Short Form

About me: Senior at University School of Nashville and incoming freshman to Williams College in the fall. 4 years of policy debate, debated this year's topic. I spent most of my time as 2A but also have been 2N for an appreciable amount of time.

Speech Docs: Yes, please. Email chain is most preferable, zacharybabat17@email.usn.org

Ultra-Fast Version:

• Everything below is up for debate. All the long-form stuff can totally be swayed if you provide decent warrants, I'm just letting you know my dispositions.
• Read what you're comfortable with. If you read what's your turf, you're far more likely to make intelligent analytics and tell clear stories that engage with what's happened in the round, and that makes me more likely to vote for you. I don't have any dispositions so severely inhibiting you can't win the round, though I do have some dispositions that are outlined below.
• Be respectful. "We must love each other or die" -jon sharp
• Comparative analysis good, ships passing in night bad.
• I pay attention to CX.
• Have fun. It's corny. Yes. But the fact of the matter is, when the debaters are having a good time, screwing around a bit, and enjoying themselves, I enjoy myself, too. Debate should be an enjoyable place while still being competitive, making it a space like that will, bare minimum, help your speaks.

Long Form

General Predispositions:

• Clash is vital. The worst debates are when both sides are like two ships passing in the night. I despise them. Please don't make me sit through 2 hours of teams yelling and pretending the other team's yelling didn't happen. Engaging with what's happening in the round and not reading straight down blocks is a key part of winning the round.
• Specificity rocks. The more specific your arguments are to everything else happening in the round, the more impressive and persuasive. The converse goes for generics.
• Clarity over speed. Ultimately, I judge the round based off the flow I have in front of me, meaning it is in your best interest to ensure I know what you're saying. I'll be sympathetic to the other team if you mumble argument and call them dropped. 
• Truth and tech both matter. There needs to be some level of tech in order to ensure that I don't do work for you. But also, smart arguments, even if not carded, will outweigh sheer garbage.
• Blippy catchphrases are not arguments. I will not vote on your three-word "fiat is illusory" argument in the block when you try to give a whole 2NR on how the aff dropped it later. Ditto for the aff on their equivalents.
• I listen to cross-ex. Use it wisely.
• Don't be a prick. Don't get me wrong, debates with a little heat, a little fun intensity between teams are always fun. Just make sure not to cross that unspoken line. This includes being a prick to your partner.
• Don't be a moron. Racism good etc. is terrible. I will very probably vote against you, tank your speaks, and tell your story at dinner that night.

Conducting Rounds:

• I don't take prep for emailing/flashing. That said, if things get ridiculous, I'll let you know that prep is running. I'm a high schooler, my political capital to hold up a tournament is low.
• I'll yell "clear" twice before docking speaks.
• Tag-team cross-ex is fine. Steamrolling your partner into submission because you find them incompetent is not. Been there, done that.
• Ethics violations are serious. They can end debate careers or worse. I don't like guaranteeing a penalty because that type of monolithic severity is what's wrong with the justice system, I shall deal with cases as they arise. If you call them, have evidence. If unsure, err on the side of caution. 
• Don't steal prep. I will notice.

Condo/Theory: 

• BE CLEAR. I mean really be clear here. Theory is all analytics, so it's a nightmare to resolve unless I have a decent idea 
• 2 conditional off-case is my default. But it's condo, so pretty much anything goes. If the aff points out in-round abuse, that story is highly persuasive, even in rounds with less than 2 condo advocacies. 
• In-round abuse is key. This isn't applicable to all theory arguments, but demonstrating in-round abuse, where fitting, is critical to getting me to really care about your interpretation.
• I was a 2A and 2N. I know how much it sucks to be staring down 4 CPs that are all super contrived and garbage. I also know what it's like to be staring down a plan so amorphous and shifty it's hard to generate offense. Accordingly, I can empathize with both sides.

Counterplans: Often my go-to, but I also am weary of how they can be abused.

• Neg: Your CP should have specific solvency, especially for multiplank CPs. Consult CPs, Plan-Plus CPs, and other CPs that are evidently generic are always a bit suspect. But specific PICs, Agent CPs, etc. are all good. This is a theme, but the key is ensuring your CP strat is specific and has the requisite solvency evidence. Specifically describing how your solvency addresses the aff is a big plus.
• Aff: As a former 2A who used to run cheat-y CPs, I know the horror well and am friendly to theory arguments that call out the CP for in-round abuse. Read my advice to the neg above to inform your theory strat.
• General: If the neg wins that the CP solves case, it's always an uphill battle for the aff. I find "only risk of the DA" a highly persuasive neg argument in those cases. Counterplans linking to the net benefit is also a big flaw that many fail to catch.

Disadvantages: Good case vs. DA debate is always welcome. 

• Neg: Logical turn analysis and well-told, specific stories of how the DA would go down are my favorite.
• Aff: Thumpers/"this should have happened" arguments and brilliant no-link distinctions are also really cool.
• General: I find that this if often where really smart, devastating analytics happen. Especially if you bring in outside knowledge of the real world. Assessing magnitude of things that aren't the impact (like analyzing the magnitude of the link) is great.

Kritiks: Are either the coolest thing ever or the worst thing ever.

• Spreading straight through your K blocks in hopes your inexperienced competition will drop them is not persuasive and looks bad. I expect this to be an important thing to note in the novice rounds I'll be judging.
• Engage with the other team's arguments. I don't care how good your file made over 3 years running is. It will not be enough to engage with what's happening in the round well. This is basically a reiteration of my first point.
• Preferences: I'm a big fan of kritiks that pick out the language and representations of the 1AC and fit them into a broader narrative. Generally, I'd like to think I'm pretty solid hearing Cap, Security, Antiblackness, Foucault, Agamben, Schlag, etc. I'm a bit shakier when it comes to other, more high-theory style kritiks *cough* Baudrillard* cough, especially the way they're run these days. Overall, though, I'd like to think that I can hear any kritik if you do the proper work on it articulated below.
• What I need to vote on a K: A specific link story indicting how the 1AC feeds into a broader system that is bad, an explanation of alt solvency, clear analysis contextualized to the aff.
• Neg: I am highly persuaded by specific lines pulled from the 1AC/specific references to CX, turns case analysis (although you'll probably need external impacts), serial policy failure (if well explained), and explaining the kritik in an intuitive fashion. If you give your links awesome and memorable names, you are a good person. Explaining the phenomena of the 1AC through the lens of your kritik, that is also awesome.
• Aff: I am persuaded by the perm and turns analysis. In addition, I love arguments that point out how the aff is true, and refers to empirical, real-world phenomena that cannot be explained through another lens.
• Framework: Generally kinda meh. Often, these are extremely self-serving. I'm likely to prefer whichever team finds the most reasonable interpretation that allows for the mutual coexistence of the aff and the kritik. Because those are both good things we should have in rounds.

Topicality: It exists.

• General: I was never much of a fan of topicality. I didn't get into this activity to hear semantic arguments. That said, with maturity, I have come to recognize its necessity in debate, especially on topics this broad. 
• I default to reasonability. That doesn't mean that I won't vote on topicality, I will easily swing around to competing interpretations because I don't like being that vague. But if the debate is a wash and reasonability's on my flow and the aff seems like a not psychotic interpretation of the topic, I'll probably tip towards the reasonable interpretation.
• Neg/Aff: Caselists are potent. Show me how garbage the topic is under their interpretation, and how great it is under yours. Also, I find discussion of why I should prefer one side's authors over another to be persuasive, if you can tell me why I should prefer it in a way that actually matters. 
• Misc: I'm gonna quote my mentor Colin Kolodziej on this one because he nails it. "Good neg teams will provide a comparative description of the aff and neg ground under their interpretation and why those are good for debate and why the counterinterpretation is worse for debate based on a similar description. Good aff teams will explain why the aff under their interpretation are necessary to good debate and why they provide sufficient neg ground for the other team or are sufficiently limiting."

Kritikal/Unusual Affs: I'm also gonna quote Colin Kolodziej on this one, too, because he kills it here as well.

• I generally think that defending a plan is good, but will do my best not to let that influence my decision and evaluate framework debates in term of who won the arguments in the debate. Neg teams should go for fairness and less of the silly Steinberg and Freeley deliberation key solve extinction impacts because I think the link threshold for solving portable skills is absurdly low. Aff teams should explain why their type of debate is better and cannot be solved by the neg’s interpretation and why the neg has sufficient ground under their interpretation. I think neg teams should read cps or ks against these affs or impact turn because more often than not that is the more strategic option. But if going for T is your thing, more power to you. If you are a K aff that defends a plan, then awesome.

