CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL ISSUES
SOCIAL ISSUES PROJECT TOPICS
All of the following topics are found in the WHS Library “Facts on File” database under “Issues
& Controversies.” Choose 10 topics that you would be interested in researching in your project.
Then number them from 1-10 in the order of your preference in selecting the topic. We will then
conduct a draft to determine the order students select topics in.
1. Abortion (Feb. 22, 2011)
2. Abortion Pill: RU-486 (June 19, 2007)
3. Abstinence-Only Education (June 15,
2009)
4. Academic Tenure (May 23, 2008)
5. Advanced Placement Classes (Jan. 9,
2009)
6. Affirmative Action (June 1, 2007)
7. Age Discrimination (June 15, 2009)
8. Airport Full-Body Scanners (Feb. 22,
2010)
9. Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising (Mar.
26, 2007)
10. Alternative Energy Incentives (National
High School Debate Topic) (June 27,
2008)
11. Artificial Sweeteners (July 26, 2010)
12. Assault Weapons (Nov. 17, 2008)
13. Assisted Suicide (Nov. 30, 2007)
14. Baseball, Steroids and HGH (Mar. 5,
2009)
15. Birth Control Funding (Nov. 14, 2011)
16. Boot Camps for Juvenile Offenders
(June 8, 2007)
17. Bottled Water (Oct. 17, 2008)
18. Building Mosques in the United States
(Oct. 4, 2010)
19. Campaign-Finance Reform (July 27,
2010)
20. Campus Policing (Jan. 26, 2007)
21. Cash for Grades (May 8, 2009)
22. Charter Schools (Dec. 13, 2004)
23. Child Beauty Pageants (Jan. 11, 2010)
24. Childhood Obesity (Nov. 14, 2011)
25. Children and Antipsychotic Drugs (Jan.
10, 2011)
26. Church-State Separation (Sept. 18,
2006)
27. Cigarette Warning Labels (Oct. 17,
2011)
28. Cloning (Sept. 21, 2007)
29. College Grade Inflation (June 11, 2004)
30. Community Service Requirements in
Schools (Dec. 25, 1998)
31. Compulsory Voting (July 16, 2004)
32. Copyright and the Internet (Jan. 25,
2008)
33. Corporate Political Campaigning (Mar.
1, 2010)
34. Death Penalty (June 29, 2009)
35. Decriminalizing Marijuana (Apr. 25,
2011)
36. Disenfranchisement of Felons (July 25,
2008)
37. Drug Testing (Apr. 13, 2007)
38. Drunk Driving (Sept. 21, 2007)
39. Early Graduation from High School
(Mar. 21, 2011)
40. Early Release for Prisoners (July 19,
2010)
41. Education Online (October 17, 2008)
42. Education Year-Round (July 28, 2000)
43. Elderly Driver Restrictions (May 10,
2002)
44. Electoral College (Jan. 25, 2008)
45. Elimination of the Penny (Nov. 3, 2006)
46. Estate Tax (Mar. 15, 2010)
47. Ethanol Fuel (Aug. 11, 2008)
48. Euthanasia (May 17, 2010)
49. Evolution and Creationism (Aug. 13,
2007)
50. Exit Polling (Feb. 27, 2004)
51. Extending Tax Cuts (Oct. 18, 2010)
52. Farm Subsidies (Aug. 8, 2008)
53. Flag Desecration (Oct. 6, 2006)
54. Flat Tax (July 18, 2005)
55. Fuel Economy Standards (Oct. 22,
2009)
56. Funeral Protests (May 12, 2006)
57. Gays in the Military: Rethinking 'Don't
Ask, Don't Tell' (Sept. 5, 2008)
58. Gender Selection Of Babies (May 13,
2005)
59. Genetically Modified Food (July 22,
2005)
60. Government Bailouts (Mar. 30, 2009)
61. Gun Background Checks (May 11,
2007)
62. Gun Control Reform (Feb. 28, 2011)
63. Hate-Crime Laws (July 6, 2009)
64. Health Care Reform (Apr. 19, 2010)
65. High-Speed Trains (Jan. 18, 2011)
66. Home Schooling (Jan. 13, 2006)
67. Homework (Nov. 2, 2007)
68. Homosexual Parenting (Apr. 10, 2006)
69. Immigrant Profiling by Local Law
Enforcement (May 3, 2010)
70. Income Gap (Sept. 23, 2005)
71. Internet Advertising (Mar. 26, 2007)
72. Internet Gambling (Oct. 20, 2006)
73. Internet Music (Oct. 24, 2003 )
74. Internet Voting (Feb. 27, 2004)
75. Junk Food in Schools (Mar. 23, 2007)
76. Laptops in Schools (Jan. 11, 2008)
77. Lotteries (Apr. 25, 2008)
78. Medicaid and Medicare (Aug. 13, 2007)
79. Merit Pay for Teachers (Dec. 17, 2006)
80. Minimum Drinking Age (July 6, 2009)
81. Minimum Wage (July 15, 2009)
82. Movie Ratings (June 9, 2006)
83. Municipal Broadband Internet Access
(June 22, 2007)
84. National Sales Tax (Apr. 15, 2005)
85. Native American Sports Mascots (Apr.
12, 2002)
86. 'Official-English' Laws (Sept. 30, 2002)
87. Online Education (Oct. 17, 2008)
88. Organ Selling (July 27, 2001)
89. Paying College Athletes (June 21, 2010)
90. Presidential Primaries (Feb. 23, 2007)
91. Right of Public Protest (Oct. 15, 2004)
92. Right-to-Work Laws (Mar. 7, 2008)
93. Same-Sex Marriage (Mar. 26, 2009)
94. School Attendance Incentives (Jan. 12,
2007)
95. School Uniforms (Oct. 20, 2006)
96. School Vouchers (Nov. 21, 2003)
97. Sex Education (May 19, 2008)
98. Smoking Bans (Mar. 23, 2007)
99. Social Networking and Privacy (Sept.
13, 2010)
100. Social Security Reform (Feb. 18,
2005)
101. Spam (Sept. 19, 2008)
102. Speed Limits (Apr. 4, 1997)
103. Standardized High School Exit Exams
(Oct. 16, 2009)
104. Stem-Cell Research (Dec. 3, 2007)
105. Superstore Expansion (May 12, 2006)
106. Surveillance Cameras (Mar. 4, 2005)
107. Teaching '21st-Century Skills' (Aug.
7, 2009)
108. Teen Curfews (Sept. 1, 2000)
109. Teen Driving (Sept. 22, 2006)
110. Teens and Cosmetic Surgery (Nov.
26, 2004)
111. Ticket Resale (Apr. 24, 2009)
112. U.S. Postal Service (Jan. 16, 2004)
113. Universal Health Care (Sept. 23,
2005)
114. Unpaid Internships (Sept. 20, 2010)
115. USA Patriot Act (Dec. 10, 2007)
116. Video Games and Violence (July 6,
2007)
117. Voting, Compulsory (July 16, 2004)
118. Wartime Dissent (Oct. 7, 2005)