Anthony Babu '30

Anthony is a first-year in Pennypacker studying Economics and Philosophy and is driven by high-impact change-making. He is particularly interested in where the two fields intersect into cost-effective altruistic causes, including but not limited to development economics, AI safety, and social choice theory. He believes in the obligation of institutions to facilitate and encourage a marketplace of ideas from all sides of the political aisle, to discover truth where it is uncertain, and to protect truth when it is clear. On the Intellectual Vitality board, he hopes to forward the College's efforts towards viewpoint diversity, ensuring truths never become dead dogmas and valuable student voices are not silenced. 

In high school, Anthony was a decorated debater. As captain of the USA National Debate Team, he ranked as the #2 debater in the world at the World Schools Debating Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, where he enjoyed debating students with differing views and life experiences from over 70 nations. He is also the youngest-ever two-time national champion of International Extemporaneous Speaking. Above competition, he believes those with access to discourse have an obligation to expand it. In high school, he Executive Directed Equality in Forensics, an organization serving hundreds of students with free speech and debate coaching and resources. In his free time, he enjoys his cats, the New York Times games, 40s jazz music, and his friends.