Elizabethtown College’s mock trial team recently attended the University of Pennsylvania Quaker Classic Invitational 2013 competition.
The Quaker Classic mainly consisted of Ivy League schools such as UPenn, Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University and George Washington University with other schools in attendance as well such as Etown, University of Delaware and Drexel University.
During the competition, there were four trials. Each trial had a different set of judges, whose professional jobs varied from private practice lawyers to district attorneys to law school students to professors. Half an hour before the competition, the teams found out who their opponents were and whether they were the prosecution or defense.
“It’s really nerve racking that you don’t know who you are competing against and which part of the trial you are playing. The schools were randomly paired so we cannot guess the next rounds,” senior Aggie Serrame said. The judges score each participant individually with comments included.
The College received two awards during the competition. Sophomore Ashley Edwards won an outstanding attorney award for her performance as an attorney for the prosecution. Serrame won the only outstanding timekeeper award. “In mock trial, once you get into your character, it’s pretty addicting,” Serrame said.
“As a team, I think that our strengths include our teamwork and looking out for one another. We are able to communicate with each other and give each other constructive criticism. At one point in the competition, there was a sudden switch of roles because one of our attorneys got sick and was not able to speak, but someone was able to take that position immediately,” Serrame said.
In addition to Serrame and Edwards, members of the team include: captain and sophomore Erin Krause, senior Adriana Scotto, sophomore Madeline Cochran, senior Jason Halberstadt, sophomore Josh Sollenberger, dual-enrollment student Sawyer Neale, first-year Samantha Finnegan and sophomore Colleen Taylor. Many of the students on the team are new to Mock Trial this year.
The team’s next competition is Saturday, Nov. 23 at Dickinson College.
