A Grade
Round 1: Thursday, March 11th 2010 at 7pm
That we should set a maximum wage of $1 million for corporate executives

Marcellin College 1 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 1
Round 2: Thursday, April 15th 2010 at 7pm
That the West should fear the rise of China

Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty 1

Round 3: Thursday, May 20th 2010 at 7pm
Secret topic

Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School 3 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 1

Round 4: Thursday, July 15th 2010 at 7pm
Secret topic

Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. Northcote High School 2

Round 5: Thursday, July 22nd 2010 at 7pm
Secret topic

Round five is power-paired (teams will debate against a team adjacent to them on the ladder). Draws for round five will be released after round four.

C Grade
Round 1: Thursday, March 11th 2010 at 7pm
That Australia should adopt a national internet filter

Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty 2 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 2
Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School 3 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 1

Round 2: Thursday, April 15th 2010 at 7pm

That Australia should accept far fewer migrants

Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. Marcellin College 1
Doncaster Secondary College 2 vs. Northcote High School 1

Round 3: Thursday, May 20th 2010 at 7pm
Advised topic: Animals and the Environment

East Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 1
Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty 1 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 2

Round 4: Thursday, July 15th 2010 at 7pm
Secret topic

Doncaster Secondary College 2 vs. Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School 3
Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. Northcote High School 1

Round 5: Thursday, July 22nd 2010 at 7pm
That the police should hold the DNA of all Australians on a national database

Round five is power-paired (teams will debate against a team adjacent to them on the ladder). Draws for round five will be released after round four.

D Grade
Round 1: Thursday, March 11th 2010 at 8pm
That we should ban cosmetic surgery

Marcellin College 2 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 2
Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty 2 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 1
Doncaster Secondary College 3 vs. Marcellin College 3

Round 2: Thursday, April 15th 2010 at 8pm
That modern technology is a plague on human relationships

Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. East Doncaster Secondary College 1
Doncaster Secondary College 2 vs. Alphington Grammar School 3
Box Hill High School 1 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 3

Round 3: Thursday, May 20th 2010 at 8pm
That Australia should embrace nuclear power

Marcellin College 1 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 2
Northcote High School 1 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 1
Doncaster Secondary College 3 vs. Northcote High School 3

Round 4: Thursday, July 15th 2010 at 8pm
That judges should be elected

Doncaster Secondary College 2 vs. Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty 2
Doncaster Secondary College 1 vs. Alphington Grammar School 3
Marcellin College 8 vs. Doncaster Secondary College 3

Round 5: Thursday, July 22nd 2010 at 8pm
That smokers should be denied access to Medicare

Round five is power-paired (teams will debate against a team adjacent to them on the ladder). Draws for round five will be released after round four.

For

Social/ Economic

-science is all about experimentation

-society will advance

Individual

-best start to life

-whole package of perfection

-Parents more likely to love them and bond with them if they’re what they want

-positive alternative to abortion

-May counter some PND???

-end to self esteem issues

Environmental-Health based bonuses

-not necessarily just appearance- also health, intellect

-strengthen immune system

-design out genetic disease

Moral

We do this to an extent anyway

-genetic screening already exists

-natural selection- attraction to physical features, scent based attraction to genetic qualities

-develop through experience- this is a guideline, not set in stone

AGAINST

Social

-babies might go with styles->link to the tern dof celeb babies now

-inability to define race as we all look the same

-gender imbalance, especially in certain cultures, China, India

-could we breed ourselves out of existence?

-people change with age anyway, so how much can you guide it? Not worth it

- no ‘natural’ beauty

-beauty within

-all humans share skills and traits-> skills deficit in certain areas

-be like robots programmed to certain tasks, rather than to live and experience

Environmental

-some genes might disappear

-side affects which are unknown, genetic mutations

-untested science

Individual

-might not bond with parents without genetic similarity

-no individuality

-like plastic surgery

-children simply become extensions of their parents, living vicariously

-children may rebel against parents for overcontrolling

-greater disappointment if child doesn’t live up to expectations

-no choice for the child to develop in their own direction

Moral

-against nature

-religious, only god can design us

Economic

-associated cost may make out of reach for some, leading to class divide

Donny 1 – Isabelle, Sarah, Tiana, Arya, Stefan, Nathan

Donny 2 – Elena, Winnie, Joyline, Liana, Sylvester, Allan O

Donny 3 – Matthew, Alan L, Ronnie, Scott

Well done to all our debaters- we had a lot of first time debaters this round and you all deserve a HUGE round of applause! Sadly, we only scored one win (Yay to Donny D 3- Matty, ALan and Ronnie), but all our other debates were SO CLOSE that you should all be giving yourselves huge pats on the back. 

