"In civilized life," once wrote Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, "law floats in a sea of ethics." 

Exploring concepts surrounding ethics is challenging, cerebral work, which makes the OES Ethics team's win at the recent Oregon Ethics Bowl all the more impressive. Nancy Keates, parent of two OES students and Bowl organizer extraordinaire, had this detailed report to share about the team's triumph:

"The OES team won the Oregon Ethics Bowl on Saturday, beating out 22 teams from nine schools in a grueling eight hour competition that took place at Portland State University. 

The team, composed of juniors Jack C., Jack M., Quattro M., and Vaughan S., faced a squad from Jesuit in the semifinals and a team from Lincoln in the finals. During the competition they analyzed cases and responded to questions posed by a panel of judges, including: philosophy professors, doctors, attorneys, and business and non-profit leaders. Topics ranged from the moral consequences of new technologies to our limitations as mortal human beings living in an imperfect world. 

Their win in Oregon qualifies the team to compete in April against teams from around the country at the National Ethics Bowl, an event sponsored by the Parr Center for Ethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill."

Congratulations to this fantastic foursome! 

Photo courtesy of Nancy Keates