Iowa Forensic League State Tournament
2020 — Iowa City, IA/US
Congress Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI'd like to see clean logical debates; keep it civil and respectful. I'd prefer to hear slower and clearer arguments so that I can best understand you.
Experience: I am a senior at the University of Iowa where I study political science, international affairs, and philosophy. I was a competitor in public forum for 6 years and was the collegiate national champion in 2018. I have experience and working knowledge with all speech and debate events. I have previously coached in Des Moines, Iowa, and for NSDA China. I am currently unaffiliated with any team, school, or individual competitors.
PF: I value accessibility. Public forum ought to be an event that is able to be understood by any member of the public. Clear, concise communication at a reasonable speed is expected ie conversational. I WILL DROP YOU IF YOU TRY TO SPREAD. Each team will be given one warning on speed in the form of a dropped pen or calling out “Speed.” If spreading/speed persists after the warning I will immediately drop the team with the most violations. (If both teams accumulate one violation in their respective constructive, the next team to violate will be dropped.) I will flow cross-examination if you make important points. I value complex arguments and respectful clash. Being rude in my rounds is a great way to lose speaker points and a round.
Important things:
- If at all possible, I would like to start rounds early. I understand that's not always possible or teams need to prep, so I'm just appreciative if we do start early. No problem if you need to take your time though.
- While in evidence exchange, I expect all students to have their hands on screen and mics unmuted to ensure that time is not used for prep.
- Summaries should SUMMARIZE the round.
- FF should Crystalize not line by line, give me impact calculus and weighing. Impact calc within every speech is most persuasive.
- Summaries and FF should have voters not line by line.
TL;DR, Be respectful, conversational, bring solid evidence and analysis to my rounds and you’ll do fine.
LD/CX: Pretty much anything goes. I absolutely prefer arguments that are directly resolutional (ie not a fan of certain Ks, love me some T and theory though) but if the debate goes a certain way, it is not my place to wrangle it. LARP is chill. On the rare occasion, I may ask you to slow down a little bit or clear you, but that will not be weighed against you. I'm almost always good with speed. I prefer competitors disclose to ensure flow clarity. I will flow cross-examination if you make important points.
Congressional Debate:
I should start off by saying that I am a judge who is a stickler about citing sources and having good scholarly facts. Learning how to properly research is important to debate and so is citing.
I am a judge that expects bills that are thoroughly researched and well written by those that have authorship and those that have sponsorship I believe that everyone should dress and act appropriately and treat each other with respect. There is no reason to shout or talk over one another and I expect the PO to maintain the order and the rules. I am a judge who doesn’t start the PO off at 1 in scoring because I need the PO to show me they are active in the room and not just staring at a clock or their phone. If I see a PO on their phone for any other reason then I will lower them farther. I expect lots of facts and I want to know exactly where those facts are from and I don’t believe Wikipedia is a scholarly article. I like to hear refutations and know that debaters are paying attention to each other. I don’t want to see a lot of rehash, I want to see movement of the bills if there is nothing new. As a judge, I don’t want to listen to five pros cause everyone wants to give their prepared speech. Be spontaneous and attentive to what is going on in the room. I like a spontaneous speech that is to something another student spoke on than a well prepared long drawn out speech that I knew was coming any day of the week. Have fun and be prepared to speak.
My Education:
Bachelors of Arts in Criminal Justice from Mount Mercy University
Associates of Arts in Paralegal Studies from Kirkwood Community College
I've done public forum debate and I'm an assistant coach so i can follow just about any argument as long as it makes sense and has a good link chain. I vote on impacts and weighing, I only vote on flow if the impact level is equal.
I don't like Ks or Theory, please don't do that to PF please
I can make no promises that I'll follow your args if you spread, do so at your own risk
I'm pretty reasonable with speaks, just speak clearly with inflection, and don't be rude
I'm fine with framework and framework/definition debates just make it interesting and have good reasoning as to why I should prefer your interp.
Will come to round with extensive topic background knowledge & I prefer to judge rounds solely on the info given to me in round but if your points hinge on information/assumptions that are 100% false I will drop them.
Pronouns: they/them
Style: I respond negatively to speakers who are rude, inappropriate/disrespectful, behaviorally "icky." if you make snarky remarks that feel like personal or direct attacks to your fellow competitors, you immediately lose speaker points — sexism, racism, and other harmful actions&behaviors is an automatic thumbs down, no ballot from me. Do not deliberately misgender your opponents, I will report you to the tournament for harassment.
