Today’s Goals

• Finish up the final round of the class debates

New Debate Rules/Structure

• All individual speakers will have 90 seconds to speak

• Evidence rules strictly enforced: if it is not printed and brought to the debate, you may not use it.

• After all group members on both sides have presented their arguments, a brief recess will occur

• A hypothetical problem related to the debate topic will then be presented

• Debate groups will be given 2 minutes of planning time

• Then a final 2 minute speaking session will occur. In this time, each group should present a solution to the problem (that aligns with their view on the issue), support it with the evidence at hand, and making closing remarks about their topic

Revised Debate Grading System

• Arguments 40%• At least 1 salient point per group member

• Utilize all rhetorical appeals

• Arguments are rhetorically sound

• Propose a solution(s)

• Counterarguments 30%• Did the group take advantage of any rhetorical weak points?

• Does every group member (aside from the initial speaker) address some kindn of counterargument?

• Time Management 10%• Are all speaking points adequately explained?

• Individual Participation 10%

• Groupwork 10%• How well coordinated is the group?

• Do speaking points overlap?

Final Problem – Driving Reform

• Let us consider the hypothetical situation of Marie and Jay from South Dakota

• Marie is 14, the minimum age for a permit in South Dakota, and just got her learner’s license. Jay, her grandfather, is 82 and has his regular license. His vision isn’t quite what it used to be, so he rarely drives further than the grocery store, but there is no maximum driving age in South Dakota.

• One day the two received excellent news: Marie’s cousin was getting married in Illinois! They promptly planned a road trip to go visit her.

• Although Jay drove most of the way, he grew tired towards the end of the trip and had Marie drive. Unfortunately, sometime after entering Illinois, Marie lost control of the car and crashed into another vehicle, causing serious injuries to the driver and totaling the car.

• However, the officer who arrived on the scene quickly encountered a conundrum: who was responsible, especially considering that neither one of them should have licenses according to Illinois law? In Illinois, the minimum age for a permit is 15, so Marie’s permit is invalid, and people over 75 must take a driving and vision test to keep their license but Jay hasn’t taken a driving test in nearly 15 years.

• Who is responsible and should be charged for the crash, Marie or Jay? Should whoever is held responsible just be charged for the accident, or should they also be charged for driving without a license since both of their licenses are invalid? How should states handle disparities in license requirements like this?

Final Problem - Polygamy

• Let us consider the hypothetical situation of Job, Alessandra, Judith, and Rebecca

• This happy family lives in Utah. Job has been married to Alessandra for 9 years, Judith for 7 years, and Rebecca for 5 years. Fortunately with last year’s ruling on polygamy in Utah, their marriages are all legal, and they live a happy, fulfilled life together.

• Unfortunately, Job was involved in a construction accident one day at work. A wall collapsed on him, sending him to the hospital with critical internal injuries

• Job is now in the hospital receiving round the clock intensive care. Worse yet, he needs a heart valve transplant using porcine tissue in order to survive.

• Judith objects strongly to this, saying that the surgery itself, and especially if receiving tissue from an animal, goes against their religious beliefs.

• Rebecca strongly advocates for the surgery. She believes the doctors should do everything in their power to save her husband.

• Alessandra, Job’s eldest wife, is unsure of what to do. She obviously wants her husband to live but doesn’t want to compromise her beliefs either.

• The doctors need a decision quickly but are unsure of how to proceed. Since polygamy was only legalized so recently, there is no legal precedent to determine who has power of attorney over Job. Normally this would go to his wife, but with three wives who all have different opinions, the doctors are unsure of how to proceed and Job has no living will on the matter. .

• Should Job be given this life-saving surgery? Which of his wives should be allowed to make the final decision? Who should normally be given power of attorney in a situation like this?

Final Problem- Cigarette/Tobacco Regulations

• Let us consider the hypothetical situation of Jeremy

• Jeremy lives in Florida and has acute asthma and allergies that make it difficult for him to participate in many activities. He has to be very careful to make sure he isn’t exposed to any allergens that could trigger an asthma attack, like large amounts of pollen, certain animals, or cigarette smoke

• One of the few places Jeremy can safely go is the mall because there are restrictions on animals being inside and it is a smoke free zone

• Unfortunately, one day at the mall Jeremy was exposed to smoke from someone’s vaporizer. He instantly had an asthma attack and died before he could reach the hospital or receive treatment.

• Currently, many smoking laws are ambiguous as to whether or not vaporizers or e-cigarettes should be allowed in public places. Studies have shown that they have significantly less harmful effects than cigarette smoking when used firsthand, and almost no danger to an average person from secondhand inhalation. However, there are still dangers to sensitive individuals, such as pregnant women, people with allergies and asthma, and children.

• In light of Jeremy’s death, Florida legislators have proposed to make vaporizer use illegal in any situation or setting in which cigarette smoking is illegal.

• Should people be allowed to use vaporizers in public places? Is it acceptable to make vaporizer use in public places illegal when most people are not adversely affected by it? How much can we infringe on the freedoms of everyday people when it is only a small subset, pregnant women, children, and those with allergies/asthma, who would be hurt by it?

