This week I got sick. A I-Can-Now-Sing-Barry-White-Songs kind of sick (sorry if you don't get the reference, kids). But it got me out of an oral Chinese test for a week (which I'm frantically studying for now because I haven't had time to study for it until now. My test is tomorrow. Great. Or should I say "fei chang hao").
Anyways, another reason why I didn't take the oral Chinese quiz is because this weekend the debate council went to a tournament at Smith College. I judged, as did Matt Summers, even though he was not expecting to until we had been in the vans driving to Smith for an hour:
Jillian gets a call on her cell phone. Matt asks if his novice debate partner is in our van, because he's not in the other two.
"...No. No he is not. "
Matt left his novice at Bates.
But Matt being a judge instead of a debater lead to an interesting story of him being a judge. More interesting than leaving his novice behind (for the novice's first tournament, I might add)? Maybe.
Well what happened is that Matt judged this round where government ran the case
"This house believes that if you are an 18 year old girl, it is better to be overweight than objectively unattractive."
There are quite a few things wrong with this case:
1. They presented it in an opp-choice manner, but chose which side they wanted to argue.
2. There is no such things as an objectively unattractive person.
3. This case is super, duper offensive. It was run by a kid who, earlier in the day, had made really inappropriate references to my looks during a round I judged the day before.
They ran the case against a pair of varsity girls from Brown, who filed an equity complaint against the them right as they finished the round. And even though the case upset them, they still debated well, contesting the round on theoretical grounds, talking about how it re-enforces gender inequality that we already see so much in the debate circuit as well as life in general. However, they also had to defend WHY being objectively unattractive was better than being overweight, which probably was a very upsetting thing to do. Imagine someone telling you why being an unattractive person is a horrible thing for an 18 year old girl to be and all the reasons why it will cause them set-backs and suffering in life. And then imagine having to get back and say the same thing about being an overweight 18 year old girl. It's sick and twisted and it disgusts me. Because people are people, and their happiness and success should not be based upon their looks. This shouldn't be a subject of debate. It degrades women and analyzes and critiques them for purely physical reasons.
Anyways, Matt gave the offensive gov. team 22s (super super low) and the opp team 26.5s (He tried to give them 27s, but the people who tabulate the debate scores said he couldn't justify such high scores). Matt was a complete hero when it came to handling the situation. He had a discussion with the government team after they ran the case, making the team feel guilty enough to never run such a case again, but not bad enough to force them to leave the debate circuit. His parting statement to the team?
"Just because I'm not a Smith judge doesn't mean I'm not a feminist."
Yep. Favorite Human of the Day award goes to Matt Summers.
Anyways, I have too much work to do, so this post cannot be any longer than it is now. But I'll leave you with some random facts:
I've been having a lot of late-night oatmeal snacks to keep me alive.
The job that I'm working at have a bowl of free candy I eat every day.
The internet is a wonderful place and I traverse it happily with a care-free attitude.
Chinese is tough but my class is hilarious and fun.
My friends and family care about me so much, which makes me the luckiest and happiest girl alive.
My self confidence seems to be improving.
This weekend I'm going to the Common Grounds Fair, which I'm really excited for.
I'm interviewing a lot of people for my jobs.
My radio show is at 6-8 am on Mondays which is gross and unreasonable, and I hope to solve for the problem somehow.
I want to write more poetry.
Your friend,
Nicole
Please tell Matt that he is my hero.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is too bad that you don't have any Organic Throat Coat tea and lozenges for your Barry White voice...oh wait, look in your bottom drawer by your bed. Hell yes you do!
Love,
Your overbearing mother who loves you unconditionally,
Tanya
I like the Tertiary My Dear Watson reference. That was well-put. Also, I'm jealous of your mastery over a foreign language, especially Chinese; I wish I had more time to pursue one because I am finally beginning to realize how useful they can be.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of your mastery over your other foreign language--namely, Barry Whitese.
ReplyDelete