Tag Archives | 2016

Still Debatable

The recent issue of Scholastic Upfront Magazine had an article on whether college athletes should get paid, which was one of last year’s topics.

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Welcome Back!

Don’t Be Late: Register for Debate!

The first debate workshop is scheduled for Friday, September 16, 2016. This is a *must* if you are at all interested in being a part of the District 75 debate program this year. It is also a way to reconnect, refresh, and resume where we left off!

If you can think of a debate topic, add it to the comments section below!

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Con Side Debates

36K argues the “con” side during the 2016 middle school championship (click to watch video, use website password)

Ccon Side

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Student Practice

224Q student practicing before middle school debate championship, 2016 (click to watch video, use website password)

student practice

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3rd Place-Honorable Mention Debates

Congratulations to the teams who participated in the 3rd Place-Honorable Mention debtes.

Middle School
3rd Place Winner: 25R Panthers
Honorable Mention: 9Q Dream Team

High School
3rd Place Winner: 177Q The Probable All Stars
Honorable Mention: 721K Knights of Reason

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What is an Electoral Vote?

howelectorsvoteThe final topic of the year states that “the president of the United States should be elected by popular vote,” as opposed to electoral vote. This chart compares both types of voting procedures.

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Breaking it Down!

The New York Times has broken down our Round 3 debate into nice chunks:

fbi2in

What does the government want? The F.B.I. has been trying to force Apple to help investigators gain access to an iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook in the December mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Bureau officials say that encrypted data in Mr. Farook’s phone and its GPS system may hold vital clues about where he and his wife…traveled in the 18 minutes after the shootings, and about whom they might have contacted beforehand. It sounds like a simple problem but the solution would be complex. The password mechanism built into the phone will erase the phone’s data after 10 incorrect password attempts….

 

And on the other side?

 

Apple

Why is Apple resisting? The company has fought a federal court order requiring it to provide access to the F.B.I., on the grounds that it violates its right to due process. Apple has said that forcing it to write new software violates its First Amendment right…. Courts have ruled in the past that writing code is a form of free speech. Providing help to break into this one iPhone, Apple has also argued, could create a permanent way to bypass iPhone password protection for law enforcement officials or even the spy agencies of other countries….

 

And the bottom line:

applevsfbismall

Why does the dispute matter? Simply put, the government contends that cooperation in cases like this could help prevent terrorist attacks against Americans. Privacy advocates and Apple supporters say they worry that if the F.B.I. succeeds in getting access to the software overriding Apple’s encryption, it would create easy access for the government in many future investigations…. But cooperating with the government now could quickly lead to murkier situations internationally, especially in China, where officials have been pushing for greater control over the encryption and security of technology sold there. China has become Apple’s second-largest market after the United States….Saying yes to the United States government could make it hard for Apple to later say no to China, and saying no could significantly affect the company’s bottom line.

 

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More and More Sources

Apple FBIOur debate topic is really heating up in the news. Here are two more articles, one on President Obama’s stance from The New York Times, and one from NPR which contains a primary source document from the Apple case.

And if you missed it, John Oliver’s main segment last week was also about the encryption topic.

We’ve heard what many people have to say on this topic, now we are ready to hear from the teams. Round 3 begins next week…. let’s go!

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More Articles About our Debate Topic

iphoneWow, there have been a lot of articles about our current debate topic flying around the internet lately.

Here is an article from USA Today titled Justice Department: Apple Obligated to Assist FBI  and another from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)  that takes a strong position on one side (guess which one). Other articles have appeared in major news outlets such as the New York Times and more.

Also, the National Speech and Debate Association’s current topic is very closely related to ours. It is, Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially curtail its domestic surveillance.

You can find resources on their website as well as on the Urbandebate.org site (Scroll down for downloads under Surveillance Topic Core Files). There are tons of resources out there to help with your research. Choose wisely, and good luck!

 

 

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Talk About Close!

This chart from a Round 2 debate shows the teams receiving equal scores in three categories: Presentation, Teamwork, and Persuasiveness. That has never before happened in a debate.

graphs

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