In our minds, we have an ugly picture of people behind bars where we think learning can never have a chance. But today’s prisons are preparing people for a crime-free life outside in the real world. Recently one of its kind debates took place between the students of the University of Harvard and the inmates of the New York’s prison.

This was a debate in which on the stage were sitting three of the brightest students from America’s top Ivy League university. But their peers were not from any high profile universities, but they were three men convicted of violent crimes including manslaughter currently incarcerated at the Eastern New York Correctional Facility under maximum security.

The Harvard debate team lost to a prison debate team: http://t.co/vSm3dh3VnR pic.twitter.com/qbzGvhIg43

— Affinity Magazine (@TheAffinityMag) October 6, 2015

It was a debating contest like no other in which the prison team beat the university team with applause from the audience. The arguments were based on that the public schools should be allowed to turn away students whose parents’ entry has been illegal in the U.S.

The current national champion of the Harvard stated that they were caught off guard by the reasonable arguments placed by the prison inmates. The prison inmates impressed the judges by suggesting that if students have been turned from public schools just for the reason of their parent’s illegal entry in U.S. then the education will be provided by the non-governmental organizations in any case.

According to the president of the Harvard College Debating Union, Dhruva Bhat, debating is a powerful tool to work with other organizations. It has changed lives and has confirmed how powerful education and debating can be. The talented team of Harvard did give tough times to the prison inmates because of their incredible experience and knowledge. But According to Alex Hall, a 31-year-old convicted of manslaughter from Manhattan, member of the debating team stated that the prison team might not be verbally gifted as the university’s team, but every person worked very hard to defy in response.

Watch the video:

Via: Telegraph