Upper School
The MMFS Ethicists returned to Fordham University on Saturday for the annual NYC High School Ethics Bowl. AJ S., Jesse GB, Beatrix G., Avery T., Izzy M., and Jackson C. were hard at work throughout the semester studying 13 different ethical case studies, on topics ranging from social media activism to elite competitive sports in childhood to the possibility of AI friendships. Led by teachers John Keenan and Leslie Contopidis, the students prepared presentations on all 13 topics and delivered three of them at the competition—without notes, consultation with coaches, or advance notice of their assigned topics. They then responded to commentary from other teams as well as questions from adult judges, including graduate students and university professors. They also had the opportunity to comment and question opposing teams, who had prepared their own presentations on the same topics.
We didn’t walk away with any wins this year, but the MMFS students more than held their own, delivering strong presentations on overtourism, the ethics of feeding dogs a vegan diet, and criminal justice in cold cases. Avery and Jackson took turns introducing our team and breaking down the perspectives of relevant stakeholders. AJ, the only returning team member, delivered our main arguments, while Jesse covered the various counterpoints. Beatrix and Izzy did a fantastic job fielding comments and questions.
Ethics Bowl is offered at the upper school as a co-curricular, a program which promotes learning for the sake of learning
This is a young team with lots of promise. All the students said they had fun preparing for the High School Ethics Bowl and they look forward to participating again next year.
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