Equity Commitments
NSDA Equity Commitments
A Commitment to Community
We are a diverse community with many identities and ideologies—all of which deserve to feel accepted and confident that their participation in NSDA events will be met with inclusive practices and conditions of fairness. Our organization is committed to creating communities that recognize diverse identities and ideologies, celebrate lived experiences, and protect all members from harassment and discrimination.
- We all have the responsibility to be good stewards of speech and debate.
- We embrace competition with fairness and civility and without bias or prejudice.
- We honor all participants’ right to articulate diverse perspectives and ideologies while also respecting our mission and Code of Honor.
- We recognize that every member deserves to be heard.
Since 2017, the NSDA’s annual equity commitments have outlined steps to reinforce and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our organization. In 2022, we presented new focus areas while continuing our work on previous commitments.
Year in Review
Highlights from 2023-2024
In response to last year’s equity commitments…
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- 77 districts reported implementing Belonging and Inclusion Stations.
- The 2024 Activating Equity Award was presented to Chicago Debates.
- Our yearlong, three-phase, DEI Audit was completed.
- Faces in the Crowd continued as a regular segment in Rostrum.
- The Student Alliance and Multicultural Learning Alliance held their inaugural meetings.
- Three new coaches’ interest groups were created and the Coaches’ Network was introduced.
- Inaugural meetings of the Wellness Committee were held.
The DEI Map
In July 2023, we began a three-phase audit to assess the impact of our diversity, equity, and inclusion work and reflect on ways we can shape our programs and offerings to serve our participants better. In addition to inventorying our existing programs, we engaged in discussions with various staff and community members, solicited internal and external leaders, surveyed coaches, and analyzed archival data to determine where our time and focus are needed moving forward.
We created the DEI Map to help align our work with the objectives outlined in our strategic plan by using focus areas when building new efforts and revising existing ones. Based on the findings from our audit, we determined that the successful completion of our strategic objectives will require attention in the areas of multicultural competence, access, and wellness. We will continue working to fulfill the existing equity commitments. Employing this map helps us advance our work by considering how the aforementioned focus areas are imbued in our programs and help us yield equitable outcomes.
DEI Map Presentation
A description of the DEI Map and the application of its focus areas to some of our primary strategic plan are outlined in this article from the September/October edition of Rostrum.
DEI Map Article
Our commitment to creating welcoming environments and conditions of fairness remains central to our work. As we enter our centennial year, our staff and leadership are working to acquire the skills and language necessary to advance our community over the next 100 years. The DEI Map encourages a shared responsibility to that end. We will provide annual updates to share our most current objectives and accomplishments in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
Thank you for supporting our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We hope you will continue to be partners in our efforts to make speech and debate a better activity!