No shade to the NSDA, but there are some debate topics that end up being pretty good and some that end up (in my opinion) pretty bad. One of my favorite examples of the latter was the topic on government regulations on biometric technology, which, while not the greatest topic because there was a very limited scope of reasonable arguments on the topic, got me thinking a lot about privacy in the digital age. So, when my Summer@Brown capstone project ended up being a presentation about something you would change in either the juvenile justice or child welfare system, I had a pretty good starting point to derive a topic from.
For my final project, I’m going to use the default template on Google Slides to talk about how the names of minors involved in the juvenile justice system should not be publicized until the end of all relevant judicial proceedings or unless clear and written consent is given by the minor and a parent or legal guardian. In doing so, the goal is to minimize the amount of negative media attention the minor accrues; attention that never disappears given the permanence of internet records.
Obviously, the presentation goes into far more detail than I’m going to summarize here, but I do fear that I’m not prepared enough. I have rehearsed a few times with my roommate and he thinks it’s good, but I suppose tomorrow will ultimately decide whether or not I’ve done enough.
Also I did end up finishing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Fun times, fun play, I am so glad I am none of those characters.