Re: Debate Club Application Thread

[Flaw of Insanity]

Age/Introduction: I'm 15 and so far, I'm interested in what other people think about situations and problems, and I want to put through my own opinion.

Country: New Zealand

Education: Nearly half way through College/High School

Topics of interest: Music, Religious studies, Literature and Ecological problems.

Essay/Paragraph: Music is usually used to portray what the "World" thinks people should be like. If you notice the amount of songs that talk about going out, having a good time, partying, drinking, "having fun" and other issues which are actually probably not the best thing to be caught with by the police. Everyone tries to be in the "cool" scene because, lets say a song by Fergie says it's fun, the problem is that they always have to be something else, which makes them sick on the inside, but they keep telling themselves, "This will make me cool, I'll be one of those people everyone wants to hang out with! Fergie says so" The truth is, that you'll just end up like everyone else. Think of a mannequin in a store window with all these "cool" clothes on, you'll want to be like that no matter what the cost, because someone you look up to says it's cool, or they wear it, but so will everyone else. You just become a clone, a person without any original personality what-so-ever. In the end your just a zombie. But if you screw up along the way, you lose it all. The song didn't say anything about that didn't it? A example of a suggestive song to go out and do what you like, which has a bad effect on your life, is Nickleback, Burn it to the Ground;

We're going off tonight to kick out every light
Take anything we want Drink everything in sight
We're going till the world stops turning
While we burn it to the ground tonight

As you can see, it's telling people that just going out and partying, drinking and just doing whatever the heck you like seems so like so much fun.

This was crazy, I had an idea and looked for stuff for it, I don't think I've researched like this before in my life xD

Approved.

[Burst]

Age/Introduction: in between 11 and 14
i just ana hear and gve opinions
Country: USA

Education: Middle School

Topics of interest: Opinons and videos

Essay/Paragraph:
I'm a easygoing young person wo loves parties and thin of stuff like opinions.
uh... is that long enough...

Rejected.
Please see TTA's or Deathclaw's forms for a good example of a Debate Club etiquette and application.

[wwwtoy]

Age/Introduction:14

Country:United States

Education:High School

Topics of interest:Religion,Live

Essay/Paragraph:Religion

Theres all kinds of Religions,Catholic,Jew etc. Pepole of certain religions follow certain customs. Pepole follow there religion most or always.

Now for life pepole often wonder what they want to do in life,but you often dream about what you want to become. If they don't get accepted they look for another job. The point is pepole look for something in life.

Rejected.
Reason: Mispelled words, short paragraphs, and a generally choppy flow.

[The True Assassin]

About Me
Brief Introduction
I have been on the forums for almost a year now, and I feel like I am ready to come back and write an essay to improve my debating skills.
Location: England
Education: High school

Topics: Anything really. As long as I am interested in it!

Essay

Is any protest a good protest?

In this essay, I will be arguing for and against the means of violent and non-violent protests. I will do this be comparing facts and issues raised by these. First, I will portray some facts about these. A protest is when people or groups express their opinions of a certain topic by means of portraying their views. This can be done by averting the law or changing the way people behave.

Some examples of some non-violent protests are the boycotting of the buses in 1955. This was a protest to give the black community back their rights in Alabama in the USA. This is a very good example of a non-violent protest as in doing this; no laws were broken, so there for they could not be arrested. This, in my opinion is a huge advantage over violent protest. For example, as soon as some sort of violence is introduced you are immediately lowered to the same level you are trying to protest. Often violence is turned into riots, which call on the police to take on immediate force and action. This can end up with a large number of protesters arrested, thus leaving the protest in shambles. On the other hand, non-violent protests can lead to being arrested. Take the protests of peace loving Gandhi, for example. In 1930, he walked 240 miles to the sea where he and his group took salt from the sea. However, this in itself was symbolic, but illegal. This meant that people could be arrested, but because of their non-violence, they did not fight back, so the arresting showed they were better than the law. This then made the English colony seem like violent hooligans for mindlessly fighting peace-loving protesters.

