Published: Feb. 4, 2019
Peak to Peak High School Ethics Bowl team
Colorado Academy Ethics Bowl team

Under what conditions, if any, is it morally permissible to read someone’s diary without their knowledge? To engage in a loud argument in public? To buy ivory?  Eight teams from five area high schools came together to discuss these questions and many more at the third annual Colorado High School Ethics Bowl on Saturday, Feb. 2.  Ethics Bowl is a collaborative and competitive team-based activity, similar in some ways to debate, but with a focus on developing the ability to think critically and speak effectively about ethical issues.  Organized by the Department’s Center for Values and Social Policy (and its Director, Prof. David Boonin), and co-sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility in the Leeds School of Business, the event culminated in a closely-contested final round between teams from Peak to Peak High School in Lafayette and Colorado Academy in Denver.  Colorado Academy prevailed by a 2-1 vote from the judges and will move on to a regional playoff match with a trip to the National High School Ethics Bowl in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on the line.

At right: The finalists in this year's Ethics Bowl, teams from Peak to Peak High School (above) and Colorado Academy (below).