Background: Teaching, judging, head coachin' XP.Angles that touch on collective social benefit and education speak to me as a judge - I believe there is a way any team can win the majority of ballots if they do their homework, ask questions, adapt. Why not "all" ballots and just a majority? --> those inhospitable judges who stand on problematic foundations - but that's a conversation for the ombudsman and equity panel; I strongly believe judges & all adult shareholders need to be student-centered, constructive, and responsible for maintaining healthy competition and continuous learning in this activity. If you are a coach or judge focused on *just* 'winning' or being 'right' and right is only your values, then ew. if you are a judge, coach, or student who makes comments on competitors' appearance or things they cannot control, I will call you out in round -- student or adult, I don't care, I will call your behavior out. Do not be a jerk to children or peers. I will do the same if your comments in their meaning or delivery reflect historically oppressive comments said to marginalized debaters.
I flow -- we will rarely make eye contact in round so if I am no longer flowing, it means things have gone clear as mud. I’m not a Policy person in PF, they are separate for a reason. I am not a lay judge. But I won’t do the leaps of logic for you in round and I want what is argued and debated in round to matter than the judge’s own opinion. I expect to see adaptation in round *especially on mixed panels* as it shows a level of skill in competitors who can persuade to their judges' paradigms. Your lack of adaptability to a panel can hurt your speaker points, even if you had my flow - especially if you hit my red flags (above). My hope is that the experience is fun and rewarding for you, even if you don't win your round. :) Debate is an educational sport!
What I look for in a round:
Coherency, strong links, and evidence -- WHY are your impacts more urgent, critical, all around more relatable?? >>> speed for me, always. I believe public forum means *public* access — if you cannot explain or adapt to a lay judge, then do you understand what you’re debating yourself? I abhor grandstanding that sidelines partners or strokes egos; same for any rounds that chase agreeing on a definitions that go no where. Buzz words and speed that don't provide good solid ethos, pathos, logos won't mean much. I rarely call for evidence, so if you don’t then I will take it as agreeing to the other team’s use. I also believe that if there are fundamentally untrue things ("racism good") I will not accept them in round (truth over tech). Do not play devil’s advocate on people’s real lived experiences and trauma.
Teams should, explicitly, at the beginning determine how the round should be weighed!! Otherwise I will go with cost benefit
Don't steam roll your opponents during cross, especially if you ask them a question - interjecting so they cannot even respond to your question is no go for me. In your summary and final focus, I want to know why your evidence should be preferred, why your impacts outweigh, etc.
For congress: I want to hear refutation --> I want to see warrants (you are all students!) --> I want to see clash and I want advancement of the debate! I cannot stand questioning when the speaker is rude or dismissive of questions, even if they are simple or irrelevant questions. Congress is unique in its demand of decorum and if you cannot handle being a decent person in a role play of congress, then you need to reevaluate if you understand how congress in this activity functions.
reading this entire paradigm should give you a straight forward understanding of how to win my ballots, infer my values, and what to avoid in round.
PLEASE DO NOT ASK TO SHAKE MY HAND, ever. Lol. We learned things from the pandemic y’all. Fist bump or wave at me — it’s chill.
PF - I have been judging PF for around 7 years now. I am a judge that listens for Impacts on why your Impacts outweigh others. I am not a huge fan of speed. I am more concerned with the content of the speech rather than the amount of information given. I do understand the PF jargon. It is up to you to persuade me to vote for your side. I am not a huge fan of using FW and definitions as a weighing mechanism but will consider it if the other arguments are well balanced. Make sure to clearly state your Impacts and how these impacts link to the resolution.
Congress - I am looking for you to know the Robert's Rules of Order as well as seeing you participating in the debate by asking questions. In terms of your speech, I would like to hear a clear structure for your speeches. I want to hear the impacts of your points and I want you to be very familiar with your speeches as well. Make sure to bring up new arguments when a bill has been debated for awhile. If you speak later in the session, I want to hear clash with other representatives/senators. I also want to hear new information if you are representing the same point as someone who has spoken previously. I also track recency so I will note if a PO may miss a recency order. Make sure to maintain your professionalism during cross and during your speech. I will knock down a speaker if I feel they are being too aggressive during their speech or their cross.
LD - I do not have much experience judging LD currently. Please focus on argumentation and impacts rather than the jargon that goes along with LD. Tricks, theory, etc. will not work with me. Also, speed is discouraged during your speeches. Please make sure I can follow your supporting evidence and arguments. I am familiar with PF and judging PF.