***MARCH 17 UPDATE:

Since this petition's gaining traction, I wanted to clarify a few things about our intent:

1. This has come up a lot--we aren't asking any of these organizations to drop everything, ignore quarantine, and host tournaments. Our aim is to speak out about how much indefinite cancellation of events we have spent years preparing for affects us, and convey the hopelessness we are experiencing. We are only asking that these organizers change the status of the events from "cancelled indefinitely" to "postponed until a later date, if possible." We just want to know there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

2. I am not insinuating that these tournaments should be postponed to avoid a recession--I doubt our meager tournaments can prevent a national or global recession. Framer's intent here was merely to author a structured petition that conveys the necessity of these huge organizations considering the seemingly insignificant pleas of a couple of speech and debaters on the internet asking for our tournaments back.

That's all for now--if it's your first time looking at this petition, thank you for taking the time to do so! 

Keep signing, keep sharing. This may not bring about any change, but it's all we got.

-Abigail

***

ORIGINAL PETITION TEXT

Coronavirus is undeniably a threat, and no effort to contain it's spread should be understated. 

However, there is another threat looming--recession. 

According to economist Ben Casselman for the New York Times, a recession is looming, but the damage can be somewhat avoided. He recommends three key guidelines for decision-makers:

1. Fight the disease.

2. Cushion the blow.

3. Stimulate the broader economy.

The Coronavirus is a serious threat and we should work to mitigate it. Pure fear, without a plan of action, will only make things worse.

The National Speech and Debate tournament is held in an area that can benefit from the tourist revenue of thousands of attendees. Local schools rely on revenue from state and district-qualifying tournaments to raise money to sustain their teams.

It is completely understandable to cancel these activities in efforts to limit the virus' spread. However, any further efforts must not only fight the disease, but cushion the blow they cause in other areas. 

I know that speech and debate tournaments aren't the only source of economic stimulus, but there's a reason I'm writing this petition. That's because I believe there is a fourth guideline all decision-makers should follow.

4. Don't forget the people you are trying to protect.

I certainly don't want Coronavirus. But I also spent days on end crying to find out 4 years of my high school speech and debate career are ending prematurely. I know other seniors who don't know what to do with our favorite activity, our graduation, our classrooms being uprooted. I know juniors stressed about their prospects of escaping tough financial situations through speech and debate scholarships because they've lost the opportunity to prove themselves.

The only way we as a nation can overcome this crisis is through hope. There is no faster way to suck the hope out of a generation than to say "indefinitely cancelled."

If I could wave a magic wand and wish away Coronavirus, I would. Right now, all we can do is postpone events, protect the nation's people. If we want to prevent a depression on our economy, and a depression on our nation's youth, we need to keep faith that one day we will overcome this. Provide hope that as soon as the health crisis is mitigated, we will return to business as usual.

We are in a state of pandemic. We are entering an economic recession. The recession will never become a depression if the economy is simply on hold, not ending.

We are fighting the virus, but we are failing to cushion the blow. We are forgetting those reliant on our business, our travel, reliant on these activities to get an education, or even just to put a smile on their face at the end of a tough week.

We are taking actions, but we are not protecting our citizens. I, and every other person who signs this petition, are living proof of that.

Let's fight the virus with our best foot forward, but not forget to use our other foot as a stabilizer. If you are an organizer, a school district, an elected official, promise us that it will be okay by promising to reschedule these events.

Give us hope.