Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr V
The most important part is having the leadership in MN want to make the move to the District System. Once you have that then you can make it happen.
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I fear that this is what the actual hold-up is.
What follows is going to be part open letter, part response to this thread in general.
I can understand logistical concerns about districts here. I can understand concerns about not having enough volunteers. Heck, I can even understand the apprehension that those who are currently running our events (and, yes, are doing a fantastic job with the rather terrible position we're in of so many teams and so little time) may have of losing the control they currently have of our system. I can understand concerns about lower event quality and I can understand concerns that we might not be able to meet our own lofty standards for events.
What I really cannot understand is how districts has become a taboo topic of discussion in Minnesota, and why there doesn't seem to be any plan whatsoever, or even a vague notion that Minnesota can go to districts in the foreseeable future. I don't understand how we came to this deadlock where it's a rookie student that asks the question "So what exactly do we need to go to districts?"
Honestly, at this point I'm not sure what the deal is. It seems like everyone is acting according to what they believe to be the program's best interests at heart, but somewhere along the line the community here lost an entire set of people who could have been welcomed into helping FRC in Minnesota move forward, but have instead been pushed away from volunteering (or in some cases even being a part of the program). I know people who have been called up and told not to post here about districts in MN, or to be told that they would not be assigned to a volunteer role because of posts on social media or CD. I know that there are incredibly talented and passionate people who have just flat out given up on volunteering here in Minnesota because they no longer want to deal with the "Minnesota drama."
Maybe this post feels like I'm trying to place the blame at the feet of the nebulous and ambiguous "them"-- those who are in charge of MN FIRST. That isn't the case. I have nothing but respect for "them" and what they have done for the program here. I just find it sad and unfortunate that there are so many people who want to help make MN FIRST better, but have been pushed away or become disillusioned with the current state of affairs, and that it doesn't appear likely to change any time soon.
I'm still looking for meaningful ways to move us towards districts, but I honestly don't know what I can do other than continue volunteering and running the workshops I do with GOFIRST. That's something that I think is a major part of the problem-- there isn't a lack of desire for districts here, there's a lack of direction for what we can do to move towards it. Vague calls for "more volunteers" aren't a meaningful answer to this question-- it's very clear that there's more that needs to happen, and at least from where I'm standing it looks like there's more that we can start doing now.
We want to help.
Let us.