2012-2013 Topics!
Received this from NFA on the IE-L… Send in your ballot or you forfeit your ability to complain next year!
Feel free to make your case in the comment section for how people should vote. The deadline is APRIL 30.

NATIONAL FORENSIC ASSOCIATION
LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE RESOLUTION BALLOT
2012-2013
The 5 LD Resolutions listed below are being submitted for your voting choice. In order for the ballot to be complete, you must rank order all five of the resolutions. The rankings will be converted to a point scale as follows: 1st = 5 pts., 2nd = 4 pts, 3rd = 3 pts., 4th = 2 pts., and 5th = 1 point. Ballot must be returned by April 30th.
ONLY ONE BALLOT PER SCHOOL MAY BE SUBMITTED. PLEASE INDICATE YOUR SCHOOL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BALLOT.
BALLOTS CAN BE RETURNED AT THE NFA TOURNAMENT OR E-MAILED TO LGENE9535@AOL.COM BY THAT DATE. THE FINAL RESOLUTION WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON JULY 1ST.
________ A. The USFG should substantially increase regulation, including the possibility of prohibition, of one or more types or classes of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides,
and/or fungicides used for food production in the United States.
________ B. The USFG should substantially reduce subsidies to one or more of the following
Crops: Corn, Soy, and/or Wheat.
________ C. The USFG should substantially increase assistance for the domestic production of
vegetables, fruits, nuts, and/or dairy products.
________ D. The USFG should substantially increase regulation of intensive livestock
operations in the United States.
________ E. The USFG should substantially increase assistance for organic and/or sustainable
agriculture in the United States.
Remember, all 5 must be rank ordered. Return ballot by April 30 as indicated above.
SCHOOL: _________________________________________________________
Tariffs on Solar Panels
Big update on US-China Trade Relations in regards to solar panels today.
The United States Commerce Department said Tuesday it would impose tariffs on solar panels imported from China after concluding that the Chinese government provided illegal export subsidies to manufacturers there.
While this is still breaking nuclear war has yet to break out… =)
Draft resolutions
Posted on behalf of David Trumble..
Dear LD Community,
We are offering the following five draft resolutions (in no particular order) for your consideration.
Please send us any comments or suggestions that you might have on the wording, grammar, directionality, scope, or any other relevant aspects. You can write to me or any member of the committee. All comments will be shared with everyone on the committee.
We ask that your comments be sent to us by March 20th.
A couple of notes:
1. We have already received five comments from members of the community this year. These comments were all very helpful and did help guide us in crafting these resolutions. We hope to receive a number of comments again at this stage of the process.
2. We are planning to include two periods for public comment as regular parts of the topic committee work in the future. We will include: (a) a period for public comment as soon as the topic area is announced, and then (b) a period for public comment on a slate of draft resolutions. If you would like to comment on that process, please feel free to do so while it is fresh in all of our minds.
3. As for agriculture topics not on this list. We have considered a number of other topic areas and chose not to make them stand-alone topics. For example, NFA debated GMOs ten years ago and NFA also debated biofuels (under the renewable energy topic) just a few years ago. These topics are certainly important agriculture issues and may be debated within one or more of these five topic areas, but we chose not to make them sole or stand-alone topic areas. Also, NDT had a topic a couple of years ago calling for the elimination or near-elimination of subsidies to one or more of a very long list of agricultural sectors. We chose not to duplicate that topic. We hope that this process will produce a topic for NFA 2012-13 that is interesting, fair to both affirmative and negative, and offers new and unique ground for debate.
———————————
The USFG should substantially increase regulation, including the potential
prohibition, of one or more fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and/or
fungicides used for food production in the United States.
The USFG should substantially reduce subsidies to one or more of the following
crops: Corn, Soy, and/or Wheat.
The USFG should substantially increase support for the domestic production
and/or consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and/or dairy products.
The USFG should substantially increase regulation of animal factory farms in the
United States.
The USFG should substantially increase support for organic and/or sustainable
agriculture in the United States.
————————————
Also, one last thing. There are definitions of the phrase “factory farm.” You will find two of them here. This list is not meant to be definitive nor exhaustive, but just to clarify that it is not a colloquial phrase outside of the literature base:
1. Encarta® World English Dictionary
http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+factory+farm&qpvt=+factory+farms+definition&FORM=DTPDIA
factory farm
farm using intensive methods: a farm where animals are raised on a large scale
using intensive methods and modern equipment
2. Collins Dictionary http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/factory+farming
factory farm
a farm in which animals are bred and fattened using modern industrial methods
———————————————-
If you prefer an alternative word or phrase for this particular phrase, or any other word or phrase, please include a definition or two (along with their URL).
Thank you.
David Trumble
Susan Taylor – susanclairetaylor@gmail.com
Marlin Bates – mbates@pacific.edu
Nichelle McNabb – nmcnabb2000@yahoo.com
Ray Quiel – rquiel@emich.edu
David Trumble – dtrumble@anselm.edu
Larry Schnoor – lgene9535@aol.com
2012-2013 Topic Area Released
From the IE listserv:
A total of 22 ballots were returned. The tabulation of the vote was
weighted, with a first place ranking being 5 points, 2nd place ranking
4 points, 3rd place ranking 3 points, 4th place ranking 2 points, and
the 5th place ranking 1 point. On the basis of the rankings, the
topics ranked in order as follows:1st place topic area: Agriculture Policy = total 79 points.
2nd place topic area: Water Regulation Policy = 70 points.
3rd place topic area: Cyberplace Policy = 66 points.
4th place topic area: Nuclear Policy = 63 points.
5th place topic area: Middle East Policy = 53 points.
THE TOPIC AREA FOR 2012-2013 WILL BE AGRICULTURE POLICY.
Ballots were received from the following schools:
Central Michigan University
Chabot College
Crowder College
Emerson College
Hillsdale College
Ithaca College
Lafayette College
Marshall University
Ohio State University
Otterbein University
Purdue University
St. Anselm College
Saddleback College
South Dakota StateUniversity
Suffolk University
Texas State University, San Marcos
Truman State University
United States Air Force Academy
University of Central Missouriu
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
University of the Pacific
Western Kentucky UniversityLarry Schnoor, President, NFA
For better or worse, this will be the second year in a row where the topic area is essentially a repeat of a recent NDT/CEDA policy debate topic. The policy community debated China in 2005-2006; they debated agricultural subsidies in 2008-2009.
While the topic area has been decided, you still have the opportunity to influence the specific resolution. Email David Trumble (dtrumble@anselm.edu) with suggestions or other comments.
As for myself—I seem to have, erm, offended a number of individuals during last year’s topic selection process, to put it generously. I will likely comment with some degree of anonymity from here on out.
- Nick
PSCFA Spring Champs
Good luck to all 79 NFA-LD Debaters this weekend at the PSCFA Spring Champs tournament! NFA-LD has been growing by leaps and bounds and it’s really exciting to see so many students participating in the event.
For comparison here are the numbers for the past few years at Spring Champs:
2012 Total: 79 (S:50 J:14 N:15)
2011 Total: 57 (S: 36 J: 14 N: 7)
2010 Total: 52 (S:28 J:15 N:9)
2009 Total: 60 (S:31 J:17 N:12)
2008 Total: 20 (S:20 J:0 N:0)
2007 Total: 1 (S:1 J:0 N:0)
SoCal LD Champs – Full Results
Congratulations to all 39 debaters for making this year’s SoCal LD Champs one of the largest. El Camino took home the top four awards by closing out the semi-final rounds. Here are the award winners:
Octofinals California Baptist University Matt Phillips
Octofinals El Camino College Aubrey Manahan
Octofinals Irvine Valley College Christopher Danks
Octofinals Irvine Valley College Zahra Alamire
Octofinals Moorpark College Trevor Hursey
Octofinals Mt. San Antonio College David Kim
Octofinals Palomar College Jordan Menard
Octofinals Palomar College Saxon Metzger
Quarterfinals California Baptist University Alex Lamascus
Quarterfinals El Paso Community College Jamie Salazar
Quarterfinals Irvine Valley College Jake Glendenning
Quarterfinals Palomar College Carolina Palmer
Semi El Camino College Shannon Meredith
Semi El Camino College Richard Ewell
1st El Camino College Morgan McNally
2nd El Camino College Jonny Deatherage
Full Result Sheets available at forensicstournament.net Best of luck at Spring Champs, State & your National Competitions to all the competitors!
SoCal LD Quarterfinals
Congratulations to the following 8 debaters for making it to the quarterfinals!
Cal Baptist – Alex Lamascus
El Camino – Morgan McNally
El Camino – Richard Ewell
El Camino – Jonny Deatherage
El Camino – Shannon Meredith
El Paso – Jamie Salazar
Irvine Valley – Jake Glendenning
Palomar – Carolina Palmer
Postings can be viewed at forensicstournament.net
SoCal LD Breaks
Congratulations to the following 16 debaters for clearing to Elimination Rounds!
