Congress legislation

2012-2013 Fall Legislation is up for all you Congress-ites.  Go to this website:

http://www.txfa.org/congress.asp

Summer Reading

So your summer is winding down.  What better way to exercise your brain in preparation for the coming year and enrich your literary knowledge than reading a Shakespearean play.

In debate, we use a lot of the Greek myths as introductions for extemp./impromptu speeches.  But to give your speech more depth (and show off what you know), consider connecting it to a theme in a Shakespearean play.  Shakespeare borrowed heavily from the Greeks in his plays.  At this point in your academic career you're probably familiar with Romeo & Juliet (which you'll read in 9th grade).  But I would recommend reading the following plays to give you something to build a speech around:

Macbeth - play about seizing power at all costs
Julius Caesar - play about ending tyranny only to be corrupted by power
Hamlet - revenge
Richard III - play about an all-around bad guy

These are some heavy reading, but if you get a good version with notes, like "No-Fear Shakespeare" it shouldn't be too difficult.  And, or course, there are always the film versions to supplement and clarify what you didn't quite catch when you read it the first time.

Potential LD Topics 2012-2013

Here's the list of potential LD topics for 2012-2013.  These will be voted on throughout the year.  There are ten.  Here's how this works:

Sept./Oct. (released Aug. 15 - this one is chosen off last year's slate)
Nov./Dec.(released Oct. 1)
Jan./Feb. (released Dec. 1)
Mar./Apr. (released Feb. 1)
Nationals (released May 15)

so only 4 of these topics will be seen this year, with one being used at Nationals and then one more being used at the beginning of NEXT school year.

• Resolved: The constitutions of democratic governments ought to include procedures for secession.
• Resolved: When making admissions decisions, public colleges and universities in the United States ought to favor members of historically disadvantaged groups.
• Resolved: United States Supreme Court justices should be subject to term limits.
• Resolved: The United States is justified in intervening in the internal political processes of other countries to attempt to stop human rights abuses.
• Resolved: In a democracy, voting ought to be compulsory.
• Resolved: On balance, the privatization of civil services serves the public interest.
• Resolved: On balance, labor unions in the United States are beneficial.
• Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee universal health care for its citizens.
• Resolved: Oppressive government is more desirable than no government.
• Resolved: Rehabilitation ought to be valued above retribution in the United States criminal justice system.

more summer viewing

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Don't let the year or the fact that it's in black and white fool you - this is a must see.  For starters, it's a film that is often parodied/referred to by other shows.  And of course there's this famous line: "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"

more summer reading

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Classic dystopian literature.  Not too long.  There's even a movie.

Community.  Identity.  Stability, indeed!

Team Nationals Results

Here's how the team fared in Indianapolis at the 2012 NJFL National Tournament.  A coach who was there for the first time since 2006 told me he was utterly shocked over how intense the competition had become.  When it was all said and done we had awards in all three categories of Speech, Debate and Overall and we were the only school to accomplish that, but in terms of "winning" Nationals I have to admit that we did not succeed this year.  Nonetheless, I couldn't be prouder of how hard they worked and persevered; of how much professionalism they showed even in the face of unprofessional competition and opposing coaches.  And now we have a definite mission next year.

Humorous Interpretation
Jeong Woo-Han - Quarterfinalist

Poetry Interpretation

Mary Tindall – Quarterfinalist

Dikla Taylor – Quarterfinalist

Prose Interpretation

Betsy Broaddus – Finalist

Dikla Taylor – Quarterfinalist

Extemporaneous Speaking

Connor Selna – 3^rd Place

Sam Tekie - Finalist

Gregory Pauloski - Finalist

Jason Lan - Finalist

George Zhang - Semifinalist

Dane Byrd - Semifinalist

Tirthana Khedkar – Semifinalist

Original Oratory

Ariana Fletcher-Bai – Quarterfinalist

Lekha Sunder – Quarterfinalist

Impromptu Speaking

Lekha Sunder - Semifinalist

Luke Lawyer - Semifinalist

Connor Selna - Semifinalist

Vishnu Narayana – Quarterfinalist

Mary Tindall – Quarterfinalist

Nikki Goldin – Quarterfinalist

Dane Byrd – Quarterfinalist

Duo Interpretation

Betsy Broaddus & Maddie Spence - Semifinalist

Congressional Debate

Erin Sheena – Finalist

Tomas Arango – Finalist

Lauren Nyquist – Finalist

Michael Murphey – Finalist

Matthew Baker – Finalist

Vishnu Narayana – Finalist

Policy Debate

Ashley Liu & Lauren Nyquist – Octafinalists

Public Forum Debate

Gregory Pauloski & Sam Tekie – Quarterfinalist

Andrew Hollenberg & Bowen Song – Octafinalists

Jack King & Daniel Liu - Octafinalists

A tremendous THANKS goes to Brent Nyquist, Thea Goldin, and Natalie Baker for traveling with us - and to Brock Hajdik, Larry Selna and Teri Donaldson for helping out when duty called.  And of course we would not have come close to having any of the success we had if it hadn't been for our alumni who worked with the team during the camp and those who traveled with us: Sesenu Woldemariam, Michael Tekie, Olivia Arena, Lucy Chen, Nick Harris, Fernando Grimaldo, Nikki Foreman, Cari Bonilla and Brittney Sheena.

Summer viewing

This is going to be one of the longest summer vacations students and teachers have had in a very long while.  Don't worry - 2013's summer vacation will be much shorter.  So in addition to suggesting books to pass the time, I'll also give you some movies to watch.  Here's one to start things off: 

Quiz Show

Quiz Show is a film based on the game show scandal that took place during the 1950's.  It's a well-acted, well-directed film (don't worry it's in color).  It stars Ralph Fiennes, better known as Voldemort, as Professor Charles van Doren, who NBC sets up to win the game show due to his popularity.  The film pulls a PG-13 for language, but that's it. 

The relevance to debate is that this shows how mass media, namely T.V., realized its power and lost its innocence as it manipulated viewers and lost their trust.  Ever since then, people have always taken game shows and reality t.v. with a hint of skepticism - a hint of "This is staged - not reality."

Watch it and post your comments here.