“The triumphs of the tongue have rivaled, if not surpassed, those of the sword.” Calvin Coolidge
On Tuesday, July 8 and Thursday, July 10 the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation welcomed some of the brightest high school students in the country to Plymouth Notch to debate the topic of property rights and to learn about President Coolidge and his era. Co-sponsored by the Debate Institutes at Dartmouth, the Coolidge Foundation’s Presidential Economic Debate series is a major part of our effort to bring Calvin Coolidge’s heritage and values to a new generation of Americans.
Each day the Foundation awarded scholarships to the student rated by the judges as the best debaters of the day. To the winners went $500 each, and the runners-up each received $250 for use as college scholarships.
On Tuesday, July 8 the students debated the following resolution: “Strong property rights are necessary for strong economic growth.” More than 50 students participated in four rounds, two against two. The winners of the day were Matthew Fastow, a sophomore from Houston, TX, and Oliver Effron, a freshman from Manhattan, NY. The runners-up were Crystal Sun, a sophomore from Boston, MA, and Victor Yang, a junior from Boston, MA.
On Thursday, July 10 another 43 students debated the resolution “Strong property rights are necessary for strong economies.” After three competitions two teams faced off in a final championship round. The winners of the championship were William Morgan, a sophomore at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, and Emma Thomas, a sophomore at Joel Barlow High School in Reading, CT. The runners-up were Justin Jin, a junior at Roxbury Latin School in West Roxbury, MA, and Randy Ramirez, a sophomore at Wilton High School in Wilton, CT. We would like to thank all of the volunteer judges who made these days possible, as well as our DDI partner Nicole Wanzer-Serrano.
More pictures from our July 8 and 10 Debates can be found on the Foundation’s Flickr Page.