This takes me onto my next point. "Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary." A quote from Gandhi this means that violence can solve something as you can express your feelings through anger, but you have no reasoning by doing this; it is not long lasted. This also shows how non-violent protests can have more of a long-term impact due to their size and organization. This is a key point in non-violent protests; they take a lot more planning and preparation. Look back at the Montgomery bus boycott, this took lots of planning and a lot of will force. It showed how everyone is important because if the person you mistreat turns back, you have no means of support. Whereas a violent protest would have just degraded the black community’s reputation even more, as now they would be viewed as fighting uncivilized people. This is backed up by another quote from Gandhi: "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." This really shows how will power is the strongest weapon, and if you are determined, then it will affect everyone; it will make a difference.

Another example of violent protests bad effects is this quote: "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." A quote from Gandhi this again shows that violence has no long lasting impact, rather than a bad one. A quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. is: "A riot is the language of the unheard." This tells how a riot will result in no long-term effect and will be acted upon, but not in the protesters favor. However, there are some examples where non-violence can be a more effective means of protest.

A quote from Malcolm X is: "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." this means that in order to achieve something you have to reach for it, and use direct force and action to take it back. This could seem to be effective as it is an immediate way of protest, which has huge short-term effects. "I don't even call it violence when it's in self defense; I call it intelligence." This really shows how violent protest is very much about striking back and not showing defeat. This can show resilience and that no matter what the law etc. does they will not give in. This can be very effective, but then again non-violent protests can have teh same effect if done correctly.

"If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary." A quote from Malcolm X, this shows that in order to be able to protest about something you must feel very strongly towards the cause. This can be a good thing, but can also be a feature in non-violent protests. Take Gandhi's salt march. Gandhi's followers were so determined they let themselves be struck down numerous times, due to their belief of what they were protesting.

In my opinion, I think that non-violent protests serve the best way of long-term effectiveness but they take a lot of planning and preparation in order for them to be effective. However, there are pro's and con's for each of these and in some cases there is not really a way how a non-violent protest can be achieved. In these circumstances, I would think that a violent protest would be necessary. In general, I think they are, both effective but they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

---

I hope I have not included too much, or too little!

Thanks!

Approved.

Additional Comments: Wow, fantastic! Our Debate Club will be very pleased to have you in the forum.

[darketh2]

Code:
Age/Introduction: (No specifics here needed, just tell us if your 13+ and any other information you'd like to supply.) 11

Country: usa

Education: elmarty i would be in middle schooll but my scholll distarcet not have one

Topics of interest:allmost everything

[b]Essay/Paragraph: The current cold weather that i happening everywhere. i think it is happening because of a envormenetel change.My theroy is that globel warming is makeing the earth so hot this is earths way of colling down.the news say that it is like someone opened a door to the artic.
Well what does that mean. this is were other theroy comes for some reson mabye globel warming the weather from up toward the artic is coming down to the rest of the cournty.

Rejected.
Reason: Flat out sloppy grammar, choppy/run-on sentences, and generally a very slippery handle on debate etiquette.

You should atleast run a spelling and grammar check on your browser's tool for clear sentences. Simple things such as capitalizing letters after periods, misspelled words, and spacing really makes your application look sloppy. Please try again.

[Icey]

Age/Introduction: 14

Country: USA


Education: I am in High School


Topics of Interest: Most things I find debatable :P I like to argue my point


Abortion- first topic that came to mind ._.

First of I would like to say that Im Catholic and I have a very strong point of view on this. The moment of conception of a child marks the the beginning of development, and as the new developing, right now just merely just a cell has human DNA, the code that will make this one cell a human. I believe that therefore this is considered a human and killing it is murder.

Most Americans know the famous lines put into the Delclaration of Independence wrote by Thomas Jefferson, "all men are created equall...endowed with certain unalianable rights; among these are Life, liberty and the persuit of happiness." By killing the soon to be child before birth, you are denying its right to Life. No matter what life is expected for the child, even if the parent must put into the adoption/foster care system, I say that that any life is better than none. These unborn children have no voice of their own yet, it takes people to argue for their rights, and just becuase they have not been born does not meant that they dont have any.

