Tabroom.com

ETHS Superb Owl

2019 — Evanston, IL/US

Novice Policy Paradigm List

All Paradigms: Show Hide

Umar Ahmed Niles West High School 3 rounds

Jack Altman New Trier High School 4 rounds

Nomin Amarbayar Glenbrook South HS 2 rounds None

Julia Anuszewska Glenbrook South HS 6 rounds None

Alysa Aralis Glenbrook South HS 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat October 20, 2018 at 3:40 AM CDT

About Me - I have debated policy at Glenbrook South for three years.

**Please put me on the email chain - aaralis27@gmail.com

Top Level - If you don't flow, I will dock speaker points. Be nice to your opponents; debate should be an inclusive activity where everyone feels welcome. I will not vote on any offensive arguments.

Topicality - I think topicality can be a really convincing negative argument if done properly. You need to extend your impacts throughout the debate and explain why the world of debate under your interpretation is better than the aff's counterinterpretation. I think that the best aff arguments are based off aff ground and overlimiting, but I can be convinced otherwise.

Counterplans - I am fine with any type of counterplan as long as there is some sort of solvency advocate. The more specific to the aff the better. I think solvency deficits can be the weakest part of counterplans, especially ones that aren't specific to the aff, so be sure to address them thoroughly.

Theory - Theory debates are not my favorite, but if the negative team is being abusive, then you should go for theory. It is important to extend your impacts throughout the debate and explain how they ruined topic education and decimated ground. I think the limit for condo is three, but I can be convinced three is abusive.

Disadvantages - I'm a big fan of disadvantages. I prefer there to be specific links. I think the aff team should extend some type of offense on the disadvantage because its hard to win there is a low risk of a disadvantage with defense only. That being said, impact calculus is the most important part for both the aff and neg.

Kritiks - These are not the type of debates I like to judge. Other than the Capitalism K, I am not familiar with kritiks. This means if you go for a kritik, you really need to explain to me which part of the aff you disagree with and why that is bad. Specific links are a must and a link of omission is not a link. I tend to lean aff on framework, but I can be persuaded otherwise.

Final Thoughts - With all this being said, you should run whatever you feel comfortable with and whatever your style is. The most important thing is to have fun!

Eliana Bender Niles West High School 6 rounds

Jaime Berkovich Evanston Twp HS 6 rounds

Aasiyah Bhaiji Glenbrook South HS 6 rounds

Last changed on Fri April 19, 2024 at 9:40 AM CDT

UPDATE FOR TOC 2024

a.bhaijidebate(at)gmail.com

gbsdebatelovesdocs(at)gmail.com

**please add both emails to the chain!**

Aasiyah (ah-see-yuh) Bhaiji (by-jee)

any pronouns (pls don't call me judge)

Debated for GBS 2016-2019, qualified to the TOC my third year and was awarded the JW Patterson Fellowship as a member of the graduating class of 2020. I do not debate in college.

I’ve judged around 30 debates on the fiscal redistribution topic. Most of my work related to debate is with Chicago Debates, where I help to build and maintain programs.

SHORT VERSION

"Do your thing, so long as you enjoy the thing you do. My favorite debates to watch are between debaters who demonstrate a nuanced understanding of their literature bases and seem to enjoy the scholarship they choose to engage in...I think judging is a privilege."-Maddie Pieropan.

I flow as much as my fingers will allow me. Slow down on the important parts and always remember clarity should be prioritized over speed.

LONG VERSION

Debate as an activity loses all value when debaters do not consider that there has to be a reason why a team deserves the ballot. I try my hardest to stick to my flow and rely heavily on judge instruction as to how I will write my ballot. YOU DO NOT WANT ME TO CONNECT THE DOTS FOR YOU.

I appreciate debaters who are passionate, excited, and well-prepared. The best debaters I’ve witnessed throughout the years have been the ones who show kindness and respect towards their partners and opponents. I am not a fan of teams that openly mock, belittle, and disrespect the people they are debating.

Clarity is key and seems to be a lost art. I mostly flow by ear and will not catch what you are saying if you blast through your analytics. Please slow down and do not start at 100% speed at the top of your speech.

Planless Affirmatives

I like planless affirmatives, but you absolutely need to defend the choices and explanations you give in early cross-exes. I need to know what your version of debate looks like, and I am finding that most teams aren’t willing to defend a solid interpretation, which makes it hard for me to vote for them.

Please stick to an interpretation once you’ve read it. Clash debates with affs that are centered around the resolution are fun, and I find myself in the back of those debates most of the time.

CPs

I do not default to judge kick; you have to give me instructions. What does it mean to sufficiently frame something? I am so serious. I have been asking this question for what seems like forever now.

I miss advantage counterplans, and I am a less-than-ideal judge for Process CPs (I'm not saying I won’t vote for them, it might do you well to spend a couple more seconds on process cps good in the block).

Solvency advocates are good but not always necessary.

DAs

Zero risk of the DA is super real; sometimes you might not even need a card for it!

DAs as case turns will inevitably end up on the same flow, so please just tell me where to flow things earlier on in the debate.

Biiig fan of 'em.

“Kritiks that rely entirely on winning through framework tricks are miserable. If I am not skeptical of the aff's ability to solve their internal links or the alt's ability to solve them, then I am unlikely to vote negative.”-AJ Byrne

If you cannot explain your alternative using a vocabulary a 7th grader can understand, you are likely using language and debate jargon that I find counterintuitive and, quite frankly, boring.

Why are we putting this as the first off? I will most likely miss the interpretation if you are speeding through it.

Fairness is an internal link, clash is good and I personally think that more teams should be going for portable skills.

I am not good for “our interpretation is better for small schools”.

Other things:

If I could implement the no more than 5 off rule, I would.Obviously against new affirmatives, the circumstances are different, but I firmly believe that everything in the 1NC should be a viable option for the 2NR.
DISCLOSURE IS GOOD!I will try my hardest to be in the room for when it happens and I am not afraid to check teams wikis to see their disclosure practices. If you post round docs and show before I give you my decision, you will be rewarded.
I am super expressive, and you will be able to tell if I am vibing with whatever you are saying. I do have a very prominent RBF. Don’t take it personally; it means I am trying to get everything down.
Fine with tag-team but have found myself becoming frustrated when one debater from a team dominates all of cx. I do think that all debaters should speak at some point during cross-ex.
CX as prep is only justified when there is a new aff or if you are maverick.
The 1AC should be sent out at the scheduled round start time, the only exception is if the tournament is behind schedule and Tab has alerted everyone of the timing change.

More things I have thought about in regards to debate but aren’t wholly necessary to pre-round prep.

There is a difference between speaking up and yelling, I do not do well with debaters talking over their partners.
STOP HIDING ASPEC ON YOUR FLOWS, say it with your CHEST.
I LOVE good case debating, and I get sad when the block treats it as an afterthought.
I had no idea teams gained the ability to remember every single thing their opponent said. FLOW! PLEASE!
Why are we reading the tier 3 argument against planless affirmatives.... let's start using our critical thinking skills
Rehighlighting evidence is a lost art. Bring it back for 2024
Clipping is bad, don't do it. I will clear you twice, and after that, I will stop flowing. If there is a recording of you clipping, it's an auto loss and a talk with your coach
I flow straight down (primarily because of sloppy line-by-line); the more organized your speeches are, the happier I am.
DRINK WATER
I do not care if you put a single card in the body of the email chain.
Have fun and let the games begin!

Ezra Boldizsar Walter Payton College Prep 2 rounds

Tim Brzny Maine East HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Sat January 13, 2024 at 2:24 PM CDT

Debated Maine East H.S. 2009 -2012, Coach/Judge 2012 -

Debate is an educational game where everything in debate is debatable i.e. should I prefer tech over truth, do I need a plan text. Be nice to each other, try your best and have fun. Prefer debates were debaters are challenged to think in new ways. Do not be deterred from going for any argument because of what you read here. I’m open to listening to and voting for any argument even debates about what debate should be i.e. k of debate. Just because I stated that I will listen to / vote on / prefer something does not mean that it is an automatic win. If I do not understand something I will not vote on it.

Has been said in many different ways by many different individuals: debating / coaching for a school without many resources and understanding the experiences of similar schools competing against schools who are well resourced, I tend to be sympathetic to arguments based on inequities in policy debate. I will default to a policy maker but am open to other ways of deciding the ballot. I will go off the flow and will try not to intervene, however I might default to my opinions below (which are not concrete).

I will vote for the least complex way to sign the ballot. Explaining your arguments / ideas and keeping the debate organized by road mapping, sign posting, and line by line are key and will help your speaker points. Other things that are key and help to explain / frame the debate are: overviews with impact clac, turns case/da arguments, framing of arguments and the debate, impacting out arguments, and in-depth analysis of arguments. Likewise, overall analysis and framing of evidence / arguments / warrants / qualifications / the round, is key. “Even if” statements will help with speaker points and to frame an argument. Do not assume that I know an argument, author, or specific terms. Analytics, defensive arguments (even without your own evidence) are able to reduce any argument/evidence to zero risk or close to it. If I do not understand a part of the argument or it is not explained/major gaps in your logic I will be less likely to vote on it, even if it is dropped. Explain to me why you should win the round and what this means for both you and your opponent’s arguments. Speed is ok but need to clear. Do not sacrifice clarity for speed. Emailing speeches does not count as prep time as long as it is reasonable and send it all in one doc. Have cites available after the round. I will vote down teams/dock speaker points for rudeness, racist, sexism, unethical, offensive and unacceptable arguments / behavior.

Look at / debate / answer the actual warrants (or lack thereof) in the cards not what the card is tagged as. Comparing evidence / qualifications with explanations as to whose is better helps me to evaluate an argument (even just reading evidence and pointing out its inconsistency is great (will help your speaker points)) and is something that I find is missing in a lot of debates. If their evidence is bad point it out. I will read evidence if call for or if I believe there is an issue with it.

