Organizer extraordinaire, Jeanine DeLay, recently shared news of yet another successful Michigan High School Ethics Bowl, hosted by A2Ethics and the University of Michigan Philosophy Department. Here’s an abridged report from Jeanine, followed by celebratory pictures.
[MHSEB #12 was] a philosofest of energy, thoughtfulness and ardent discussion with 22 teams from 14 schools, including 2 new schools: Hamtramck HS (Cosmic Conscience) and Detroit Country Day School (“Kant Even” and “Golden Rulers”). Among other memorable team names: Washtenaw International High School’s “We Mill Locke You”; “The Golden Mean Machines” from the Academy of the Sacred Heart; Ann Arbor Skyline’s “Plato’s Cavemen.”
We had a Red Carpet entrance for each team accompanied by their team songs. Since this was the “Year of the Volunteers,” we took several photos of judges, philosopher coaches from A2Ethics’ 12 years strong campus community partnership with University of Michigan Philosophy, teacher advisor/coaches and volunteers.
The special word of the year was definitely…honor. We were honored to have seven former Michigan Bowlers serve as moderators in 2025. And we were also thrilled to debut our not-for-real and just-for-fun moderator fashion collection to honor their contributions. We were honored to host nine first-time judges – all undergraduate philosophy students and their resourceful professors (Julia Smith and Griffin Klemick) from Hope College. The gift to Bowlers were honor cords to be worn at their graduation and academic honors ceremonies held at their schools. The colors were Maize and Blue for the University of Michigan and “Honolulu Blue” which is A2Ethics’ color…and the Detroit Lions’ color too. 🙂 Indeed, another year, another honor.
2025 UM graduate student Bowl coordinators: AG McGee, Kiara Gilbert and Lindy OrtizFrom every Ethics Bowler’s favorite illustrator, the talented Dusty UptonThe Hope College 2025 Bowl judges (photo credit Melanie Reyes)Credit illustrator Dusty UptonProfessor Jim Spence, Philosophy and Religion, Adrian College, judge for all 12 Michigan BowlsMC and Hallmark Event Planner, Jeanine DeLay (photo credit Melanie Reyes)
Congrats, Michiganders! Leading the way with style and fun, per usual. And thanks so much for my own MHSEB honor cord! Proudly displayed in my home office – much appreciation and admiration from EthicsBowl.org headquarters in Tennessee :-)
2023 MHSEB Participants Striking their Best Philosopher Poses
Our friends in Ann Arbor report another successful Michigan High School Ethics Bowl. That makes 10 in a row! The only event cool enough to open with a 12-school trolley conga (no rail workers were injured), here are highlights from longtime organizer Jeanine DeLay.
“Our winner of The Hemlock Cup and Michigan regional champion was a first timer – The P-Zombies from Ann Arbor Skyline HS. And the runner-up and Keeper of Philosophy Flame prize also a first timer – Saline HS. The Best Team name prize for ‘Ethically Kantscious’ was submitted by Ann Arbor Huron HS. And The Best Team song prize for ‘I Won’t Back Down’ by Tom Petty was submitted by Beaverton High School’s ‘Dazed and Confucius’ team.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No HSEB out-styles the Michiganders!
Jeanine and team are curious about other bowls’ traditions and colloquial brands of fun. If you’re up for sharing, shoot me an email or simply post a comment. And super EthicsBowl.org congrats to A2Ethics and Ann Arbor Skyline!
While the Michigan High School Ethics Bowl is a fully sanctioned (and arguably the nation’s coolest) NHSEB regional, they don’t use the standard case pool. Instead, local folks author a set intended to be more relevant to the community. From what I can tell, most of the cases and issues are applicable nationally, if not globally. But it’s a uniquely engaging pool, with brief author bios confirming that they’re written by Michiganders, for Michiganders.
Case 4 features a hospital administrator forced to decide whether to honor a request that might complicate a delivery. The mother asks that monitoring of the Unborn Developing Human’s heartrate be disabled during a Cesarean section delivery. The crux of the conflict comes in the final paragraph: Labor and delivery “guidelines suggest that continuous fetal heart rate monitoring is safer for the fetus, because it can allow for early identification of a rupture of the Cesarean scar [a scar due to previous C-sections]—which is deleterious to fetal (and possibly also maternal) well-being. The clinician caring for this person is insistent that the guidelines for continuous monitoring be followed and implemented, but the laboring person is insistent that they will not consent to its use.”
Why a mother would want heartrate monitoring disabled during delivery, I’m unsure. But her motives are relevant to the decision. Is her request driven by some firm, foundational religious reason? (A C-section is already a very unnatural delivery, so it can’t be an objection to the technological help.) Would the monitor make delivery distressing? (Maybe a previous C-section delivery ended badly, and hearing the monitor—or simply knowing the heartrate is being monitored—would cause severe anxiety.) Whatever the case, the strength of the reasons behind her request matter.
