ONU Philosophy and Ethics CLUB

Ohio Northern University
Ethics Bowl Team

ONU Ethics Bowl Team

The ONU Ethics Bowl Team meets regularly to discuss the ethical, social, and political issues in preparation for the AAPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl®.

The head coach is Dr. Jonathan Spelman. He is assisted by Dr. Darrin Belousek and Dr. Robert Hartman.

Fall 2025

We competed in the Ohio River Valley Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over four rounds, ONU #1 went 3-1. They scored a total of 714 points (3 judges/case; 65 points/judge) and came in 1st place out of 10 schools/14 teams. ONU #2 went 3-1 as well. They scored a total of 615 points and came in 10th place.

The teams addressed cases related to eligibility restrictions for politicians, organ donation incentive programs, religious accommodation policies in criminal justice, femicide laws, overtourism policies, the gold card program, the use of science in sentencing, and the ethics of film casting.

By coming in 1st place, ONU #1 earned our ONU a bid to the APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship. They also earned themselves the opportunity to compete in the championship round against the 2nd place team, Macalester #2. Unfortunately, they lost in the champions round and finished in 2nd place overall.

Spring 2025

We competed in the University of Chicago Spring Invitational hosted by the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Over four rounds, ONU went 2-2. We scored a total of 552 points (3 judges/case) and came in 7th place out of 11 schools/8th place out of 12 teams. We addressed cases related to artists' use of slurs, civil disobedience, free speech, gene editing, medical assistance in dying, organ donation, our duties to the dead, and the degree to which parent are responsible for their childrens' behavior.

Fall 2024

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, ONU went 3-0 (defeating teams from the University of Pittsburgh, The Ohio State University, and Austin Peay State University). We scored a total of 302 points (2 judges/case) and came in 5th out of 16 schools/24 teams. We addressed cases related to automatic crash notification systems, non-disclosure agreements, dog hunting, age verification laws, do-not-resuscitate orders, and chatbots designed to simulate the dead.

Fall 2023

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, ONU went 3-0 (defeating teams from Michigan State University, Oakland University, and Northern Kentucky University). We scored a total of 463.5 points and came in 7th place out of 17 schools/24 teams. We addressed cases related to book bans, ESG investing, space exploration, weed-out courses, health insurance algorithms, and duties to the dead.

Spring 2023

We competed in the APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship in Portland, Oregon. Over four rounds, we went 3-1 and came in 10th place out of 36. We addressed cases related to sportsmanship, species preservation, forced retirement, the use of tracking in schools, the use of AI in the judicial system, medical screenings for people who are economically disadvantaged, drug ads, and tattoos.

Fall 2022

We had two teams compete in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, ONU #2 went 3-0. They scored a total of 451 points (which was adjusted to 353) and came in 4th place out of 17 schools/22 teams. ONU #1 went 2-1 and scored a total of 444 points (which was adjusted to 347) and came in T7th place.

The teams addressed cases related to zoos, legal punishment, the treatment of people who experience hallucinations, moral responsibility, censorship on social media, and the rights of minors to make their own healthcare decisions.

By coming in 4th, ONU #2 earned ONU a bid to the APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship.

Fall 2021

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, we went 1-2, scored a total of 397 points, and came in 15th place out of 18. We addressed cases related to Bitcoin mining, Covid-19 vaccine distribution, the filibuster, homelessness, invasive species, and pre-school education.

Fall 2020

We competed in the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Over four rounds, we went 3-1. We scored a total of 530 points, and came in 8th place out of 20.

Fall 2019

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, we scored a total of 389.5 points (which was adjusted to 305) and came in 15th place out of 18.

Fall 2018

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, we scored a total of 392 points (which was adjusted to 306) and came in 23rd place out of 28.

Fall 2017

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, we had an adjusted score of 311 and came in 29th place out of 32.

Fall 2016

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, we had an adjusted score of 330 and came in 18th place out of 32.

Fall 2015

We competed in the Central States Regional Ethics Bowl hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over three rounds, we had an adjusted score of 331 and came in 13th place out of 25.

Contact Us

For more information about our team, contact Dr. Jonathan Spelman at j-spelman@onu.edu.

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Ohio Northern UniversityEthics Bowl Team