Background:

My background is in public forum. I competed all throughout high school on the national circuit and local circuit in Georgia. Currently, I am the President of the New Haven Urban Debate League and coach parliamentary debate at Yale.

PF Paradigm:

WEIGHING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WILL EVER DO IN DEBATE! IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWING YOUR OWN NAME!! PLS WEIGH.

If you don’t weigh, I’ll have to resort to my own weighing mechanism, which may be different every round depending on my mood. You don’t want that, so pls for the love of god, make my life and yours easier by weighing. It’s the easiest way to my ballot.

Other stuff:

-I can handle 250 words/minute. Go over, well...your arguments might not make it on my flow.

-I don't expect the first speaking team to extend defense in summary. However, you need to respond to turns. Second speaking teams need to extend defense and respond to turns.

-Second speaking team should TRY to respond to turns in rebuttal.

-Voters in final focus should be mentioned in summary.

-If your links don’t logically make sense, I’m probably not going to buy it, so warrant everything.

-I don't weigh anything in cross in terms of the ballot, so bring it up in speeches if there's something important.

Parli Paradigm:

I'm familiar with East Coast parli. I don't do well with theory, so I might not understand it. You can try it, but you still must interact with your opponents' arguments. The way to my ballot is by weighing. You don't need to go for everything at the end of the debate, but you should still respond to opponents' arguments and not extend through ink! Break the last speech into voters and weigh!

Other points (very similar to my paradigm for PF, so take that for what you will):

-Because you're not using evidence, please maintain a 200 word/minute maximum.

-Rebuttals should not be in the final speech. I believe that your rebuttals, at the very minimum, should begin in the member speeches. This allows for final interactions in the final speech between the two sides, and this avoids the idea of "no new arguments in the last speech."

-No tag teaming.

-If your links don’t logically make sense, I’m probably not going to buy it, so warrant everything. If I don't buy it, I will most likely not vote for it...

-Do not extend through ink! Conceded arguments are arguments that were poorly responded to or not at all; to which, you can extend, but if your opponents provide multiple warrants/responses to the argument, you must also respond to the rebuttals.

If you have any questions, please ask in rounds or after by emailing me at mary.chen@yale.edu

Just as it has always been, when our memories of the ancient world fade into twilight a new era dawns to fill the void, an unfamiliar path with a pulse of its own, a tempo not dictated by the labor of men but accelerated by the rhythm of machines, launching the world into an age of bold innovation. From this cauldron of steel and sweat a vision of prosperity emerged. Harnessing the untold power of the elements, turning night into day. creating new designs that brought the world stage into to masses, and providing an experience that many could never imagine. The advent of mechanized warfare brought devastation like none the world had ever seen providing a window of opportunity for some to dictate conformity as regimes spread their ideologies with a heavy hand, inciting the world to the brink of war. and yet some chose a different path and through their vision brought unique perspective to the world. as singular proponents of free thinking remained striving for peace in their endeavors to unlock secrets of the universe, some of which would fill our hearts with fear and regret. but as this progress unfolds the finite nature of our world becomes clear, our survival, the survival of all the worlds peoples depends on our ability to coexist in peace, but this peace is tenuous. Although mankind will always look onward, yearning for more, searching for new boundaries only to break through them, with the understanding that this world is one in which we all share, comes the responsibility of knowing the decisions you make today will have a lasting impact on the generations of tomorrow.

Hi there,

My name is Alex Gordon -- I competed in Congressional Debate for 4 years at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, FL. I debated a decent amount nationally, placing 3rd in Senate at NSDA Nationals my senior year, and ranked well at a few other tournaments over the years. I am now a sophomore at Yale University, where I compete in parliamentary debate.

I judge congress rounds holistically, preferring the best overall legislator over the best orator, best debater, etc. That said, here are a few things you may want to consider in reference to how I evaluate speakers:

1. If you are disrespectful, rude, or violate decorum, I will refuse to rank you, no matter how good your speeches are.

2. Feel free to use humor, but always make sure you are taking the competition seriously and with respect.

3. Don't be afraid to take risks. I reward creativity and unique argumentation and styles.

4. I am fine with speed, but some judges are not, so check their paradigms, too. Also, make sure your computer can handle speed through Zoom, too. The last thing I want is to not understand what you are saying as a result of the technology

5. Every speech after the first affirmative should have refutation. There is no excuse not to, because that just shows you are not listening to your fellow representatives.

6. Please have warrants! I should not be left asking "Why" or "How" after you make your argument. Also, please do not rehash.

7. Please do not say, "According to the New York Times" and move on. Provide a name and/or date with sources, if possible.

8. Be passionate. Show me why I should not only care about your side of the debate, but about your particular argument and why it is the most important in the round. Connect to the humanity of debate -- paint a narrative of what will or will not happen as a result of the vote. Make me want to vote for you and your side.

9. Have fun. Show off your personality.

As a final note, I want to say how inspiring it is to see you all still dedicated to the activity and willing to put the time into competing this weekend. I know there is a lot going on in people's lives, and debate can oftentimes be a stress-inducing activity. If at any point you just need a break, or need to leave and get a glass of water, always feel free to take care of yourself first.

Be well, and be kind to one another.

Alex

Please feel free to contact me at alexgordon003@gmail.com with any questions.

Hi, I'm Chloë! As a brief background, I attended Norman High School and now go to Yale, where I've been involved with Urban Debate League as a coach. My primary events were LD and FX/IX. I love debate and want to make it an educational, encouraging, and fun space for everyone. This means that I have a pretty low threshold for impoliteness. You probably won't lose the debate on it, but your speaks will reflect your attitude and, unfortunately, speaks matter in debate.

I have debated both circuit and traditional. I have no genuine preference for either one and will vote for the smartest/strongest arguments. To win my ballot, you need to win on the flow. However, you will impress me if you respect the game of debate-- don't try to trick your opponent with bad, underdeveloped arguments. Also, post-round oral disclosure is a good practice. I will always disclose, and you can feel free to follow up with me with clarifying questions (within reason, but yeah).

Lastly, here are a few of my tips for Oklahoma debaters:

1. Make your tags clear. I will not extend author names if there's no argument attached to it.

2. Call out your opponent's drops. If you do not do this, I will assume that the argument will not be extended throughout the round and I will drop it from the flow. (ie, it's no longer to your advantage that an argument was missed)

3. Don't blow off the framework debate. Everyone's time is wasted if there is no clash and you continue to build up a boring framework, so make your framework work for you. This can be especially fun if you're negative.

Happy to answer more questions pre or post round. Have a good time!