Kent Place School wins New Jersey High School Ethics Bowl

The Kent Place School Upper School Ethics Bowl team was named champion at the 10th Annual New Jersey High School Ethics Bowl, sponsored by The University of North Carolina Parr Center for Ethics. Eighteen teams from twelve New Jersey schools participated in the competition, which was held December 10 at Stevens Institute of Technology’s College of Arts and Letters. The competition is the largest of its kind in New Jersey. The Kent Place School team will now advance to the National Championships in Chapel Hill, NC on April 7 through 9, 2017.

The matches were judged by the Stevens Institute’s faculty and students, and in the final match of the day, Kent Place School won over the team from Middlesex High School. Each team presented and discussed the ethical considerations involved in the final case studies, “Working While Sick” and “Donor Babies.” Students demonstrated their ability to the ethical, philosophical and practical considerations for each case, and were challenged to apply their ethical decision-making skills to rigorous questions that were posed by the judges and audience.

The National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) promotes rigorous and respectful discourse of ethics among high school students nationwide. Each fall, the NHSEB shares a set of cases covering a range of issues. The Kent Place School team members met regularly with coaches, Dr. Karen Rezach and Dr. Eva Lazar, Director and Program Coordinator of The Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, to research the cases, to discuss the issues and to clearly identify the ethical underpinnings of each case. The competitions themselves provide the opportunity for students to think analytically about complex ethical issues and cultivate respect towards the multiple perspectives of their peers. The NHSEB encourages open-minded thinking, critical analysis, civil discourse, collaboration and teamwork and a competition of ideas.

“The Ethics Bowl is such a challenging and exciting opportunity for our students,” said Rezach. “I am so proud of our Ethics Bowl Team members – their victory was well-earned! We are honored to be representing both Kent Place and New Jersey at the upcoming National Championships in North Carolina.”

Congratulations to the Kent Place School Ethics Bowl Team members: Neha Bhardwaj ’18, Amelia Coffey ’17, Lilah Connell ’17, Grace Hayward ’20, Olivia Hayward ’20, Laryssa Horodysky ’17, Sophie Huttner ’18, Alexa Kolakoski ’18, Veda Kumar ’18, Laura Mills ’18, Lily Roberts ’19, Kristen Rusas ’17, Megan Traudt ’18 and Olivia Zeiner-Morrish ’18

For additional information, please visit www.kentplace.org/ethics