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As readers wait for finals postings at NSDA, they might enjoy reading our fourth state tournament recap that provides results for state tournaments in Alabama, California, Minnesota, and North Dakota (Class A).
Month: June 2015 Page 2 of 3
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Fourteen extempers remain in International and United States Extemp. Two more rounds this afternoon will trim the field of each event down to six for Friday and competitors will add ten ranks to their cumulative scores.
As was expected, the quarter-final round of International Extemp eliminated some of the season’s highest ranked extempers. There will not be a “double crown” winner this year as NCFL National Champion Yijia Liang of Upper Arlington High School (OH) was eliminated, as was MBA Exhibition Round Champion Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX). It was reported to us late yesterday that Liang, Lin, Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY), Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA), and Noah Wexler of Nova Senior High School (FL) would be facing off in round nine and it appears as if that round was a primary cause of Liang and Lin’s elimination. Other notables to be eliminated from International Extemp include Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ), who finished seventh in the category last year, and Patrick Wilson of Booker T. Washington High School (OK), who was ranked twenty-second in the National Points Race.
An interesting storyline is also unfolding in IX as Minnesota’s 2A state champion, Varoon Pazhyanur of Eastview High School, has advanced, giving the state a way to retain its final round championship in the category.
The United States Extemp field remained steady through ten rounds, with last year’s trio of finalists – Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), and Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA) – all advancing. Other National Points Race notables that advanced include Shawn Kant of Ridge High School (NJ), Vishal Narayanaswamy of James Madison Memorial High School (WI), Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), and Jay Sirot of Montville Township High School (NJ). The one major casualty from quarter-finals was Thomas Abel of the Delbarton School (NJ). Abel is currently ranked seventeenth in the National Points Race and finished third at the Barkley Forum in January.
Booker T. Washington High School’s hopes of winning a third straight U.S. Extemp championship also remain alive as junior Micah Cash advanced. Cash is the reigning Oklahoma U.S. Extemp Class 6A state champion, picking up where teammate Arel Rende left off, and NSDA may mirror that pattern.
Eight underclassmen made it to the semi-final round, with three making it in International Extemp and five making it in United States Extemp. Due to their performance, they have automatically qualified to next year’s NSDA National Tournament. They also automatically qualify to the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions assuming that tournament retains the same qualification procedures. The underclassmen extempers that advanced are Justin Graham, Roman Shemakov of McClintock High School (AZ), and Shreetika Singh of Seven Lakes High School (TX) in International Extemp and Micah Cash, Shawn Kant, Neil Patel of Plano West Senior High School (TX), Nathaniel Saffran, and Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX) in United States Extemp. Congratulations to these extempers and their coaches.
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The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) has just released the names of the thirty competitors who will advance to the third day of competition in International and United States Extemp. By tomorrow evening this number will be reduced to six in each event and we will know what the 2015 NSDA final rounds will look like.
A few notable names were eliminated in the octo-final round of International Extemp. Davis Larkin of the Parish Episcopal School (TX), Andrew Langford of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL), and Vinesh Kannan of the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IL), all of whom are ranked in the top twenty-five of the National Points Race, were knocked out the tournament. Kannan and Larkin had finished second and third, respectively, at the Extemp TOC last month.
United States Extemp was largely immune from seeing big names fall with the exception of Jacob Levenson of Nova Senior High School (FL), who is ranked twenty-fourth in the National Points Race.
The advancement of National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) to tomorrow’s quarter-final rounds means that Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX) and Noah Wexler of Nova are mathematically eliminated from the competition. Graham’s advancement also constrains some of the mathematical odds for other competitors. If Graham were to drop before round eleven tomorrow, Brian Anderson of LaRue County High School (KY) would need to get into the IX final round to overtake him, while Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA) would need to finish in the top two of USX or finish third and win the final round to do so. Eitan Sapiro-Gheiler of Durham Academy (NC) would also have to win IX or finish second and win the final round to have a chance and Yijia Liang of Upper Arlington High School OH), whose chances of a “double crown” remain alive, would have to accomplish that feat or finish second in IX and win the final round. There is still a lot of mathematical complexity surrounding how the National Points Race could turn out and more detailed scenarios will be given once Friday’s final rounds are revealed.
In total, twenty-one of the fifty-one underclassmen that broke to octo-finals made it to the quarter-final round. Any underclassmen, who are denoted in blue below, who reach the semi-finals tomorrow afternoon will automatically qualify to the 2016 NSDA National Tournament and earn an automatic berth in the 2016 University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC). All of the underclassmen competitors who qualified for the quarter-finals also earn a leg to the 2016 Extemp TOC at Northwestern University.
