MCU: New York's Credit Union Since 1916

They are young people from an impoverished area of the South Bronx but they have already amassed a wealth of accomplishments. Most are non-native English speakers, and they compete against students from some of the most elite prep schools in the country. They are members of the award-winning Debate Team from the Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice. The team, which is the largest urban debate team in New York City, has won top honors at every tournament across the East Coast including New York, Newark, Boston, Washington DC and Baltimore. There are more than 70 middle school and high school students on the team, and many of the debaters also participate in the Mock Trial program which won top honors in the 2006-2007 City and State Mock Trial Championships and second place last year in the New York City competition. Many of the teams that the Bronx school competes against are from the most privileged preparatory and suburban schools in the U.S. While doing remarkably well against all sorts of teams, the debate squad from Bronx School for Law could only enter local competitions that they could travel to by bus. Those that required air fare, including national competitions held out west this year, were financially out of the question.

Erik Fogel, the team's coach, knew that they could do well in the national tournaments if they had the funds to travel. Inventive and dedicated to his team, Mr. Fogel purchased a nacho cheese machine to raise cash during lunch periods, and organized countless bake sales which helped defray costs. However, the team and Mr. Fogel received the boost they needed when Municipal Credit Union learned about their hard work and accomplishments and became a sponsor to the tune of $5,000, making it possible to send competitors to the Nationals in San Antonio, Texas, June 26th to 30th.

The vast majority of the teams competing are from private schools across the USA, and the Bronx school was the only Title 1 public school and the only culturally diverse team in the entire tournament. The results are a testament to their determination and talent and Mr. Fogel's leadership. Debater Kingdom Sonogod took away 8th place best speaker at the Nationals, and Charles Anthanapolous was a finalist in the Student Congress, a real accomplishment for his first effort in that event. Overall 2 of the 4 teams from the Bronx school had winning records (3-2) and narrowly missed making the elimination rounds. The students and Mr. Fogel deserve all the praise for their hard work. "Our school wishes to thank MCU so much for their involvement and the means to travel and compete against the most elite schools in the country. For the first time we have outside support from MCU so that financial limitations on our students do not translate into academic and intellectual limitations."

The Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice was created in 1997 by the NYC Board of Education and the Urban Assembly, a group founded to create high quality educational opportunities in the inner cities. The school shares its campus with the Bronx County Courthouse and enrolls over 600 students grades 7 through 12. The school has developed a reputation for academic excellence and gets up to 10 times the number of applicants for available slots. The school specializes in legal oriented courses and activities such as forensic science, criminal procedure, economics and business law.

Sponsoring the Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice is part of Municipal Credit Union's broad and unified initiative for youth education. MCU supports a variety of programs for youth financial education and school programs across New York City's 5 boroughs. MCU President/CEO Kam Wong commented "We take great pride in helping and recognizing these outstanding young individuals for their achievements. The Bronx School for Law,Government and Justice Debate Team story should be an inspiration for us all to reach higher and to do better.I offer them my sincere congratulations."