The level of risk is also relevant. My wife delivered twice via C-section, and from what I recall, the actual surgery (not counting prep) didn’t last more than twenty minutes, if that. (This doesn’t mean delivering that way is easy or non-dangerous. She suffered a “high spinal” with the second that could have killed her.) If the pregnancy has been normal and checks suggest delivery will be uneventful, maybe disabling the heartrate monitor wouldn’t be a big deal. Maybe complications are exceedingly rare. Then again, to the extent the lack of monitoring would put her or the Unborn Developing Human at unnecessary risk of death or disability, that potential impact would weigh in favor of going ahead and taking the precaution.
It’s also the case that the medical professionals have to balance the mother’s wishes against the Unborn Developing Human’s value, as well as risks to the resulting child’s quality of life. This late in development, the UDH is not only a potential person, but in a few minutes, it will also be a birthed baby. Fully formed and possessing many features of personhood (consciousness, the ability to feel pleasure and pain, the ability to form relationships), and well on its way of becoming a full member of the moral community, more than one party’s interests are at stake. Were the woman not pregnant, we could appropriately focus on her wishes. Were the pregnancy early term, the UDH’s value wouldn’t count as much. But this late in the game, that side of the equation is much weightier.
Ultimately, I’d recommend a conditional analysis. Rather than declaring, “The mother’s wishes should be respected, end of story” or “The UDH’s value should override everything else, end of story,” a thoughtful team could say, “The administrator should decide what to do based on a) the strength of the mother’s motivating reasons and b) the risk of death or disability in light of the value of a late-term UDH.” A team could stipulate additional details and offer a tentative conclusion. But these considerations definitely need to be in the mix.
Cool case! I’m sure the Michigan teams will offer awesome analyses at the bowl next month. I had the honor of judging in 2021, and was very impressed. But for a scheduling conflict, I’d be back this year for sure.
Kudos to case author Lisa Scheiman, Certified Nurse Midwife at the University of Michigan Hospital for 29 years, and trainer of midwifes, medical students and residents, for donating her time and expertise (she also authored case #3). And thanks to the NHSEB for continuing to support the Michigan Bowl’s prerogative to do their thing. Keep doing your thing, A2Ethics!
Imagine a Zoom room filled with bobbing heads, shaking shoulders and “roof raising” hands.
Imagine “DJ DeLay” hyping the crowd, passing the mic from ethics bowl coaches to judges to team captains and back.
Imagine fresh 80s tunes pumpin’ in the background.
And imagine U-M Philosophy Outreach Coordinator Adam Anderson Waggoner stealing the show with a custom Michigan High School Ethics Bowl kickoff rap.
Hey Jeanine, Hey Jeanine, U of M Philosophy loves the ethics bowl scene! It gives us inspiration for our academic dreams.
The questions, the insights, analysis of cases – your work is the reason for the smiles on our faces.
Everyone is showing that the ethics keeps them flowing. No matter where you go, you know we will keep it goin’.
And I want to thank all the dedicated coaches, for all your hours spent, and for all your new approaches. The way you make a difference is amazing – please know this.
So now I’ll pass the mic right back to Jeanine, so we can hear some words from these excellent teams.
What an awesome way to begin a weekend of ethics bowling! As DJ DeLay put it, an event “dedicated to everyone around the world working for health and education, dignity and justice… and philosophy for all.”
All I have to say is…. Aint no party like a Michigan HSEB party cause a Michigan HSEB party don’t stop! Keep doin’ yo think, A2Ethics and DJ DeLay 😉
If you’re an organizer scrambling to pull together virtual bowl training materials, take a deep breath, strike your favorite yoga pose, and click here. Michigan HSEB organizer Jeanine DeLay and her team at A2Ethics offer a relaxing, reassuring judge training video sure to chillax volunteers and participants worldwide.
One of the things we love about A2Ethics – their style! Here’s Jeanine encouraging judge trainees to stand and stretch.
If you’re an organizer, Jeannine can empathize with the worries that keep you up at night, likening bowl coordination to “mosquito control at a nudist camp.” Luckily we learn from one another’s mistakes and build on one another’s successes. Past problems have inspired redundant point-tallying officials, recruiting, courting and training more volunteers than needed, and in Michigan this year implementation of a new alternate judging system.
While only three judges’ score sheets will be counted, four judges will log into Zoom to view and score each match. Why? If one of the official judges’ computers decides bowl time is the perfect time for a forced reboot, the alternate judge will be promoted, their scores included in the totals. Tada! Simple, seamless, effective.
One note: the scoring interface featured in the video is unique to the Michigan Bowl. I’ve tested it and it works great – suspect creator Wayne Eaker of Zengenuity, Inc would be willing to discuss how to do something similar at your bowl if interested. Thanks for your devotion and leadership, Jeanine and team! The best of luck with your upcoming V-Bowl.
That familiar match format, even if via an unfamiliar platform
Have your own virtual bowl disaster avoidance ideas? New virtual bowling materials others might benefit from? Share in a comment or shoot me an email and we’ll get the word out in an article – collaboration and cooperation are what ethics bowl is all about.
