CAP Debates 2021 Project Packet

OBJECTIVE: Assemble a coherent and well

supported argument on an issue and defend your
argument in a formal debate setting.
● For this project, you will participate in a formal debate
● You will have a topic with a proposition that will
present a claim
● Your goal is to present an argument in favor of, or
against the claim.

STEP 1: Find Out Your Topic! - December 21

On Monday, December 21, CAP10 will meet as a whole group to discuss the CAP Debates Project
and dole out the debate topics and sides. Once you learn your topic and side, add in your information
below! If you need to check back on the list, CLICK HERE!

My Topic: Mars Colonization

My Topic Proposition: NASA should end its partnerships with private companies to
colonize Mars.

My Side (pro or con): Pro

My Debate Partner and their Aisling Gearhart, 445306

Student ID number:
My Debate Opponents: Rebecca Meek, Nahom Tsegaye

PRO = Affirmative CON = Negative

The side that “affirms” or argues for the proposition The side that argues the status quo, against the
or change proposition.

Has burden of proof, therefore goes first and last. Can cast doubt on the arguments or proposition, not
introduce alternative

Must outline the case and introduce new points of Responds by refuting Affirmative, rather than
argument formulating new arguments
STEP 2: Research! - Over Winter Break
Now that you know your topic and the side you will debate, you will need to do some research. Use
the charts below to organize your claims, key quotes and statistics, and make notes on reasoning and
credibility. You will also want to collect some opposition research, including the opposition’s claims,
so that you are able to build your crossfire and rebuttal. Finally, you will collect a works cited list of
credible sources.

Your Side: Pro

Notes, Quotes, Evidence, Statistics,

Claims
Reasoning
Claim #1 Privatization means there will “The quality of service provided by these groups may
be a focus on profit. slacken in the pursuit of higher profits (Government
Privatization History).”
“The private sector firm, then, has one essential goal: to
pursue profits; all other goals are subordinate…This
might also negatively affect the government, should the
private firm lower its costs of production by reducing the
quality or quantity of the product or service (Kosar).”

Claim #2 Partnering with private The Project of Government Oversight conducted a

companies does not save money, it study that showed that partnering with private
fact it is more expensive. corporations is often more expensive than working
within the government. Over 35 jobs and 550 contracts
were looked at, and private company employees were
paid 83% more than government workers, including
benefits they recieve. Private contractors were paid
double what they would be in government. In 2010, the
government spent $320 billion dollars on private
contracts (Plumer).

Claim #3 Oversight is more difficult, “Another problem often cited with privatization is the
those in power cannot be removed if lack of transparency once services are provided by a
they are a part of a private private sector group. With the numerous open meeting
corporation. regulations public agencies operate under, the general
public is used to being able to have some ability to
oversee the operations of a public asset. Once public
assets or services are transferred to the private sector,
some of this transparency is often lost. This problem
can be avoided by mandating certain reporting criterion
in the contract and employing public oversight in the
form of boards or authorities (Government Privatization
History).”
He also stated that using private companies can result
in corruption between agencies. “For example, Boeing
Company reached a $615 million settlement with the
Department of Justice in May 2006. The company was
investigated for its role in a contracting scandal. The
company fired its chief financial officer — who
attempted to persuade an Air Force official, who was
overseeing a large federal contract that Boeing was
bidding on — to take a job with the company. This same
 official was jailed after she admitted that she had used
the Boeing executive to get a job for her daughter and
future son-in-law with Boeing and improperly favored
the company in awarding the contract” (Kosar).
“Hiring private firms to carry out government work
creates great management challenges for government
administrators. Should an agency fail to have well-
trained personnel and effective oversight procedures in
place, its utilization of private providers can result in
waste, fraud, and abuse (Kosar).”

Claim #4 If private companies cut “When private groups take over assets such as toll
costs, it will hurt employees. roads or lotteries, they often want to lay off personnel or
lower their wages and benefits (Government
Privatization History).”
“The scale of privatized programs will result in chronic
high unemployment, low wages and abusive labor
practice (LWVUS Privatization Study).”

