Friday, April 27, 2012
It's Cotton Palace Time
I had no plan to post about the Waco Cotton Palace again. Been there, done that and that. I really had not planned to make this an annual thing. . . until I received an email today containing this link. So, here I go again.
It is true: once again, there are no Hispanic or African-American princesses, duchesses or escorts. I suppose that, as has been the case in the past, the Baylor Theater Department will be very involved in the production of the play on Waco History. And, there will be the presentation of the debs, in their hoop skirts, with an informal rating by the snarkier members of the audience of the grace of the debs' curtsies.
Finally, as is typical, I know the parents of at least two of the debs, and I genuinely like and respect both sets of parents. Indeed, I had a long discussion with one parent about their daughter's Cotton Palace participation and I can say that this parental unit was rather embarassed and apologetic about the whole thing, but I digress.
Rather than rant about all that is wrong with Cotton Palace, I present a modest proposal. As I understand it, Cotton Palace is dependent on support from Baylor University. What if Baylor continued its support, conditioned on changing the focus of Cotton Palace. How about a new and improved Cotton Palace that still gives a nod to Waco history (accurately portrayed), but one that also focuses on all that is good about the present Waco as well as the potential that Waco has for the future. And now that I'm on a roll, perhaps the debs could be selected from around McLennan County based on academic success, community service, and other merit-based qualities, which would surely add some . . . ahem "color" to the event. And then, maybe, Cotton Palace could become a true celebration of Waco.
I'm a realist; I know that certain old families aren't likely to go gently into that multi-cultural inclusiveness. Moroever, I'm not sure that Baylor has the intestinal fortitude to take a stand on this against some very generous benefactors and powerful Baylor supporters. But it seems to me that if the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey can change with the times, allowing a mere commoner to win the rose contest, maybe Baylor, as it aspires to raise its profile, could aspire to lend its support to something more fitting of a Tier 1 school.
Just sayin'.
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