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May 2, 2005
Shatzkin, Neuhauser Fulton Honorees
By Mark Sullivan
Staff Writer
Kevin Shatzkin '05, a political science major from Coral Springs, Fla., won the 113th annual Fulton Prize Debate at Boston College on April 26 and will have his name added to the wall in the Fulton Debate Room in landmark Gasson Hall alongside those of winners dating back to 1890.
Shatzkin teamed with last year's Fulton Prize winner, Jeffrey Sullivan '06, of Towson, Md., to take the affirmative on the question, "Resolved: That the United States should substantially increase the corporate average fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks."
A three-judge panel voted unanimously to award the debate to the affirmative side and name Shatzkin best speaker. He received the gold-plated Fulton Medal, and will have his name painted on the front wall of the ornate Fulton Debate Room in Gasson 305.
"One of the reasons I chose to attend Boston College was seeing the Fulton Debate Room as a senior in high school and hoping to see my name up on the wall with the other winners," said Shatzkin, a former scholastic debater at Fort Lauderdale High School.
"Achieving that goal is a great way to cap my eight-year debate career, and my career as a student at BC," he said.
The son of Marjorie and Gary Shatzkin plans to attend the University of California at San Diego next year to pursue a master's degree in International Relations and Pacific Studies.
The Fulton Prize Debate has a gloried history at BC, where in the early years the annual debate was a highlight of the academic year. Previous Fulton Medal winners included James Michael Curley Jr. '29, son of the famed Boston mayor; Lawrence J. Riley '36, who went on to be auxiliary bishop of Boston, and John J. Curtin Jr. '54, JD '57, who would later be president of the American Bar Association.
In this year's debate, the affirmative side argued that raising fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks would reduce overall gas consumption and dependency on foreign oil. The negative side countered that car prices would go up, and that smaller, lighter cars would be less safe.
Winning the silver Gargan Medal as second-best speaker in the debate was Mandy Castle '07, of Holland, Mich., who teamed with Allen Best '07, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to argue the negative.
Two former Fulton medalists, Kevin Hartzell '02, now in his second year at Harvard Law, and Joshua Marmol '99, in his second year at BC Law, joined BC Assoc. Academic Vice President Patricia De Leeuw on the judges' panel.
Following the debate, the Fultonian of the Year Award was presented to Academic Vice President John Neuhauser in recognition of his contributions to Boston College as a teacher and administrator. It is the second time the former longtime dean of the Carroll School of Management at BC has won the award.
The host Fulton Debating Society at Boston College regularly ranks among the top debating programs in the nation. •