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In our Media Advocacy and Social Change class, we were assigned a group debate project. Here are the instructions:

Students will get the opportunity to suggest their final groups of 6-8 students. After I have finalized the groups, during the semester you will have the opportunity as a group to divide in two. One side will play President Barack Obama and one side will play the Republican opposition. In about 30 minutes, the debates will follow such topic areas as the economy, social policy, international policy, and military intervention. The questions will be prepared beforehand consulting with me, and the oral answers in class will be graded on depth and thoroughness in responding to the questions. Fellow students will have evaluation forms that will count as quizzes for them and will be used in the follow-up class discussion. PowerPoint or other audio-visual materials may be used if desired. Each individual team member will submit a paper for grading on their individual question with rebuttal from the class session. You will also have an opportunity to rate your fellow group members’ participation that will affect the final participation grades.

Our group decided to debate the proposed tax on fatty/sugary foods and drinks. Both groups will be addressing the following questions:

1. What are the potential consequences of income and obesity in relation to this tax?
2. Is this fat tax an effective way to address the obesity issue? Is it an effective way to raise revenue?
3. Can an effective health care plan be created without addressing obesity?
4. How has the media covered these two issues? Has one side received more attention than the other?

We will present our debate in class, but we also wanted to take the debate beyond the classroom and disseminate our ideas using this blog, social media, and anything else we come up with. So, we hope you'll take a look at what both sides have to say, and we hope you will find both sides useful in helping you better understand this issue.

Click here to view the post on our plans, our process, and our purpose.