Bard College Debate Union at Eastern New York Correctional Facility Defeats Harvard College Debating Union

Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.—On Friday, September 18, the Bard Debate Union at Eastern New York Correctional Facility kicked off a weekend-long debate tournament with a public-style debate against the Harvard College Debating Union on the topic “Resolved: Public Schools in the United States should have the ability to deny enrollment to undocumented students.” They debated in front of three of the world’s most prestigious debate adjudicators, Mary Nugent (former Director of the Cambridge Debate Society and current PhD candidate in Political Science at Rutgers), Steven Penner (former Canadian National Debate Champion and current coach at Hobart William Smith), and Lindsay Bing (former US University Debate Championship Finalist, European Debate Championship Semi-Finalist, and current coach at Cornell). After an awe-inspiring performance put on by both teams, Bard was pronounced the winner on a 2-1 decision. 

The Bard Debate Union at Eastern New York Correctional Facility is now in its third year of operation thanks to the hard work of Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) Faculty Fellow and Director of Debate, David Register, and the overwhelming support of the entire BPI Program.

On Saturday and Sunday, September 19-20, the Bard Debate Union hosted the second annual Bard College Invitational Debate Tournament, an inter-collegiate tournament attended by over 250 visitors (students, faculty, and staff) to the Bard campus. Participating institutions included The Bard High School Early Colleges in Cleveland and Queens, Smolny College (St. Petersburg, Russia), Vassar College, Cornell University, Colgate University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Vermont, the University of Rochester, King’s College, St. Johns University, and Patrick Henry College. Students from participating institutions debated in teams of two on topics ranging from international relations to economics, criminal justice to social issues. The topics are announced 15 minutes before each debate, and the students are expected to do extensive research and preparation ahead of time. 

The tournament was co-sponsored by the Debate Union and the Center for Civic Engagement. For more information about the Bard Debate Union, contact Ruth Zisman, Faculty Advisor ([email protected]) or visit the website: debate.bard.edu.

The team has upcoming tournaments this semester scheduled at Yale, Hart House, HWS, and University of Vermont, and upcoming public debates on the Bard campus. On Wednesday, October 14, Bard will host a debate with West Point in conjunction with the Hannah Arendt Center Conference on the topic of national security. On Friday, October 23, there will be a faculty-student roundtable discussion for Bard College Family Weekend titled “The Middle East Meltdown – What Should the US do?”

About Bard College

Founded in 1860, Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, is an independent, nonsectarian, residential, coeducational college offering a four-year B.A. program in the liberal arts and sciences and a five-year B.A./B.S. degree in economics and finance. The Bard College Conservatory of Music offers a five-year program in which students pursue a dual degree—a B.Music and a B.A. in a field other than music—and offers an M.Music in vocal arts and in conducting. Bard also bestows M.Music degrees in curatorial, critical, and performance studies through The Orchestra Now, and at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bard and its affiliated institutions also grant the following degrees: A.A. at Bard High School Early College, a public school with campuses in New York City, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Newark, New Jersey; A.A. and B.A. at Bard College at Simon’s Rock: The Early College, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and through the Bard Prison Initiative at six correctional institutions in New York State; M.A. in curatorial studies, M.S. in economic theory and policy, and M.S. in environmental policy and in climate science and policy at the Annandale campus; M.F.A. and M.A.T. at multiple campuses; M.B.A. in sustainability in New York City; and M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture at the Bard Graduate Center in Manhattan. Internationally, Bard confers dual B.A. degrees at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, Russia (Smolny College); American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan; and Bard College Berlin: A Liberal Arts University; as well as dual B.A. and M.A.T. degrees at Al-Quds University in the West Bank.

Bard offers nearly 50 academic programs in four divisions. Total enrollment for Bard College and its affiliates is approximately 5,500 students. The undergraduate College has an enrollment of more than 1,900 and a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1. For more information about Bard College, visit www.bard.edu.

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This event was last updated on 09-23-2015

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