Oct 12, 2007

Draft Questions Announced!

Sorry about the delay in getting these out to you. I wanted to make sure we had good material before you saw it and I wasn't quite ready for School Meeting. Below you will find the draft group choices. They might change a little before Monday and as always if you don't see what you like you can write something else in.

Do fences make good neighbors? - Immigration: is it migrant workers and illegal labor or the melting pot and the American Dream? Nothing captures the imagination more than a rags to riches story, but what are the long term costs of America’s policies toward Mexico, India and other countries?

When they score, who wins? - When millions of dollars are at stake it’s not just a game any more. Does the business of sports destroy the game, the players and the colleges built around successful franchises? Or can the purity of the game rise above the fray? Who are the real winners and losers?

Is the truth manufactured? Were there weapons of mass destruction or weren’t there? Are cigarettes bad for you? Is global warming real or not? A free press should serve the interests of the population yet manipulation of the truth is all too common. Will you find the real truth? Can anyone?

Will science save us or slay us?Every day we read about a man-made disaster that could destroy the world: global warming, bio-terrorism and old fashioned nuclear weapons. Yet science is also responsible for major advances in civilization like medicine, technology and clean energy. Will we rise above our destructive natures or will our inventions destroy us?

What is the cost of beauty?They are stunning on the runway and in the magazines but behind the scenes it's a different story. Anorexic models, child labor in clothing factories, plastic surgery and distorted perceptions of reality. What are the long term implications for girls faced with this onslaught and can recent campaigns from some designers make a difference?

Why do they hate us? Sympathy for Americans after 9/11 flowed from every country in the world, yet six years later the landscape is very different. How does the Arab world perceive the US and what have we done to make matters better or worse? How will our role in the middle east shape not only that region but also our own future safety?

What is the secret life of food? – A Big Mac, pasta with cheese sauce, a plate of sushi: each of these dishes taste different, but the true differences go much deeper. Health care costs, erosion, rain forest destruction even international trade deals all hang on the personal choices we make around the food we eat.

Is the ocean dying? – Some say there may be no commercial fishing left in less than 40 years. The long term impact of the loss of tuna, salmon, shrimp and other species goes beyond our dinner table and the global fishing industry to affect larger species higher on the food chain. If this is true, can we reverse this trend?

When you pick your group you'll be able to choose three groups in order of preference. I'll try to give everyone their first or second group!

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