Norfolk Convicts Boast Lopsided Record Against Harvard, Other College Debaters

Prison walls, locked gates and armed guards need not be barriers to the mind. The living proof of this is a group of convicts at Norfolk State Prison Colony who annually out-smart and out-talk top college debaters from all over New England.

In recent years the Norfolk Debaters, as the group calls itself, has become one of the strongest debating teams in the country. A glance at its record against collegiate competition will show why. Since 1936, when they began debating colleges, the convicts have won 44 debates and lost only 15.

In eight debates against Harvard, Norfolk this record in mind it is not surprising that the Crimson debaters rank Norfolk along with Yale as their toughest competition. After three successive defeats to Norfolk in the last two years, Harvard finally managed to pull out a victory two weeks ago, but only against the convicts' second or third team.

Winning Streak

As a matter of fact the Crimson's November victory broke a winning streak of 11 consecutive victories for Norfolk which included wins over Williams, M.I.T., Columbia, Holy Cross, Boston University and Oxford.

The Oxford victory on February 17 of this year was the supreme triumph of the Debaters' history for it came against a highly touted and successful team from the English university which boasted eight successive victories over American colleges--including one over Harvard. It was also the prison's first international debate; but not its last. In March Norfolk debated Canada's McGill and next week will face two English students now studying law at Harvard who will represent Cambridge University.

In its 17 season of collegiate debating, Norfolk has compiled winning records against 13 of its 19 opponents. Besides Harvard and Oxford they include Boston University (12-1), Columbia (1-0), Clark (2-1), Connecticut (1-0), M.I.T. (8-2), Massachusetts (2-0), McGill (1-0), Princeton (1-0), Providence (1-0), Suffolk University (1-0), Williams (2-0) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1-0).

The only blotches on Norfolk's record, if they can be so considered, are a 1-1 tie with American International College of Springfield, a 2-2 tie with Holy Cross, a 3-2 record with Boston College and a single loss to Tufts.

Formed in 1931

The story behind the Norfolk Debaters' amazing record is an unusual and astounding one. Although it did not begin debating colleges until 1936, the group was formed in 1931 as part of a progressive approach to prison administration inaugurated by Howard B. Gill '13, superintendent at Norfolk from 1927 to 1934.

Two years after the Norfolk Debaters were organized, Superintendent Gill was dismissed by Governor Joseph B. Ely. He was charged with failure to maintain discipline. Apparently some prisoners took advantage of Gill's liberal approach and a few small-scale disturbances broke out.

May 2, 1937 the convicts took on M.I.T., their first collegiate opposition and won. Since 1938 Norfolk has been debating college teams only.

Under the present administration of Superintendent Frank B. Coughlin, the Norfolk Debaters have really thrived. It has fast become one of the most popular activities among the inmates. This year the group is 45 strong and still growing.

Not all of the 45 are active debaters. The group is open to all of the 700 inmates and a good number of them join the debate club as auditors. Of the 45 members, though, about 15 are good enough to be potential debaters for outside competition.

When the Debaters begin to prepare for a debate they assign a four man squad to the job. The squad divides up into groups of two, and each prepares a case for a practice debate to be held before the rest of the club. The winning group in practice then begins to prepare for the debate itself.

When the Norfolk Debaters' astounding record is discussed outside, the statement is inevitably made, "Well of course they're good, they have nothing else to do." It turns out that this just isn't so. Bill, the president of the Debaters, carefully explained, "None of our practice is done during state time. That's from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. when we work in the shops. The next hour is usually taken up with some other commitment like choir rehearsal or committee meetings. Dinner is at 5 and we have from 5:30 until lights-out at 10 to work on the debates."

Bill estimated that the Debaters put in a minimum of ten hours preparation for each debate, but usually a good deal more. Although the colony has one of the best prison libraries in the country, Bill makes ample use of the mails to secure additional material. He writes congressman, senators, state and local bureaus and universities all over the country. In almost every case the response is good.

TV Competition

In general the debates are held on Sunday, but the recent installation of television sets in the prison's dormitories has created an attendance problem since the best TV programs are usually on Sunday nights. Bill has decided to counteract the TV threat with an hour-long vaudeville show before each debate. Even without the vaudeville the debates still usually draw a good 200 to 400 out of the prison's population of 700.

Little Education

Speaking of the success of the debate group, Bill pointed out that most of the men have had very little education. He himself had three years of college, and George, another member of the group, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and had three years at Boston College Law School. Very few of the rest of the men are high school graduates.

Yet, Bill said, the men "worship education." They realize what they missed and are eager to catch up for lost time. Of all the colleges, he added, Harvard draws the largest crowds because it, above all, "represents the education they never had."

One important factor in the club's success, which Bill did not mention, is the generally high level of inmates assigned to Norfolk. No man is ever committed to Norfolk directly from the courts. He is first assigned to either State Prison at Charlestown, Concord Reformatory or the State Frm. Norfolk receives all its inmates by transfer from these other institutions.

Screened for Transfer

Frederick R. Driscoll, Chairman of the State Transfer Board, explained that every man at State Prison and Concord is screened at one time or another by his board for transfer to Norfolk. Originally, he said, it was hoped that all transfers would be excellent rehabilitation prospects. However because of overcrowding at the other institutions, especially Charlestown, the colony has had to receive well-behaved inmates who may have serious prior records and are frequently not the best prospects for satisfactory rehabilitation.

Driscoll explained that no drug addicts, homesexuals, escape risks, or men with serious disciplinary records are ever sent to Norfolk.

Seen in the total prison framework, the Debate Club seems slightly less phenomenal. But Superintendent Coughlin still considers it one of the most important parts of his program. "It is my opinion," he said, "that debating provides one of the outstanding methods for rehabilitation. We give the club all the help we can, but all the credit should go to the men themselves for their fine record."

Although the club has a staff director, Rev. Lawrence A. Nyberg, the Debaters, handle most of the responsibilities them- selves. As Rev. Nyberg himself said, "I'm director in names only; Bill is the real leader of the group." As president of the group Bill is its real spearhead. Besides presiding at the debates, be handles almost all the relations with the university opposition, arranging and scheduling debates, and picking topics.

His letters to the writer is a prisoner and not one of the English professors whon advise other college debate teams. This latter impression is accentuated when you meet him. His manner is so cultured and intelligent that you treat him as you treat a faculty member.

But Bill is not touchy about his real status; as a matter of fact he has a sense of humor about it and in his letters this occasionally breaks through. For instance, at the close of one of his recent letters to Harvard concerning scheduling of a debate, he said, "In this regard we are hampered by the fact that people take vacations, something we are inclined to forget about here.

"We hope both of you will be able to come here again--as visitors of course.