Nov 14, 2014 03:36 PM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Indiana University Bloomington won this year's Central States Regional Ethics Bowl, hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis.

The Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University Bloomington, whose teams took the top two spots in the annual competition, has sponsored a single team of four to six students since 2001.

This year, for the first time, the center sponsored two teams to allow more students to participate in the Ethics Bowl experience. Both teams did exceptionally well, scoring first and second in total points out of 24 teams from 14 colleges and universities.

At the event, the teams debated the ethical issues involved in Haiti's demand for reparations following the introduction of cholera by peacekeepers; website Jezebel's posting of a bounty for unretouched photos of celebrity Lena Dunham; the use of public shaming as punishment; and more.

Based on the two teams' scores, Indiana University was named the regional first-place winner and will be one of four Central States schools admitted to the National Ethics Bowl in 2015.

The National Ethics Bowl competition is hosted by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics in conjunction with its annual meeting, which will take place Feb. 22 in Costa Mesa, Calif. Each qualifying school sends a single team. The members of Indiana University's Regional Ethics Bowl Teams will be re-interviewed to constitute a team for the national competition.

The Ethics Bowl format, while competitive, is unique in its emphasis on civil dialogue and substantive ethical analysis of real-world issues. Students develop skills in analysis, moral reasoning and engaging with differing views.

Indiana University's Ethics Bowl alumni have gone on to prestigious careers in government, business, law and education, and they consistently rank the Ethics Bowl competition as one of the most important and enjoyable experiences in their undergraduate career. 

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