SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College will host its second South Carolina High School Ethics Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 25, in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. The competition has expanded this year to include 12 high schools and 18 teams from across the state.
“Ethics Bowl is a team-based competition in which students discuss an ethical scenario and engage with a panel of judges,” says Dr. Stephen Michelman, professor of philosophy at Wofford, who also is the South Carolina High School Ethics Bowl organizer. “The bowl is over in one day, but the process is what matters most. Students spend months researching cases and discussing the issues among themselves, and this leaves its mark. Many of them develop habits of ethical thinking they will continue to exercise as adults.”
Nearly 30 judges will include local community members in business, medicine, law and nonprofit organizations as well as faculty members from Wofford, Converse College, the University of South Carolina Upstate and Spartanburg Methodist College. WSPA news anchor Gordon Dill will be a “celebrity judge” this year.
Moderators for the competition will be current Wofford students, and Wofford President Nayef Samhat will welcome the participating students during an opening ceremony at 9 a.m.
The competition, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., is free and open to the public; family and friends of participating students are encouraged to attend.
In addition to Wofford College, the Ethics Bowl sponsors are Milliken & Co., The Spartanburg County Foundation, Spartanburg County Public Libraries and Wells Fargo.
For more information, contact Michelman at michelmansa@wofford.edu or Dr. James Bednar, associate professor of philosophy, at bednarjt@wofford.edu; or visit wofford.edu/academics/majors-and-programs/philosophy/ethics-bowl.