Set against the backdrop of the new U.T. Tyler School of Business, Ethics Bowl competitors dominated the regional competition. On Saturday, Jan. 25, two teams from Westwood closed out the tournament, with one team advancing to divisional playoffs. A relatively novel organization, Ethics Bowls focuses on meaningful discussions involving diverse conversations on case studies about ethical implications in the modern-day world.
“Entering the competition, we knew it was going to be fierce,” Ethics Bowl Historian Aaron Yeh ‘26 said. “We were competing against one of the largest private schools in Texas –Awty International, who had two private coaches. We had none.”
In 2024, Ethics Bowl competitors had previously only made it to third place at regionals. Heading into the new school year, the club was left without a sponsor and with a deficit in funds.
“There was a lot of work to be done,” Arnav Maskey ‘26 said. “We were incredibly grateful for all the people who made it happen, including our new sponsor Ms. Meagan McLendon who was willing to take a chance on us and P. Terry’s for agreeing to profit share with the team.”
With funding and a sponsor acquired at the nick of time, Ethics Bowl was able to assemble two teams for competition, many being first year members who were willing to give it their all for the tournament.
“I was a little bit unsure about it at first,” Levi Kim ‘27 said. “But [actually] going there and locking in together as a team, we improved way quicker than I thought, and we had a lot of fun at the end.”
According to Co-President of Ethics Bowl, Landon Iley ‘25, who has seen past competitions, the tournament surroundings and competitions overall were impressive, with the judging consisting of PhD students and ethics professors, and the tournament itself consisting of three robust preliminary rounds with one judge each, and a panel of three judges on the semifinal and final panel.
“Unlike debate tournaments, the competition wasn’t about which team argued the best, but about which team could spark the greatest conversations and truly get at the heart of moral dilemmas in a respectful manner,” Iley said. “The competition went smoothly for Team One. We didn’t lose a single round and only lost two judge ballots at the end, one in semifinals and finals.
Team Two’s journey to finals faced a much more difficult path. However, the team persevered.
“Team Two lost in prelims to Awty International which made it super suspenseful if they were going to make it to the finals, but to make matters worse they had to face the same team in semifinals,” Yeh said. “But they managed to beat the odds and pull through making it a Westwood [versus] Westwood final. It ended up being a 2-1 decision for Team One, and it was just such a great tournament overall.”
As the competition came to a close, Iley saw his teammates grow throughout the tournament, seeing potential for the continued season.
“We definitely improved from last year in our preparatory strategy and consistently practicing,” Iley said. “And for the first time in three years, I can say that we can finally look forward to the divisional playoffs. ”
The following competitors will compete at the divisional playoffs at The Prindle Institute for Ethics from Feb. 11-13:
Avery Chen ‘26
Landon Iley ‘25
Saisha Siram ‘26
Arnav Maskey ‘26
Aaron Yeh ‘26