Speaker Points: I am a slave to statistical analysis. Nate Silver is a wizard. I have slightly modified the following point scale, which comes from The 3NR's statistical analysis of the 2015-2016 season, found here: https://the3nr.com/2016/04/15/an-updated-speaker-point-scale-based-on-2015-2016-results/#more-3216

• 29.5-30.0 — top speaker
• 29.1-29.5 — one of the five or ten best speakers at the tournament.
• 28.8-29.0 — one of the twenty best speakers at the tournament.
• 28.6-28.7 — a 75th percentile speaker at the tournament; with a winning record, would barely clear on points.
• 28.4-28.5 — a 50th percentile speaker at the tournament; with a winning record, would not clear on points.
• 28.0-28.3 — a 25th percentile speaker at the tournament.
• 27.5-27.9 — a 10th percentile speaker at the tournament. 
• 0-27.5 — Something is wrong, I will explain it to you.

Me

Previous debater at UGA and debated in HS at a small school in GA. 
If you have any other questions, email me at camhen.debate@gmail.com - I would like to be on the email chain. 

- I won't read evidence "inserted into the debate." Debate's a communication activity and it justifies highlighting large parts of other people's ev which you couldn't read in a speech because of time constraints. I also don't know why it isn't the same as inserting a 20 min 1AC into the debate. Just read their re-highlighted ev or make broad indicts about the context of the ev. I think this practice is unethical. 

TLDR : Plans or GTFO

Prep Time ends when the jump drive leaves your computer.

I am very much so tech > truth.

Please Don't:
Be Rude or aggressive towards me, your opponent or your partner
Perform or imitate a sex act of any kind

Talk about suicide

Get naked

Please Do:
Read a plan
Defend a course of action
Defend your consequences
Have a competitive methodology

Case Debate

I like specific case debate. Shows you put in the hard work it takes to research and defeat the aff. I will reward hard work if there is solid Internal link debating. I think case specific disads are also pretty good if well thought out and executed. I like impact turn debates. Cleanly executed ones will usually result in a neg ballot -- messy debates, however, will not.

Topicality

I enjoy T debates, but please give me comparing visions of the topic (case lists are important). I default to competing interpretations but can be convinced otherwise; please put some effort into your reasonability arguments. You are fighting an uphill battle if you're trying to go for T must be a QPQ. 

Theory

Slow down. If you want me to vote on it, you have to give me time to actually write down your arguments. I have a pretty high threshold for condo with 2 or fewer condo options. More than 2 conditional advocacies is probably abusive. 

DA

The link is really important to me. 

I love good politics debate. The 1NR should do solid evidence comparison.

K

Links should be specific and well explained (there's a trend here). Don't get lost in buzzwords - make actual arguments. The aff should probably get to weigh their aff, but if they shouldn't, explain to me why. 

Too many times I see debaters forget about case – it’s still there. 
If you’re aff against the K, don’t forget your aff.  I dislike rejection alts- realistically your aff is a DA to the alt, impact it.

Death is bad. Suffering is bad. 

CP

They're cool. The more germane to the aff/topic they are, the more I will like them. 

Process CP’s are probably bad. I think you need a solvency advocate (with rare exceptions). 

K affs

are fine- you have to have a plan. You should defend that plan. Affs who don't will prob lose to framework. A lot....

NonTraditional Teams
If not defending a plan is your thing, I'm not your judge. I think topical plans are good. I think the aff needs to read a topical plan and defend the action of that topical plan. I also think if you've made the good faith effort to engage, then you should be rewarded. These arguments make more sense on the negative but I am not compelled by arguments that claim: "you didn't talk about it, so you should lose."

Email: mrzexion11@gmail.com

Insta: mrzexion11 

General:

I am a flow-centric judge (but I'm not pointing out dropped args for you) but also equally like to be persuaded. \

About the flow: If you drop the other teams arg I'll flow it to them only if they point it out. But if you're slick you'll find a way to be like "well we kinda talked about it when we said (whatever)" and I'll take it because I do debate and so I know the pressure.

About Persuasion: Don't just tell me why you win but why I should prefer your evidence, interpretations, framework, arguments. 

Added tip to help you: Just explain explain explain!!! It'll persuade me. Don't just say "but it won't" or whatever but go further and explain why. At least for the important things in the round... Wanna know what those are? Take a step back and look at the big picture. 

 I like clarity over speed, but go as fast as you think you're clear (or your coach thinks your clear) and if it's not working I'll just have you slow down. 

Etiquette:

Yeah sure tag-team, I don't care BUT BUT BUT make sure you don't overtake your partner's CX. Everyone should be able to handle their own but a little help here and there can go a long way. 

Be nice to your partner, like I won't dock speaker points but for your team's sake don't hate each other. 

You can be sassy, but that's different than condescending (I am so the #sassmaster so....)

What you can run, how to deal with stuff

I start all rounds Tabla Rasa and judge solely on the evidence presented in the round (but during feedback I might give y'all added tips). 

I'm policy/theory, whatever I don't care! JUST EXPLAIN.... 

K's: Yeah sure great run them, but make sure you know the literature of the K and are able to explain it in the round. Don't assume I know the K and thus you don't need to explain it to the other team and can BS your way through the round. IMPORTANT: Not a fan of non-blacks reading an anti-blackness K, and so on. Don't assume an identity K if you're not a part of that identity. 

T's: T has been a voter 50/50% of the time... The key for me is the interpretation and violation... And you have to have decent grounds-education or limits-fairness arguments... I also do like a case-list, it'll help you. Aff: IF you don't wanna lose on it then just make sure you have a good counterinterp and explain why its better. 

CP's: Good luck on winning an Executive CP with me..... I'm not a fan of CPS but if its competetive and has a legit net benefit then you good child! 

K Affs: Sure! Yeah! I prefer a plan text/advocacy statement but hey you do you and explain to me.... #tablarasa, but that means the other team can as easily convince me! 

Prep

So I keep prep time but I don't take time for flashing because that's evil.... But if it drags on then well... nyuh.... 

I sometimes do start CX right after the speech and Prep right after CX ends but that just depends on whether or not we're behind schedule... 

About Me:

I have debated for three years at Georgia State and did a mixture of debate in high school. Now I’m a graduate coach at Wake Forest

I want to be on the email chain; use gsupanther84@gmail.com

General:

Slow down when reading your tag and author, or I won't be able to catch it.

If GSU debate has taught me anything, it's to be extremely open minded to a variety of arguments. If you want to run death good, afropessimism, deterrence das, no period plan flaw, K affs, traditional affs, feminist killjoy etc, go for it. Just be sure to explain why you should win with this argument. ROB will be who debated the best unless I'm given another ROB with reason to perfer it. I'm against judge fill in but will vote down oppressive/offensive language/arguments especially if the other team points it out.

Aff

Do whatever you're best at, stay topical (or be ready to explain why topicality doesn't matter), be organized, and extend your case and why it outweighs throughout. I tend to err aff on framework if they have and defend a plan text, but you have to lock in if you decide to do that, otherwise I'll be persuaded to neg's abuse claims.

Ks

I love a good k with a clear link and impact. Your alts have to be clearly explained. I'll buy links of omission but the neg has to defend why the aff can't simply perm. Negs really have to take time in the block to explain why the aff can't perm and why it's net better to do the alt alone. Affs have to explain why they can perm and why the perm is net better than aff alone or why the alt can't solve the case. Don't drop theory args, or I will have to vote the other way.

DAs

I’m good with das but there has to be work done on how it links to the aff, or I will agree with the aff on no link args. If you have a solid Nonunique arg and extend it and I will vote on that. Solid impact calc will seal the deal for me, but if the aff successfully turns the DA or explains why the case outweighs the DA, I will vote on that as well. Long story short the more clash on the DA the better.

CPs

Love a creative CP, but it needs to solve/have a net benefit (DA or a K) along with stealing aff ground; otherwise I will agree with aff's perm and theory args. Aff needs to clearly explain why CP can't solve case, beat the net benefit, and articulate why the perm is best. Don't drop theory or you lose my ballot.

T

I will vote neg on a T arg if you convince me the violation is clear, the aff's counter interpretation is unreasonable, and the impact is big. I will vote aff if they convince me that their aff is reasonable, counter interpretation is better or equal to the negs, and a benefit to their definition, but aff can chuck topicality and still win if they articulate why being topical doesn't matter or is worse for debate. If the aff locks in and says they're T however, they cannot shift or it's an auto win for the neg.

FW

I lean aff in most cases unless the neg provides me with a clear violation, story, and impact. 2acs have to clearly explain why the aff is fair and/or better. Tech is important when arguing FW but explanation is key when you arguing framework. Truth always better than tech.

CX

cross ex is binding, answer the questions honestly, don't ask why the aff should win during 1ac cross ex or generic questions like that.

