MOUNT OLIVE, NC – The University of Mount Olive (UMO) Ethics Bowl team joined 19 other campuses from across North Carolina for the 2026 NCICU Ethics Bowl, a two-day academic competition focused on ethical reasoning, leadership, and collaborative problem solving.
Now in its 15th year, the NCICU Ethics Bowl challenges students to explore ethical questions tied to vital societal issues. Teams spend months researching case studies, grounding their positions in academic ethical theories, and preparing to explain their reasoning using clear ethical principles. The event is not a debate. Opposing teams may take the same side of an issue and are evaluated on preparation, ethical understanding, and how compellingly they present their perspective.
“With only one new team member and the rest returning, UMO students entered this year’s Ethics Bowl with greater confidence in the process, expectations, and their own abilities,” advisor Adam Garfinkel said.
This year’s competition theme was, “Ethics in Leadership,” which asked students to consider ethical challenges they are likely to encounter beyond the classroom. There were four rounds of competition, with teams paired in each match and evaluated by panels of three judges including business representatives, community leaders, and legislators.
Garfinkel said the collaborative nature of the competition was evident during one exchange. “This year Team UMO presented one case where we discussed the ethical dilemma presented and a funding solution to address the issue,” he said. “The opposing team adopted our solution to present as an expansion of their position, and the judges rewarded that team for doing that.”
That moment reflected the purpose of the Ethics Bowl format. “Ethics Bowl is similar to traditional debate, but with less of an emphasis on presenting a set position and winning or losing,” Garfinkel said. “Teams apply their chosen ethical lens to a leadership decision scenario presented which can include both teams adopting or interpreting the same issue or side of the issue, so it is not set up as a pure adversarial competition with opposing viewpoints debated. Rather each team is scored on metrics of their performance resulting in a winning school being declared in each of the four rounds.”
Students also strengthened skills that extend well beyond the competition. “Time management is an essential skill regardless of how prepared factually our team is on the issues presented,” Garfinkel said. “That became especially clear when the competition shifted from five-minute to three-minute rounds, requiring students to refine and prioritize their arguments with greater care.”
“For us, success is defined by the experience itself. It is about engaging with students and faculty from the other 19 schools and helping our students develop the judgment, perspective, and sense of responsibility they will carry into lives of leadership and service,” he said.
This year’s Ethics Bowl team included Kathryn Broom, a senior cybersecurity major from Houston, TX; Christian Chavez-Ramirez, a senior accounting major from Pink Hill, NC; Reece Gery, a sophomore exercise science major from Goldsboro, NC; Joshua Hernandez, a senior accounting major from NC; Nicholas Logue, a senior accounting major from CO; Savannah McAfee, a senior business management major from FL; Kayleigh Snowe, a junior double major in Christian studies and business management from Swansboro, NC; and Kendal Snowe, a junior business management major, also from Swansboro, NC.
