In 2016, the Center for Public Philosophy at UC Santa Cruz developed a program to bring the Ethics Bowl to high schools that might not otherwise have the resources or coaching to experience this special form of collaborative debate. The lynchpin of the program is a cohort of UCSC students who train to serve as the coaches. The coaches introduce the Ethics Bowl to the high school students and prepare them for a culminating Invitational Ethics Bowl on the UCSC campus. It is a low-stakes, non-intimidating way for students to get their feet wet, and have an active, empowering experience on a college campus. For the UCSC coaches, it offers a meaningful opportunity to apply their passion and skills in a different context. A wide array of community members and cross-disciplinary faculty participate at the event. Everyone spends the day together collectively thinking about what it means to be effective, collaborative thinkers and listeners, especially on contested issues.

In 2019, a Spanish-speaking component was added to the program, further extending the diversity of students, coaches, and judges. The program’s success is due particularly to the sustained support of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the Marc Sanders Foundation, and the University of California.

Part of what makes this Ethics Bowl program so vibrant is the enthusiastic, multi-generational collaboration among five distinct groups: high schools students, undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and members of the community. Here’s how it works: