Yannie Fu L6A (11) Mobile phones should be allowed to be brought to school - NEG captain opening Good Afternoon, There

used to be a time in life when only one person answered the phone when it rang !a"# then $e "ould easily distinguish the ring of our phone at home and the ring of our neighbour%s telephone &owadays, whene'er someone%s mobile rings on the street, we see the strange phenomenon of twenty people franti"ally sear"hing their bags to see if it was their mobile phone that rang ((ur opponents are )uite "orre"t ) *obile phones are e'erywhere $e are plagued with mobile phone and networ# ads where'er we go $e often end up in the *T+ stu"# listening to the phone "on'ersations of the person ne,t to us, whether we want to or not These "alls are usually serious business "alls, si"#eningly sweet "ooing to boyfriends and girlfriends, or gossip fests with sudden outbursts of annoying laughter -eople are obsessed with buying the newest models of mobile phones, whi"h "ome out at an unbelie'ably fast rate .'en if they don%t buy new ones, they are "onstantly "hanging the outer shells of their phones to the latest shades of neon orange or purple *obile phones ha'e simply be"ome one big "ommer"ialised money/eater This trend, 0%m afraid to say, is &(T a healthy one, "ertainly not one to be promoted at s"hools 0f edu"ational institutions su"h as s"hools allow the bringing of mobile phones to s"hool, all they are doing is passi'ely supporting this e,pensi'e, unhealthy and simply 1&&.2.33A+Y trend There is absolutely no ne"essity for students to bring mobile phones to s"hool, espe"ially before, during and right after s"hool 4o they really need them5 Are our opponents prepared to deal with all the e,tra problems of bringing mobile phones to s"hool in e,"hange for perhaps 6ust a little more "on'enien"e5 $e, as students, won%t be e,pe"ting urgent phone "alls from "lients or bro#ers telling us when to sell our shares $hile we may ma#e the o""asional phone "all to report to our parents, 0%m sure most of our time on mobile phones will be spent on "hatting with friends whene'er we feel the urge, playing a game of 3na#e, "he"#ing our e/mail, sending ea"h other te,t messages, "omposing new ring/tones, and e'en singing #arao#e You see, mobile phones are not 6ust phones any more7 they ha'e be"ome a most "ompa"t and "on'enient toy at the rea"h of our fingertips, "ertainly not one needed by students 0f there e'er is a genuine need to ma#e an urgent phone "all, we "an simply use the phones at s"hool or a publi" pay/phone The bottomline is this There is absolutely no need for students to bring mobile phones to s"hool All it would do is "reate more "ompli"ated and serious problems, problems whi"h are definitely not 6ustified by the little "on'enien"e it brings Than# you

-atri"ia Lam8-auline Yeung

Mobile phones should be allowed to be brought to school (NEG)- 1st speaker Today 09d li#e all of us here to reali:e that we do not li'e in an ideal world 0t is nearly impossible to find a s"hool where there is no theft, no "heating, and no 'iolation of the rules, espe"ially when students are allowed to bring mobile phones ba"# to s"hool 0t is again, impossible to find a s"hool of whi"h all its students are from the same ba"#ground 0t is only normal that there are more pri'ileged and less pri'ileged students (wning a "ellular phone is simply a fa"t of life in this he"ti" world 0n order to #eep up with e'eryone else, less pri'ileged students are tempted to see# a way to fulfill their desires without informing their parents A li#ely way would be to obtain an e,pensi'e "ellular phone through illegal means, either by stealing or pur"hasing that item from a dis"redited shop 0t is another fa"t of life that bringing any pie"e of e,pensi'e te"hnology en"ourages theft A sur'ey by the Toronto 4istri"t 2atholi" 3"hool !oard of Toronto 2anada pro'es that there is a dire"t relationship between the in"rease of "ostly items being brought to s"hools and theft in su"h s"hools That is why the Toronto 4istri"t 2atholi" 3"hool !oard banned all mobile phones of all types from s"hool grounds in the distri"t !esides theft, "heating is probably one of the most troublesome problems of student beha'ior that tea"hers and headmasters fa"e Yes, to tal# from the perspe"ti'e of an e,perien"ed "heater, 0 *13T admit the fa"t that phones "an be 'ery useful in s"hools during lesson time 4uring a test 0 "ould type a te,t message to my friend in another "lassroom with my "ellular phone without anyone #nowing and she "ould e'en tell me the answers to my test That9s "ool !ut that9s "heating There are s"hool rules to pre'ent students from stealing and "heating, but it still happens $hy5 The fa"t is, it is impossible to find a s"hool where all students follow all the rules Loo# around us +ules e,ist e'erywhere 4ebate rules, s"hool rules, bus rules Yet they are 'iolated Tal#ing about mobile phones and the 'iolation of rules at the same time, the "inema immediately "omes into my mind 0 don9t #now about you, but 0 find the ringing of "ell/ phones e'ery now and then e,tremely irritating and disrupti'e 0t is made #nown that all mobile phones should be swit"hed off in "inemas, but how many people a"tually sti"# to this regulation5 The same thing happens in s"hools .'en if students are told to swit"h off their mobile phones during lesson time, there are always those absent/minded people who tend, or "hoose, to forget &o matter how well you "an "on"entrate 09m sure you9ll agree with me that "onstant interruptions by a birthday song, an ambulan"e ring or e'en the plain old ringing tone of the mobile phone is simply not the way one should learn The best way to de"rease these disturban"es would be to ban mobile phones in s"hool premises !ut, then and again, as our opponents may point out, this will not physi"ally pre'ent the negati'e impa"t 0 mentioned before, but it will "ertainly diminish the "han"es of theft, "heating and 'iolation of the rules in s"hool That fa"t itself is suffi"ient to let today9s motion be o'erruled 0t is impossible to as# for perfe"t s"hools and students, but it is "ertainly possible to as# for se"ure s"hools and dis"iplined students .laine *o# ;3" Mobile phones should be allowed to be brought to school NEG 2nd speaker