Last Updated
January 27, 2017

Background
Alpharetta High School Alumni
Freshman at UGA - not debating 
2A for four years (never been a 2N)

Rounds
Constraints: Alpharetta HS
Quick Overview: Read anything- I have my obvious constraints and pre dispositions which will be discussed below. You should read arguments you’re the most comfortable on, but this is not a replacement for sketchiness or trickery. Have fun! That’s why we do this activity

Anything not covered or explained here? Ask me anything you need to before rounds, and/or email me whenever –vaibhavkumar238@gmail.com


The quick version:
1. Be Nice!- We all do debate because of the educational value we gain from it and the friends we make in it. Make sure you always respect everyone in the room- your partner, opponent, and judge.
*There is a difference between being assertive and being rude. Don’t cross that line or it will affect your speaks. 
2. Impact CalcFraming­- This is the most important to me. Tell me how I should look at the debate after the round is over. This is especially true with the last rebuttals (but should be started earlier). You need to explain the impact and compare it with other impacts. Along with these come framing issues on how I should look at the overall debate. This needs to be explained because the last thing I wanna hear is “Look at the UQ debate through the lens of PC” and no explanation. These framing issues also need to be answered and compared- these are the best debates to judge. 
3. Evidence Comparison- I love LOVE LOVE good evidence. Compare it. Tell me why yours is better and why I should look at it first. I will NOT read cards after a round unless I need to. 
*Default to our evidence because it is newer is not an argument- give me a reason on why
4. Jokes- I am open to lots of jokes and I really wanna hear that. My partner has been Sachin Kashibatla for four years and I debated with Harrison Hall at camp. If you know either than them you should know I am pretty good with jokes/trolls. (don’t cross the line tho). If you make a good joke and I send it to Harrison Hall and Joel Veizi and they both give it above a 29 I will add .1 speaks. 
5. Tech o/w Truth all the time- This has two parts. In a debate if the other team out techs you even if they are wrong on something I will vote on tech. Secondly, I think that you can read ANY argument in debate but I think reading arguments like death good, racism good, suicide rhetoric good, etc. can get beaten VERY VERY VERY easily and will affect your speaks DRASTICALLY. 

DA:
- Probably my favorite negative position 
- I would always love a politics case throw down.
- Clear impact comparison, as said before- you need to do specific turn’s case stuff. War turns the environment is not a good turns case. DA’s that access the internal link of the aff are the best
- Carded turns case arguments are so so so important. 
- Subpointing is very important and makes flowing easy- if you do this your speaker points will be rewarded. 


CP:
- Specificity specificity specificity- The more specific the better for you- make sure it is competitive- remember I was a 2A so I am more aff leaning on competition but don’t take this as a free ticket aff- explain the competition arguments well
- I HATE THE WORD JUDGE KICK- As Andrea Reed said at camp- “What is judge kick? Say it one more time and I will judge kick you in the face!” 
- The negative should not have fiat ;)


K:
- I have not read as much into K literature so I am not as familiar with some arguments. I REALLY do like some K’s such as neolib (@Fangwei) and security but if you are those one off Death K’s or K’s (@Reed) that make me rethink my existence I am not the best judge for you.
- These also have implications- link debate is hella important like most other judges- CONTEXTUALIZE IT TO THE AFF- I hate K debates that are general but I LOVE K DEBATES THAT ARE SPECIFIC- I want to know what about the aff is neoliberal or securitizes, what epistemology is bankrupt, etc.
- I dislike 2NC’s that start off and spur “ k tricks”- if I hear “Fiat is illusory”, “serial policy failure”, and the Kappler card in ten seconds I might start laughing.
- I am not Buddhist


Case: Love this so much. Do some research and make it specific. NOTHING and I repeat NOTHING is better when you embarrass the aff team in CX, because YOU did research on THEIR aff.
*Please don’t be the team that just reads impact D- specific 1AC indicts and internal link defense will be rewarded BUT I do think that impact D is important in the 2NC so the aff cant just claim try or die. 


Non-Traditional ArgumentsFramework:
- I am friends with Joey Weideman and we love FW. This is where my biggest problem comes down for me. I think that the affirmative has to defend a topical governmental plan. I am REALLY convinced by framework argument so please try to adapt to your judge- if you are unable too just know that it is an very big uphill battle for me.
- Just remember friends - Framework makes the game work. 
- Debate is a game T:
- I like these debates
- The 2NR and 2AR should do two things-
1. Explain how the negative’s vision of debate via their interpretation is bad and vice versa for the affirmative.
2. Compare evidence such as the counter interpretation- explain why one is better and why I should prefer one- these are the important in these debates as it chooses what interpretation I should side with. 
- Limits and grounds are great
- Note: I do not know anything about the topic so explain and do not use acronyms. 

Theory:
- DON’T BE BLIPPLY
- This needs to be impacted well by both sides of the debate
- As a 2A, I lean aff on somethings but I can very easily be convinced both ways. If you are reading more than 2 conditional advocacies why stop at 3. Just read 6. One great debater from Iowa City once said "Picking between conditional options is like picking between your favorite kids. You just don't do that"- Joey Weideman or better known as Hegemon66. 
Neutral- condo
Negative- International CP, Multiplank CP (limit though), Logical CP with no solvency Advocate, PIC in literature 
Affirmative- PIK, Word PIC, ConsultProcess CP (uncompetitive CP)
- "Do things to the other team, that if they were your dog you would go to jail" - Dave Arnett


Random
1. I love email chains- save time for all of us. If it is a flashdrive no preparation for flashing (unless we are low on time) BUT don’t be annoying about this. 
2. Update your wiki- I know I have no control over this but if I come into a round and the other team is not aware of past 1NC strategies and past 1AC’s read it will jack your ethos and cred infront of me- it might affect some speaks as well. 
3. Dont clip- you will lose

First, a little about me...

I debated Public Forum for three years in high school at Piedmont Academy and Policy for four years at the University of Georgia.

Yes, put me on the email chain: morganpac15@gmail.com

I expect respect from everyone involved no matter the climate - race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. IF you have something controversial to say, I expect you to back it up and give it a purpose.

Let's talk PF:

Do you expect everything in the final focus to also be in the summary? Not necessarily - every round is different and comes down to different things, but I think having your main points extended in both is important. By the time of the summary and final focus, your winning points should be obvious (this includes your impact calculus).

Do second speaking teams have to respond to the first rebuttal? Yes, if time permits.

Do first speaking teams have to extend defense in the first summary? Defense, yes. New arguments, no.

Do you flow/judge off crossfire? It depends on how the round is going; crossfire can either make or break you, and if it is a close round, crossfire will play a part in the decision.

Do teams have to have more than one contention? No.

Does framework have to be read in the constructives? This is a loaded question - if you think you will need framework, include it in the constructive. AT THE LEAST, framework MUST be apart of the rebuttals. Summary or final focus is too little too late to bring up or heavily impact the framework debate.

Speed is fine, off-time roadmaps are encouraged, do not dominate or take over your partner's crossfire, but if needed, I will allow *some tag-teaming. I don't want you to be a sitting duck, but crossfire is the time where judges can see just how much you really know about your case, evidence, and arguments.

Let's talk Policy:

At the end of the day, the debate will come down to who had the most convincing points and who extended them the best. Clash is key, impact calc is key.

K Arguments: I am fine with K arguments, but do not assume that what you are advocating for is clear to all those who are listening. I need to see why the K outweighs staying on-case and why it is beneficial to debate.

DAs: I love me a good disad. Economy DA, Politics DA, any DA. If you can prove to me why the DA outweighs what the Aff can do, then I am all in it.

Topicality: I am completely fine with T args; I think in the chaos they keep the debate centered. But be warned, if you go for T, it must be won in the round.

CPs: Counterplans are fine IF they are not messy. I have seen, gone against, and read some really complex CPs that just don't pan out in the time permitted. If the explanation is not there in the planks and you struggle to add all you are trying to say, you probably shouldn't do it.

Don't get lost in the complexity of what Policy debate is; no matter the format, all debates come down to what the arguments are, how the evidence withstands, and how the debaters themselves carry the case through.

If anyone has any questions or if I left anything out, don't hesitate to ask :)

Good luck to all, and God bless!

Email Chain: vli40@binghamton.edu (I might not read your docs, but I should still have them in case).

Background: I debated at the University of Georgia for four years as their lone K debater reading Baudrillard and various pomo theories. I've been coaching at Bing for 4 years where I also primarily coach Baudrillard and various pomo theories. I think that debate is an incredible activity and equally value the potential for creativity and education. I tend to think of myself as an educator, and I generally prefer to let people read the arguments that they want to read.

1) Important Note about Adaptation: I have asymmetrical hearing loss. That means that I generally don't hear as clearly as some, which is an issue compounded by the fact that I was a slow K debater and am a slow K judge. I generally don't have an issue catching K and clash debate unless you're spreading quickly or incoherently through prewritten blocks. I do have an issue following fast policy vs. policy debate especially because I rarely know the nuances of any particular topic (certainly not high school). To adapt, you should make sure a) there is an obstacle free line between me and you, so that I can see and hear you, b) slow down if necessary if it seems like I'm flipping through my flows a lot or look annoyed, c) focus on explanation and judge instruction; smart debating can easily overcome tech for me because it will help me organize what is going on.

