Debate Club Application Thread

[V]

With the debate forum having some rather juicy topics (And we have some younger members on TR as well), Rage and I have decided that it should be an approved-only group.

If you would like to continue debating, we ask you to fill out the form below so we know that you're fully suited and ready for the forum section. Similar to the Art/Word Gallery Approval Sections, your post will be marked with an "Approved" or "Rejected" tag. If approved, you will be added to the Debate Club group which will enable you viewing of the forum.
Note: If you can still view the debate club, this is because you've either been auto-approved or a General Moderator.

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

Country:

Education: (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?)

Topics of interest:

Essay/Paragraph:

Pick a current controversy. Examples include the Death Penalty, Drug Legalization, Nuclear Power and Censorship. Pick something that you care about, something that is relevant to you and your country. Describe the issue, state your position, and defend it. Give links to your sources. Showing that you have considered any major, well-known points that are against your position is desirable.

Source(s) used: (Put the direct links to any sources you used in your essay here, if you didn't use any, put 'none')

---

To begin, please copy and paste this form into your post.

Code:

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

[b]Country:[/b]

[b]Education:[/b] (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?)

[b]Topics of interest:[/b]

[b]Essay/Paragraph:[/b]

[b]Source(s) used:[/b] (Put the direct links to any sources you used in your essay here, if you didn't use any, put 'none')

Happy debating!
-V

(Big thanks to the AE Forum's Debate Club Application Thread.)

[5secondchaos]

Age/Introduction: I am 15.

Country: I live in the United Kingdom. In the North West.

Education: I am studying Art and Design, History, Drama, Music and Sociology in my last years of High School.

Topics of interest: War, Drugs, legel association, and reasons of considerable punishment.

Essay/Paragraph: War and its consiquences; I don't agree with war as it is a violent malicious item used by people such as terrorist's and county emflame's such as Hitler. Anyone that supports war has to take responsibility for its consequences. I for one could not ever accept responsibility for the deaths and injuries of those caught up in it, in the misguided belief that this will someday increase safety of people not included in war. Shame on those who do, for war is a shame and misuse of power. There was never any credible threat from the start. How many lives must be destroyed before those responsible learn? Will they ever learn?

Approved.

Thankyou

[Javiersito2]

Age/Introduction: Hello I am Javier, and I am a 14 year old High School Honors student, I think about the everyday world everyday, and I have my own opinions, for I may be young, but I know I am old enough to give my opinions about things.
Country: United States of America, was born in Spain, Europe.

Education: (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?) Graduated Middle School, I am a 9th grader in High School, participating in Honors Math and Honors Science, I am also studying for my third language which is going to be Japanese

Topics of interest: Rights, and Everyday News.

Essay/Paragraph: Global Warming.

Many citizens say that tree cutters have all the responsibility in Global Warming and say that if trees where not cut, then Global Warming would stop. Whereas that is not all of it, cars for example, millions of gallons of gas used to ride vehicles are burned every day. Everyday, the earth gets polluted and more animals die everyday, and the earth gets warmer, and ecosystems are being altered. Soon, most of the animal species that the normal population sees every day, will start dying and soon go extinct. A tremendous amount of food chains that where followed for hundreds of years, are now being ruined in a matter of weeks. Animals are found dead from pollution every day. There will be a time in this earth where it will be so hot, that there will be no more snow. What will happen to the Penguins??? what will happen to the Polar Bears?? what will happen to the Seals??? most of those animals will all die. We have to find a way to not use as much gas because every day, humans are destroying this land that was once paradise.

Approved.
Additional Comments: Very nice, you seem to have a good handle on basic debate. However; I have seen some of your responses to Debate Topics, and honestly, I'm not impressed. They seem short and not thought out to their fullest extent. If you can keep your replies to the standards of the one in this post, then welcome to the Debate Club!

[Axzerus]

Age/Introduction: I'm 12, I know I may be one of the younger members, but I have always liked to get myself in debates and have a habit of doing so.
Country: Illinois, United States

Education: 6th grade middle school, high honor roll, A and B student, and was in gifted program.

