I am open to all arguments and will do my best to adapt to you. I am very focused on my flow so be mindful when moving from one card/argument to the next to leave a gap or say "and" to clearly indicate motion. Slow down on authors and dates please.

CX: I'm a policy maker but am always open to other arguments. My main concern is whether or not you've proven the resolution is true or false.
Topicality/theory: I default competing interp. If there aren't good extensions or if it's a wash I probably won't vote here.
K: If the lit is obscure you'll need to explain it to me a little more than popular Ks. Feel free to ask.
Case: I want the aff to extend in every speech. I will likely not vote exclusively on case defense, so negs please have another voter.

LD: I'm very line-by-line driven, and focus on the flow. Be very specific with voters.
Value/criterion: Not a must-have, and in many rounds I judge I find debaters will spend time on this without ever impacting it as a voter. If you go for this, that is totally fine, but give a clear reason why it matters in determining the resolution's truth.
Pre-standards/observations: Fine with these, but I feel the more outlandish ones need a little more work to actually matter. In any case, it is important that these are answered and not dropped.
Off-case: totally fine and love to see it, so long as whoever runs any off has an understanding of how to run that argument.
NC: I tend to be less persuaded by strats that try to spread the aff thin and just go for whatever they drop/undercover, and while I won't stop you from doing that, I begin to err heavily in the aff's favor when they have four minutes to answer 4 off, respond to your case, and defend their own. In my opinion, it's better for debate for you to demonstrate your skills by thoroughly arguing a really good voter rather than throwing half-hearted args at your opponent to see what sticks.
Aff: The most frustrating part of judging LD is watching 1ARs that try to do line-by-lines on everything and drop part of the flow. I want to see a 1AR identify the reason the 1AC theoretically wins, extend that and respond to attacks against that premise, identify why the neg would theoretically win, and respond to that. The aff does not have to win every single argument in round to prove the resolution true, so show your skill by covering what you absolutely must in this small period of time. Too often I see 2ARs make good arguments that are too little too late, so do whatever it takes to give a 1AR that doesn't drop anything important (only drops stuff that isn't important) be it taking extra prep, going with opposing framework, etc.

I have a bad attitude and I know jiu jitsu. I prefer the K.

Hi I'm Dhruva Mambapoor!

I debated for four years in LD at Westwood HS (2018). I qualified for the TOC and NSDA. I have been an assistant coach for Westwood and then Greenhill over the past 5 years.

email: dmambapoor+tabroom@gmail.com

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Pref Shortcuts:

LARP: 1

K: 2

Phil: 3

Theory: 4

Tricks: Strike

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Overview to How I Evaluate Debates:

I evaluate arguments based on credence. This may be a bad explanation of this or not even close to the actual judging style based on argument's credence values. Basically, I don't start of every argument at 100%. Instead each argument has a certain validity to it, from 0 to infinity and beyond.

How compelling or credible an argument is, I base on two factors:

1. If your justifications are true, how well does the conclusion logically follow.

2. How well does it fit my background knowledge on the subject.

The second usually happens unconsciously, but I've decided to mention it, so you know that I have biases. If I recognize the bias, I will account for it, but recognizing my own bias is a difficult task. You can override the second factor by simply filling in the gaps where I would put my background knowledge. If you say your shirt is green because you rolled around in the grass, that would make sense because I think grass is green and stains clothes. If I didn't, you simply have to say your shirt is green because you rolled around in a green grass field which stains clothes.

If there are no arguments in the debate that are compelling or have decent enough warrants, then I will lower my standards until someone has sufficient offense for me to vote. The more I lower my standards the riskier the debate becomes.

So then what's compelling and fits my background info? see below

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The Specifics of the Common Positions:

Topicality/Theory:

A debate whose key characteristic is often blitzing through analytics is very risky in front of me because I tend to miss a lot especially when I can't verify with another source of information like a doc or its a common shell I've heard before. You can read theory, just make sure you can really implement the solutions given at the top of this paradigm. That also doesn't mean you can be as abusive as you want. I will give more leeway to common T/Theory (Pics bad, 2+ condo bad, infinite NIBs bad, etc.). That given, reading theory strategically instead of reading it to check abuse (or often both), is ok, but because T/Theory is naturally harder for me to flow and understand, it probably isn't strategic anyways.

