Debate Prep., Sushi, And Research

With our class more than half-way completed, our instructors decided it’s time to put our reasoning skills to the test. We were assigned groups of four to prepare for our debate tomorrow afternoon. Also, we had to pick a topic for our five to six page legal argument due Monday.

The debate should be interesting seeing that the two topics that my afternoon session received related to what we has just covered in class; the first amendment. The mock case that my group was given involves a leader of an anti-abortion organization who distributed pamphlets that encouraged individuals to band together to stop abortion. This was then followed by the names and home and clinic addresses of the doctors who perform abortions. Not long after the pamphlets were distributed, one of the clinics on the list was bombed and the leader of the anti-abortion organization, Lisa Stewart, was brought into custody. My group’s job as the prosecutors is to prove that the publications incited people to take action against the clinics and the doctors that perform abortions.

There are several other cases like the one we were presented that went to the Supreme Court. We argue that her publication was meant to inspire people to act violently against clinics and doctors. Her actions resulted in a clear and present danger for a violent act to occur, which sure enough did. My group believes that by referencing similar court cases which the Supreme Court ruled against the likes of Stewart in addition to our arguments, we can win our debate.

Now for that paper… Before I engulfed myself in research, Beilul, Milani, Irene and I had dinner with Vassar alum Brian Farkas at The Vine, a local sushi restaurant. Brian was extremely helpful because he really explained what Vassar was looking for in an applicant. One of the points he stressed was that on the supplemental part of the common application for Vassar, we should never leave the “your space” blank. Having worked in the admissions office, he told us that we could add anything from pictures to an essay as long as we put something there. The admissions officers sort through the applications by putting the applications without anything in the “your space” into one pile which they glance at and the applications with something in the “your space” and actually read them. Brian was an extremely informative guest, and I’m glad that we got to meet with him.

With a full stomach, I’m ready to indulge myself in the immense resources the Butler library will offer me!