Cross x – Tag Team is fine if both teams are ok with it. Overtaking your partner’s cross-x might result in lower speaker points. Be sure to carry cross-x into the rest of the debate. If you indicted a piece of evidence or proved that an argument does not work, say so in your speech.

Theory – Just like any other argument dropping theory is not an auto-win. If a part of the theory is not explained well enough or the other team points out that it is not explained or missing, I will be less inclined to vote for it. Will vote on all types of theory, but need to explain the theory, in-round abuse (why what they did was bad), voters, fairness, education, impacts and why I should either reject the argument or the other team. Do not just re-read your blocks. The more specific the theory is to the argument / abuse / voters / round, the better.

Topicality – Overviews help. Tend to lean affirmative (Neg has the burden) unless there is a clear: violation / definition, bright line between topical and untopical, impacts for allowing the affirmative and others like it to be topical and in-round / potential (prefer in-round) abuse. Will default to competing interpretations. Explanation on all parts of the flow are key i.e. definition, bright line, topical version of the affirmative, case lists, reasons to reject the team (in-round and potential abuse), standards, ground, limits, voters, fairness, education, and impacts. Reasonability, clash / lit checks, race to bottom, etc. are able to reduce the chance of voting on topically. Will vote on aspec / other spec arguments however, need to show abuse in-round.

Speaker points – My range is 27.8- 28.5, this does not mean that I will not go above a 28.5. The road to better speaker points is in this philosophy i.e. know your arguments, be clear, do line by line, point out inconsistency in arguments and evidence, extend / explain / compare warrants and or qualifications (or lack thereof), road map, sign post, impact clac, frame the debate and the other things that are listed in the various sections.

Plan text / Counterplan text – Should be written down. Check how they are written. Will vote on plan flaws and counterplans that change the plan text with a net benefit.

Affirmative – Two things are key: good overviews with impact clac and in-depth case analysis.

Counterplan – Use overviews. Make sure that there is a clear net benefit and/or solvency deficit.

Disads/advantages – Good overviews with turns case /da along with impact analysis/clac where opponent’s impacts/arguments are considered. Disad links should be clear and specific to the case. All types of turns (link, impact and straight) are also a good idea.

K–Explain. Have a general idea on the basic k, not a k hack, but will vote on them (including k of debate arguments / debates about what debate should be). The k needs to be specifically explained not just in terms of what the idea of the k is, but what is the framework, link (the more specific and clearer the better), impact and alterative (not only what the alterative does but how its solves the k and plan’s impact (i.e. root cause) and what does the world of the alterative looks like). A good overview of the k and framework helps a lot. The affirmative should always question the alterative.

K affirmatives and framework - Will vote on k affirmative and k of debate arguments / debates about what debate should be. Needs to be a clear role of the ballot and clear reason why your version of debate is better. Totally fine with looking at images, listening to music, narratives, stories and other things. Debates are more interesting when: the neg does not just read framework / k but engages with the affirmative and the affirmative k the negative positions through the lens of the affirmative. Framework and disads to framework have to be explained, show how your interpretation of debate solve or root causes the other side’s impacts, impacted out fairness and education, have analysis to show which style of debate is the best and show why the affirmative or argument should be or not be in debate.

Maggie Cao New Trier High School 2 rounds

Last changed on Sun September 23, 2018 at 7:18 AM CDT

Hi! I'm Maggie, and I debate for New Trier.

Please put me on the email chain: maggiecao.nt@gmail.com Thanks!

Run anything you'd like! Show me you know what you're talking about, make good comparative claims, and engage with the other team's arguments. If you do it well, I'll be happy to vote on it. Do what you do best!

That being said, please also show respect in the round. We're here because we love debate, so please don't be rude or put anyone down. Show respect for the people, and show respect for the activity!

I'm all about creating good habits here, so...

- if you found my paradigm, kudos to you! Show me, and I'll give you +0.1 speaker points.

- at the end of the round, if you show me a good, organized flow, that's +0.2 speaks (but make sure you're not too absorbed in flowing that you lose sight of the round... I have a funny story about that -- ask me about it!)

- shake your opponents' hands at the end of the round and you can get a high five and/or a sticker from me :)

Tips in general...

- make sure you understand your own argument. You're much better off with CP + DA strats that you can explain to me in the context of the AFF than crazy K's or T interps that YOU can't even wrap your head around. I've ran my fair share of those args, but help us all out here -- if you are solely surviving off of pre-made 2nc/1nr blocks I'll be much less inclined to vote for it than things you can explain in your own words. Obviously, if you're a pro at Ks and deep-literature arguments, go for it!

- I default to reasonability. Sorry, I'm a 2A! Unless the AFF is something egregiously untopical, why can't we just let it go and carry on with the debate? Of course, I can be persuaded otherwise... it's up to you!

- the only voters are T and condo. Run as many theory args as you want, but let's be honest, most of them are cheaty anyways. If you can beat the team on the substance of the argument, why waste your time poking at their argumentation? Even though I say condo is a voter, it's honestly not until we get into the 3 or 4+ k/cp range. Again, I can be persuaded otherwise... you tell me!

- "now what?" What does this mean for us after this round ends? We all know that me voting AFF or NEG doesn't really do anything in the real world, but the things we learn are things that follow us beyond the round. So show me what we can all learn from my decision! K-specific: Explain to me how my decision would change how we approach policy-making in the future. T-specific: Explain to me how my decision would impact future debate rounds.

- I <3 clash. No one likes a debate where the two opposing sides never contest to each other's arguments. This is commonly referred to as "two ships passing in the night." That's no bueno! How am I supposed to evaluate your arguments if YOU don't even evaluate them? Good line-by-line, evidence comparison, and impact calc help a lot!

About speaker points...

1. be nice (not just to your opponents, but your partner too!)

2. be clear and/or organized

3. *be fast* (pro tip: speaking drills are your friend!)

4. **be funny** (call me crazy but I love puns!)

These things need to happen in order. I don't care if you can go 500 wpm, if I can't understand you, that means nothing to me. Likewise, you can make jokes, but if it's at the expense of someone in the round, then don't expect anything more than a 25 :/ Do these things well, and I'll be happy to award high 29's or even a 30! :)

Yup, that's all I have to say! Do what you do best and be compassionate and respectful, and we'll have a great time!

Good luck and let's have some fun!!

Ryan Cavanaugh Northside College Preparatory 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 17, 2024 at 1:56 AM CDT

Hiyyyyyy! :)

rcav.debate@gmail.com

Any pronouns

Gemini

Updated August 2023

For in person tournaments:

Please wear a mask at all times, including during speeches. I don't want covid.

NOTE:

If you're looking to do college debate feel free to reach out and ask about Iowa debate with the email I have above! I'd love to answer any questions!

TLDR:

I do exclusively K debate, currently at the University of Iowa going on my 8th year of debate. I've mostly run trans studies, queer theory, and antiblackness. Yes I can still judge a policy debate. Poorly executed framework/K debates from either side are not fun to watch (notes below on how you can persuade me). Top level instruction is important.

General:

Obviously my job as your judge is to evaluate the round as fairly as possible. However, every judge has their biases, so I'll do my best to explain mine here:

4 years of debate at Northside (Chicago/CDL), 2016-2020. I debated on China, Education, Immigration, and Arms Sales. Currently in my fourth year debating at Iowa - I've debated on Alliances, Antitrust, Personhood and Nukes. I was a lab leader during Summer of 2023 for Fiscal Redistribution so I have a decent understanding of the topic.

Most of my higher-level experience has been with K debate, so that's what I'm most familiar/comfortable with. I've had the most experience with trans studies, queer theory, and antiblackness but I have a basic enough handle on almost anything else you can name. Maybe a little less familiar with obscure pomo theory but I get the basics. Obviously if what you're running is super out there, make sure that you are able to thoroughly explain your theory of power and specific links to the aff (which honestly applies to anything you're running).

Top-level stuff: Although I have thoughts about different arguments in debate, please go for whatever you feel comfortable running. Adaptation can be important, but over adapting and going for something you aren't familiar or comfortable with can often hinder you more than help. It's my job to evaluate the round fairly.

Also I personally think that more than 5ish off is unnecessary and uneducational. I'll probably still flow all of them but be willing to give the aff more slack when it comes to new 1AR extrapolations if the neg is running an obscene number of arguments. This is especially true if you read half-arguments in the 1NC that are blown up in the block - think one card K's that barely have a link/impact/alt.

I'm somewhere in between being 'big picture' and being 'techy'/flow centric, but as a judge will put large emphasis on the former. Telling me how to think about/evaluate arguments and what my role is as a judge will get you far.

Asking for a marked doc means that cards were marked, not that they didn't get to every card in the doc. If you want to ask which cards were read, you need to run cross-x or prep.

Usually I'm not looking at docs when flowing speeches and I flow on paper (this is probably different if it is an online debate because I find it somewhat harder to flow over zoom). I do take notes during cross-x, and think it is often a really important part of debates - referencing significant moments from cross-x is a good practice.

I fundamentally think disclosure theory/new affs bad is a true argument (absent specific reasons for opacity, etc.), but that doesn't mean I will auto vote for theory. Just felt like a strange enough disposition to mention.

T (not FW/USFG): I tend to find judging these debates quite boring in most instances, but if you think it'll be a strong argument please go for it. If you are talking about super specific acronyms make sure you clarify things that might not be obvious. Also make sure you're still doing impact comparison - it is hard to evaluate a T debate when both sides are extending their own impacts without interaction with the other teams arguments.

