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Re: basketball analogies and divisions

There is no level playing field in debate. There never has been and never 
will be. Fair divisions are almost impossible, maybe impossible to 
create, and are another separating mechanism in forensics, a field 
already far too divided.

Why is there no level playing field? Think about it folks. What does it 
take to have a great excellent debate program?

lst and foremost talented, bright, dedicated, motivated, hard working 
students. American University 2 years ago with basically two of these 
sorts of students did extremely well in CEDA. However, you usually need 
more. It helps a whole lot to have 6-l6 good students so you can have 3-8 
teams change partners share research burdens help one another with 
strategies etc. 
How do schools get good students?
Great school
Great curriculum and programs
Scholarships
INexpensive tuition
Coaches and students recruiting students
Great admissions office
Great campus
ETC. ETC.
2nd talented bright hard working directors, teachers, coaches. It helps
to have teachers who know what they are doing and can teach argumentation 
and debate theory and strategy and tactics and help in practice rounds.
It helps to have a philosophic defense for the program. It helps to have 
somebody getting pr for the program. It helps to have a good administrator.
It helps to have a motivator and coordinator.It helps to have someone 
trying to have long range plans for the program and recruiting for the 
program.
How do you get great directors, teachers, coaches?
Have a great program supported by the university or college
Have a great teaching environment a supportive quality department
Good pay
Promise of decent rewards
Adequate release time a fair contract
Adequate assistance: GTA's 2nd coach law assistants student work study
secretarial help
Chairs, deans, Provosts, presidents who understand and support the program
Third, you have got to have resources.
$ for dues organizational memberships
$ for travel, rooms, food, entry fees
$ for books magazines research xeroxing
Library and electronic research sources. A great library (your own or 
nearby and accessible) Internet and/or Lexis Nexis  Government documents 
A van or two or access to same
A great travel agent 
How do you get these?
You have to have support from chair dept dean provost president 
You may have to have support from great giving alumni 
You may have to get corporate support
Fourth an environment that allows a good debate program:
Profs who will let students miss Fridays and let them make up work in 
advance or later
A school situation that gives debaters time. If students are taking tough 
classes and or working 20+ hrs a week etc. etc. it becomes ever more 
difficult to make time for debate. 

There are lots of other factors too I have just started on the list. It 
isn't Lexis Nexis only that separates programs or size of budget or size 
of school or number of scholarships It is dozens of key factors.

Think if the disparties between Harvard, Northwestern, Kansas, USC, 
Stanford and UMSL, Macalester, Lewis & Clark, Whitman, UMKC, S ILL,
NW Nazarene, E Utah, Johnson CC, Dartmouth, S Carolina, FSU, U of 
Georgia, etc. THINK it is quality of school number of students number of 
coaches size of budget geographic location and opportunity library Lexis, 
Internet, computerization of school, knowledgeability of coaches, it is 
dozens of things that are up and down depending on what school you are at 
that makes the difference.

Also, the big strong well funded quality school quality coaches great 
students schools are going to win in the long run whether it is IES NDT 
CEDA NEDA Parli LD or whatever.

There is no level playing field. Never has been never will be. Now HOW DO 
WE MAKE OUR ACTIVITY AS FAIR AND DECENT AS WE CAN GIVEN THIS?????

Steve Hunt
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Archive created by Jonathan Stanton (jonathan@cs.jhu.edu)
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