Claim #5 SpaceX has had many issues SpaceX had six rocket explosions or major malfunctions
with launching, retrieving, and space within three years. Oversight on these steps will be far
flight of their space ships. more difficult with SpaceX than it would be with NASA.
This is an endeavor where quality control is extremely
important. Maintaining proper oversight within a private
company will be more tricky than with NASA (French).

Opposition Research: To craft your rebuttal!

Refuting - There are three basic techniques of refuting arguments -
1. Directly attack the data upon which your opponents’ claims rest. An example would be
arguing that the data for global warming is faulty.
2. Absorb their argument. Rather than disagree with the data behind their argument, you provide
an alternative interpretation of the data that accords with your overall arguments. In other
words, concede the data and refute the claim. For example, you might say, “Yes, it is
historically true that we have never used our nuclear arsenal; however, that example merely
proves my point that stockpiling these weapons has been an effective deterrent, because…”
3. The strategic concession. Rather than disagree with either the data or warrants of your
opponents, explain why their arguments are irrelevant. For example, you might say, “Even if our
opponents win that our plan will cost several billion dollars, we still win the debate because the
plan’s benefits outweigh its costs, since…” These last two techniques allow you to defend your
strongest ground rather than get sucked into argumentative quagmires that you have no chance
of winning. If the data is good and credible, then start looking for ways to spin it to your
advantage.

Opposing Claims Your Rebuttal

Claim #1 NASA does not have the While this is true at the moment, if government priorities
resources to get astronauts off the and funding are rearranged, NASA will be able to get
ground alone without external the funding it needs.
partnerships (Ward).
Claim #2 SpaceX can provide funding While funding may be stable, partnering with SpaceX, a
stability, which will be essential to private company, will cost more money in the long term.
colonizing Mars (Bartels).

Claim #3 SpaceX will be able to support Oversight on these steps will be far more difficult with
each step of getting people to Mars, like SpaceX than it would be with NASA. This is an
unmanned rovers, refueling stations, endeavor where quality control is extremely important.
rocket building, and many other functions Maintaining proper oversight within a private company
(Weitering). will be more tricky than with NASA.

Works Cited: Add your list of credible sources in here. Make sure to use proper MLA citations.
You will put together a formal team copy of this to turn in on Debate Day!

Bartels, Meghan. "Putting Boots on Mars Requires a Long-Term Commitment, Experts Tell

Senators." Space, 26 July 2018, www.space.com/41289-congress-hearing-human-journey-

to-mars.html. Accessed 3 Jan. 2021.

French, Sally. "The Many Failures of Elon Musk, Captured in One Giant Infographic." Market Watch,

12 Dec. 2017, www.marketwatch.com/story/the-many-failures-of-elon-musk-captured-in-

one-giant-infographic-2017-05-24. Accessed 3 Jan. 2021.

Government Privatization History, Examples, and Issues. Springfield, Oct. 2006. Commission on

Government Forecasting and Accountability House,

cgfa.ilga.gov/Upload/2006Gov_Privatization_Rprt.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec. 2020.

Kosar, Kevin R. CRS Report for Congress Privatization and the Federal Government: An

Introduction. 28 Dec. 2006.

Federation of American Scientists, fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33777.pdf. Accessed 26 Dec. 2020.

LWVUS Privatization Study: Privatization of Governmental Services, Assets and Functions. League

of Women Voters, lwv.corvallis.or.us/newsletters-archive/Privatization_study.pdf. Accessed

26 Dec. 2020.

Plumer, Brad. "Study: Privatizing Government Doesn't Actually Save Money." The Washington Post,

15 Sept. 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/study-privatizing-

government-doesnt-actually-save-money/2011/09/15/gIQA2rpZUK_blog.html. Accessed 24

Dec. 2020.

Ward, Cassidy. "How SpaceX Improved on NASA's Work and Changes Spaceflight Forever."
 Observer, 11 June 2020, observer.com/2020/06/how-spacex-crewed-nasa-changes-

spaceflight-forever/#:~:text=SpaceX%2C%20in%20partnership%20with%20NASA,Dragon

%20capsule%20on%20May%2030.&text=But%20this%20is%20just%20the%20beginning

%20for%20commercial%20partnership%20in%20space%20travel. Accessed 3 Jan. 2021.

