Candidate Statements
President
Hey APDA,
The decision to run for President was a very difficult one for me, one I debated for quite some time. The reason is this: I think the APDA Presidency should be a time-consuming, intense position, one with significant responsibility. The APDA Board, as the agent for all schools, is uniquely situated to coordinate solutions and actions that no individual school can or should do. To that end, I run with specific goals in mind.
First, I plan to make real progress towards resolving what I see as the three major league-wide problems we face:
Expansion – the Expansion Coordinator program, which I started, has already started to recruit new schools to APDA. I intend to continue this program, appointing coordinators for next year as soon as possible (so they can help new schools prepare for the beginning of next school year) and asking them to report semesterly to the League and monthly to the APDA Board.
Equity – I think this problem is deeper than could be resolved by any Leage action, but I think there's a set of steps we can take (e.g. tournament-based complaints officers, an Equity Policy) that can start to encourage the individual actions that would put us on the path to resolving this.
Reg Fees – though I support an online system to ensure information about the payment behavior of schools, I also think that serves as only part of the solution. The problems of debt and high reg fees are clearly of significant complexity, but also ones that are long in need of a solution. Therefore, I would establish a commission, much like that which reformed the Qual and OTY systems, composed of members from North, South, and West, from big and small schools, from schools of all levels of financial ability, to examine these problems and recommend a solution to the Body.
In addition to these efforts, I will undertake to resolve other concerns, like that of the APDA Party, as I've outlined on the Forum or as they arise. Moreover, I will hold myself, the rest of the APDA Board, and any other officers of the League to account regularly before the Body. Finally, these proposals are ones of coordination, and I would not act to impose any plan upon the Body.
I think over the last three years, I've demonstrated my commitment to debate and to the institution of APDA. As a person in the league, and as a member of the Board, I've done what I can to help improve the League. But there's more to be done, more that will make the APDA experience better for every school and every individual debater – and that's why I ask for your support.
Thanks,
Andrew
Dear APDA,
It's that time of year again - when all of a sudden everyone seems to care about APDA's woes and proposes a hundred solutions. Oddly enough this panacea of reform always seems to coincide with elections, and even more strangely almost every proposed reform is completely unrelated to the positions being contested. In light of the inevitable annual political maneuvering I have decided to run for APDA President on a unique platform - I don't have one. This is probably because every time I've had a good idea, like an automated OTY tracker, I did it then and there. This isn't to say I don't have ideas, or that I don't think the President is important but rather that isn't what this election should be about. If I lose this election, I will push for the same reforms that I believe in and they will have an equal chance of being passed compared to being proposed by the APDA President.
When voting for a candidate, especially for a position that will serve as a representative of the entire league, we have to look to dedication. I have centered almost my entire life around APDA, missing only 7 weekends of debate in my 3 years on the circuit. I have actively participated in APDA meetings, alarmingly I have only ever missed one, and served as a Member for this past year. But my contributions go beyond just weekends, I have spent over a hundred hours working on the APDA website. Even more importantly, I have actively assisted other teams on the circuit. Under my leadership William and Mary has offered rides to other schools on the way to tournaments, allowed every school to compete at our tournaments regardless of financial status, and assisted in other tournaments tab rooms when needed. My personal conduct on the circuit is representative of the environment I hope to create - a fair, equitable, and safe place.
The most important jobs of the President are leading APDA meetings and scheduling. I am a fair and honest individual who is fully capable of both. As previously mentioned, I have a depressing amount of experience with APDA meetings and have also participated in scheduling this year.
Thank you for your time,
Benjamin Strahs
bgstra@wm.edu
Vice President of Operations
Hi APDA,
Most of you already know me based on some form of interaction or another, but for those of you who don't, I'm Mike Childers from John's Hopkins and I'd like to be your Vice President of Operations. Some of you are probably wondering first, what exactly the VP Ops does, and second why I think I would be well suited to perform said duties. The by-laws lists the duties of the office as,
"The Vice President for Operations shall tally the points for APDA Speaker, Team, and Novice of the Year, and manage the purchase of trophies for those awards."
