You are an up and coming novice debate team named SDOWU at your first university debate tournament. You just broke open quarterfinals as the 15th team, and you’re the only novice team that open broke. The tournament CAs present you with two options: debate in open quarterfinals against the open teams, or break novice instead and debate in novice semifinals.

The Emu War was a real military operation undertaken by the Australians in 1932, in order to control the growing emu population that was affecting farmers. The operation was ineffective, with the emus suffering minimal casualties and the military ultimately fail to control the population, while wasting millions of resources. This event remains one of the only recorded instances of a state actively declaring war against an animal species, and losing. In the scenario, Emus have the ability to communicate minimally and organize attacks. Declaring a Second Emu War would entail an emu-led retaliation against human encroachment. This could involve coordinated disruptions of farming activities, destruction of crops, and strategic movement to overwhelm human efforts at containment. Emus, having learned from the first war, could employ more advanced guerrilla tactics as well.

The Agricultural Revolution, which began around 10,000 BCE, marked the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled farming communities. Humans began domesticating plants and animals, leading to permanent settlements, population growth, and the eventual rise of civilizations. This shift allowed for food surpluses, specialization of labor, and technological advancements, but also introduced social hierarchies, private property, and the spread of diseases due to close human-animal contact. As a time traveler, stopping the Agricultural Revolution would mean preventing the shift to farming and ensuring that humanity remains a hunter-gatherer species. This could involve sabotaging early domestication efforts, disrupting early settlements, or spreading knowledge that deters humans from adopting agriculture.

The Afterlife is divided into The Good Place and The Bad Place. You go to the ‘Good Place’ if you have a positive point total of actions. Currently your actions on Earth are afforded points, where every act has different point creditation. All morally good acts have positive points (saving a “life, donating to charities”, “sacrificing your share for someone else”), whereas your points get cut due to any negative actions (cheating, murder, arson, not taking POIs). Currently, if your motivations are corrupt, self-serving, you don't get points for otherwise seemingly positive actions, and vice versa. Humans while alive know the metrics on which they are judged (motivations versus consequences), but not the exact details.

Bruce Wayne, better known as the Batman, is a masked vigilante dedicated to fighting crime in Gotham City. Despite the city's rampant criminal activity, he adheres to a strict no-killing rule, preferring instead to incapacitate and lock up his victims. For this debate, assume a world without superpowered individuals. Additionally, for this debate, being a symbol of vengeance refers to instilling fear in criminals.

Recent scientific observations indicate that orcas have been intentionally attacking boats, particularly in the Strait of Gibraltar and surrounding waters. These incidents involve orcas ramming vessels, often targeting and damaging rudders, leading to significant harm to the boats and, in some cases, causing them to sink. Researchers suggest that this behavior may have originated from a specific traumatic event experienced by an orca, leading to a learned behavior that has spread among the population through social learning. The deliberate focus on critical parts of the vessels, such as the rudder, suggests a strategic approach by the orcas.

NLOG stands for Not Like Other Girls. It is a cultural phenomenon which is a reaction against typically feminine stereotypes — that is, makeup, fashion, fitness, and the like. Some girls who don’t fit said archetype attempt to separate themselves from other women, hence the phrase “I’m not like other girls.”