May The Fourth Be With You!

Spring is in the air while summer beckons. Time for a homework finals to usher in the coming heat.

And what better way to test what we’ve learned than an interactive oral presentation? That’s right, a live debate. Anyone can look smart on paper. But it takes a special skill to defend yourself from verbal assault.

The main assignment is to come with at least one controversial but plausibly defensible statement. The statement can be about anything. It just needs to be somewhat, somehow controversial.

Extra credit if your statement(s) is both completely trivial but at the same time engaging.

Here is the catch: we will take these statements (write them down, please) and drop them into a Library glass. We’ll take turns drawing them out and randomly selecting if we are to take a pro or con position on them. Then the selector has to defend the position assigned (pro or con) against any comers.

Check out the latest IFF for possible inspiration:

• Are you in a bog? Caught in the mire? Adam Mastroianni has a way out.
• Rob Henderson has 34 lessons he learned the hard way.
• Some things work. Lots of things don’t. Dynomight lists 43 from the latter category.

Stories (Awkward and Otherwise): 

• I got another “Hey, Mr. Businessman!” type comment.
• Danger laid in wait around the bend–ready for the ambush. Luckily for me, I have Top Gun-like reflexes.

See you Saturday!