CPs/Theory: I actually kind of like a good, cheaty, cleverly crafted counterplan with a good net benefit. Condo is probably good up to a certain point, process CPs are fine as long as there's a net ben. I think judges are less willing to vote on PIC/Ks now for some reason and I disagree with that. But also if you're the aff you should obviously still say they're bad.

Random thought, it's called a "counterplan" not a "see-pee" this annoys me for no reason lol

K's: Pretty much covered this above, but yeah I like Ks. I think the best ways to beat a K are some combination of framework, a perm, and alt takeouts. As much as I like the K, I'm very willing to vote you down if you don't properly extend links to the aff, alt solvency (unless you've got a reason why you don't need an alt), etc. This is more of an observation that a judge philosophy, but kicking the alt (particularly in K v K debates but in others as well) seems more often than not to lead to teams losing. I generally think that teams that try to read bad preempts affs when they hit "k teams" are hurting themselves more than helping. It's much easier to win going for the big stick impacts youre used to if that's what you do.

F/W v. K Aff: I personally tend to believe that debate should be a space where debaters have the opportunity to performatively explore how different forms of knowledge production and political engagement shape the way they occupy debate, which is something that can take many forms. This doesn't mean that I won't vote on framework (especially if the team running the K aff isn't properly answering it), however, it does mean that you should be engaging with the affirmative and giving reasons why debate is better off with a traditional way of engaging the resolution. I think that clash-based impacts to framework are better than education-based impacts to framework because it makes it easier to weigh your standards against the aff. I used to think fairness was an internal link but more recently think its the only inherent impact to framework that isn't dependent on winning some larger argument. A TVA can be powerful, but you should probably have some sort of solvency advocate that ties the TVA to the ability to engage with knowledge/the debate space in a similar way to the affirmative. i.e. I'm much more likely to vote for a carded TVA than a two-second blip or suggestion of a potential topical aff. That doesn't just mean "the TVA does something vaguely good for X group!", especially if the aff is directly addressing the way that knowledge/discourse shape those policies in the first place.

A general note on K aff's too: I love it when teams do performative things. I've done all kinds of stuff in my affs, and honestly I think an aff that has less ev but is more performatively interesting is much better than a wall of cards. Multiple affs that I've written have been like two cards and some poetry at conversational speed.

K v. K: You do you. I've had many of these debates myself, so I enjoy judging them. I am starting to think perms are kind of fake, although that does not mean the aff shouldn't go for one.

Ethics Challenges: Since this seems to be happening way more frequently now for some reason, a few notes on what an ethics violation is and what it means:

An ethics challenge refers to something like a miscut piece of evidence, and amounts to stopping the debate. If it is called an ethics violation, the round stops - it is not debated out (unless tab decides otherwise, but if it is up to my discretion I will stop the debate).

Ethics violations are sometimes a necessity in situations of bankrupt research practices, but in my opinion is not a "strategy" for you to be prepped to go for if you think you are losing a debate. Posing such a challenge will result in me contacting tab about appropriate measures - whether that means me making the decision or the tab director depends on the tournament and circumstances. Some examples of ethics violations are internal omissions of evidence, straw mans, etc.

I understand that often times (especially in high school debate) citational or miscutting errors are not intentional or done with malice, and so please note I will not hold it against you personally if such a violation occurs. In the event of this situation, I will award a 28.8/28.7 to the team who wins and a 28.6/28.5 to the team who loses (again, absent intervention from tab/egregious violations that result in me awarding minimum speaks allowed).

Speaks: I try to start at a 28 and add or deduct points from there based on nuance, clarity, etc. I'd say on average my points generally range from 28.6 - 29.2 for teams in the middle to upper range of the tournament.

I've never 'cleared' before and I likely won't unless it becomes necessary - if you are going so fast that it compromises your ability to speak clearly and effectively communicate your arguments, I will simply stop flowing.

Good luck, and have fun!

Jesus Chavez Solorio Academy HS 6 rounds

Matthew Chupack Glenbrook North 3 rounds None

Nolan Clarke Evanston Twp HS 6 rounds None

Devin Daugherty Thomas Kelly High School 3 rounds

Sarika Doppalapudi Jones College Prep 4 rounds

Maddie Dunne-Murphy Glenbrook South HS 6 rounds

Eva Farber Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Wes Fowler Jones College Prep 6 rounds

Last changed on Wed April 10, 2024 at 8:34 AM CDT

BACKGROUND- I debated at duPont Manual H.S. (1987-91) and Augustana College (in the NDT) (1991-94). I have been an asst coach at several Chicago high schools: Whitney Young, Lane Tech, Juarez, and Hope. I have been coaching and judging in the Chicago Debate League since 1999.

I am open to any type of argument and style as long as you make compelling justifications for why I should vote for your team. I WILL NOT do the work for you. Make sure that you are extending your impacts at the end of the round and providing some type of comparative impact calculus that frames my ballot.

I appreciate creativity over predictability . I get tired of weighing Nuclear War and a Politics DA.

Overviews are appreciated . Let me know what is most important in the round. If I have a messy rd, I use overviews in rebuttals to help whittle it down. (i.e. "There are 3 reasons why you vote for us this rd...." )

Anything that happens before the rd ( i.e. disclosures) is irrelevant to the rd. I don't consider lack of disclosures "abusive".

ROADMAPS- Give good ones- Tell me the order of the arguments of your speech. Roadmaps are used to help people put their flows in order. Don't just say something like, "I'm just gonna do a general overview of everything." That's not a roadmap. Give the order: "Topicality, DA, then Solvency...".

TIMEKEEPING You are welcome to time your own speeches, but I like to keep prep time , just in case.

TAG TEAM CROSS-EX: I think it is important for novices and jv debaters to learn how to think on their feet and answer questions on their own, so I discourage tag teaming. I allow it, but it may cost you speaker points.

TOPICALITY is a voting issue. it is not a time skew . T is important because it's like a separate arena in the round. There are a lot of ways to argue that aren't necessarily dependent on cards. Debaters need more brain power and have to develop more arguments while in the rd. T is my favorite stock issue. I was a "Topicality Jock" when I debated. LOL.

SPEED is fine if I can understand you. I will let you know if I don't. Be sure the tag lines to your cards are clear, and feel free to spew as much as you want during the text of the cards. Do NOT SKIP ("CARD CLIPPING") the important parts of text while you read it. If you stop reading a card before getting to the tag implications, I won't count it in the round. [Example: If the tag line says "Nukes lead to extinction" and you only read the first sentence of the text: "Certain scientists discussed nuclear power today." . That is not completely read.]

KRITIKS are fine with me. Explain it as though I am hearing it for the first time. Don't skip certain parts of it because it may be a popular K. Feel free to go crazy, as long as the LINK is explained. ! P.S. Personal insults are not arguments. They really aren't.

Know your arguments and evidence ahead of time. I have seen too many rounds where a K is shoved into a debater's hands right before a round, and the debater knows nothing about the K. Evidence isn't the only thing you need to win the round. You need to be able to explain the arguments and implications. I usually consider an "alternative paradigm" observation BEFORE stock issues (like T). I would like to hear in the rd reasons why the paradigm comes first, though.

I can become impatient and start prep time if someone's computer glitches take too long.

DISADS- Please remember to extend all 3 parts of a DA throughout the Neg block and 2NR. I'm not kidding.

COUNTERPLANS - If you go for the CP in the 2NR you must win it to win the round. This means extending all parts of it and explaining the Net Benefit.

END OF ROUND- I don't talk a lot at the end of the round. I write everything on the ballot. I also don't like to read cards at the end of the round. Don't ask me to unless you believe they are being misinterpreted. I have a problem with Huffington Post cites. I may need to see the quals of the author. I also will not argue with anyone about my decision.

Alexis Gaw Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 6 rounds

Amoravy Gaytan Solorio Academy HS 4 rounds

Last changed on Wed January 10, 2024 at 2:11 PM CDT

Avy Gaytan-Aranda

Solorio Academy HS '19

UIUC '23

Short Version

-Tech over truth

-No judge kick

-quality over quantity of evidence

-default my paradigm as a policymaker but open to all arguments

-clash is key to any good debate

-Neg gets presumption

-email chain: amoravyg@gmail.com

Long Version

Short background about me: I debated for Solorio academy(Chicago) for four years. I debated in both the UDL and national circuit. I ran mostly policy through the first half of my career, however my junior and senior year my partner and I became more flex. With that being said, I have debated the most sketchy counterplans all the way to postmodern Ks. I am not familiar with the new topic, my knowledge solely comes from judging so you must provide substance in your debates rather than just jargon.

Affs- K affs: Although I always liked and read Ks, I find it really hard to read K Affs. Not about understating, rather how they are used. Hence, when you read a K AFF do not just stand up and explain what is that you are criticizing but also explain the utility of the aff itself. Make sure to implicitly describe the need to not use a plan, and the need to have the discussions that are being had, because otherwise i will likely lean neg on framework. I genuinely don't have a preference for any form of affirmation of the resolution, you can do any form of performance in front of me.

-By any means feel free to run any aff that you want in front of me.

Ks- I want to hear a good explanation of it, defended well, also explain why it matters more than any other arguments in the round. How the alt solves better ..how the K fw suits best for the round...how it outweighs the aff..how it is a issue in the world of the debate round and the real world, etc. Neg, in order to have weight of the K trough the round, articulate a link, wait, articulate MULTIPLE links on the K, without a link you can't win K. Go beyond the techy sutff and K jargin and go further on, expand on the literature authors and their ideas, and connect them to the debate round, to engage not only with the people in the round, but to orient yourself as debater. In other words have a cohesive understanding of the K. Preference wise, even though I have been policy most of my debate career (so far), I do read K literature on my spare time, so with that being said, I am knowledgeable with Stuff like Wilderson, Sexton, Baudrillard, Agamben. The evidence of the kritik should be pretty extensive and well Also, I encourage to defends a solid solvency mechanism aka a strong alt, otherwise, I view myself judging a non-unique disad. Having a solid alternative is literally the most compelling thing when leveraging a framework and the impacts of a link because it makes it easy for me as a judge to prefer it over any fiated plan. With that being said I don't like voting for kritiks with weak alternatives, because I view it as a burden of the neg to prove how the alt overcomes the link story and the premise highlighted in the kritik, well at least explain how they substantially change the sqou described in the world of the K. Overviews are nice when making the extension of the K in the later speeches of the debate, however be aware of how long it's going to be, should be no more than 45 seconds.