2) Conduct If you're in high school, college novice, or college junior varsity, don't be excessively mean to your opponents. If you are in college varsity, you should be funny.

Arguments:

Kvk

1) Explain methodologies. Why am I voting for you? How do I know that your argument is true? Because I don't generally have the same stable default of rational, utilitarian policy-maker, it is extremely important for you to tell me how to think about the round and that means defending your methods and presuppositions. If you don't have a reason why a particular framing is good or should be adopted, then that's the equivalent of making a warrantless claim for me.

2) Perms. I don't generally assume that there are no perms in a method debate, but I do think that the current state of debating perms is abusive. It is important that you explain what it is that I am voting for with respect to both the permutation and/or an alternative. If the alt is largely not-mitigated, then it is much harder for you to win the permutation because I am willing to weigh a risk of the perm being worse than the alt against the alt itself.

3) You should try to be as specific as possible and try to contextualize your Theory of Power to the aff. It is literally possible to win neg debates on Theory of Power alone, but I think it's easy for the non-pess team to beat back totalization in which case you will be losing Theory of Power. You can certainly still win debates where you lose Theory of Power as the pess team, and this will usually be through winning links, solvency indicts, or an alternative. This is true for all psychoanalysis arguments and Baudrillard.

4) I will hack for novelty. It's incredible to me how much critical theory we don't use in debate because it fails to meet the bar for what we think is the correct way to execute a Kritik. There's too little incentive for rethinking familiar arguments. If you go equal against a team that is reading something weird and new while you are reading old blocks and recycled 2nrs, then you did the worse debating.

Clash

1) Framework is boring. There are so many things that I would rather hear besides or in addition to framework such as impact turns/disads, cap, topical counterplans, indicts of authors, and other kritiks. If you read framework in front of me me, here are somethings that matter to me

A) Tell a story about actual abuse. I much prefer that framework be read with arguments that you expect your opponents to spike out of. Conversely, if you are the K team and you don't spike disads, then it is much more likely that you will win framework. Winning actual abuse will always legitimate whining about models.

B) Know that I think that fairness is an impact, but I don't think that it can easily be outweighed by structural injustice or the reproduction of violence. It is certainly a tie-breaker when the K team loses that voting for them does nothing or the TVA.

C) Clash is generally an internal link, not an impact. If you win that you have more detailed discussions of something that we shouldn't be talking about, you haven't won anything good.

2) Doing good is good, but you still have to explain buzzwords like utilitarianism and pragmatism. You don't win these arguments by just repeating the word because that's equivalent to a claim without a warrant.

3) Theory usually comes before topic education because it is assumed that we don't need to read conditional offcase or pics to access kritikal education. Again if you can tell me an abuse story, I'm more willing to buy the violation. I also really like 'x justifies y' arguments.

Policy vs. Policy

1) Ideally, I wouldn't be in these rounds, but it happens.

2) I will assume a utilitarian cost benefit analysis unless told otherwise. This means that I will vote for whatever you tell me to vote for. I've voted for first-strike russia, curbing counterplans, and condo.

3) Slow down and don't assume I read and understand what your aff does. Even if I do, I still believe that debate is a communicative activity and expect you to explain your arguments to me.

Updated for immigration - I found out the topic was about immigration 5 minutes before round 1 :eyes:
__________________

Ive debated for 4 years in highschool and a year in a half in college.

I only read policy arguments for my first three years, and only high theory for my last 3 years of debate

I dont care what arguments you make as long as you explain them well and explain why you should win the debate.

Conceding an argument means nothing if you dont explain why the argument is important and why their concession is important for the overall debate.

It seems like everyone is reading the K even if they dont know what it means... If you dont know what 2/3rds of the words in your evidence means... dont read the arguments or it'll be very obvious and your speaker points wont be as happy

The only argument im slightly biased on is "capitalism is bad", I dont think its bad in the abstract, but ive thought a lot about capitalism and theres one reason which has convinced me its evil. Thats up for you to figure out.

I just graduated University of Georgia (December 2018), where I debated and am now helping judge/coach.
If you have any questions that aren't answered here, email me at kat53mar@gmail.com and, yes, plz put me on the chain :^)

General:
- I like debate because it is fun and serves as a place to test/clash ideas.
- Death is definitely bad, don't talk about suicide in front of me, do not perform/describe/play a sex act of any kind, and anything that is racist, sexist, homophobic, antisemitic, etc will not be tolerated
- I'm expressive during debates because those are my favorite types of judges to have; look at me and notice if I'm bored, uncomfortable, nodding, whatever.
- Don't cheat. Don't be as ass. You'll lose.

I have more experience in traditional policy debate, but I'll adjudicate whatever happens to the best of my abilities.

T:
- There is inherent value to fairness
- I default to competing interpretations generally; I've never heard of a compelling reason the prefer reasonability -- prove me wrong.
- I want to see a case list and a topical version of the aff.

Theory:
- Usually a reason to reject the arg, not the team.
- Unless its condo.. anything more than 2 conditional worlds, I can be persuaded to pull the trigger.
- Slow down - I flow as much as I can, but I'm not perfect.

Disads:
- I do believe in zero risk of a disad aka absent a link.
- Politics DA - big fan! The internal link is usually absurd and a good 2ac/1ar will frame it as such.
- Ev comparison and a reasonable amount of spin will be rewarded.

Counterplans:
- As a 2a, I find perm do the counterplan persuasive against Process CPs
- I love clever PICs & advantage/grab bag CPs.
- I won't judge kick the counterplan unless you tell me/give me a reason why I should.

Kritiks:
- My knowledge base is limited to critiques of gender and neoliberalism. The literature isn't my wheelhouse so you'll probably have to explain your arguments/theories rather than assume I understand x concept.
- Contextualize the link to the 1ac and don't forget the value of the case debate
- I will pull the trigger on K tricks, but they need a thorough explanation; don't throw buzz words at me
- I think of the permutation as link defense
- I'm more persuaded by policy making good/pragmatism as an offensive reason to prefer the aff as opposed to weigh the plan vs the alt.
- Tell me what the role of the ballot is, what my role as the judge is, and how I should evaluate the round.

Non-traditional teams/clash of civs:
- You should defend an unconditional change from the status quo
- I don't think using the USFG nor the resolution is inherently racist, sexist, homophobic or ablest.
- I'm sympathetic to teams that try to engage affs that are not relevant to the resolution/don't have a plan text and the shadier the aff is, the more likely I'll be to think the neg's strategy is competitive/links
- I generally think the aff should get perms, unless they do not defend a plan text
- Do what you do best and do not over adapt. Like I said, I'll do my best.
- Links of omission are silly and not persuasive

Other thoughts:
- I'm more persuaded by tech over truth
- Presumption goes neg unless there's a counterplan or kritik
- Risky moves (that are well executed) will be rewarded and be reflected in your speaker points
- So will jokes about any UGA debater/my friends

Third year debater at Westminster:

Email Chain(nothing else) -- arjunbmohan@gmail.com

Paradigm:

- Do want you want. I will vote on almost any argument that you win. Don't let my pre-round preferences deter your arguments.

- I enjoy debates about the intricacies of the topic.

- I will vote on an argument only if I can explain it to the other team during the RFD.

- Debate arguments rarely make sense. I am most compelled by debaters who read fewer cards and find the logical holes in their opponents’ arguments.

- Slow down. (t+theory especially)

- States Theory is a viable option for the aff dependent on the debating, as well as the cp text.

- Clipping results in auto-loss + 0 speaker points

- For T/Theory debates, clearly explain your vision of the topic vs. theirs.

- I am a technical debater, I like watching technical debaters, so use your flow. Tech over truth.

K:

neg:

- Explain the link vs. Permutation

- Explain the alternative

- Contextualize as much as possible to the aff

aff:

- Defend your aff

- Explain the perm when it applies

- Defeat the theory of the critique and give me an explanation of why their theories are inapplicable to your aff.

Speaker Points:

- Don't talk over your opponents and don't be too aggressive or rude. While keeping this in mind, you should control the flow of the round and be assertive during cx and speeches.

- Don’t stare into your computer -- I reward debaters who preform, not mindlessly read into their computers

- Make Jokes

- CX – use it to your advantage to prove your arguments, not clarify your opponents. You will be rewarded.

A few things about me (TLDR version):

Former debater at University of Georgia

Plans are good

Impact calculus is important. Tell me how to write my ballot.

Clarity > Speed

Cross-ex is binding

Have fun and don't be rude!

Long version:

Framework - I'm a good judge for framework. Debate is a game and framework is procedural question. I’m persuaded by negative appeals to limits and I think fairness is an impact in and of itself. I don’t think the topical version of the aff needs to “solve” in the same way the aff does. If there are DA's to the topical version of the aff, that seems to prove neg ground under the negative’s vision of debate. Tell me what your model of debate looks like, what negative positions does it justify, and what is the value of those positions.

