Debaters from at least five Northern Virginia high schools decided to boycott the state tournament because of remarks made by Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. that they perceived to be anti-Muslim. At a convocation in December, Falwell urged students to obtain concealed-carry permits and arm themselves so they could “end those Muslims” — a statement he has said was referring only to the Islamic terrorists who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif., not all Muslims. Read a commentary from Falwell on the issue here.

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Shahbaz is Muslim and her parents expressed concerns over her safety at Liberty, where students with concealed-carry permits can carry guns and keep them in residence halls. Debate coaches said other Muslim students felt similarly fearful

Shahbaz, 16, and Boyer, 17, arrived at their decision after a long — yes — debate. As they pondered the boycott, classmates and teachers urged them to reconsider. Part of the point of debate is providing a forum for working through sensitive issues and hearing out divergent viewpoints, even those some might find controversial. Would their boycott undermine that principle?

One Liberty University professor thought so, writing in the student publication the Liberty Champion: “I may be wrong, but shutting down debate — literally — doesn’t seem the best way to ‘create a dialogue.'”

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Ultimately, the two students decided to boycott the event. The following commentary explains why, in their own words. — Moriah Balingit

By Fatima Shahbaz and Jessica Boyer

With the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia permeating itself within every facet of the American media and public discourse, our nation has been thrown into a frenzy of discrimination, ignorance, and distrust.

This has been exemplified by the statements made by people such as Jerry Falwell Jr., the current president of Liberty University — the host site for the 2016 Virginia High School League Debate State Championship. On Dec. 4th, at the college’s required tri-weekly convocation ceremony, Falwell said: “I’ve always thought if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in and killed us.” After his comments were met with the resounding cheers of his audience, he then encouraged the approximately 10,000 students in attendance, along with the thousands watching the school’s online stream, to attend Liberty’s free firearm training course to obtain a concealed carry license so that they could “teach them a lesson if they ever show up” at Liberty.

Falwell would later give context to his statements, when responding to a tweet asking about what Muslims he was referring to as simply “those Muslims who just carried out attacks in Paris and California,” referring to the mass shooting in San Bernardino that killed 14 people and injured nearly two dozen others. Despite this tweet, however, the comment garnered national attention, and it has since raised concerns about the Virginia High School League’s continued relationship with the school ahead of the state championship debate competition this week that draws students from across Virginia.

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We, the 6A North Regional Champions of VHSL, have presented such opposition, reflected by our choice to boycott this year’s state tournament at Liberty University. As the President of Liberty University, Falwell represents the school and exemplifies the ideals that it champions, and unfortunately, these ideals are not conducive to those supported by debate or those of the VHSL.

At its core, the entire purpose of debate is to foster a safe and healthy environment where students can engage in enlightening discourse and become more worldly, informed, and above all, accepting individuals. Falwell’s remarks take away the “safe and healthy” aspects necessary for an effective debate and provoke a tendency for complacency over such hateful comments from not only the general public, but also from the administration of VHSL. Falwell’s comments also serve to intimidate minority voices, which runs counter to the spirit of debate.

If Liberty University were the host of a private debate tournament, unaffiliated with any public entity, there would be no cause for alarm. Our main concern rests with the apparent support that VHSL is showing for Liberty by keeping the championships on its campus, implicitly tolerating Falwell’s remarks.

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The VHSL’s mission is to promote “education, leadership, sportsmanship, character, and citizenship.” Falwell’s comments undermine the tenet of “sportsmanship,” which the VHSL 2014 Debate Manual defines as “all about respect.” Falwell’s comments were anything but respectful towards Muslims, and his later correction of his statement to include solely “Islamic terrorists” like those who carried out the San Bernardino shootings does nothing to remedy the situation and only showcases that the two are apparently interchangeable.

Despite Falwell’s clarifications, we believe Liberty remains an environment where Muslim debaters are not welcome. The VHSL is a nonprofit organization of high schools across Virginia, and it is both strongly endorsed by public high schools and uses public funds from local school districts, including more than $150,000 from Fairfax County Public Schools last year. It should not be supporting such an environment.

Denying ourselves the opportunity to participate in VHSL’s statewide tournament was by no means an easy decision. Ultimately, we are honored to have qualified to participate in a debate tournament at the state level, and we are saddened by the fact that we will be unable to compete this year. We don’t intend to undermine the positive experience that debating often is, but we want to demonstrate that it is unacceptable to participate in a tournament dependent upon public ignorance towards hateful speech.

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Debating is something that we are grateful and fortunate to be able to do, but it simply cannot be prioritized over calling attention to wrongs when they are committed. Participation would be hypocritical, and we feel that the boycott will serve as a more meaningful and, above all, impactful experience.

Instead of focusing on a single state tournament, we have chosen to highlight a far more important debate: what constitutes Islamophobia, and how to confront it.

Through this boycott, we hope to further discourse in the debate community, across the state, and even throughout the country, that emphasizes the importance of distinguishing (and, in extreme cases, recognizing that there is a difference) between Muslims and terrorist extremists. Highlighting the importance of this distinction, whether it be in one’s beliefs or simply one’s diction, ultimately will be more significant than winning a trophy. As we make efforts to assist in ending the discrimination so often exhibited towards millions of American Muslims, we make efforts to bring about real change.

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Falwell’s comments have brought about an opportunity for us to get involved and have a voice in a global issue, and though we are doing so at the expense of what would undeniably be a fulfilling experience, we do so with the hope of creating a future where high school students will no longer have to make choices like ours.