- If you go one off K, do your thing, but a major thing! Learn how to split the block please.

- Any death drive, death good stuff is probably not good in front of me (not with that, nor I like that).

- I probably wont vote for you regardless of how well you defend if you read the following: Time Cube, death good, shreck.

Theory, theory is awesome, theory is the most amazing thing in debate. In my opinion theory debate is underrated and underused in modern debate. However if you are reading theory make it interesting. That being that I love theory on CP debates.

Regarding T, CPs, DAs, etc make sure no nonsense argument to waste time. By that I refer to, run an argument you are comfortable with and don't run random arguments just to catch the other team off guard ,be very strategic.....

- I am very sympathetic towards condo, because I believe in teams reading plus 6 off just to catch other teams not responding to args. However going for condo just because it was dropped is not enough to win my ballot, there has to be substance regarding as to why condo matters specifically in the context of the round and why it matter overall.

Be strategic...

For example....Don't run Baudrillard and a heg DA with a war impact, c'mon, it's pretty self explanatory why not.

CPs- Big fan of consults CPs, Not voting for a counter plan without a net benefit...Also, a MUST when reading a CP, don't just prove how phenomenal a CP is independently, but prove to why the CP is specifically competitive with the Solvency of the Plan. Consider not getting too caught up in the explanation of how the CP works, but rather include comparative analysis to the 1ac, and distinction to the net benefit. Also, yes counterplans could get messy and stuff but overviews are helpful in later speeches in the debate if you want to make the CP a possible 2NR strategy. For AFF teams, theory is phenomenal against counterplans in front of me, I tend to believe that just like the 1ac, the counterplan should be questioned and attacked as much as possible the 1ac. That being by either perms, CP specific DAs, theory, etc.

Multi-plank counterplans are really tricky and fun, however, they could get sketchy, I don't think plank kicking is a thing, you either defend the full counterplan or none of it.

- Functionally competitive CP's are better in my opinion; easier to defend and to debate thoroughly.

Theory on CP's such as agent, delay, or int. fiat probably have some truth value considering how abusive CP's could get, however I don't think that 5-20 second extensions are enough for me to vote for any of the theory arguments on CPs

DAs- Even if I believe your DA is bad/ or non uq, I will still give your 100% risk until proven otherwise.

-Not a fan of the courts DAs, because most of them a false and exaggerated. If you read these, please give me a good link story that is coherent to the aff, thus multiple links make it strong for not only picking fewer in the debate, but using them as case turns if mishandled by the affirmative. Impact analysis along with a strong internal link story will probably be the most important when trying to get my vote because it is up to the aff or neg to either prove why such impacts matter more or less than the others.

-Politics are nice.

T- if you are going for T in the 2NR, you better go for it all 5 minutes, I expect some serious analysis on T if you end up going for it in the 2NR. Definitely a winnable argument considering it is the negatives job to prove that the aff doesn't work/ is not topical to begin with.

- consider having a debate past the interpretation and the "they say-we say" stuff, but prove your voters as being true.

- By default I think reasonability is good, so it's your job to convince me otherwise.

- Set the bar as to why T is an independent reason to not evaluate anything but the argument in the round.

Framework- Awesome!!When reading/going for framework, please have a solid interpretation. Having a vague interpretation makes it hard for me as the judge to validate arguments you claim to solve for. Moreover, when going to framework please engage into a line by line, nonetheless I won't feel convinced that your idea of what debate should be is true or convincing. Why is voting the other team bad for debate? what are the impacts of not having your framework? what makes your framework best for the debate? Please answer these questions when articulating the argument in your speech. Additionally, I don't really buy the "screw debate", "f debate" "debate is bad" framings of debates and rounds. However I do like when frameworks present a challenging paradigm for the round such as "Debate should be a sight of x or y" or "engaging in this form of debate is key because..."

- I also think fairness is not an impact; coming from a small school, it is pretty evident that there is things outside the round that make debate pretty unfair.

Moreover, I find that now days framework debates are very reciprocal..either "aff should defend a hypothetical USFG plan", or "we should test the aff's orientation before anything". Those debates can get boring, try to expand and have creative interpretations, to have clashful and more concise debates. Which overall are way better than having broad big impact debates.

-impact wise...explain how procedural impacts outweigh pre-fiated impacts

Moreover, clash is always the key to a good debate round, thus making it not just educational to you as a debater but to me as a judge too.

In round stuff/Random

- PICs are fine with me but don't be abusive.

-Jokes are nice

-Never make fun of opponent

-Never card clip (although there is some leeway for novices)

-If I suspect any stealing of prep during flashing or w.e, I will be Conor Cameron with time through the rest of the round.

- Remember that debate is not a reading game, it's a thinking game. Thus, warrants win you debates not cards.

-AFF: always disclose affirmative case before the round if asked by the negative team.

Selena Gaytan Solorio Academy HS 4 rounds None

Steve Guzman Solorio Academy HS 2 rounds

Mollie Hartenstein Evanston Twp HS

Eliana Jacobsen Jones College Prep 6 rounds None

Owen Janssen Evanston Twp HS 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 1, 2020 at 2:17 AM CDT

Debated Policy and LD at ETHS from 2015-2019

Currently debating policy at Northwestern

My email is owenjanssen2023@u.northwestern.edu. Add me to the email chain.

Policy:

Most of my experience in HS was in queerness/pomo debating. In college though I’ve mostly been debating policy. I’m not the best for clash debates so don’t pref me super high if you’re super techy. I’m a computer science major which means I tend to have a positive view of tech but I’m totally down to vote for stuff like dedev or Ks of technology.

For policy args you can do what you want as long as you don’t say anything offensive.

K vs. Policy: I think the most important part of these debates are the perm and alt debates. I think the neg has to have a clear articulation of what the alt does. The vaguer the alt the more likely I am to vote for the perm. If you don’t give a clear articulation of the alt or don’t go for it you should explain why the alt doesn’t matter. Saying perm do both is never gonna be enough to win the ballot. You have to give a clear articulation of what the perm looks like and how it is implicated in the link debate. I think I have a lower threshold for links than most judges but you should still spend a decent chunk of the 2NR giving a clear link story.

FW vs. K affs: I’m pretty neutral when it comes to this debate. I think the most important thing is that both sides lay out a clear vision of what debate looks like under their model. I don’t think fairness is a terminal impact in itself. I think the aff needs to clearly explain the role of the negative and the role of the ballot in their model of debate. If you’re gonna argue why debate is racist or problematic don’t just assert that debaters of color can’t engage in policy debate. If your model of debate doesn’t take into account black policy debaters then I’m much more willing to vote neg. I think a strong articulation of why the TVA and switch side debate solve are key to winning the round.

K vs. K: I think the perm into the K is very strong and the neg needs a good reason that either the aff doesn’t get a perm or why the perm doesn’t overcome the links. I generally have a hard time believing that my ballot will do literally anything in terms of the larger context of debate. I’m not super well versed in critical race theory so make sure the debate doesn’t get too abstract.

Do whatever you want in CX. I don’t really care if you’re an asshole, just if you are be funny and don’t be too excessive.

Also don’t burn anything or do anything in round that could get me fired.

LD:
If you’re a tricks debater don’t pref me.

Besides for that, I’m fine to judge whatever. Just do you. Most of the stuff I said about policy also applies to LD. I don’t enjoy judging value/value criterion debate but you do you.

Hannah Kadin New Trier High School 4 rounds

Janice Kang New Trier High School 6 rounds

Hannah Kim Niles West High School 6 rounds

Roland Kim New Trier High School 4 rounds

Last changed on Fri March 11, 2022 at 2:02 PM EDT

Updated as of The 2022 IDCA Tournament

Email: rolandhkim@gmail.com

Summary:

Hi! I debated for New Trier, where I went to the TOC thrice and received many speaker awards/bids.

I am majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics and Asian American Studies. This is meant to illustrate that I am down for any argument - from Politics to an Identity K - but greater explanation may be needed for more nuanced and/or topic-specific positions.

Tech>Truth, with an emphasis on implicit argument interaction (i.e., even if a team doesn't explicitly say it, knowing X is true means Y has to also be true). It is your job, in order to minimize "judge intervention," to make these implicit interactions EXPLICITLY stated.

I typically won't read evidence unless you a) tell me and b) give a sufficient explanation of it. However, murkier/closer debates will lead me to do more decision-making based on evidence quality/implicit argument interaction.

Explanation > Outspreading.

I am in no way a perfect adjudicator. Feel free to post-round!

Well-formatted speech docs will steal my heart.

Specific-Issues/HoT TaKeS:

The rest of the paradigm is my opinion on various debate issues. Technical debating, however, can always persuade me in the opposite direction.

Theory --

Presumption = least amount of change.

Yes judge kick.

Vagueness/"_"SPEC are legit arguments if abuse.

Definitions for topicality/perm competition is about what an interpretation ought to be, for competitive debate purposes, rather than a debate about what it literally means. This means that for PDCP, conceding "XYZ counterplan is good" will really hurt your chances of winning. If, for instance, process counterplans are good for neg ground, I'm going to have a tough time justifying why I should vote for an aff interp of "should" that would eliminate such ground. This doesn't mean that predictability/precision arguments aren't valuable, but rather that you need to impact them in a way that is not just "because this definition is true, vote for us" (anyways, this is pretty rare in T/Competition debates).

