After of running into numerous logistical and mechanical difficulties during a five-day excursion to the University of Pennsylvania, Shalhevet’s 24-student Penn Model Congress delegation raked in 14 individual awards — four gavels and 10 honorable mentions.
Going into the Mar. 31 – Apr. 3 competition, the Firehawks faced an uphill battle to defend their 2010 “Best Large Delegation” award. For the first time ever, the conference was scheduled after springing forward an hour for daylight savings time, meaning more debating sessions were scheduled over Shabbat. Delegates found themselves with about an hour less of debating time than in previous years.
“They made some adjustments to help mitigate the loss, but it wasn’t enough to get back to the usual amount of time we miss because of Shabbat,” said debate advisor Mr. Christopher Buckley.
In a competition where every minute of speaking time is a coveted opportunity to impress committee chairs (the judges), this was bad news.
“It was even more important for us than ever to capitalize on every second we had there,” said junior Eitan Spitzer. “I would make sure to raise my hand as quickly as possible in order to get called on a sufficient amount of times”.
In the end, the conference gave Shalhevet and other attending Jewish schools a compromise which moved around debating times around enough to partially recover lost time. In addition to Shalhevet’s 14, two other Shabbos-observant schools – Ramaz of Manhattan and North Shore Hebrew Academy of Great Neck, New York – also won, one award each.
“I think we always face adversity on these trips, and the challenges make us stronger,” said senior Nathaniel Kukurudz, who won an Honorable Mention in the Ways and Means Committee.
One student from Ramaz School won a gavel – the outstanding delegate award – in his full session, and a student from North Shore Hebrew won an honorable mention in committee. The other Shabbat-observant schools present were Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway and North Shore Hebrew Academy High School.
Shalhevet’s 24-student team and its four advisors experienced quite a journey as they left from LAX at 4:30 P.M. on Wednesday afternoon, Mar. 30, to begin a 21-hour transit. Instead of flying to Philadelphia as in the past, the group chartered a bus to Philadelphia and made a stop along the way at Gettysburg National Park.
After a wearying 10-hour long journey, the students arrived at Penn’s campus at 3:30 P.M., Eastern time—leaving just three hours to prepare for Thursday night’s debating session, after checking in and settling down.
“The team conquered barrier after barrier and challenge after challenge this year,” said team captain Justin Brandt-Sarif, who won a gavel in the Supreme Court Special Program. “Shabbat cut us out of more of the conference than before… Overall the awards are individual miracles, and I could not be happier.”
Other Gavel winners were Jenny Newman in the Supreme Court special program, Daniel Aronowitz in the Foreign Relations committee, and Michael Suriel in his Ethics committee. Sophomores Michael Lenett and Daniel Schwartz and senior Keren Meir each won their first awards, all honorable mentions.
Michael Suriel, who received his second gavel this year, appreciated the experience.
“The skills and confidence I gain can’t be taught in a classroom,” Michael said.
