The Championship Round: The University of Alaska should permit individuals to carry guns on campus

Winner: Opening Proposition - Jon & Matt Stinson

Guns on campus from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Semifinal #2: California should legalize marijuana.

Advancing to Finals: Closing Opposition & Opening Opposition

CA should legalize marijuana from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Semifinal #1: Anchorage should bid to host the 2022 Olympics

Advancing to Finals: Opening Proposition and Opening Opposition

Anchorage Olympics from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

The Championship Round

The Championship Round of the 2010 Cabin Fever Debates is scheduled for Thursday, March 4 at 7:00 pm in SSB 118. The top two teams from each Semifinal round will contest the Championship Round.

The motion for the Championship Round is:

"The University of Alaska should permit individuals to carry guns on campus."

Please join us for the debate, a reception to follow the debate in the lobby of SSB and our awards ceremony!

The 2010 Semifinal Rounds

Semifinal #1: Tuesday, March 2 at 7:00; SSB 118

Motion: Anchorage should bid to host the 2022 Olympics.

1^st Proposition: (Your Friends, the cosmonauts) Jonathan Stinson & Matthew Stinson

1^st Opposition: (Team Slaymaker) Clayton Dale & Adriene Slaymaker

2^nd Proposition: (Team Yellow Yellow) Adrian Schnyder & PJ Franco

2^nd Opposition: (Dick Cheney is my hero) Jason Cline & Ryan Mckee

Preliminary Round #8: Tuesday, March 2 at 8:30; SSB 118

Motion: The State of California should legalize marijuana.

1^st Proposition: (Instramentals) Danielle Brusven & Kelsey Waldorf

1^st Opposition: (Team Doofkin) Brittany Bennett & Leland Miller

2^nd Proposition: (Arbitrary) Catherine Helle & Peter Finn

2^nd Opposition: (The Mount Baldy Ski Team) Christopher Dunaway & John Dunaway

Round 8: Nuclear energy for rural Alaska

Winner: Closing Proposition

Nuclear energy for AK from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Round 7: Manned Space Travel

Winner: Opening Opposition

Manned Space Exploration from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Rounds 7 & 8

Preliminary Round #7: Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00; SSB 118

Motion: The United States should end governmental support for manned space exploration.

1^st Proposition: (Guns 'N Roses) Ashley Bilyeu & Anastasia Durkina

1^st Opposition: (Team Yellow Yellow) Adrian Schnyder & PJ Franco

2^nd Proposition: (The Cars) Rebekah Williams & Sandy Johnson

2^nd Opposition: (North Star) Elise Schapira & Max Wright

Preliminary Round #8: Tuesday, February 23 at 8:30; SSB 118

Motion: The State of Alaska should support the use of nuclear energy to address the energy needs of Rural Alaska.

1^st Proposition: (Singularity) Victoria Yancey & Ben Nilsson

1^st Opposition: (Inertia) Janelle Sharp & Jeremiah Stack

2^nd Proposition: (your friends, the cosmonauts) Jonathan Stinson & Matthew Stinson

2^nd Opposition: (Huey Lewis & The News) Jordan Tatum & Matthew Fox

Round 5: The US should impose a "sin tax" on unhealthful foods

Winner: Opening Opposition

Video 1 from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Round 6: The US should explicitly endorse the opposition movement in Iran

Winner: Closing Opposition

Iran from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Rounds 5 & 6

Round #5: Tuesday, February 16 at 7:00; SSB 118
Motion: The U.S. should impose a sin tax on unhealthful foods.

1st Proposition: (Magnanimity) Allison Murrell & Tracey Alexander
1st Opposition: (Team Doofkin) Brittany Bennett & Leland Miller
2nd Proposition: (Franny & Zooey) Kelly Messick & Quoc Duong
2nd Opposition: (Dasvidanya) Jake Courreges & Joseph Posey


Round #6: Tuesday, February 16 at 8:30; SSB 118
Motion: The U.S. should explicitly endorse the opposition movement in Iran.

1st Proposition: (Killer Bees) Kyle Benson & Amy Ray
1st Opposition: (Singularity) Victoria Yancey & Ben Nilsson
2nd Proposition: (Boats & Hose) Alexa Buchl & Natalie Hurly
2nd Opposition: (Arbitrary) Catherine Helle & Peter Finn

Round 4: Any federal health care bill should not provide funding for abortions, except in the cases of rape, incest, or risk to the mother's life.

"Dick Cheney is my Hero" (Opening Opposition) won this round.

