Trinity Mock Trial Opens 2013-2014 Season at the “Guardian” Invitational

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Matthew Picard

This past weekend, the Trinity College Mock Trial program shipped out to the United States Coast Guard Academy for its first invitational of the season. After holding try-outs and accepting eight new mockers in mid-September, Trinity sent two teams of both returning members and new members to the Seventh Annual “Guardian” Invitational in New London, Connecticut. Among these new mockers are first-years Eliza Maciag, Sebastien Broustra, Andrew Miller, and Richard Pizzano, sophomores Anna Bowden and Bobby Boyle, juniors Karla Mardueno and Sonjay Singh, and senior Kaitlin Reedy. Among the competition at “Guardian” were the University of Texas at Dallas, Seton Hall University, Brandeis University, and the U.S. Military Academy.

Hartford to New London was a shorter commute for Trinity than for other teams, so the Gold and Platinum squads both drove to the USCGA each day. The tournament began on Friday the 25th, with the first round of competition taking place at 6pm that evening. Trinity Gold and Platinum both faced teams from all over the country that had been preparing this year’s American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) case. The next day held two rounds, with a final fourth round on Sunday morning. Each day, Trinity Mock Trial argued the case “The State of Midlands v. Whit Bowman.”

As college mock trial’s governing body, AMTA creates a case each year that over 800 teams argue over the course of Invitational preseason during the fall semester, and competition season during the spring semester. Cases rotate between civil and criminal each year; this year’s is a criminal case with a cast of cooky characters. Taking place in an amusement park named Racheter World (Rock-ter World), the defendant Whit Bowman has found himself into trouble after operating a ride called the “Tunnel of Terror” that put a security officer in a coma. All teams must create both a prosecution and defense case theory, and are not told which side they will be arguing until minutes before the trial. Each trial is scored by two “judges” who assign points to each opening statement, direct examination, cross examination, and closing statement. Each judge also ranks four of the six attorneys and four of the six witnesses as first, second, and third place.

Trinity Gold finished the competition strong, with a 5-3-0 win-loss-tie record, while Trinity Platinum finished with a 4-4-0. Despite not bringing home a team win, individuals on Trinity’s two teams brought home three attorney awards. To win an attorney award at this tournament, an attorney needed to score 18 ranks, or be ranked as top attorney at least 3 ballots. Trinity Gold team captain and current team President James Geisler ’14 received a defense attorney award, and Trinity Gold attorney Jhon Pacheco ’14 received a prosecution attorney award. Trinity Platinum team captain and current team Vice President Youlan Xiu ’15 received a defense attorney award as well. With the season off to a strong start, Trinity has every reason to believe that this year will be successful for the program. As always, like the Bantam, “small but mighty.”

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Alumni Op-Ed: The Face of Unrest

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Matthew Picard

By Mike Lenihan ’07

You’ve seen it before – the chalk-white mask whose ambiguous grin curls up the corners of a wryly mustache. Pictures of protestors donning the mask have dominated news stories and it seems the mask has become the unofficial icon of protests around the world. It links New York’s Occupy Wall Street sit-ins, to Tunisia’s Arab Spring, to Egypt’s Tahrir Square protests. Most recently, it has appeared in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, where Turks demonstrated against a heavy-handed government. Made famous among niche audiences in Alan Moore’s 1982 comic series “V for Vendetta,” the mask has gone global. But why? What drives this universal appeal? More importantly, why are protestors choosing to adopt the same public face when it risks obscuring their own particular cause?

In the 2006 film adaptation of Moor’s character, the antihero V seeks to jolt a futuristic Britain out of complacency with an authoritarian government through a series of violent demonstrations. The demonstrations culminate with the blowing-up of Parliament on the 5th of November, as inspired by Sir Guy Fawkes. Veins of solidarity, anarchy, and liberty run throughout the movie, but it may be the overarching theme of accountability that is attractive to today’s real-life protestors.

For the Occupy movement, it was accountability to taxpayers. In Tahrir Square, it was accountability to Egyptians living under the Mubarak regime. Turkey’s protests, however, are less easily summarized. With the numerous and seemingly disparate causes that are represented on the streets of Istanbul, the “accountability” motive is blurred.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party was elected with 50 percent of the vote. He is popular among rural and conservative voters, and has single-handedly stabilized the government after decades of military interference. He has taken hardline stances against Israel, grown the country’s economy, and made efforts to draw Turkey closer to the European Union – moves which have earned him high marks from his conservative base. As late as March, a Pew Research Poll found that Erdogan had a 75 percent favorability rating among devout Muslims.[1]  So to whom does Erdogan need to be accountable?

