A little bit about me - Hi! I am Miles Luce, I debated for the Barstow School on the national circuit for four years from 2016-2020. Prior, I debated at the Debate Kansas City UDL for two years in Middle School. I have been a lab leader at the 3-Week Jayhawk Debate Institute for two consecutive years. I debated for one year at the University of Kansas. I am an undergraduate at KU studying Art History, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Philosophy. My pronouns are they/them.

My Background - My argumentative history mostly consists of kritiks and planless affs. I am most familiar with Queer Theory and Poststructuralism. Some of my favorite authors are Jasbir Puar, Judith Butler, Gilles Deleuze, David V. Ruffalo, and Jack Halberstam. I love all debates and would be more than willing to judge a technical policy debate. I hope people do not interpret my paradigm to read as a bias for or against a certain style of debate. As a judge, I understand that my role is to determine which team won the debate.

Why I Love Debate - I believe one of high school debate's greatest functions is exposing students to fields of thought they would not otherwise discover. I really value debaters' investment in research. I know that without debate's exposing me to Queer Theory, I wouldn't have some of the texts that are foundational to my identity as a queer person. Debate was that refuge of self-discovery for me in a restricted home and school environment. It allowed me to express myself in a welcoming environment, in squad meetings, and camps where I found my chosen family. I do not know where I'd be without it.

Evaluating Debates - In evaluating debates, I first prioritize impact calculus. Framing your impact is the most important thing a team can do. Regardless of whether your aff solves X, if you cannot win that X matters, then it is incredibly difficult for me as a judge to endorse your position. In order of priority, I would evaluate turns case, ethics/impact framing, then case outweighs. In debates with equivalent levels of impact calculus, I then prioritize solvency. Given, I do believe the ethicality of an impact might outweigh the question of whether the aff does or does not solve.

Determining Speaks - To me, a good speaker is articulate, persuasive, confident, respectful, and kind. I allocate speaker points based on a debater's skill. However, even if someone is a "good debater" in a skill sense, if they are rude or dismissive to their opponents, their ability as a debater matters much less because they have failed to be a good person. Good speakers should be good people first.