Topics of interest: War, Religion, Life, School, and People.

Essay/Paragraph: War. What is there to say? Nobody I would think likes it. It just happens. No matter what happens it will be there. People are born with emotions and feelings. But, some extremist that think strong of those feelings will take it to death. They are willing to kill to make a point and get their way. It is easy to say that war is bad, because it obviously is. But, what can we do? You can try to stop it by not doing it, but isn't there always a rotten apple in the orchard? Just one person with lies and deceiving can pollute a whole country. What can we do about it? From the school bully to the terrorist killing millions, war will always be here. Because sadly, war is violence, and everyone has anger within them. We are all born human and anger is just another emotion we are born with. Metaphorically speaking, everyone has an angel and demon in them, and sometimes it just seems like they just have a demon...

Approved.

Additional Comments: My only complaint is that your sentences are a little choppy and therefor a little nitpicky to read. Take your time when writing, and make an effort to make your paragraphs a little smoother. Other then that, welcome!

[Winnie]

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


I'm going to be 13 in 8 days, 7 hours, and 44 minutes.

I'm a nice person... and... I like... music.

Country:

U.S.A.
Education: (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?)

Middle School. I was in the Gifted program until 6th grade when my parents withdrew me becuase my teacher quit becuase it was too intense for her... and I wasn't doing well. Now I'm in all honors and got stright A's last quarter.

Topics of interest:

Gay Rights, War, Religion, labels, things most 12-13 year olds don't care about...

Essay/Paragraph:

Gay Rights is somthing I really care about. I have a few friends who are bi, and most people just seem to think their a different race. I think that their perfectly normal. "Eww, I think that their creepy.."I mean, it's like the African American people! We treated them badly. They were just born that way. I've always been against descrimination. I mean, I like certian types of people better, but just becuase they don't fit my description doesn't mean they can't be my best friend. We're all human!

People use the word Gay Freely, to describe things, to label people. They have just as much a rigth to life as we do. In reality, maybe they are different. But the bottom line is that everyone should be treated equally. Everyone.

Approved.

[A_S]

Age/Introduction: Hey, i'm 13 years young and i'd like to apply for the debating club.

Country: England

Education: Highschool, Good Grades. (OverAverage for a 13 year old in my age group)

Topics of interest:War, Religion, Drugs, Gays

Essay/Paragraph: War War is terrible... innocent lives are lost, but for what?

Against

Innocent lives are put at risk for the sake of war. War is a time of fear, death and anger. I'm no hippie, but war is not the right way around an argument. It drags too many people into it, and not many of them return, and if they do... most likely scarred.
Look at the saying, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", If i punched someone, and they punched me back, that'd be, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but what good will come? When will it stop? When Can it stop?
I quote from Ghandi "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". Now that is a good example of what to do, and i found this quote on Call Of Duty MW2 which is odd.

For

The reasons i am for, War is, like English and American soldiers, going to fight for their country, and save innocent people who are having their rights neglected by their leaders. Sometimes War isn't always the best solution, but sometimes, we need to take risks, and get better rewards, like freedom for innocent people.
The Taliban are one of the reasons soldiers are out there fighting, they don't treat women fairly. They also deny people their rights of freedom such as, Flying a kite, Listening to music, Womens Nail paint (which ends up in their fingers being cut off), and watching movies.
If you were forced to live like this, wouldn't you bein support of War to save you?

Conclusion

My final conclusion has to be... Against War, there's always another solution instead of violence.

Thank you for Reading.

Approved
Additional Notes: My only complaint here is that your grammar seems to be a little rocky in places.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", [s]If i[/s] if I punched someone

As quoted above, "if" shouldn't of been capitalized and "I" should. Your line breaks are also a little akward. Besides that, you seem to have a good handle on basic debate. Welcome to the Debate Club!

[Deathclaws]

Age/Introduction: I am a mere average 16 year old low life. I am to write an introduction? I am not a complex enough personna to actually fit such a thing, so I'll leave you with nothing but my age, and 3 worthless lines <----

Country: Austria, middle europe

Education: High school (I think thats the equivalent? Its right before you go to university?)

