If you were to pick the bird that represented America the best, who would you choose: The bald eagle or the turkey? 

On April 1, Rowan University held the RIPPAC annual April Fools’ debate where students and teachers came together to not only help fundraise for the Rowan food drive but to also encounter a fun and light-hearted debate discussing what bird is the face of America; the eagle or the turkey. The audience was intrigued and laughing the whole way through. 

The Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship (RIPPAC) was founded in January 2018. Their mission is to inform and engage Rowan students, faculty, and the public on issues that relate to citizen engagement, politics, and policy. RIPPAC offers multiple programs and always has events with intelligent and wise guest speakers. RIPPAC heavily supports Rowan students and career development through internships and scholarships and lastly joins faculty and students with public entities to facilitate policy research.

On Team Eagle, there was Professor Bill Freind, who works in the English Department at Rowan, and William Zycinsky, who is a computer science major and is a part of the graduating class of 2024. On Team Turkey there was Professor Candace Kelley, who works in the Department of Journalism at Rowan and earlier in her life served as a lawyer. Accompanying her on Team Turkey was Lauren Sorrento who is a liberal studies major and is a part of the graduating class of 2024 as well. 

The first to speak in the debate was Team Eagle. Professor Freind used a comical and confident approach to attempt to win over the crowd. He teased Eagles fans and went into detail about how Benjamin Franklin explained that turkeys were of bad moral character and did not get an honest living. His presentation showcased that eagles were strong, confident creatures that America should be proud to have as their bird. He also used personal connections to the eagle from when he was in college and the college mascot was an eagle that would fly around the football stadium before each game. He went into dramatic detail about how beautiful that sight was and how a turkey could never do it justice. 

Freind’s right hand for the debate, William Zyninsky used his knowledge of computer science and quick wit to help take Team Turkey down. His presentation was organized. Zyninsky’s main idea of his presentation was to showcase that the turkey and what it stands for is outdated and no longer fits what the citizens of America stand for.

“Turkeys are like old programming…we need to make some new room for some newer programming and definitely a new bird; we are fast, efficient and we conquer just like an eagle,” Zyninsky said.

His commentary, light-hearted yet assertive, and personality truly captured the audience to focus on every word he was saying and his descriptive presentation had everyone in the audience smiling ear to ear. 

Up next was Team Turkey. Professor Kelley spared no time using her experience as a lawyer to make assertive and dominant arguments. Her stage presence was enough to have the whole audience listening to every single word she said. Kelley used daily problems that we have in America and strong facts to back up her cases to prove why Team Turkey is the way to go. Kelley also used her journalistic mind to present the audience with a hilarious take on why the turkey is America’s bird and showcases that journalists use facts and statistics to make cases.

“The docile turkey graces the earth with its polite gathering but the eagle: a bird of prey, a predator who kills chickens, lambs, and livestock and takes food right off of our plate and creates fewer food options for the rowans food pantry,” Kelley said.

The journalism professor’s calm and confident presentation made it seem like a major win for Team Turkey, but there was still one more speech left, Lauren Sorrento for Team Turkey.

Sorento used an economic-based approach to lore the audience even more onto Team Turkey. Sorrento explained that there was such a high demand for turkeys in America, but absolutely no demand for eagles. She even brought up the fact that it is illegal to consume eagle meat or have an eagle as a pet, so how could they be America’s bird if the people can’t even enjoy the bird up close?

Team Eagle and Team Turkey both showed amazing sportsmanship throughout the entire debate and all had one common goal in their minds, to help The SHOP, Rowan’s food pantry, and to have a good time. Although at the end of the debate, the ruling ended in a tie, everyone there left with beaming smiles and laughs. Who knew that two birds could bring a small community at Rowan University together to help out those in need and have a laugh-filled night?

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