Frequently Asked Questions

This document is a compilation of commonly asked questions that we receive from parents and students prior to TDC. The hope is that by consolidating answers here, we will have a centralized location to direct inquiries to which will save administrative time.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. COVID-19 & Health
2. Facilities
3. Packing
4. Schedule
5. Student Safety
6. Transportation & Arrival
7. Tuition & Money

1. COVID-19 & Health

A. What is TDC’s vaccination policy for students?

All students (participants in the 2024 TDC Student Institute) and teachers (participants in the 2024 TDC Teachers Institute) are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as defined by the CDC. Unfortunately, per recent legislation passed in Texas (including Senate Bill 7), TDC is precluded from mandating vaccinations for either students or staff.

B. What are TDC’s public health measures in camp and what will happen if a student tests positive for COVID-19?

All participants must arrive at camp with a negative COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours of arrival. All participants should additionally bring an extra COVID-19 test (beyond the first one) and TDC admin will facilitate a camp-wide test the first night of TDC.

TDC Admin will acquire and store enough antigen tests for COVID-19 as well as thermometers and other routine home health supplies for routine public health measures. If a student tests positive for COVID-19, their parent/guardian or some authorized adult is required to pick them up from TDC dorms in San Marcos within 48 hours of when a TDC administrator notifies them of the positive test. While waiting to be picked up, they will be given a mask to wear and will immediately be moved to a quarantine suite that TDC has pre-prepared and where they will have all of their meals delivered. This is a difficult policy for us to enact, but unfortunately we have neither the facilities nor the staff to care for sick children in extended quarantine.

C. What is TDC’s mask policy?

Recommended for staff and students

Required for confirmed cases of COVID-19 exposures and students or staff in quarantine

D. Will TDC hold or assist in the administration of prescribed medication to students?

TDC Admin are willing to hold and administer prescribed medication for students. Students can check in medication at registration. Admin will store the medication in the office (including refrigerating it if the instructions require) and will then distribute the medication to the student per the prescribed regimen.

2. Facilities

a. Where will students live?

All students in the TDC Student Institute are housed in dorms at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. This summer, students will be housed in Tower Hall (101 W. Woods St., San Marcos).

b. What will the rooms be like?

Students should generally expect to stay in a double-occupancy room with another student. They will share a room with two standard twin beds with one other student, and each double will share a bathroom with another double (4 students to a bathroom). The suites will not include a refrigerator or microwave. The floor plan for the rooms can be found here.

c. How will TDC admin determine which students room with each other?

One of the forms students fill out when they receive an Action Items email from Camp Administrators is a roommate form. TDC Admin will attempt to organize rooms based on, in order of priority, gender identity, mutual student preference, and age. Students will learn who their roommates are at registration on the first day of camp.

d. Is there a place where we can wash our clothes?

Dorms will contain a room on the ground floor with public washer and dryer facilities. We suggest that students pack about a week's worth of clothes, and then they can do laundry once or twice during camp. The public laundry facilities do not charge a fee for use.

Students can bring their own laundry detergent, purchase their own supply at several stores in the immediate vicinity of camp, or TDC admin will acquire some extra laundry pods for students who are in need.

e. What will students eat?

Weekday lunches and dinners in the cafeteria are included for both paying and scholarship students. TDC does not provide breakfast dining options or food.

If students would like breakfast and/or snacks throughout the day, they should either pack those items and bring them to camp, or they can acquire snacks at area stores such as Target. Notably, Tower Hall, the dorms students will be staying in this year, is only a 3 minute walk from a Target, so snacks and other supplies can be easily acquired during camp.

3. Packing

a. What should students bring to camp?

