[Ben Lauer]

I must say that I agree with Meli. I don't think these teams should be able to receive any acknowledgment from FIRST and competition sponsors. I must also like to add that I think the teams should be put on "probation." This probation includes consequences like limiting the number of competitions they may attends, and prohibiting them from attending nationals. In order to have this probation lifted, these teams must submit an "application," which is basically a formal apology and insurance against future illegal actions.

I have a few problems with my own thoughts though:
- We cannot take away the experience of the students. It is vital that we don't limit their exposure to robotics and the experience they would have that would be threatened by probation. Because honestly, in my opinion, most infringement on these rules was cause not because the students decided to break the rules knowledgeably, but either they didn't know the rules, or the mentors and engineers on their team committed the offense.
- I know I sound like I am trying to blame this on the adults, and I am not, I have the greatest respect for these individuals that not only have full time jobs, but also give up their entire life for six weeks just to help some students realize their purpose in life.
- Probation just sounds dirty, like we are making black marks in the record of a otherwise great team. There will never be a good way of handling rule breakers, but we must come to a consensus on the "best way", and that way will never be perfect.