Chat

It's impossible to discuss topics like this and leave the bias of the website aside; further down in the article, when they're not talking about the tweet, they say asking people to refrain from using gendered language when they don't know the gender of their opponent is "creating an atmosphere of fear":

The irony of the NSDA’s obsession with “safety” is that it actually fuels an atmosphere of fear among students—the fear that they will lose if they once said the wrong thing on Twitter or accidentally refer to their competitor as Miss. This fear is palpable. The NSDA debates—once a forum for the open exchange of ideas—have become a minefield of political correctness, says NSDA student Briana Whatley, 15, of Miramar, Florida.

That makes it clear that this isn't about high school debate at all; it's about the ongoing push to scapegoat trans people. And that isn't a topic that is up for debate or discussion.

I’ve never visited this site before today and don’t know who Bari Weiss is.

ah, lucky you! Weiss apparently runs this site (just checked) and is generally infamous for being what amounts to a free speech concern troll. she most infamously resigned from the New York Times (where she previously was an op-ed columnist) over what amounted to people criticizing her takes both inside and outside the newspaper. i'd generally characterize her as interested in free speech only when it's conservatives saying heinous things being shut down, and never when the aforementioned queer people are actually having their free speech and right to exist threatened by an entire political party. she's also a very ardent, self-described Zionist and seems to suspend that interest in freedom of speech when it comes to people critiquing Israel. it's... corny, to say the least.