TDC Admin will send out a more detailed recommended packing list once we approach camp. However, here are general items that are worth emphasizing:

Clothes: Casual dress is recommended for the entirety of camp and there will not be any camp events that require formal garb. As the buildings can sometimes be chilly with air-conditioning, we also suggest that students pack a light jacket, sweater, or sweatshirt.
Debate Supplies & Laptop Computer: Students will need a laptop computer to complete activities in lab, homework assignments from their instructors, and receive important updates from TDC admin. Additionally, as practice debates and drills are a core component of our curriculum, students should also bring whatever supplies (pens, flow paper, timer, etc.) they need to debate effectively. If you are new to debate, we would suggest bringing printer paper and multiple differently colored pens for notetaking.
Linens: Neither TDC nor the dorms will provide linens or pillows so students must bring their own. All student mattresses will be standard twin, so plan accordingly.
Snacks & Breakfast Foods: The cafeteria meal plan does not include breakfast, so students should either bring their own food to eat or can purchase snacks at area stores once on-site.

4. Schedule

a. What does the daily schedule look like?

The curriculum team is still in the process of redesigning our schedule for this summer. However, it may be helpful to review last year’s schedule for the 2023 TDC Student Institute. Although our final schedule for 2024 will likely slightly deviate from this version, the general outline may be helpful to give you a sense of what to expect.

b. Will there be time for students to spend with family during camp? Can an approved adult check out a student during the middle of camp?

As you can tell from either schedule above, the two weeks are largely filled with camp activities and there is limited extraneous time for students to spend on non-camp related activities. Even the mealtimes often include optional camp activities like lab meals or reading groups, so it will be challenging to find times for students to leave TDC without missing instructional content (excluding Free Day; see next question below).

Students can be checked out from camp by a parent/guardian, or by a parent/guardian approved relative. To make arrangements, the parent/guardian should email TDC admin at our email address (texasdebatecollective.info@gmail.com).

c. What is Free Day like? Will students have to go home?

The Saturday in the middle of camp (this year it will be July 27, 2024) is the only day without structured curriculum. On Free Day, students can sleep in, and historically admin plans optional activities during the day including a basketball tournament, movie night, etc.

Most students prefer to spend the day with their friends relaxing and having fun. They will of course continue to have access to their dorm rooms during Free Day and will not be required to return home.

5. Student Safety

a. What administrative staff does TDC have?

TDC hires two full-time administrators. These are staff members with no instructional duties who are primarily responsible for student safety and well-being. TDC admin will be the first point of contact for any problems students might encounter, including illness, disciplinary issues, interpersonal tension with other members of their lab (structured learning groups that stay together for the duration of camp), etc. They will also be responsible for answering parent emails and phone calls with any concerns.

Isaac Chao is a full-time Geography teacher and debate coach at Heights High School in Houston, TX. His program competes locally through the Houston Urban Debate League as well as across the state through the Texas Forensic Association. He debated in high school out of central New Jersey and completed a BA in Religious Studies and his education certification through Rice University. In his free time, Isaac enjoys organizing things and eating delicious food.

Tavia Gabrysch was a policy debater for 4 years in high school. Her debate interests include performance and kritikal identity affirmatives. Tavia has a bachelor's degree in English from UT Austin, with dual minors in Pre-Health Professions and Philosophy. In the fall, she will be a 1L law student at Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law, where she plans to focus on civil and human rights law. This is her third year as an administrator at TDC, and she’s excited to be back!

b. What is the safety and supervision like at TDC?

Two full-time administrators (Isaac Chao and Tavia Gabrysch, see bios above) who have no student instructional duties provide supervision during camp.

TDC Admin are responsible for conducting mandatory morning/evening check-in the dorms as well as nightly room checks, after which students must stay in their suites for the night. Students also check in at the beginning of each lab or instructional session and our administrators continually coordinate with staff to ensure that every student is accounted for. Absent Free Day, there is no significant length of time where students are without structured, supervised camp activities. Every member of our staff is responsible to ensure that students are safe and cared for the entirety of camp.

We are still working on revising our rules for 2024 TDC, but our tentative expectations for 2024 TDC can be found here. We take security seriously. Notably, that document contains constraints for where students can travel around camp with a clearly defined perimeter which they are prohibited from crossing during camp. We also require students to only travel outside of camp classroom or living spaces while with another student or staff member for safety reasons.

c. What is security like in the dorms at Texas State? Is anyone free to enter the building from the streets?

The Tower Hall lobby at the front desk is staffed by Texas State University Dorm staff members who monitor anybody entering and leaving the building. Dorm building access is restricted as well, requiring key card access, so only residents are able to easily enter the dorms.

