The decades-long tradition of the MacBean Bowl debate tournament lives on, virtually! Fourteen EA alumni and former Junto club members joined the final competition of the Junto debate club on Tuesday, May 26. Each year, alumni return to help judge the debates.
This year, Faculty Advisor Jen Maier, Hon. was impressed by the great alumni turnout. "Despite the hardship of our present circumstances, we were thrilled to welcome back fourteen Junto alumni as judges this year, more than we can ever remember, to judge eight teams of debaters," she shared. "That these alumni are willing to dedicate over four hours on Zoom to working with our Upper School students says so much about what Episcopal and Junto mean to them."
The alumni guest judges were: Jessica Bai '16, Meagan Berry '09, Jack Brinker '16, Bella Echevarria '16, Jack Freese '11, Brad Hahn '11, Kyle Henson '11, Schuyler Kresge '18, Jimmy McEntee '11, Michael Quinlan '14, Emma Sargent '18, Wilson Smerconish '16, Grace Smith '19, and Chris Stein '16.
The students debated in three rounds. The first debate was four separate debates with two or three alumni judges each. As always, the topics were very timely. In the first round, eight teams debated in four breakout rooms on whether the Federal Government should temporarily mandate the wearing of face masks in public. In the second round, the four winning teams debated in two breakout rooms on the topic of whether the United States should abolish the electoral college, a topic several of the judges remember arguing in the 2017 MacBean Bowl in the year following the 2016 presidential election. Finally, the final two teams debated a social program that has gained traction in the past year, whether the United States should enact a universal basic income (UBI).
The sides of the debate were determined in advance by coin flip, so students had to be ready to debate in favor of something that they may not necessarily believe in personally. The finalists were Charlie Maier '22 and Paul Buckley '22, arguing in favor of a UBI, while Lauren Bassett '20 and Molly Limaye '21 argued against a UBI. Ultimately, the judges agreed in favor of the upperclassmen, Lauren and Molly, and named them the 2020 MacBean Bowl.
"Lauren Bassett reached a milestone by winning the MacBean Bowl for three straight years, this time with Molly as her partner," said Mrs. Maier. "She is a force to be reckoned with, both as a four-year Mock Trial attorney and an active debater. Overall, we were thrilled that the oldest club at Episcopal was not only able to survive but thrive under these unique circumstances."
You can learn more about Junto, EA's oldest club, by listening to this EA Unlocked podcast episode.