Re: Debate Club Application Thread

[Alderos]

Age/Introduction: I am 14, i am in special education (the good kind for people with high iqs), im in boy scouts..., play trumpet, and wrestle for a school team

Country:USA, Tennessee

Education: Middle school

Topics of interest: Current news, military, death penalties, music (rock)

Essay/Paragraph: Personally, I believe that the death penalty should be allowed in every state simply because there are people that did just outright wrong things like, mass murder, treason (like giving away battle plans that result in americans dieing), or terrorism. This would get rid of "the bad eggs" and make sure they can't perform these horrible deeds again. This is simply how i speculate things and how they should be done.

Source(s) used: none

Rejected.
Reason: Please proofread your work better. Things like 'i' and 'dieing' show that you haven't put enough effort into your work. Please try again. (You can just put your new essay underneath this.)

[gryfinrider]

Age: 14. Love constructive debates, a proud member of the junior BETA club, and of TSA.
Country: South Africa/United States
Education: Middle School (8th Grade)
Topics of Interest:The ever raging war in Politics, The "Beginning" (Philosophy),The changes in S.A (South Africa)


Most of us have been grown on the thought of there being a higher being, God (or other higher beings in some religions). But, should we jump to assumptions and say, "It was God!", or do we relay the facts and look back towards early times? What did the early Chinese know about the world? Did they know why fire is hot? No, so they were afraid, therefor, religion comes into place. We say "It was God", because then we didn't know, we were ignorant to why and how. "It was God" sticked with us until present, even though we have learned why and how fire is hot. God is an idea of fear, made from fear and thought of, by fear.

Source(s):None but my thoughts.

Approved.

[Vampiric]

Age/Introduction: I am currently 17

Country: Australia

Education: Final year (Year 12) in High School

Topics of interest: Nothing particular, anything that sparks my interest

Essay/Paragraph:

There is an increasing threat of global warming and yet it seems we, as a global community, have not been able to grasp the enormity of this or continue to exist in a state of climatic denial. We have summits, international meetings and other smaller-scale tasks to try counter this problem but the truth is not enough has been done yet.

The majority of businesses and governments alike are reluctant to have the extensive costs of dealing with climate change impact on their profits, gross domestic product and economic growth respectively. It is a sobering fact to know that one of mankind’s most fundamentally flawed beliefs is the cause of all this – “Money makes the world go round”.

Self-advancement. Profit. Luxury. All these words carry with them a strong sense of well-being, of improving one’s living standards. But at what costs? How can some businesses fall so low as to ignore or dismiss the environmental repercussions of their actions? Government action and business cooperation are needed to counter the urgent matter of global warming.

Some critics may say that an economy runs on money and profits, that to divert funds into another area (such as environmental goals) is foolhardy as the costs are too great. In one sense, they are correct. The health of the economy is obviously determined by monetary figures, but the effects of not countering global warming are much more widespread. Not to mention, it should be in their interests to counter global warming as investing in greener energy could have some positive influences over the management of their respective businesses.

Source(s) used: None, just little tidbits I've garnered during some of my studies.

Approved.

[Dugel]

Age/Introduction: I am 16 and in high school.

Country: U.S.A

Education: High school

Topics of interest: Anything that I feel is interesting.

Essay/Paragraph: Should medical marijuana be legal in more states or even countries.

Medical marijuana (Cannabis) is a very controversial topic. There are millions of frequent cannabis users and even more infrequent smokers. Smoking cannabis has far fewer hazardous effects on life than legal drugs such as alcohol.

Cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and cannabis is grown all over the planet. Any claims that cannabis prohibition is a successful policy are ludicrous and unsupported by the facts, and the idea that marijuana will soon be eliminated from America and the rest of the world is a ridiculous fantasy.

If cannabis were made legal, it would reduce the flow of money from the American economy to international criminal gangs. Cannabis' illegality makes growing cannabis world-wide and being smuggled in the US extremely profitable. This money is being sent over seas in a black market economy and being diverted from our struggling economy.

Cannabis has very few negative side effects, and can be considered medicine. Many people believe that marijuana can be used as medicine to treat certain illnesses. A major federal report on the the subject of medicinal use of marijuana concluded that there was evidence that marijuana could be useful for "pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

Still, under the Title 21 of the U.S. Code, Section 812 (part of the Controlled Substances Act or CSA), the U.S. federal government classifies marijuana as a 'Schedule One' substance which has no medicinal value, despite the evidence indicating therapeutic uses


Source(s) used: High Times Magazine

Approved.

