Mock trial returning team, Kangaroo Court, which will compete in the public scrimmage, poses at the University of South Carolina. Courtesy | Chloe Noller
Hillsdale College’s Mock Trial teams A and B will host a public scrimmage on March 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the Gillespie Room.
The showcase is a full “performance” of the civil case that the teams are working on this year, presented exactly as it will be at competitions, senior Abigail Wagner said. Wagner’s team will face off against sophomore Hershey Athysivam’s team.
This year’s case is based on Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, drawing elements of theater into the debate of the courtroom. All campus is encouraged to attend.
“People should come because mock trial is interesting to watch — especially if you like courtroom dramas,” Wagner said. The scrimmage creates a space to entertain viewers, and also to encourage the members of the team.
“We want the campus to know what mock trial is all about,” Athysivam said. “This scrimmage is to illustrate to our friends and family what we do, why it’s so time consuming, and why we love it so much.”
While the scrimmage can be educational for the spectators, it is also helpful to the students on the mock trial team.
“It will also be helpful to prepare our A and B teams to compete in situations with a lot of people watching in person, which happens more later in the spring season, especially at the National Championship Tournament, which we’ll attend if we do well at the Opening Round Championship Series,” Wagner said.
The scrimmage will look nearly identical to a legitimate performance, and the same amount of training will go into it, Athysivam said.
“We run our material for the showcase the same way we do for all of our trials,” Athysivam said. “Like any athlete practices for the big game, you do what works. You run the drills.”
This showcase gives Hillsdale College students a peek into what a mock trial competition looks like and provides an opportunity to support classmates and friends in their hard work.
