Middle School students and teachers participating in the DCUDL engage in the Middle School Public Debate Program.  In teams of three, students on the proposition are to defend a position while teams on the opposition argue against it.  The topics change every month and are chosen by the teachers.  Generally, they fall into four of five categories (school topic, regional topic, national topic, international topic, or a values topic).

Here are the topics that were debated during the 2007-2008 season:

Single gendered schools do more good then harm.
The United States should boycott the Beijing Olympics.
The Nationals Stadium is a good investment for DC.
By staying in the Presidential election, Hillary Clinton has done more harm then good for the Democratic Party.
The United States should end its use of the penny.
The public’s right to know is more important than the privacy of celebrities.
The United States should guarantee health care for all residents.
Students should be required to learn a second language for high school graduation.
School suspensions do more harm than good.
You should always tell the truth.
Voting in presidential elections should be mandatory for all US citizens.
The US should lead an international effort to replace the current regime in Sudan.
All DC public schools should offer only organic foods on their menus.
The District of Columbia Government should ban the use of plastic bags in retail establishments.
Congress’ proposal to increase CAFE standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 is not enough.
Water privatization does more good than harm.
Giving money to panhandlers is justified.
DC should keep its taxi zone fare system.
All DC public high schools should have childcare facilities for their students on site.
The United States should launch a preemptive strike in Iran.
The funds spent to renovate DCPS athletic fields in the summer of 2007 did more good than harm.
All DC public schools should adopt a teacher performance bonus program.
Michael Vick’s punishment is too severe.
The United States should withdraw all its troops from Iraq by December 31, 2008.
All DC public middles schools should have student-run disciplinary courts.
The late-night Metrorail service is a failed transportation experiment.
The DC Government should provide free wireless internet access.
The United States should ban the importation of all products from China.

Topics debated during the 2006-2007 season were:

The United States prison at Guantanamo Bay should be closed.
All schools should provide students with music and art education.
District of Columbia should make it mandatory for its citizens to vote in elections.
Fast food restaurants do more harm than good.
Nontraditional English should be acknowledged in academia.
All DC Charter schools should be placed under the authority of the superintendent.
College athletes should be compensated.
The Bush administration guest worker program should be implemented.
Adult-oriented cartoons should only be broadcast on television after 10PM.
DC area public schools should have single sex classrooms.
Cigarettes should be illegal in the US.
Puerto Rico should be a state.
MySpace.com should not allow users under 18.
Juveniles should be tried as adults for felonies.
The US government should allow oil exploration in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The French government should permit students to wear visible religious symbols in state schools.
Federal minimum wage should be raised to $7.25 per hour.
Extraterrestrial Intelligence exists.
Tian Shan should not be returned to China after two years of residing in the US.
DC public middle school students should have mandatory community service hours.
Boycott the Beijing Olympics.
Homework does more harm than good.
The US should switch to the metric system.
Schools should ban animal dissection.
The United States should amend the Constitution to criminalize flag buring.
Genghis Khan did more good than harm.
The United States should significantly expand its use of nuclear power.
It is better a follower than a leader.
The United States should decriminalized electronic music file sharing.
The DC City Council should reverse its prior ban on handgun ownership.

If you are a teacher interested in middle school debate, click here.

If you are student interested in middle school debate, click here.