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It’s one of Boston College’s oldest, most storied traditions — almost as old as Commencement — and it’s still going strong.
This past weekend featured the 120th Fulton Prize Debate, the annual showcase for the Fulton Debating Society, which comprises some of BC’s best undergraduate orators.
The event, which has taken place almost every year since 1890, also draws many Fulton alumni, some of whom serve as judges for the debate. This spring, given the debate’s 120-year milestone and the University’s forthcoming Sesquicentennial Celebration, Director of Debate John Katsulas decided to make the occasion special by inviting a greater number of alumni than usual — 36 — to adjudicate.
Fulton Society members debated the question of whether the US Supreme Court should strike down the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received a US military decoration or honor. The affirmative side was declared the winner by a 24-12 decision, with Brendan Benedict ’12 earning the Fulton Medal as best debater; senior Nora Lopopolo, who argued on the negative side, earned the Gargan Medal as runner-up.
Benedict will now have his name added to the long list of Fulton Medal winners that adorns Gasson 305, better known as “the Fulton Debate Room,” where the debate takes place. Other winners have included Henry Foley (1921), founder of the distinguished Boston law firm Foley Hoag & Eliot; James M. Curley Jr. (1928), son of Boston's colorful, controversial mayor; John J. Wright (1931), later a bishop and cardinal; and John J. Curtin Jr. (1954), a future American Bar Association president.
Boston College’s debate team goes back to the early months of the school, when it was formed as the "Senior Debating Society" and overseen by Robert Fulton, SJ, a future BC president. The society began as a formal activity in 1868 and was named the Fulton Debating Society in 1890.
“If you look at that wall in the Fulton Room, you see a microcosm of how BC has grown and changed,” says Katsulas, who has been director of debate since 1994 after serving for eight years as debate coach. “From the names, you can see early on the evidence of BC’s Irish roots. As the years go by, you begin to see a more diverse BC taking shape. But one thing is constant: The Fulton Society has had a lot of the best and brightest at BC.”
In addition to holding campus debates three times a semester, the Fulton Debating Society fields a squad for competitive debates with teams from other colleges, which typically take place on weekends and can involve considerable travel — their itinerary this academic year has taken them to Harrisonburg, WV, West Point, NY, Winston-Salem, NC, and Dallas, among other locations. BC is widely acknowledged for its debating prowess, and with good reason: Fulton’s resume includes three number one finishes in the national debate rankings over a four-year period in the early 1990s.
The days leading up to this past weekend’s prize debate had Fulton Society members past and present alike reflecting on the challenges and rewards of debating, and of the rich tradition it enjoys at BC.
“Debate offers a great opportunity to hone analytical and rhetorical skills outside of the classroom,” said senior Ryan Folio, an Allentown, Pa., native. “The Fulton Society adds an element of community that will be around for a lifetime.”
“As a litigator, the skills learned in competitive debate are invaluable,” said 1999 Fulton Medal winner Jared Fields ’01, now an attorney in Salt Lake City. “The subject matter is different, but my ability to research issues, to think critically, and to structure an argument are all skills I developed as a member of Fulton. Several times in my career, when I have been addressing a judge in the courtroom, I have realized that in my mind I was going through the same process as when I was in a college debate round.”
Having had no debate experience prior to BC, Benedict, from Clarksburg, NJ, recalls his impression of debate as “people wearing tuxedos in front of large auditoriums being persuasive.” While Fulton does have some of that (perhaps not the tuxedos, at least not anymore), Benedict describes his time in the society as intellectually stimulating and personally rewarding, and relishes being part of a distinguished tradition.
“The first thing I saw on the Fulton website was a photo of the wall in the Fulton Room, and I thought, ‘Man, that is cool,’” he said. “To know that you are part of a legacy that goes back to the 19th century is very gratifying.”
San Jose, Calif., native Lopopolo — who regards debate as “an adrenaline rush” that, while stressful, is “worth it, especially if you win” — loves the history and lore of the society. The annual prize debate is “a great opportunity to hear not only what Fulton was like, but how it fit into the University’s campus life.”
While many Fulton alums pursue legal careers, where their debating experience is often helpful, Dilip Paliath ’93 — who won the Fulton Medal as a senior — points out that debate and rhetoric have applications in everyday life.
“Whether with your family, friends or co-workers, people have their opinions and express them,” said Paliath, an attorney in Baltimore. “When they have to defend their opinions, they use the principles of debate and rhetoric to do so. Some people do that better than others. Some just express the opinion and cannot say why they have it. Others can give their reasoning and defend their positions. The latter are the ones who are better debaters.”
Paliath, along with more than a few Fulton alumni, finds it difficult to be just a spectator at the annual Fulton Debate: Listening to arguments and counter-arguments, they say, unfailingly awakens an old debater’s instincts.
“I cannot stop myself when I listen to any speech from trying to learn new techniques or tricks,” says 1975 Fulton Medal winner Michael Reilly ’76, a trial lawyer for more than three decades, “and trying to imagine how I could do it better.”
The Fulton Debating Society website is at http://tinyurl.com/7r59x3j