 Emily
Garin, Princeton University
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Who I Am
 The
role of APDA President is one that requires a unique combination
of qualities. The President must be a role model, a diplomat, a
listener and a reformer. I think that I embody each of these necessary
characteristics. The APDA President's most important job is that
of role model and figurehead. I try in all rounds and at all tournaments
to maintain the decorum and respect that all members of the circuit
deserve. As a member of the World's Council, the President must
also be someone who has knowledge of the World's system and can
be an effective advocate for American interests. I believe that
my international debating experience will allow me to both work
with the World's Council and for APDA. The president must be willing
and able to take the opinions, ideas and experiences of all APDA
members seriously. I believe that the things I have encountered
on the circuit over the past three years have given me both a unique
appreciation for the different facets of APDA and a unique commitment
to solving the challenges faced by its heterogeneous members. Perhaps
most crucial, however, is the President's vision of APDA and her
willingness to admit the shortcomings of the system in order to
change it. I do think that there are constructive ways in which
APDA can grow and (as you'll see in just two short paragraphs) I
have some proposals to help APDA and its members.
What I've Done
As
President of the Princeton Debate Panel this year, I have helped
to recruit (and maintain) Princeton's largest and most diverse novice
class in recent history. Through re-vamping our education program
for novices and advanced debaters, we have been able to keep nearly
twenty novices who compete regularly. I believe that the combination
of our hands on approach and general friendliness to freshmen has
helped to keep many people that would have been scared away in previous
years. As an Equal Opportunity Facilitator and a member of the APDA
Capital Campaign Committee, I have been able to serve APDA at large.
With the Committee, I have been working to help secure the financial
future of APDA and its member teams. Being a part of the EOF program
in its re-inaugural year has been a privilege. Together with the
board, this year's EOF's have helped to define the program and its
goals while also serving as a resource for conflict mediation. As
an active member of the APDA community, I have traveled up, down
and across the circuit for the past three years. The breadth of
my tournament attendance demonstrates my availability and accessibility.
What I Want to Do
I
want to make the circuit a more welcoming and inclusive place for
people to spend their weekends. The first step in this process is
caring more about the first impression that APDA makes on people.
The APDA novice tournament needs to be altered so that it is not
so overwhelming and disheartening for first time debaters. I would
like to work with teams concentrated in major metropolitan areas
to help create a series of Sunday afternoon novice round robins
(modeled on the Boston area tournament). I want the APDA board to
work to compile resources for new teams. We should have videos to
send interested schools and troubleshooting packets for tournament
directors (similar to the novice packet developed this summer).
APDA has a wealth of resources that it is not being put to good
use simply because people don't know who to ask.
I
am running for APDA President because debate has profoundly influenced
my life over the past seven years. I would like the chance to bring
debate to as many new people as possible. I hope you will give me
the opportunity to do so.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me:
(609) 986-8471
elgarin@princeton.edu
IM: elgarin
Best wishes, Emily |
Jeff
Williams, Columbia University
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Hello all,
I
am writing with hopes of becoming the next President of APDA, an
organization that has in three years become the focus of my social
attention. When I started debating, APDA seemed very different.
The Columbia Debate Team assuredly was. We were in thousands of
dollars of debt. Personal conflicts made team meetings into a battleground.
The casualties were felt in novice retention, participation, and
social cohesiveness. When some graduated, the survivors were left
with the aftermath. Today, the Columbia Debate Team is a group of
friends. Disagreements are always put in the context of sharing
an activity we enjoy. Through financially responsible behavior,
the debt trend has been reversed. Things have gotten much better,
though they could have become much worse. My experience in dealing
with these problems gives me a perspective on how I feel APDA can
improve.
Growth
has been based on cooperation and understanding. We had only one
active upperclassmen returning after my freshman year, but she and
the novices all shared the responsibility. By sharing the burdens
and cooperating, we were able to develop better solutions to our
problems and implement them as a group. I think this same kind of
attitude can be applied to our association. The APDA board needs
to cooperate more. It needs to be willing to pick up the slack if
an individual needs help. The board also needs to be responsive
to the community. By engaging more people to fix problems, a greater
variety of solutions can be proposed. I remember how responsiveness
and cooperation helped me as President of the Columbia team. The
APDA board needs to be both more internally cooperative and more
responsive to the wishes and needs of the APDA body.
Support
can’t stop in the boardroom, however. APDA needs to focus less
on expansion and more on retention. Expanding to incorporate more
and more schools does us as a circuit no good if these efforts aren’t
accompanied by meaningful gestures and programs to help these schools
when they encounter difficulties. Some problems might be financial,
but even in these cases I think APDA can and should continue to
offer suggestions, from fundraising to better financial planning.
Programs like the mentoring program can ease integration by providing
support and attention towards incoming classes. Mediums like the
Clash and APDAnet can become forums for answering questions
or addressing concerns. By making debate and APDA meetings intelligible
to newcomers and by being responsive to their needs, our association
can meaningfully incorporate new schools into active involvement.
These
mechanisms and commitments provide for the circuit in another important
way. As APDA grows, we sacrifice our ability to keep a single unified
identity. The result becomes an association that, from one point
to another, no longer associates. By providing ways for new schools
to get involved, we also equip ourselves with tools to stay in touch
with each other. The problems I saw in the Columbia Debate Team
were based on the maintenance and extension of personal rivalries
into formalized factions. I see the same potential in APDA. Instead,
we must as an organization recognize and address the problem. Integrating
the circuit means more than incorporating new schools or helping
schools that encounter difficulty; it requires cooperation and vigilance
in maintaining the bonds that connect us as a whole and decreasing
the influence of the divisive elements that sustain tensions.
The
system isn’t broken yet, but that doesn’t mean we should
stand by waiting to fix it. Confronting potential problems and investigating
the possible avenues for improvement now will prepare us for a better
future. These solutions require all our attention, however. If you
question my commitments or want to inquire further into any plan,
I genuinely would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.
My contact information is listed below, and I would like to hear
from you.
Sincerely,
Jeff Williams,
Columbia Debate
jw267@columbia.edu
(212) 853-5726
AIM WHT2ROT |
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