May 6, 2023
10:00am – 12:00pm
Lunch Break
1:30pm – 4:30pm
In Person
Cal Poly – 1 Grand Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA, University: Rm. 220 University Union
Live-stream
Beginning at 10:00am PDT / 1700 UTC-GMT
Video on-demand
About the Event
The International Holistic Justice Challenge (IHJC) is co-sponsored by the Global Justice Resource Center and the prestigious California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly). The goal of the IHJC is to foster civic engagement through public debate, bring a new generation of young debater-scholars into active involvement in justice issues, and expand the range of those included in public discourse regarding the criminal justice system. Victims, inmates, the formerly incarcerated, custody officers, administrators, police, judges, attorneys and even students themselves are all part of the community and thus part of the national discourse, but not all voices are equally heard in these discussions. The IHJC is a new, creative, and explicit effort and a welcoming first step in making a justice difference in who speaks and who listens.
Keynote Speaker
We are honored to welcome the Keynote Speaker for this event, Maj. Gen. Mark S. Inch (Ret). Gen. Inch is the former Provost Marshal General and senior military police officer of the U.S. Army, to include commanding general of all felonylevel investigators and oversight of all domestic and overseas U.S. Army correctional facilities. Subsequently, he served as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and recently retired as Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections. Gen. Inch holds a BA in Biblical Archaeology from Wheaton College, IL, an MA in Geography (Middle East/Africa Focus) from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MMAS in Military Operational Art and Science Studies from the U.S.
Keynote Speaker Army Command and General Staff College. He received the American Correctional Association’s Walter Dunbar Accreditation Achievement Award and the ACA’s highest honor, the E.R. Cass Award for lifetime achievement in Corrections.
General Inch will share his deep insights from a career of managing large complex systems, challenging the participants to see their individual potential to address the challenges and opportunities for justice sector improvements and service to our society.
Debate Judges
We express our appreciation to our Debate Judges including Gen. Inch and community leaders, SLO Chief Probation Officer, Robert B. Reyes, and SLO Drug and Alcohol Services Manager, Dr. Starlene Graber.
Participants
Cal Poly (Host) – San Luis Obispo, CA.
Cal Poly Debate dates back to 1903. The philosophy of the program is that the most radical thing people can do is admit being wrong and change their mind based on evidence. Debaters conduct research on questions of major contemporary importance and compete against other prestigious universities.
Patrick Henry College – Purcellville, VA
PHC participates in Civic Debate, a research-based competition providing opportunities to contribute policy solutions for a global civic society. PHC tournaments engage leaders on social justice and religious freedom issues, U.S. and European Union issues, and other domestic and international issues.
The University of La Verne – Laverne, CA
ULV Debate is internationally recognized and one of only ten U.S. universities to compete at the final round of the World Universities Debating Championships. ULV is one of eight schools (including Harvard and Yale) with a National Championship at the U. S. Universities Debating Championships.
Metropolitan State University – Denver, CO
MSU Denver Debate program focuses on civic, community, and competitive activities in the Denver, regional, national, and global arenas. As a form of civic education, debate is animated by skills development in critical thinking, dialogic ethics, deliberative decision-making, argumentation, and presentational speaking.
The University of San Francisco – San Francisco, CA
USF debate develops leaders through experiential education, debate activities, and civic engagement. USF competes with top university programs on social justice, government policy, philosophy, and other issues. Debate at USF is built on values of a) Discernment, b) Cura Personalis, and c) Eloquentia Perfecta.