UIMT does it again...UI doesn't care

The 2008-2009 mock trial season has finally come to a close. All of the evidence has been submitted and the jury has returned a verdict. Northwood University from Midland, Michigan is the new national champion. Congratulations to Northwood!

UIMT finished a strong season with another top 5 finish. The 1271 team ended the tournament tied for second place after facing Claremont McKenna College, University of Alabama-Birmingham, University of Pittsburgh, and University of California-Berkeley. 1271's only loss was by one point; they also had two ties. Four points stood between 1271 and finishing 8-0. Ravi Narayan earned an All-American Attorney award on the defense, while his teammate Kaitlyn Evans just missed the honor by one point on the plaintiff.

A young 1272 team finished with 2.5 victories; Kathryn Beary finished her first season of UIMT with All-American Witness honors on the plaintiff.

Once again UIMT finishes in the top 5 (this stretches the streak of Des Moines top 5 finishes to seven). In fact, since the 1999-2000 season the Hawkeyes have finished in the top 15. Of course, no one in Iowa City seems to care. The press release went out and even the Daily Iowan ignored it. Surprising? No. The back-to-back championships in 2002 & 2003 were greeted by a blurb that was barely too long for Twitter.

Every year we succeed despite a lack of funding or campus support outside of the Honors Department. The tournaments get more expensive, farther away, and yet the students continue to pay out-of-pocket. The dedication and determination of the students is admirable and inspiring. However, the burden is categorically unfair to the students.

Debate has a room at the Communication Center for all of their materials, trophies, and practice needs. UIMT practices in hallways, our trophies gather dust in basements, and our case materials clutter trunks.

I have no grand notion that my diatribe will amount to anything. It is a shame, however, that the University is likely to lose a great program in the near future and no one will care or fight to keep it alive. With my pending departure to Ohio it's likely UIMT will become a student run program with no connections in AMTA and no guidance on how to argue the law or succeed in the mock trial archetype. A program I helped build will crumble without so much as a whimper from the University.

I understand budgets are tight, but a university is supposed to be about building strong skills for a bright future. Mock trial promotes teamwork, public speaking skills, analytical thinking,and complex problem solving skills. At least it does right now; in a few years students around the country will continue to hone crucial skills that will help them in their careers. In Iowa City, the University will continue to care more about the drinking students do privately than aiding a program that creates stronger students and successful alums.

Quick Peek

Things have been rather hectic lately. Preparations for the pre-national tournament for collegiate mock trial sucked up most of my time that I wasn't working multiple jobs or sleeping.

This week is a bit better because the University of Iowa is on Spring Break, meaning no practice to be had. I can finally get back to the gym without feeling like I'm letting down my students (okay, so it's an excuse to not go to the gym; sue me).

However, tomorrow the wifey and I leave for Ohio. It's part business-part pleasure. I will be the AMTA rep at the Hamilton ORCS and we will be checking out Oxford as a potential future home. Big weekend!!

I intend to keep better accounts of my thoughts and goings-on (again); perhaps I will have more time when the mock trial season is over in mid-April. I suppose my busy life is partly my fault, if the team wasn't successful our season would have ended in February.

Podium Piece Reprint: 11/10/08

A Great Weekend to be a Hawkeye

By now every corner of Hawkeye nation has heard the echo of the victory drums after this weekend's historic upset of Penn State. Fans and players alike braved the cold weather under the common banner of black and antique gold, the same banner that both parties raised as thousands flooded the field after the game-winning field goal of Daniel Murray split the uprights and gave the Hawkeyes their biggest upset in the Kirk Ferentz era.

Three hundred miles to the north of Iowa City a bevy of undergraduate Hawkeyes braved the cold for a different, yet competitive, purpose. Over thirty University of Iowa students climbed into a caravan of University Fleet Services vehicles Friday morning and drove to the Twin Cities. They returned in the dark of Sunday night victorious, even dominant. However, unlike their Kinnick-playing brethren the victory of these students will go unnoticed. Their efforts will not be covered by web sites or newspapers. Their representation of the black and gold means little to anyone but their peers and parents. The title of "undefeated tournament champion," and placing four teams in the top ten of a forty-four team tournament will, for no other reason than they don't play at Kinnick or Carver, earn these students absolutely no respect from the University community.

Every year upwards of fifty University of Iowa students compete in a season that lasts longer than college football and college basketball combined. They spend an average of nine hours a week, all extra-curricular, honing their skills and practicing while balancing their heavy course loads and jobs. By the end of their season these students will have traveled to both coasts and many cities in between, sometimes four to five weekends in a row. Unlike their west campus peers, they pay for almost all of the expenses out of their own pockets -whereas most of their adversaries boast school-provided budgets in the tens of thousands of dollars. Distinct from their west-side peers, these students graduate - many with multiple degrees, and with honors. Contrary to their peers who play at Kinnick and Carver, over the last ten years this competitive Hawkeye squad has not only made it into post-season play, they have consistently placed with high honors.

Even though their banners are not hung from the rafters of Carver; their accolades are not carved in brick, marble, or metal; their plentiful stock of trophies and medals gather dust in an unadorned cabinet, or various apartments closets, rather than being displayed with the fanfare of a three-story hall of fame; and even though their historical back-to-back national championships and seven year national top five finishes streak will not be used to recruit anyone to our institution, these students will continue to strive for greatness and will work tirelessly to uphold the name of "The University of Iowa." The University of Iowa Mock Trial students have pride in what they do for the University community, even if the substantial majority of campus and alumni refuse to honor their accomplishes and efforts. They bleed Black and Gold just as much as every person that was able to watch the football team win at Kinnick this weekend; and they deserve the same recognition for their accomplishments and success just as much as those that wear an Iowa jersey.

To all the students that competed over the last month in St. Louis, Des Moines, Washington D.C., Mt. Vernon, and St. Paul, that continue to earn the respect of other schools across the country, and uphold the level of competitiveness associated with "The University of Iowa", I would like to say, "Thank you. Keep doing what you do." It truly was a great weekend to be a Hawkeye!


Originally posted at: The Podium
Published in the Daily Iowan.