Weitering, Hanneke. "How SpaceX's Starship Will Help Establish a Mars Base." Space, 15 Aug.

2019, www.space.com/spacex-starship-mars-transportation-plans.html. Accessed 3 Jan.

2021.

STEP 3: Debate Prep! - January 4 (9am-11am)

On Monday, January 4, you will have the chance to meet with your debate partner in a breakout room to
combine your research and build your debate. First, take a look at the debate format, so you will know what
you need to prepare. Visit the Debate Prep slideshow to see more information.

Constructive Speech (4 minutes): Make sure to include a hook, your introduction, your claims,
and your analysis. Constructive Speeches Introduce New Issues.
● For the PRO (Affirmative) side, this is the only entirely scripted speech, in that it is composed almost
entirely of expert quotations, clearly organized into solid positions. The affirmative team sets forth a
case. A case defends a new policy, called a plan.
● For the CON (Negative) side, this should lay out the choices for how you will attack the affirmative. It
is important to remember that the negative team attacks the affirmative plan, not the topic. For this
reason, the negative side constructive can never be completely scripted.

Team member responsible: Sylvia

Draft your constructive speech here:

Crossfire #1 (3 minutes):
● Be prepared with questions for your opponents. You will add questions to this section BASED ON
WHAT THEY SAID
● Answer your opponent as succinctly as possible. Don’t evade and try to be honest. Be prepared to
fire back with a question of your own

Team member responsible: Sylvia

The team member that did the Constructive Speech should do this part!

Brainstorm questions you will ask the opposition here, but leave room to add more as you listen to
the debate:

Rebuttal Speech (4 minutes):

● Rebuttal speeches refine and explain previously introduced issues (no new issues allowed).
● Each speaker should have narrowed down the number of arguments, focusing on the most
important. Use a declining amount of quotations.

Team member responsible: Aisling

The team member that did NOT do the Constructive Speech should do this part!

Draft your rebuttal speech here:

I. Counterargument: Our opponent claims going to Mars would be for the betterment of humanity, as it
would provide a safe place to go during possible extinction or disaster and the investment of private
companies would allow a streamline of funding to a project that can allow humans safety and a new
beginning.
II. Position on Counterargument: However, the problems with Mars colonization far outweigh the
projected outcome. There have been many ethical and monetary issues with proposed plans for
Mars colonization, and partnering with private companies will only lead to more unethical behaviors
such as pandering and negligence.
III. Evidence: Firstly, human safety is at risk from privatized companies, as as stated in our constructive
speech, SpaceX had six rocket explosions or major malfunctions within three years (French) and yet
have projected a trip to Mars by 2024, despite the window of “launch opportunity that arises [only]
every 26 months,” according to Hanneke Weitering, associate editor at space.com. Along with the
explosions proved by SpaceX, space radiation is extremely dangerous to humans. Cosmic rays and
solar activity are both carcinogenic, however, solar activity “also cause immediate issues such as
vomiting, fatigue and vision problems,” and “cosmic rays could also spark long-term degenerative
effects while still in space, including heart disease, reduced immune system effectiveness and
 neurological symptoms resembling Alzheimer's,” according to science writer Nola Taylor Redd.
SpaceX’s plans, as stated, pander to the 1%. Nick Stockton at wired.com reports that, Elon Musk,
CEO of SpaceX, “estimates that a person will be able to travel to the Red Planet for around
$200,000,” money that the average person does not have the ability to spend lightly, despite this
solution being proposed in order to benefit humanity. There is also a monetary issue with private
companies such as SpaceX, they receive heavily from government agencies despite the supposed
goal of private investing. “During its first decade of operation, SpaceX operated off of $1 billion, and
about half of that money came from government contracts from NASA,” states Loren Grush from the
Verge. In 2020, “Nearly half of [the] year’s [budget ]request [from NASA], or $12.37 billion, [was] for
NASA’s lunar campaign – much of which would go some of the biggest space companies in the
U.S,” according to space reporter Michael Sheetz. This was nearly 2.6% of the national budget, and
“Musk has estimated Starship development will cost up to $10 billion.” With the complexities of this
issue, if mars colonization was to happen, “privatization is … not the best solution” as economics
reporter Eduardo Porter states, “if the objectives are complex and diffuse — making it difficult to
align profit with goals without undermining some other desirable outcome — the profit motive could
well make conflicts more difficult to manage.” Therefore, despite the claim that Mars colonization
would be beneficial for the preservation of and or progression of humanity, with the added
partnership of private companies, there are far too many issues with Mars colonization and
privatization in complex circumstances for it to be a viable option.