As far as this goes, I spent a good deal of time before the OTY tracker was active updating the boards that had been set up on the wiki. I am online almost constantly because let's be honest I'd rather troll the forum than actually do work for my thesis and as such I can guarantee that OTY's will be updated as soon as tournaments post their results. As far as trophies go I've already started looking into switching things up and abandoning the APDA standard of everyone getting clocks. I am willing to take my cue from the body as far as what you guys would like, even if it were clocks again, and plan to implement this by posting a survey of possible awards on the forum and purchasing the items that get the most votes.
"The Vice President for Operations shall be responsible for keeping an accurate record of the proceedings of all meeting of the Board of Trustees, shall give or cause to be given all notices in accordance with these Bylaws or as required by law, and, in general, shall perform all duties customary to the office of Secretary."
So in addition to being numerate such that I can calculate the OTY standings, I am also literate and thus capable of taking notes at the meetings. I know anyone that has debated with me may tell you otherwise, but I promise I can actually write.
Beyond demonstrating a capacity to do the job, I think there are a few other characteristics that leave me uniquely suited to contributing as a board member. I have been on two different teams in two different regions of the circuit and spent about half of my college career hearing all about a third team and region of the circuit; as such my allegiance is not to one particular region of the circuit and certainly not to one specific team. I feel like this makes me completely impartial in scheduling meetings and also well attuned to the concerns of both large and small schools. I don't think the role of the board should be to dictate to schools how to run their team or their tournament, but should do what they can to build a schedule that facilitates the best access to debate for the circuit as a whole and to help schools that do request help. I have said in my question responses that I think the best thing that the board can do for emerging and struggling schools is to offer them help in running their tournament because a failed tournament is usually the killing blow for schools. I am willing to help either directly or indirectly any school that requests help with their tournament. I'm also willing to help schools whom may not have the experience or resources to train their novices. This year, I have written tutorial packs that have been used by Smith, Hopkins, NYU, and part of the debate guide that is used by West Point, all of which I've been told have been helpful to these schools, in addition to this I've also done demo and practice rounds at AU and Maryland. As far as outreach goes, I make a point to make myself available at tournaments and love meeting new people at tournaments; I really do believe that building friendships helps people enjoy the activity more and keeps them around, which is why I've made a point of introducing my novices to people on the circuit. If you have any specific questions feel free to e-mail me at HYPERLINK "mailto:mchilders07@gmail.com" mchilders07@gmail.com or IM me at mchilders07.
Thanks APDA,
Mike Childers
Vice President of Finance
I am running for APDA VP Finance because I think my experience, dedication, ideas, and judgement can make APDA a better place.
I support three financial initiatives:
I believe tournaments should be required to disclose their maximum reg fees when bidding for a tournament. Princeton's reg fee system is a model one, and the board should recommend other tournaments bidding for unopposed weekends take a similar approach. I believe tournaments should have a way of identifying how trustworthy teams are about debts. I've already posted a proposal on the forum, and will bring it up for a vote independent of my candidacy. If elected, however, I would be willing to work on it over the summer.
APDA also could also use some money-to help subsidize title tournaments, for example. The alumni lists currently being generated by alumni and current debaters should be integrated and used to send out quarterly emails to alumni detailing the progress of the league. And as VP Finance, I will make sure the APDA website can easily process donations via credit card by the first tournament next year.
Unfortunately, many of the solutions proposed by other candidates in this race-including my opponent in the VP Finance race-would do far more harm than good. Capping all tournaments' reg fees would either put some of APDA's most important tournaments out of business or require so many exceptions as to become a matter of political pork. Moreover, the policy would make all teams that host tournaments worse off, by reducing the profit they make from their tournaments proportionally more than the cost of the tournaments they attend.
