Instead of raving on about my laziness and overall poor form in festive activities (too much food = sleep time), here's something from Grade 12 debating:

Buffy is a Bad Role Model (Affirmative Team)

Vampires suck...well they would literally if they did indeed exist. If vampires did exist I'm sure that everyone present here tonight would be carrying their trusty stakes and feel mentally prepared to recall exactly which side of the chest the heart is situated. Thanks to Buffy we all know how to fight off vamps and to prove it, I'll throw my wooden stake, that I have prepared earlier, directly at the adjudicator's head and if they are as skilled as I am at slayer manoeuvres, they will successfully catch the stake before it lodges into their skull. Oh I'm sorry...I left my stake inside my principal.

Good evening chairperson, members of the audience and fellow debaters. My name is Anni and I am the first speaker for the Affirmative team. Tonight's debate is about an issue that affects those who know people that own television sets. Is Buffy a bad role model? Before we, the affirmative team will prove to you that Buffy is indeed a bad role model; we will define the topic for a clearer understanding.

Firstly, Buffy is defined as being a television show and film character, which was created by Joss Whedon. Buffy Anne Summers, an ex-student by day and a vampire slayer by night is the lead character of the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". The word bad is defined as having a negative effect and finally, a role model is defined as a person who is of influence to others, whom they look up to or try to emulate. Therefore we the affirmative team define tonight's topic as: The fictitious Buffy Anne Summers, who slays vampires and other demons by night, influences those who witness her acts in a negative way. That is, those who actually witness Buffy's countless acts of violence and thick headed one-liners are not enriched by the experience, they are actually being exposed to negative influences.

Our basic thematic line tonight is that it's all fun and games until someone gets a stake through the heart. Buffy can be seen as a careless young woman who is making the best of a bad situation, resulting in semi-enthralling plots and outcomes. People do sit back and watch her for entertainment...but then they are sucked into the whole sticky situation and become what is known as 'obsessed', leading to noticeable changes because they want to be more like Buffy. They may do things differently or act in ways that they thought were wrong to them previously, simply for the fact that Buffy does all this and saves the day, with make-up intact and without remorse for her actions. From childhood through to adolescence, our minds are like sponges, absorbing things that we see on a day-to-day basis, including media content. With a full sponge, we develop different personas, starting with the most evident changes. If Buffy treats a teacher with limited respect or skips school, we could do that. If Buffy breaks the law by damaging property or carrying weapons, we could do that. We should all be able to protect ourselves with weapons, or act like Buffy does. But there isn’t a director there to call a cut when we are hauled off to prison or we are punished for irresponsible behaviour. Yes we all could be more like Buffy. But where would that get us? If my fellow debaters were more like Buffy we wouldn't be here tonight. We would be out, lying to our parents and looking for trouble. But at least we could make fighting in high heels look effortless.

As first speaker for the affirmative team, I will explain in more detail about how Buffy single-handedly undermines the educational and legal systems. Our second speaker Alicia will discuss how children are influenced by Buffy. We the affirmative team will prove to you tonight that Buffy is indeed a bad influence on those who witness her blatant lack of respect for attributes that are utilised to maintain stability.

To begin with, Buffy undermines the educational system, influencing those who admire her to do the same. Students are taught to act in a certain way in society, as well as how to speak and to give the same respect to others as you have them give you. From viewing Buffy's actions, it is seen that she displays limited respect for anyone who is above her in society including her parents and teachers. She is constantly late for class, if she even bothers to show up to class at all. In season 2, an episode called "Bad Eggs" shows Buffy's irresponsible attitude towards her education. Willow asks Buffy "Buffy, How come you weren't in class?" "Vampire issues. Did Mr Whitmore notice I was tardy?" She replied. Xander then said, "I think the word you are looking for is 'absent'." Willow continued "Tardy people show". Buffy’s only response was "Oh. Right". From day one, Buffy is seen as a student who has a bad track record. She is stated to have left her previous school, Hemery High because she burnt down the gym whilst fighting off vampires. Buffy shows no remorse for these actions and this can be seen from the fact that instead of staying in her previous town to face her demons, she flees to another town with the hope of abandoning all of her previous responsibilities. As soon as Buffy has inkling that there are vampires in her new town of Sunnydale, she immediately looses all wishes to make steady friendships or to become too committed to her education in case she has to flee from her responsibilities once more. As early as season 1, episode 2, Buffy lies to her school principal so that she can go off and kill a vampire. Her complete lack of motivation cannot be blamed primarily on her outer school job of slaying. In season 2, part one of the episode titled "Becoming", Buffy can be quoted as stating: "I mean, in the real world, when am I ever gonna need to use chemistry, math, history, or the English language?" Her total lack or consideration for her education is seen also in the episode "Some Assembly Required", where Buffy states: "You might want to avoid words like 'amenable' and 'indecorous'. Speak English."

Buffy displayed her disrespect for educational facilities by firstly burning down her previous school's gym. But the pyromania didn't stop there, in season three's "Graduation" episodes Buffy says: "Graduation is a pointless ceremony where you sit around and listen to boring speeches until you get a little piece of paper that says you graduated, which you already know". She then emphasized this by blowing up Sunnydale high school. Students that witness Buffy's weekly attempts to put her education second to her side-job will most likely feel the same way about their own situations. Students that attend school now may feel the urge to give in to the pressures of having other commitments and therefore put their education second. If this is so beneficial, then why is Buffy on a constant run from her other commitments?

Secondly, Buffy is seen to undermine the legal system multiple times, which suggests that this is supposed normal adolescent behaviour. Buffy performs acts of countless violence throughout her adventures along with weapon possession, endangering innocent bystanders, and shoplifting. Buffy is shown to carry weapons everywhere with her, even to school. After countless events of schoolyard violence in the US, it is bewildering to why a television would show a lead hero as a high school student carrying stabbing implements in their schoolbag. Buffy's carelessness towards the safety of others is also shown in an episode where she fires off a rocket launcher in the middle of a crowded mall. So where does Buffy acquire her weapons? She steals them of course. In season three in an episode called "Bad Girls", Buffy and another slayer called Faith are seen breaking into a weapons shop. They joke about their actions whilst committing the crime and they are consequently arrested. Inside the police car, they kick out the protective screen and knock the police officers unconscious. They flee the scene without even anonymously calling an ambulance. Buffy's violent behaviour isn't reserved only for defence purposes or for fleeing the law. In another episode, she tells a good demon that she would rip out their ribcage and wear it as a hat, simple for the fact that she was impatient at the time.

Therefore it can be seen that Buffy is indeed a bad influence. She is disrespectful, unnecessarily violent, uncaring towards the safety of others, irresponsible and a criminal. She may fight demons of the night, but who has to be called upon to punish her for all of her evil deeds? Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is all fun and games until someone gets a stake through the heart. We may sit back and watch Buffy do all of these morally wrong things and smile to ourselves because it would never happen in realty. But it can, will and already has. Students can put their education second, they have been reported to carry weapons and vast numbers are caught stealing and acting violently mentally and physically towards one another and their teachers. The only way for things to change is to change what children and adolescents see in the media. They could look up to Buffy and see a strong woman who is physically attractive. But do they want to be like the real Buffy? A young woman with a future of being unemployed, imprisoned or even killed because of her careless behaviour. A real positive role model don't you think. Ladies and gentlemen Buffy is and always will be a bad role model. In conclusion to this, Buffy is just like a vampire...she sucks.