Crossfire #2 (3 minutes):
● Be prepared with questions for your opponents. You will add questions to this section BASED ON
WHAT THEY SAID
● Answer your opponent as succinctly as possible. Don’t evade and try to be honest. Be prepared to
fire back with a question of your own

Team member responsible: Aisling

The team member that did the Rebuttal Speech should do this part!

Brainstorm questions you will ask the opposition here, but leave room to add more as you listen to
the debate:

- Mars colonization has mostly been proposed in response to the endangerment of Humans on Earth,
but if the project is overlooked by private companies, who will be allowed to go?
- According to Jackie Wattles, reporter for CNN, Elon Musk, a private investor interested in working
with NASA for mars colonization, has stated that when it comes to mars colonization there’s a,
“[g]ood chance you'll die [if you have a faint heart], and it's going to be tough going...It'd be pretty
glorious if it works out," which shows health and safety of possible patrons may not be at the
forefront of all investors, how would this possibly combatted when the project would be at the hands
of said private investors?

Summary Speech (2 minutes): Summarize the main points in the debate and your side’s main
arguments.

Team member responsible: Sylvia

The team member that did the Constructive Speech should do this part!

Draft your summary speech here:

 Grand Crossfire (3 minutes): Brainstorm questions that you will ask the opposition to drive home
the rightness of your argument and wrongness of their argument.

BOTH Team members will be responsible for this part!

TIP: You may want to take your 2 min to organize just prior to this part!

Add questions in here during the debate!

Final Focus Speech (2 minutes): Tell the judge why your side won the debate. For this part, you
will speak directly to the judge.

Team member responsible:

The team member that did NOT do the Constructive Speech should do this part!
TIP: You could also take your 2 min to organize just prior to this part, if you didn’t take it before!

Add some ideas in here prior to the debate, but you will likely need to draft this section as you
listen to the debate.

Our opponent is advocating for the hypothetical necessity for our species survival instead of focusing on
human life as we exist now. Funding for a Mars colonization mission is incredibly expensive to the
government’s budget and displays the negatives of privatization through negligent comments from investors
and attempts at personal gain for profit rather than stated goals. Our opponent also failed to recognize how
dangerous it would be for the hypothetical patrons to partake in a mission to mars based on how many
failed launches and malfunctions have occurred and lack of discussion around the dangers of space,
specifically space radiation. These stated reasons are why you should vote for us.

STEP 4: Debate Team Check-in! - January 6 (@ assigned time)

On Wednesday, January 6, you will check-in with your debate teacher during your assigned check-in time.
Prior to this time, make sure to check in with your debate partner via email, text, zoom, etc to get organized
and discuss your goals for the day. During your meeting with your debate teacher, be prepared to run through
major arguments with the teacher grading you. You should have final speeches and lines of reasoning to
show them, even if there is a part of it that you are unsure of.

Notes from meeting with your debate teacher:

STEP 5: Debate Day! - January 7 (9 am)
Welcome to Debate Day, Thursday, January 7. Prior to class on Thursday, make sure to format, revise, and
polish. Make changes based on the feedback from your teacher. Adjust thoughts, formats, etc. and seek out
any additional research you may need. Think about questions you may ask the other side, and questions they
might ask you. Practice improvising questions, answers and rebuttals.

● 9:00am Meet in our Interdisciplinary Zoom to get instructions for the day

Debate Grading Rubric: