Argument Topics for Kathryne TafollaYoungs WR121

class
EDUCATION
Should principals be allowed to censor school
newspapers?
Should drug dogs be allowed on high school
campuses?
Should girls be allowed to play on boys sports teams
if no girls team exists for that sport?
Should the words, under God remain in the Pledge
of Allegiance? In what contexts?
Should students be tracked by academic ability?
Should there be mandatory drug tests for high school
athletes?
Currently, many colleges give preference to
legaciesthat is, people whose parents attended the
school. To what extent is this good policy?
Should SAT scores be a factor in college
admissions?
Are early action application practices to
college
a good policy?
At what level should school curriculums be set?
Federal? State? District? School? Teacher?
FREE SPEECH
Should the KKK be allowed to march in a city-wide
parade?
Should the Internet be regulated by the government?
If so, to what extent?
South Carolinas state flagshould it be illegal?
Should it be legal to burn an American flag?
Should students (while at school) have more
restrictions on their freedom of speech than other people?
Where should the limits of individual free speech
begin? To what extent are current laws fair and effective?
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Should valid evidence be excluded from a court case
because police made a minor procedural mistake?
Should criminals get added punishment for a crime if
they committed it as part of a gang?
Should prostitution be legal?
Should the prison system be privatized?
Three-strikes law: is it a good policy?
Should minors convicted in adult court of committing
capital crimes be eligible for the death penalty?
Has the application of the death penalty been racist?
Is the death penalty an effective deterrent?
Jury systemfair, or is there a more ideal alternative?
Should juvenile offenders be tried, sentenced, and
jailed as adults?
Should prisoners be allowed to accumulate good
time credit?
Should the FBI be able to use racial profiling in
terrorist cases?
WAR AND HISTORY
Was the US justified in military action against Iraq?

Was the draft in the Vietnam War fair?

Should the U.S. government be able to
declare American citizens enemy
combatants?
Did the US know ahead of time that the
Japanese
were going to attack Pearl Harbor?
Should conscientious objectors to war be allowed to
avoid the draft?
Did the war on Iraq unjustly compromise civil rights?
Of Americans? Of Iraqis? (Pick one)
Analyze the efficacy of the Patriot Act in combating
terrorism thus far
Who blew up the USS Maine?
Was it ultimately in the best interest of the Soviet
Union for Stalin to sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
Historically, has the U.S. government been
forthcoming with its citizens about what its doing around
the world? What do people have a right to know?
LOCAL
Should Oregon impose a sales tax schools?
Is OSU currently making financial decisions that are
in the best interest of the school as a whole?
Does OSU unjustly favor science and engineering
departments?
Should OSU have required classes?
ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT
Is there too much corporate consolidation in the
United States (for example, AOL Time Warner)?
Should the States government force its citizens to
attend school until age 16?
Should states pay for social services to illegal
immigrants?
Should the government have the right to establish a
minimum wage?
Should state Supreme Courts have to follow federal
Supreme Court decisions?
Should the US government hold American companies
with factories in other countries to US legal standards (in
terms of wages, child labor, etc.)?
Should the U.S. Supreme Court have gotten involved
in the 2000 presidential election?
Should extra taxes be imposed on cigarettes?
Should SUVs be illegal?

DISCRIMINATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS

Should women be allowed to be drafted by the U.S.
military in wartime?
Should English be made the official national
language of the U.S?
Which is the most difficult prejudice to surmount in
America: gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation?
To what extent, if at all, is television responsible for
our concepts of female beauty standards?
Is race-based affirmative action done serving
its purpose?
Should college admissions practice
affirmative action based on economic class?

 Should schools be required to offer the same

sports opportunities for women as for men?
Should a landlord be able to deny someone
housing based on sexual orientation (as is
allowed in the city of Albany)?
Is pornography harmful to women?
Should homosexual couples be allowed to adopt
children?