Approved.

[Darth rogue]

Age/Introduction: (No specifics here needed, just tell us if your 13+ and any other information you'd like to supply.):I am 19

Country:USA

Education: (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?)I am in Collage.

Topics of interest:Anything that is available.

Essay/Paragraph:When I was a child I grew up around hazardous materials not appropriate for my age of the time.One of the hazardous materials was smoking,every member of my family smoked,even my Grandma and Grandpa.I always coughed,sneezed,and threw up thanks to the smoking.Along with cigarettes there was drugs,alcohol,and cigars.Doing this some of the elder members started picking off,one by one my family died.And now during October 4th 2009 my dad died.Hazards like this should be taken seriously and not be around children as I was.By the way,I have no hazards in my life,I do none
I never wanted these things to even come along in my life.Most peaple in the world do this.Male and female smokers lose an average of 13.2 and 14.5 years of life, respectively.During this occasion could possibly lead to global warming,and/or the human population could possibly skyrocket downwards.In the year of 2000 over a million peaple died.And could make orphans of newborn babies because of death by any of these addictations.The leading cause of childrens death in America is "Secondhand Smoke".This is cause by being around a smoker to long.
In foreign countries there is a more worse case of smokers,drug dealers,and any other type of hazards.In Germany mostly every person smokes cigars.Some peaple make drug factories and this is a "Greenhouse Gas" process leading to also,global warming.Hazardous materials mutate animals and make them very feared in many.Some hazards kill trees and kill grass.Hazards should be put down.

Rejected.
Reason: Full of grammar/spelling mistakes, bad structuring, and a choppy flow. I suggest you have a look at Deathclaw's, Altera's and TTA's essays before trying again.

[Altera]

Age/Introduction: I'm 20

Country: New Zealand

Education: At University. Though it has been a while since I've been in a debate as I dropped English as soon as I could in High School.

Topics of interest: Firearms and hunting laws, biosecurity, environment, human rights, free trade agreements, crime, subbed vs dubbed.

Essay/Paragraph:

On the use of the poison 1080.

Sodium fluoroacetate, the poison better known as 1080, should not be used in controlling pest populations in New Zealand. It is a dangerous poison to all animals, including the ones we are trying to protect. There are too many risks in it's application, especially in aerial drops.

Apart from two species of bats, New Zealand does not have any land mammals, and native bird species, which had evolved without any major predators, did not have any defences against introduced species such as the brushtail possum, deer, rats, ferrets and related mustelids, and cats. Over the years, the Department of Conservation (DOC), has used many methods to cut down the populations of introduced species. They have ranged from setting traps to creating fur and meat industries. Since 1957, in order to reduce possum populations, as they are a vector for tuberculosis, they have utilised 1080 as the pesticide-of-choice against mammalian pest, being the main buyer of the poison. The baits they use for aerial drops are cereal based and cinnamon-flavoured to make them less appealing to birds, while bait stations can have the cereal pellet, a paste or gel bait or a carrot based one, making them appealing to possums and rats while some have used meat based bait.

The benefits of the application of 1080 include a near immediate reduction in pest numbers, and a cost effective way of lowering populations of target species. However, while poison bait stations are alright, as there is a degree of control and monitoring undertaken, it is the aerial drops that concern many. While it will decompose into harmless compounds in warm water in lab conditions, the rate of decomposition in the environment is unknown, though DoC claims that 1080 will break down within two weeks of application and as such imposes a risk of the contamination of streams and rivers. It can also kill non-target species such as native birds who might also eat the bait and dogs that eat the carcasses of poisoned animals, with cases being regularly reported in the media. Also, populations of rats increase as the possum population decreases, which increases the threat to native birds, while feral cat populations are not overly affected, unless individuals happen to hunt and kill a poisoned animal, as research has shown that cats do not show interest in meat based baits.

