The Upper School Ethics Bowl team reached semi-finals and placed fourth at the National Ethics Bowl competition at Duke University on April 11 and 12. The team qualified for Nationals following their wins at States and Regionals.
Middle school English Teacher and Ethics Bowl advisor Ryan Wilson said the trip was student-led.
“I am there as a sounding board for their arguments, and I perform the role of Ethics Bowl judge in practice, posing questions I think competition judges are likely to ask,” Wilson said. “Make no mistake, the team does the leading. I simply tried to support them by making the trip to North Carolina fun and organized.”
Ethics Bowl member Alli Firtel ’27 said their greatest strength coming into the competition was how many different points of view there were on the team.
“We found success this year by working together and putting the time and effort into developing our stances,” Firtel said. “We were not one and done once everything was written. We would revisit it and have everyone look at it with different perspectives to really emphasize and strengthen our arguments to the greatest extent.”
Ethics Bowl member Beckham Williams ’28 said after losing their first match, the team regrouped and won the next three matches.
“The biggest challenge our team faced was in the first round, where we ended up losing the first match 3-0,” Williams said. “This deficit put us at a loss, and we needed to win the next three matches in order to qualify for the quarterfinals. The team was able to overcome this by offering constructive tips to our teammates so that we could improve upon our next performance.”
Ethics Bowl member Hannah Yang ’28 said the best part of the competition was moving forward after a rough start to the tournament.
“My favorite moment was when they announced the teams advancing to quarterfinals because we knew that despite having a 3-1 record, there was a chance of placing just below the top 8,” Yang said. “When we were announced at 5th place, that was a pleasant surprise and collective relief and excitement for the team.”
Williams said he decided to be a part of this club because of his passion for ethics.
“I chose to join Ethics Bowl because I find interest in discussing ethical topics, and I had participated in debate before,” Williams said. “Due to this, I understood the public-speaking aspect of the sport. Ethics Bowl is an amazing opportunity for like-minded and dedicated students to work together and discuss some of the world’s most pressing issues.”
Firtel said she looks forward to meeting new members and to her new leadership position.
“I’m super excited for next year’s team, especially with some middle schoolers coming up that take the ethics class under [Wilson],” Firtel said.
