Choose the right school--Response to Clevenger

[MWilliams]

It is going to be great this year watching well fed, upper-middle class white
boys talk about oppression and racism when they can't even see it in their own lives. I keep seeing posts saying such things as "well choose the right school ifyou want to debate." Most students have never even heard of debate. Thus, it is
pretty damn hard to make a "choice" of schools. Had we chosen a topic with
Title IX implications, I'm sure you would get to know this subject line well.
In a state (Louisana--Number one in the nation for high school drop outs and teen pregnancy) that is just NOW Desegragating its public schools--yes! you read itcorrectly--the resources available to students to make an informed choice about
debate does not exist. Many schools do not even allow students to take textbooks home because they can't afford to lose them.
        The point is that for the vast majority of students there really is no
"choice" for schools or debate programs. If combining teams opens up the choicesand opportunites to students we should be in favor of it.
        One more thing. To the idiot who backchanneled me saying it really is all about winning--grow up! For a debater with some type of ego-driven need to
"beat" people, I guess debate is a way to feed your desires. For those of us that are coaches and professors, we need to look to a higher calling--namely, to
expose as many students as possible to the activity. So, no. It ain't all about
winning. It is still, at some level, an educational activity.
Scott Elliott