Okoboji-Spirit Lake Debate

10/01/2024

Public Forum Debate – 2024 November/December Topic
Resolved: The United States should substantially reduce its military support of Taiwan.

President Biden changed the US policy of strategic ambiguity toward China and Taiwan. Was that the correct move? How do we move forward?

10/01/2024

Economic topics are always hard, but this one is going to be really difficult. What do you think?

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – 2024 November/December Topic
Resolved: The United States ought to adopt a wealth tax.

08/07/2024

Sept-Oct Public Forum Topic - This one is interesting. It will take some work to find some good ideas on both sides.

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially expand its surveillance infrastructure along its southern border.

08/07/2024

September-October topic is out for LD Debate! What do you think?

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – 2024 September/October Topic
Resolved: The United States ought to require that workers receive a living wage.

01/24/2024

March topics are going to be something!

Which one do you like?
OPTION 1 – Resolved: In the United States, collegiate student-athletes should be classified as employees of their educational institution.

OPTION 2 – Resolved: The United States federal government should restore the banking regulations of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.

07/27/2023

Potential topics for PF 2023. All the camps are using the Arctic topics, so I think that will be the first one of the year.

Public Forum Debate
2023-2024 Potential Topics

The Public Forum Wording Committee has developed a variety of potential resolutions for the 2023-2024 season. Member students and one chapter advisor per active school may vote for each topic one week prior to the topic release date. Topic voting for the September/October topic opens August 1. I highlighted my choices for topics. Add your choices!

2023 September/October - I love both of these topics. Wow! A lot of fun to debate.

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its military presence in the Arctic.

Resolved: The benefits of European Union enlargement outweigh the harms.

2023 November/December

Resolved: The United States federal government should forgive all federal student loan debt.

Resolved: On balance, the benefits of school choice programs in the United States outweigh the harms.

2024 January

Resolved: The United States federal government should repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Resolved: On balance, the benefits of the Chevron deference doctrine outweigh the harms.
2024 February

Resolved: The Federative Republic of Brazil should prioritize its environmental protection over its economic development.
Resolved: The United States federal government should ban single-use plastics.
2024 March

Resolved: In the United States, collegiate student-athletes should be classified as employees of their educational institution.
Resolved: The United States federal government should restore the banking regulations of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.
2024 April

Resolved: The Republic of Korea should develop nuclear weapons.
Resolved: The United Nations should abolish permanent membership on its Security Council.
2024 National Tournament

Resolved: The United States should establish a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with the European Union.
Resolved: On balance, the benefits of the EU-Mercosur free trade deal outweigh the harms.

07/27/2023

Potential topics for LD

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
2023-2024 Potential Topics
The Lincoln-Douglas Wording Committee has developed a variety of potential resolutions for the 2023-2024 season. Member students and one chapter advisor per active school may vote for each topic one week prior to the topic release date. Topic voting for the September/October topic opens August 1. I highlighted my choices for topics. Add your choices!

2023 September/October - I really like all three of these topics. Too bad Puyallup isn’t debating any of them.

Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee the right to housing.
Resolved: The United States ought to substantially increase the use of nuclear power to generate electricity.
Resolved: The United States ought to establish a public option for banking.

2023 November/December

Resolved: States ought to prohibit resource extraction within the Arctic Circle.

Resolution analysis: states have a moral obligation to continue. The policies of the state should thus be done in a way to make sure the people of the state continue. To continue, the state needs to be politically, economically, and

Value -

Resolved: The United States ought to prohibit the extraction of fossil fuels from federal public lands and waters.

Resolved: The United States federal government ought to implement a Social Wealth Fund.

2024 January/February - these are all such policy topics. They will be interesting to debate.

Resolved: The United States federal government ought to substantially strengthen its obligation of trust responsibility toward Indigenous Nations.

Resolved: The United States ought to recognize Iraqi Kurdistan.

Resolved: The United States ought to substantially reduce its military presence in the West Asia-North Africa region.

2024 March/April - state and qualification for nationals.

Resolved: The primary objective of the United States criminal justice system ought to be rehabilitation.

Resolved: An inquisitorial justice system is preferable to an adversarial justice system.

Resolved: In the United States, the use of eminent domain to promote private enterprise is unjust.
2024 National Tournament - I don’t like these topics at all!!!!

Resolved: In a democracy, a people ought to have the right to secede from their government.

Resolved: Democracies ought to have electoral gender quotas.

Resolved: In a democracy, non-citizen residents ought to have the right to vote in national elections.

07/01/2019

LD Topics for 2019-2020: Anyone who wants to get started can start going thru this list. Some really good topics here. A reminder, if the old debate files still exist in the file cabinets in the library, there are a lot of back files on these issues.

The official 2019 LD topic list:
Resolved: Predictive policing is unjust.
Resolved: The United States ought to grant legal personhood to natural ecosystems.
Resolved: Japan ought to amend Article 9 of its constitution to allow for offensive military capabilities.
Resolved: The United States ought to legalize adult s*x work.
Resolved: The intergenerational accumulation of wealth is antithetical to democracy.
Resolved: In the United States, colleges and universities ought not consider standardized tests in undergraduate admissions decisions.
Resolved: States ought to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.
Resolved: The United States ought to act as the employer of last resort.
Resolved: A just nation ought not use offensive cyber operations to target civilian infrastructure.
Resolved: The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.

07/01/2019

PF News: The camp topic this year is going to be "The European Union should join China's Belt and Road Initiative."

Background https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2019-05-22/demystifying-belt-and-road

CFR does a nice summary of BRI
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative

Future tech at risk with BRI
https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-019-01126-5/index.html

https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/opinion/embracing-the-european-way-is-crucial-for-the-future-of-chinas-belt-and-road/

The EU insists on and provides a level-playing field for businesses, good regulation, and an adherence to international norms and standards, with the OECD and the World Bank playing crucial roles. European companies have extraordinary expertise, which can be maximised beyond our borders when they have equal access to tenders. This is not yet the case. The EU has rigorous safety standards, labour laws and environmental commitments that are, for us, not optional. We also have developed flexible financing methods: mixing grants, loans from European and International Financial Institutions such as the European Investment Bank, and private sources of funding. Both borrowers and creditors, official and private, must implement sustainable financing practices.

01/31/2019

As a ILCC proud alum, this is such great news. ILCC and other community colleges should take advantage of this good news. Matt Sewell, Michael Sewell, Eric and Gary T. Ohrt, Emily Gottsche! What do you think? How many others of you can tell me I was wrong?!!!

New research shows that many of America's most promising students are least likely to get into the best schools.

12/12/2018

Congratulations to Uzo Ngwu from Apple Valley HS in Minnesota for winning this year's NSDE Day Poster Design Contest! We love this design featuring drawings of contestants from the final rounds!

Check out all of our NSDE Day Posters here: https://www.speechanddebate.org/national-speech-debate-education-day/

03/30/2015

Congratulations to OSL Debate on another great year. This weekend Bin Huang won Midwest Novice Nationals in Student Congress. Carson Miller finished as the runner-up and top speaker in Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Rebecca Owens has been selected as an Academic All-American and to the West Iowa World Schools debate team. Pretty rock star year for Rebecca who also was in the semi's at state.

The NFL started a new tradition this year in naming the top debaters in each state. Earning "NFL All-State Honors" this year are Emma Myhre, Brandie Bushee, Hannah Grosvenor, Rebecca Owens, Brittany Kolbeck, Kaycee Arrowood, and Andrew Dunn.

Also, in case you missed it, Brandie Bushee and Andrew Dunn both qualify for nationals. Brandie won her house of congress and Andrew placed second in the Senate!