California Baptist University Alex Lamascus
California Baptist University Matt Phillips
El Camino College Shannon Meredith
El Camino College Richard Ewell
El Camino College Aubrey Manahan
El Camino College Morgan McNally
El Camino College Jonny Deatherage
El Paso Community College Jamie Salazar
Irvine Valley College Jake Glendenning
Irvine Valley College Christopher Danks
Irvine Valley College Zahra Alamire
Moorpark College Trevor Hursey
Mt. San Antonio College David Kim
Palomar College Jordan Menard
Palomar College Carolina Palmer
Palomar College Saxon Metzger
A copy of the postings is available at forensicstournament.net
SoCal LD Champs
Round 2 is currently underway for the SoCal LD Champs! Here are the debaters participating:
California Baptist University – Alex Lamascus
California Baptist University – Matt Phillips
California Baptist University – Victor Rose
California Baptist University – Richard Wickham
El Camino College – Richard Ewell
El Camino College – Nick Walden
El Camino College – Jonny Deatherage
El Camino College – Aubrey Manahan
El Camino College – Harrison Shieh
El Camino College – Shannon Meredith
El Camino College – Sabeen Jafri
El Camino College – Morgan McNally
El Paso Community College – Jamie Salazar
El Paso Community College – Andrew Duran
Glendale Community College, CA – Joshua Everman
Irvine Valley College – Zahra Alamire
Irvine Valley College – Ray Craig
Irvine Valley College – Jake Glendenning
Irvine Valley College – Alex Martinez
Irvine Valley College – Christopher Danks
Irvine Valley College – Robert Seaney
Moorpark College – Trevor Hursey
Moorpark College – Harrison Scheer
Moorpark College – Keith Corley
Moorpark College – Hannah Holzmann
Mt. San Antonio College – David Kim
Orange Coast College – Joe Venegas
Orange Coast College – Haley Strickland
Orange Coast College – Rene Ucros
Orange Coast College – Samantha Abraham
Palomar College – Jordan Menard
Palomar College – Carolina Palmer
Palomar College – Brandan Fletcher
Palomar College – Saxon Metzger
Pasadena City College – Shelbie Bradley
Pasadena City College – Alex Campise
Pasadena City College – Victor Cornejo
Pasadena City College – Alexander Ortega
Saddleback College – Danny McAnderws
We have 39 entries for NFA-LD representing 11 different schools. Good luck to everyone. Postings are available online at forensicstournament.net
Upcoming Tournaments
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up of the 7 local NFA-LD tournaments for the upcoming two months! There are NFA-LD tournaments for six weekends in a row in the Southern California area!
Jan 21-22 — The Free at Concordia – Concordia Univ, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
Jan 29 — Back to the Beach Pt 2 – Mt. SAC (Walnut, CA)
Feb 4-5 — Sunset Cliffs Classic – Pt. Loma (San Diego, CA)
Feb 10-11 — Golden Cowboy Day 1 – Glendale Comm. College (Glendale, CA)
Feb 11-12 — Arizona Swing – Glendale/Mt. SAC (Glendale, AZ)
Feb 19 — Southern California LD Championships – Cerritos College (Cerritos, CA)
Feb 24 — PSCFA Spring Champs – Moorpark College – (Moorpark, CA)
If there are any omissions please leave information in the comments section.
PSCFA Fall Champs Results
I wanted to post the results from the 2011 PSCFA Fall Champs. Result Sheets are available at forensicstournament.net. 25 Senior NFA-LD Debaters and 21 Junior NFA-LD Debaters participated in 4 rounds of prelims. Here are the award winners – Congrats!
Senior NFA-LD
Bronze
Biola Univeristy Hilary Boerger
Palomar College Brandan Fletcher
Point Loma Nazarene University McKayla Carpenter
Point Loma Nazarene University Sydney Awakuni
Silver
Silver Irvine Valley College Ray Craig
Silver Palomar College Saxon Metzger
Gold
Biola Univeristy Sean Hansen
Point Loma Nazarene University Frank Daniel
Junior NFA-LD
Bronze
El Camino College Ashley Lanning
Mt. San Antonio College David Kim
Pasadena City College Alexander Ortega
Pasadena City College Shelbie Bradley
Silver
California Baptist University Matt Phillips
El Camino College Harrison Shieh
Gold
El Camino College Jonny Deatherage
El Camino College Thomas Tsai
Evidence Photographs
Recently, I’ve run into more competitors who refuse to allow their evidence to be photographed during / after round.
I, for one, do not fully understand the arguments against this. Photographing evidence allows debaters to:
- Ensure everyone is citing evidence accurately (i.e. text is verbatim)
- Quickly collect citations (very little time in-between rounds)
- Promote better information-sharing (better debates)


