Mock Mediation
For students interested in improving public speaking skills, polishing critical and analytical faculties, and learning peacekeeping skills, the mock mediation program offers a first-rate opportunity to accomplish all three goals. Students who participate in this program attend several tournaments in which they showcase their mediation skills against other teams. Mock mediation teams consist of three to five members. These tournaments tend to center on the resolution of legal disputes, but they may also involve other kinds of dispute that do not turn on legal questions. The purpose of mediation is for parties to resolve their dispute in a way that allows them a greater degree of control over the outcome than is possible in a trial. When the competition season, which occurs in the fall, is complete, mock mediators turn their attention to resolving real-world disputes both on campus and in the community.