RE Log - Spring 2024

SPRING 2024 Ransom Everglades LOG 35 them understand how they get to their own moral reasoning and challenge them to deepen that thinking … This is a course that rewards inquiry and understanding to develop empathy for why we have a multitude of perspectives.” The Holzman Center of Applied Ethics Speaker Series has featured several prominent speakers thus far in 2023-24. Rudy Ruiz ’98 , a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, led off the series on Oct. 18. In a talk at the Lewis Family Auditorium, Ruiz emphasized to students that, despite the current political climate, the virtues of respect, humility and civility remain integral for society and institutions to flourish. “You can fight for your position in the courtroom, but you need to maintain a level of respect for your opponent,” he said. “It’s important to strike a balance. We have become unbelievably fractured as a society and hyper-partisan. It’s the number one problem we have today: a breakdown of civil discourse.” Markenzy Lapointe, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, visited RE in November and encouraged students not to veer from the right path. “Once you go down the path doing bad things, it catches up to you eventually,” he said. “All of us are going to make decisions in our lives that are going to track us, follow us our entire lives.” In December, Miguel Fernandez, the founder of MBF Healthcare Partners, and Armando Codina, founder and executive chairman of Codina Partners, shared their personal journeys from Cuban immigrants to successful – and ethical “We want students to be able to identify ethical dilemmas, and be equipped to work through those dilemmas. Doing the ‘right’ thing requires that students see beyond themselves...” – John A. King Jr., Director of Holzman Center of Applied Ethics – businessmen. “We have ethics that we adhere to; we are grateful for everything that we have,” Fernandez said. “We don’t take anything for granted. There is no sense of entitlement from anybody. We work hard ... It’s a long ride but it’s not a difficult ride. It is harder to do the wrong thing than to do the right thing.” In February, Josephine Linden, the former chief compliance officer at Goldman Sachs, continued the series by sharing stories of ethical challenges she faced throughout her life and career. “Many people in this roommay have thought at some point in time about cheating,” she said. “There does come a point in time when people are tempted.” The question RE students have been challenged to answer: When they face temptation – and they will – how will they respond? “We want students to be able to identify ethical dilemmas, and be equipped to work through those dilemmas,” King said. “Doing the ‘right’ thing requires that students see beyond themselves, recognize their obligation to others and use their experience and knowledge to make ethical, moral decisions.” L-R: Miguel Fernandez, Steve Holzman, Armando Codina Markenzy Lapointe Eden Harris ’ 24 Photos by Suzanne Kores To learn more about the Holzman Center of Applied Ethics and upcoming events, visit: https://bit.ly/3TBtIxz