Federal funding for abortion from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Round 3: The US should decline to sell arms to Taiwan

My apologies to the final speakers on the closing teams--my camera ran out of power so I missed the very end of the Proposition Whip speech and all of the Opposition Whip speech. You may find audio recordings (eventually) on UAA's Podcast site.

Team Slaymaker (Closing Opposition) won this round.

Sell arms to Taiwan from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Cabin Fever Debates Continue February 9th

The first two rounds of the intramural Cabin Fever Debates began on February 2nd. The team of Christopher Dunaway & John Dunaway (The Mount Baldy Ski Team) took first place, earning an automatic bid to the semifinal round on March 2nd. Joining The Mt. Baldy Ski Team in the semifinal will be the winners of Round 2, Danielle Brusven & Kelsey Waldorf (Instramentals).

Preliminary Rounds 3 & 4 will be held on February 9th.

Round 3: Tuesday, Feb 9, 7:00 pm, SSB 118
Motion: The U.S. should decline to sell arms to Taiwan.

1st Proposition: "Mighty Marivaudage Masseters" of Brittany Wilson (senior, psychology) and Rachel Johnson.
1st Opposition: "Army" of Cameron Barrows (sophomore, political science) and James Young (freshman, political science)
2nd Proposition: "Dumb & Dumber" of George Joy (freshman, undeclared) and Justin Stephan (junior, English)
2nd Opposition: "Team Slaymaker" of Clayton Dale (sophomore, sociology) and Adriene Slaymaker (junior, philosophy).

Round 4: Tuesday, Feb 9, 8:30 pm, SSB 118
Motion: Any federal health care bill should not provide funding for abortions, except in the cases of rape, incest, or risk to the mother's life"

1st Proposition: "Rush" - Matile Weddel (freshman, broadcast journalism) and Jeffrey Smith (freshman, elementary education)
1st Opposition: "Dick Cheney is my hero" - Jason Cline (senior, economics) and Ryan Mckee (junior, political science)
2nd Proposition: "Optimus Prime" - Jordan Phillips (sophomore, journalism) and Mya Dale (freshman, political science);
2nd Opposition: "Blabber Mouths" - Sun So (freshman, civil engineering) and Maichue Lor (freshman, human services). They will debate the motion at 8:30.

Round 2: Corporations and Electioneering Communication

Corporations & Campaigns from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Round 1: Obama's First Year

I've been asked not to post this video. If you participated in the video and would like a copy, please get in touch with Steve Johnson or Shawn Briscoe.

You're on TV!

Check out this great story about the Cabin Fever Debates and the Seawolf Debate team that KTUU Channel 2 aired on Thursday (1/28).

Introductory session lecture

Here's the video of the lecture about how to debate from the CFD's opening session. The power point slides can be found on our website.

Lecture, pt 1 from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Lecture, pt 2 from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Demo Round

Here's the demonstration round from the introductory session of the CFDs. The motion was "Eating meat is unethical." Remember, these speeches are shortened to 5 minutes to keep us on time that night. The regular speeches during the competition will be 7 minutes.

Demo Round from Steve Johnson on Vimeo.

Schedule and Motions: Preliminary rounds 1 & 2

The 2010 Cabin Fever Debates will open with a set of debates on motions ripped from the headlines. On Wednesday, January 26 President Obama game his first State of the Union address. This event, along with a recent Republican victory in Massachusetts, have drawn into sharp focus questions about the effectiveness of his administration. The recent Supreme Court decision in the Citizen's United case dramatically reshaped the landscape of election funding. Both topics should make for compelling debates with which to kick off this year's Cabin Fever Debates.

All Cabin Fever events are free and open to the public.

Preliminary Round #1: Tuesday, February 2 at 7:00; SSB 118

Motion: President Obama's first year in office was a success.

1^st Proposition: (The Mount Baldy Ski Team) Christopher Dunaway & John Dunaway

1^st Opposition: (Super Troopers) Megan Hughes & Ashley Anderson

2^nd Proposition: (Cookie Dough) Nathan Hunter & Sarah Musgrove

2^nd Opposition: (Tuesday) Keith Sebelius & Eden Barrington

Preliminary Round #2: Tuesday, February 2 at 8:30; SSB 118

Motion: Corporations should be prohibited from engaging in electioneering communication.

1^st Proposition (Talking Heads) Joshua Baker & Chasity Spann

1^st Opposition (Instramentals) Danielle Brusven & Kelsey Waldorf

2^nd Proposition (Hooked on Phonetics) Caroline Daugherty & Zach Erickson

2^nd Opposition (The Master Debaters) Derek Terrini & James Decker