The Youngstown State University Ethics Bowl Team is ranked first in the nation after winning the national Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Atlanta on Feb. 22.
This was the fifth consecutive year that YSU placed a team in the national tournament.
The team of five YSU students — Samantha Fritz, Jacob Tomory, Moataz Abdelrasoul, Eva Lamberson and Michael Factor — beat teams from across the country, including Stanford University, Yale University, the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, Tufts University, the University of California Santa Barbara and the University of Central Florida.
The Ethics Bowl team, coached by Alan Tomhave, associate professor and chair, and Mark Vopat, professor, both of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, advanced to the national finals after winning the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl in Indianapolis for the fourth consecutive year.
“In the final round, the main organizer walked up after our commentary on the other team and remarked that it was the best commentary that he had ever seen,” Tomhave said in a YSU press release. “This is a person who has been involved in the Ethics Bowl for a long time. A judge from earlier in the day also watched and commented that one of the things that really makes our team stand out is that they really listen and engage with the issues and arguments from the other teams.”
