Extemp Central

Note:  These will be the last questions for the next two weeks because of the winter holiday.  Check back on Monday, January 2 for new questions to kick off 2023!

1. Did the Biden administration err by swapping Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout?
2. Should Republican midterm failures be chalked up more to poor candidate quality or poor messaging?
3. Are strikes by academic workers at U.C. Berkeley a sign of things to come in academia?
4. If Donald Trump fails to win the GOP nomination in 2024, will he run as an independent candidate?
5. Does the U.S. need a bigger defense budget?
6. Should more U.S. states embrace runoff elections?
7. How much will Senator Krysten Sinema’s departure from the Democratic Party shake up the Senate’s operations in 2023?
8. Does Congress need to provide greater funding to special education?
9. Is the U.S. being outplayed by other nations in climate negotiations?
10. Does the U.S. have a significant anti-Semitism problem?

Earlier this evening Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin tournament director Adam Johnson released the list of competitors who will participate in this year’s tournament.

The tournament will take place on MBA’s campus in Nashville, Tennessee on January 7-8.

MBA is the first major tournament of the season, awarding 150 National Points Race points to its winner.

This year’s field features competitors from eight states.  Texas has the most of any state with five.

McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) will be seeking her third major championship.  She will try to become the first repeat winner since Lily Nellans of Des Moines Roosevelt (IA), who won three straight MBA titles between 2012-2014.

Congratulations to the following extempers for being invited to this year’s round robin!

*Dev Ahuja (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Gabriel Bo (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Taylor Burris (The Potomac School, Virginia)
*Theodore Gercken (The College Preparatory School, California)
*Michelle Jin (The Harker School, California)
*Kyle Letterer (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Kevin Li (Ridge High School, New Jersey)
*Phoena Lin (Plano West Senior High School, Texas)
*Pierce McDade (University High School, Illinois)
*McKinley Paltzik (Phoenix Country Day School, Arizona)
*Sruti Peddi (BASIS Scottsdale, Arizona)
*Raghav Ramki (Plano East Senior High School, Texas)
*Vikram Sundaram (Solon High School, Ohio)
*Jonathan Tubb (Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas)
*Rohit Vakkalagadda (Bellarmine College Preparatory, California)
*Jack Ververis (Trinity Preparatory School, Florida)

Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

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1. How will the DNC’s move to make South Carolina the first primary in 2024 cause them to lose New Hampshire in the general election?
2. Will congressional probes into the Biden administration help or hinder Republican chances in 2024?
3. Why is the U.S. experiencing such a horrible flu season?
4. Will the U.S. stock market experience another rough year in 2023?
5. Should Microsoft be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard?
6. What should be done to combat the rise of youth suicide?
7. Should more cities embrace syringe exchange programs?
8. Is it time to end the monkeypox emergency declaration?
9. Should the Biden administration withdraw Eric Garcetti’s nomination for ambassador to India?
10. What impact will the latest U.S. jobs report have on monetary policy?

1. Should the EU form a closer relationship with Latin American countries?
2. Will Syria ever be put back together again?
3. How can Ukraine defeat Russia without wrecking its economy?
4. Should Cyril Ramaphosa resign?
5. Will the West’s price cap on Russian oil work?
6. Should Great Britain abolish the House of Lords?
7. How much longer will Yemen’s civil war last?
8. Should the Rosetta Stone be returned to Egypt?
9. Is populism hurting Spain?
10. Should Canada abandon euthanasia?

Several weeks ago Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South High School hosted the 43rd edition of their annual speech and debate tournament in Northbrook, Illinois. Like many tournaments this year, this was the first Glenbrooks to be in person since the COVID-19 pandemic. 64 extempers clashed in the first third tier tournament of the season.

#1 McKinley Paltzik of Phoenix Country Day School (AZ) maintained her winning streak in national circuit events this season, capturing the title by a ten rank margin after securing first place ranks from all five of the final round judges.

Fellow Arizonan #13 Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale finished second, four ranks ahead of Tyler Crivella of Seven Lakes High School (TX).

#6 Charlotte Reitman of NSU University School (FL), the winner of the National Speech and Debate Season Opener, reached the final round and finished sixth. Reitman finished behind Grant Killoran of Marquette University High School (WI) and Pierce McDade of University High School (IL). McDade finished one rank out of third place.

There were several ranked extempers that reached the quarter-final round before bowing out. These included #3 Theodore Gercken of the College Preparatory School (CA) and #15 Lauren Kim of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA).