In short: everyone else. Reports out of Istanbul describe protestors of every color and stripe gathered in Gezi Park – religious and secular, young and old, professionals and unemployed, environmentalists and corporates, men and women. It is a surprising mix of Turks that are gathered in the streets, angered by what they describe as an overbearing presence of government in their daily lives. In the same March poll, Pew found only 36 percent of more secular Turks had a favorable view of the prime minister.[2]

Istanbul’s protestors have taken to the streets, inspired by many – and seemingly discrete – issues. Banners for reproductive rights, environmental concerns, and freedom of the press have all flown high.[3] It would seem, therefore, that identity politics are running deep. But surprisingly, the messages coming from demonstrators do not vary. They speak to shared values of accountability and equal representation. One protestor said, “We’re coming together discussing…how we’re going to voice our democratic demands.”[4] While no single icon – be it a mask, symbol or slogan – can convey the unique goals of every cause, protestors have found value in the overarching principles that are conveyed. The V mask trumps identity politics and speaks to the collective interest.

There has been valid skepticism from experts that the Gezi protests will not equate to a Turkish Arab Spring; it is highly doubtful that Erdogan will be forced from office. However, these protests have demonstrated that the government will have to consider the views and welfare of minority groups from here on out. More importantly, it will not be just those groups with large platforms and strong followings who are considered. It will also have to include the more marginalized groups if Erdogan is to truly allay concerns. After all, the principles symbolized by protestors wearing the V mask are not exclusive of those who are not. Erdogan would do well to remember this, especially as unrest continues, and the 5th of November creeps closer.

 

Mike Lenihan graduated the PBPL program at Trinity College in 2007. He is a Fellow at the European Stability Initiative where he researches European neighborhood policy in the Black Sea region. He was living in Istanbul when protests began in May.

[1] Pew Research Center, Prime Minister Erdogan popular in Turkey broadly, but less so in Istanbul, June 5, 2013, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/05/prime-minister-erdogan-popular-in-turkey-but-less-so-in-istanbul/
[2] Ibid., http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/05/prime-minister-erdogan-popular-in-turkey-but-less-so-in-istanbul/
[3] Reuters, “Diverse Turkey protesters vent anger, little agreement on alternative,” June 5, 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/05/us-turkey-protests-diversity-idUSBRE95415K20130605
[4] Jadaliyya, “Defiant Turkish Demonstrators ‘Finding New Ways to Protest’: Turkey Page Co-Editor Nazan Ustundag on Democracy Now!” June 20, 2013, http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/12318/defiant-turkish-demonstrators-finding-new-ways-to-

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A PBPL Experience in Paris

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Matthew Picard

By Benito Solomon Fernandez ’14

My name is Benito Solomon Fernandez and I am a senior majoring in Public Policy and Law. I spent the spring semester of my junior year studying abroad with the Office of International Programs’ Trinity-in-Paris Program. I was approved by Trinity to take courses at the renowned Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in the heart of the Latin Quarter of Paris. I was extremely lucky. I registered for two courses there: French Contract Law and Law in a World of Multiple Legal Orders. Both my social and academic experience there was phenomenal and that success is attributable to the instruction I received from Trinity’s Public Policy and Law Program. Because of this, I was able to hit the French ground running.

I eventually hope to practice international law both here and abroad, with an emphasis on Commercial Law and Transactions. I was exposed to these areas of the law in courses I took with Professor Fulco, Professor Cabot, and other PBPL faculty at Trinity. At Sciences Po, my Trinity PBPL education was the foundation that allowed me to successfully further my studies. It was a pleasure to go to class everyday, even though my classes started barbarically early in the morning. The faculty was extremely knowledgeable and the material was intense. The fluency I had in French, which I developed in French elementary school, allowed me to immerse myself to a much greater degree that truly paid dividends.

Benito Paris group

Benito (left) with fellow students in the Sciences Po program

While my language fluency and Trinity PBPL preparation helped ease my experience, the French academic structure was a cultural shock. It is worth noting that while students at Trinity form personal relationships with members of the faculty, at Sciences Po one is expected to work in an entirely independent way.  I became aware of the challenge before me at the first meeting for the international students where the President of the Student Body explained the grading system. He said that Sciences Po uses a grading scale of 20, and “an 18 is for the best the teacher has ever seen, a 19 is for the teacher, and a 20 is for God.” I took this warning to heart, and at the end of my semester I ranked at the top of my classes.

Now I am working on an Honor’s Thesis in Public Policy and Law. In it I will be expanding on a paper I prepared at Sciences Po about Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure. While in Paris, I kept in touch with Professors Fulco and Cabot to inform them of the richness of my academic experience at Sciences Po. By immersing myself in the study of comparative law, I am well prepared to undertake my honors thesis project.