Kritiks - I think it's really hard for the neg to win that the aff shouldn't get to weigh the plan provided the aff answers framework well. I've got a decent grasp on the literature surrounding critical security studies, critiques of capitalism, settler colonialism, and feminist critiques of IR. The aff should focus on attacking the alternative both at a substance and theoretical level. It's critical that the 2AR defines the solvency deficits to the alternative and weigh that against the case. Negative debaters should spend more time talking about the case in the context of the kritik. A good warranted link and turns the case debates are the best way for negative teams to get my ballot. Tell me how the links to the aff uniquely lead to the impacts.

Counterplans - They don't have to be topical. Whether you have a specific solvency advocate will determine if your counterplan is legitimate or not. There's nothing better than a well-researched mechanism counterplan and there's nothing worse than a hyper-generic process counterplan that you recycle for every negative debate on the topic. I generally think that 2 conditional options are good, but I can be persuaded by 3 condo is okay. PICs are probably good. Consult/Conditioning/delay counterplans, international fiat, and 50 state fiat are bad. Typically, if you win theory I reject the argument not the team unless told otherwise.

Disads- I love a good DA and case debate. I've gone for the politics DA a lot in my college career. Normally uniqueness controls the link, but I can persuaded otherwise. Impact calc and good turns cases analysis is the best!

Add me onto the e-mail chain, my email is miriam.mokhemar@gmail.com. If your computer crashes, stop the timer until you can get your doc back up.

• Please go slower with me than you normally would
• I vote for anything as long as it's well explained. I am not super familiar with k's and framework, so make sure there's extra and coherent explanations on those.
• Please emphasize any voters or reasons to reject the team.
• Tag teaming is ok as long as you don't overpower the partner who is asking/ answering questions.
• Please be considerate and polite; if you are rude or condescending in crossex or blatantly insult the other team, I will dock your speaks.
• If you are a novice, please try and be quick with flashing/sending files. I don't take prep for either of those unless it's an excessive amount of time.
• If you do start an email chain, my email is lydiamoll625@gmail. Feel free to send me any questions there after the round as well.
• For spreading, I prefer clarity. If you are too fast and/or unclear, I might miss some arguments, and even if you said something crucial, you want to make sure it's on my flow or else I won't vote on it.
• Please be slower with theory arguments!
• Once prep time is over, stop talking to your partner/typing/writing/clicking. I'll warn you the first time, but after that, I will take your prep and probably dock your speaks. 
• Time your own speeches and prep. I will also be timing it in case there's a mishap, but it's best to manage your own time accordingly instead of relying on me to do it for you.
• Signposting is very important! Please do that so I don't get lost in your speech.

Roberto Montero, Bronx Science ’16, Binghamton ’20. I debated 4 years in high school and broke at the ToC if that means anything to you.

There are two types of arguments in debate (and their inverses): smart arguments and good arguments. Some arguments happen to be both but most of the time they are neither (thus either a bad argument or a not-so-intelligent argument). A smart argument is well-researched, nuanced, and interesting. Good arguments are strategic and effective at winning debates. For example, the politics disad is a ‘good argument’ in that it wins a lot of debates and can be executed and deployed to perfection in the correct hands. That doesn’t make it a smart argument because every novice can tell you that it doesn’t reflect real politics outside of a basic uniqueness claim (which half the time is cut out of context because news articles aren’t written as conclusive as cards are purported to be). A smart argument isn’t always good however. If you have a critique that you’ve put a grad thesis amount of work into, it might make some interesting observations about the world/aff but may not be the most strategic.

Understanding the distinction between these two types of arguments is a recipe for combining them and developing the most well rounded arguments and a higher quality of debates. However, it isn’t my job to sit behind my laptop and mock the quality of your arguments, rather it is up to you as debaters to develop and articulate your arguments as such. When judging I do my best to let debaters do the debating so regardless of what my opinions/thoughts on your arguments are, as long as they are warranted, impacted and clearly extended throughout the speeches. This is also important for understanding how I judge debates—framing your rebuttals with important technical concessions on the line by line is valuable in making my decision easier and not make me sift through dropped arguments on both sides.

The biggest problem in most debates starts with that whole line by line thing. Teddy Albiniak taught me that one of the ways that high schoolers develop bad habits is through imitating prominent college debaters. The thing that bothers me the most is the reliance on 7/8 minute overviews. While this may be something that works for some very talented college debaters, generally it shouldn’t be a tactic employed by most. There is a place for an overview, and it serves a valuable and strategic function but there is such a thing as excessive. This is one of the biggest tradeoffs with engaging in the line by line in general which is pretty important.

*This last portion, like most of my paradigm, assumes a basic model of debate. This means that if you present an alternative model of debate and a different metric for evaluating arguments I will accept that. To quote Alain Badiou It’s only a principle, it’s not a programme. Debate isn’t standard and that is one of the things that makes it such an enjoyable and valuable activity, so take this with a grain of salt.

The second biggest problem is case debating. ~~Newsflash~~ most affs are bad. Not even most, definitely all of the affirmatives are bad. One of the best way to satisfy judges (and me) is by exploiting that on the case page. The threshold for smart 1nc case analytics is a little high but by the block some smart engagement with the warrants and internal links of the 1ac, especially at a basic, logical level, can only help you in the long run. This is particularly important for me as a judge because I can easily justify pulling the trigger on a presumption/0 risk of the aff type argument if mishandled by the affirmative and well-articulated/nuanced by the negative. This is not to say it’s impossible to be aff or that even that the standard is higher but that you should be prepared to defend the 1ac against larger level solvency questions.

We also need to talk about presumption. It is important, especially versus critical affirmatives. If your aff cannot answer the question of why the ballot is key or implicate it in any sense, you have abdicated my role as an adjudicator. All I can really do is enter a team that is victorious on a ballot, just saying that this is obvious does not mean the issue goes away. Perhaps this contradiction is too much to overcome in 8 minutes of a 1ac, and maybe is a problem with how we construct affirmatives but something persuasive needs to be said that doesn't amount to "You're right nothing we said or do matters but you should vote for us anyways" in 1ac cross-x.

Tl;dr please debate the case. Just do it. Like cigarettes and overviews it’s not cool just because the big kids do it.

As for specific arguments I don’t have much to say on all the ~nuances~ of agent counter plans or the intricacies of politics disad theory. I think the go through every issue thing is cliché and generally just a waste of time. If you have any specific questions about my thoughts on some random thing I’d be happy to answer it but I won’t bother to write down an arbitrary opinion on the 7th subpoint of some condo block from 2006. The only issue worth addressing (and what I’m almost confident is the only thing people look at) is framework.

Framework

The biggest problem with framework is that a lot of 2nr’s seem to forget to extend an impact. And when they do remember to extend an impact it turns out to just be a really bad impact. Although I’m willing to vote on a dropped fairness argument I’m still skeptical that the age old phrase ‘Debate is a game so fairness you broke the rules you lose’ meets the necessary threshold of an argument. If you plan on going for this impact in front of me make sure it is clearly articulated and not the same circular claim without a warrant.

What I think the so called ‘intrinsic’ value of debate is can be loosely understood as clash. The ability for two teams to debate the merits of competing positions seems valuable not only for education but is just plain fun. Not to say that clash is an impact in it of itself because at some level it’s fundamentally inevitable, but it’s a question of what that clash looks like. This should structure how you articulate a framework impact (or answer one for that matter) most likely to get my ballot. If framework is a question of competing models or visions of debate then you just have to prove comparatively that your model produces better debates, skills or education.

The second biggest problem with framework debates is that negative teams let affs get away with too much. If the 2ar gets to stand up and weigh the entirety of the 1ac versus framework it puts you way behind. The easiest way for an affirmative to defeat framework is to complicate and problematize the way they have constructed the world. This means if you win some truth claims about your aff and the way the world operates through your theory or interpretation then it nullifies a lot of their arguments. For example if you read an affirmative that says the global system of capitalism is bad and the 2nr doesn’t answer the case debate, then what do their skills matter if they can only reproduce a system of capital you have critiqued. This, like any good framework rebuttal, requires a lot of framing and contextualizing the line by line through these bigger picture questions.

The best way for negative teams to check back against this is to just reduce the risk of the aff. You can look back up to that whole portion about case debating, it applies to K affs as well. The other necessary piece is a topical version of the aff. Obviously not helpful against an anti-topical aff but in a majority of framework debates a persuasive and nuanced topical version of the aff goes a long way in resolving a lot of their offense. It still requires a larger impact in conjunction because at the end of the day it is still a defensive argument.

Tl;dr don’t waste time, make good arguments, do line by line, debate the case, extend a framework impact, don’t say talks about how.

.

15 years coaching and judging debate in many forms.

