they/them pronouns pls

I debated for four years at Washington HS in Sioux Falls, SD. I went to NSDA nationals all four years I was in high school, breaking my senior year and made it to quarterfinals of CFL nationals my senior year. I currently am a freshman and debate at UMKC.

I read mostly performance/kritikal arguments my junior year in high school but read "traditional policy" arguments the other my first two years with a mix of the both my senior year. I go back and forth between being a 2A and a 2N.

I will listen and vote on nearly anything.

If you say something racist/homophobic/transphobic/etc. in round you are going to lose.

Topicality- Let me start by saying you don't have to be topical. I enjoy really fleshed out topicality arguments though. I went for this argument almost every neg round my senior year.

Disads- They are fine. I will be happier if you do specific link analysis and a good amount of impact calc.

Counterplans- They are also fine. I like it when neg teams tell me how they solve the internal links of the aff instead of asserting that they access the same level of solvency.

Kritiks- I read a lot of queer, neolib, security, and fem ks when I was in high school. I like K debates but I think the neg needs to contextualize their link to the aff (just saying state bad is not enough).

Theory- I think its fun but it NEEDS to be warranted out.

I debated for Sioux Falls Lincoln for 4 years. I have competed on the National policy circuit during my last two years of highschool on a regular basis. I am currently the assistant coach at Lincoln Southeast high school where I coach Policy, LD, with some PF and Congress. I am most familiar and comfortable with progressive LD and more Traditional Policy; however I will listen to almost anything if it is explained and argued well.

If there is an email chain, add me: dfolkert@nebrwesleyan.edu

LD:

-I prefer contention level debate over standards debate, so any effort to consolidate the standards debate would be much preferred.

-I default to tech over truth

-I encourage creativity with K's, DA's, and CP's to be run within LD, as long as they are run correctly and give me a reason for why that type of position is justified.

Policy:

K aff vs Policy aff: When I was debating, I stuck to traditional policy debate with topical policy aff's over K affs, therefore I prefer to see that type of debate. I prefer to hear a well-warranted and thought out policy aff's over a jargon heavy K aff that provides no justification outside of "the USFG is bad" or the "structure is flawed". I understand and value the importance of an applicable K aff to the topic, but as a general principle I am more persuaded by a policy aff, especially in Nebraska when unfortunately a Policy Aff is rarer then a non-topical K aff.

DA's/ CP: I love to see a great CP and DA combo to an aff over a 1-off K in the 1NC. I feel like a good CP and DA is undervalued in policy debate currently, and would love to see them make a come back. Therefore, from a neg strategy perspective, I will find a team reading an applicable CP over a generic K (such as cap, imperialism, anti-blackness, identity politics, set col, etc.) more persuasive.

K: Again, I am not the biggest fan of 1-off K's in the 1NC, however I do believe K's have a place in a debate when in conjunction with other off-case positions. If you plan on reading a K, either A. read other off case positions such as T or DA's, or B. if you do read a 1-off K, PLEASE do case work. Show me how the K interacts with the aff by indicting the solvency of the aff with the K in the 1NC or turning it, etc. For the K itself, I prefer more pragmatic alts over vague Utopian ults. I am a fan of kicking the Alt and using the K as a linear DA.

T: I love a great T debate, as do most judges! However, key word 'great'. Reading shells in the 1NC and 2AC are fine, but after those speeches I do not want to hear shell extensions, I want to hear real analysis and comparison between your interp and your opponents. I default to competing interps over reasonability.

FW: Against K aff's, I want rather see a good FW debate over a K vs K debate. Again, I would rather see real analysis over shell extensions after the 1NC and 2AC. For me to pull the trigger on FW, I really need a TVA. As I did traditional policy debate over K debating high school, you need to go a little slower on FW and explain arguments more as I am not as familiar with them as I am with more traditional theory and T arguments.

If you have any specific questions about arguments, please ask me before round.

My experience in debate is 3 years in policy and 1 year in LD, all of which was at Sioux Falls Lincoln High School in South Dakota. I have had little judging in college, so do not expect me to know the topic that well, so do not use a bunch of acronyms. Furthermore, I have also now started mock trial, and so am used to a slower speed. However, as long as you clearly enunciate your words and clearly signpost, you should be fine.

Speaker points will be between 20 and 30 usually, with 20 being atrocious and 30 being the best I have seen this year. They can go lower if you make offensive comments that do not have a place in debate, such as racist, homophobic, or ad hominem attacks.

Flashing is not prep, but if it starts to get long I will say to just start the speech and you can flash later during your opponent's prep.

You can put me on the email chain but I will try not to read them and focus on what you are saying in the round

email: davidmicksd@gmail.com

CX Paradigm

My local circuit was pretty conservative, but I have experience travelling to other circuits where they have been more progressive. This paradigm will aim to give my brief opinion on the big issues of policy.

Speed: I am half-deaf, which affects how well I can hear you, so it will probably be a good idea to go a little slower than normal. I can handle some, but when you start getting really muddled I will just look at you. So if you see that, slow down. If I had to rate myself, it would be 5/9.

Kritical Affs: I am fine with them as long as you clearly explain your issue and how you aim to solve it with advocacy. While framework may win me over, I think as long as you explain how it helps debate you are good.

