After attending the 2017 Tennessee High School Ethics Bowl at the University of Tennessee Knoxville last February, Oakland High School just brought the Ethics Bowl to Rutherford County.

Patriot students Rosemarie Kuenn and Carley Coulombe wanted fellow high school students in the area to be able to participate, learn, and compete. They turned the dream into a reality as the two students in cooperation with the Oakland High School International Baccalaureate department hosted the first Rutherford County Ethics Bowl. In mid November the students organized the event from inviting and registering other schools to securing judges and providing the agenda for the day.

They recruited judges for the event which included OHS teachers, Dr. Mary Magada-Ward (Philosophy Professor at MTSU), Alex Feldt (Philosophy Professor at UTK, and the Director of the TNHSEB), along with Jennifer Hart.

In the inaugural year, three Rutherford County schools participated (Central, OHS, Blackman). A group of students from Smyrna High came to observe with hopes to compete next year. Oakland High and Blackman High tied in the championship round with an equal number of points from the judges.

Judges votes were used for the tie breaker, with Blackman winning the trophy.

For more information about the OHS Ethics Bowl, please contact Carrissa Clark at Oakland High School (clarkca@rcschools.net)