On other league issues, I subscribe to a "benevolent board" philosophy; I think the APDA board should offer its help just about everywhere, and force its help just about nowhere. For instance, I think the board should make it possible for people to file truly anonymous equity complaints-the kind that you can post on the forum anonymously, choosing whether to let it be read by just the EOFs, the EOFs and the board, or all registered forum users.
Scheduling needs to be above reproach. John Hollwitz collected statistics last year on how many tournaments teams had attended, and published the results for all to see. This sort of common-sense policy should become standard. I will also voluntarily recuse myself from scheduling decisions affecting tournaments at which I have been in finals, and encourage other board members to do the same.
Like the other candidates, I support considering all major facets of tournaments during scheduling (entertainment, location, dino draw, etc.) And I am proud to say I have never promised any team scheduling favors.
Separately, I believe my experience will be very helpful. I helped organized a bid for Nationals while still a freshman. And because I hold myself to the highest standards, I ensured the bid included a four-star hotel. None of this came cheaply-indeed, I personally raised more than $10,000 to finance Nationals. But my fundraising and budgeting skills ensured that the event would be both solvent and a tremendous amount of fun.
I started my first company when I was 12, and co-founded a startup with the editor of Wired this summer. My business experience dwarfs even that of most people who are in business school. In fact, both the University of Michigan and Simmons College Entrepreneurship Forums have independently invited me to be a speaker in the next six months.
My commitment is unbeatable as well-I have debated at all but two tournaments this year. I wrote the tab software that's run many of this year's largest tournaments, and have kept it updated with people's feature suggestions. I accepted the position of Chief Expansion Coordinator this year; in the past 3 months the program has gotten in touch more than half a dozen schools that have already or will be showing up soon at tournaments. I am also writing a series of documents to help new schools to get oriented to the circuit, the first of which is already online. I was elected President of the MIT team as a freshman, and still hold the position. Altogether, it would be difficult to find someone who is more committed to APDA than I am.
Throughout my debate career, I think I've shown myself to be a fair, competent, and committed individual. For all these reasons, I humbly ask your support in the upcoming election.
Hello APDA my name is Gregory Padin and I am running for Vice President for Finance for the 2008/2009 debate year. I am currently a junior with the Fordham Debate Society. Many of you know me from my presence at tournaments every weekend from Dartmouth to William and Mary. For those of you who don’t know me I hope to one day get to know you but here’s a little more about me and why I would be an excellent VPF. I am a student at Fordham’s College of Business Administration, which means when I’m not debating I am immersed in financial studies. Among the skills I have picked up include the ability to keep financial records, managing assets, understanding financial law, and raising capital.
I think something that gets brought up every year but never gets accomplished is a capital campaign. I would be able to bring a lot of fresh ideas and unique opportunities to this long standing endeavor that could help it succeed. I would like to offer something to companies that would donate to APDA because rarely is capital free (except for grants which I would also like to look into). APDA is a fantastic resource for potential employers and by offering a place on either apdaweb or the forum where companies could post job and internships opportunities in exchange for a contribution to the capital fund would be a good start. This would also give debaters exposure to new opportunities of what to do after APDA. Being in New York City provides a huge pool of potential investors that I could meet face to face with at some of the largest firms in the nation. People are always more likely to donate a person than an @.com. Even just reaching out to companies that make donations in NPO’s like APDA for tax purposes would help.
What I would mostly like to do as the VPF and hopefully leave as my legacy is having the position become more than just handling the finance of APDA, which I think anyone on APDA probably could do, but also someone that helps the individual members of APDA who have financial problems. This is why creating a capital fund is so important, not to just have it sit around but actually have it to use to help teams in troubles. I think a lot of teams have shown that you can do a lot with very little, but if we can increase the resources that these teams have it would make the activity more fun when they don’t have to worry as much about money and can focus on what makes us give up our weekends, actually debating. This would also be an impact on new schools and make them more viable. This is one of the financial incentives I’d like to offer to new schools to join the league, such as waiving dues for the first couple years or having guaranteed prices teams could charge them while they’re in the developments stage.