There are other methods for pest control that do not have risks as great as those of 1080, however some may increase the cost of pest eradication. A return to hiring hunters to shoot possums, restoring the possum fur industry and investing in research to develop methods to target specific species instead of carpeting the forest with a poison that could kill most animal species in it. DoC already spends millions on preserving New Zealand's endangered species, what is a few more to ensure we don't kill what we're trying to protect?

Resources
1080 Guidelines
1080 usage in NZ
Possum control facts
My male parental unit.

Approved.

[Guest]

Intro: Im younger than 13 years of age, but I enjoy expressing my opinion and making points.

Country: United States

Education: I currently go to a private school, almost all classes are advanced.

Topics of Interest: Wars, Politics, Depression, Everyday Knowledge, Religion

Essay/Paragraph:

Topic = Religion
Although many consider religion to be a faith, I consider it to be a terrible mess in today's society. The past has already explained that, The Crusades War, the reason the Pilgrims had to move to another country, etc. It is true that religion played a huge part in society's development, such as Michaelangelo's inspiration for the 16th Chapel, but it also has many bad sides to it. Some people rely on their "God" to make their life better than themselves. People have protested in streets with signs reading, "Gays must burn, its not Holy!" Prejudice has broke out against other religious groups, causing wars and unfair treatment. Children have been kicked out of their very own homes because of different beliefs with their parents. Politics take advantage of the high amount of Christianity, and say they support it with all their heart, just to get more votes during an election. Under all the rules and teachings of religion, is it really what you think?

Approved.

[incinerator1]

Intro: I'm 15 years old and I like to enjoy reading and saying my idea's to the world.

Country: United States

Education: I'm starting my second year of High School (a.k.a a sophomore.)

Topics of Interest: Anything debatable like everyday stuff =P.

Essay/Paragraph:
Topic - Animal Cloning

If you've ever actually thought of cloning you probably just think hey I want a double of this or I want a clone of me its actually not simple just like making a bowl of cereal.Cloning animals and plants.Yet they allow twins of the same gene they won't allow them to be exactly the same kind or thing.Cloning animals will actually be another good thing because scientists could actually bring back extinct animals. I'm with it because cloning of animals will be very helpful for aiding survival for humans for their meat and for personal reasons pets. As of plants because they will provide oxygen for humans and pets to sustain life for living. Another reason why cloning would be good is that it could help human from suffering.
Lets say a human needs blood that is AA and the doctor doesn't have any scientists could make a exact clone of you take blood from the clone and implant it into you.Clones are considered against religious reasons like Christianity since God did not make the person regularly. People will allow twins and not get debatable about or get concerned, but won't allow clones in this world without conflict. Scientists have cloned over 10 different animals and they all used a different method. And every single creation was rejected or shunned! Every single one of those creations were put into a world that hated them causing more mayhem of cloning.
Cloning could actually aid the world instead of just meat and oxygen it could aid scientist with discovering something everyday. They could also aid everyday life and technology would improve with help of a cloned scientist since the clone would have knowledge of the scientist. Clones could be the next best thing instead of asexual reproduction sure there would a very extended long period of time to create it, but think of the possibilities of clones. Hovering cars,solve world hunger,futuristic gadgets,and much much more!

Rejected.
Reason: You're just on the line. You seem to have an understanding of the debate etiquette, but your grammar and structuring is sloppy. I suggest you have a look at Deathclaw's, Altera's and TTA's essays before trying again.

[Darth rogue]

Age/Introduction: I'm 19

Country: U.s.

Education: I am currently in collage

Topics of interest: Anything

I will try again...

As of 2005, nuclear power provided 2.1% of the world's energy and 15% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for 56.5% of nuclear generated electricity.

There were also several other reductions and "unusual outages" experienced in Korea and Germany. Also, increases in the load factor for the current fleet of reactors appear to have plateaued.Nuclear energy policy differs between European Union countries, and some, such as Austria, Estonia, and Ireland, have no active nuclear power stations.

In comparison, France has a large number of these plants, with 16 multi-unit stations in current use.Many military and some civilian (such as some icebreaker) ships use nuclear marine propulsion, a form of nuclear propulsion.

