It's so weird to me that if encouraging fighters to come to collegia means giving them space and time to fight AT the collegia, then how is it logical for people to complain that the fighters are trying to co-opt an arts event? It's like saying "sure, we want more people to attend and so we create an atmosphere where the most people are going to be drawn to the event and then we get upset that the people coming to the event are going to the classes that interest them."
I'm personally in favor of having fighting at collegium events, because I am a pragmatist and a realist, and I know that there's a portion of the SCA who won't go to an event unless it means they get to put on armor. And that's totally fine by me (I won't go to an event unless I get to wear pretty clothes. Hey, whatever floats yer boat). Plus, some of my best friends are fighters and I like seeing friends at events. I don't feel like having a martial arts section at collegium undermines the integrity of collegium, which is what I think I'm hearing often from the non-fighting "arts community". I wouldn't go to to collegium if they weren't offering classes and activities relevant to my interests, and I dare say that's probably how most people feel. Having a fighting track is like PE class in school... I'm probably not going to go to it, but the people who are into that physical stuff and want to train/learn/hone skills should have a place to do it at an event where the whole purpose is to train/learn/hone skills in ALL areas relevant to the SCA.
So maybe what it means is rethinking what collegium is vs. what it should be in order to survive. I see that some people in the arts community feel like collegium is the only place where they get to really let their geek flag fly without having to give precedence to the fighter community, but I disagree with that point of view. I say reverse-discrimination doesn't help the situation. As a self proclaimed member of the arts community, I see absolutely no problem with embracing the fighter community within collegium. And seriously, if you want a strictly arts event, then be prepared for lower attendance and downsize the scale of the event accordingly.
Re: Fighter Centric
I'm personally in favor of having fighting at collegium events, because I am a pragmatist and a realist, and I know that there's a portion of the SCA who won't go to an event unless it means they get to put on armor. And that's totally fine by me (I won't go to an event unless I get to wear pretty clothes. Hey, whatever floats yer boat). Plus, some of my best friends are fighters and I like seeing friends at events. I don't feel like having a martial arts section at collegium undermines the integrity of collegium, which is what I think I'm hearing often from the non-fighting "arts community". I wouldn't go to to collegium if they weren't offering classes and activities relevant to my interests, and I dare say that's probably how most people feel. Having a fighting track is like PE class in school... I'm probably not going to go to it, but the people who are into that physical stuff and want to train/learn/hone skills should have a place to do it at an event where the whole purpose is to train/learn/hone skills in ALL areas relevant to the SCA.
So maybe what it means is rethinking what collegium is vs. what it should be in order to survive. I see that some people in the arts community feel like collegium is the only place where they get to really let their geek flag fly without having to give precedence to the fighter community, but I disagree with that point of view. I say reverse-discrimination doesn't help the situation. As a self proclaimed member of the arts community, I see absolutely no problem with embracing the fighter community within collegium. And seriously, if you want a strictly arts event, then be prepared for lower attendance and downsize the scale of the event accordingly.