January 16, 2025
Each year, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) hosts the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Competition, during which teams of undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the nation discuss issues using a set of cases that were drawn from real-life ethical challenges in education, business, life, and politics.
At this year’s competition, which will take place Feb. 22 and 23 in Norfolk, Va., two of the 17 cases that will be used were authored by Payton Bucki, a 2024 political science and social work graduate and current Master of Public Administration student at Oakland University.
“It means a great deal to me that my cases – Family Time and Standing Room Only – will be considered and debated by students at the 2025 APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Competition,” Bucki said. She is one of only nine authors selected for this honor.
“Her selection as a case writer for the national competition reflects both her exceptional analytical abilities and our department’s success in preparing students to engage with substantive ethical questions,” said Mark Navin, Ph.D., professor and chair of philosophy at Oakland University.
Navin said the two cases authored by Bucki will “direct student competitors to reflect on complex ethical questions behind contemporary social issues.”
“The Family Time case is of special importance for us at OU, as it focuses on the novel legal strategy by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office to hold Ethan Crumbley’s parents responsible for the Oxford High School shooting,” he said.
Standing Room Only discusses hostile architecture and its use in urban planning by private businesses.
“I wrote this case to encourage students to consider how hostile architecture negatively impacts vulnerable populations (such as the homeless), workers, and customers of private businesses,” Bucki said.
She wrote both cases over the summer while participating in a writing retreat at The Prindle Institute for Ethics with several professors, professionals, academics, and students from across the nation.
“During the retreat, each writer pitched their ideas for ethically complex issues that could be considered from many angles by the students,” Bucki said. “Both of the topics I proposed were the cases I ended up writing. I loved working alongside many bright minds; all of us had unique niches and perspectives which allowed us to produce high-quality cases.”
Bucki is no stranger to competition. She was a member of Oakland University’s Ethics Bowl team for two years, and both years the team qualified for the national competition. In 2023, she was on the team when it won the Central States Regional tournament, besting 22 other regional competitors, including Michigan State University, Bowling Green State University, and DePaw University.
“I loved receiving the cases for the national competition because they always present an array of complex, intriguing topics and moral/ethical dilemmas,” she said. “These cases are not only fun to read and to consider, but they also serve to develop increased knowledge and critical thinking skills among the students. Ethics Bowl challenges students to deeply consider issues and topics that they may have never considered looking into.”
Bucki currently serves as a graduate assistant coach for the team, and still has fond memories of her time competing and those that inspired her along the way, including Philosophy Professor Mark Rigstad, who passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 17, 2024.
“Mark was a deeply intelligent and kind soul who served as one of my biggest mentors,” Bucki said “He always advocated for his students to step outside of their comfort zone and broaden their intellectual horizons. He was one of my biggest inspirations for joining the IEB Nationals case-writing committee.
“I was also inspired by the current Oakland University Ethics Bowl coach (and my former coach), Lisa Campbell. Lisa has provided me with great advice for improving my communication and writing skills. Without her continued support and guidance, I would not have been prepared to produce such high-quality work for the program.”
To learn more about the OU Ethics Bowl team, visit dtvu.bjlanjia.com/phil/ethics-bowl.
You can also read more about Bucki’s cases, Family Time (Case 5) and Standing Room Only (Case 10) at www.appe-ethics.org/appe-ieb-national-competition.