Extra note for topicality:

I read basically only plan affs in HS, so I will understand them and the subsequent T/Theory debates more. If you have an untopical K aff, great! I also understand that subsequent T/theory debate more than other T debates as well. As the aff, I just need a stronger defense of why you are untopical and a more easy to understand explanation of the theories behind the K aff. And No, I'm not going to reject the aff just because its untopical. Against K affs, I'm also more interested in an neg strategy that engages with case. That just means I will pay more attention (unconsciously) to neg strategies without T in it or at the least has substantive case answers.

Kritik:

Don't assume I know the lit behind, because I probably don't. In HS I read: Deleuze, Culp (Dark Deleuze), Cap. I have some knowledge on: Deleuze, Culp, Wilderson, Nietzsche, Foucault, Baudrillard, Bataille, Freud and Lacan, Marx, Zizek. I have a little knowledge on: Derrida, Fanon, Queer Pess, Buddhism.

I have high standards for the alt. It should, ideally, resolve the impact, or propose and thoroughly explain some shift in paradigm/lens that is competitive with the aff and is more net beneficial than continuing with the aff paradigm.

Phil:

Don't assume I know the lit behind it. In HS I read: Util, Generic Structural Violence, and Koorsgard (Kant-ish). I have some knoweldge on: Util, Koorsgaard, Kant, Hobbes, Pragmatism, Levinas. I have a little knowledge on: Scanlon, Jaeggi, Hegel, Grievability.

I love util and SV frameworks. As a good rule of thumb, I will like frameworks that are grounded in materiality more. However, I can like a good phil debate if each argument is developed and fleshed out. I do not like phil debates with a lot of dumps and blippy analytics.

CP:

If you run a CP, the burden of proof shifts to you. If the aff and the CP are very similar then I need a strong net benefit to vote neg. The CP alone needs to be better than the perm to win the CP.

Disads:

Easiest debates for me to understand. I love a good DA debate. If its big-stick (nuclear war, etc.), which it probably is, then I have high standards for evidence. It should at least indicate extinction (or whatever the scope) is possible, or it's paired with a compelling analytic that indicates extinction is possible or you explain why the evidence would imply this well in cross-ex.

Politics:

I'm not as informed as I would like to be. Given that, I won't be able to verify many analytics so most if not all arguments should have evidence. I will give more leeway to responses because its hard to have applicable evidence to strange politics scenarios or weirdly structured ones.

Disclosure:

Disclosing open source is preferred. Disclosing full text is functionally mandatory. If you read a disclosure shell, you must include a screenshot with a timestamp.

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Speaker Points:

1. If you read circuit-style arguments (Theory, Tricks) against novice or traditional debaters, I will dock speaks (-2).

Final Remarks:

You can change any of the above with warranted arguments. No I don't mean just good arguments, I mean make arguments with claims like "Big-stick impacts don't need to indicate extinction", "Frameworks grounded in materiality are oppressive", etc. Be very explicit and clear with the paradigm you want me to adopt, and then warrant it well.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, or ask before the round.

PARADIGM SHORT

1. Be nice and respectful. If you are highly offensive or disrespectful, I reserve the right to vote you down.

2. Speed is fine, but be clear and slow down in rebuttals. If you go top speed in rebuttals, I will miss arguments.

3. I prefer interesting and creative arguments. I will usually prefer truth over tech and decide on the most cohesive weighed argument. If I don't clearly understand, I don't vote. Tell me how to vote please.

4. If you do what makes you comfortable and throw a voter on it, you'll be fine.

MORE STUFF

I will vote on anything that is justified as a ballot winning position.

My flow is poor. The faster you go the more arguments I will miss. I am truth over tech. I will most likely not vote for a technical interaction that hasn't been heavily explained in the round. If you are grossly misrepresenting technical arguments to another debater, I reserve the right to not vote on those arguments.

I subconsciously presume towards unique arguments/funny, nice, and/or like-able people. This doesn't mean you will win, but if the round becomes unadjudicatable more often than not I'll decide your way.

I don't believe in speaker points. I will either give you the max (99.99999999999% of rounds) or you will get the minimum (reserved for doing something abhorent)

If you are oppressive, I reserve the right to not vote for you.

Please keep me entertained(two invested debaters is enough). I have severe ADHD.

Please make jokes. I find terrible dad humor jokes that fall flat to be the funniest.

Hey, I debated for Westwood High School in ATX for 4 yrs and graduated in 2018. I attend American University in DC now and have done some parli. In high school I did mostly LD but w/ some stints of extemp, policy, world schools etc. I was mostly a K debater. I've worked at several camps in Texas.

