HARTFORD, CT, February 7, 2012 – A team of Trinity students took top honors at a recent Model Congress competition held at Yale University, becoming the first liberal arts college to finish first in an event on the Ivy League-dominated circuit.
Four Trinity students won a total of five awards, a highly commendable showing for a team that is only three months old, having been formally recognized in October 2011 by the Student Government Association. The co-founders of the College’s Model Congress team are Arthur H. Chou ’14, and Donald Haffenden Jr., ’14, who serve as president and treasurer, respectively.
The College’s Political Science Department has provided generous financial support to the Model Congress through its Gastmann Fund. This support helped to pay for expenses such as registration fees and the team’s travel expenses. Political Science Professor Diana Evans is the team’s faculty adviser. One of Evans’s areas of expertise is the United States Congress.
Model Congress, which historically has been reserved for high school students but has expanded recently into the collegiate ranks, gives students a chance to engage in a role-playing simulation of Congress, testing students’ parliamentary and debating skills. Awards – gavels being the highest honor -- are given to outstanding delegates, both in committee and in full session.
Co-founders Chou and Haffenden performed admirably at the Yale event, with Haffenden winning a gavel and a certificate as a Distinguished Delegate in Full Session and also a certificate in the Best Legislator in Committee category. Chou received 3rd Honorable Mention in Full Session. Also winning a gavel and certificate was Byron Doerfer ’14, as a Distinguished Delegate in Committee. In addition, Eddy Oketch ’15, was named Best Legislator in Committee.
“I think Yale was a defining moment for our organization,” said Chou. “Hard work, perseverance and teamwork – those values ultimate pulled us through.”
Added Haffenden: “I feel humbled because not everyone gets the opportunity to say they went to Model Congress and got to compete amongst some of the top institutions not just in the country but in the world.”
The two students are particularly proud of the diversity of Trinity’s delegation, not just in terms of race and ethnicity but also in terms of diversity of opinion. Not all of the students were like-minded, a trait that set them apart, said Chou, a public policy and economics double major from Fort Dodge, Iowa.
“This was an opportunity for students from different backgrounds to come together as a Trinity community and stand together under the Bantam banner,” said Haffenden, a native of New York City who is majoring in philosophy and human rights.
The University of Pennsylvania hosted the first intercollegiate Model Congress competition in November 2010, followed by a Yale tournament in April 2011. Penn sponsored another one in November of last year. Trinity sent a team of seven to Penn, compared to the 12 who went to Yale. Nonetheless, three students won awards at Penn: Julia Qian ’15, as Best Delegate; George Denkey ’15, Honorable Mention; and Haffenden, Honorable Mention.
Columbia University will host a Model Congress competition on February 12, followed by one at Trinity, which will also sponsor a high school tournament on February 25 and 26. Invitations have been sent to 57 high schools, although a maximum of 100 students will be allowed to participate. Trinity professors and students will serve as judges, and Edward Cabot, adjunct professor of public policy, will be the keynote speaker.
At the intercollegiate competition, delegates are asked to discuss and debate a wide range of political, social, economic, and international relations issues facing the United States. As described in the Penn brochure, “In their capacity as model U.S. senators and representatives representing a diverse potpourri of ideas and perspectives, delegates will write bills on any topics of their choosing, research and prepare speeches in favor or against a variety of topics and engage in diplomacy to ensure that the nation has a bright and successful future.”
It’s a wide-open process, with delegates able to write legislation, introduce amendments and offer rebuttals. Some bills are approved in committee and make it to the full session, and some don’t.
Trinity team members offered a number of bills, for example, that would have made the Patriot Act more accountable, eliminated the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, required the labeling of genetically modified food, and allowed foreign-born students who study science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the U.S. and then work here to gain citizenship.