There are several things I think could be done in terms of debt collection that I have begun to discuss in the questions forum. One thing I would like to do is to set up a debt tracking system where outstanding debt could be monitored in order to see which teams are in the most trouble. I wouldn’t use this to punish teams in debt but just as a tool in evaluating the overall financial situation of the league. The first step to league wide debt elimination is getting teams out of the cycle of debt while trying to not limit their ability to debate unnecessarily. I’d also like to explore several of the ideas that have been brought up to reduce the cost of debate such as reg. swapping , APDA supplementing etc. I realize that every schools problem is unique which means there is no 1 right answer, but I see there are some problems that we all face and taking a more active role in discussing how individual teams solve these problems could be the key to a more financially sustainable APDA.
The reason I want to be your next VPF is because I want to make a difference on APDA. Joining the FDS is without question one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I want to make it so that anyone who wants to debate can debate. The financial problems of APDA transcend any distinctions, north or south, man or woman, big school or small school we all need to be able to pay in order to debate and I will make it my job to make that easier. I have for 3 years put the rest of my life on hold for the FDS but I decided this year to take a less active role on my team so I could give my time and energy to the league. You all have given so much to me and now I’d like to give you back the best gift I can think of, my time and energy.
If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to contact me between now and the elections, I’d really like to hear from you.
E-mail address: padin@fordham.edu
AIM: FURams09
Cell: 860-268-2963
Thanks for your time and I hope to see you at Princeton.
Member at Large
Dear APDA: It's On.
And by "it," I mean elections. My name is Kyle Bean, I'm a sophomore debater affiliated with the Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society (in addition to my affiliation with the University of Halifax), and I am writing to respectfully request your support in this year's Member at Large election. I'm sure that if you are perusing this that you are looking for a way to differentiate between the candidate. Predictably, I'm going to try to clarify what you can rationally expect of me if elected, and hopefully convince you that I'm the right candidate for the job.
To differentiate myself, I pose a very simple question devoid of CIA assassinations or sentient paintings: what is the role of the Member at Large? I think the answer can be segmented into two spheres – the dictated and the non-dictated, and I think in each case you'll find that I'm both qualified to fulfill these roles and have a unique perspective regarding them that is consistent with the traditional overall non-interfering stance of the board.
The Dictated Roles: The duties traditionally conferred upon the Members at Large (regulating the EOF Program, overseeing the expansion program, etc.) I think every individual running is qualified to regulate these programs, shown by the faith their team puts into them. However, as outlined in many responses to questions, I think there is room for expansion of these programs such making the EOF Program more proactive and the expansion program more decentralized (working through established friendships and previous connections) and focused on targeted areas we can achieve gains (such as jaded NPDA debaters and high school students). These would all be things I would work toward with respect to the actual dictated functions of the Members in addition to ensuring that the current roles of these programs are fulfilled. I think my unique perspective and ability to come up with pragmatic and implementable improvements to these programs sets me apart.
The Non-dictated Roles: While amendments and other legislation are chiefly within the realm of the body as a whole, I feel that the Members at Large have a duty to the circuit to utilize their unique position to observe, analyze, and think about the will of the body and attempt to get the ball rolling on legislation that seems to represent the popular will. Though being on the board is not essential to introducing legislation, the purpose of pulling members of the community at large to serve on the board is to ensure the trends and interests of the body at large are served, and I think the Members at Large have a responsibility to actively tap into and serve these interests (with the body's approval through amendment passage, of course – the board is certainly not a totalizing entity of policy and shouldn't seek to become one). My widespread connections and commitment to APDA will ensure that I'm an excellent candidate to fill this role as well.
