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Re: Dickman on topic length & release date

> I'm all in favor of an early release of the topic, but I have a 
> question.  If the topic was released on Aug. 1, like someone suggested, 
> then how would students not in school yet vote on the topic?  How could 
> we ensure that first-year students get to vote?  I hope that there are 
> answers to these questions and that the topic can come out sooner.
> Matt C. Johnson,
> Whitman College
> 
I am not quite sure why it is necessary for first year students to vote. 
It seems to me that one of two things is true: Either you have entering 
first years who have debated in high school and who actively seek to 
debate in college or you have beginners who are unacquainted with debate 
and learn about the activity upon entering.  I may be wrong, but by 
August and probably much earlier the first category of students has 
already contacted the school they plan to attend, and would most likely 
be able to voice their opinion with very little difficulty before that 
date.  The second category has very little idea of the implications of 
the topic wording and what constitutes a good topic in general. It seems 
to me that the advantages of releasing the topic earlier (more reasonable 
research time, deeper debates) outweigh these concerns.
jason jarvis 
wake debate
References:
Archive created by Jonathan Stanton (jonathan@cs.jhu.edu)
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