Next round B and C graders get their first taste of impromptu debating, with advised and secret debates entering the mix. 

And another shout out to Matthew Grant in D Grade, who scored his second ‘Best Speaker’ award in a row! Woot! Well done, all of you

Round 2: Thursday, May 14th 2009 at 7pm

That the government should not prop up the automotive industry

Doncaster                     vs                   Marcellin 

Have a think about who wants to debate this week. Your following three topics will all be secret, so it’d be good if James Liley got a chance to speak. With secret topics, you’ll all be able to go into the preparation room together, and can decide then who the best speakers for the topic would be.

Round 2: Thursday, May 14th 2009 at 7pm

That fashion does more harm than good

Doncaster                       vs           Ivanhoe Girls 3

Any volunteers for speaker this round? I believe Natasha would be keen.

Round 2: Thursday, May 14th 2009 at 8pm

That the Victorian government should buy back the public transport network

Doncaster 1                   vs               Northcote High 1

Doncaster 2                   vs               Northcote High 2

Ivanhoe Girls 1                   vs              Doncaster 3           

Just a reminder that we want to keep our team members consistent this year, so if you’re not yet aligned with one of these teams, please make a choice. Either post your preference as a comment, or tell Ms Maes at practise this week (Wed).

Donny 1 this round consists of Arya, Stefan and Nathan.

Donny 2 this consists of Bindhya, Sylvester and Allan O.

Donny 3 this round consists of Ronnie, Matthew and Alan L.

FOR

Current system inefficient and unsafe- Government will have opportunity to improve efficiency

Reliability and punctuality have both dropped since privatisation.

The government could take full responsibility instead of 3^rd parties

The government doesn’t have enough to do!

The government will have to supply the outlay, but will receive ongoing profits which will increase over time- could be used to improve the public transport network or even for other projects.

Connex is a European company, therefore profits are not staying in Australia during GFC

Connex has unpopular connections in Israel, re ‘racist’ tramlines in West Bank

Tax payers will benefit, and feel better about tangible reward from their taxes

Cheaper fares through less corporate greed; maybe even free transport

The people riding the system should own the system

Government support of the network implies environmental prioritisation

Government has a responsibility to environmental promotion

AGAINST

Companies more motivated to be efficient as financial benefit to them

Great cost to the government in outlay and also running costs- why did they sell it in the first place?

That money could be better used in other projects, such as improving bike lanes and prioritising green energy

Huge financial risk- M train went broke.

Government already has a responsibility to rail network in maintaining rolling stock, can’t keep up.

Loss of taxes from the transport industry

Where does the money to buy back come from? Already in debt.

Since privatisation, more people have begun to use public transport.

Customers pay for what they need- if system is insufficient, people would simply stop using it. Can’t give feedback so easily if government run.

Loss of jobs in Victoria and worldwide

Government already has too many problems, could not ensure efficiency of service

Not everyone takes public transport, therefore not representative of community interests and needs

Well done to all of our teams, both the students who swallowed their fears to speak this week AND to those who helped brainstorm, research and construct speeches. You’ve all done an absolutely fantastic job.

Results from Round One were very successful. Our C Grade team defeated Northcote High School, while both D Grade 2 and 3 defeated teams from East Doncaster. Our other D Grade team suffered a narrow loss to Marcellin’s Year 9 team, while our B Grade students went down to Northcote, but picked up some great experience for next time.

Especial notice to Winnie Chiu and Matthew Grant, who both picked up Best Speaker.

Well done guys! You should all be very proud

D Grade

Round 1: Thursday, March 12th 2009 at 8pm

That we should value literature more than science

Round 2: Thursday, May 14th 2009 at 8pm

That the Victorian government should buy back the public transport network

Round 3: Thursday, June 4th 2009 at 8pm

That parents should be able to design their babies

Round 4: Thursday, July 16th 2009 at 8pm

That we should be proud of Australia’s bogan culture

Round 5: Thursday, July 30th 2009 at 8pm

That Australia should allow women to fight in the front line of armed combat

Round five is power-paired (teams will debate against a team adjacent to them on the ladder). Draws for round five will be released after round four.

C Grade

Round 1: Thursday, March 12th 2009 at 7pm

That we should legalise music piracy

Round 2: Thursday, May 14th 2009 at 7pm

That fashion does more harm than good

Round 3: Thursday, June 4th 2009 at 7pm

Advised topic: Education

Round 4: Thursday, July 16th 2009 at 7pm

Secret topic

Round 5: Thursday, July 30th 2009 at 7pm

That we should legalise the sale of human organs

Round five is power-paired (teams will debate against a team adjacent to them on the ladder). Draws for round five will be released after round four.