1. If the GOP presidential race were to become Donald Trump versus one other candidate by the end of the New Hampshire primary, could that other candidate prevail?
2. Should the U.S. take in refugees from Gaza?
3. Is X a dying social media platform?
4. Should Senator Joe Manchin seek the presidency?
5. Will an FBI investigation shorten Eric Adams tenure as New York City’s mayor?
6. Should the U.S. adopt a new containment strategy toward Russia?
7. Is “Project 2025” a threat to American democracy?
8. Does the Supreme Court’s recent code of conduct go far enough?
9. Why did Senator Tim Scott’s presidential candidacy fail?
10. What does Sam Altman’s departure mean for OpenAI’s future?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz!
1. Did the Virginia state legislative elections deal a death blow to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s future in politics?
2. Should the GOP reverse course on pushing a national abortion ban?
3. Is Governor Andy Beshear a future presidential contender?
4. Did SAG win?
5. Should states pass more restrictions on homeschooling?
6. How important is it for Donald Trump to win the Iowa caucus?
7. Has the time come for U.S. politicians to take the size of the national debt seriously?
8. Should the retirement age for Social Security benefits be raised?
9. What is the best way for the news industry to use artificial intelligence?
10. Has Oregon’s drug decriminalization been a failure?
1. Is the West ignoring Azerbaijan’s takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh at its peril?
2. What is the appropriate role for the UN in an increasingly hostile geopolitical climate?
3. Would the fragmentation of Myanmar be in China’s national interest?
4. How should Ozgur Ozel reorganize Turkey’s political opposition forces?
5. Is Ethiopia preparing for a new war against Eritrea?
6. Will Israel exit its war with Hamas in a weaker international position?
7. Is the rise of pervasive artificial intelligence a threat to democracy?
8. Should Italy adopt Meloni’s electoral reforms?
9. Is the French far-left falling out of the political mainstream?
10. Will the end of U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s economy help Maduro stay in power beyond 2024?
“Exodus to Excellence” is a four-year series that will focus on my high school journey through extemporaneous speaking. Assisted by old ballots and a journal kept during these years, these columns will provide reflections on lots of old competitions and the lessons learned along the way. Each week that a tournament took place in my career, one of these columns will appear.
This is the first column of a four-year series that will focus on my high school journey through extemporaneous speaking. Assisted by old ballots and a journal kept during these years, these columns will provide reflections on lots of old competitions and the lessons learned along the way. Each week that a tournament took place in my career, one of these columns will appear.
Before we get to the first tournament, though, we have to discuss my getting onto Danville High School’s team. This column will be a longer than the next one, which will follow on Friday and get into rounds and reflections, which will be the primary focus of these pieces.
Friday will begin a four-year series of columns entitled “Exodus to Excellence,” providing a tournament-by-tournament and round-by-round breakdown of my career competing for Danville High School (KY) from 2000-2004.
Source material will be drawn from two places: old ballots and a journal of notes that I kept during these years. My old coach Steve Meadows kept all of our ballots each season and presented them to us at the team’s award ceremony. So I have four thick manila envelopes to sort through since this is before tournaments became virtual and ballots became electronic. I have not looked at many of these materials for close to 20 years.
It is my hope that this series can serve as an advice column for younger and seasoned competitors, while also providing a nice “blast to the past” for any longtime extemp veterans that visit this site. The column will showcase what extempers were talking about prior to the September 11 terror attacks (and how that tragic event reshaped the activity); practice routines; and the achievements, challenges, and setbacks that I faced as an ambitious competitor from a lesser known state.
So check back on Thursday for the posting of the first “Exodus to Excellence” column, which will be followed by another on Friday that details my first tournament experience at Scott County High School on November 11, 2000!
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Are Israel’s demands for a Gaza ceasefire unreasonable?
