University of Lynchburg won first-place in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ethics Bowl competition Saturday, winning a place in the national competition for the second year in a row.
LC students debated against and beat teams from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Georgia, and Coastal Carolina University. Other teams in the tournament included Wake Forest University, the University of Florida, and Hollins University.
Nine LC students are participating in the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team this year, including four returning students and five new recruits. Judge Browning ’17 and Lauren Fishbein ’18 are serving as co-captains this year as Dr. Laura Kicklighter continues to coach the team. The group spends hours each week researching topics, discussing ethical implications, and practicing skills in debate.
“I cannot tell you how proud I am of these students’ hard work and dedication,” said Dr. Kicklighter. “Unlike other activities, they receive no course credit or other incentives to participate in Ethics Bowl. It is done out of a pure love of ethics!”
Representatives at Clemson University, host of the regional tournament, asked LC to split its team into two teams because another school had dropped out of the event. This allowed each LC participant to take part in every round. One LC team went undefeated and won the championship round. The other LC team placed fifth in the tournament.
The top four teams may move forward to the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National competition in Dallas, Texas, in February 2017.
In addition to Judge and Lauren, LC team members include Emily Newsom ’18, Andrew Rossman ’17, Cecilia Roseo ’19, Edita Isakovic ’20, Jeremy Webb ’20, Barbara Yauss ’20, and Mary King ’20. Several of the team members are enrolled in LC’s Westover Honors Program.
Congratulate the team with a comment on this Facebook post.
A year ago, the LC team took second place in the regional competition, winning the chance to compete in the 2016 national ethics bowl contest. Read about that experience in University of Lynchburg Magazine.