In general, though, I think that the nuanced nature of my connection and dedication to the circuit do set me apart, and not just because my only obligation outside of school (if creative writing is considered an obligation these days) is, indeed, APDA. In addition to competing widely in the north, south and central arenas almost every weekend (my western travel limited by my decimated pocketbook), my attendance only limited by elements outside of my control, I feel like I have an extremely wide net of friendships and have been established as one of the more approachable members of the circuit. Furthermore, APDA is essentially my second family, moreso than friends and acquaintances at the university I attend (not the team, but the institution on balance). My best friends are on the circuit and without it I'm not sure how my college experience would have turned out. Certainly, at least, I feel that I owe a debt to APDA for being there for me in times where I needed support, and at the end of the day I wish to repay that debt.
Additionally, I can eat my weight in anything. I'm not sure if that's relevant, but damned if it's not cool. I look forward to seeing you all at Princeton and sincerely hope to garner your support.
Cheers,
R. Kyle "Yoshi" Bean, HSPDS 2010
Greetings, APDA!
For those of you who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Jake Campbell. I'm a junior at Boston University, and it is my pleasure to announce my candidacy for Member at Large. This league has been a significant part of my life for the last two years, and I'd like the opportunity to give back as much as I can to the circuit to ensure that it remains the haven of great debate, great friends, and great times that I've experienced. So why am I the best candidate to serve on the board in such an important role?
I think there are two things that we should look at when evaluating a Member candidate: the person and the ideas. A few of my personal attributes that are relevant for this position are my dedication, my sense of fairness, and my approachability. By the end of this year, I will have participated at twenty-five tournaments since the season began. I've been fully committed to debate since I was first introduced to the activity—serving as President of my high school team and serving as Vice President at BU—and I look forward to devoting an equal amount of time and energy to the circuit next year. Second, I believe that Members should remain fair and impartial when settling disputes, whether it's over scheduling or any other issue. School affiliation and regional bias should bear no weight on decision making, and to that end I'm proud to say that I have made no political bargains or promises that would compromise my objectivity. Otherwise, I can only ask that you trust my sense of fairness, for which I'm sure many people with whom I've interacted can vouch. Finally, I put forth every effort to make myself approachable to everyone—novices, varsity, North, South, Central and West; all debaters deserve to feel comfortable and respected, and the Members should serve both as an advocate and a role model for that purpose.
Now that you know a little more about me, please let me share some of my ideas and priorities that make me qualified for the Member position. Two issues of particular importance to me are equity and expansion. One extension of serving as a role model for the league is to prioritize equality and openness on the circuit to all members, regardless of gender or race. While the board cannot force teams to take particular actions, raising awareness of how they can best address these issues is an invaluable first step. To that end, the board is in a unique position to suggest and implement new strategies that can result in progress on a team-by-team basis—ranging from judges' training to participation in demo rounds, and much more. Another important role of Members is to ease the process by which new schools join the circuit. Although the expansion committee helps new schools get their feet in the door, action on the part of the board can lessen other obstructions to participation like prohibitive registration and transportation costs or social exclusion. Members should serve as a guide and assistant for new programs, a role that my dedication to the circuit allows me to fulfill.
In the interest of keeping this statement short, I hope that you look for my more detailed thoughts on these and other issues on the forum. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. That said, I hope you agree that my personal attributes and priorities make me best suited to serve as Member at Large, and I look forward to seeing you all at elections!
Sincerely,
Jake Campbell
Email: ekaj14@bu.edu
AIM: ekaj14
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Samantha Hynes, I am a sophomore from William and Mary, and I am running for Member at Large. I have been actively involved (probably to a rather embarrassing extent) in APDA since I have on the circuit. Over the past two years, I have been to 40 tournaments (the only tournaments I have missed were those my school did not attend) and this year I am both an EOF and an Expansion Coordinator.
