Our two BHS ethics teams placed sixth and eighth in the Long Island Ethics Bowl last Saturday at Hofstra University.  Both teams put their best effort in, facing other teams like Stonybrook and Farmingdale in rounds of debate that lasted all day.

Both teams had practiced everyday after school for weeks in preparation.  There were twelve ethical cases that each team had to prepare and argue.  At the bowl, there are four preliminary rounds, then the semifinals and finals.  Only the top four teams make semifinals, so unfortunately, BHS didn’t make it, but they performed outstandingly and placed well enough to qualify for other bowls around the area.  Bethpage One, led by senior Marco Cunha, placed eighth and won the award for best response to judges’ questions.  Bethpage Two, led by senior Josh Danziger, took sixth place.  There were twenty-four teams competing at this year’s bowl.

“The bowl was really fascinating, and seeing the different interpretations of the cases was interesting,” said senior Katelin Leavey, who was a member of Bethpage Two this year.  One of the biggest parts of the Bowl is hearing how other teams explain their side on a particular case and understanding it.  For the six seniors on both teams, they will miss this part of the Bowl.  “My last Ethics Bowl was one I’ll remember; there were a lot of great teams and perspectives we got to see,” said senior Hajarah Dar.

Both teams were truly hoping to make semifinals, but they each just made the cut, losing only one round each.  “Overall it was a great experience… our future in the competition was left in the hand of judges who each had their own opinions,” said junior Jess O’Keefe.  There are three judges in each round; they score each team individually and add the points to find the winner.  Many times judges will disagree on which team performed better, so even when a team wins one or two judges over, they can’t always win them all.  The judges this year were as fair as possible, and every team performed well.

Good luck to our teams in their next competition!