Which holiday food is superior, the latke or the hamantash? Students and faculty at Duke University gathered on Feb. 25 for the school’s first Latke vs. Hamantash Debate, a tradition that began at the University of Chicago in 1946.
“Are you Team Latke or Team Hamantash?” the event flier read. “It’s an important question concerning two Jewish food favorites.”
Math professor Adam Levine defended the Purim pastry against physics professor Dan Scolnic, who argued in favor of Chanukah’s potato pancake. Scolnic ultimately won the debate for Team Latke.
“Their arguments blended serious scholarship with humor, ranging from Talmudic interpretations to imaginative mathematical and scientific justifications to a homemade video set to the music of Enya for the superiority of the latke or the hamantash,” according to the Duke student newspaper.
Duke University Hillel said that “the arguments were passionate (if not always scientifically conclusive), the audience of over 160 was fully engaged, the laughter was plentiful, and the nosh was great.”
“This may become a new Duke tradition,” the Hillel stated.
The University of Chicago, where the tradition was founded, hosted its 79th annual debate, titled “Snackonomics,” on Feb. 22, featuring three university scholars.
“The debate has featured Nobel Prize winners, past UChicago presidents and faculty from across the disciplines,” according to the university’s student newspaper, including Nobel Prize winners Milton Friedman and George Stigler.
At least 15 other U.S. academic institutions have hosted the debate, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College and Johns Hopkins University, where, in 2010, two professors drew on the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza and Jacques Derrida.
