By Shantika Bhat, VRG Intern

In high school there are many opportunities for activism. Participating on debate and ethics bowl teams can help educate your classmates.

I was a part of my school’s Ethics Bowl team where we would prepare for competitions. Ethics Bowl Competitions are when two teams debate (in a kind manner) many real-life ethical cases. The point of these competitions is to learn how to be a critical and analytical thinker, develop teamwork, and have fun. Ethics Bowl is different from a debate competition because you are not assigned opposing views; rather, you defend whichever position you think is correct while providing advice and constructive criticism to the other team. The cases you get are pre-set and everyone gets the same ones. Before your team goes to competition you develop your own arguments and opinions which could also be the same as another team. In addition, you are being judged by engaging in respectful and supportive efforts to compete with your other team. Overall, this competition teaches you how to appreciate multiple viewpoints, civic engagement, and civic discourse.

One interesting case we were assigned was about factory farming, which was the term used by the ethics bowl organizers. The agricultural industry call these Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs).

People can have very different opinions. As a vegetarian or vegan, you can decide for yourself how strong you want to be about your thoughts during the competition, and what style will have the most reach.

This case impacted a lot of my friends on the team about their lifestyle choices. Most of my friends consume meat but never knew about the cruelty that goes on to get the meat that they eat. A lot of those friends are more accepting of vegetarian and plant-based diets now compared to before they read this case.

Here are other ideas for activism: https://www.vrg.org/teen/#activism