$e li'e in a media obsessi'e so"iety 0n *T+ stations, in newspapers, on T<, we ha'e been subliminally told that mobile phones are indispensable Thus it is not surprising that mobile phones are all the rage nowadays, espe"ially among our generation, whether we need one or not 3ure, they do "ome in useful on"e in a while to a"tually "all someone, but the little "ell phone is no longer a mere "ommuni"ation tool//it has be"ome a fashionable a""essory, and the "onstant updating of whi"h is a symbol of wealth and status 2ommon as they are, mobile phones do not "ome "heap The down payment, whi"h e,"eeds a thousand dollars, plus all the additional fun"tions, li#e "all di'ersion, add up to )uite a pretty sum on the monthly bill *obile phones are not affordable by students from wea#er e"onomi" ba"#grounds 3"hools are "ertainly not hierar"hies where wealth ma#es a differen"e They are pla"es where students are nurtured both intelle"tually and so"ially in an =e)ual opportunities= en'ironment 0t is the s"hools% responsibility to tea"h students that they should not indulge in superfi"ial materialism !y gi'ing the green light for mobile phones, s"hools are indire"tly en"ouraging e"onomi" "ompetiti'eness between students After all, who "an resist accidentally showing off her newest phone model straight from >apan, or the trendy phone "o'er used by Leon%s glamorous girlfriend in his latest "ommer"ial5 Fashions mo'e in and out in whirlwind style, and the situation will be li#e a dog "hasing its tail//the not/so/ri"h will ne'er "at"h up with the ri"h Less well/off students might feel depri'ed, and 6ealousy of others% possessions in the "lassroom naturally leads to resentment in families 0s this really the mentality s"hools want to foster5 0s this what we want for the sa#e of "on'enien"e5 *oreo'er, there are numerous health ris#s to using mobile phones A""ording to a report by 4r Lennart ?ardell, brain tumours are @ A times more li#ely in hea'y mobile phone users Although resear"h "on"erning phone radiation is not yet "on"lusi'e, is it really safe to gi'e mobile phones the benefit of the doubt5 1ntil there is a definite "on"lusion, we should try to minimise our e,posure to mobile phones for the sa#e of our own health 3"hools are where students spend their most formati'e years, where they learn and grow both physi"ally and mentally 3"hools ha'e the responsibility to "ra"# down on materialism and possible health ris#s by banning mobile phones Than# you Yannie Fu L6A (11) Mobile phones should be allowed to be brought to school - NEG captain closing $hen you finish eating a pie"e of "a#e, it seems so easy and "on'enient 6ust to lea'e the plate of "rumbs on the table ?owe'er, you will surely regret your hasty de"ision whi"h you thought was so "on'enient earlier on when you return to your plate a few hours later and find it surrounded by ants and "o"#roa"hes (ur opponents are "arelessly lea'ing the plate behind on the table 0t9s so "on'enient, you see 0f we let the rule slide, and allow mobile phones to be brought to s"hool, e'eryone will be happier be"ause it is 6ust so "on'enientBthe world will be"ome a brighter pla"e GreatC $onderfulC (ur dear opponents are being too naD'e They don%t see all the ants and "o"#roa"hes that will "ome out at night and "reate an e'en bigger mess

(rebuttals) (ur opponents are willing to ris# serious disturban"e in "lasses where we as students are supposed to be learning for a brighter future They are willing to tempt more thefts to o""ur and let s"hools be held responsible for any stolen mobile phones They are en"ouraging a highly unhealthy not to mention money/su"#ing trend They are in"reasing the gap between the wealth standing of students in the "lassroom, gi'ing the ri"h a "han"e to wa'e their proud possessions around in the fa"es of their bitter "lassmates who feel inferior be"ause they "annot afford a mobile phone They are willing to put impending health ris#s on the entire student population 0n addition, they are gi'ing a false se"urity to both students and parents They are promoting an o'er/relian"e on a mere te"hnologi"al gadget, whi"h will turn students into a generation with the slogan ofE %(h noC 0 forgot to bring my phoneC $hat am 0 going to do5% what is all this for but a little more "on'enien"e5 0s it all ne"essary5 There are phones at s"hool, and on the street, you "an either borrow a phone from a shop or simply use one of the many payphones (ur opponents ob'iously ha'e not loo#ed ahead and "onsidered all the negati'e "onse)uen"es before supporting su"h a motion They ha'e made a hasty de"ision whi"h they are bound to regret 0 suggest they thin# about whether they really want to be fa"ed with that "o"#roa"h and how they are going to get rid of that herd of ants before they go and lea'e the plate on the table

Than# you