I urge PBPL majors to study abroad. It’s an amazing experience and, if done well, it prepares you even further to be the global citizen that Trinity and the Public Policy and Law Program expect us to be.

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Mock Trial Finishes Strong at Semi-Finals

Posted on September 12, 2013 by twang

Another successful season has ended for the Trinity College Mock Trial Team, with a heavily competitive invitational season and an even more competitive season. Trinity was knocked out of the running to compete at this year’s American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Nationals in the semi-finals, losing to some of the best teams in the nation at Lafayette College in March. The program is still as strong as ever, with a large number of class of 2016 members taking the reigns in scoring for the B Team. This year’s case was a civil case involving the death of plaintiff Mr. Lee Allen while he was on a diving expedition with the defendant, Neptune Underwater Expeditions. All season long, our team like hundreds of other teams has argued case theory, witness calls, and the rules of evidence about whether or not Lee’s surviving spouse Andy Allen can hold Neptune Underwater liable for her husband’s tragic and untimely death. If you sat through a trial, you’d find that there is quite a push and pull on both sides of the case – on one side you see that Lee Allen lied about his experience and health to Neptune, and on the other side you see that Neptune violated multiple industry safety standards.

Top row, from left to right: Vince Novelli, Drew McCarthy, Pat McCarthy, Ethan Cantor, Jack Nettleton, Jeff Pruyne, Sam Hines, James Geisler. Front row, from left to right: Tom Crowley, Youlan Xiu, Katherine Rorer, Ursula Petersen, Andres Delgadillo, Jhon Pacheco, Tanya Kewalramani, Julia Mardeusz, Katherine Feehan, Ali Caless. (Not Pictured: Meredith Munro, Brooke Moschetto, Nicole Lukac, Saint Oo)

Top row, from left to right: Vince Novelli, Drew McCarthy, Pat McCarthy, Ethan Cantor, Jack Nettleton, Jeff Pruyne, Sam Hines, James Geisler. Front row, from left to right: Tom Crowley, Youlan Xiu, Katherine Rorer, Ursula Petersen, Andres Delgadillo, Jhon Pacheco, Tanya Kewalramani, Julia Mardeusz, Katherine Feehan, Ali Caless. (Not Pictured: Meredith Munro, Brooke Moschetto, Nicole Lukac, Saint Oo)

The photograph above is from January, when members of the Mock Trial team returned to campus a week early from winter break to study and practice for the last invitational before competition at Fordham University, Rose Hill. The little gold cup that Vince Novelli (2013) is holding was rewarded to our A Team for placing third among all the teams at the invitational. The team improved steadily as the season continued, with a learning start at the annual University of New Hampshire invitational and gradually gaining more ground at the following invitationals at UMass Amherst, Boston College, and Tufts University. All the time and effort our teams put in during the invitational season showed at the first level of competition with our regionals round at St. Anselm College. Our A team placed fourth out of the regional round, finishing above Dartmouth College among others. Our B team was the highest ranked B team at St. A’s, and missed the cut off margin by half a point. All in all, it seems like we have a great squad ready for next year’s competition season.

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Alumni Profile: Josh Growney ’11

Posted on March 26, 2013 by tdenson

Josh Growney, a Trinity College Public Policy & Law graduate from 2011, is now living in Vienna, Austria and interning at the U.S. Embassy in the Political and Economic section. He comes originally from Rochester, NY; and during his time at Trinity served three times as class president, co-chair of the Student Alumni Association and co-chair of the Senior Class Gift Committee. He is currently participating in a master’s program in Urban Studies that brought him for one semester each to Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Madrid over the course of two years, and he will graduate this September.

 

Policy Voice: What drew you to the PBPL major and how did PBPL prepare you for your current position?

Josh Growney: When I interviewed at Trinity as a senior in high school, my interviewer was a senior PBPL major. She handed me a PBPL brochure at the end of the interview, and other than knowing Trinity was my top choice, I knew I wanted to be PBPL major! I was really impressed by how eloquent she was, and we were able to discuss political issues during the interview objectively. I’d say the best thing about PBPL is all the writing you have to do – it prepared me to write an official cable for the U.S. government on youth political movements in Austria. The oral arguments helped me learn to think on my feet, an important skill when working at an Embassy!

PV: What was your favorite class in the major?

JG: My favorite class was actually something I never thought I would be interested in, Bioethics with Justice Barry Schaller. I had taken another course with him my previous semester, and I thought he was a great professor, so I signed up to have him again as a lecturer. Bioethics challenged me to explore my own personal beliefs with a political lens,  we discussed a variety of topics beyond the “pro-choice”/”pro-life” debate that forced us to defend our opinions with policy and legal instruments. It tied in well to my senior seminar on religion and the Constitution with Professor Fulco, another favorite class of mine.

