For the third time in its five years of existence, the Santa Fe College Ethics Bowl Team capped off a most successful 2020-21 season at this year’s National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB), which was held virtually February 27-28. As one of 36 top-ranked Ethics Bowl teams in the country, SF qualified to compete in the 2021 National Bowl. Teams competing were top finishers in their Regional Bowls and represented colleges and universities across the nation. Other teams from Florida that qualified for this year’s National IEB included the University of North Florida and the University of Central Florida. For the second year in a row, Santa Fe College is the top ranked IEB team in the state.
As one of only two teams hailing from a two-year institution, SF held its own and was a standout in this year’s prestigious competition. After winning three of four preliminary rounds against Harvard, Cal Poly Pomona, Oklahoma Christian and Loyola Chicago, Santa Fe advanced to quarterfinals, along with Youngstown State, West Point, Oklahoma State, Harvard, Whitworth, University of Cincinnati and Stanford. Defeating Oklahoma State in their quarterfinal match, SF then advanced as one of four semi-finalists, where they tied Whitworth. The tie was then determined by total point differential, which gave the match to Whitworth with 155 points over SF’s 151 points.
SF students competing in the 2020-21 National IEB were Gillan Chalono, Areli Villavicencio, Paola Sullivan, Brian Sullivan and Noah Frazier. Additionally, SF students Alanis Gonzalez Maldonado and Sydnee King, who competed in the 2020 Two-Year College Ethics Bowl, assisted team founder and coach Ann Thebaut, faculty advisors Claire Orenduff-Bartos, Lisa Charney, Ron Claypool and Li Ren-Kaplan in the team’s preparations for the NIEB.
These extraordinary SF students truly exemplified the spirit of Ethics Bowl, which is a team competition built around thoughtful analysis and respectful dialogue on some of the most challenging ethical problems facing our world today. Ethics Bowl focuses on rational and civil discourse and helps students gain valuable skills in critical thinking, public speaking, and team building. The SF Ethics Bowl Team excelled in all these respects and has made an indelible mark on the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl community—SF couldn’t be prouder!