The Spire

Owen Garvey ‘27

News Editor

     On Feb. 24, the B.J.F. Society hosted debates in the Levis Browsing Room of Dinand Library on whether there should be an age cap for the U.S. presidency, gun policy, and legacy admissions preferences at Holy Cross. Attorney and former Society president Neil Cawley ’91 and History professor Cynthia V. Hooper served as guest judges, while co-chair Owen Whaley ’24 moderated the event.

     The first debate of the session considered whether an age cap of 70 should be imposed upon the U.S. presidency. The affirmative team — Will Hansen ’27 and Nora Kelly ’27  — argued such a cap is necessary in order to ensure the intellectual health and competence of the president. The negative — Harry Courts ’26 and Peter LaBorin ’26 — criticized the opposing team’s position as antidemocratic.

     All the debates included clash (a debate skill by which one methodically addresses and refutes the other team’s points) and rhetorical flourishes. In one particularly well-executed case, LaBorin argued the implementation of an age cap would be useless, akin to “placing a band-aid on a car crash.”

     The debate on gun policy revolved around whether civilian AR-15 ownership should be illegal. Shanil Perez Lantigua ’24 and Aidan Traverse ’26 argued the affirmative, while Ashwin Prabaharan ’26 and Habiba Mohamed ’27 composed the negative.

     The final debate of the session questioned whether Holy Cross should eliminate legacy preferences in admissions. Lucas Giarrusso ’25 argued the affirmative while the club’s treasurer, Emmeline Lignowski ’24, delivered the negative.

     The winner of each debate was determined via an anonymous audience poll, and Cawley and Professor Hooper offered extensive feedback to the debaters after their individual performances. As an audience member, listening to the judge’s comments enabled me to improve my own speaking and argumentation skills.

     “I couldn’t be more proud of all of the debaters and how the event turned out,” remarked Whaley. “The entire e-board and I are grateful to Professor Hooper and Neil Cawley for serving as guest judges. All our members appreciated hearing their feedback and guidance. This was undoubtedly one of our best events yet, and I’m looking forward to our future sessions.”

     Those interested in spectating or directly participating in future debates may find further information by following the B.J.F. Society on Instagram (@thebjfsociety), or by contacting bjfdebatingsociety@g.holycross.edu.