2. Will anti-government protests in Bangladesh force the creation of a caretaker government?
3. Have Germany’s anti-Nazi laws failed to achieve their purpose?
4. Will Imran Khan’s forces win the next Pakistani general election?
5. After its recent counteroffensive, should the Ukrainian government sue for peace?
6. Are women’s rights backsliding in China?
7. Is the world economy headed for a sudden fall?
8. How will the Taliban crackdown on opium cultivation affect the global drug trade?
9. Is global cooperation on AI regulations achieveable in the long run?
10. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey: Who is best situated to negotiate a peace between Israel and Hamas?
1. How can President Biden generate strong African American turnout for his re-election campaign?
2. Should the UAW make Tesla its next target?
3. Are college protests over the Israeli-Hamas war getting out of control?
4. Could any type of new assault weapons ban pass Congress before the next election?
5. Who will win the Kentucky gubernatorial election?
6. To what extent are businesses’ pricing practices responsible for high inflation in the U.S.?
7. Should states require a proficiency test to earn a high school diploma?
8. How can the Democratic Party win back rural voters?
9. Should President Biden reshuffle his foreign policy team?
10. How should cities handle large homeless encampments?
Updated standings for the 2023-2024 Extemp Central National Points Race have been released. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
While there was not a lot of movement created by the New York City Invitational and the Florida Blue Key, the Glenbrooks promises a shakeup in the standings. Glenbrooks will be the season’s first third tier competition, awarding 100 points to its winner and points to the extempers that reach quarter-finals.
The National Points Race resumed on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville last weekend for the 40th edition of the Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament. 76 extempers from eight states battled it out over three days of competition, which included five preliminary rounds and three elimination rounds.
Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL) won her second career National Points Race tournament, edging out last year’s George Mason University Patriot Games winner Taylor Burris of the Potomac School (VA) by one rank.
Burris was a sixth place finisher in last year’s Blue Key.
The three-judge panel for finals each gave their first place ranking to different competitors and rarely agreed, creating a situation where all of the final round competitors from Reitman to sixth place finisher Chloe Leng of the Hawken School (OH) were separated by one rank.
#9 Ronak Patel of the American Heritage School – Broward (FL) was the only ranked extemper to reach the Blue Key final round. Patel placed fourth.
Third place was earned by Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX) and fifth place was awarded to Kate Liu of Plano East Senior High School (TX).
#5 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) was in the field but dropped in quarter-finals. Cheng was trying to get back to finals as he placed third at last year’s event.
Siddharth Sudhakar of Nova High School (FL), who finished fourth last year, was also eliminated in the quarter-final round.
All of the extempers who reached the final round will earn National Points Race points. Since Blue Key was a fifth tier tournament, Reitman will earn 40 points for her win. New standings will be posted on our website this weekend.
Here are the results of the 2023 Florida Blue Key Speech and Debate Tournament (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Should the U.S. launch a military operation to rescue its hostages held by Hamas?
2. Is Meta in violation of the Child Online Protection Act?
3. Has the Biden administration been too friendly toward Iran?
4. Should U.S. states refuse federal education funding?
5. Which GOP presidential candidate will most benefit from former Vice President Mike Pence’s withdrawal from the race?
6. Can Representative Dean Phillips mount a competitive primary bid against President Biden?
7. Why are existing gun laws failing to stop mass shooting incidents?
8. Are sports betting companies doing enough to keep teenagers from using their platforms?
9. Did the UAW win its strike?
10. What does the elevation of Representative Mike Johnson to Speaker of the House say about the current state of the House Republican caucus?
1. Who will win the Argentinian presidential runoff?
2. Should an international coalition fight Hamas?
3. How much of a threat does Marine Le Pen pose to the European Union?
4. Can Hezbollah politically afford to aid Hamas in its war with Israel?
5. Would it be in China’s best interest to have President Biden win re-election next year?
6. How will Africa’s younger population affect geopolitics in the next 50 years?
7. Has the EAC’s military mission in Eastern Congo been a failure?
8. Are global sanctions on Russia working?
9. Will Venezuela’s opposition parties be able to oust Nicholas Maduro?
10. How much longer will the Russo-Ukrainian War last?