Some of the major issues facing our circuit are ones that we already have created the mechanisms to change. It is my belief that the reason groups like the EOFs and the Expansion Coordinators have had limited impact on the league is because of the lack of visibility and communication between these individuals and the league as a whole. What I believe I can do as a member at large is help both of these programs get the resources necessary to become more effective. For expansion this means asking tournament directors to refer me to new schools that are in attendance at their tournaments, working with the expansion coordinators to hold a team building workshop for new and dying schools at the beginning of the season to discuss how to work with school administrations and ways to attract and retain members, and developing a list of schools that we wish to contact (new, dead, dying, or never before on the circuit) and come up with a more official, standardized letter from the APDA board that we can give these schools' administrations to help them in their efforts to get on campus recognition and funding. For equity, this means helping make people aware of the EOF program, continuing to introduce female novices to women and other debaters on the circuit, and assisting in organizing demo rounds and recording rounds that include female debaters.
So many of the problems we have (the lack of women, expansion, novice retention, the sometimes offensive environment) are problems that need to be addressed on an individual level by simply talking to people. I have tried my best to talk to novices and build close relationships with women and men alike on APDA. All that I will promise you I can do as a board member (outside of scheduling and helping to run APDA meetings) is to continue to talk to people and serve as a means of communication for the league as a whole. By working on an individual basis to solve these issues and by encouraging both groups to provide brief updates on their progress at each APDA meeting, we can ensure that the body can see what progress has been made and suggest their own ideas on what the two groups can do throughout the year so that the league does not forget about the causes until elections roll around.
The role of the board should not be to mandate any changes such as a women only tournament, quotas, rulebooks, or fancy website paying programs, but to make sure the issues our league faces are not just left up entirely to the committees we create to deal with them while the rest of the league forgets we have problems. The board should have very limited power but with increased communication and by taking a more active leadership role within the APDA community it can have a much larger impact.
Salutations, APDA!
I am Lily Lamboy, a sophomore debater for the Amherst team, and I am running for Member-at-Large. There seem to be four characteristics crucial to being an effective member of the APDA board: innovative thinking, dedication, competence, and diplomacy.
Innovative Thinking. There are three areas where I can make active change as a member: issues of equity, expansion, and supplementary funding for tournaments via sponsorship. As Co-President of the Amherst team, I have recently re-structured the team to include an internal EOF, as per the discussion at the Columbia Women’s Forum. My hope is that other schools do the same, and that members of the APDA board can act as leaders within the community to facilitate this sort of change. I believe the board can make explicit changes by holding Equity meetings each semester to examine issues of ethnic diversity and gender disparity on the circuit, by encouraging teams to offer oral adjudication to novices in the first three rounds of a tournament, by bolstering visibility of the EOF program by introducing the EOFs at the start of each tournament, and by organizing demo rounds that include a diverse array of talented debaters.
Regarding expansion, I believe the board should work with the existing Expansion Committee to hold put together a standardized packet of information for new schools regarding policy, payment, and debate itself. I also hope to facilitate one meeting at the start of each semester to introduce new teams to the internal workings of APDA. The circuit is shrinking in numbers, as evidenced by declining tournament attendance. I hope that board members, in conjunction with Expansion coordinators, can aid expansion by keeping in touch with interested schools via email or phone, contacting their administrations to help with logistics and funding, and working with new teams at tournaments as they adjust to life on the circuit.
During our forum discussion of tournament payment, it occurred to me that many institutions might be able to receive sponsorship funding for their tournaments. Title tournaments do this already, as do high school tournaments. I have recently contacted both MTV and the Commonwealth Financial Group in order to hopefully receive sponsorship funding for MIT Nationals, and I hope to help other teams do the same by creating and maintaining connections to sympathetic corporations and encouraging teams to reach out to local establishments. I hope to help ameliorate the costs of running a tournament so that teams are left with a surplus sufficient to send teams to tournaments throughout the year.