PV: What advice would you give future Trinity graduates looking for career opportunities?

JG: Don’t get caught up in the trap of comparing yourself to others. I graduated Trinity with no idea what I would do next, even though many of my friends were already committed to a job or graduate school. Now I’m living and working in Vienna, I’m much happier than if I settled for something that didn’t interest me.

PV: How do you feel about the direction Trinity is taking with the new social policies adopted by the Board?

JG: I have to admit, I only have seen what my friends post on Facebook and quickly read the official college emails. I hope that Trinity continues to attract top high school students and gives the best opportunities to current students as well, both academically and socially.

PV: Is there anything that you recommend Trinity students experience before they graduate?

JG: Well maybe it’s because I’ve been out of the States for too long, but I’d say Max Burger and Plan-B.

PV: Do you think young people are apathetic and/or misinformed about politics these days? If so, why and how might that change?

JG: I think both young and old people can be misinformed, but I wouldn’t say apathetic. At least in my experience at Trinity, I felt many students were politically active and aware, even if their opinions were radically different from mine. That being said, I hear stories all the time from Europeans who travel to America and are asked the most shocking questions: for instance “How long have you had cars in England? I thought you still rode around on horses…”, but I’ve also been asked questions about how often I eat at McDonalds by Europeans!

PV: Where might we see you in five years?

JG: I hope to continue with a career that allows me to travel, I enjoy seeing Europe now and I hope that I can explore more of the world in the years to come. My colleagues at the Embassy call me “the politician”, but I won’t comment on that.

PV: So…Fox, CNN or MSNBC?

JG: I’m going to plead the fifth on this one…

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Common Sense on Gun Safety

Posted on March 7, 2013 by tdenson

By Jack Nettleton ’13

We will always remember the horror of what happened in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th, 2012. I watched from my college dorm in Hartford with a dry throat and wet eyes as six selfless adults and 20 future stars died at Sandy Hook Elementary. Numbing images of young kids crying. Children covering their eyes to hide from the carnage, attempting to prevent innocence from leaving their world’s along with their friends.

What happened at Newtown may prompt an honest discussion about gun safety. Before we get bogged down in debate about bans and limits, let’s start with a proposal that nine in ten Americans support and a proposal the vast majority of NRA members support. Agreeing to a universal background check that adds accountability to gun sales in the secondary market is the single shrewdest step we can take to begin to curb gun violence.

Currently, forty percent of all gun transactions occur without a background check. These guns are purchased in secondary markets or at gun shows that don’t perform background checks. As Seattle saw at its recent gun buy-back event, there is no system to prevent me from purchasing ten handguns and then selling them to anyone. It is easy to see why this background check loophole is unsafe; statistics from the Justice Department show us that 80 percent of guns used in crimes were purchased in these secondary markets—without a background check.

We don’t need to ban assault weapons or handguns in order to do something meaningful to make our country safer, we can strengthen current laws that make legal gun owners more accountable for their purchases. A strengthened background check system will address the real problem we have with gun violence—guns getting into the hands of the wrong people. Most gun owners are responsible, law-abiding citizens and expanding our background check system will help solidify this fact.

The debate about banning assault weapons makes headlines, but it is not the most effective thing we can do to begin to curb gun violence. According to the Justice Department, out of the over 8,000 people that were murdered by a firearm in 2011, 6,220 were murdered by a handgun. Removing all handguns is more politically unfeasible than banning assault weapons, so strengthening background checks to prevent criminals from acquiring any firearm will ultimately do more to increase gun safety than an assault weapon or handgun ban.

We would never allow for someone to purchase alcohol legally, then sit in a parking lot 1,000 feet from a school and sell it to whomever they want. However, that exact type of situation is allowed under our current guns laws. This isn’t responsible and it’s unsafe. While we cannot prevent every act of gun violence with strengthened background checks, we can undoubtedly make it more difficult for criminals to acquire weapons. A background check may not have prevented Newtown, but it may protect future victims we won’t so easily remember.

We are unlikely to remember the shooting deaths of Michael Kevin Eby Jr. and Ryan Michael Pederson. Their bodies were found December 21 in a car just off State Route 821 in Eastern Washington, near the Yakima River. We are even less likely to remember Lonnie Starr of New Haven, whose death warranted a three sentence mention in the January 27th Hartford Courant. It is too early to know if their deaths could have been prevented by strengthened background checks, but the statistics say it’s probable. Reducing the number of firearm deaths needs to be a national priority.

Action is needed now. Let’s prevent another Lonnie, Michael or Ryan from leaving us too soon. Let’s do something for Newtown and the families of those who were murdered in the 8,583 firearm deaths this past year. Congress, please pass universal background checks. I can only pray that political litmus tests are not blind to common sense.

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