The Catawba College team that participated in the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities' Ethics Bowl held in Raleigh on February 17-18 went 3-1 over the course of the event. The Catawba team ended day one with a 3-0 record against Wingate, Barton, and Campbell, before falling to Louisburg College on day two of the competition.
Catawba's team was one of the 22 from private colleges participating in the annual event. Cases it debated included "Paper, Pen, and Guns" which addressed issues surrounding recent laws permitting firearms on campuses in several states; "When Free Speech and Hate Speech Collide" which addressed the challenges college campuses face when weighing free speech protections against hate speech and other types of speech some might find offensive; "Probable Cause, Civil Rights, and Fairness" which weighed individual rights of privacy and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure against the government's responsibility to maintain public safety; and "Individual Rights vs. Community Standards" which considered the rights of transgender students to use the restroom that matches their identity.
Catawba's team, coached by Assistant Professor of Politics Dr. Norris Feeney, included Blake Brewer, Brianna Gordon, Sarah Bushey, Jonathan (Jon) Rife and Taylor Cielo.
The team enjoyed a reception and dinner at the N.C. Museum of History after competition on day one, followed by remarks from Samuel James Ervin IV, an Associate Justice of the N.C. Supreme Court.
