FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 14, 2017

Wayne Memorial High School Represents Michigan at the National High School Ethics Bowl, Voted By Peers to Receive Spirit Award

Ann Arbor, MI – After winning out over 12 other teams during the fourth-annual Michigan High School Ethics Bowl this January, Wayne Memorial High School’s “The Herd” traveled to North Carolina this weekend to compete in the National High School Ethics Bowl.

"The experience of getting to the National Bowl was life changing,” said Mikayla Wallace, one of the students on the team. “Just simply being able to win something in our school that is something other than sports is a big deal. The regional Bowl was the next steps of success for our Bowl team and Nationals was the cherry on top."

Held at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the national competition stretched over two days, featuring teams from 24 states. Though they didn’t place in the competition, the team was voted by their peers  — all the other teams at the Bowl — to receive the ‘Spirit of the Ethics Bowl’ award, which is given to the team that best represents the spirit of the Bowl competition.

Shivam Patel, a student on the team, said while they were disappointed to not place higher in the competition, winning the Spirit Award was a fulfilling achievement.

"This award shows to the community that we are young people who embody ethics and are passionate about bringing these ethical issues to light," Patel said.

During the competition, teams of students from each state tackled ethical quandaries by presenting and defending their original analyses of case studies, ranging from issues of criminal justice to academic issues. Competition is not designed to put one idea against another, but rather to encourage students to consider differing viewpoints and flex their analytical skills on relevant issues.

Being at Nationals, the students on the team said, helped broaden their perspectives about the case, as well as let them engage with their peers over a shared passion for ethics.

"I loved seeing the many different thought processes of the other teams as they presented their cases” said Joseph Wise, a student on the team. “Even more, I really enjoyed sharing ideas or hearing ideas and having them taken one step forward due to the nature of the competition. Overall, I really just loved being there and seeing people in my age group, from various walks of life, take on these issues requiring higher level thinking skills." 

Zoe Wolf, another student, concurred.

"There were some times where there was an obvious difference between how we worked and how the other teams did,” Wolf said. “I loved hearing all of the diverse viewpoints from the other teams.”

Full results from the bowl can be found here.

Founded in 2008, A2Ethics is an all-volunteer, nonprofit dedicated to promoting ethics and philosophy initiatives through events, educational programs and civic partnerships in local communities. Its many projects and activities include the Ethics Economy Initiative, a popular podcast interview series featuring ethics professionals from across Michigan. 

The Michigan Ethics Bowl League includes those high schools participating in the Ethics Bowl. All Michigan public and nonpublic high schools are encouraged to join the League and the National Ethics Bowl movement.

For more information, visit www.a2ethics.org or contact Jeanine DeLay at [email protected].