6. Transportation & Arrival

a. When should we arrive at camp and what happens if we are late?

Registration will be in the 1st floor lobby of Tower Hall (101 W. Woods St., San Marcos) of Texas State University in San Marcos, TX on Sunday, July 21, 2024 from 10:00 am - 2:30 pm. We will not have early registration before this time, so students who arrive earlier in the morning will need to wait until the 10:00 am start to register. Students who arrive a day(s) prior to the start of camp (i.e., before July 21, 2024) will be responsible for their own lodgings; we will not have capacity to house students prior to the start of camp.

If you are unable to make the 2:30 pm deadline for registration, email us and we will figure it out.

b. Does TDC cover or arrange transportation to/from camp?

TDC does not cover or arrange transportation to/from camp, and those costs (including plane tickets or transit between the airport and the dorm) are not included in tuition. Students are responsible for arranging their transportation on their own, pursuant to the camp schedule, although accommodations could potentially be made with scholarship students on a case-by-case basis; contact us at texasdebatecollective.info@gmail.com with questions or concerns.

C. Which Airport should we fly into?

We recommend that students and teachers fly into Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). San Marcos is in the greater Austin area and while it does have a small regional airport (San Marcos Regional Airport), TDC admin have not had any success sourcing flights there and you will likely have the same trouble. Texas State is about 30 minutes from Austin-Bergstrom without traffic.

D. Will TDC staff pick students up from the airport or drop them off on move-out day?

It is possible that TDC admin will organize transportation for students to and from the airport, but families would have the option of opting-in to this program for an additional fee. TDC admin will send out more explicit guidance on anything we plan closer to the start of camp.

E. What is the last day of camp and when will we leave TDC?

The last day of camp is Saturday, August 3, 2024. There will be no instructional activities on that day, and we will be checking all students, teachers, and staff out of by no later than 2:00 pm.

7. Tuition & Money

a. How much does camp cost?

The tuition for paying students for the 2024 TDC Student Institute is $2,450 if paid by check. Payment by credit card (through PayPal) is also an option, but there is an associated PayPal fee for merchant transactions that brings the total cost to $2,504.20. Separately, TDC reserves half of our admission slots every year for scholarship students. Low-income students attend camp for free.

b. How does TDC determine who qualifies for a scholarship?

TDC only offers scholarships based on financial need; we have not and will not offer merit-based scholarships of any kind.

To apply for a scholarship, students must submit a copy of their parent/guardian’s most recent 1040 tax return for the parent/guardian who is primarily responsible for their care (i.e., claims them as a dependent with the IRS). After isolating the size of the family as well as their adjusted gross income, the TDC admissions committee compares that information with the federal guidelines for receiving free/reduced lunch (adjusted slightly higher to give some leeway) as our primary benchmark to consider scholarship eligibility.

c. What does tuition or the scholarship cover?

Both tuition and a need-based scholarship cover the full cost of participation in the TDC Student Institute. It also includes room (housing in campus dorms in San Marcos, TX) and board (weekday lunches and dinners in the cafeteria).

d. Are payment plans an option?

Yes! Email us and we will work something out.

e. I already paid for TDC and can no longer attend. Can I get a refund?

Our official policy is that we do not provide refunds to students for any reason. This is because most of our fixed costs (staff, housing, meals, etc.) exist independently of whether any particular student attends camp.

e. I am unable to attend for the entirety of TDC or, for whatever reason, need to leave early. Can I get a refund or prorated tuition?

G. How much spending money should students bring to camp?

We would suggest that students come prepared, if possible, with some spending money. While most students will eat most of their meals in the cafeteria, the meal plan does not cover breakfast, Free Day, or meals at restaurants with their lab or other students. Additionally, it is common for students to make purchases of toiletries, snacks, and other necessities over the course of camp. The amount of money a student should bring will vary significantly depending on their individual needs and preferences. However, somewhere between $75 and $125 should be plenty for the typical student.

TDC is fully aware that some families may find it difficult to provide spending money. We are working on solutions for that but do feel free to send us an email if this is a concern for your family and we will work something out.