Ian Clemente ’10, Hyma Kavuri ’10, Ryan Semerad ’13, David Kanaan ‘10, Jacob Pet ‘12, Ryan Vineyard ‘12 David Leavitt ’12
The Union College Ethics Bowl team placed eighth in the nation after losing an extraordinarily close quarterfinals round of competition – by one point on a 180 point scale – to Carleton College in the 17th Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Cincinnati recently.
Union was undefeated in the three preliminary rounds. The University of Alabama at Birmingham went on to win the national championship.
Union was one of 32 colleges and universities, all of whom qualified in a regional bowl, invited to enter. Union won the North East Regional Ethics Bowl in the fall.
This was the team’s fourth year competing.
Five of team members are graduating seniors: Ian Clemente ’10 (majoring in English and philosophy), Lativa Holder ’10 (philosophy, with a math minor), David Kanaan ’10 (philosophy), Hyma Kavuri ’10 (philosophy and biology) and Adam Koslin ’10 (history).
Also on the roster are David Leavitt ’12, Jacob Pet ’12 , Ryan Semerad ’13, Benjamin Setel ’13 and Ryan Vineyard ’12.
Their coach is Mark Wunderlich, visiting assistant professor of philosophy.
The Ethics Bowl tests students’ skills in communications, debating and integration of diverse information.
Teams receive 15 case studies, which they are given 10 weeks to analyze. The Union team argued eight cases before a panel of judges, which delved into issues ranging from school security and divorce litigation to loan payments.
Professor Mark Wunderlich, Jacob Pet ‘12 David Leavitt ’12, Hyma Kavuri ’10 and Lativa Holder ’10.
“Making it to nationals this year was a real achievement. The experience will always remain on my top 10 list of favorite moments in college,” said Holder.
“The team is my family. I was never good at sports, so joining Ethics Bowl was my first real team experience,” she added.
“Ethics Bowl gave me an avenue to develop my public speaking, not to mention my ability to adapt to difficult situations quickly,” said Clemente. “Being part of the team as it has developed into a national contender is one of the Union experiences I’m most proud of.”
In addition to the heated debates, the competition also hosts the annual meeting for the Association of Practical and Professional Ethics.
“Several team members attended sessions that were relevant to their senior thesis projects or to their plans after graduation,” noted Wunderlich. “Ian, for instance, found a session on using fiction in teaching that helped him with his thesis, and Lativa found one on teaching in inner-city schools, which is useful since she’ll be joining Teach for America next year.”