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According to Extemp Central’s unofficial calculations, this year’s NSDA National Tournament attracted 487 extempers, with 242 extempers competing in International Extemp and 245 in United States Extemp. This is three more total extempers than last year’s national tournament. International Extemp is six entries larger than last year, while U.S. Extemp was down three entries. This fluctuation is due to the NSDA’s automatic qualification system for underclassmen finalists and semi-finalists.
The first six rounds of the tournament featured no surprises as all seven competitors in the hunt for the National Points Race remain alive. As the tournament progresses, Extemp Central will provide updates as to how the National Points Race is being affected. One of the big stories to watch at this point is that if Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) reaches the quarter-final round then that mathematically eliminates Phoebe Lin of Plano West Senior High School (TX) and Noah Wexler of Nova Senior High School (FL) from the competition as Lin and Wexler would be unable to overtake Graham even if they won the tournament and the final round title.
All four competitors that reached last year’s final rounds – Rohan Dhoopar of Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) in International Extemp and Jasper Primack of Newton South High School (MA), Josh Wartel of Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA), and Brian Yu of Monte Vista High School (CA) in United States Extemp – cleared to octo-finals.
While there fifty-one underclassmen that broke to elimination rounds at this year’s national tournament, no freshman competitors did so.
Extempers will compete in their two octo-final rounds this afternoon and the NSDA will release the names of the thirty quarter-finalists later this evening.
Below is a complete listing of this year’s octo-finalists. All of these competitors will receive National Points Race points. Finalists from last year are indicated in red, while underclassmen octofinalists are indicated in blue. A competitor’s pre-NSDA National Points Race ranking is also indicated by their name. Those extempers who are not ranked will not have any designation.
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The 2015 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament will commence in Dallas, Texas. By Friday new national champions in International and United States Extemp will be crowned, in addition to this year’s National Points Race winner.
As a small preview of the tournament, Extemp Central has identified five significant storylines for this week’s event.
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Since the shooting of eighteen-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last August there have been growing calls for reforming police tactics in the United States. Liberal and libertarian groups charge that American police have become “militarized” and much too aggressive. These groups note that in addition to Brown, other unarmed suspects have died after interactions with police officials such as Freddie Gray in Baltimore and Eric Garner in New York City. Protests that emerged from the deaths of these men and others sometimes degenerated into violence with Ferguson and Baltimore experiencing riots this season, thereby creating some of the worst civil unrest that America has seen since the late 1960s. President Barack Obama and the Justice Department have investigated local police forces more diligently over the last six years and such investigations are likely to continue as an estimated 500 Americans have been killed by police officers this year. Proponents of reform argue that police need to do a better job interacting with the communities they serve and that better training is needed for officers when they interact with young people, the mentally ill, and minority groups. Opponents argue that an emphasis on community policing will create the re-emergence of a national crime wave, with some noting that a “Ferguson effect” is taking place where criminals are more empowered than ever before as police hold back for fear of criminal prosecution if they make a mistake.
This topic brief will explain the reasons given for police reforms, highlight some of the reforms that are ongoing in police departments throughout the country, and then analyze the impediments that exist to reform.
Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.
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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on police reform.
Federal judge approves what is hoped to be a landmark agreement to reform Cleveland Police Department http://t.co/ZvTwLUNpNt
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) June 13, 2015
The most important tool for police reform was quietly tucked into the 1994 tough-on-crime bill http://t.co/yHs3W9vx3O pic.twitter.com/1EOejrtmaS
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) June 4, 2015
ACLU presses Minneapolis to move on police reforms http://t.co/CTdPje6zNe
— MPR News (@MPRnews) June 5, 2015
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Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete! Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of June 8-14, 2015.
Note: This is the last R&D of the 2014-2015 season. The first R&D for the 2015-2016 campaign will be released on August 5.
The IMF and the European Commission tell Greece they’ve had enough. Time to take the deal http://t.co/emh5XUlOv7 pic.twitter.com/PiaunpHY8b
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 11, 2015
What are #Russia‘s military capabilities? Read our primer to find out: http://t.co/XKQ98NoFOi pic.twitter.com/tDgP6tyP95
— CFR (@CFR_org) June 11, 2015
Idle home builders are holding back China’s economy http://t.co/JwcDUTHIFC
— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) June 11, 2015
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Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete! Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.
