Find Your Voice 2008

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Find Your Voice 2008:
Honoring the Legacy of Doctor King

On Saturday January 19th, 2008, Hostelling International USA and the Boston Urban Debate League are partnering to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a public showcase of the visions of Boston's young people. Ten Boston Public Schools students will debate issues of race, culture, non-violence, and human rights in a public forum at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.

Find Your Voice 2008: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. King will bring together local public high school debaters and community leaders who support the urban debate movement in its push to expand the growth opportunities of debate to urban high schools. Students will publicly debate government policy on topics including racial integration of public schools, genocide in Darfur, and aid to developing countries.

Location: Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library
Time: Saturday, January 19, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Admission: FREE
Email or call Nicole if you have questions, 617.718.7990 x17

This unique event is more than a set of debates, it is a public assembly celebrating the positive outcomes made real when Boston’s young people, particularly those for whom such opportunities are not readily available, have the support and encouragement to think critically about pressing issues and become civically engaged.

Each topic will be presented by a prominent guest presenter. Guest presenters play a key role in the event, bringing recognition to the urban debate movement and the important role that young people and open discussion have to play in the response to current social issues.

Participating high schools include: Brook Farm Academy, Charlestown High School, Josiah Quincy Upper School, Boston Community Leadership Academy, and the Academy of Public Service.

Format: There will be five 30-minute debates and a 10-15 minute keynote address. The debate type is policy debate.

Topics will include:

United States foreign aid for HIV prevention should not prioritize abstinence-until-marriage programs.
The US federal government should mandate that public schools in the US teach Spanish as a foreign language.
The Supreme Court should reverse its decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools vs. Seattle School District No. 1 and allow school districts to make race-based school assignments for the purpose of desegregation.
The United States should boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Members of the US armed services should be allowed to fulfill part of their obligated service in the Peace Corps.

Partners:

Boston Urban Debate League: The Boston Urban Debate League organizes debate as an academic competition, offering urban high school students the powerful academic benefits of an activity that has long been the domain of more affluent public and private schools. By expanding this opportunity to hone skills in research, writing, critical thinking, and communication, the Boston Debate League aims to eliminate a particular form of educational and social inequality. :