Pref shortcut:

Traditional: 1

Ks: 1

LARP: 2

Theory/T: 2

Framework: 3/4 (depending on the type)

Tricks: 4/Strike

Please email me with questions and add me to the chain: abigailgrifno@gmail.com

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General

Ks are cool, my favorite is probably Cap or variations of it. I read mostly cap and fem so I am most familiar with that. I think performance debates are cool; but I think they gotta be related to the resolution in some way. I also think some performances verge on becoming trick debates, where the performance is used more as a tool to ensure your opp can't respond rather than actually attempt to engage in a meaningful dialogue. Performances that allow for neg ground via things like defending implementation or a specific strategy fair better with me.

Theory/T: don't be frivilous. I think reasonability is under-utilized. RVIs shouldn't be the A-strat and neither should 1ar theory.

Framework: please explain it and if you read something super fringe, I probably will lean towards something I understand better (ie consequential-based). If it's something simple like Kant, virtue ethics, or social contract, I can follow but you have to do very thorough extensions. Something even more fringe means you need a very thorough explanation.

LARP: Its fun. I think PICs are really strategic and allow for great debates, especially against plan affs. Those are probably my favorite debates. DAs, CPs, plan affs etc are all good.

Tricks: not a fan, I think they are bad for education. If you win the round, expect lower speaks.

Trigger warnings: If you read anything that could be triggering or is graphic in nature you should give a warning. I suggest posting one on your wiki, which I would consider sufficient so long as your opponent has access to it. I don't think someone has to necessarily be triggered for a theory shell to be legitimate; encouraging people to read trigger warnings is good. If something is statistical in nature, I don't think you should on face feel obligated to give a trigger warning. If the triggering content is available on the wiki, I think it is in everyone's best interest that if you are offended/triggered by something, you let your opponent know prior to the round. If someone is triggered in round and the round is unable to continue, it will be an auto loss and 25 for the person who read the triggering argument.

PF

I prefer progressive debate, any amount of speed

Flashing/PDFs/Cards: this should all be available on demand and specific quotes should be immediately accessable. I will start docking speaks if it appears you aren't giving evidence or are making it difficult to find evidence within a PDF.

Tech > truth, with that being said I think bad arguments are easy to beat and my threshold is lowered for your responses. Impact turns for racism, sexism etc are unacceptable.

Plans/fiat: as a mostly policy/k debater these types of arguments are definitely acceptable but must be warranted and have some sort of solvency advocate

Collapse: please collapse to specific arguments, ie one of your contentions, one case turn etc. Overviews are great for this, please use them.

Framework: I will default consequentialism, but structural violence versus util is very debatable. If for some reason, you decide to run something that is not consequentialist, please just justify it and it will be evaluated.

Debated for 4 years at Moore High School, and going into my third year of college debate at the University of Oklahoma.

Do whatever. It's come to this point where my paradigm is too many words and has no bearing on how I evaluate rounds. I'll give you a detailed 'roadmap' if you prefer.

My pronouns are they/them.

The following things below were written in March at 3 AM. This'll probably be confusing for you as it is for me, so defer to the words I said above.

Speed: I'm cool with it... given that clarity is always better than speed. This being said, you should emphasize certain words in your taglines and analytics to not only give you ethos, but establish certain things I should look for in your arguments. This being said, I would much rather you slow down on your taglines and distinguish them from your cards. Train effect for bonus speaks.

Kritiks: I've spent most of my debate career reading these arguments in a one-off style. Specificity is key especially to Affirmatives. Quote-pulling would be my favorite, as long as they are contextualized in your speeches before the 2NR. I've read a lot of literature whether it be cards, articles, or books, but that doesn't mean I know all of the nuances even in my best studies. I think the best strategy regardless is to win the framework debate on either team.

K AFFs: Do it. You certainly should have justifications for your method, such as reasons they're good or whether your scholarship is key for debate, the round, or even external forces. Topic ties would be better, especially to hedge back against framework teams. That being said, use case as offense.

Framework: Framework is the best example that contests two models of debate. Each team should have reasons or net-benefits as to why these models are better. What makes framework even more convincing as a strategy is to also have a Topical Version of the Affirmative (please give a plan text)... bonus if there's a solvency advocate. Otherwise win reasons as to why your model creates the best way to adjudicate fairness and/or education or why institutions like the USFG are good.

Dis-Advantages: I think generally as a negative strategy you should have a specific and/or contextual link strategy to the affirmative. That being said, general links will probably not suffice, unless the link goes conceded. Disads are most certainly the best offensive policy strategy to outweigh the advantages of the affirmative so please do the dying art: impact calculus.

