Hybrid teams at the NDT

[Shawn T Whalen]

How does this answer the proposal Dallas wrote about that seemed to have
lots of checks against such abuse.  I'm with Jeff - so far a clean crush
for hybrid proponents.

Shawn Whalen

Director of Forensics
San Francisco State University
swhalen at sfsu.edu
(415) 338-3173

On Tue, 11 Aug 1998, Chris Lotz wrote:

> If hybrid teams are a good idea at the NDT, why don't we also have them at
> other major championships?  Perhaps George Steinbrenner and Ted Turner could
> get together and merge the Yankees and Braves for the World Series.  Maybe the
> U.S. should join up with Russia at the Olympics.  Sound fair to anyone?  No,
> then why should we endorse such a notion at the NDT?  While it is important to
> expand opportunities for students in debate, it is also important that we
> recognize some limits.  Persons who are concerned about elitism in debate
> should be very apprehensive about hybrid teams at its championship.  It might
> be all well and good for you if Podunk U. unites with Small State College, but
> what if two powerhouses join to conquer all?  Oh sure, we could just make
> decisions on a case by case basis.  But who makes the decisions over what
> schools get to gang up on the solo artists?  The elites themselves, right?
> Also, where's a good spot to draw the line?  One of the nice things about
> having two national championships (CEDA and the NDT) with different principles
> and parameters is that schools can choose which is better suited for their
> needs (or both, as the case may be).  So if you are looking to put together
> the All-Star debate team, feel free to do so at the tournament(s) that allow
> you to do so, but respect the choice of a majority of the NDT Committee to
> disallow hybrid teams.
>
> - Chris Lotz
>