International research is continuing into safety improvements such as passively safe plants,the use of nuclear fusion, and additional uses of process heat such as hydrogen production (in support of a hydrogen economy), for desalinating sea water, and for use in district heating systems.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power

Rejected.
Reason: You don't even seem to be arguing anything, just stating points, and I can see you have directly copied off wikipedia. Please try again with your own writing.

[Shadow]

I have added a sources section to the template. If you used any sources in your essay, please link directly to them. If you did not use any, please put in 'none.' If the sources section has been left out, your application will be ignored.

[Erik]

Well, DC told me to do this so...

Age/Introduction: I am 14, almost 15, and all my life have gotten into arguments with people.

Country: United States

Education: I am currently in High School. Honors classes FTW

Topics of interest: Nuclear Energy, Religion

Essay/Paragraph:
Since I was first in school, I always heard about alternate energy sources. The only things I heard were, "solar energy is the energy of the future", and "it is soon going to be used everywhere." That has not happened yet. As far as I have seen in the news and on the internet, no alternate energy is being put into use widely yet. The United States could continue to rely on fossil fuels, or it could change energy type. In eighth grade, I finally started to hear the good and the bad of nuclear energy, instead of just the bad that the media tries to put out. Nuclear energy is an energy source that is able to produce larger amounts of energy, with much less pollution than coal and other fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are also the cause of many other larger problems, such as global warming. On ieer.org, the author said that fossil fuels have a potentially catastrophic climate change risk. Wikipedia said that, "Proponents of nuclear energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that does not create air pollution" to show that nuclear energy is a usable energy source that doesn't pollute the air as fossil fuels do. Fossil fuels have the possibility to cause global warming, and destroy the whole world, and nuclear energy has the potential to be a much more powerful energy source. It is my opinion that we need to switch energy source, to a cleaner, more efficient energy.

Source(s) used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power
http://www.ieer.org/ensec/no-1/comffnp.html

Approved.

I can't find the thread for the debate club, I think I have a problem with something. It doesn't appear in this topic, anyone have any possible reasons?

If you can't see the Debate Club section, then I guess nobody has added you to the Debate Club group yet. PM an Admin about it.
-Shadow

K, Thank you Shadow. :)

Ryzaa added me in when I pmed him ;)

[wwwtoy]

Age/Introduction:14 I got rejected teh last time so I shall try again

Country:United States

Education:High School

Topics of interest:Everything

Essay/Paragraph:Money,War

Money,this is what everyone wants. Who could blame though? We need money. People use it to buy food,cloths,etc. What do people do for money though? How desperate do people get just to get money? People get paid for working in jobs. Some people decide they could just rob it. So they do. Then they get thrown in jail. People,even police get bribed. Heck,if they get really desperate they even kill somebody. Is this how you want our world to work? Well,people getting paid for doing a job is fine. But people who kill somebody else just for money isn't ok. With the thought of money people get greedy.

Sources:none

Approved.
Additional notes: Try to work on the flow of your sentences a bit, some parts were a bit choppy.

Ok. :D

[Guest]

Age/Introduction: I'm 16 at the moment and... thats about it... OH! I have a Pet Rabbit!

Country: Sweden, But I watch so much TV i'm probably more American

Education: Not sure what the direct Translation to English is... If Kindergarden is Grade 0 then I'm grade 10

Topics of interest: I usually tend to rant about anything that comes up, If it interests me, I will be on the internet learning about it in seconds!

Essay/Paragraph: Pardon the irony but I would like to discuss video games. Video games have been around since the Cathode Ray Tube was patented in 1948 and have had a major impact on the development of our society. These video games have had a good effect on our society as they are capable of being used to teach, entertain, and socalize all at the same time. While there have in fact been a few cases where overuse of video games have lead to unpleasant circumstances, these are overshadowed by all the benefits video games give; not only to us individuals, but the major effect it has in balancing the world economy. If used correctly, video games will continue to have a positive effect on us for many years to come.

Source(s) used:General knowledge, Newspapers, Discussions at School.

Approved.