Looking Back at Tulane Ethics Bowl Spring 2026 Moments
Erika Cooperman

The Ethics Bowl Program, supported by The Murphy Institute's Center for Ethics, encourages collegiate and high school students to engage in civil discourse, thinking and working together to confront complex ethical dilemmas. Participants don't debate —rather, they collaborate, challenge one another's thinking, and work together toward clearer, stronger arguments regarding real-world moral problems and ethical issues. 

From local New Orleans high school scrimmages and regional tournaments to national collegiate competition, the program cultivates rigorous and systematic reflection on thorny questions and fosters an appreciation for engaging respectfully in dialogue with those who hold differing views which provides the students with skills that will carry with them well beyond the competition floor. 

Collegiate Program: National BioEthics Bowl, Pittsburgh 

On April 11, 2026, the Tulane University Ethics Bowl (TUEB) team traveled to Pittsburgh to compete in the 2026 National BioEthics Bowl Tournament, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. 

The tournament challenged students to engage some of the most pressing and complex issues at the intersection of medicine, science, and society. For team members and coaches alike, the experience was as much about personal growth and connection as it was about competition. 

Sania Islam & Briana Brown & Nicole Macakathi at the Bio Ethics Bowl event with peers from other universities

Guiding the team in Pittsburgh were coaches Elijah Akinbode and Kuo Bian (Bain). Bain, who has coached the collegiate Ethics Bowl team since Fall 2024, describes how the most rewarding part of his role is witnessing the team's ability to think on their feet. 

"[The program] is designed to leave a great deal of room for improvisation, allowing both the team and the coach to develop their own initiative toward Ethics Bowl. One especially rewarding part has been seeing how our team's improvisation came through during competition. My favorite part is hearing positions and thoughts that I had not considered before [and] seeing someone present a position passionately and persuasively." — Kuo Bian (Bain), TUEB Coach

The students and coaches who competed in Pittsburgh agreed that the trip brought the team closer together in unexpected ways. "One highlight from the Pittsburgh trip is connecting with my teammates. I learned a lot about everyone by competing ... and I am especially thankful for the opportunity to get closer to the grad students and hear what they have to say. I also enjoyed meeting and competing against someone from my hometown who attends a rival school." — Matthew Blonder, Philosophy Major with SLAM and Religious Studies Minors, Class of 2027 

High School Program: Spring Scrimmage 

While the Tulane Ethics Bowl team was competing in the BioEthics Bowl in Pittsburgh on April 11, service learners and volunteers, led by Kayla Cuva, program intern and TUEB team member, hosted 5 high school Ethics Bowl teams for a local spring scrimmage at Tulane University's Howard Tilton Library. The 5 teams represented Bard Early College New Orleans, McDonogh 35 College Preparatory School, Frederick A. Douglass High School and Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School. For many participating seniors, it was their final Ethics Bowl event before graduation in May. 

Tree graphic with colorful leaves containing text, and "ETHICS BOWL" logo at the bottom.

Cases this year pushed students to wrestle with real ethical issues with local stakes, including the ethics of expanding the petrochemical industry in Louisiana and the tension between job market growth and community well-being, as well as questions about personal profitability in service work and performative activism in the college access space. 

Teams spend weeks preparing for competition by studying a set of possible cases for the tournament, but they don't know which specific question they'll face until they're seated across from an opposing team. At that point, they have just a few minutes to organize their thoughts, assign team members roles, and deliver a response before fielding questions from the other team. The goal isn't to "win" a debate, but to push each other toward clearer, more honest, more complete arguments.

 

In the students’ words: 

"I think ethics bowl is an importnant way to evaluate challenging situations. Every case depends and it is important to see all perspectives."
"We all think so differently! It's fun to hear our reasons."
"My favorite thing about ethics bowl is interacting with new issues that I had never thought of and exploring their solutions."
“I love getting to hear all the diverse perspectives.” 

At The Murphy Institute, we are proud to substantively support programming that promotes civil discourse at Tulane. Ethics Bowl is one of many pillars of this effort and aligns with The Murphy Institute’s commitment to ethical inquiry and constructive dialogue. Through local high school partnerships, service learning, and collegiate competition, we work to bring that mission to life through Tulane Ethics Bowl programming. As we celebrate this year's graduates from both the Tulane collegiate team and our partner high schools, we look forward to an even more successful year for Tulane Ethics Bowl in 2026-2027.