Ethics Bowl Team Revived and Getting Ready

By: Lillian Allen

Salem College will compete in the Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) Ethics Bowl Tournament on Feb. 6-7, 2025. It is Salem’s first time back in person since 2018. The newly founded team is comprised of nine members and one faculty advisor. The faculty advisor/coach is Jamila Young, assisted by Charlotte Vail. When asked about the driving force behind her to revive this team, Young replied, “I wanted to revive the team for several reasons. First, the Ethics Bowl goes hand in hand with one of our core foundations at Salem, ethical inquiry…Second, as a lawyer and bioethicist, my daily life has consisted of infusing matters of reason and ethical inquiry in various spaces where I have worked.” Each team member was chosen based on their abilities exhibited throughout the tryout process. The nine students on the team are Lillian Allen, Andrea Cortes-Espita, Chrissy Eccher, Haley Eisenbraun, S.C. George, Puja Lamsal, Kaden Pengram, Sarah Simpkins, and Madelyn Whitt. 

When asked what they were most excited for regarding the revival of the team and representing Salem College, Puja Lamsal responded, “Getting to represent Salem at a prestigious state-level event is already a win for me. The gratitude towards the opportunity has further fueled my motivation to present my best self at Ethics Bowl so we can secure a third title win for our college.” When asked the same question, Andrea Cortes-Espita replied, “My motivation for joining the Ethics Bowl has been to use my voice to represent the Salem community that has given me so much.” These nine individuals are eager and excited to explore the cases for the competition, with the overarching theme being “Ethics in Leadership”. Salem College has a history of winning previous Ethics Bowl competitions. Past Salem teams took home the victory in both 2017 and 2018 with the theme being “Ethics in Law” and “Ethics and the Future of Community.” These topics were examined as more focused debates, such as whether “U.S. companies have an ethical obligation to withdraw their operations from countries which repress universal human rights” or “the ethics of deporting undocumented immigrants,” as stated in NCICU’s 2016-17 and 2017-18 Annual Reports. Our team will be competing in the Ethics Bowl Competition on Feb. 6-7, 2025. The NCICU website has broken down the layout into four rounds with three judges for each round. The semi-finals will then consist of the top four highest scoring teams, with the top two highest scoring teams advancing to the finals, where a winner will be determined. 18 campuses are participating in the upcoming competition. The victories of Salem’s past and the excitement of the competition ahead will spearhead this team to work hard and uphold Salem College’s commitment to engaging ethics.