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Yes, David. But the best argument is that I was CEDA President. I hosted a huge CEDA Nationals and it SNOWED! I am not trying to close discussion, I am trying to open it. Nobody ever advised me of this before, now two are saying I should watch out for this. I will ask our university general counsel when I get back to Vermont. It could be I was stupid. It could be I was smart then and stupid now. My understanding is that we live in a very litigation-prone time and lots of things have changed. My university has gone bonkers about such things. I owe them the care I am advised of. If I am advised of legal requirements and then ignore them that can be considered a form of negligence. I have not even seen Jillian since I was advised of this, but I certainly will discuss it with her. I have been at Houston UDL and she was at Wake. Why do not we both consult more and then share our knowledge? It wouldn't be the first time universities had different opinions. I am told that we cannot wire money to tournaments abroad, for example, unless they fill out an elaborate tax form that no other schools require. We tried to demonstrate in the tax code that this form is needed for personal or group payments for work but not registration fees. No luck. Looking forward to sharing ideas with you. Tuna PS: Miss you here for IDAS, which starts on Saturday. On 11/20/13 8:50 PM, D Register wrote: > Also, one more quick thing, Tuna. Your policy debate director, > Jillian Marty, is a district representative for the NDT, but they > don't have the kind of insurance you're talking about (although > they've apparently formed a committee to think about this). I hope > she's privy to the same legal advice, since the NDT is subject to > significantly more risk exposure that the USUDA (since they sanction > all kinds of tournaments, and not just the National Debate > Tournament). Maybe I'm missing something, but I feel like you > wouldn't just advise her to be a part of NDT leadership knowing she's > exposed to a lawsuit. > > David > > > > On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 1:41 PM, D Register <[log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Tuna, > > Good questions. I hope some of the other folks who helped create > this organization will contribute here as well. Also, I wish you > had asked these questions before the document was ratified, since > perhaps then you wouldn't feel the need to defend this from the > perception that you're raining on some parade. > > I don't know what "legally constituted" means in this instance. > Please clarify. If you mean, "will the advisory council be seen > as legally distinct from the membership?", I don't think so. All > the advisory council positions are voluntary, and don't represent > elected/nominated/appointed leadership. There's also no central > leadership. These are just positions many people can choose to > occupy at once that are intended to make the best USUDC possible. > > In terms of responsibility for a lawsuit, what do you mean? What > is "something bad happens"? What is the potential risk exposure > for volunteers? I think it's important that this discussion be as > specific as possible, since organizational insurance is quite > expensive and usually covers things that the USUDA would not be > exposed to. You and I are both following closely the events > unfolding in the NDT/CEDA community regarding accusations of > racism. Is this the kind of thing you're asking about? Or is it > about safety at the tournament? I'm not sure why the host school > isn't responsible for "something bad" in the world of the USUDA. > The host school hosts. The host is the organizer. I'm not sure > that a host has legal grounds to blame the members of the USUDA > for something bad that happened at a tournament organized and > executed by that host. The USUDA is about deciding where the > tournament is hosted and getting educational material to > interested participants. It's about at least one other thing > which I'll address separately. > > The USUDA is not intended to have an operating budget (again, it's > about people volunteering to support one tournament a year). > However; the development director would seek grant and seed > monies to help facilitate the tournament. I'm not sure exactly > what this would look like, but discussions when the constitution > was being drafted tended toward the following: assisting with > travel for teams that might face financial obstacles, food at the > tournament, etc. This is not an organization with membership > dues. I would be interested to know an attorney's perspective on > this particular position. > > If your attorney tells you not to be a volunteer, you should > probably take that advice. I'm not an attorney. I'm also not in > charge of the USUDA (in fact, no one is). You raise important > questions that I hope will be explored in more detail. > > David > > > > > > > > On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 12:20 PM, Alfred Snider > <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Just a couple of questions before I sign on: > > Will the organization be legally constituted? > > Will it have a budget of any sort and/or will it raise funds? > > Will officers be indemnified or insured against damages? > New Scenario: School X organizes USU with USUDA. Something bad > happens, a lawsuit begins. Campus X dos not want to be > responsible so they sue the organizers, USUDA. USUDA has no > policy, so officers are responsible. > Old scenario: No one to blame, so host has to handle it. > This is what my legal adviser has told me to ask. I am told > that if it is not insured, don't be an officer. > > Not trying to rain on any parade, but curious. > > Tuna > > > > On 11/20/13 6:11 PM, D Register wrote: > > Greetings all, > > This is a reminder that folks can declare themselves > members of the USUDA here: > http://bpforum.yaledebate.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2319 > > A current list of members is located here: > https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kaiGgmw-5y44hEDm7IBl-2--jJYzqEehxA06tq8zMrU/edit?usp=sharing > > Best, > David Register > Bard College > > > -- > ======================== > Edwin Lawrence Professor of Forensics, University of Vermont > Director, Lawrence Debate Union; Director, World Debate Institute > 475 Main Street, UVM, Burlington, VT 05405 USA > 802-238-8345 <tel:802-238-8345> mobile, 802-656-0097 > <tel:802-656-0097> office, 802-656-4275 <tel:802-656-4275> fax > http://debate.uvm.edu/alfredsnider.html > http://debate.uvm.edu/tunacalendar.html > @asnider Twitter > > > -- ======================== Edwin Lawrence Professor of Forensics, University of Vermont Director, Lawrence Debate Union; Director, World Debate Institute 475 Main Street, UVM, Burlington, VT 05405 USA 802-238-8345 mobile, 802-656-0097 office, 802-656-4275 fax http://debate.uvm.edu/alfredsnider.html http://debate.uvm.edu/tunacalendar.html @asnider Twitter