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-Stoa-24-NEG-ThirdPartyDoctrine.docx
File Size	101.29 KB
Date added	November 8, 2021
Category	Policy (Stoa)
Author	Josiah Hemp

Resolved: The United States federal government substantially reform the use of Artificial Intelligence technology

Case Summary: The 4^th Amendment to the US Constitution requires law enforcement to obtain search warrants before conducting any unreasonable search and seizure of our homes, papers and effects. Technological changes over the years have required the Supreme Court to make judgments about how and when to apply this constitutional privacy protection over varying circumstances never contemplated by the Founders in the 1790’s.

Warrantless telephone wiretapping, for example, was allowed by a Supreme Court case in the 1920’s. But it was overturned by a later Court decision in the 1960’s (the Katz decision) , where the Court ruled that a citizen’s expectation of privacy was a large factor in determining the need for a search warrant, and that warrants would be required for government eavesdropping on phone calls.

Another factor is the “Third Party Doctrine.” The Supreme Court has ruled that, in general (with some new exceptions recently made), any information you voluntarily disclose to a “third party” (not yourself and not the government) is fair game for the government to collect without a warrant. Examples include your bank account records, phone company records of numbers you have called – anything that, even though you might think it’s private, is already in someone else’s possession (the bank, the phone company).

Another example of “3^rd party” records are recordings made by Google or Amazon of voice data collected by Siri, Alexa or other AI personal assistants in people’s homes. The Affirmative Plan removes recordings captured by smart devices from the Third-Party Doctrine. Post-plan, an individual’s consent to a third party (like Apple or Google or Amazon) will not be grounds for the government to search. Instead, the government must follow the 4^th Amendment and obtain consent directly from the individual or else obtain a search warrant.

Negative Strategy:
There are few people arguing against this case in articles or papers. However, the Supreme Court, as well as lower courts, have routinely defended the Third-Party Doctrine since it was created. Thus, this brief heavily draws on the reasoning of the courts. Instead, we are talking about whether the plan is consistent with the Constitution and what impacts it would have on constitutional law, and resulting interpretations of the Constitution itself, which impacts our freedoms. This case could have unintended consequences that backfire and reduce freedom in the long run.

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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