Debate Motions Archive

2021-2022

  • 2021 Fall West

    • Prepared:

      • THW abolish the Olympic Games.

      • THBT standardized tests do more harm than good.

      • THS the use of vaccine passports.

    • Impromptu:

      • THR the narrative that hard work will lead to financial success.

      • THR the rise of TikTok.

  • 2021 Fall East

    • Prepared:

      • Given a trade-off, THW direct environmental policy towards mitigation of climate change rather than prevention.

      • THW ban individuals credibly accused of corruption from running for public office.

      • When resources are limited, THS hospitals that prioritize treatment of patients who are vaccinated against COVID-19 to patients who are not.

    • Impromptu:

      • THBT schools have the right to punish cyberbullying that occurs outside of school.

      • THR the rise of the social media "influencer".

  • 2022 Spring West

    • Prepared:

      • This House believes that, on balance, societies benefit from religious belief and practice.

      • This House supports the use of "nudging" in public administration.

      • This House supports governments significantly increasing their use of automated decision making in public policy decisions (e.g. criminal justice policy, allocation of healthcare resources, housing development, etc.)

    • Impromptu:

      • This House believes that social media companies should aggressively sensor disinformation, fake news, and hate speech.

      • This House, as a high achieving student, would choose path A.

  • 2022 Spring East

    • Prepared:

      • This House would abolish primary and secondary school grades/years that group children based on age, and instead group them by competency and intelligence.

      • This House would legalise physician-assisted death.

      • This House believes that the use of violence can be a legitimate form of political protest.

    • Impromptu:

      • This House prefers “new media” to mainstream media.

      • THR the narrative of the "American Dream".

  • 2022 Nationals

    • Prepared:

      • This House believes that environmental activists should advocate for nuclear power.

      • This House believes that governments should take public steps to disrupt and discourage the use of cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin)

      • This House regrets the glorification of 'benevolent' dictators (e.g Lee Kuan Yiew of Singapore, Josip Broz Tito, and Atatürk)

    • Impromptu:

      • This House believes that western states should take a high number of refugees even when faced with domestic popular opposition

      • This House regrets the rise of teenagers at the forefront of social movements (e.g. Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, the Parkland students)

2020-2021

  • TH opposes the use of referenda for major policy decisions.

  • TH believes that colonial states that directly benefit in sports from the integration of athletes with roots to former colonies should actively pay dividends to these former colonies, separate from existing financial obligations.* The 2018 FIFA World Cup champions, France, won the tournament with an ethnically diverse team who could trace their origins to Guadeloupe, Algeria, Guinea, Mali, French Guiana, Dr Congo, Martinique, Morocco, and Senegal. Many successful European athletes descend from former colonies.

  • TH prefers remote employment over traditional work environments.

  • TH supports introducing the Euro currency to Bulgaria.

  • TH believes that leaders of police forces should be elected by the local communities they serve.

  • TH believes that the geopolitical rise of the People's Republic of China is, on balance, beneficial for the Balkan region.* The Balkan region is defined as the former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania.

  • This house believes that the tourism industry does more harm than good for the citizens of developing countries.

  • This house regrets the trend of making villains sympathetic characters in film and media (e.g. The Joker, Maleficent, Breaking Bad, La Casa de Papel etc.)

  • This house believes that economic sanctions are effective in compelling foreign states to abide by international human rights standards.

  • This house believes that Bulgarian state universities should bind the “state quotas” (bulg. "Държавна поръчка") to 5 years of work in Bulgaria.

  • This house believes that Bulgaria should pay reparations to those subjected to persecution during the Revival Process.

  • This house believes it is in the interest of the Еuropean Union to not accept countries from the Western Balkans. *Western Balkans are defined as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Serbia

  • THBT Facebook has done more harm than good.

  • TH would make voting mandatory.

  • THBT non-essential professionals should have the right to refuse to provide their services based on religious grounds.

    Info slide: Over the last several years there has been litigation around the right of an individual business to refuse service based upon the religious belief of its proprietors. In two specific cases a bakery refused to provide a wedding cake for a gay couple.

  • THBT the United States should pursue aggressive containment of China (e.g. economic sanctions, diplomatic threats, remilitarization of South China Sea and Japan, countering China's influence in various regions).

  • THBT prominent social media platforms (e. g. Twitter, Facebook) should not allow politicians or political parties to make public accounts.

  • THW allow police officers to refuse orders on grounds of conscience.

  • TH, as an individual, would quit social media.

  • THBT women in managerial positions in male-dominated industries should preferentially treat other women in the company (e.g. fast-track other women for promotions, pay women more in their teams, etc.

  • THBT shrinking cities should be allowed to impose an "exit tax" on leaving businesses.

  • TH, as a talented young individual living in a Western Balkan country, would emigrate to pursue a career in the EU.

