NSDA, do better.

NSDA, do better.

What the Speech and Debate community experienced this Thursday at the National Tournament was a catastrophe facilitated by the ignorance of the National Speech and Debate Association. At approximately 2:58 p.m. CST, the final round of Humorous Interpretation was interrupted as an unauthorized former competitor stormed the stage, inciting fear in the audience and a panicked evacuation of the Iowa Events Center.

“No person felt safe, neither audience nor competitors nor judges.” 

While there was no weapon, the confusion and subsequent mass hysteria sparked a stampede as thousands rushed to exit the building. Dozens of attendees were trampled and sustained injuries. In the commotion, students were separated from parents or coaches, friends who spectated together were split apart, and the community as a whole was in disarray.  For many, this was the “most scared” and “most panicked” they had ever felt.  

Yet the NSDA told a different story. At 3:35pm, barely half an hour after the incident, the institution ignorantly declared the issue resolved with “no reported injuries”. As a traumatized community scrambled to recover, the NSDA callously published a revised schedule and demanded competitors and judges return. For an organization that has long championed the voices of young America, their inability to hear the screams and anguish of students demonstrates a new level of negligence and shamelessness. 

The only thing we were left with after their initial response was more questions. Why did the organization let the man on stage? Why did the organization try to reschedule so soon? Why didn’t we acknowledge those who were injured? Why must the organization championing thoughtful accountability and representing voices refuse to represent either ideal? Why did protocol supersede people’s needs? Why did so many have to argue for change to be made? 

Why couldn’t things have been done differently?

The speech and debate community deserves better. 

We deserve an organization that will ensure tournaments are safe and secure so we may compete without fear. We deserve an organization that is committed to protecting students rather than schedules. We deserve an organization that listens to, supports, and uplifts its community.

For 100 years the NSDA has been the backbone of free speech and thoughtful debate, but this Thursday’s events revealed how disconnected and distant the organization has become. Thus, as we recover from this incident and return home from Nationals, we must act to turn our words into a force for change.  

We are introducing a petition to reform and reclaim the NSDA for the students of speech and debate. In this effort, we hope not only to prevent incidents like this from ever occurring again, but to ensure a safer community for all. Here’s what we are demanding:

1. Transparency and Security. 

   1. Publicly release a full report detailing what occurred, how the breach happened, and how it was handled.

   2. Fully cooperate with law enforcement and support appropriate criminal charges against the individual involved.

   3. Permanently ban the intruder from all NSDA-sanctioned and affiliated events.

   4. Implement comprehensive security measures at all national events, including bag checks, metal detectors, credential-only access, and trained on-site security personnel.

   5. Establish a clear emergency response plan and communicate it to all attendees prior to major events.

   6. Create a national safety advisory group that includes student and coach representatives to review and inform future protocols.

   7. Commit to transparency in all future safety-related investigations, including releasing findings and timelines for policy implementation.

   8. Conduct a third-party safety audit of national tournaments and publish the results for community review.

2. Long-term Reform.

   1. Implement nation-wide policies requiring baseline security measures to be in place at all NSDA-affiliated tournaments.

   2. Distribute resources to schools that are in need of greater support in implementing security measures.

   3. Routine reviews of and updates to security policies.

   
   

3. Community Input. 

   1. Implement new policies that will allow general members of the speech and debate community (students, coaches, parents, etc) to play a greater role in the NSDA.

   2. Establish channels for the community to relay feedback to the NSDA and forums for open discussions to ensure all voices are heard.

No student should ever compete in fear. No student should feel silenced.

Additionally, we would like to thank the security team and first responders who helped secure the site and treat injuries. We also would like to apologize to all the finalists and winners of this year’s NSDA National Tournament. You deserve credit for the demonstrable effort, strength, and resilience it took to be where you are, and we hope your time and feeling of accomplishment was not tainted by this incident. We hope everyone returns home safely. 

We aren’t asking for a revolution, but instead demand reform to one of our most beloved institutions. We still love and care deeply for this event, and genuinely do not believe the people who have run this organization to be ill-willed or malicious in any way. However, just because there was no ill intent on behalf of the organizers does not mean that accountability shouldn’t be taken, and it doesn’t mean that we can do better in the future to ensure something like this never happens again.

Sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/nsda-do-better

Read the unabridged student testimonies here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YztxiGoz3lE28FB_kFgBshydMp_h_-gmm_GNaiyc-SE/edit?usp=sharing

If you would like to contribute your own story, please feel free to reach out to us thedebatehotline@gmail.com or on Instagram @thedebatehotline.

With love, 
The Debate Hotline