Final Problem – Government Surveillance

• Let us consider the hypothetical situation of Manny

• Manny is an engineering student who enjoys listening to music, playing video games, going out with his friends, and watching movies. Although a US citizen, Manny’s parents were born in Iraq and he has frequently had to endure prejudice because of his ethnicity.

• As a prank, some of his classmates anonymously reported Manny for suspected terrorist activity. What they did not anticipate was for the police to come and arrest Manny in class one day.

• Although the tip the NSA received was too vague to begin monitoring Manny’s online activities directly or through using PRISM, which would have required a warrant, they instead got information from the British Government Communication Headquarters’ program MUSCULAR.

• While surveilling Manny, he was recorded many times saying key phrases like “bomb” and “terrorist” while playing the game Counter Strike with his friends online, which is what led the NSA to arrest and interrogate him.

• Although Manny was cleared of any suspected terrorist activity, his personal computer was found to have a number of illegally downloaded items, including songs, computer programs, movies, and television shows. Normally, he would be charged with all of these crimes, but since his online activities were monitored without a warrant and the original tip that led to his arrest was false, the District Attorney is unsure of whether or not to prosecute Manny.

• Should Manny be charged for his illegal online activities even though they were not terrorist related and the evidence against him was obtained without a warrant? Should Manny consider taking legal action against the NSA or his classmates for their unjust actions? Should electronic evidence against US citizens obtained without a warrant from foreign countries be usable in court?

Final Problem - Euthanasia

• Let us consider the hypothetical situation of Tom

• Tom was your regular, everyday IT guy. He had a wife, a 5 year old son, and a steady job doing tech support. Unfortunately, Tom’s job didn’t offer healthcare, so he paid for Obamacare for himself and his family. It never bothered Tom though; he was generally regarded as a nice and caring person, and he frequently volunteered for charities like March of Dimes.

• That all changed one night when Tom was driving home with his family from the movies. A drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into Tom’s car, instantly killing his wife and son and giving Tom severe injuries as well.

• Tom lived through the experience but remained in a coma after the car crash. The doctors say that due to his severe brain trauma, it is not very likely he will wake up. They estimated about a 1% chance he could recover from the coma although if he does he will likely regain his full facilities.

• It has been three months since the crash. Tom is still deep in the coma. At this point, many hospitals would be considering taking him off life support with permission of his next of kin. Unfortunately, Tom has no more living relatives, no other emergency contacts other than his wife, and no one with power of attorney over him. His steep medical bills for round the clock intensive care have already gone into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This has already gone far over his insurance maximums, but neither the doctors nor the hospital are sure what to do.

• How long should Tom be kept alive on life support? How long should the government be responsible for paying his medical expenses? Who should be the one to decide when or if to terminate Tom’s care? And finally, what are the ethical and moral implications of the government being in charge of Tom’s fate?

Final Problem - Energy

• Let us consider the hypothetical situation of Maliq, a small island off the southern coast of Alaska

• Although originally inhabited only by indigenous people, in the last decade it has become a very popular tourist destination. The beautiful, pristine environment, isolated location, and temperate weather (by Alaskan standards) has caused the population to increase by a factor of ten in only a few short years.

• Due to this increase in population, the city of Maliq needs to vastly increase its energy production and infrastructure but they are unsure of how to proceed. A constant energy supply is crucial as outages in the winter months could leave people without heaters and cause many to freeze to death

• Electricity cannot simply be transferred as the city is too far from mainland, and the Alaskan seas and weather are to rough to make this feasible

• Geothermal power and hydroelectric power would not be available at all in this location.

• Petrochemical or coal based power would be possible, but many of the natives worry about it contaminating Maliq’s pristine environment, and shipping such sources to Maliq would be expensive as well.

• Nuclear power would be an option, but the island is so small that any nuclear accident would expose the entire island’s population to radioactive fallout, and disposing of the waste would be difficult because there are no connecting roads (and nuclear waste is never supposed to be transferred by plane)

• Solar energy could provide power to the town for much of the year, but it would be difficult to sustain during the winter months because of the very short days, so a supplemental source might be necessary

• Wind power would be possible, but the harsh weather in winter months would make the cost of maintaining wind turbines for the entire city’s power very costly.

• How should Maliq solve its energy crisis? What energy source (or sources) would best suit their needs, and how could the individual problems with that source(s) be addressed? Is the cost, sustainability, independent operation, or environmental impact more important when selecting an energy source?

Final Conferences

• Class progress and classical argument essay conferences available next week

• Link available on the class website (posted at 5pm)

• Please sign up 24 hours in advance

• Bring a printed copy of the first draft of your classical argument essay • 750+ words

• Should include your intro, thesis, forecasting, and some of the body paragraphs

Homework

• Journals due by 5/1 to mailbox in the English Department (4th floor of DM building)

• Classical Argument Final Draft due to Turnitin.com by midnight 5/1

• Journal Entry 31• Focus: CA Source Evaluation 4

• Find the fourth source you will use for your classical argument essay

• Read and analyze the source.

• Sum up the argument it makes or find its thesis statement and write it here

• Identify the source as supporting your view, supporting an opposing view, or providing neutral background information

• Finally, play the Believing and Doubting Game to find the strongest and weakest elements of the source.