Policy Debate:

Overview: I vote for framework as often as I vote against it. I think the best debates occur when the 1NC answers the 1AC and the worst debates happen when theoretical abstraction substitutes link arguments. Here theoretical abstraction can equally be read as "should means immediate" and/or "competing methods." I think the best theoretical abstraction occurs when it assists the examination of objects instead of denying an object's uniqueness.

I take scholarship seriously, I often make comments in the middle of a round, and I have been told I give high speaker points but I don't believe that.

The best rebuttals occur when both teams identify the nexus points of the debate and engage in the other teams arguments while advancing their own. I tend to reward framing arguments and meta claims. When extending arguments, I think debaters should start with a claim, then a warrant, then comparison to their opponent's counter-arguments. I strongly dislike the trend (greatly assisted by paperless debate) to jump right into the comparison. Numbering 1NC and 2AC arguments is an underappreciated artform.

Minor proclivities: "Reject the arg" is sufficient in most cases (T and conditionality excluded), the word "permutation" is not a complete argument (nor is "permutation do both"), "do the counterplan" is not a permutation it's a concession unless otherwise explained, and "squo or a competitive policy option" is the dumbest meme left in debate. "Plan focus", however, can often be compelling if adequately developed.

Obligatory: PICs good, neg fiat good, DAs good, case debate good, sometimes topicality IS the strategy.

British Parliamentary:

Arguments matter more than form. I first decide which side of the motion has won the debate and then privilege teams based on total contribution to the winning strategy. As a critic of argument I try my best to be a blank slate and not bring my own knowledge into the round. A few suggestions to get first in the round:

• Speakers should spend more time on probability and causality than examples
• Make more impact calculus
• Countermodels win debates when they have clear competition and a net benefit that serves as a disadvantage to the gov model. Countermodels lose when they rely on definitional/cosmetic differences.
• Spending arguments are non-starters.
• Rights claims are rarely impacted out well, but can be devastating when they are. How do I compare "restricts bodily autonomy" to "100,000 people get removed from poverty"?

I am an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Debate at Missouri State University. I have 8 years of experience as a competitor: 4 years of experience in high school policy debate (@ Oak Park River Forest High School, in Oak Park, Illinois), and 4 years of experience in college policy debate (@ Trinity University, in San Antonio, Texas). After graduating, I’ve coached college teams for the past 7 years including 4 years @ the University of Georgia, and 3 years @ Trinity University.

The Judging Process:

I see myself as a technical* judge with an important caveat that I prefer debates, and my decisions, to be simple and explainable. What do I mean by this? The short version is that I put a lot of value on explicit refutation and clash. If one side advances an argument and the other team does not answer it, the other team will be forced to deal with the consequences of not answering it. The argument that is won (either through clash or the absence of it) will be given its full weight as introduced and explained by the team that has won it. But if I cannot explain the argument either to myself, or the losing team, or if I think you have done a poor job of explaining it then its relative weight or consequence may vary. I have said in the past that I am “tech over truth,” but also think that good tech needs to look true from afar. I stand by this.

Because I see myself as a technical judge, I will do my best to rid myself of my preconceived biases and presumptions about what is true, just, and moral and attempt to evaluate the debate based on the substance of what it is said. This is, of course, impossible. I often like to “put on hats” and pretend to be a coach of the teams I am judging, asking questions of myself like, “Ooooh, that was a good argument, I wonder what would be a persuasive/intelligent/challenging response to it?”, and if debaters make those arguments (or surprise me with arguments I had not yet considered) I find myself siding with them in the exchange over their opponents. The end result is that while I begin judging by aiming to rid myself of my biases I often judge the round in a kind of back-and-forth involving a certain amount of baton tossing that—if the debate would go on forever—would inevitably end up with me voting on and making decisions reflective of those biases I aimed to disabuse myself of previously. Thankfully, for you, debate rounds are limited—and that provides you the opportunity to win my favor provided your opponents don’t “one up you” with regard to whatever my biases are.

I will look at evidence if instructed, or if I need to use it to clarify something in the debate (usually this isn’t a good thing as it signifies you didn’t do the debating that your evidence was there to support). If possible, however, I try to make my decisions based on what was said in the debate rather than what was referenced.

I often write RFDs for both teams in the process of judging, and I spend most of my decision time pondering which RFD seems more defensible. I have yet to judge a round where I couldn’t see myself voting the other way. This means that even if you won my ballot you should know I spent quite a bit of time rationalizing to myself why you should lose it. I sometimes write an RFD, deliver it, and have some remorse about it (shout out to Wake Semis, Harvard vs Kentucky). In the end, I’d like us both to be happy about my decision so do your best to crush your opponent and remove any shadow of a doubt I might have about it.

What I Expect of You, The Debater: At the level of substance, I want you to read and advance whatever arguments you like. I will do my best to judge them in the manner so described above.

At the level of form, I want you to:

1) Speak when it is your turn to speak. Prompting is fine, but I will not flow your partner speaking during your speech. It is a team activity and we must live and die as a team.

2) Be kind and respectful to your opponents. I love trash talking, and I love a competitive debate. If you do too, however, make sure your opponents and you agree about the tone/intensity of the debate! You should approach your opponents as friends engaged in a spirited discussion, rather than bad apples/bad actors who need to be vanquished. Some of your friends are probably ok with reciprocal name-calling, others might not be. If you choose to engage in behavior that is “on the line,” make sure that your opponents are ok with that. The more personal the debate comes, the more replete with character attacks, name calling, or otherwise vicious and callous behavior, the more frustrated I will be.

Thoughts on Counterplans:

I often approach counterplans centered around the question of opportunity cost because, outside of debate, that is where I see the “real world relevance” for counterplans. As a consequence, I often feel that counterplans must present themselves as an opportunity cost for the actor to whom the initial plan was offered.

Let’s consider a real-life example. You and your friend Jolean have purchased tickets for a concert a few months in advance. You are both excited to go. Unfortunately, Jolean has failed their math test and now their parental figures have decided to punish them by not letting them go to the concert. Jolean proposes to you: “I’m going to go anyway, I’m going to sneak out of the house!” there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to this proposal, but there are, also, a number of counterplans available should you both wish to pursue something other than sneaking out.

Some of them might be PICs in terms of how Jolean has specified their policy proposal (e.g. Don’t sneak out of the house, tell your parents that it’s a study night instead and we can leave from my house), others might be more optimistic trying to solve the root cause of the problem (e.g. Don’t sneak out, try and convince your parents to let you go; OR don’t sneak out, work with your teacher and try to make up the grade for the test), and others still might cut losses and try to solve the advantage area in another way (e.g. Well, let’s go to another concert for a different band the following month instead). All of these counterplans are attempting to solve the aff’s harms, and whether or not they are competitive depends on them avoiding certain disadvantages to Jolean’s initial proposal. There is a debate to be had on this question (as well as the solvency of the counterplans), but I have no theoretical objections about the nature of the counterplan.

There are, however, another set of proposals you can pitch to Jolean. Perhaps, instead of sneaking out, the band should simply reschedule their concert date to be a month later. Or, instead of sneaking out, Jolean’s parents should rescind their punishment and drive the both of you to the concert. Or, maybe, Jolean’s teacher should drop the test and send an email to all the students clarifying that the test was written incorrectly, and all grades were wrong. All these proposals do seem to solve the problem! One way of decrying these proposals is to say they are “utopian”, but the real root of the problem is that they are outside the purview of the actors engaged in the initial policy discussion. If you told your friend Jolean that instead of sneaking out, that any of the above proposals should take place they would look at you confused and say, “Ok but I’m not them?” In policy debate we often see a number of counterplans that are theoretically illegitimate for these reasons.

Aside from this rant about actors, I have few problems with negative counterplans. The only final caveat I will make is that there is often a very ironic disconnect when the negative explains how important their CP is for education, all the while to establish competition they then force the aff to be (using self-serving definitions of words in the resolution) the most blunt-forced, un-nuanced kind of policy proposal. Education for me, and not for thee, I suppose.

Thoughts on Advantages and Disadvantages:

The link to most politics DAs rests upon a number of contradictory assumptions about fiat. Supposedly, the plan happens immediately (the negative says this so they can claim that it interrupts the agenda), and yet apparently the debate on the plan is a multi-week fight involving a significant expenditure of political capital and good will? Ok. Another one: plan is passed through normal means of sorts—but they completely reshuffle the agenda in the process? Ok. The only time I’ve ever seen these make sense is at the cusp of a new administration who are bright-and-bushy-eyed with a number of policies as their priority (then, I believe, the case can be made persuasively that the plan sucks all the air out of the room). Aside from these time-sensitive politics DA, most versions of this DA are absurd. Last quibble: the quality of evidence in this debate is generally D+.

Claims about UQ determines the direction of…. Or Link determines the direction of….. rarely ever makes sense to me. In fact, they seem to show the hand teams who make them revealing they have strong arguments/evidence in column A and weak arguments/evidence in column B.

