EKU Bioethics Bowl Results

On Saturday, October 26, the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies hosted EKU’s first Bioethics Bowl. The Bioethics Bowl is a debate-style team competition focusing on ethical issues in the practice of medicine and/or biomedical research. The following questions were debated in the EKU Bioethics Bowl: Should alcoholics get liver transplants? Is the Affordable Care Act just? Should medical research in developing countries be held to the same standard as medical research in medical research in the U.S.? and, Is all medical enhancement cheating?

The EKU Bioethics Bowl was open to all EKU undergraduate students from any program of study. Four teams competed in the bowl for a total of two rounds of debate. Members of the team winning first place include: Kyle Casson, a Biomedical Sciences Pre-Veterinarian major from Independence, Kentucky; John Nelson, a Biology and Exercise and Sports Science major from Summer Hill, Kentucky; and, Alexandria Williams, a Biomedical Sciences Pre-Medical major from Clay City, Kentucky. (Pictured below, left to right: Kyle Casson, Alexandria Williams, and John Nelson)

Members of the team winning second place include: Emma Peña, a Biomedical Sciences major from Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Samantha Radomski, a Biomedical Sciences major from Murray, Kentucky; and Danae Stewart, a Music Education major from Lexington, Kentucky. (Pictured below, left to right: Emma Peña, Danae Stewart, Samantha Radomski)

Also competing were Steven Collins, Charlie Hutson, Kennedy Nguyen, Joshua Crabtree, Robert Engelman, Jacob Harney, and Aaron Rice. Dr. Matthew Pianalto from the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, and Dr. Bill Staddon from the Department of Biology at EKU served as judges for the EKU Bioethics Bowl; and, Dr. Patrick Costello from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics served as the official scorekeeper.

According to Dr. Laura Newhart, the moderator for the EKU Bioethics Bowl from the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, “The Bioethics Bowl is a great opportunity for students to enhance their ability to think critically about ethical issues in medicine and biomedical research and to hone their argumentative and public speaking skills. All of the students competing in the EKU Bioethics Bowl this year deserve recognition for their participation.”

The Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies hopes to send a team from among the winners of the EKU Bioethics Bowl to represent Eastern Kentucky University in the National Bioethics Bowl at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts in April of 2020.

The Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies at EKU offers an 18-19 credit hour Minor in Applied Ethics which is designed to complement any major or program on campus. For more information visit www.philosophy.eku.edu.

Published on November 07, 2019