Latke vs Hamentaschen: The Great Debate 2007
For more news coverage on the 2007 Latke Hamentashen debate
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Professor David Jerison (Mathematics) opened the 2007 Latke Hamentashen Debate
with a presentation on "Hamentashen Homotopy: The Superior Form" to
the delight of the audience that filled Room 10-250 on March 5. Jerison's
strong opening was countered immediately by Professor David Kaiser (Science
Technology, and Society) with his warning that the hamentashen's "menacing
topology" had been the focus of the Atomic Energy Commission and "we
now know what the 'H' in the H-bomb stands for."
The hamentashen team had strong supporting arguments from Michael Ouellette
(Music and Theatre Arts) who reported a "secret, hidden code in Elizabethan
writers" which supported the hamentash and Jeremy Wolfe (Brain and Cognitive
Sciences) with his presentation on "The Potato and the Iconography of
Evil." Rounding out the latke team was Steven E. Ostrow (History) who
examined the reputation of the latke and hamentash in classical Greece and
Rome followed by Joseph Sussman, (Civil/Environmental Engineering) who emphasized
that the shape of the latke was suitable for transportation.
Moderator Donald Sadoway (Materials Science and Engineering) declared the debate a tie and called for a rematch next year.
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Moderator Donald Sadoway confers with latke mascot Miriam Madsen '09
(left) and hamentash mascot Sophie Rapoport '07, debate coordinators. |
| Team Hamentashen develops their strategy for the rebuttal. |
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Team Lake poses with their mascot before the debate. |
| Professor David Kaiser's presentation linking
the hamentash to the H-bomb. |
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A custom-made trophy is presented to each
debater, crafted from actual latkes and hamentashen.
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| Hot latkes and succulent hamentashen for everyone in
Lobby 10 following the debate. |
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