Impact your standards (e.g. clash and education matter b/c ____).

Compare (e.g. limits > ground, err neg > aff, etc.).

If you're AFF and debating T, please extend reasonability!

If you're NEG, don't be shy to read a ton of planks/fiat through deficits!

Counterplans --

Sufficiency arguments need to be contextualized to the aff's solvency mechanism/arguments.

I am not one of those judges that thinks it is a sin to read Process/"Cheating" counterplans.

Advantage counterplans are low-key OP.

Disadvantage --

Link turns case > internal link turns case > impact turns case

Specific link cards are great. But, having specific link explanation that uses the warrants of a generic link to apply it is also perfectly acceptable.

Kritiks --

Reps K's = <3, ditto for "you link back to your reps so you shouldn't win on FW."

Capitalize on soft-left teams making arguments like "Consequentialism Bad" and "We're a step in the right direction."

I'm more persuaded by FW arguments specific to debate (e.g. debate's justifications for extinction is dehumanizing). This is also true for K AFF v. FW debates, whether it be procedural fairness, debate-based identity arguments, or something else.

Miscellaneous --

Zero-risk is usually tough barring concessions.

More teams should frame their offense as linear if they're worried about losing on "zero-risk".

Smart analytics can destroy most pieces of evidence .

RECUT EVIDENCE!

Extreme impact framing (e.g. "X" FIRST) is sad, but it only matters if you point out why. It would benefit aff/neg teams to defend more "reasonable" framing arguments (e.g., magnitude x probability, contextualized securitization bad) in front of me.

Cameron Kuberski Walter Payton College Prep 3 rounds None

Jaden Kuykendahl Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 2 rounds

Max Layden Evanston Twp HS 6 rounds None

Isabelle Madorsky Jones College Prep 2 rounds

Isaac Manesis Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 2 rounds

Joe McCoy Oak Park and River Forest 6 rounds None

Devon McSager Kenwood Academy 3 rounds

Last changed on Wed March 20, 2024 at 12:46 PM CDT

Debate Experience
I've never debated

Coaching Experience
Kenwood Academy- Chicago, IL 2014-present
*My main focus is coaching and supporting the novices (and ordering the bus). If you're planning to run a strategy far outside something that a generic novice would be able to understand I likely won't either... (okay, maybe that is cutting myself a little short- but truthfully ...)

drmcbride@cps.edu

I try to enter the debate as neutral and open as possible. I want to hear clash and a good demonstration of understanding from the AFF and NEG (if you're reading a card you should understand and be able to explain it - especially in R speeches. basically "why is this argument or evidence important". I find I give slightly more leniency to the negative in terms of understanding especially for novice debaters, but, Affs you chose the case so you should know and understand your own cards and plan.

Good signposting is so important to me and really helps me to flow arguments and not waste time trying to figure out which flow you've moved on to.

I'm always looking for good impact calc and a good solid explanation of why your team wins over the other. "they dropped x-y&z" often isn't good enough for me- why were those arguments essential for them to win and without them they have now in your interpretation lost the round.

I'm okay with spreading as long as I can understand what you're saying. don't just assume because you sent out the cards that you can blur all of your words together. If I can't confidently flow it then I wont and it wont be part of my decision. For novice debaters it is often helpful to slow down for the tags. sign posting and a clear roadmap are also essential to a well organized debate. (it might not be normal but I love when debaters give the name of their offs in the 1NC- just helps me stay organized).

K- I enjoy K debates as long as the NEG really understands their advocacy and their alt. If you can't explain it you likely can't defend it well.

DA- cool.

CP- also cool. nothing big to note here. (I'm a little boring and I like a CP to be paired with a clear DA)

please run your own timer

Racism, bigotry, homo/transphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, or hatred towards a group is never acceptable and I will give the win to the other team almost automatically.

Be respectful and assume best intent from your opponents.

Isaiah Meadows Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 6 rounds None

Jasmine Mendez Solorio Academy HS 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat April 6, 2024 at 5:21 AM EDT

Jasmine K. Mendez

Jkmendez2401@gmail.com

Former Solorio Debater (Solorio '19)

Current Sarah E. Goode Debate Coach

@RCC/NatCir:I will not vote on something I do not understand by the end of the round. If you are going for an argument, you should be able to explain it adequetly. This goes for K's, CP's, Da's, and Affirmatives.Tell the story.

@k-aff teams:I have a very low threshold for the negative framework debate against a K-Aff. It is your responsibility as the team that chose to read a K-Aff to prove why this round is key, what my role as the judge is in your literature, and (especially) what your mechanism is. If you do not do that work and expect me to do it for you then I will err the side of the neg on framework.

** Forewarning: RUN K'S AT YOUR OWN RISK* My understanding of K's isn't the best and my understanding of framework is just as great which means that you need to be able to make a lot of things both clear for me and structured--> being able to have great clash on specific arguments in the K and being able to explain why it means that I prefer your arguments or vote for you or evaluate your arguments first is much appreciated.

Generally: Truth over tech. I am good with speed but prefer articulation and analysis of arguments more than I prefer a card dump in speeches. In terms of arguments, DA's and CP are probably the best things in front of me; however, I was once a Fem debater for 2 years and dabble in the Cap K. That said, make sure that you are able to explain the link and alternative to me! T should be 5 minutes in the last rebuttal if you're going for it and must be articulated well, give me a clear reason as to why allowing this specific aff is dangerous to debate as a whole.

Affirmatives: Saying that I am not great with planless affirmatives would be an understatement. I usually will vote for topicality against such affirmatives than I would vote against it.

Disadvantages: I tend to understand politics DA's well. DA's with weak or ridiculous I/L can be hard for me to evaluate but I will tend to gravitate more towards the link debate. It is your burden to prove the magnitude and likeliness of the DA, "I will not assign zero OR 100% weight to an advantage or a disadvantage" (CBC, 19)

CP: It is your burden to prove that a CP is theoretically illegitimate. When debating counterplan theory, both sides must have an interpretation of what a negative can and can't do. Conditionality is also difficult to win unless in round abuse can be proven.

Topicality: If the negative is able to effectively construct a strong limits story with a specific caselist and terminal impact work. I'm less inclined to vote on aff "education" standards because I do believe that simply reading the aff as a counterplan or some topical version of the aff can resolve that. In the final rebuttals (specifically the 2AR) I will never be persuaded by the "come on judge" but rather prefer a substantiated explanation as to why their counter-interp is good for debate.

Kritiks: I will vote on the K when the neg wins that the impact to the k outweighs and/or turns the case or when the neg wins some framework interp that mitigates aff offense. I will lean towards the aff on framework unless a neg framework standard that isn't solved by weighing the impacts to the links vs. plan.

Simon Miller Oak Park and River Forest 6 rounds None

Elizabeth Moreno Thomas Kelly High School 6 rounds

Alyssa Nekritz Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Arie Ogranovich Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Magi Ortiz Northside College Preparatory 6 rounds

Last changed on Fri January 13, 2023 at 11:46 AM EDT

mx.ortiz.m@gmail.com

Assistant Coach @ Mamaroneck, 2020-2021

Assistant Coach @ Lexington, 2019-20

Debated @ Northside College Prep, 2015-19

TL;DR

The sections below this are a set of my opinions on debate, not a stringent set of guidelines that I always adhere to when making decisions. I encourage you to go for the arguments that you enjoy instead of overcorrecting to my paradigm. I tend to like most arguments - my only distinction between good and bad debates is whether or not your argumentation is strategic and nuanced.

I think CX is heavily underutilized by most debaters. Organized debates make my job easier and are more enjoyable.

Non-negotiables:

I won’t vote on things that have happened outside of the round.

There is a fine line between being assertive and being rude in CX - please be aware of it.

Don’t threaten others or make harmful comments about someone or a group of people - you will lose the round and I will talk with your coaches.

Non-Traditional Affs/Clash Debates

It’s hard for me to be convinced that policy debate actively creates bad people OR perfect policymakers; I think there’s value in challenging our understanding of the resolution and debate itself, but I also don’t think T is inherently violent.

In clash debates, I tend to vote negative when the affirmative fails to parse out the unique benefits of their model of debate, and tend to vote affirmative when the negative fails to grapple with the applicable offense of case. Organization often falls by the wayside in these debates, so I would encourage you to identify the nexus questions of the debate early and compartmentalize them to one area of the flow.

Fairness can be an impact, but it is not one by default - that requires explanation. I’ll vote for any impact on FW if effectively argued, but I personally like strategies centered around truth-testing/dogmatism. I think skepticism is healthy and that breaking out of our preferred ideological bubbles results in more ethical and pragmatic decision-making over time, but I can also be persuaded that the method the aff defends can also be consistently ethical/beneficial.

Aff teams are overly reliant on exclusion/policing arguments but almost never actually impact out the tangible consequences of the negative model as a result, or provide a reason why the ballot would resolve this. If arguments like these are what you like going for, I suggest you codify them within a reasonability paradigm that criticizes the usefulness of the competing interpretations model when it comes to K Affs.

I will say that I am quite partial to teams that go for the K against non-traditional affs (I judge FW debates frequently, and they get repetitive). Most K affs nowadays are specifically tailored to beat FW and generally rely on generic permutations to beat back K’s. I can be easily convinced that permutations exist to compare the opportunity cost of combining specific policies, and that in debates of competing methodologies the evaluating point of the debate should be reliant on who had broader explanatory power and a more effective orientation. How I decide that is up to what parameters you establish within the debate.

Kritiks

I’m not opposed to any of them. However, I do prefer techy K debaters - overviews should be short and the substantive parts of the debate should be done on the respective parts of the line by line.

