2nd Annual FitzSimons Civics Symposium Incites Lively Discussion

The goal of the FitzSimons Civics Education Initiative, made possible through the generosity of Dennis Fitzsimons ‘67, is to cultivate an understanding and appreciation for the US system of government, a recognition of the importance of free speech and respect for multiple points of view, and to learn the skills necessary to successfully navigate today’s digital news and information ecosystem. 

Fordham Prep held its 2nd Annual FitzSimons Civics Symposium on April 18th, 2023, featuring Nick Ohnell Fellow and head of research for the Policing and Public Safety Initiative Rafael Mangual and president emeritus of New York University John Sexton. 

In the weeks leading up to the event, students on the Symposium Committee put together several presentations to inform their peers about the topics that were to be discussed.

The event’s topic was on the Supreme Court and its handling of both the Second Amendment and affirmative action cases. The repartee filled the Leonard Theatre with cheers and applause from Prep students during an almost two-hour long program of discussion, opinion, and questions from the audience.

Moderator David Hiller, former president of the McCormick Foundation, began the conversation by asking the panelists to introduce themselves and explain how they came upon their chosen professions. 

Mangual explained that he had planned to go into the military but ended up being recruited to play college baseball. While in college, he became interested in the work of several scholars at different think tanks, leading him to law school at DePaul University in Chicago. 

“I made my way west the way many men in their mid-20s make their life decisions,” he laughed. “It was dictated to me by my now wife who is originally from the city of Chicago,” Mangual continued.

When it was Sexton’s turn to talk about his path to law, he admitted, against his late wife’s advice to never mention it, that he “stopped [his] formal education in the 10th grade [at Brooklyn Prep].”

“And from that point on,” Sexton added, “I effectively wrote 19 doctoral dissertations—18 of them were the National High School debate topic for that year and the 19th was my doctorate in religion here at Fordham [University].” 

Sexton spent much of his time after high school coaching speech and debate, however, his GPA as an undergraduate was low since he skipped classes often. He remembered Rev. Timothy Healy, SJ, stopping him on his way across Edward’s Parade to express his disappointment in him and tell him to join the new theology PhD program. 

Sexton thought that he wanted to teach high school for the rest of his life after that but his friends told him, “‘There's something else out there. You should go to law school. You've always said you wanted to go to law school’,” Sexton recalled.

A friend of Sexton’s at Harvard University convinced the school to admit him, but he couldn’t attend since he was committed to remaining a high school teacher in New York for the next three years.

“That's what we do, we Jesuit-educated people—especially ones from Brooklyn,” he laughed, explaining his commitment. Harvard allowed him to differ his enrollment for three years so that he could honor his commitment.

The conversation moved on to discuss the role of the Supreme Court in the United States. Mangual used Homer’s The Odyssey, specifically the part where Odysseus demands that his ship crew tie him to the mast and put beeswax in their ears so as not to be swayed by the siren song, to make his point—just as his law school professor had years ago.

“The rope and the beeswax is to that crew what the Constitution is to this country,” Mangual explained. “It is a set course that we have been put upon that is supposed to keep us on that course so that we cannot be swayed by our passions, i.e. the siren song. So if in fact you have written law that is supposed to be binding, you need an arbiter to tell us what that law means and that's where the Supreme Court's authority comes from,” he continued. 

Sexton commented on the Supreme Court’s process thereafter. “If you remember nothing from me coming out of today, remember this,” he told the audience. “The Bill of Rights is a counter-majoritarian document,” he said before detailing how the Supreme Court can strike down a bill with only nine justices after an entire majority of legislators and an executive have agreed on it.

“That's a remarkable thing to think about in what we call a democracy,” Sexton stated.

The panelists ended the first half of the Symposium with a discussion on Constitutional originalism, gun control, and precedents, among other topics related to the Supreme Court.  

Dennis FitzSimons ‘67 (front row, right) with alumni guests at the 2nd Annual FitzSimons Civics Symposium while a student asks the panelists a question about precedents.

After the intermission and a student poll on affirmative action and political polarization, the conversation intensified. Mangual and Sexton had a few disagreements during the discussion about affirmative action.

Mangual cited the two pending Supreme Court cases against the University of North Carolina and Harvard University regarding the consideration of race in the admissions process. Sexton expressed that he is okay with working to obtain a “sufficiently diverse class” using several factors, including the boxes prospective students check off under race on applications.

“I don't think race should be considered at all,” Mangual said before Sexton interjected with, “You can consider GPA, though?”

“Yes,” Mangual responded.

“And you can consider athletic ability?” Sexton asked.

“Sure,” replied Mangual adding, “You can consider all the things that the constitution does not prohibit you from considering.” 

Leonard Theatre erupted in applause.

The panelists then went head to head on a discussion of why the Civil War was fought, Mangual stating that it was over racial discrimination and Sexton arguing that it was fought “as affirmative action to put in [places such as higher education] people who had been deprived in our society and who are still deprived by our society.”

Students asked meaningful questions about affirmative action during the second Q&A session. Despite the seemingly intense second half, the panelists and moderator exchanged hugs on stage.

Panelist Rafael Mangual hugged moderator David Hiller at the end of the Symposium as students cheered.

“It was wonderful to see how all our students responded so warmly to our Symposium guests, especially when they eagerly approached the stage to speak individually with our guests after the Symposium ended,” said Symposium coordinator Eleanor Friedman P’26, the school’s librarian and media specialist.

This year’s Symposium marked new social studies teacher Gillian Bennis’ first time co-coordinating the event alongside Friedman.

Symposium coordinators, student committee members, and the event’s moderator and panelists pose for a group photo on stage with Principal Petriello PhD ’98 and Interim President Brian Carney.

“The engagement between the students and the panelists was so good to see,” said Bennis. 

“It’s hard to get students to want to stay after class has ended,” Interim President Brian Carney noted after the event. “[The panelists] really left them wanting more,” he laughed.

Watch the 2nd Annual FitzSimons Civics Symposium and learn more about the FitzSimons Civics Education Initiative.