Mock-Tales from the Mockers

By Maria Kunigk-Bakalar, Alexis Cupp, Kate Lantzer, and Emersen Kolb

Intro:

Miami Mock Trial wears a lot of hats as an organization – professional development organization, competitive team, and, of course, social opportunity. Almost any mocker will tell you that this last face of the program is the best. MMT is a place to make friends and memories, something you can join to meet people like yourself and get to know them. If you’re wondering if that’s the kind of place for you, this blog post should help you decide. This is a collection of the favorite mock memories from four different competitors across three different years, highlighting the community, success, support, and joy that our program fosters.

Cica:

I joined mock trial hoping to find a community. I was new to Miami, didn’t know anyone, and wanted to make friends, but I was nervous. Sharing a hotel room during tournament weekends with three girls I barely knew, two of them returning members, felt intimidating. Then came one of our first tournaments. We got to the hotel, rode the elevator up, and opened the door… only to find that instead of separate rooms, all 9 of us had been placed in one. Total surprise, and definitely not the plan. But it ended up being the best thing that could’ve happened. That night, I watched everyone run openings and closing statements, practice direct and cross examinations and objections, and quiz each other on affidavits. In the morning I saw girls helping each other get ready, play fun and high energy music, and talk each other’s nerves down. All this to say, although at first I felt pushed into an unfortunate and unexpected room assignment, it gave me the chance to bond with the girls on the team, and made me really feel like I was a part of it all. That room assignment broke the ice, and showed me that mock trial isn’t just a team. It’s a family.

Alexis:

One of my favorite mock trial memories is of the week we spent preparing for the AMTA National Championship. Several of the students going to the competition spent the majority of Spring Break on campus. Those of us who didn’t have off-campus housing were hosted by the upperclassmen, so my friend and I split the week between two of their houses. We stocked up on pasta and fruit, as well as our fair share of snacks, to get prepped for the week. That week, the campus felt like my favorite childhood summer camp. We spent the days plotting theories on whiteboards, practicing jokes for the witnesses, and trying to make our statements convincing. We spent the evenings playing jeopardy, hanging out at bonfires, and staying up way too late giggling in the living room. When looking back at my freshman year, this week was when Miami really felt like home.

Kate:

Miami Mock Trial takes us all over the country, but given how short our stays are in most cities, we aren’t doing much more than mock trial. However, last invitational season, we got to spend an entire day in Philadelphia. To get to Philly, we got to fly, which is always fun because there is usually someone in the program who has never flown before. At MMT, we always get to do new things in and outside of the courtroom.

As a history nerd who had never been to Philadelphia before, getting to explore the city with some of my closest friends easily became the highlight of my past season. In addition to the Liberty Bell, we also went to the Constitutional Center, and had lots of cheesesteaks at Reading Terminal Market. Both our A and B teams went, so I got to become better friends with other people in the program. Even though I had to get up before the crack of dawn that day, running around one of my bucket list cities with some of my favorite people at Miami is one of the best memories I have made so far with MMT.

Emersen:

My favorite mock trial memory is from my junior year regionals. I was part of the B Team, which was attending the same qualifying round as our C Team. Since neither group was Miami’s premier roster at that point, there was no guarantee that our season wouldn’t just end that weekend. There was a lot of emotional pressure. It was a hard tournament. Many members of both teams had never qualified past the first round before, and it felt like a doomed “what if…?” was hanging over every matchup. What got me through it was the way we all supported each other – it didn’t matter whether you were B Team or C Team, attorney or witness, first-year or senior. Everyone was having pep talks in the bathroom, fist bumps in the hallways, and laughter over dinner. So, even though it was frightening, in hindsight, I don’t know why it surprised us when the very first qualifier from that regionals was Miami C. Even better was when they announced the next qualifier, with only half a point less – Miami B. I will never forget how that felt. Everyone was screaming, laughing and crying; we were so excited that half the team stumbled onto the stage to receive the trophies! Our joy and pride was contagious, too. I was hugging members of Northwood, MSU, and Bellarmine’s teams, and cheering for them when they were announced as qualifiers in turn. That’s one thing I love about mock. It’s a great place to get competitive, especially on that rare occasion when everyone can win.