Specificity goes beyond good links - nuanced impact and turns case explanations make it easier to vote on something tangible as opposed to nebulous platitudes. It’s easy to tell when you have a generic link wall with fill-in-the-blanks like “insert aff impact” “aff mechanism” etc.

For both teams - know the broader theories that your arguments function within (i.e. understanding what theory of IR your authors defend, or actually knowing a decent amount about the author your K is named after). Understanding these concepts outside of the context of debate will give you the tools to be more specific in round, and will often give you additional ways to leverage offense.

Aff teams with extinction impacts - stop overcorrecting to the negative team's strategy. Extinction is extinction, which is easily defensible as bad - if you're not link turning the K/going for the perm, I find it strange when the 1AR/2AR try to subsume the K's impacts/offense by describing how the inroads to extinction would be bad for X group the K is worried about ("nUcLeAr StRiKeS tArGeT uRbAn CeNtErS") ... because extinction, in the end, kills everyone. Also, K teams often capitalize on this arbitrary framing and make it a new link. Don't waste your time - win that you get to weigh your impacts and then win that your impacts outweigh.

CP’s

The more specific, the better.

Yes judge kick. “Status quo is always an option,” once said, is sufficient enough for me to be willing to kick the CP unless the aff explicitly challenges it in both aff rebuttals.

Condo is good. If the 2AR is condo, it's either been dropped or you think it is your only road to victory.

I lean neg on most theory issues, but can be convinced that process CPs and 50 state/NGA fiat are bad for debate.

Invest time and organization into the competition debate - meta definitions matter just as much as word definitions in these debates because they are about competing models.

Severance perms are probably always bad, but intrinsic perms can be very useful if you know how to defend them well.

DA’s/Case turns

Love them, even the crappy ones - there's nothing more fun than watching someone very effectively debate in favor of something everyone in the round knows is ridiculously unlikely.

Winning framing does not mean you win terminal defense to the DA. Winning that a DA is low risk comes from substantive arguments, and then how the framing debate is resolved dictates whether or not risk probability matters. Seriously. Nebulous arguments about the conjunctive fallacy or the general low risk of existential impacts mean nothing if the 2NR can just get up and point to a unique internal link chain on their DA that has not been contested.

Impact turn debates are some of my favorite rounds to judge, but unfortunately I am often left to resolve stalemates within a debate by reading a bulk of the cards in the round and then determining on my own which ones are better, which I think functions as a disservice to everyone in the round. I don’t think that having less/worse ev necessarily means you’ll lose the debate, but you must have constant and effective comparison in-round.

Topicality+

Evidence comparison matters. Terminal impacts are important - so many 2NRs don't do this work (why, I don't know). Not enough teams are going for T against the egregious number of bad affs on this topic.

I don't like arguments like Embody PTX because I don't think there is a way to enforce them as a model and thus lend themselves to problematic enforcement, and it frustrates me when affirmative teams don't make the obvious case for this being true.

Aff teams should be going for reasonability more often against nitpicky T violations - not as a vague appeal, but as a better heuristic than competing interps.

Lara Pick Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Dimarvin Puerto Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 6 rounds

Last changed on Wed April 10, 2024 at 7:56 PM EDT

Dimarvin (Dah-MAR-Vin)

Email Chain: puerd20@wfu.edu

Nobel '16, Lane Tech '20, Wake Forest '24, Wake Forest M.A '26, Patterns of Movement '∞∞

Forever indebted to Black and Native Debate

The Goats; Amber Kelsie, Daryl Burch, Ignacio Evans, Taylor Brough, Kenny Delph, Ari Collazo, Aysia Grey, those unnamed...and Nate Nys (honorary white man).

TLDR; Since high school, I have been a "K debater". I focus on arguments such as Afropessimism, Black Performance, Black Baudrillard, and other forms of black studies. I think debate should be a space for critical thinking skills and the production of strategies/performances. This mostly implies K v policy debates or KvK debates. You should win that your model of debate over the other team.

K aff vs K:

Prove to me why your model is better, whether that means framework (either), the perm (aff), or the link story and alt (Neg), etc.

Soft-Left Affs/Policy Affs vs K Aff's:

FRAMING IS KEY (judge framing, impact framing, link story, etc.)!!! You should prioritize the offensive you want to go for and make sure you are implicating the other side's arguments. For example, framework and the impact debate, disproving ontology and saying progress is possible, or proving why antiblackness is the paradigm that determines everything and proves why the aff reproduces cruel optimism and how it makes your impact.

FW vs K Affs:

Honestly, this can go either side. It depends on what happens in the debate. But I think the question both sides need to engage with, is how your model of debate produces the best form of education/critical thinking skills, or what (un)limitations there should be to make the best engagements in debate.

Policy:

I didn't do policy land, but I have judged them. Take that whatever way you want for prefs.

Speaker points:

I prefer clarity over speed. Ethos moments are fire too.

Theory:

I haven't been in the back for a lot of these debates.

LD:

Every argument needs a claim, warrant, and impact. "Vote Neg after the 1nc because it's reciprocal, we both have one speech" is not a complete argument.
Not a good judge for Phil and/or Trix - Don't pref me
I am new to LD; however, I have extensive experience in the highest levels of high school and collegiate debate.

Even though I'm debate partners with Sebastian Cho and close with Raunak Dua, I do not believe in the same argumentations that they do, but hopefully, I'll be a new judge for you. Thank you!

Misc:

Even if I have a certain style of debating, if the flow differential is mad different, then GG.

Don't be anti-black, say racism good, etc.

If you make an anime reference like One Piece, DBZ, JoJo's, Blue Lock, JJK, My Hero, Attack on Titan, HXH, Tokyo Ghoul, 7DS, etc; (Mainstream) expect a speaker point boost (.1-.3). Don't overuse them unless they fire.

Just have fun.

Mary Anne Quinn Niles West High School 4 rounds

Ashna Rimal Maine East HS 6 rounds

Last changed on Tue January 16, 2024 at 6:23 AM CDT

Ashna Rimal

Assistant Coach for Maine East

Add me on the email chain - ashnarimal.debate@gmail.com

Please make sure the tournament name, round number, and both team codes are in the subject of the email chain.

TLDR - You can run any non-offensive arg in front of me, if you run it well I'll probably vote you up. I like judging more technical debates (Theory/T/K) over the same old ptx scenario because I find it more interesting. You will probably get higher speaker points from me if your arguments are original, trust me judges do not want to see the exact same debate happen for 5 rounds in a row. Also, send analytics. if you're good, you don't have to win because they drop things.

K Affs

I like K Affs when they are well explained.

A few things I should not be wondering about when writing my ballot:

Why is the ballot key?

Why is this round specifically key for your offense?

Do you solve for anything and how (spill up, fiat, etc.)

Neg Stuff

Counterplans

I enjoy CPs, but you have to have all the key parts (Net Benefit, Perm Answers, Solvency, etc.)

Disads

Disads are fine - I'm not particularly opinionated about them.

I think DA and Case debates are good as long as the DA scenario makes sense and the line by line is properly executed.

Please don't go for a bad ptx scenario that has no internal link.

Kritiks

If you run a K make sure you really explain it to me.

If you wanna go for the K in the 2NR you must have a strong link to the specific aff, or an alt that solves for the K and/or the impacts of the Plan.

Focus on the link debate - winning the link helps you win FW, prove why the perm won't solve, as well as support the impact.

If I don't understand your K I won't vote for it, especially if it's less commonly run. I'm familiar with most of the more generic Ks, but if you pull out a more complex K, you need to understand it and explain it well. I will hold those types of Ks to a higher standard when writing my ballot.

Topicality

To win on T you have to prove that the Aff is not topical and explain why being topical matters.

Don't only say "Fairness and Education" those are just words, you need to explain what that means and why it's important to debate.

TOPICALITY IS A VOTER!

Theory

I'm from Maine East, I like Theory debates and I'll vote on them - but I probably have higher standards for 'good theory debating'.

PICs are probably fine.

Severance Perms are probably bad, but usually not bad enough for me to write my ballot on it.

Condo is good to an extent. I probably won't vote on Condo if they run like 1-2 off, but if they run 3 or more conditional advocacies I will lean Aff.

Perf Con is bad if you can prove specific instances of in-round abuse.

Don't expect me to vote on the arg that 1-2 CPs/Ks will Time Skew the 2AC, time skew is inevitable.

Don't expect me to vote on the "Err Neg" arg, yes Aff speaks 1st and last but y'all have the 13 min block.

Potential Abuse is not a voter. (Unless you prove to me otherwise)

In Round Abuse is a voter - If you can prove that they were somehow totally abusive I will vote them down.

THEORY IS A VOTER!

In the end what really matters is how you extend and frame the theory debate. I will most likely vote for the team that better contextualizes their theory arg.

I'll vote on a dropped theory arg as long as it's properly extended.

Speaker Points

Under 26: you did something offensive/cheaty

26-26.9: Below Avg

27-27.5: Avg

27.6-28.5: Above Avg

28.5-29.5: Very Good

Above 29.5: Excellent - I was impressed

If you do something interesting, funny, or out of the box in the round, and I enjoy it, I'll boost your speaks.

General Comments

I will not vote on an argument I don't understand - It's your job in the round to explain your arguments to me.

Don't be a jerk in round - Respect your partner, your opponents, and the judge(s).
Do not clip cards or cheat in any way
I am fine with tag team CX, but don't take over you partners CX, I will dock speaks for that.
Clarity is more important than speed - If you are spreading a huge analytics-heavy block at full speed I will not catch more than 60% of what you are saying
Send analytics. if you're good, you don't have to win because they drop things. Plus I will be able to make sure I get al your args when you decide to spread through that 8 min K block
Time your own Prep/CX/Speeches.

