BUSINESS MEETING

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

7:30-10:00pm

San Juan Room, Lakeway Inn

AGENDA

1.             Call to Order
2. II.             Approval of Minutes (Fall 2011)
3. Reports (See reports online, where applicable. Short reports, as needed, will be presented orally at the meeting. Executive Reports and Committee Reports, where possible will be posted on the NPDA website 10 days before the meeting.)
   1. Executive Council
   2. Committees

i.      Finance Committee

ii.      Site Committee

iii.      Additional Committees as Needed

1. Tournament Director
2. Other reports
3. Action Items
   1. Amendment to student eligibility standards- Marlin Bates (Univ. of the Pacific)
4.      New Business
   1. Drug Free Bylaws Amendment – Chuck Walts (UT Tyler)
5. Adjournment

ACTION ITEMS

Amendment to NPDA Bylaws regarding student eligibility.

Add the following to Section VI., A.

6. A current or former competitor who judges any OPEN/Senior division form of debate shall forfeit any remaining eligibility to participate in NPDA tournaments and NPDA National Championships.

Rationale: There is no clear demarcation as to what happens when a student with eligibility judges open competitors. This brings us into parity with the AFA-NIET and the proposed legislation with NFA. Moreover, it does not seem consistent to allow competitors to be judged by people that they might then have to compete against.

NEW BUSINESS:

NPDA Bylaws Amendment

This is an addition to the Bylaws.

Proposed Language:

IX. Drug Free Statement

A. The unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession, or use of a controlled substance as defined by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 while on property owned and/or operated by the host institution for the NPDA national tournament is prohibited.

B. The distribution, possession, or use of alcohol in violation of a host institution’s policies or procedures is prohibited.

C. Violation of these rules will result in the following penalties.

1. The first offense will result in the disqualification of the competitor from the current tournament and prohibited entry into the subsequent national tournament. In the case of a judge, the individual will be removed from the current tournament and prohibited from judging the subsequent national tournament. In the case of an observer, the individual will be removed from the current tournament.

2. On the second offense, the competitor will be disqualified from the current tournament and prohibited entry into all subsequent national tournaments. In the case of a judge, the individual will be removed from the current tournament and prohibited from judging in all subsequent national tournaments. In the case of an observer, the individual will be removed from the current tournament and prohibited from attending all subsequent national tournaments.

3. The President shall determine what, if any, additional sanctions may be taken. Depending on the nature of the incident, the President may issue a written reprimand to be sent to the Director, Dean and/or Provost of the associated institution, the removal of NPDA points, or the suspension of a program from membership in NPDA.

Rationale:

I believe it is time to adopt language that explicitly disavows behavior on a host site that place the future of a program or the ability to host the national tournament in jeopardy. While anecdotal, I have observed several instances of illegal behavior on the property of host institutions. This behavior is a threat to host and member organizations. This amendment, at a minimum, is a step in addressing a culture issue and provides NPDA with a level of cover to deal with possible situations involving illegal substances and alcohol in the future.

The amendment under consideration at the Business Meeting can be found here

- Executive Council information
- Updates to the Bylaws and Tournament Operating Procedures
- Mailing list changes
- 2011 Nationals results

The new webmaster for NPDA will be Joey Mavity of Azusa Pacific University.

• Fall 2010 Business Meeting minutes posted. The next business meeting will be held in March at the NPDA Championship Tournament.
• The 2011 NPDA Championship Tournament will be held March 16-19, 2011 at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. Invitation to come soon.
• Michael Dreher has resigned as Webmaster. The NPDA thanks Michael for his years of service as Webmaster. Joe Gantt will maintain the site on a temporary basis.
• Coding for results entry to the Executive Secretary page is nearly completed, and NPDA sweepstakes results will appear soon. Since much of the data was imported automatically, please check for errors.

The NPDA site offers information about:

• Tournaments and results – the NPDA tournament calendar as well as past season sweepstakes results.
• Nationals — Information about the NPDA National tournament – the largest intercollegiate debate tournament in the United States.
• Members — List of member schools, how to become a member, and committee/officer listings.
• History and research — Articles about the past history of the NPDA, and copies of the NPDA Journal.
• Resolutions — Sample resolutions from both regular season tournaments and the National Championship.
• FAQ – Frequently asked questions about parliamentary debate and the NPDA.