Ethics Day
Ethics Day is a day dedicated for our community to come together to discover, explore, and engage in dialogue about the critical issues we face. It’s also about coming together to develop the critical skills we need to solve those issues.
Main Program Sessions
Breakout Sessions
Student Ethics Presentation Competition
Win up to $1,000 for your Organization or UC Cause
UC undergraduate students and organizations are invited to participate in an ethics presentation competition. Teams will be given three cases studies and asked to prepare an answer to the primary ethical question the case study raises. The target date for the competion is Ethics Day April 13, but once the teams have applied (and are selected) we are open to scheduling teams sometime during the week leading up to Ethics Day.
Winning teams will receive a Bearcat Ethics Prize to fund an activity for their organization, department, college, or UC cause of their choice.
The first ten (10) eligible teams to apply by March 10 will be guaranteed a competition spot.
The final deadline is April 6. Space is limited, so it is best to apply as early as you can.
Prizes
First Place – $1,000 for your student organization or cause
Second Place – $500 for your student organization or cause
Third Place – $250 for your student organization or cause
Competition Format and Rules
Eligibilty:
Teams must be comprised of 3-5 UC undergraduate students who are competing for a UC unit. Examples include student organizations, departments, or colleges. Students may also form a team to compete for a University of Cincinnati cause (e.g. Bearcat Pantry). Unofficial student organizations are also eligible provided they are aligned with the main aims that UC has for official student organizations.
Rules:
Teams should prepare to provide a five minute answer to ethical question given in each of the three cases below. You will be asked to present on one of them during the competition. This will be chosen at random.
Teams may not bring any prepared notes or visual aids. Teams will be given paper and pen, and may take notes during the competition. Teams will be given 3 minutes to confer once they know what case they will be discussing and 5 minutes to present their answer.
There will be a panel of three judges who will have a chance to ask the presenting team questions about their teams position and arguments for that position. The judges will score the teams presentation and their response to questions using a rubric which is available in the materials section below. Teams are advised to review the rubric to help them think about how best to prepare their presentations.
After all teams have presented we will announce the top three teams based on total number of judges points.
Helpful Materials:
- Judges Rubric and Criteria
- Cases and Questions (Listed below)
Check out The Cases!
The Purpose of Higher Education
This case concerns efforts to restrict state funding for college majors that are deemed to be “practical” from the perspective of career preparation. Your team should be prepared to talk about the purposes of higher education and whether these kinds of limits are a good or bad.
Justice Delayed, Justice Denied
This case concerns the tragic murder of Emmit Till in 1955 and efforts to prosecute suspects alive today in 2023. Your team should be prepared to discuss what your team thinks justice requires in cases like this.
Freedom of Tweets
This case concerns recent events surrounding Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Your team should be prepared to discuss whether companies like Twitter have a responsibility to ensure that information shared on their platforms is accurate
APPLY TO COMPETE
The first ten (10) eligible teams to apply by March 10 will be guaranteed a competition spot.
The final deadline is April 6. Space is limited, so it is best to apply as early as you can.
Questions?
info@cincyethics.org
Levers of Change: Community Conversation Kick-Off Lunch
Join us for a lunch-time conversation about the issues UC Students care about the most. Topics will include policing, pedestrian safety, and student housing (to name a few).
In addition to discussing issues UC students would like to change, students will be introduced to strategies and best practices to be effective change agents.
This event is the kick-off a year long community conversations series in partnership with the Hamilton County and Cincinnati Public Library and OhioConnection called “Levers of Change”
Come discover the core knowledge and skills you need to be an effective agent for change and engage in dialogue about the ethical issue students care deeply about here at UC. Lunch will be provided.
Please sign-up below by April 6 if you plan to attend.
Dungeons and Dragons Night
April 13
Come join our Dungeon’s and Dragons engagement team for a free dinner and a classic dungeon crawl. We will have several tables running at once with a dedicated “dungeon master” at each table. You are welcome to join us whether you have never played or are an experienced adventurer.
Registration is required so we can anticipate how much food to order and how many DMs to bring on board. Please register by April 6. Space is limited, so it is better to register well before the deadline to guarantee yourself a seat at the table.
Why Dungeons and Dragons on Ethics Days?
Because several studies show that play D&D improves moral reasoning skills. We currently have Dungeons and Dragons and Ethics programs in 3 area library branches, and will expand to 3 more this summer.
Participating students at the Ethics Day event will have a chance to learn more about how they might get involved with this community engagement project.
Registration Form
Dinner will be served from 5-6. That will also be a time to introduce new players to some of the basics of the game. The adventure will start at 6pm, so if you can’t make dinner, but still want to play you can join us at 6.
Register by April 6
Public Breakout Session
We are in the process of soliticing proposals for our breakout sessions. If you would like to propose one.
See here for details.
Team Breakout Sessions
We are in the process of soliticing proposals for our breakout sessions. If you would like to propose one.
See here for details.
