WEB EXCLUSIVE Sophomores in Ethics and Morality created five minute TED talks pertaining to ethical issues of their choosing.

The talks are based on a month-long discussion on moral issues including euthanasia, abortion and psychological experiments.

“The ethics project has taught me how to build and create a persuasive speech through topics that I am passionate about,” sophomore Audrey Scott said. “It was a good way of hearing new perspectives on ethical issues and I am glad we got to look into the TED talk method for a project.”

At the beginning of the project, Theology and Scripture teacher Bryan Lorentz showed students an 11 minute TED talk by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist.

“My favorite part about Greta’s speech was that she focused on the effects of climate change on our future generation,” sophomore Jackie Guevara said. “The fact that she spoke her truth as a 16-year-old to a much older audience was really motivational. I hope to present my talk as passionately as she did next week.”

Lorentz asked students to refer to the TED Speaker Guide which provides the guidelines of a TED talk. This provided speakers with skills and insight into what makes a talk effective.

“I have learned through the use of the speaker guide that it is important to be organized when communicating an idea to an audience,” sophomore Bella Wasserman said. “The guide has helped shape my talk and it has been a very useful resource when writing.”

Students will present their final talks and a digital presentation to their fellow classmates during their final period next Wednesday.

“I will be talking about the ethics concerning AI and how we have to start making changes in our world as the potential of creating a sentient, conscious being becomes greater,” said Scott. “I am excited to hear about other people’s ideas on various ethical issues.”