Band, Orchestra, and Theatre should not be given Varsity Letters

I'll be responding to the opponent's remarks in the "quote-response" format for the ease of the voters. I believe we have enough room for that to work properly. As a quick note to the opponent, remember that we are two people who have never met who are debating each other on a site specifically for debate. I am not attacking your views -- I'm just playing my part as the negating party. The reference quotes will be paraphrased summary statements of the opponent's argument. "Sometimes orchestra students are lazy, piggy backing on the talents of others."This is a truth that extends far beyond that of performing arts students. In all disciplines there will always be people who coast on the hard work of others. Notably, this is the case with football players as well. There will be people on the team who have no particular football talent who still get to receive a VL simply because they are one ineffective unit in an otherwise effective team. If this "laziness factor" were in some way unique to performing arts students, the opponent would have a point. However, anyone who went to high school (the voters have, I assume) knows that some football players put in no further effort than is required, just like some members of every club/organization. "A VL should only go to those who risk maladies and severe injuries."First off, this is just an arbitrary standard introduced by the opponent. There is no definition of VL that signifies "this award was granted because so-and-so did a dangerou activity." A Varsity Letter, by definition, simply signifies someone who has participated on a varsity-level team and in varsity-level competition. The idea that this competition should in some way be "dangerous" is one the opponent has effectively made up. And while he has the right to this opinion, it is not supported by the definition of what a VL actually is. Even if we are to assume that VLs are reserved for people risking injury, performing arts students would still qualify as recipients. Members of the marching band are often risking injury during practice. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) has found a significant correlation between marching band camps and lower musculoskeletor injury. [1] People that play instruments are also privvy to all manner of injury, ranging from Carpal Tunnel to Tendinitis. [2]Theater performers in high school are particularly prone to injury, given the physical requirements of singing, dancing and acting. A survey by the NCBI found that 45.9% of theater high school students have sustained some orthopaedic injury in the past year. [3]As one can clearly see, even by the illegitimate standard of one requiring physical risk to receive a VL, performing arts students are still applicable. "The traditional meaning of a VL is for sports students."This claim is unsubstantiated. The opponent offers no proof that people have traditionally viewed Varsity Letters as being for only sports students. Beyond that, the definition of a VL is such that any student participating in a Varsity event is elligible for a VL. ConclusionI have demonstrated that a VL is not in and of itself indicative of talent and hard work, since students of all team disciplines (football/theater/etc.) can piggy back of the successes of others. I have shown that performing arts students don't just work hard -- they are prone to physical injury just as sports players are. As such, it is clear that, if we are to assume that football players "should" be given VL's, varsity performing arts students should as well. Sources:1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...;2 - http://rsi.unl.edu...;3 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...;