Dear delegates,
Welcome to the highest court in the land! While Congress drafts laws and the executive branch
implements the law, the judiciary has the distinct task of saying what the law means. In other
words, the Supreme Court applies the Constitution and all previous cases (precedent) to new
constitutional situations asking questions like: How do we balance the power of a majority with
the rights of minorities? What powers does the President have in war time? What are our voting
rights? And what are the limits of the powers of the federal and state governments respectively?
These questions are clearly not easy to answer, but as arbiters of the law it is our job during
Harvard Model Congress San Francisco 2014 to consider how to parse out these constitutional
issues. In the process, you will learn which issues are important to you, be it free speech, the
sanctity of the home, independence of the judiciary, or even the due process clause. In your
preparation, we ask you to read the cases, research the precedent cases, compose arguments for
both the petitioner and respondent, and draft questions for when you act as a Justice.
Instrumental to all of this will be your partner, so please bounce off arguments and ideas off of
one another. And if you have any questions along the way, please feel free to e-mail us! Here's
who we are...
Hailing from the proud state of North Carolina, Medha Gargeya is a senior in Adams House. She
is interested in studying government and women, gender, and sexuality studies. Medha enjoyed
being a delegate at HMC San Francisco and HMC Asia in high school. In addition to HMC,
Medha teaches civics to elementary school children in Boston, writes for the Harvard Political
Review, and sings with the Lowell House Opera Company. In her spare time, Medha likes to
bake, run, and pontificate.
Sonali Salgado is a sophomore, living in Cabot House and concentrating in the social sciences.
Sonali attended Harvard Model Congress in high school, and served as a delegate on the
Supreme Court two years in a row. She absolutely loved her HMC experience, and it was at
HMC SCOTUS that Sonali first met the fabulous Medha Gargeya. In addition to HMC, at
Harvard, Sonali covers city politics for The Harvard Crimson and writes for the travel guide
Let’s Go. In her spare time, she might be caught talking about the rise and fall of the Backstreet
Boys, watching the best of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, or scrutinizing the latest Pride and
Prejudice adaptation.
We cannot wait to meet all of you and hope you'll enjoy Supreme Court as much as we do. We
like to think that our committee brings together the conference's most dedicated and thoughtful
delegates. Please prepare before the conference and reach out to us at any step along the way.
Sincerely,
Medha Gargeya
[email protected]
Sonali Salgado
[email protected]