FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What do you mean by Mandate?
Your literal mandate statement.
Example 1:
"Mandate: Provide Cookies and Milk to all Federal Prisoners on Tuesday afternoons at 3:30pm. Funding will come from Public Broadcasting and Sesame Street"
Example 2:
"Mandate: The Department of Energy will stop giving out any form of loan guarantee to green energy technology and distribution companies. Any conflicting law will be reformed into compliance with this mandate."
Do you want mandate sharing to be mandatory for NCFCA?
Our hope is that mandate sharing will become the norm, but we think that required mandate submission is not practicable and likely not valuable.
The list administrators will review your entry and forward you a link to the list after approval. Generally speaking this should be less than 24 hours but usually much faster.
Our team runs more than one mandate or have changed it completely. What do I do?
Submit your new mandate. We will review your submitted mandate and add it on the list. Your old mandate will remain in place.
I have made changes to my mandate. How do I update it?
We will review your submitted mandate and update it on the list.
How will I know when new cases are added?
The list administrators will send out emails periodically as new cases are added.
I no longer want to be on this list. Can I remove my case?
No. When you submit your case you may potentially be getting information on many other cases. If you remove your case then you are getting benefits of that information without mutual reciprocity. If you change your case, please respectfully submit your new case so that it can be updated. We acknowledge being open and transparent is both easy and hard. But the benefits outweigh the negatives.
Are the list and vision approved by NCFCA?
This mandate list and vision are not affiliated with NCFCA. Our hope is that mandate sharing will become the norm.
Is this list a national case list?
Yep!
Are you a student?
No. We are parents who care about debating transparently. We aren't helicopter parents and we aren't trolling for mandates for our kids. We think there is space for a parent run list as parallel effort to the excellent student led lists and that is why the Debate Transparency Project exists.
I run a case list. Will you put a link on your site?
Yep. We want as much transparency in the league as we can get.
What about STOA?
Unfortunately we only have time for one league for now. Send us a message if you have ideas.
If you are a great debate team, won't you win against surprise cases / squirrel cases / impromptu negatives?
Sure. Skilled debate teams find a way to survive impromptu negative rounds. Rarely have we found these debates truly engaging. Why not go in blind in every round? Most truly great teams would always like to go in prepared. The intent of this league is "challenge and equip ambassadors for Christ to communicate truth with integrity and grace." The most engaging, enlightening, and edifying debates are most often resulting from two teams that are well prepared to argue a specific topic ahead of time.
Don't impromptu negative rounds prepare you for real life?
There are times in life you go into a situations where you do not know what you are going to need to address. Rarely are these in academic debates. Impromptu categories in NCFCA are available to build these valuable skills. Policy debates are designed to “simulate[s] argumentation in a legislative body” in which sides teams know the proposed legislation. Do the pros of impromptu negative rounds outweigh the cons? Would you prefer to know the mandate before entering a negative round over not knowing? Does your club brief? Do they flow rounds in the back of the room and distribute to the club? The answer is yes; Most clubs are trying to give their students and edge. We suspect that a tiny percentage of debaters would willingly choose an impromptu negative round over knowing the mandate and the collective actions of students demonstrate this.
Isn't it valuable to research broadly? Likewise, isn't it good to develop generic briefs?
Yes. Offering your mandate does not preclude or alleviate those tasks - they still need to happen if you want to be competitive. In fact, you might even have to do more work!
I am a experienced debater and "I have paid my dues". Why should novices get my mandate?
As the body of Christ, why would we NOT lift our brother up? If you are an experienced debater 1. You are going to win. 2. a prepared novice team will make you better in the end. 3. You have earned the respect and admiration of your opponents, not only because you are great debaters, but because you show kindness and brotherly love.
How is posting my mandate going to fix all the problems?
It's not. It is a mutually beneficial exercise for people who want to learn from each other.
Won't this make the league less competitive?
It's possible, but not probable. Being transparent in your academics, your relationships, and with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is never a net negative.
If I rely too much on knowing mandates, won't I be less competitive on the national stage?
Maybe. But we doubt it. We don't recommend that you rely solely on a mandate list if you want to be competitive. It will NOT relieve you of your need to research broadly, understand debate theory, and the underpinnings of our republic. The Debate Transparency Project is not about your opponents. It's about your willingness to share your mandate.
Won't this list just be leaked?
Probably. When you join our list you agree not to share it with others. There will be people that chose otherwise. It's an unfortunately reality.
Will I be looked at differently by other debaters who don't like mandate lists?
Maybe. Being open and transparent is different and you may get widely differently reactions when you act and talk differently. We won't beat you over the head with scriptures, but the Apostle Paul has a bunch to say about being different.
Does this solve anything at all?
Probably not. It's simply an opportunity to share, gain knowledge, and practice being transparency in debate.
Why not just leave this to students?
This is a good one. We think this is a good way to show that there are parents out there who are like minded when it comes to sharing mandates/cases.
Are you going to do this forever?
It's year by year for us.
Isn't it good for students to network to get the information they need?
Sure. You definitely benefit from being in community. A mutual, voluntary mandate list is a great way to do that. As individuals, we all need to navigate what is friendship, friendliness, and networking, but more importantly, to recognize when those interactions turn to manipulation, gossip, and espionage. We hope that as students you are keeping all of these things in mind as you navigate your relationships and as parents you will be nurturing, guiding, modeling, and "training them up in the way they should go".
Are you just collecting mandates for your kids so they can win?
No.
We hope our diligent answers to your questions can alleviate your concerns.
How do you enforce any of this?
We can't. All we can do is accept submissions, and provide access to the list. We trust you.
I forgot to change my mandate? Am I cheating?
Probably not. We trust you.
I need to change the wording of my mandate during a tournament. What should I do?
Try your best to update your mandate whenever it changes, but we understand that things are hectic. Use your best judgement. We trust you.
I know someone is cheating. What should I do?
We know you are frustrated. Read Matthew 18 in it's entirety, pray, and consider your next steps. We trust you. We suggest talking with your parents for wise council. Feel free to contact us with any questions.