Topics of interest: Religion, Philosophy, Life and Death. Humanities stupidity

Essay/Paragraph: Euthanasia or "medically assisted suicide"

When a loved one is supported merely by machine. When every breath would be a death rattle without the aid of technology, it seems to me that life loses most of its taste. Only in the gravest of circumstances, Euthanasia is employed to end a life's misery. Now this can of course, if at all, only be done when permitted by closest and qualified doctor. But to quote ItsJoeEl (who really is just some student, but he summed it up best) from studentsforum . co . uk

now in this day and age family, friends and doctors can't be trusted... Doctors can be bribed... family might want to get their hands on life insurance/trust funds and friends may just want them dead because they are annoying.
We have a very screwed up society. Lol

This is a valid argument, especially since this is a most ethical topic. But considering that this is a very rare event, I'd say that Euthanasia should be legalized, stronly regulated because we are playing with human lifes, but still legalized.

You were pre-approved, so, Approved x2.

[1234567889_AE]

Age/Introduction: im 14 and a half

Country: U.S.A.

Education: high school

Topics of interest:Protesting,Gay rights

Essay/Paragraph:
Gay rights/

Well I dont really know how to start this but I do know that most countries have things around these topics. As some might know ocasinally the goverment doesnt "care" about these... So as some might even say, why do they care so much about gay rights? Nobody knows as to "why" they are hiding this from us. I myself think that they have better things to do apperaently and not notice what they are doing to people.

Protesting/

Now some people have seen the video of the man that jumps on the tank and was nver seen again... This is a strong example of protesting. Once again the government thinks otherwise to what most of the rest of the country thinks, I mean seriously why dont they EVER take the publics advice.

Conclusion: I think that the government doesnt listen to the pulics advice even thought its helping themselves. And gay rights? Nobody will ever know the real reason...

Approved.

[Hunter Reckoning]

Age/Introduction: 13 years old

Country: United states

Education: Middle school

Topics of interest: kidnapping

Essay/Paragraph: A lot of people think that people who have kidnapped someone a while ago, 80 years perse, shouldn't be prosecuted. I think that if you break the law and don't serve time, then it doesn't matter how long ago it happened, it just matters that its happened and you haven't been punished.

Approved.
Addition Comments: Even though you're approved, you have some areas of debate to improve on. When posting in the Debate Club section, I'd like to see longer paragraphs, a generally a smoother read, and no Run-On sentences. Also, the word "Perse" isn't defined. Did you mean parse?

[Atriax]

Age/Introduction: 14, and I'm serious when i want to be :P

Country: Switzerland

Education: I'm in Sekundar :P Like an english grammar school?

Topics of interest: Argumentz

Essay/Paragraph: Also on Euthanasia "Assisted suicide".

In my country, it's allowed. If people want to die, they can. They have to be over a certain age and be clinically sane though. I would never choose to do it, but I won't judge people who do. If they have some horrible painful disease, and can't bear it, I wouldn't consider them pathetic or cowardly. My opinion is that it should be allowed, but with limits.

Approved.

[Judge ZYellowFlash]

Age/Introduction:18+

Country:USA

Education:Private Tutor

Topics of interest:Logic, Death

Essay/Paragraph:
Death is a unavoidable part of life everything ends with it, and everything you do can lead to it. If you would go against it when you simply know you'll die it's medicore, for I pity a fools life. Death is gloomy, nor friendly as for what should we do in life is not fear, but hope into the future.

Approved.
Additional Notes: I'm applying my criticism of Hunter's paragraph to yours as well.

[Cial]

Age/Introduction: I'm 13, Middle school, average B - B+ student, amateur musician/writer/artist.

Country: United States

Education: Middle School, Elem. School

Topics of interest: War, Gay Rights, Politics, Religion

Essay/Paragraph:
Many people swear the world will end in 2012 due to the Mayan calendar. I certainly do not think so. The Mayans were very advanced for their time, yes but they were also careless in the design of their calendar.