  • THW ban all public advertisements which have the aim of promoting financial products to ordinary citizens (for example loans, investments in
    hedge funds, etc)

  • THS countries offering citizenship based on sporting ability.

Impromptu Motions

  • Аssuming it exists, THS non-sentient artificial intelligence that imitates deceased loved ones in appearance, personality and mannerisms.

  • THW prioritises the development of general AI at the expense of narrow AI.

    Round 4

  • THBT oppressed minority groups should consider pursuing violent resistance (i.e. rioting) as opposed to peaceful protest when seeking reform.

  • THW provide financial incentives (e.g. tax breaks) to companies that require skilled labour which hire university non-graduates.

  • Where resources are significantly limited, THBT states should actively promote religion in areas of high poverty.

  • THBT teachers' salaries should be pegged to the academic and behavioral improvements in their students.

  • THBT the nominees and the winners of the Oscars should always be decided by public vote.
    Infoslide: The AMPAS currently has 8,469 eligible Oscar voters. Anyone can be a member if they have feature film credits. Each voter belongs to one of 17 branches, including acting, directing, writing, editing, etc.

  • THBT university admissions should heavily prioritize admitting students with lived experiences related to their course of study.

2019-2020

  • TH, as Bulgaria, would limit internal rural-urban migration.

  • THBT compulsory voting does more harm than good.

  • THW penalize sports teams whose supporters commit immoral or violent acts.

  • THR the prevalence of violent video games.

  • THBT the rise of technology decreases creativity.

  • THW ban unpaid internships .

  • THW substantially raise Sin taxes *Sin tax is a tax on goods considered undesirable or harmful, such as alcohol or tobacco.

    THW lift patents on eco-friendly technologies.

  • THR the rise of online dating apps.

  • THW remove all gender based quotas in university admissions.

  • THW abolish primary and secondary school grades that group children based on age and instead group them by ability and intelligence.

  • THW allow children to sue their parents for religious indoctrination.

  • THS prison labor

  • THR the glorification of self-made success

  • THW lower the age of consent for invasive procedures to 16 (ie, tattoos, piercings, plastic surgery, etc)

  • THR the idea that individual action will help climate change.

  • THBT there should be worldwide human rights standards to protect online data

  • THB that social media has a negative impact on democracy

  • THW also make police commanders criminally liable for instances of police brutality committed by their subordinates

  • THR the glorification of war in entertainment.

  • THBT the winners of the most prestigious arts awards (e.g. the Oscars) should always be decided by a public vote

  • THBT activists who break the law while fighting for their cause are justified.

  • TH would ban private prisons

  • THR the notion that going to university is the main way to achieve success in life

  • THS the narrative of single life

  • THW fund campaigns through taxation as opposed to private political donations.

  • THW eliminate diplomatic immunity

  • THBT streaming platforms should remove content from creators who have carried out immoral acts

  • THWS the promotion of success stories of immigrants rather than their struggle.

  • TH regrets the commercialization of beauty pageants

2018-2019

  • THW ban further development of Artificial Intelligence

  • THW stop directing European Investment Fund money to states that refuse to take a share of refugees proportional to their share of EU GDP.

  • THW not allow corporations to donate to political parties, campaigns, or candidates.

  • TH, as a formerly communist state*, would remove the monuments of the former regime.
    * This is an actor motion. It is to be debated from the point of view of the actor - in this case the formerly communist state - and aims to determine whether adopting the motion would benefit the actor.

  • THBT governments should abandon the strategy of "decapitation"* in fighting terrorism.
    * Decapitation in this context is defined as targetting the leaders of terrorist organizations.

  • TH supports the promotion of collective guilt after large scale crimes against humanity.

  • TH would criminalize the use of cryptocurrencies.

  • TH, as the European Union, would oppose China's Belt and Road Initiative.

  • TH would institute a universal basic income.

  • THBT in areas of socioeconomic deprivation, schools should train students in vocational skills to the exclusion of the liberal arts.

  • THBT the primary aim of the criminal justice system should be rehabilitation, not retribution.

  • THW allow children to attend any primary school regardless of geographical proximity.

  • THW offer conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to low-income families to reward their children's school attendance.

  • THW ban private healthcare.

  • TH, as the United Kingdom, would hold a second referendum on leaving the European Union.

  • THBT teachers should not be permitted to contact students through social media platforms.

  • THBT the state should make efforts to reintroduce endangered species to habitats where they have been eliminated through poaching.

  • TH would introduce an Internet voting system in Bulgaria.

  • TH, as the Balkan States, would make a joint bid to host the Olympic Games.

  • "THBT truth and reconciliation commissions are a better response to past political violence than punishment.

  • THBT students in US high schools should be allowed to take classes in programming languages, such as Java or Python, to fulfill foreign language requirements*.