If the other team doesn't make an argument for why I should not Judge Kick, I will most likely roll with it.
I do not like judge intervention, I will try to avoid, or at least minimize judge intervention as much as possible. I'd much rather vote based on what you all say in the round.
I am willing to vote for any argument as long as it is not offensive - but you have to win the argument.

Emma Ringstad Evanston Twp HS 6 rounds

Sabina Roberts Glenbrook South HS 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 2, 2019 at 7:50 AM CDT

--Senior at Glenbrook South HS -- my email is sabinaroberts481 [at] gmail [dot] com

*** Everything below is meant to provide you with an idea of how I view debate, but I would much rather listen to you execute a strategy you are familiar with well than you over-adapt to some of my predispositions. I tend to be a very expressive judge - take that as you will. I will dock speaker points to rude debaters. ***

Kritiks: Sure. I like explanations of your k on a thesis level as well as how it interacts with the aff. K affs are not my favorite, but judge intervention frustrates me as a debater, so I am wary of it while judging. Procedural fairness is True, but I do have a high threshold for voting on it. I also think topic education is dope and underutilized. I think there should be a role of the negative in every debate--depending on the aff, that might mean a counterinterp might be a better 2ar strategy than solely an impact turn to T. Tell me what my ballot does/doesn't do.

Theory: <3. I randomly enjoy theory debates if well executed. I've been both a 2A and 2N so I'm totally down to vote on theory on the aff or let the neg do whatever they want. It just depends on how it's debated.

Topicality: See the 2N/2A thing above--I've defended barely topical affs and my favorite 2NRs were also T. I love a good T debate either way. Reasonability is just true but no one explains it well or goes for it enough.

Speaker Points: I believe I am someone who gives generally higher speaks. I reward debaters who are kind, funny, and smart. CLARITY is super important to me! I literally cannot emphasize that enough. Remember that speed doesn't matter a ton if you are clear and efficient. (I feel you, slow debaters.)

If you add me to the email chain without asking, I'll give you extra .3 speaks.

*** Quotes from coaches that I vibe with ***

"Fairness is the only thing I care about. It's both the single strongest internal link to every other thing debate can do for you and a standalone impact. It isn't that I don't think debating government policy is not useful for other reasons, but you only have 5 minutes in the 2nr to prove that your model of debate is a valuable one." -- Jon Voss

"In my experience as a debater and judge, ignorance of tech resulted in a callous dismissal of arguments as “bad” and increased judge intervention to determine what is “correct” instead of what was debated in-round and executed more effectively. That said, truth is a huge bonus, and being on the right side makes your task of being technically proficient easier because you can let logic/evidence speak a little for you." -- Tyler Thur

"Is Fem IR beatable? no" -- Scott Phillips

"Flow." -- Michael Greenstein

Sophie Rogoff Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Michael Scott Glenbrook South HS 6 rounds

Freskida Sejdiu Niles West High School 6 rounds

Aster Smith Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 2 rounds

Last changed on Sat October 3, 2020 at 12:24 PM CDT

10/02/20 - PANDEMIC UPDATE

Alright so we're debating over the internet, no need to freak out, nobody freak out...

Haha! It's all good vibes over here! Don't stress over anything! If you scroll down you'll get my paradigm from when I was a senior in high school, but it's been a while so don't expect me to be as strict. Honestly, not really sure what I'll expect in these debates, but just use those (v) as a guideline but expect everything to be a lot chiller!

I'm hoping that we have no issues but I understand--just communicate with me if something comes up.

Stay safe!

10/03/20

if you're gonna go for presumption make sure its explained well.

3/9/19

Alright, I feel like updating this in the middle of a debate:

I give low speaks. The only time (and I mean, the only time) I've given anyone above a 27.9 in speaks is during a meme round. Unless you knock my socks clean off my feet (which has unfortunately never happened,) I will not be giving you above this number. Sometimes I play a game and if you do a lot of good things, I add speaks incrementally. If you do a lot of bad things, I dock you down. The first time I was going to give out a 28, the kid was really good. Then he said something rude/offensive and he ended up with the lowest speaks in the debate.

If you're going to run an extinction impact, you won't win. I will not vote on them, nor will I vote on any generic global warming impacts. I like debates with substance. If both teams lack this, I'll give low speakers and I'll find a way to vote both of you down, and I might just leave the room out of boredom. I hate boring rounds. Give me something fun.

I love K's with meaning. Identity K's more than anything. I can sniff out commodification like a blood hound though. So don't run the K unless you care. I don't care much about this debate mentality of "Whatever makes the most sense." I'm a very moralistic person. Even IF you make more sense, if you step on the backs of marginalized people to win, I will drag you and you will lose my round. And I'll give you the lowest speaks I can.

Uhh. Fiat sucks. Get over it. I probably won't vote with fiat in mind.

They/Them pronouns please.

Lauren Sonnier Niles North High School 5 rounds None

Matthew Sturt Niles North High School 4 rounds

Last changed on Tue February 13, 2024 at 1:46 PM EDT

Niles North '19

MSU '23

He/Him

add me on the email chain Matt.Sturt.debate@gmail.com

TLDR: I like debate a lot. Speak clearly. Speaks probs 27.5-29.5 Be Coherent. Tech>Truth most of the time

!=impact

you should do the following

FLOW
DO LINE BY LINE

you should not

BE RUDE IN CROSS-ex

BE ABLEIST , SEXIST, RACIST, or anything along those lines (I do not shy away from stopping rounds or calling people out) you will be reported to your coach and you will (hopefully) face repercussions

STEAL PREP i will also call you out for this

BE A RUDE PERSON

long version

OVERVIEW

I believe that debate is a game, but not just a game. There are extrinsic and intrinsic values to debate that come aside from winning. my thesis for deciding rounds is whether or not a policy is desirable, so things aside from that don't have a ton of pull on decision. if you do run an arg that you think is not like this, I am most likely not the judge for you. If you somehow get stuck with me, its not impossible to win these types of args, but if you can switch your strategy, i would if i were you.

in order for me to vote on a t arg, I need to know what is bad about the aff specifically in terms of 'breaking debate'. whether it be education, fairness ( which im pretty sure is an !, but my mental jury is still out on that one) or any other possible ! on t args. I also dont know this topic super well rn, so please explain things to me so that i know what this arg even is and am able to vote for it

Aspec is a real arg, you should flow and catch it (even if its not on the doc), but i might doc your speaks if you go for it. This should NOT be your strat going in, but if you feel that passionate about it, put it on another flow

i hope in the age of virtual debating you have the heart to at least put it on the doc. Please don’t put me in the situation where I have to vote neg bc the affs computer lagged and missed your .2 second ASPEC shell

A big thing on this aspect of the debate is both the ! level, but also how one gets there. if you read a nuke war = extinction !, the amount i deem it probability of both a. happening and b. it killing absolutely everyone is intrinsically intertwined with the I/L debate. I care a lot about every part of the DA, so you better have a convincing story about your DA. Also just a side note almost every DA, in my opinion, is theoretically legit, only exception is rider (NOT Horsetrading, those are different @TimFreehan). This includes Ptx, but I do have a bs meter and if its egregiously false/lacking ev, my bar becomes much lower to vote on aff o/w with just ! analysis.

THEORY

i think most things are probs a reason to reject the arg. conditionalitY is not this way obvi. my mind can change on this, but like if you're going for theory i probs know what they are doing is abusive.

COUNTER PLANS

Counter plans were the heart and soul of my novice/jv debate career, but fell to the side as I looked forward into debate. That being said, your generic process/agent/actor/topic counterplan will still need some explanation, as to why it is a. better b. mutually exclusive and c. not too cheaty. refer to what i said above about theory, but if you go for a cheaty counterplan, and you're losing the judge kick part of the debate (more on that later), then rejecting that arg is pretty important in your stake in the debate. With aff specific Counter plans, Im gonna need you to explicitly say what the fundamental differences are between yours proposal and the aff. Do the same things as above to avoid losing to the Perm, but I will put some faith that you either wrote it, or understand it enough to know how it interacts. Again if you dont understand it, good luck getting me to.

Advantage cps are great, PICs that steal all of the aff except a word or phrase are probs abusive, but prove to me why they aren't

KRITIKS

My opinions on kritiks has changed in recent years. I think they are a useful tool, but im going to be honest, its hard to explain hyperspecific philosiphies in 3 minutes at lightning speed. I reserve my right to vote for an argument that i cannot explain to the other team. same goes for a a fw trick. if you explain your kritiks well (this includes the link), i will be much much much more likely to vote for them. I lean towards weighing the hypothetical implementation of the affirmative vs a competetive alternative very highly, but this is not unwinnable.

K AFFS/ FW

fun fact about me: i read and defended a planless aff for exactly 3 rounds during my highschool career and lost all three of those rounds, so please do not consider me an expert in the realm of planless/kritikal affirmatives. this does not mean, however, that i am against this style of debate. when debating I have gone for fw every time against a k aff except once, so I understand that offense against it the most. just being honest, i do think policy debate should be rooted in some form of policy or action, so i inherently lean towards frameworky type args, but I can and will vote for K affs, given that I understand them.

if your strat as a non traditional aff is "C/i - the USFG = the people" im not the judge for you. You will lose this arg 99% of the time in front of me

Overall, I am fairly policy oriented, but like the k when read/explained well

any questions be sure to email (it is at the top) me or ask me before the round - i am an open book and will tell you preferences that i have

Ashley Thurber Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Cally Tucker Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat November 17, 2018 at 1:28 AM CDT

Cally Tucker

Gbn '19 (Fourth year debater)

Put me on the email chain and feel free to email me after round with any questions- callytucker8@gmail.com

Overall things to keep in mind

- Be clear

- Please do not shake my hand

- Be respectful of both me and the other team. It will impact your speaker points if you are being rude/disrespectful throughout the debate. That being said, offensive comments will not be tolerated. I will issue a warning/stop the round at any point if I feel the need too

- Please flow

- Time your own prep, speeches and cx

- Don't be rude during cx, do not repeatedly bombard the other team if they don't answer your question to your liking. Tag team is fine, try to answer yourself, if you can't, defer to your partner

- Spread, but don't let that get in the way of clarity. If you need to slow down to be more clear, then do it

- try to debate off your flow in the 2ar, 2nr

- give a road map before the speech

- use all speech time

- your arguments are only as good as what I have on my flow

Cp's

I like them and read them a lot and you should too. If you are reading them, make sure they are competitive. Against them, theory (condo bad, dispo bad, process cp's bad, 50 state fiat bad, etc), perms (make as many as you can), and defense. Make sure your cp has a net benefit, and make sure that it works. I don't like consult cp's (possible cheating) but if you really sell me on it, I will consider voting on it.

