Monday, April 20, 2015

North American Universities, 2014

NAUDC, 2014
R1: THW abolish spousal privilege. Info slide: Spousal privilege protects the individual holding the privilege from being called to testify by the prosecution against the defendant/the spouse.
R2: As an author of a non-colonial language (inuktitut, iziXhosa, Quechua, etc.), THW only write in one's native language.
R3: THBT feminists should campaign to deconstruct masculinity rather than attempt to mobilize masculinity in service of feminst goals.
R4: THBT states should not hold prisoners of war after a conflict's cessation.
R5: THR the rise of pop culture authorities on what constitutes good sex (how-tos, Cosmo Magazine, etc.).
R6: THW consider an academic's publicly-stated political positions (e.g. blog posts, Tweets, editorials) in hiring, tenure, and promition decisions.
QF: THBT all media organizations should be owned and run by journalists.
SF: TH supports the prominence of the American Dream in the national discourse. Info slide: The "American Dream" refers to the notion that, regardless of one's demographics, one can significantly improve one’s quality of life through hard work and persistence.
GF: TH, as the United States, would actively foment democratic unrest in China.

Cambridge IV, November 2014

Cambridge IV, 2014
R1: THW not punish people who live below the poverty line for economic crimes (e.g. theft).
R2: Assuming the existence of individuals with superpowers (e.g. super strength, flight, invisibility etc.), TH, as a superhero, would agree to use its powers solely in service of the democratic state.
R3: THS the objectification of male bodies in popular culture.
R4: THW require that any houses or apartments left vacant for six months or more be surrendered to the state.
R5: THBT Western foreign policies should abandon attempts to universalise liberal values.
ESL Semi: THBT Google should inform the authorities about suicide searches.
ESL Final: Assuming the existence of a gay gene, THW disproportionately favour embryos that possess it in IVF.
QF: THW prohibit all research aiming to create sentient artificial intelligences.
SF: THS the New Atheism movement.
GF: THBT unpaid domestic workers should strike for state pay.

Brandeis IV, December 2014

Brandeis IV, 2014
R1: THR the commercialization of religious holidays.
R2: THBT universities should ban all fraternities and sororities.
R3: TH, as the Mexican government, would end its war against the drug cartels.
R4: THR the use of feminism as an advertising tactic.
R5: THW ban all youth wings of political parties in developing countries.
R6: THBT protesters should not use memorials as sites of protest.
QF: THP Facebook's policy of only removing content that users report as objection to a policy where Facebook itself determines restrictions on content.
SF: THBT all information marked as classified by governments should become available to the public within 50 years.
GF: THW allow communities to vote to end police supervision.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Colgate IV, 2015

Colgate IV, 2015
R1: THW account for innate capabilities when awarding grades in school.
R2: THW give prisoners who have been assaulted or seriously harmed in custody the legal right to sue the government.
R3: THR the fetishization of race in pornography.
R4: THS a full boycott of Israeli elections by all Palestinians and Arab Israelis that are eligible to vote.
R5: THW allow the US President to make a limited number of congressional votes anonymous per term.
QF: THW shut down banks that are, in the future, found to be assisting rogue states and facilitating illicit trade.
SF: THW recognise the sovereignty of land purchased by Indigenous clans or tribes. Info slide: Under the SQ sovereignty is granted only on land that is awarded to indigenous communities by the Federal government.
NF: As an LGBTQ fiscal conservative, THW vote Democrat.
GF: THW prevent the Military from engaging in active recruitment efforts.

HWS Round Robin 2015

HWS Round Robin, 2015
R1: THS establishing an independent state of Kurdistan.
R2: THW measure gross national happiness and base policy decisions on those measurements.
R3: THW disallow exclusive private arbitration for contracts between corporations and individuals. Info slide: Private arbitration is the referral of a dispute to a third party chosen by disputants, who agree in advance to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. In contracts requiring exclusive private arbitration, the parties agree to forgo recourse to a court or jury trial.
R4: Setting aside infectious diseases, THW work to prevent interaction with tribes who have not had contact with the modern world.
R5: THW prohibit religious institutions from considering applicants’ religious affiliation for any position whose primary function is not the performance of religious rites (e.g., administrators, teachers, fundraisers, etc.).
GF: THBT prominent civil society activists should choose not to run for public office.

US Universities Debate Championship 2015 - Univ, of Alaska

USU Alaska, 2015
R1: THW abolish teacher unions for primary and secondary (K-12) education.
R2: THW tax members of systematically oppressed groups at a significantly lower rate than equivalently wealthy members of groups with historic privilege.
R3: THW make it illegal for the police to tactically lie during questions and investigations.
R4: THS private space exploration and colonization.
R5: THW exempt small businesses from laws that violate their religious convictions.
R6: THW replace government welfare programs with competitive grants to private non-profits focused on social services.
R7: THW eliminate trial by jury and replace it with trial by judge.
R8: THS the significant expansion of global free trade agreements.
Octo Final: THBT adults who wish to have children and are financially able have a moral obligation to adopt rather than have biological children.
QF/NF: THBT developed countries should never place sanctions on developing countries.
SF: THBT when discussing social justice issues, the identity of a speaker should not be used to limit their participation in discussion or to criticize their points.
GF: THW, as the US government, grant amnesty to all undocumented immigrants living in the United States on the sole conviction that they have not been convicted of a violent criminal offense.