2008 Arsht Ethics Debate at SportsFest
Hecht freshmen defeat defending champion Stanford; Pearson comes in second.
The Second Annual Arsht Ethics Debates at SportsFest featured a suite of challenging new cases and a new champion as Hecht residential College, fielding an all-freshman team, placed first among six teams. Pearson came in second and a team from defending champion Stanford placed third.
“Stand up and believe,” UM Ethics Program donor Adrienne Arsht told debaters during the Feb. 3 trophy presentation ceremony attended by the SportsFest debate teams, observers and a distinguished panel of judges including UM Citizens Board members and UM faculty. The winners:
First Place: Hecht Residential College
Eric Allseits, Freshman; Chemistry and Physics
Melissa Hebra, Freshman; International Finance and Marketing, Legal Studies
Daniel Rosenberg; Freshman; History
Second Place: Pearson Residential College
Brandon Calabro, Junior; Computer Science and Mathematics
Shira Kharrazi, Freshman; Psychology
Pravin Patel, Junior; Political Science and Philosophy
Vikalt Patel, Junior; Biology
Emily Wingrove, Freshman; Undeclared
Cases addressed issues in college football’s “play for pay” movement, hockey aggression and other topics.
The debate is intended to create an opportunity for students to think about important ethical dilemmas in sport and to learn to frame effective ethical arguments.
The Arsht Ethics Debate included six teams of 2-4 students representing Apartment Area, Hecht, Pearson, and Stanford. The debate was structured in the same manner as the fall Ethics Debate. During the individual rounds of the debate, a modified version of the official Ethics Debate rules were used – see below for a full outline of the rules. Students had the opportunity to participate in Ethics Debate training using four scenarios, two of which were used during Round 1 and other two in Round 2. Ethics Society members developed the scenarios.
Students spent the two weeks between January 14th and February 3rd preparing for the debate. All participating teams received 100 points for their dorms; winners received special prizes - gift certificates from Books & Books.
SportsFest, an annual three-day spring program, is one of UM’s most popular student activities. Students generally compete in athletic and other events representing their residential college. In 2007, SportsFest featured the Arsht Debates as a first-ever academic component. This year marks the second year for the debates.
Flyer
Cases
Winners
2008 – Hecht Residential College
Eric Allseitsa, Melissa Hebra,
Danny Rosenberg