Paltzik will receive 100 points in the National Points Race for winning the tournament and all extempers that reached the quarter-final round will earn points.

New National Points Race standings will be updated by Friday night.

Glenbrooks is a quarter-final bid for the Extemp TOC at Northwestern University and, based on the entry numbers in this year’s tournament, all finalists will earn bids to the University of Kentucky TOC.

Here are the results of the 2022 Glenbrooks (Click here for tab sheet):

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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

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1. Can Anwar Ibrahim heal the divisions that plague Malaysia?
2. Will growing protests force China’s government to abandon its zero COVID policy?
3. Is AMLO becoming another Hugo Chavez?
4. Will there be a negotiated settlement to end Venezuela’s political crisis?
5. Is Mali making a mistake distancing itself from France?
6. Has hosting the World Cup backfired on Qatar?
7. Is Somalia winning its struggle against al-Shabab?
8. Did COP27 err by classifying China as a “developing country”?
9. Is it a mistake to make Itamar Ben-Gvir Israel’s national security minister?
10. What are the goals of India’s foreign policy?

1. Should Disney pursue a merger with Apple?
2. What steps need to be taken to diversify America’s teaching workforce?
3. Who will win Georgia’s Senate runoff?
4. What impact would a U.S. rail worker strike have on the U.S. economy?
5. Would U.S. bison populations benefit from more Native American stewardship?
6. Will Kevin McCarthy be the next Speaker of the House?
7. Should local communities make short-term rentals pay local hotel taxes?
8. Would a new assault weapons ban lower gun violence in America?
9. How much political capital does President Biden have left?
10. Should the U.S. end energy subsidies?

1. How much opposition will Donald Trump face in a GOP presidential primary?
2. Should Hakeem Jeffries succeed Nancy Pelosi?
3. Did Senate Republicans make a mistake re-electing Mitch McConnell?
4. Does Senate action on same-sex marriage open the door to more bipartisan cooperation in the next Congress?
5. Would a new economic downturn hurt white collar workers more than blue collar workers?
6. What should be the priorities in the next National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)?
7. Will more U.S. cities embrace UBI programs by 2024?
8. What do growing layoffs in the tech sector signal about the health of the U.S. economy?
9. Is the appointment of Jack Smith as special counselor a bad sign for former President Trump?
10. What should the U.S. do if Russian missiles intended for Ukraine hit a NATO member country?

1. Will Lula’s social spending plan damage Brazil’s economy?
2. Is an Asian decline likelier than an Asian century?
3. Should the world quit paying attention to North Korea’s missile launches?
4. Is it in China’s best interest to have Russia continue the war in Ukraine?
5. Should EU members surrender control of their fiscal policy to Brussels?
6. Will climate financing to poor countries from richer ones be an effective tool to combat climate change?
7. Would Iran be making a mistake if it invaded Northern Iraq?
8. Is Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe right to prioritize economic reform over political reform?
9. Are populist forces losing political ground in Europe?
10. Should Egypt release Alaa Abd El Fattah?

Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

Note:  Next week will not have a news quiz due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  However, there will be new questions released on Monday, along with a write up of Glenbrooks and new National Points Race standings next week!

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1. Can Rishi Sunak effectively “reset” Great Britain’s relationship with Ireland?
2. Is Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson significant?
3. What should Xi Jinping demand of Joe Biden in their upcoming summit?
4. Should Israel’s centrists back Netanyahu for prime minister?
5. What can be done to stop escalating violence in Myanmar?
6. Would a Chinese invasion of Taiwan turn Japan into a nuclear-armed state?
7. Why are global carbon dioxide emissions increasing?
8. Should the British government raise taxes?
9. Will the G20 meeting be a success?
10. Should Pakistan’s military intervene in the country’s ongoing political dispute?

1. Why did the “red wave” fail to materialize?
2. How will the results of the 2022 midterm elections affect the remaining two years of President Biden’s term?
3. Should the GOP abandon Trump and rally around DeSantis?
4. Which candidate is best positioned to win the Georgia Senate runoff?
5. Should states make modifications to voting by mail so that results can be reported faster?
6. What does the collapse of FTX mean for the future of cryptocurrency?
7. Should the U.S. Congress abolish the debt ceiling?
8. Will Elon Musk’s changes lead to the collapse of Twitter?
9. Should Mitch McConnell remain in his post as Senate Minority Leader?
10. What changes should the U.S. make to its national defense strategy?