The Mayan calendar is a circular shape, and worked inward. This must have ended someway or another. There is also no solid evidence that it was supposed to end there.

Recently, a movie depicting the "end of the world" was released, called 2012. I have seen this move and many things are wrong with the science of it. There is no special atom that can measure solar occurrences to come. And when the world ends I don't believe it will be washed over with water and cracked. I believe we will simply run out of resources and die off, one by one.

Approved.

[Mash]

Age/Introduction: 18+
Country: United States
Education: High School
Topics of Interest: All
Essay/Paragraph:

Abortion

I understand that abortion is to kill. There was a time when I was completely Pro-Choice-- Times have changed though. I find myself on the borderline of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice; abortion is absolutely necessary in some cases, but absolutely cruel in others. (It takes a very compassionate human to understand the importance of a life, and I think this trait has been dulled due to everyday violence seen on television, games, etc. This, however, is another discussion.) Abortion should be used in cases of rape, or if the mother has some kind of condition that puts her in harm's way by giving birth. I'd like these to be the only conditions that abortion could be used under, but I know that would be impossible; doctors, based on their morals, would break a law like this easily. Still, I stand here, with my beliefs, hoping for the best.

Approved.

[SecretSchenkel]

Age/Introduction: I'm 14 years old, I've always debated about something with the world and what not.

Country:
USA.
Education: (Middle School? Highschool? Collage? Retired?)
Highschool.
Topics of interest:
War,Religion,Logic, and more that aren't listed.
Essay/Paragraph:
War isn't the answer for everything. Once you win one war, another big one is coming. I find War pointless and just a waste of time and money. War must come to an end, if it doesn't come to an end soon, it will destroy us all (In a way it will).

Thanks for reading,
SecretSchenkel

Approved.
Additional Comments: I would like to see longer paragraphs when you post in the Debate Forum. Short posts such as the one you posted usually don't contribute to the conversation.

Alright, I'll do that then my good fellow. =)

[Zeo]

Age/Introduction: 14

Country: England

Education: High School

Topics of interest: Bullying, War, Global Warming.

Essay/Paragraph:

Bullying. This has had so much intrest in the past years that its even got its own week to appeal about stopping it. Everytime this week happen's, there are shows and famous figures saying the usual: "How would you like it?" and etc. They say the reasons why people bully, but when they do that, i get slightly angry. For one thing, Bullie's arn't allways being bullied themselves, and some don't do it for laughs either. Some do it to try and be "cool" with their friends and classmates. It annoys me how there seem to be groups, for example, there are girls always talking about footballers and etc, and if the people who actualy try to learn things in classes walk by, they point and scream as if some spider just passed. "BOFFIN!!!!". This, leads to no one listening in classes, all because they think learning is bad for their social life.

Global warming. Right, its considered fact. I don't think it should be. Back when the dinosaurs roamed, there were different stages in millions of years where types of dinos couldnt survive and new dino's came to be. Scientists, professionals have proved as fact that the earth has cold and hot stages, back and forth. They have also proved that every couple million years, the earth has a BIG cold or hot surge. A couple million years ago was the ice age. See? Makes sence. Most scientists who beleve then say its hotter than ever before. They can't prove that, its not like the dino's kept records. Even if it is the biggest surge of heat, it would make sence, with the fact that the earth is extremely slowly loseing speed in its rotation.

Finally, war. Quoted from people accross the globe after the end of world war 2: "We shall never forget". Oh, but we did. Don't beleve me? Iraq is just for starters. then theres 9/11, and the list goe's on. Thing is, we will never have a non-war world, because as long as there is human guilt, there will be at least 1 person so jealous of another that he/she shall attempt murder.

Overall, Most people see the world as something we can change to the smallest detail. I, feel as if I am one of few who realises, some things we may be able to change slightly, some things we can begin, some things we can stop. But their will allways be terrible things that happen, that no matter how we could "stop" it, there will allways be some form of it, somewhere.

On that note, i'll end with a quote from Donald Rumsfeld in 2003:

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are allways interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know."

Approved.

[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.

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