HCR 97

R-121  Page 1 of 1
2025
No. R-121. House concurrent resolution congratulating the Southern State
Correctional Facility’s debate team on its National Prison Debate League victory over
Wake Forest University.
                                         (H.C.R.97)
   Offered by Committee on Corrections and Institutions
   Whereas, in an innovative project that Commissioner of Corrections Nicholas Deml
described as “show[ing] the transformative power of education,” the Southern State
Correctional Facility (SSCF), in association with the National Prison Debate League
(NPDL), conducted a semester-long, three-college-credit course instructing the enrollees
on the art of collegiate debate, and
   Whereas, the NPDL “connects incarcerated individuals with collegiate debate
programs, sharpening critical thinking[,]…spurring creativity[,] reduc[ing] recidivism[,]
and, ultimately, reshap[ing] lives,” and
   Whereas, as the exciting course highlight, six of the SSCF students engaged in a
virtually transmitted debate against a student team from Wake Forest University in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and
   Whereas, the topic of the debate was the Norwegian Model of Corrections, “which
emphasizes rehabilitation and personal agency,” and each team consulted experts in
preparation for the debate, and
   Whereas, upon the debate’s completion, a panel of independent judges scored all
aspects of each team’s performance and declared the SSCF team the winner, an
outstanding accolade for this correctional facility team, and
   Whereas, this well-deserved victory is attributed both to the SSCF debaters’
dedication and studiousness and to the NPDL’s intensive four-month curriculum
“focused on civic engagement, empowerment, conflict resolution, research skills, and
peer leadership,” and
   Whereas, the course’s success reflects NPDL Executive Director Daniel Throop’s
observation that “there are no inferior minds, only unequal opportunities,” now therefore
be it
   Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
   That the General Assembly congratulates the Southern State Correctional Facility’s
debate team on its National Prison Debate League victory over Wake Forest University,
and be it further
   Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the Commissioner of Corrections, the Superintendent of the Southern State Correctional
Facility, and each member of the winning team.
                                                                            VT LEG #383147 v.1