Da's

Make sure your link story is clear and that your impact card is decent. If you are extending them into the block, make sure you have impact calc throughout at the top and line by line for any args they have. Against disads, have good defensive arguments and explain why it doesn't link. If their link story is bad, or their unq is bad make sure to point it out and tell me why.

K's

I will vote on them but I don't read any others besides neolib often. I am familiar with most, (most likely familiar with any you novs will run or JV). Make sure your alt is well explained and why it is effective in and out of the round. If the alt is to just reject the 1ac, you need to really sell me on why that is important to the ideology of your kritik. If you are against a K, read framework and explain why their alt is bad. Most alts are not very good, but you again have to sell me on this and explain it. AFF: Read condo and make perms.

Topicality

Topicality is good. I'll vote on it if it was extended well and the voting issues were explained throughly. Make sure you also explain your interpretation. TVA's are good.

Speaker points

I generally stick to 27.5+. being rude, really arrogant or disrespectful will significantly dock your speaks. If you get below a 27.5, it is for a reason, and if you'd like to contact me with any questions as to why, you can email me.

Carlos Urquizo Solorio Academy HS 4 rounds

Last changed on Wed November 8, 2023 at 10:47 AM CDT

Carlos Urquizo

UIUC'23

Solorio Academy HS'19

curquizo99@gmail.com

About Me: I debated for four years on the national circuit and in the Chicago Debate League. I used to be pure policy but I integrated the K into my negative strategies later in high school. I am open to most types of arguments and will vote for a variety of arguments. I will vote for critical arguments just as much as policy stuff.

T: Don't go for it.

Disadvantages: Disadvantages are good but I like to see a link specific to the aff if its possible. The internal link debate will matter a lot to me, if I dont understand the DA, then it doesnt matter if the 1AC links or if the impact to the DA outweighs.

Counterplans: I think most counterplans are legit, but they always need a net benefit and internal net benefits are not enough for me. I need you to win the net benefit for me to vote on the counterplan. Prove to me why the CP is clearly a reason to reject the Plan. Textual competition is not persuasive to me.

K: do good analysis and tell me what the K is, I also need specific links to the affs. This generally much easier for things like the cap K. Root cause debates are not good. Framework matters and I will not vote for the aff if you dont read it. Fairness is not an impact, but use things like that as an argument to support the impact. For the aff, tell me why the negatives kritik is bad for you and bad for debate and what that does for debate overall and why its bad for future debates not just what is happening in your round. there needs to be an intepretation from both sides - I think this debate requires proper clash or else i think it just proves the affirmatives claims. I also need to hear reasons why debate is good.

K AFFs: I like K affs, I dont like hearing arguments like the state is good but rather tell me reasons why the state is redeemable if this debate does happen to occur. I think its valuable to prove why your respective model of debate is best. For the AFF, i think its extremely important for you to be ready for things outside of framework or T. For the negative, read Topical versions of the affirmative. The best way to debate K affs is to beat the substance of the argument, and i would suggest not to go for framework because the aff will have way more offense on that debate. The K aff will usually not be bad for debate in my opinion.

Misc: I try to be a nice judge and I'll be extremely respectful to both teams. My goal during the rounds is to make sure everything goes right, while making it as fun as possible; furthermore, my goal at the end of the round is to give as much feedback and constructive criticism as I can.

Vincent Vinluan Walter Payton College Prep 3 rounds

Last changed on Mon March 25, 2019 at 6:51 AM CDT

Coach at Walter Payton College Prep (2012-present)

While I've been doing this for a few years now, I never debated in HS. I'm a social science teacher before I'm a debate coach/debater. While I've judged a decent amount over the past few years, I've only judged a handful of rounds on this topic. This probably means a few things:

1. My topic knowledge is limited. This is especially important when spewing out topic specific acronyms or going for T. I don't have a very clear idea of what the community consensus is in regards to what affs are topical and which ones are not.

2. Tech > Truth. A caveat about this, however. Since I don't judge a ton of debates, I don't always keep a great flow. This means that your speeches should be organized, that you should speak clearly, and you should slow down a little bit, especially on things that require more pen time (e.g. theory blocks, CP texts with a bunch of planks, etc.).

3. While line by line is obviously important, you need to also think big picture. Your later rebuttals, especially, should put the debate together for me - identify the key nexus question and/or framing issues in the debate and frame evidence and key concessions around these ideas. Impact calc is more than just saying magnitude, timeframe, and probability. You should explain which lens I should be using to frame the debate and why. You should do explicit comparison between impacts and internal link chains.

4. You need to explain things. Saying "They dropped x, it's game over." Isn't an explanation. Extending tag lines isn't an explanation. Extend warrants.

5. If you're going for the K, you need to limit the amount of jargon and utilize real world examples to prove the thesis of the K. I have no problem voting you down if I don't think you've met the burden of explaining what your kritik does. I typically think that you need to go for the alternative as opposed to reading the K as a non-unique DA (unless you're crushing them on FW). I think the links should be specific to the aff as opposed to links to the squo.

6. K Affs...I'll listen, but honestly not sure I'm the best judge for you. I think you should be at the very least related to the topic (and doing this in a way that does more than just swapping out one card from last year's topic and replacing it with an immigration card). Your aff should probably impact turn FW. You should be able to explain why things like do it on the neg or the TVA don't solve. I don't necessarily think that fairness is an impact as much as it is an internal link to education.

Mark Weinhardt Dowling Catholic HS 3 rounds

Last changed on Wed April 15, 2020 at 2:57 PM UTC

Mark E. Weinhardt

Put me on the email chain: mweinhardt@weinhardtlaw.com

Background:

I debated a very long time ago: Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Washington (1975-78) and Dartmouth (1978-1982). I was fortunate to have some success (quarters at TOC in high school; quarters, finals, and semis at 3 NDT’s and #1 and #6 at large bids in college). I then left the activity entirely, returning as a judge and assistant coach in 2010 when my kids started debating at West Des Moines Dowling Catholic High School. I attend several tournaments a year and judge a mixture of competitive levels. In real life I am a trial lawyer with my own firm (see www.weinhardtlaw.com).

Overview:

I believe it is called “policy debate” for a reason, and my default approach is to evaluate the round as a policy maker in the real world (i.e., I am a U.S. Senator; the plan text is a bill before me). I can and will judge the debate differently, but you must ask me to do so and persuade me it's a good idea. Other than the kritik movement[1], debate has changed much less in 40 years than you think it has. We went fast and I can flow fast.

HOW to debate in front of me:

—This is an oral activity. At live tournaments, I must get your content from the spoken word, not the written word. And if I can't flow it, it's not in the debate. I will sometimes, however, look at evidence after the round to resolve conflicts in or weigh the evidence. I am willing to be on the email chain to get speech docs for this purpose (mweinhardt@weinhardtlaw.com), but do not expect me to look at that content during the round. At online tournaments, however, I may look at speech docs in round to makeup for lag in the electronic format. Don't depend on that, though--you'd best slow down a little.

—Line by line GOOD. Giant overviews BAD.

—During speeches and cross-ex, I allow only one team member to talk. The other debater can’t talk to his/her partner or to me. Always stand when speaking.

—When arguing analytics, don’t just stare at your laptop and read fast. You need to look at me and persuade me why you are right, especially in late rebuttals.

WHAT to debate in front of me (almost anything, but here are some thoughts):

Kritiks

I will vote on K's but am not deep in the literature. If your K is named after a concept (capitalism, security), I am probably conversant with it. If it is named after a philosopher, you'd better explain it very clearly. I will weigh the case against a K absent a compelling reason not to.

Topicality

I believe the affirmative is required to affirm the resolution. But I am generally lenient on T if the affirmative does this. That is, I like breadth over depth within the resolution but hate it when the aff wants a debate that has nothing to do with the resolution. Against policy affs, I think many negatives waste their time on T. But T is always a voting issue if the affirmative loses it.

Counterplans

I believe a counterplan must be competitive with the affirmative plan; i.e., the negative must explain why I can’t do both. I am very willing to vote on the idea that a counterplan cannot be topical. Affirmatives should argue this in front of me. I am generally not a fan of little cheating PICs.

Other theory issues

I will vote on theory but much prefer debates about the desirability of the plan text/resolution as a policy matter. Calling a theory argument a “voter” does not make it so. One conditional advocacy is OK; more than that could try my patience. Three things matter to me in theory debates: (1) Competitive fairness to both sides. (2) Education about things that transcend debate. (3) The rules of this game should attract, not repel, students from participating in it. I will vote for theory positions that do those things and I will punish positions that don't.

Miscellaneous

I applaud debaters who separate what evidence actually says from the spin their opponents put on it. I like case debates; negs invest way to little in this in most rounds.

[1] Here is how old I am: Many credit a guy named Bill Shanahan with inventing the concept of the K. I debated against him in college.

Bessie Zhang Walter Payton College Prep 4 rounds None

Dominik Zielinski Northside College Preparatory 6 rounds

Nicolette Zisman Glenbrook North 3 rounds None

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