Terminal defense is possible, but most defense is far from terminal. Even the most sympathetic read of most arguments only offer a small amount of mitigation rather than outright mitigation. I think the best case defense is the type that says, ‘X is fine now’ or ‘X is being taken care of now’. These arguments are UQ and I/L defense all wrapped up into one.

If evidence is introduced in a debate that is contradictory to what the tag claims it to be, I think it is sufficient to talk to your judge about what the evidence says rather than re-highlighting the Frankenstein monster to make it accurately depict what it actually says. I am probably going to look at the card after the debate either way, so you’ll save some time if you just debate what was said/the un-underlined portions of the card rather than introducing it into the debate.

Thoughts on Kritiks:

I have more than a passing familiarity with most critical literatures. In addition to my own academic interests (I hold a PhD in Rhetorical Studies and have a MA in the same content area), I greatly enjoy reading philosophy in both the continental and analytic tradition in my own free time.

That being said, I often have a bone to pick with theory and its uses/abuses in policy debate. I believe you can and should lean on theory and concepts that are a step-beyond mainstream political discourse, but you also must translate and explain that theory and those concepts so that they can become a short-hand aid for you. With this means is that jargon filled speeches assuming I speak a common-critical language with you is likely going to be a road-to-nowhere. Not because I don’t understand what you are saying (although I might not), but because I need to be sure you understand what you are saying and can explain it to me in its most persuasive form.

As long as the debate is about the hypothetical enactment of the plan vs. a competitive policy option, I think that most kritiks are very hard to win absent some brutal drops by the affirmative (root cause, serial policy failure, floating PICs, etc.). On the flip side, if the negative wins their frameworks most affs become reduced to basically nothing. This is quite a conundrum that a number of judges and teams solve through some nonsensical statement like, “They get their K we get our aff.” What exactly is either side getting? These ‘permutations’ between mutually exclusive frameworks end up being a shitty deal for one of the parties involved (e.g. Ok you get to weigh your aff but we get mindset shift and you can’t perm or make alt solvency arguments). My only advice to both teams is to recognize the olive branch as the trojan horse that it is—otherwise, someone is going to get their feelings hurt.

Final thought: the perm is a defacto loser 9/10 for precisely this disconnect between frameworks. Since debate prioritizes offense over defense, for the perm to ever be a viable offense you will already need a significant amount of compelling offense against the kritik and I usually find that if you are at that point the offense is enough to win you the round anyway.

Thoughts on Topicality/Framework

Fairness is, of course, an impact. Anyone that enters into a game agrees to be bound by rules. If a player departs from those rules, they will obtain some competitive advantage at the expense of another. Preserving that competitive balance is often essential to extracting any of the other myriad benefits one may gain from playing a game.

That being said, it is important to be honest and acknowledge that very rarely (VERY RARELY, I cannot stress enough) do claims about fairness actually come into play in a debate round. This is because appeals to fairness truly only emerge when a player violates rules, not norms. When players introduced dunking into basketball a number of players cried afoul but such complaints rang hollow. Unless rules are modified to ban a practice, appeals to norms alone are not persuasive because your own "meta" strategy in a game can change as your opponent did.

One of the best parts about debate (I believe) is that the activity is so light on rules and so heavy on norms. Its what makes the game so dynamic. In few other games do you get to imagine and defend what sorts of norms players ought to be bound by. In my own debate career, while I would find myself often reading Framework against kritikal affs, I never did so with malice. In fact, when I look back on my debate career these were some of the most meaningful, challenging, and thought provoking rounds I had. While I certainly find arguments like topicality or framework persuasive, in truth I have no sympathy for folks that wish to codify something like topicality or framework into a governing rule for the activity. I always found these approaches to be a noxious combination of hubris and cowardice. If your model of debate is so good, surely it can/should win in the marketplace of ideas? And if those ideas are so indefensible before judges, why run to an enclave and protect bad arguments with institutional support?

While fairness is overused by the negative often in these debates, I think the constitutive features of the debate game are substantially underutilized. Most critical affs do not have a defense of the debate game as such, or a theory of how the gamified elements of debate (win/loss, speaker points, etc.) match up/interface with their kritiks. Another way to put this is to ask: what does your aff gain/lose being placed in a competitive arena, where opponents must disprove it to win the favor of judges? Most K affs are a defense of a good idea, not a defense of a model of debate that puts that good idea in front of opponents and asks them to prove why its a bad idea. This is a huge problem that negative teams do not focus on.

I think if K affs counter-defined words in the resolution on T and defended the educational/ethical benefits of that model of debate most neg teams (given the way they currently debate framework) would be in a really, really, really, rough spot.

I have been involved with policy debate for 10 years and debated at the college level. I have heard and seen it all. 

I want the debaters to understand that I participate as a volunteer because I enjoy the activity. As such, I want the debaters to make their best and favorite arguments. Let's have a good time and learn something together. 

Please be aware that I am not intimately familiar with the topic this year. 

I am a Senior Highschool debater at Chattahoochee High School and this is my 4th year debating. 

K affs: I believe that aff's should probably have a plan or at least be somewhat relevant to the resolution. My biggest problem with K aff's is how they claim to solves their impacts so if running a K aff, make sure you have a very clear line of reasoning. Not the most knowledgable on high theory so if you are running high theory K affs be sure to explain the thesis of your aff very clearly.

Disads: Fine with disads! I enjoy impact comparison

Counterplans: Also fine with counterplans!

Kritiks: not the best person to read high theory kritiks in front of. I find middle of the road frameworks most persuasive. I will vote on K's but make sure that a link makes sense and is very clearly explained and why the alternative actually solves (and obviously extend your impact as well). I'm fine with generic K's like seceurity, neolib, cap, agamben, pan, etc

Topicality: I like topicality debates. If you are going for topicality debate it like a DA and make sure you have an impact (like education/fairness/etc) and explain why that impact matters, not just your internal links (standards) like limits and ground. If the aff has a pretty decent reason why they meet your interpretation, I will find that very persuasive.

Theory: I'm fine with theory. If you go for theory make sure its something with somewhat credibility (like conditionality, PICs bad, condition CPs bad, etc) instead of something with minimal credibility (Like no neg fiat).

4x debater @Georgia, 2x NDT Attendee

Please send your hate mail to --> jhweintraub@gmail.com

I was a 2a for my entire 8 yr debate career, so i'm also willing to do the work to protect the aff from what I see as abusive strategies.

I think I get a reputation for being a hack judge because I end up resolving debates by doing work for either team to try and untangle messy parts at the end, usually by reading a lot of evidence. My biggest issue is in these complex and messy debates when neither side is really making an attempt to clarify the story of what's going on and just speed through the line by line, so the debate ends and I have to make arbitrary decisions on evidence and internal link chains because neither side has told me what the ballot ought to be for. If you can do that I'm significantly more likely to vote for a scenario that is illucidated well and untangled for me.

Ex: Willing to vote on theory against arbitrary and contrived CPs that don't have a solvency advocate or try to skirt clash on the core issue. Willing to vote for the Aff on framework against the K because even though fiat isn't real the game of debate itself is useful.

I like good mechanism debates. Process CP's not my favorite cup of tea but if you've got a CP that you think does actually solve better than the aff i'd be pretty interested in hearing it.

Framework makes the game work and fairness is an impact. If the game isn't fair and both sides don't stand an equal chance of winning what's even the point of playing. At that point we're basically playing blackjack but one side gets to be the house and the other the player, and Idk about you, but I don't wanna play that game.

Coaching is not my full time job so I'm not as tuned in to everything going on on this topic as I would like to be, which means that if you wanna go for T It might be useful to do a little extra work to explain why the aff is far outside the bounds of what we know the topic is. That being said though, i'm definitely willing to pull the trigger on it if I think the aff is overly contrived in an attempt to skirt the core neg ground.

The aff almost always gets to weigh its implementation against the K. The neg gets to link representations but you also need to justify why that matters against the aff or some tangible impact of that.

My background and day job is in cybersecurity (blockchain and encryption engineering) so if you're gonna read arguments about technology i'm gonna expect you to have at least some understanding of how tech works and will almost certainly not be persuaded by tech > truth. Most cyber arguments are stupid and completely miss the nuance of the tools. If you want more explanation i am happy to explain why.

For Novice Only: To promote flowing, you can show me your flows at the end of a round and earn up to 1.0 speaker points if they are good. To discourage everyone bombarding me with flows, you can also lose up to a full speaker point if your flows suck.

williams.aurelia@gmail.com

I will vote for the argument that won. I am fine with speed as long as your tags and citations are very clear. Clarity takes priority over speed for me. I am a varsity debater in college so I will know most authors you are reading very well- that being said, you should too. Ethos is very important to me, and I will give high speaker points to those who really command their arguments. I do not like low point wins but I will grant them. Racism, sexism, misogyny, etc; in round will not be tolerated. 

