Are prisons obligated to satisfy the dietary requirements of vegans?
Should cage fighting be banned as a sport?
Is studying pornography in college legitimate?
The five members of the Union College Ethics Bowl Team addressed these issues and others recently when they competed in the 2007 Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Will Fitzsimons '08, Meagan Keenan '09, Samantha Miller '07, Nordo Nissi '07 and Heidy Sanchez '07 won two of their three matches, prevailing over teams from the University of Southern California and University of California at Santa Cruz and losing a tough match to the University of Texas-Pan American. The University of Miami, Fla., won the tournament.
“To go 2-1 at this event was a real accomplishment,” said team advisor Michael Mathias of the Philosophy Department. “The level of discourse between teams was significantly higher than in the past.”
Of the 120 teams participating from colleges and universities across the nation, the top three teams from eight regions went to the national event.
“Williams and the U.S. Naval Academy were the two other qualifying teams from the Northeast this year,” said Mathias.
The group is sponsored by the Philosophy Department, but the students have a variety of majors. They have been preparing for cases since the fall. Preparation is so rigorous that “it's like taking two extra courses,” Mathias said. “There are 15 cases in play, and each team member is responsible for developing the team's position on three of those cases.”
This meant reaching out across campus to other disciplines. Among those faculty members who helped provide perspective on individual cases were Suzanne Benack (Psychology), Michelle Chilcoat (French), Lorraine Morales Cox (Visual Arts), Robert Hislope (Political Science), Scott Kirkton (Biology), Lisa Warenski (Philosophy) and Darius Watson (Political Science), and Librarian Tom McFadden.
Nissi, for instance, worked with Prof. Cox on a real-life controversy that questions whether art is a commodity or belongs to the culture-at-large.
“It was about a Japanese businessman who purchased two Impressionist paintings (Van Gogh's “Dr. Gachet,” worth $82.5 million, and Renoir's “Le Moulin de la Galette,” valued at $78.1 million), in 1990 and wanted them destroyed upon his death. What were the obligations of the businessman to society?” said Nissi, an interdepartmental major in European history and philosophy with a strong interest in art history. (Eventually, the art was saved from destruction when used as collateral against bank loans.)
The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship is held each year at the annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. The competing young ethicists attend conference sessions, as well.
Sanchez, a political science major with a French minor, has participated in the Ethics Bowl her entire four years on campus. Last year, Union placed second at the national championship, losing a close final round match to the U.S. Military Academy.
“I'm proud of our accomplishments because we were, for the most part, a novice team in a very competitive field. The strength of our team derives from our mentor, Prof. Mathias.”
Judges evaluate answers based on a sound, intelligible argument, ethically relevant considerations and deliberative thoughtfulness.
“There's a high level of work, energy and creative thinking that goes into the preparation and presentation of the cases,” said McFadden, who has advised the team for several years. “We keep excellent company in this activity from around the country, and the win-loss record is really quite amazing given how new the Union team is.”
Union's team will participate in one more event this year, an exhibition match with Williams on April 10. The students will debate issues related to the teaching of creationism and evolution.