December 1st of 2012 was a victorious day for Cherry Hill East. It was the day Cherry Hill East’s first Ethics Team won a new trophy for the school at the Philadelphia Regional High School Ethics Bowl at Villanova University. Although the Villanova Ethics Bowl was the first regional tournament the team ever competed in, Cherry Hill East placed second place among twelve other more experienced teams.
Team members consisted of Adam Heller (’13), Max DuBoff (’15), Lele Meng (’15), Alyssa Poletti (’15), Srihari Shankar (’15), Jake Walsh (’16), and Mason Williams (’16). They are still eagerly waiting to hear whether they will be invited to the National High School Ethics Bowl in North Carolina this April.
For those who don’t know, Ethics Team is a new club here at Cherry Hill East where students debate on issues based on whether they are ethical or not. Mr. Lodge, a former teacher and current debate team coach created this club this year after receiving an invitation to compete at Villanova.
Winning second place at their first Ethics Bowl was a great accomplishment for the Ethics Team. However the trophy was not the only thing gained from Villanova. The team members gained a lot of experience from not only speaking but debating in front of thousands of people in a university lecture hall.
Max DuBoff (’15) said “I definitely have a greater understanding of other people’s viewpoints and have more confidence in public speaking.” Srihari Shankar also added “I learned that many issues exist in this world and they can be very controversial.”
Mr. Lodge noted that team members learned how to work cooperatively as one team. He emphasized that teamwork was the most crucial factor to Cherry Hill East’s victory.