Judge Philosophy

Name: Lisa Willoughby

Current Affiliation: Midtown High School formerly Henry W. Grady High School

Conflicts: AUDL teams

Debate Experience: 1 year debating High School 1978-79, Coaching High School 1984-present

How many rounds have you judged in 2012-13: 50, 2013-2014: 45, 2015-2016: 25, 2016-17 15, 2017-2018: 30, 2018-19: 30, 2019-20:10, 2020-21: 40, 2021-2022: 35, 2022-2023:6

send evidence e-mail chain to quaintt@aol.com

I still view my self as a policy maker unless the debaters specify a different role for my ballot. I love impact comparison between disadvantages and advantages, what Rich Edwards used to call Desirability. I don’t mind the politics disad, but I am open to Kritiks of Politics.

I like Counterplans, especially case specific counterplans. I certainly think that some counterplans are arguably illegitimate; for example, I think that some international counterplans are utopian, and arguably claim advantages beyond the reciprocal scope of the affirmative, and are, therefore, unfair. I think that negatives should offer a solvency advocate for all aspects of their counterplan, and that multi-plank cps are problematic. I think that there are several reasons why consultation counterplans, and the States CP could be unfair. I will not vote unilaterally on any of these theoretical objections; the debaters need to demonstrate for me why a particular counterplan would be unfair.

I have a minor in Philosophy, and love good Kritik debate. Sadly, I have seen a lot of bad Kritik debate. I think that K debaters need to have a strong understanding of the K authors that they embrace. I really want to understand the alternative or the role of my ballot. I have no problem with a K Aff, but am certainly willing to vote on Framework/T against a case that does not have at least a clear advocacy statement that I can understand. I am persuadable on "AFF must be USFG."

I like Topicality, Theory and Framework arguments when they are merited. I want to see fair division of ground or discourse that allows both teams a chance to prepare and be ready to engage the arguments.

I prefer substance to theory; go for the theoretical objections when the abuse is real.

As for style, I love good line-by-line debate. I adore evidence comparison, and argument comparison. I am fairly comfortable with speed, but I like clarity. I have discovered that as I get older, I am very comfortable asking the students to "clear." I enjoy humor; I prefer entertaining cross-examinations to belligerent CX. Warrant your claims with evidence or reasoning.

Ultimately, I demand civility: any rhetoric, language, performance or interactions that demean, dehumanize or trivialize fellow debaters, their arguments or judges would be problematic, and I believe, a voting issue.

An occasional interruption of a partner’s speech or deferring to a more expert partner to answer a CX question is not a problem in my view. Generally only one debater at a time should be speaking. Interruptions of partner speeches or CX that makes one partner merely a ventriloquist for the other are extremely problematic.

Clipping cards is cheating. Quoting authors or evidence out of context, or distorting the original meaning of a text or narrative is both intellectually bankrupt and unfair.

There is no such thing as one ideal form or type of debate. I love the clash of ideas and argumentation. That said, I prefer discourse that is educational, and substantive. I want to walk away from a round, as I often do, feeling reassured that the policy makers, educators, and citizens of the future will seek to do a reasonable and ethical job of running the world.

For Lincoln Douglas debates:

I am "old school" and feel most comfortable in a Value/Criterion Framework, but it is your debate to frame. Because I judge policy frequently, I am comfortable with speed but generally find it is needless. Clarity is paramount. Because of the limited time, I find that I typically err AFF on theoretical objections much more than I would in a policy round.

I believe that any argument that an AFF wants to weigh in the 2AR needs to be in the 1AR. I will vote against new 2AR arguments.

I believe that NEG has an obligation to clash with the AFF. For this reason, a counterplan would only be justified in a round when the AFF argues for a plan; otherwise a counterplan is an argument for the AFF. The NEG must force a decision, and for that reason, I am not fond of what used to be called a 'balance neg.'

Background:

USN head coach 2012-present

MBA assistant coach 2000-2002

The stuff you are looking for:

email chain: bwilson at usn.org

K Aff: Defend a hypothetical project that goes beyond the 1AC.

Framework: My general assumption is that predictable limits lead to higher quality debates. Aff, how does your method/performance center on the resolutional question in a way that adds value to this year's topic education? Why does the value of your discussion/method outweigh the benefits of a predictable, topic-focused debate?

Topicality: I am agnostic when it comes to the source of your definitions. Just tell me why they are preferable for this debate. Aff reasonability defense must be coupled with an interpretation, and RTP that interpretation. I will be honest, when it's a T round against an aff that was cut at workshop and has been run all year, I have a gut-check lean to reasonability. Competing interps becomes more compelling when there is significant offense for the interpretation.

Theory: Other than condo, a theory win means I reject the argument unless you do work explaining otherwise. For condo debates, please have a clear interpretation and reasons to reject. I am more open to theory when it is about something particular to the round and is not read from pre-written blocks.

CP's: I prefer CP's that have a solvency advocate. I think a well articulated/warranted perm can beat most plan plus, process CP's.

Politics: I like it better on topics without other viable DAs, but I am fine for these debates.

DAs: I find "turns the case" analysis more compelling at the internal link level.

Cheating: If you are not reading every word you are claiming through underlining or highlighting, that is clipping. If it seems like a one time miscue I will yell something, and unless corrected, I'll disregard the evidence. If it is egregious/persistent, I will be forced to intervene with an L.

If the other team raises a dispute. I will do my best to adjudicate the claim and follow the above reasoning to render a penalty either to dismiss the evidence in question or reject the team. I think I have a fairly high threshold for rendering a decision on an ethics challenge.

RIP wiki paradigms, or how my paradigm started for years but is now showing its age:

I like it when debaters think about the probability of their scenarios and compare and connect the different scenarios in the round. If it is a policy v critical debate, the framing is important, but not in a prior question, ROB, or "only competing policy options" sense. The better team uses their arguments to access or outweigh the other side. I think there is always a means to weigh 1AC advantages against the k, to defend 1AC epistemology as a means to making those advantages more probable and specific. On the flip side, a thorough indictment of 1AC authors and assumptions will make it easier to weigh your alternative, ethics, case turn, etc. Explain the thesis of your k and tell me why it it is a reason to reject the affirmative.

I previously coached LD, PF, and CX at A&M Consolidated, and did LD at Northland Christian in high school. If you're here for PF, skip to the third paragraph.

Disclaimer: I have not judged many online rounds this year and would really appreciate it if tags were read slowly and if you prioritized clarity over speed! I'm sure a lot of my paradigm is dated (I wrote most of it a couple of years ago) so feel free to ask for clarification on anything :)

As a debater, I read a lot of plans, DAs, and CPs and so I like listening to them, but I'm cool with other off case positions, too. When it comes to Ks, I would really appreciate it if the position was clearly explained (especially in terms of ROB/ROJ and the layer of the debate it functions on) and cleanly extended throughout the round, since I may not be as familiar with some of the literature (especially if you're reading pomo type stuff). I won't vote on any argument that tries to justify unjustifiable things (the Holocaust, slavery, other forms of oppression). If you need clarification on what that means, feel free to ask. If you're reading a process CP I'll be more receptive to perms/theory against it.

I would prefer that you don't read frivolous theory in front of me. I know my definition of that is different than others, so feel free to ask for clarification before the round. I'm open to listening to T, but I'd honestly prefer to not have it become the only layer in the round/the only thing I have to vote off of. Same with RVIs. Also, I find myself voting for K's a lot more often in TvsK debates, so my threshold for "non-topical" affs is probably more forgiving than some. I default to reasonability if it's a situation of potential or frivolous theory but will go with competing interps if you justify it, which isn't hard to do, so please take the extra 15 or so seconds to do so if that's what you want to go with. Also, extend voters and drop the debater arguments please. Condo is fine when limited to one (or two in CX) positions, but feel free to take the time to explain otherwise in either direction. I think conditional K's can be kind of bad perceptually depending on what the pre-fiat impact is if there is one, or if there's a performative/different method-based aspect to it.

You'll get high speaker points if you speak clearly, extend arguments, and weigh, and you'll get low speaker points if you're rude and/or offensive to anyone in the room (I listen to CX, too, so be civil during that), especially if you're debating someone clearly out of their depth and you're obviously winning but you decide to go about it obnoxiously, or if you speak particularly unclearly. In more competitive rounds aka at bid tournaments, speaks will be more likely to be based off of strategy. If you go all in on T or theory when you don't need to, for example, there's a chance I'll dock speaks. When spreading, please just be clear. I'll ask you to be clearer a few times if necessary, but eventually I'll just have to try my best with guessing if you don't listen, and that isn't good for anyone. Also, for PF, the 2nd speaking team should cover part of the case in the rebuttal speech, terminal defense is fine to extend, and line by line is alright up until the summary, arguably the final focus. Don't go for everything and have solid issue selection since y'all don't get the best time constraints.

Feel free to ask for clarification on any of these points before the round, or ask any more questions that you think could apply to the debate. Thanks for reading this!

My email is zollomargarita@gmail.com, I would love to be added to the email chain!