The following was published in Time Out Chicago, November 17-24, 2005:

The Ultimate Food Fight

An infamous T-shirt at the University of Chicago reads, “Where fun comes to die.” On November 22, fun will, at least for an evening, be resurrected.

Continuing an annual pre-Thanksgiving tradition, the U of C this year will mark the 60th anniversary of the Latke Hamantash Debate. This farcical debate pits a handful of professors against one another in arguing which is superior: the latke, a potato pancake eaten during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, or the hamantash, a soft cookie with fruit-flavored or poppy-seed filling whose name comes from Haman, a Persian noble who in the 6th century BC failed in his attempt to kill all the Jews in Persia. The debate, which parodies both Jewish custom and the serious nature of the U of C, has evolved over the years from an intimate gathering in Hillel House into a mainstay event that attracts hundreds of spectators. It also has the distinction of being the original of well over a dozen such debates at other campuses in the country.

Past debaters at the U of C include Hanna Gray, a historian (and then-president of the university) who spoke on the role of the latke and hamantash in the Renaissance; Edward Stankiewicz, a linguistics professor who composed a 19-stanza poem professing his love of the latke; and the venerable economist Milton Friedman, who invoked jiberish economics to conclude absolutely nothing.

This year’s debaters bring backgrounds in African history, linguistics, and statistics. At press time, one hadn’t chosen his position, another refused to divulge his, and the third said he wouldn’t take one. (Normally, four professors participate, but a fourth couldn’t be found in time this year. “No doubt this is because the task is so daunting,” says Philosophy professor and long-time moderator Ted Cohen, “that people are much less likely to agree to do this than they are to give an academic lecture to multitudes.”)

Perhaps the closest thing to a preview: First-time debater Colm O’Muircheartaigh, a professor in the Harris School of Public Policy and the lone non-Jewish panelist, quips, “I’m looking forward to it a great deal. And I hope I survive it.”

The debate is free and open to the public, and audience members are invited afterwards to vote for their preferred food (“although we really don’t care who wins,” notes Cohen). If at the end of the debate you haven’t had your fill (ahem…), stay on for a reception, where, yes, latkes and hamantashen will be served. ◼