[Rawness]

Age: 15
country: USA
Education: Highschool
Intrest: Bible, Theology, ad Death

Some people are totaly caught up in the flashy, glamorous side
of life. they Try and fill a void with wordly possessions and they never realize that what realy counts in the end is that eternal question. That is what impact have I made on the world that surrounds me. Because there have been many great influencers throuogh the histories you must make a fiat choice weighed you will have a positive impact or a negative impact. If at night you can ask your self weither or not you have made a positive impact in the world and be able to say yes to the question, that you have truley tried your hardest to live up to the expectations that God has set for you.

Rejected.
Reason: Please proofread your work better. Your many typos and other small mistakes show that you haven't put enough effort into your work. Please try again. (You can just put your new essay underneath this.)

[Satus]

Age/Introduction: Well, I'm 20.

Country: USA (from Canada)

Education: College

Topics of interest: Death penalty, Gay marriage, Affects of Gaming, and lots of others.

Essay/Paragraph: There is no reason why gay marriage should be illegal in the United States. In fact at least one part of the Constitution that defends the illegalization of it is null and void because of some overriding rules in that same document. First of all, there are two acts that were added to the Constitution that make gay marriage illegal; the Defense of Marriage Act(DOMA) and the Protection of Marriage Act(POMA).

The first one, DOMA, says that marriage is only legal between a male and a female partner, now there is nothing really illegal about this, but it is, however, unethical. Shouldn't we treat everyone the same, regardless of their, race creed, religion, or sexual preference? This aspect is part of the foundation of the Constitution, especially in this day and age. Everyone is created equal. Religion should not have a say in determining these laws because the United States is a country that has separated the church and State (I don't hate religion, I just don't think it should have a bearing on our laws).

The second one, POMA, states that no one can challenge and therefore get rid of both DOMA and POMA itself. Now, another part of the Constitution, one that was in there long before these two acts appeared on it, states that; the Supreme Court's "judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority". This basically says that the Supreme Courts can challenge any law or act within the United States. This Article conflicts with POMA, that act would be null and void.

Source(s) used: The Constitution of the United States of America.

Approved.

[Ryuu The Sly]

Age/Introduction: 13+
Country: USA

Education: High School

Topics of interest: Acid Rain and How to Prevent It

Essay/Paragraph:

Acid rain is now a serious threat to our environment today. Acid rain is not only affecting our specie’s cycle of life, but also damaging our ecosystem. The only way to resolve this life threatening problem is to act now and have others that care about our ecosystem work together to prevent this problem. In North America, there was recently some research founded on acid rain that gives us the general idea of what it is and how to prevent it.
Before we try to prevent this problem, we need to know the basis of acid rain. An organization called the US Environmental Protection Agency or EPA for short lets us know a more “precise term is acid disposition”, which means that is can be wet or dry. The “wet disposition” of acid rain is in the form of a rain, fog, or even snow which is highly acidic. The “dry disposition” of acid rain “refers to acidic gases and particles” which is spreaded by the wind. What mostly cause acid rain are large amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. Also, most of the SO2 and NO2 comes from using fossil fuels for transportation, cars, and to generate electric power. Other types of sources that we use comprise of fuel combustion and our industrial activities.
If we have a better understanding and the causing of acid rain, we can figure out a solution to this problem and stop it once and for all. So, here are some ways to reduce the risk of acid rain and undo the damage that has been done to our ecosystem. But, before we can continue, we need to have everyone aware of the global situation and make sure everyone is willing to participate to prevent this problem. Now that we are aware, we know that generating electricity with fossil fuels is one of the major sources of acid rain. The solution to this is we can develop an alternative energy resource that is safe to our ecosystem. An article from EPA shows that “nuclear power” and “hydropower” are already widely used, but other useful and natural resources like wind power and solar power can have a better use. Not all of our sources of energy are resourceful or safe, but we must search for other resources that are “eco-friendly” in order to save our environment for future generations.
The damages and problems that acid rain is causing must be stopped in order to prevent future damages and to save our ecosystem. We as a society need to change our resources that are safe to use and without any risks involved. But in order to have everyone change, we ourselves must start it off so we can influence others into joining us to help out our ecosystem.

Source(s) used:
Barron's Regents Exams and Answers - English
Pg. 236

Approved.

[Ghadia]

Age/Introduction: (No specifics here needed, just tell us if your 13+ and any other information you'd like to supply.) I'm 13, I'd like to join the debate group. I simply love the feeling of proving someone wrong, the thrill of debating logical topics with logical people.


