[GKrotkov]

I had heard of this proposal before, and hadn't thought about it much beyond a knee-jerk reaction of something along the lines: "Oh, hell no! Don't take my bag day away!" So when this thread popped up, and I saw some folks I respect a lot arguing the other way, I figured that it'd be better for me to actually think about it, talk to some students on 1712, and come out with an opinion I felt I could defend. I can say confidently that my answer (and the answer of a lot of students on 1712) is still: "don't remove bag day." The main reasons for that (burnout and time limits) have already been covered in this thread, but I'd like to throw a personal example into the ring. Feel free to nitpick or criticize, I promise you that I won't be offended.

Bag day absolutely helps keep FRC viable for me. When I joined the team, I mainly characterized myself as a musician and performer, and they are still major factors in my life. For the 2 years I've been in FRC, I've always pushed the envelope as regards time management: it's difficult for me to maintain the grades that I require of myself, be a strong part of 1712, and keep music in my life. During build season, other parts of my life get pushed to the side and I focus on robotics. Asking for students to sacrifice other aspects of their life for 6 weeks is fair, given the massive benefits that FRC brings. It is not, however, reasonable to expect that students give much more than that, because we're getting to the point where it will prevent students from joining, or even continuing with the team. (I certainly do less after bag day. I still work, and work a lot, but no longer to the exclusion of other parts of my life.)

I am now more interested in CMU/MIT than Juilliard/Oberlin; in Randy Pausch than Placido Domingo; in data storage and analysis than in opera. I don't think it's overly narcissistic of me to consider that a success for FRC; it seems very much like what FIRST was founded to do. If bag day were removed and our build season schedule extended, however, then it may not have been possible. The "responsible" decision for me would have been to not join my FRC team, not be exposed to engineering as a possibility, and stay with music and performance as paths for my life. That would have been a shame. Ignoring the time demands of students with other interests detracts from FRC's appeal to students who aren't already interested in STEM.

That said, the compromises from previous threads look like really good ideas.