There is a strong segment of the population that bought into the notion that intelligence and education only lies in the hallways of prominent institutions, universities such as Harvard. However, a recent debate dispels this notion.

In September of 2015, three members of the Harvard Debate team faced off against three men who were incarcerated for violent crimes. They made of the prison team in the debate. The outcome was shocking to many and proves intelligence and education doesn’t only like in the hallways of Universities, but in the minds of people dedicated to growing their understanding.

From the Wall Street Journal: After an hour of fast-moving debate on Friday, the judges rendered their verdict.

The inmates won.

The audience burst into applause. That included about 75 of the prisoners’ fellow students at the Bard Prison Initiative, which offers a rigorous college experience to men at Eastern New York Correctional Facility, in the Catskills.

The debate team from Harvard admitted they were caught off guard by how well prepared the prison debate team was during the competition. They definitely allowed the preceptions about those in prison to impact their preparation and performance, but no one wants to hear their excuses.

In competition, you prepare to win no matter who you are facing. It just so happen in this case, they were outmatched by better opponents.

The prison team was assembled through the Bard Initiative Program which creates the opportunity for incarcerated men and women to earn a Bard College degree while serving their sentences.

From the Wall Street Journal: The prison team had its first debate in spring 2014, beating the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Then, it won against a nationally ranked team from the University of Vermont, and in April lost a rematch against West Point.

Preparing has its challenges. Inmates can’t use the Internet for research. The prison administration must approve requests for books and articles, which can take weeks.

There are currently 300 prison inmates in the Bard program, which many believe is very cost effective considering what it takes to incarcerate more than 2.3 million prison inmates. According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States spends $212 billion dollars annually to do so, but the unfortunate part of this is many of the 750,000 inmates released annually return to prison.

The Bard program aims to reduce this rate by properly educating inmates, providing them with skills and opportunities when they return to society it is for good.