ETHICS BOWL 2008

Yesterday (11/15/08) the Ethics Bowl team and I went to Boeing headquarters to participate in the regional competition, and we returned with a trophy. Interested? Read on. Last year was our first time participating in the Ethics Bowl, and we didn't win one match of the three we played. From that experience, we learned a lot about how to organize ourselves better. We've been practicing for weeks, along with help from assistant coach Alain Beauclair (aka "The Glen Sather of Ethics Bowl"), and yesterday the students looked great. We began the day with a loss to Whitworth University. It was a close match -- 130 to 139. But the team roared back against Montana State with a convincing 141 to 113 win, followed by a close match against the University of British Columbia, which we won 122 to 114. That record of two wins and one loss put us into the top four teams, and that meant that we qualified for the semifinals. Unfortunately, we drew Whitworth again. We fell again in a nailbiter, losing by a mere three points, 135 to 138. Whitworth went on to the final round and won the whole regional tournament. Although we had two wins and two losses, both losses were against the team that won the tournament. Our point total put us into third place, ahead of the team that lost the other semifinal round. To give you a sense of how impressive this is, keep in mind that we finished ahead of teams from the University of Washington, Washington State University, and Seattle University, among others. Yes, our students were that good. Here's the best part: The top three teams each got trophies -- you'll see it in the department soon. But even more exciting is that we may be invited to participate in the national competition, to be held in Cincinnati in March!!! The top two teams from each region definitely go, and in recent years, the third team has also been invited. So, get ready . . . we may end up representing the department on a national stage. I'll keep you posted.

Here's the team:

Mike Derheimer, "Hat Mike"

Phillip Downes, "Immanuel"

Casie Dunleavy, "El Presidente"

Ashley Goo, "The Attorney"

Brandi Landis, "The Sniper"

Christian Mecham, "The Buddhist Bully"

Mike Moceri, "Hair Mike"

Patrick O'Brien, "The Irish Intimidator"

If you see any of these students around the department, congratulate them on a job well done. They put a lot of work into this. I'm giving them a couple of weeks off, or until we hear from the national organization, before I start yelling at them again and making them run laps. Matt Altman, "Da Coach"