  • THW decriminalize the use of all recreational drugs.
    *Recreational drugs include, but are not limited to: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and the like.

  • TH, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, would end the practice of giving separate acting Oscars to men and women.

  • THBT LGBT+ Pride campaigns should focus on direct protest rather than celebration.

  • THR the rise of surveillance capitalism.
    *Surveillance capitalism can be loosely described as the act of collecting and processing personal and behavioral data as part of capitalism's core profit-making motive.

  • TH, as the U.S. Democratic party, would nominate a centrist as opposed to a left-wing candidate in 2020

  • THR the shift in the #MeToo movement from victims sharing their experiences to holding public figures accountable.

2017-2018

  • This house regrets the rise of social media as a primary source of news distribution.

  • This house believes that Western nations should make development aid conditional on the protection of LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual) rights.

  • This house supports restrictions on free speech to combat the rise of right-wing populism.

  • This house supports two-party political systems over multi-party political systems.

  • THW require all news media organisations to select and publicly state a political affiliation.

  • THBT famous public figures should face harsher punishments for their crimes.

  • TH would tax disproportionately more TV shows and relocate the funds to theaters, operas and art exhibitions.

  • TH supports Tiger Parenting.

  • TH would provide government funding for space exploration to privately owned organizations.

  • TH regrets the Arab Spring

  • This house regrets the rise of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.)

  • TH regrets YouTube's policy to not monetize 'advertiser-unfriendly' content

  • TH believes that major political decisions should be made by a public referendum rather than parliament.

  • TH regrets the rise of music that celebrates gaining material wealth.

  • This House would punish sports teams for the misbehavior of their fans (violence,offensive chants, offensive images).

  • THB the West should prioritize stability over exporting democracy in foreign policy.

  • THB in right to bear arms.

  • THBT young, educated people in Western countries should focus their charitable efforts (e.g., volunteering, donations, etc.) towards benefiting the disadvantaged in their own country, as opposed to in the developing world.

2016-2017

  • This house would impose taxes on countries based on their waste.

  • This house believes that the cost of space exploration is justified.

  • This house believes that the government should provide resources and incentives for refugees to remain in Bulgaria instead of moving towards Western Europe.

  • This house believes that acts of violence are sometimes necessary to advance social movements.

  • This house believes that biotechnology is a justified means for achieving equality among humans.

  • This house would support efforts to fund the creation of self-driving cars.

  • This house believes that the police should have unrestricted access to the personal online data of everybody, including email, web history and private content on social media.

  • This house regrets the rise of the Shared economy (e.g. AirBNB, Uber, etc.)

  • This house believes that the Olympic Games should have a permanent competition site.

  • This house will demand international corporations operating in any developing country to uphold the same environmental standards required in their home country.

  • This house believes that votes of younger voters should have more weight in all national elections or referendums.

  • This house supports establishing an independent state of Kurdistan.

  • This house believes that using waste-to-energy incinerators is the most responsible method of handling waste management.

  • This house supports the UK’s treatment of migrants.

  • This house believes that the Feminist Movement should be rebranded as Egalitarianism (an equal-rights-for-all movement).

2015-2016

  • This house believes that counter-immigration measures are regrettable.

  • This house believes that outsourcing is bad for Bulgaria.

  • This house believes that Ahmed Mohamed’s scholarship to space camp is justified.

  • This house believes that refugees of war should only seek refuge from neighboring countries.

  • This house believes that the government should impose higher taxes on individuals with a higher carbon footprint.

  • This house believes that changing a Facebook photo is not an effective way to support a cause.

  • This house believes that soldiers sent on international missions should be atheists.

  • This house believes that the government should not cover health care costs of individuals who choose not to be vaccinated.

  • This house believes that entertainers should not pursue political careers.

  • This house believes that Star Wars is overrated.

  • This house believes that a citizen can stop paying taxes if they are not happy with the public services.

  • This house would deliberately forget certain events in history.

  • This house believes that smartphones are detrimental to social life.

  • This house as the USA would encourage hackers who are convicted felons to damage oppressive regimes.

  • This house considers fracking as a legitimate solution to national economic problems.

  • This house believes that young Bulgarians have the right to defend the Communist regime in Bulgaria.

  • This house would neglect international laws in favor of national benefits.

  • This house would sue Martin Shkreli for involuntary manslaughter.

2014-2015

  • This house believes that governments should prioritize policies that reduce social inequality over economic growth

  • This house would support military action against ISIS

  • This house would pay reparations to European Roma

  • This house would impose a tax on men to reduce the gender pay gap

  • This house supports media censorship during times of political crisis

  • This house believes that corrupt democracy is better than dictatorship

  • This house believes that in instances where peaceful protests are met with a disproportionately violent state response, protesters should respond violently

  • This house would ban genetically modified foods