DATE: May 14, 2008

CONTACT: Dan Wueste, (864) 656-6147
ernest@clemson.edu

WRITER: Ross Norton, (864) 656-4810
rnorton@clemson.edu

EXPERT: Daniel E Wueste

Barton prize winners tackle ethics of genetic testing

CLEMSON — A sophomore majoring in architecture won this year’s J.T. Barton Jr. Ethics Essay Competition and a $1,500 scholarship. The category for graduate students had a repeat winner.

The competition is sponsored by the Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics and is open to all Clemson University students and graduate students.

Kelsey Taylor of California, Md., won the undergraduate competition, while William Hanson of Seneca, a graduate student in educational leadership, won the competition among grad students for the second year in a row. He also earned a $1,500 scholarship.

The topic of this year’s competition was “Science and Community: Mandatory Genetic Testing?” Contestants were asked to demonstrate ethical judgment and reasoning in addressing whether genetic testing should be mandatory.

Second place and a $1,000 scholarship in the undergraduate category went to Matthew Bessette, a freshman in general engineering from Rock Hill.

Mark Boerckel, a senior majoring in economics, captured third prize and the $500 scholarship that goes with it. He is from East Moline, Ill.

Earning honorable mention recognition were Larua Kerbo, a freshman majoring in language and international trade, from Fayetteville, Tenn., and Reid Seiler, a junior majoring in economics, from Anderson.

Winners were selected by a panel of judges from three of Clemson’s five colleges. The Rutland Institute has sponsored the J.T. Barton Jr. Ethics Essay Competition for seven years.

For more on the Rutland Institute, visit http://www.clemson.edu/ethics/index.php.

END