition to Greenhills School and The Dispute Resolution Center teams, who have participated since the Slam’s beginnings, this year’s event was marked by impressive debuts, including:

•  Members of the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area
•  The Thoughtful Emus, comprised of faculty and students from an academic unit of Eastern Michigan University
•  Two Nurses and a Double-Pair-a-Docs, a mash-up of medical professionals from Arbor Hospice and the University of Michigan Center for Bioethics and the Social Sciences in Medicine
•  The Re:group Utilitarians, representing a local marketing communications firm.   

“We’re thrilled this event has taken off and that it has such broad appeal,” says A2Ethics President Jeanine DeLay. “The truth is, we’re a bit in awe of all the buzz and enthusiasm. We’re also appreciative of this year’s sponsor, Stan and Robin Mendenhall of Mendenhall Associates, and the promotional support we received from Ingrid Ault of Think Local First and The Lucy Anne Lance Show.     

This year’s Slam judges were chosen with an eye toward their expertise in the topics and current concerns of the public, ranging from health care and social justice to business and sport. Mary Larkin, Slam veteran and LGBT Resource Center program coordinator in EMU’s Department of Diversity and Community Involvement, was joined by Peter Jacobson, professor of health law and policy, and founder/director of the Center for Law, Ethics and Health at the U-M School of Public Health, and by Brad Chick, Internet entrepreneur, founder and president of Asq.Us and XACT, LLC, and student of philosophy.

Launched by A2Ethics in 2011, and the first event of its kind in the nation, the Slam is not a debate but rather an opportunity for teams of community-oriented people from education, business, government, and the nonprofit sector to respond to practical and often gnarly ethical questions—the kind faced by everyone on a daily basis. All questions fielded by Slam teams were contributed by members of the public.

Founded in 2008, A2Ethics.org is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting ethics through social networking, creative education programs and collaborative events. Its projects include the Ethics Economy Initiative, a popular podcast interview series featuring ethics professionals from across Michigan.