Isn’t funny when the underdog ends up on top? That was the case in Friday’s debate competition between Harvard and the Eastern New York Correctional Facility.
Harvard’s debate team was allegedly supposed to be “the best” around but that’s now debatable after some NY inmates showed them up.
Apparently the Eastern NY Correctional Facility inmates started debating back in 2014. They started at West Point and The University of Vermont. They beat both of those teams but then lost a rematch against West Point.
Here’s where they earn their bragging rights: these individuals reportedly have no internet access. Their process instead includes making documents requests through prison officials.
Anywho… The debate lasted for about an hour and by the end of the festivities, all three judges had decided that the prisoners were without a doubt the winners.
This is not to be confused: according to Complex, The judges had to justify their votes based on the specific rules and standards.
So how do prisoners beat Harvard students in s debate? We hear that they’re a part of Bard Colleges Prison Initiative which as of recent has 300 prisoners enrolled. The BPI is a division of Bard College that enrolls incarcerated women and men in academic programs that lead to degrees from Bard College.
Congratulations to those inmates of Eastern New York Correctional Facility!
Source: Complex, http://www.complex.
TSR intern: Chantel P.! Instagram: @_POPchanny | Twitter: @POPchanny