This R&D provides information on prescription drug costs in the U.S. Prescription drug spending rose 14% in the U.S. last year, which pharmacies say is due to a rising cost of specialty drugs. California recently became the first state in the nation to cap co-pays for prescription drugs at $250 a month and other states may follow it lead. State legislators are also looking into ways that they can make the pricing of prescription drugs more transparent. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has proposed granting greater powers to federal authorities to negotiate drug prices to deal with the issue.
Nearly 70% of Americans are taking at least one prescription drug and more than half take two http://t.co/vOweOWneMh via @MONEY
— Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinic) June 3, 2015
How states are working to control #PrescriptionDrugCosts. Read it @nationaljournal. http://t.co/7Ty1KQaUMF
— Drug Topics (@Drug_Topics) June 5, 2015
Why prescription drugs cost so much – via @YahooFinance http://t.co/nwGDe9rwWY pic.twitter.com/BCFP5HzAY3
— DownSouthPenny (@NathanielBaker5) June 9, 2015
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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
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Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete! Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.
This R&D provides resources on Bosnian reconciliation. The nation suffered a brutal war between 1992 and 1995 between Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs and today there is an uneasy sharing of power between Catholic Croats, Orthodox Serbs, and Muslim Bosniaks. Nationalist tensions continue to tear at the country and Pope Francis visited last week in an effort to preach ethnic and religious harmony. He told younger audience members to pursue peace over war and to live lives of integrity and honesty.
Thousands to greet Pope in Bosnia http://t.co/Oe5tSIHlvL
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 6, 2015
Pope Francis’ message of healing to a divided Bosnia http://t.co/qgmyHbOMzp pic.twitter.com/xlwoyrub89
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 7, 2015
Pope Francis will strive to bridge religious divides during visit to war-scarred Sarajevo: http://t.co/TXUDwy5MVT
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 4, 2015
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On May 27, Swiss authorities arrested seven high ranking officials of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the world’s governing body for soccer. The arrests were due to a United States investigation into bribery and corruption within the organization that federal prosecutors allege played a role in the awarding of television, licensing, and hosting rights to soccer competitions, notably the World Cup. In addition to the United States investigation, Swiss officials are also examining how corruption may have influenced FIFA’s decision in 2010 to grant future World Cup competitions to Russia and Qatar. Longtime FIFA President Sepp Blatter has already been forced to resign over the investigations and observers are likening the scandal to what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dealt with in the late 1990s. The ongoing investigation into FIFA should produce some momentum to reform the organization, while potentially producing geopolitical fallout if the organization revokes Russia and Qatar’s World Cup hosting rights. The investigation will also be a test of how far the U.S. Justice Department can apply American law abroad.
This topic brief will summarize the ongoing investigations into FIFA, discuss what changes may take place within the organization in light of these investigations, and then analyze the geopolitical factors associated with the scandal.
Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.
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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on investigating FIFA.
#coppednews FIFA: No grounds to strip Russia, Qatar http://t.co/4RHUbXKx7K
— Copped News (@CoppedNews) June 8, 2015
Why America, and not another country, is going after FIFA http://t.co/kCvlRzhE5t pic.twitter.com/18HgEBX7Ux
— The Economist (@EconBizFin) June 8, 2015
Obama: FIFA needs to operate with “integrity, transparency” http://t.co/ktzjgE2Qee pic.twitter.com/2OZUfaOlYb
— The Hill (@thehill) June 8, 2015
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1. What are the economic implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie and Fitch Stores?
2. How can the U.S. rein in rising drug costs?
3. Is the EPA’s latest report on fracking a victory for the oil and gas industry?
4. Have open-carry laws gone too far?
5. How should the Federal Reserve react to the latest jobs report?
6. Should Americans be automatically registered to vote?
7. Does New York City need stronger rent regulations?
8. Is America’s national security apparatus a threat to American liberty?
9. How can the U.S. best assure Asian allies that it will deal with the China threat?
10. Is President Obama losing the TPP debate?
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1. Was Mikheil Saakashvili a good choice for leading Odessa?
2. Are fears of a “Brexit” exaggerated?
3. How can Tanzania better protect its elephant population?
4. Is a “one-state solution” better than a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestinian problem?
5. Could a Greek debt default trigger another global financial crisis?
6. Does Mexico need significant education reforms?
7. Will India’s recent boundary agreement with Bangladesh bolster its economy?
8. Would proposed constitutional reforms turn Turkey into an autocracy?
9. How can Bosnia achieve greater religious reconciliation?
10. Is international corruption impeding the global development agenda?