Dedication. While this position may not require knowledge of quantum mechanics, it does require an intense love for the circuit. At times, the APDA board performs tedious and time-consuming tasks. From a two-hour AIM session regarding the position of Columbia on the schedule to an APDA meeting on finance reform, a Member-at-Large is expected to engage actively in all aspects of the circuit. I have missed only two APDA meetings during my debate career (at tournaments my team did not attend). I am a hopeless nerd, getting heated over an issue on the forum or an unresolved amendment to the APDA bylaws. Members of the board need to have a vested interest not only in keeping the circuit alive but also in making constant improvements to its internal structure.
Competence. As Member, it is crucial that one is punctual, responsive, and rational. As Co-President of my team, I am responsible largely for coordinating start and end times for events, answering emails, running meetings, organizing practice rounds and making decisions regarding use of funds. I have been late to one tournament in my career (Princeton 2007), and I got in a car accident on the way. I reply quickly to emails and phone calls, especially those regarding business. As for rationality, it is difficult to provide "evidence" of such a quality, although I hope those who have debated against or spoken to me can vouch for its existence. Especially when it comes to scheduling, it is crucial that members of the board maintain a logical and nuanced approach.
Diplomacy. A Member-at-Large acts as a liaison to all members of the APDA community. Towards this end, I believe that the most active changes are likely to come from individual communications between board members and debaters. Whenever I attempt to justify my dorky lifestyle to people in the "real world", I emphasize the meaningful friendships and connections formed across the country that carry over from weekend to weekend. I hope to use my position as member to understand the ins and outs of scheduling, to mediate smaller issues between schools, and to assure that all members of the circuit are guaranteed a voice at APDA meetings.
Thank you for considering my candidacy. Please contact me with any questions or concerns by email at lilylamboy@gmail.com or by phone (781) 454 -7746.
With Gratitude, Lily Lamboy
NOTICE FROM THE APDA BOARD: Ms. Lamboy's Candidate Statement was received after the official deadline due to technical issues with her email.
The role of the APDA member-at-large positions is undefined, meaning that members have an interesting opportunity: to define their own role within APDA andto harness their own strengths to benefit the league. If elected, I want to focus my attention on two areas:
1) Diversity and Equity
I think most people would agree this is the biggest and certainly most delicate issue APDA faces. I am concerned by not only the gender gap facing APDA, but also the broader lack of diversity. One need only step into the GA of a tournament to realize that our league is embarrassingly homogenous, lacking diversity in race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability and virtually every other category. And where diversity does exist, in my experience, minorities have preferred (for whatever reason) to conform rather than take pride in individuality.
I think there are many steps the board can take to make APDA more welcoming and nurturing to women, minorities and all debaters, notably an empowered Equity officer program, expanding APDA beyond the Northeast, highlighting the role of women and minority debaters, and other steps that have been outlined on the APDA forum. But this is an issue of the APDA environment and attitude and also an issue of recruitment. If we can tackle the recruitment question and diversify ADPA, then as role models develop and the league changes its make-up, a drastically changing attitude and environment will soon follow.
How do we recruit more diverse novice classes, and expanding APDA beyond private northeastern schools? I think we should work on helping clubs with novice recruitment. And more ambitiously, we should strive to reach out to the community.
2) Expanding APDA's reputation and reach through partnerships and grants
When a diverse group of seniors in high school are aware of and/or excited by the prospect of college debating, expanding and diversifying will be easier. It's that simple.
I hope to focus my attention on partnering with corporations and foundations who would grant us money to begin community outreach: to bring high schoolers to model rounds or tournaments, to facilitate community coaching, to hold tournaments particularly for low-income students, to develop debate materials and guides, and more. The side benefit of all this, of course, is that employers may be more likely to recognize our APDA achievements when the league's reputation grows.
I have a lot of experience both during summers and the school year working on grants with foundations and corporations, and will be uniquely able to spearhead such a project.
Beyond those projects, I hope to be a friendly and approachable individual on the circuit with the judgment to ensure fair treatment and respect towards all schools and all individuals. Thank you for considering my candidacy, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at steven [dot] kryger [at] yale [dot] edu.