COM Great Debate
results in resounding "no" to reparations

By Darryl Isherwood

The College of Comunication hosted its bi-annual "Great Debate" on Nov. 7, with teams arguing whether or not the U.S. government should pay reparations to the families of former slaves. The debate, which was covered by C-SPAN, was held in front of a packed house at the Tsai Performing Arts Center.

Arguing the pro-reparations side was Alexander Pires, lead attorney
in a class action lawsuit that resulted in a $1 billion settlement on behalf of black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Joining Pires on the pro-reparations side were

Christopher Hitchins, a contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine and columnist for The Nation, and Matt Brown, a sophomore in the Boston University School of Management. Leading the negative side was Professor Glen Loury of the Boston University Department of Economics, an author and director of BU's Institute on Race and Social Division. Joining Dr. Loury were Deroy Murdock, a columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service, and Amy Margolius, a junior majoring in journalism at BU.The student debaters were chosen in a competition earlier this fall.

The debate was moderated by Professor Bob Zelnick, the acting Chairman of the Journalism Department. Each side presented its arguments in a structured format based on Oxford Cambridge rules that included 25 minutes for audience comments. When each side finished its presentations, a vote was held among audience members to determine which team had presented the better argument. The audience voted by walking to one side of the auditorium or the other, resulting in a clear win for the "no" reparations side.