SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Your team is cordially invited to the Star Tribune Lightning Speech Classic presented by the Eastview High School Speech Team. Our tournament will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2013,at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, MN. All 13 MSHSL categories will be open to registration and we will allow NFL rules where applicable. Like we have done for the past two years at our tournament, we will offer two divisions of competition: Open and Championship. Open division is for your less-experienced speakers (9th-10th graders) and Championship is geared towards your more experienced speakers (Juniors and Seniors). This way, everyone will compete with competition at their level. Each division will have a final round. We also will have honorable mentions at the awards ceremonyfor those that just miss the final round.

As always we will have a great judges' and coaches' lounge. Concessions will be avaiable to students, coaches and judges throughout the day.

As we have done in the past, we will have an Open Division (for the less-experiences speakers; usually 1st or 2nd year) and Championship Division (more experienced speakers). We will have a final round in each division. Honorable mentions will be mentioned (and ribbon given) for those who just miss the final round.

Each entry will be $7.00. Please have all of your drops/adds in by Thursday, February 21st to avoid a fee.

Please provide one judge for every six entries. Uncovered judges will cost $75.00

2012 was a huge year for women in politics: a record 96 women are now serving in the 113th Congress. Despite the gains, women account for less than twenty percent of seats on Capitol Hill. Of course, representation isn’t only a problem in the US--only 11 countries in the world have female elected heads of state. But the United States is hardly ahead of the curve: the Women and Government Center at Connecticut State University ranks the United States at 69th in percentage of women in government at all levels. Topping the list is Rwanda, where 56 percent of parliament in 2008--including the Speaker’s Chair—was held by women. As high school students discussing the important issues of the world, discuss the state of gender rights in American politics. Consider the following questions along with your own: what strides have we made towards equal representation, and what setbacks do we face? What are the policy impacts of under representation in government? What keeps women from getting involved in government? What can we learn from other countries, both good and bad? Does mandating more women in government, like in Rwanda, lead to policies that promote women’s rights and a more free society for women? To what extent should a government go to encourage equal participation?

The Obama administration recently proposed a compromise to feud it faced with the Catholic Church on contraception coverage: objecting churches and nonprofit groups would not be required to cover contraception under their provided plans for employees. Rather, women employed by such groups would be able to receive free contraceptive coverage under a separate policy. The council of Roman Catholic bishops rejected the proposal, concerned that it did not offer adequate safeguards for religious hospitals, colleges and charities. Both parties, eager for a solution, have now decided to take new approach. You are directors for the nonpartisan mediation firm, “Moneypincher Mediates” (a brain child of billionaire philanthropist Ernesto Moneypincher III). Both the administration and the Roman Catholic Bishops have asked you to mediate this conflict and (hopefully) find a solution. Please keep in mind both parties concerns, previous history, as well as political objectives and constraints. Make sure both sides are clear on where the other is coming from. If a solution cannot be found, try to offer a framework for both parties to continue the debate constructively.

The US House voted last week to extend a pay freeze on federal workers, including members of Congress, for another nine months. Lawmakers in both chambers have proposed cutting off members’ pay if compromises in legislation, such as the federal budget, are not met. The politics of pay are not restrained to the national stage: most state legislators are paid part-time salaries (such as in Minnesota) but actually work full-time, year-round schedules in order to keep their seats. Despite this discrepancy, legislative salaries in Minnesota have essentially been frozen for the last decade. Supporters claim that true public servants can stand to live without a raise, and that legislators should not be rewarded for gridlock when times are tough. Opponents argue that such pay freezes undermine the dignity and time spent on public service while at the same time opening the door for corruption and bribery. What approach to pay lends to the best policy decisions? Should pay of elected officials be game to campaign politics? What reforms, if any, do we need at the state and federal level to ensure we have a system that compensates legislators while also ensuring accountability? Look to examples of other countries for what we should and should not do.

Also, we have off-set discussion rounds by 15 minutes so students may double enter.

Ryan Roseen
Email address: ryan.roseen@district196.org
Phone number: 9522378828

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