Marissa interviews Alanna Cronk, the founder of 1AC-CESSIBILITY, They discuss how the hyper-competitive culture and inflexible, “one size fits all” structure of speech and debate harms participants, especially those who are members of marginalized communities. Learn how speech and debate tournaments can create a more welcoming environment that encourages students to prioritize their mental and physical well-being!

Alanna is a senior at Georgetown University studying English and Philosophy. Her academic interests include indigenous philosophy, disability studies, semantics, symbolic logic, and women’s studies. When she is not conducting fascinating research projects, she can most often be found playing with her rescue dog and emotional support animal, Twinkie.

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Connect with Alanna Cronk!

Website - https://www.alannacronk.com/about

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanna-cronk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alannacronk/?hl=en

Learn more about 1AC-CESSIBiLITY!

Website - https://www.1ac-cessibility.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/1ac.cessibility/

Key Points:

2:00 - About Alanna Cronk! (feat. Twinkie!)

5:30 - What is speech and debate?

11:20 - What are the problematic aspects of speech and debate?

30:35 - Why is your organization named 1-AC?

31:40 - What changes would 1-AC like to see in speech and debate?

32:00 - Standardized Process for Requesting Accommodations

37:00 - Conceiving of Time more Flexibility

41:00 - Incident Reporting

45:33 - Physical & Mental Well-Being

46:15 - Food & Dietary Restrictions

51:10 - Nuisance Fees

55:00 - How can we reshape the hyper-competitive culture of speech, debate, and other academic competitions?

61:30 - How can people connect with 1AC-ACCESSIBILITY and learn more about your organization?

Resources & Transcript - https://www.blondeblind.com/post/9-1-ac-accessibility-in-speech-and-debate