GMC News

Six cadets from Georgia Military College (GMC) at Milledgeville and five students from Georgia Military College (GMC) at Augusta have been preparing for several months to compete at the national championship of the 2014 Ethics Bowl this weekend. The competition for two-year colleges from across the nation will be held in Chicago on March 15, with the local cadets departing for Chicago today. The Ethics Bowl is a presentation of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) to provide a greater opportunity for students across the nation to leverage the benefits of researching contemporary ethical issues, refining and polishing critical thinking skills, developing core values, and ultimately helping them become future leaders in their communities and professions. James Brady, Ethics and Critical Thinking instructor, is the lead adviser and coach of the GMC Ethics Bowl teams. He says preparing for the competition, where the students will challenge other teams before a panel of judges, is a months-long, multi-faceted process. “This team must prepare to present and debate their opinion on the 12 ethical cases the APPE provides,” says Brady. “Preparing to debate an ethical question on any of the 12 vastly different topics can be a grueling process. It takes true teamwork, and this team’s proven ability to work together makes the preparation process truly rewarding. “First, each team member takes several cases to research and identify the primary ethical issues of the topic. Next, we determine team positions, then build out the each presentation to each team member’s strength. Next, we continue to research and refine speaking points, with the goal of training each presenter to be a subject matter expert on their given topic. The last several weeks of preparation consist of practice, feedback, and more practice as we perfect our ability to present the most compelling case to the judges,” says Brady. Examples of ethical cases the cadets are preparing to debate include the pros and cons of wearable technology (Google Glass is one example), publishing a deceased author’s work against specifications in their will, and the benefits and drawbacks using domestic drones. The 2014 GMC Milledgeville Ethics Bowl Team members are: Matthew Abdalla, 19, State Service Cadet, of Canton, Ga. Tess Heimerman, 18, Coast Guard Academy candidate, of Camden, Ga. John Ivester, 26, Early Commissioning Program, of Sherrills Ford, N.C. Michael McClure, 19, State Service Cadet, of Camden, Ga. Jerrick McIntosh, 22, State Service Cadet, of Augusta, Ga. Aaron Rawls, 20, State Service Cadet, of Warner Robins, Ga. Sarah Williams, 19, Coast Guard, of Giltner, Neb. (team member not competing in nationals due to prior commitment) Barbara Roth-Johnson, administrative assistant and housing officer at GMC, is the coach of the 2014 Ethics Bowl GMC Milledgeville team. The 2014 GMC Augusta Ethics Bowl Team members are: Ashley Cordell, junior, of Augusta, Ga. Terrell Glover, sophomore, of Conyers, Ga. Christopher Hamb, sophomore, Ethics Bowl Team Captain, of Harlem, Ga. Christopher Shipman, sophomore, of Hephzibah, Ga. David Walker, sophomore, of Evans, Ga. Cordell was the captain of the 2013 GMC Augusta Ethics Bowl team, which placed third overall nationally. For more information about The APPE Two-Year College Ethics Bowl, visit https://appe.indiana.edu/. ###