Kritical arguments: I think they can make a good debate as long as they connect to the aff. Do not just read your generic K because then I won't think it will link. Again, I do not have that much experience in kritiques, so you should explain clearly your K is.

DA and Counterplans: I think they are a great form of debate, as long as they are specific to the case. The more generic it is, the easier it is for the aff to no link and for me to vote down the CP

Case: Case debate is so underutilized in my opinion that it hurts. You should be linking your offcase to the case to provide more areas for the aff to argue against. Also, it provides an extra layer of offense that the neg can use.

Theory: I can vote on it, but you have to show abuse and impacts. If there is no impacts, then I have no reason to vote for your theory.

Condo: I think neg should have multiple ways to attack the aff, but if there are more than 3 conditional arguments, then I will vote for condo bad. I think condo can be a reason to reject the team if it is really bad, but if they have under 3, at best it is a reason to reject the condo arguments.

Topicality: I don't like it. It will be really hard to convince me if you run it since the topic is year long, but if there is clear abuse, point it out. If I see it and you bring it up, I will vote for it. On kritical affs, they should be specific to the aff. Otherwise, it is hard for me to see abuse with the team's aff, instead of just kritical affs in general.

LD Paradigm

I only had one year, but my circuit was only focused on case vs. case debate, so I can handle that. Otherwise, for more progressive arguments, just refer to my policy paradigm.

I am currently an elementary education major with a public policy analysis certificate focusing on education policy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I competed in South Dakota for Sioux Falls Lincoln in Policy Debate and Domestic Extemp.

I believe that debate is a place where everyone should be respected and have opportunities to learn. I will listen to any argument that is supported and creates a clash on the flow.

LD:

-I can handle some speed but especially with online debates, it can be difficult to understand. If I can't make out the words, I can't flow it. (Goes for tags and text)

-I have no opinion on how LD debate should be, so don't say "this is LD you can't run that" because debate is an educational space where ideas should be tested.

-I will listen and evaluate all kritiks, but debating in South Dakota means I didn't have much experience with them, so explain well.

Basic info about me:

I debated policy (NSDA) for 4 years and currently do LD (NFA) debate in college. I have been coaching for the past 3 years for NFA LD. I will listen to anything and everything. So you do you. I use they/them pronouns. Be nice and have fun!

Email: trenityr@gmail.com

Speed: I am an 6 out of 10, I can handle speed, but tags must be CLEAR. If not, then I won't get your arguments down. I do like some good line-by-line and analytical arguments. Not everything as to be direct evidence reading. If I am judging you online, please consider lagging and audio quality!

Topicality: I love/hate topicality. If you're aff you do not necessarily need to be topical. However, if you're the neg, you need to prove to me why the aff needs to be topical and why they violate topicality. I think if you can win the competing interpretation and their interpretation is bad, you will have my vote. The interpretation debate is the MOST important. The next important part would be standards. But I like a good T debate and can vote either way on it.

DA: I am down for any DA as long as it sorta links and sorta makes sense. I prefer a good link chain and storyline with a DA. But please to some good link analysis and impact calc. This will make my life easier.

CP: These are chill, but I think the neg team should tell me how they have the internal links/impacts of the aff. It should also be clear why the CP is net better and solves better than the aff. There should also be a net benefit. The perm debate is also important and should be had.

K's:I love a good cap, fem, or queer K. I read a lot of lit through my years in high school and have definitely expended on it in my time in college. However, if you are going to read some philosophers (like Baudrillard or Nietzsche), please know what you are talking about. As a philosophy major, seeing these people get misconstrued pains me. But I am always down to hear whatever K you have created. Just make sure to explain the link level to the aff and why the alt is net better in whatever you are doing. Also, framework debates on Ks are important and should be had.

K affs: I have run a k aff before, I love performances and k aff lit! Make it yours! Just be ready for a framework debate or a K v K debate. But if you can defend the resolution bad or roll of the ballot you can probably get my vote.

Framework: I think this is a valid argument; fairness can be an impact but MUST be explained well. Do what you want with this and explain it well.

Theory: I will vote on them and think they are fun; just make sure to warrant the argument out! There should be some standards and voters with theory.

All of this above applies to policy/ld.

Please tell me how to vote, I do not want to do the work for you.

Ask me any other specific questions if you want!

I am a former policy and IX debater, so speed is not much of an issue for me. I don't have a particular attachment to the formalities of debate, so theory arguments that can't prove obvious abuse don't move me too much. I think arguments designed to evaluate a policy proposal or resolution are more meaningful than arguments designed to 'win the game', and following that all advice I give is more in the interest of promoting clearly reasoned analysis than in the interest of strictly winning rounds. I believe that the burden of identifying specious logic is on the debater answering an argument, so I will not discredit faulty logic of an argument unless it is identified, but I will discredit responses to an argument that are similarly specious. If there are any other particular questions about how I judge, please ask me at the beginning of the round. If y'all have any questions or concerns about any feedback I give after the round, please feel free to reach out to me to expand or clarify anything, particularly since I am aware that my criticisms often are or appear harsh or unreasonable and I am always interested in adapting my language and approach to best engage debaters without dismissing or embittering them.