Country: United States of America

Education: (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?) Middle School, Honor Roll, A and B student.

Topics of interest: Over-rated movies, Current Politics.

Essay/Paragraph: The Oil spill in The Gulf of Mexico, many people are mad about it. This is by far, the most discussed current activity in the USA. What I hate about it is, people who don't get all the facts before making accusations. Most people just assume it's BP's fault, when it isn't. I'm one of the few people who have taken the time to look at the facts.
I've seen, it's not entirely BP's fault. It was publicly announced as an Oil Spill, drilled by the Gasoline Company of BP. There were other companies involved, however. I've forgotten the names, but one of the companies was the maker of the Oil Drill and Containment Chambers. They made a major miscalculation in the Oil Containment Chambers, causing a massive error in the Oil Drilling System.
In my oppinion, the Oil Spill is Mostly the Governments fault. They failed to correctly inspect the Oil Drill. If they hadn't, the Spill could have easily been avoided.

Source(s) used: We discussed this in one of my classes, so I don't know the link my teacher showed us. I also did research on my own, but I can't find the links. They would be very difficult to find, because I did the research at least 2 weeks ago. And, I got the information from the news website, and people's different opinions/comments on them. I ruled out the one's that made no sense, of course.
Sorry, but I really don't know any of my links.

Approved.

[Tom Van Dam]

About Me

Brief Introduction : My name is Tom im 16 from Wales and I Have ADHD
Location: Wales
Education: About to start Collage (UK Education system)

Topics: Anything I know about

Essay

My Essay will be about Self Harming, Suicide and attention seekers

To begin with I must state that I have NEVER self harmed or attempted suicide how ever I have many self harming friends and 1 who Attempted suicide.

Self Harming

There are 2 kinds of people who self harm, the people who ave genuine problems with them selves and attention seekers.
I will be addressing the people with REAL problems 1st.
Many of my friends who do this do it where no one can see and they normally regret it afterwards. They have told me that it makes them feel better at the time to hurt them selves but afterwards they are left with the scars which follow them everywhere unless they go away. This often causes them to become anxious and to cover up their bodies because they feel that the scars make them uglier causing them to self harm further in a devastating cycle which they often need therapy to escape from. For the record no one I have talked to about it can describe the feeling it gives them but some get a sense of relief after doing so. These people I feel have genuine problems and really do need help.

However, some people who self harm for attention can in my honest opinion be pathetic.
These people inflict pain upon themselves not as a cry for help in a hope that someone sees them and gets them that help but rather as a cry for attention. These people normally cut them selves where everyone can see or make it obvious that they have cuts or scars on certain places of their bodies. This in once again my opinion is low, these people have heard about the real issues some people have with their bodies or inner demons and have consciously decided to do the same to their own bodes to get attention.

However, there are 2 sides to this. A person could be feeling so alone and isolated that they have to do something drastic to get people to notice what's wrong with them and these are the people who need as much help sa the people with inner demons.

Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

This 1st section will be brief due to the trauma inflicted by the mentioned incident.

Last October one of my friends over dosed on prescribed medication and had to be taken to hospital. She did this because her friends were fighting and because she is bi-polar this was affecting her deeply. She did this in the morning and was in hospital by 2PM. She did survive the incident and has gone on to be one of my closest friends.

Now I shall talk about people who say they are suicidal for attention.

Some of these people claim that their lives are so unbearable that they simply cannot go on when as a matter of fact these people live in nice houses, have a loving caring family and are quite well off for money but they still claim to live unbearable lives. This is separated into 2 categories, Ignorant people and attentions seekers.
Ignorant people are the type of people who claim to live un-liveable lives simply because they don't have everything they want. They might have everything they need but thats not enough for these people and they claim their lives are un-liveable until they see true poverty but in some cases they continue to complain. These people can often be educated into being more thankful for what they have. People who claim to be suicidal but are in fact living perfectly happy lives are the lowest form of humanity in my honest opinion. They manipulate kind, caring people into giving them what they want manipulating their trust and using it to their advantage.

HOWEVER once again people who need people to pay attention to them because the are too scared to tell anyone about their problems are in dire need of help also...
This I can relate to on a personal level. I once threatened to take my own life after being dumped. At first I thought about it but I was too scared. I was crying out for attention and love and I got it and to this day no one else knew that I faked it all.

Thanks for your time,

Approved.