Argument Topics for Kathryne TafollaYoung’s
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
“legacies”—that 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 Carolina’s state flag—should 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 system—fair, 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 it’s 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 SUV’s 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?