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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > March > 20 > Entry
Ellen Belcher: ‘Cinderella’ goes to mock trial and wins
Sixteen-year-old Charles Wilkes was trying to explain how students from Dayton Early College Academy advanced to the regional mock trial competition after knocking off powerhouse Centerville High School, one of whose teams was second in the state last year:
“It was a Cinderella story, and this year the slipper fit,” said the soft-spoken senior, who plans to attend Miami University or Morehouse College next year.
A Cinderella story it is, except that there are no mean stepsisters or stepmother, just three twenty-somethings who used the law to teach 12 kids the satisfaction — and glory — of hard work.
DECA is the celebrated local charter school and early college academy that exists mainly because of the commitment of the University of Dayton. Its 300 students, most of whom are black, most of whose parents never went to college, are taking classes at UD or Sinclair Community College while they also attend high school.
Teacher Michelle Szucs, 28, and attorneys Cori Stirling, 29, and Trey Pauley, 25, of the law firm Faruki Ireland and Cox, are unlikely good fairies, but they do believe in the magic of telling kids they can be as exceptional as they choose to be. Since school started, Szucs, who competed in mock trial in college, taught the students the basics. Stirling and Pauley punched up the preparation beginning in October when the kids got their “case.”
“We put the boot to each other,” said Louise “Lue” Barr, 18, commenting about the practice schedule that included three to four hours on Saturday mornings, in addition to every day at school.
The students were required to compete in two trials: once arguing for, and once against, a fictional soccer player who wanted to play on his high school team even though he couldn’t prove that he was living in the United States legally. The boy’s parents, who brought him to this country when he was a baby, had left him with friends while they took a trip home to Brazil. They were killed in an accident there, so the player couldn’t show (in time for soccer season) what his immigration status was.
He filed for a preliminary injunction to prevent the school board from enforcing its requirement that students couldn’t be involved in extracurriculars without the right paperwork.
The first trial competition was Jan. 30, a day that’s etched in the students’ memories. Only those teams that won both of their trials could advance to regional competition. DECA Team Black was announced a winner first, then Northmont High School, and then, after what seemed liked an eternity, DECA Team Red was called.
The students and coaches “erupted,” said Wilkes, who still can’t get over DECA Principal Judy Hennessey’s tears. Stirling said she told the kids that, win or lose, they had to show respect in the courtroom, but when both teams made the cut, “even I jumped out of my seat.”
At regional competition three weeks later, neither team won both rounds. They came home disappointed. Everybody — coaches included — felt Team Red had bested its opponents, and they were feeling, well, robbed.
Several days later, Szucs got a call. There had been a scoring error. Team Red was going to state after all.
“I was excited for 24 hours straight,” said senior Margaret Idiake.
Two weeks ago — thanks to a donor who picked up the tab — the students went to Columbus and spent the night. It was always understood that both teams would go even though just one was competing; Team Red would never have done so well without its sparring partner.
At state, where just 34 teams remained, DECA was eliminated on the first day. But nobody’s complaining. Just two years into a competitive exercise that other schools have practiced for years, the students said their opponents were excellent.
Still, Wilkes thinks that their underdog status was an asset.
“After we tasted it (winning) at district, we got really hungry,” he said.
And win they did. DECA won seven of eight awards in their rounds at district for best attorney and best witness; three of eight awards at regional; and two of four at state. Shannon Herbert, a sophomore, said bringing home those awards was important because she and others heard the whispers from their opponents that DECA students are from the inner city, that they were in over their heads, that they didn’t have the look.
“They seem to forget that we have as much potential as they do,” Herbert said.
Szucs and the students are in awe of Stirling and Pauley. The two of them have a “good-cop-bad-cop” routine that kept the team pumped, yet focused. The fiercely competitive Stirling confessed that, yes, she was known for asking, “Are you going to waste my time today?”
And there was also the constant reminder: “Remember, you eat to win.”
Only four of 12 of the team members will be back next year; seven are graduating and one student will be attending DECA and Sinclair full time. Nobody is quitting, including the attorneys.
Herbert is one of those who’s returning. Though accomplished at pretty much everything but trash talk, she still put down what sounded like a challenge:
“We are the new heavy-hitters in the region.”
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