Hosted by FAU Leroy Collins Public Ethics Academy of FAU
Boca Raton, FL – The 2022 Regional High School Ethics Bowl was hosted by Florida Atlantic University on February 5. The goal of the Ethics Bowl is to increase students’ awareness and sensitivity to ethical issues, to encourage collaborative thinking, and to promote civil discourse.
For the past three years, the Department of Teaching & Learning within the School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC) partnered with the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy of Florida Atlantic University to serve as the regional organizer for the Southeast Florida area.
The National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) promotes respectful, supportive, and rigorous discussion of ethics among thousands of high school students nationwide. The Parr Center for Ethics, located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is home and headquarters of the NHSEB, overseeing Regional Competitions and hosting the National Competition each spring.
A team must be composed of at least three high school students. NHSEB teams will be capped at seven students (all of whom participated on a qualifying team at a regional bowl), but only five students can be seated on a team in any one match. A team must represent an accredited and certified school that offers classes for grades 9, 10, 11, and/or twelve in the United States and must have the official endorsement of the school administration to participate in the High School Ethics Bowl. All teams must register with both the NHSEB and with their nearest regional bowl.
This year, seven high schools with two teams each (total of forty-two students) registered. Winners received financial scholarships after competing in two rounds of matches, semi-finals, and finals. The over forty plus judges who participated were leaders from the business community in Palm Beach County.
“The students this year impressed us all with their courteous demeanor and mature insight. Their willingness to give up part of the weekend to politely discuss tough questions of morality and ethics makes me feel good about our future. The Ethics Bowl is an important teaching tool. Enormous gratitude is owed to FAU professor, Dr. Peter Cruise and the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy for producing the event” says Bill Bone of Larmoyeux & Bone (judge).
The winners are1st Place/$5,100 Scholarship, $4,250 to be divided equally among team members, and $850 school award to be reinvested in promoting and encouraging the school’s continued participation in Ethics Bowl Travel to the National Ethics Bowl (if the team qualifies to compete nationally). Team: Atlantic High School (Team 1), Coach: Max Diulus, Team Members: Mario ‘MJ’ Palacios, Diana Best-Johnson, Penelope Cassini, Amanda Jesuca, and Douglas Plummer.
2nd Place/$3,800 Scholarship, $3,260 to be divided equally among team members, and $540 school award to be reinvested in promoting and encouraging the school’s continued participation in Ethics Bowl. Team: Park Vista High School, Coach: Darrin Bales, Team Members: David Hobson, Zachary Kline, Harini Para, Samuel Potts, and Matthew Weinstein.
3rd Place / $2,000 Scholarship, $1,625 to be divided equally among team members, and $375 school award to be reinvested in promoting and encouraging the school’s continued participation in Ethics Bowl. Archimedean Upper Conservatory (Team 1), Coach: Liset Torres, Team Members: Juan Londono, Kelly Benitez, Rhine Hazra, Grace Nares, and Leah Tovar.
4th Place/$2,000 Scholarship, $1,625 to be divided equally among team members, and $375 school award to be reinvested in promoting and encouraging the school’s continued participation in Ethics Bowl
Archimedean Upper Conservatory (Team 2), Coach: Liset Torres, Team Members: Krishna Shah, Karoline Bastien, Alexander Pena, Leymi Hernandez, Thalassinos Mitsou, Daniel Lievano, and Sophia Escobar.
About the NHSEB
The National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) promotes respectful, supportive, and rigorous discussion of ethics among thousands of high school students nationwide. An ethics bowl differs from a debate competition in that students are not assigned opposing views; rather, they defend whichever position they think is correct, provide each other with constructive criticism, and win by demonstrating that they have thought rigorously and systematically about the cases and engaged respectfully and supportively with all participants. Data from NHSEB surveys shows that this event teaches and promotes ethical awareness, critical thinking, civil discourse, civic engagement, and an appreciation for multiple points of view. NHSEB’s goal is to do more than teach students how to think through ethical issues: It is to teach students how to think through ethical issues together, as fellow citizens in a complex moral and political community. For
More information, visit nhseb.unc.edu.
About LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy of FAU:
The LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy was first organized by FAU in 2009 to research ethics and provide training for local government agencies. The Academy is located on FAU’s Main Campus in Boca Raton, and with this central location, can offer its services to the University’s entire service area. The University-based nature of the Academy allows for the rapid incorporation and dissemination of the latest scholarly research on ethics issues by noted faculty for the Academy’s training programs. The Academy’s objectives are to: increase understanding of local government and how it functions, promote high ethical standards in public service, provide an informational base for more informed policy making, and develop the capacity of local officials to govern effectively. For more information, visit https://www.fau.edu.
