Basic Downloads

Are you new to speech and debate? The following downloads are for you. They contain introductions to various events that the Monument Membership explores. These downloads are updated every summer to prepare for the new year of competition.

Your Basic Downloads Source Material for Season 22:

File Name	S22-Policy-NCFCA-60-NEG-GunStackingCORRECTED.docx
File Size	61.98 KB
Date added	March 31, 2022
Category	Policy (NCFCA)
Author	Vance Trefethen

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction

Plan: FSA reforms on gun stacking charges and mandatory minimums are not retroactive, so some prisoners who might have been released sooner are overlooked. Plan will apply retroactive sentencing reduction for mandatory minimums and gun stacking charges. Each prisoner that is affected by their plan can be resentenced by the judge to the appropriate sentences under the First Step Act.

“Stacking” – is a term that refers to how a criminal is charged with multiple crimes at the time of their arrest and trial. It’s often referred to as the “924(c)” rule. A rough example: Guy with no criminal history goes into a bank, brandishes a gun, fires it into the ceiling, steals $10,000 and runs outside. Outside, someone confronts him, so he again fires it into the air, scares them off, and runs away. He never physically harms anyone. Later he gets caught. The federal prosecutor could treat what happened inside the bank and what happened outside the bank as two separate incidents and “stack” them under 924c for the purpose of charging him as a “repeat firearms offender.” He would be charged with bank robbery, plus a first offense firearm violation (firing inside the bank), plus a second offense firearm violation (firing outside the bank). Now as a “repeat firearms offender” (the second “separate” offense outside the bank), he would be sentenced much more severely than as a first time offender who fired two shots as part of his one and only first offense. He would be sentenced to a much longer prison term than if he had fired two shots inside the bank and no shots outside. FSA was supposed to reduce or correct this “stacking” disparity.

Some sources say Congress did allow retroactive sentencing reductions for prisoners convicted before FSA was enacted. Others say they didn’t. The problem is an ambiguity in the law that different courts interpret differently.

Download Your Preseason Documents, too:

You may still access Season 21 downloads here.

All Season 22 Basic Downloads will be updated by August 31, 2021. They will remain available through Season 22.

Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate

All Members have access to the digital copy of Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate by Chris Jeub. Download it below or order a hard copy.

Season 22 Release Schedule

Monument releases content all year long, from one national tournament to another, in what we call "seasons." We are entering Season 22 (2021-2022). For a list of all Member downloads for Season 21, click here. The following is the general release schedule for Season 22:

End of Season 21 - Officially archived on June 28, 2021. The new Season 22 releases begin July 5, 2021.
July-August - The first Monument Monday releases July 5, 2021. Basic informational material will continue through the summer (e.g. summaries, resolutional articles, etc.).
August 30, 2021 - End of the Pre-season, beginning of the official year of Monument Speech and Debate.
~~Christmas~~ Thanksgiving 2021 (we finished early!) - All foundational downloads are complete! Summaries of all releases are now available.
Through March 2022 - BONUS material released to members on a more as-needed basis using our Coaching Request Form.
April-June, 2022 - Qualifier and Nationals Preparation work is arranged...and Monument Members will be prepared to win!

Season 22 Debate Resolutions

Resolutions for Season 22 are posted here as they are announced by various speech and debate leagues.

Policy (all season):
- NCFCA: "Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction."
- NSDA: "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its protection of water resources in the United States."
- NSDA Vote for Season 23 (Due December 15, 2021):
  - OPTION 1 – GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE – Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its support of multilateral greenhouse gas emission reduction regimes.
  - OPTION 2 – GLOBAL GEO-POLITICAL CRISIS: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.
- Stoa: "Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reform the use of Artificial Intelligence technology."
Lincoln-Douglas:
- NCFCA (all season): "Resolved: In the context of innovation, the proactionary principle ought to be valued above the precautionary principle."
- NSDA releases six resolutions through the year:
  - Sept/Oct Novice: "Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified."
  - Sept/Oct Varsity: "Resolved: The member nations of the World Trade Organization ought to reduce intellectual property protections for medicines."
  - Nov/Dec: "Resolved: A just government ought to recognize an unconditional right of workers to strike."
  - Jan/Feb: "Resolved: The appropriation of outer space by private entities is unjust."
  - Next release is due February 1, 2022.
- Stoa (all season): "Resolved: In the field of biomedical engineering, restraint ought to be prioritized over scientific advancement."
Other Formats:
- Big Questions Debate (all season): "Resolved: On balance, societies benefit from religious belief and practice."
- Public Forum for Sept/Oct: "Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization should substantially increase its defense commitments to the Baltic states."
- Public Forum for Nov/Dec: "Resolved: Increased United States federal regulation of cryptocurrency transactions and/or assets will produce more benefits than harms."
- Public Forum for January: "Resolved: The United States federal government should legalize all illicit drugs."
- Public Forum's next release is due January 1, 2022.

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