Real Problems

By tackling real-world issues SCU students get a deep understanding of ethical choices.

Would it be ethical to pay citizens to vote, or to make voting mandatory? Are plans for 3-D printed guns protected by free speech?

These are real-life ethics questions. And Santa Clara’s Ethics Bowl team is thoughtful—and quick—in answering them.

That focus earned them recognition as the top Ethics Bowl team in the country in 2018.

“Their ability to think on the fly and as a team was just incredible,” says head coach Erin Bradfield, a lecturer in philosophy. “You could also see how much fun they were having, which exemplifies the spirit of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl.”

post-image Illustration by Mallory Heyer
Spin Masters

In searching for patterns that would differentiate one species of webspinners from the next, Professor Janice Edgerly-Rooks wondered: What if you put their steps to music? Would you be able to hear the differences?

A Strong Red

Santa Clara’s signature red has been around since the late 1800s. Before it was made official, though, we were almost the blue Broncos.

Unspooling Stories

Art historian Andrea Pappas explores the sneaky feminism woven into colonial embroideries.

The Pope, AI, and Us

Santa Clara’s Markkula Center joins the Vatican in contemplating—what else?—the ethics of AI and other disruptive tech.