Three Harvard debate team members went against three inmates serving time for manslaughter at the Eastern New York Correctional Facility Friday. The result? The inmates won. The Harvard team shouldn't feel too bad, as the prison team had previously beaten the University of Vermont (a ranked team) and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, according to Daily Kos.
"They caught us off guard," said one of the Harvard debaters, according to Generation Opportunity.
The two teams squared off Friday to gage progress and show off the work through Bard College's Prison Initiative. The exhibition was a huge success.
Preparing for the debate match is challenging, as the inmates are not allowed to do research on the Internet. Even simple requests for preparation materials such as books and articles take weeks for approval in the prison administration, but they found a way to come prepared.
"We are all human," said Judge Mary Nugent. "I don't think we can ever judge devoid of context or where we are, but the idea they would win out of sympathy is playing into pretty misguided ideas about inmates. Their academic ability is impressive."
The Bard Prison Initiative offers higher learning to inmates, Ring of Fire Radio noted. The Bard program currently has 300 inmate graduates to date. The competition to get in the Bard program is stiff and competitive. Inmates apply through essays and interviews to get one of the coveted spots. For each inmate that gets one of the limited spots, there is 10 applicants.