Counterplans: Counterplans are pretty cool. You should always have a net-benefit (internal and/or external) so it gives me an offensive reason that I should vote Negative. Otherwise, it gives me more of a chance to vote Affirmative either on the permutation or solvency alone. I would much rather prefer functional competitiveness on a counterplan only because I have to evaluate policy options.

Topicality: I believe the same thing goes for topicality debates: why is your interpretation a better model of debate? How does(n't) it explode or over-limit? Do I default to competing interpretations or reasonability? This is definitely a debate more about tech than truth.

Tech > truth in most instances.

I will NOT ever vote for racism/sexism/transmisogyny/ableism/etc. You'll either lose the debate round or all of your speaks... or most likely both.

I debated for four years on the national circuit when in high school. Since then, I have coached LD at both the high school and college levels on the national circuit. I am a Ph. D student studying continental philosophy, so I will likely be familiar with your favorite kritik literature. I do not have a strong preference for the style of arguments you choose to make, (I am not a K-hack, for example) but only insist that you try to make them well. While I do not think "tab" judging is possible, I see it as a basically desirable goal (with some exceptions). I am fine with speed, but I think I am a little hard of hearing, so I might say "LOUDER" for you to speak up.

I default to a competing worlds or "offense/defense" paradigm. I also default to viewing theory as an issue of competing interpretations. I generally dislike truth-testing arguments. I am probably more open to kritiks of theory and the like than other judges, but am also perhaps more likely to vote for theory arguments than others. I like that performances are part of debate. I think the best parts of debate are when the debaters are able to use the debate space as a means to get the judge, opponent, and audience to deal with an issue that they really think is worth discussing (of course, this can just as well be a complicated discussion of policy issues as it can be a discussion of personal experiences).

I hedge all of the above claims with "I default to" or "generally..." because I see debate as a space for debaters to express themselves, not for judges to determine what the contents of those speech acts are supposed to be. Of course, this has its limits (I will not vote for arguments I take to be grossly offensive, or arguments which I think tangibly make debate an unsafe space, for example). But I largely think debaters should be allowed to debate in the style that they prefer and that the judge should play as minimal a role as possible.

I generally assign pretty high speaker points. If you got low speaker points, you were probably rude or offensive or very unclear. I see speaker points as a way of rewarding good behaviors (like communicating clearly, answering questions directly, being kind to your opponent) and punishing bad behaviors (like being deliberately unclear, uncharitable, or rude). So if you want good speaker points in front of me, I'd recommend just being kind to your opponent.

Debate is an activity about persuasion and communication. If I can't understand what you are saying because you are unclear, haven't coherently explained it, or developed it into a full argument-claim, warrant, impact, it likely won't factor in my decision.

I lean more truth over tech in the sense that I will not vote on something that can't explain to the other team at the end of the debate, but that doesn’t mean you can just drop things and hope I ignore them. Do what you do best. Seriously. I would rather judge a good debate on something I am less familiar with than a bad debate any day. The more you can write my ballot in the 2NR/2AR, and tell me what I am voting on and why, the more likely you are to win but also the more likely I am to give you better speaks. Make my job easy and you will be rewarded.

Take risks. It makes my job a lot more fun and often pays off big. Your speaks will be rewarded for it.

K affs seem to have a lot of trouble deciding if they want to go for the middle ground or just impact turn--pick a strategy and stick to it 1AC-2AR and you're more likely to be in a good place. The block is almost always great on T, the 2NR almost always forgets to do terminal impact calculus. Fairness is an internal link, but negative engagement and clash are very compelling impacts

Counter-plans-

-If your CP competes based on the certainty or immediacy of the plan, it doesn't take a ton on theory for me to reject the counter plan.

-I won't kick it for you unless you tell me to and win that judge kick is good.

Disads

-they should be intrinsic to the plan, with enough time investment affs can win that agenda disads are not a logical opportunity cost

credit for the paradigm from mason marriott-voss and david kilpatrick

Policy Debate

I would like to be on the email chain if there is one. my email is jessekeleman@gmail.com

Every time I try and cut down my paradigm it gets longer. So here's a brief summary:

I haven't judged much on the nukes topic, so keep that in mind

Enunciate tags

Spread full-speed through your blocks and all their wonderful sub-points at your own risk

Tell me why it matters that you won an argument (even a conceded one)

I don't have strong argument preferences, do whatever you want. I've put my general proclivities for each argument below

An author name (alone) is not an extension

I'm not well-read on most kritikal literature these days, so if your argument has a lot of terms of art I probably don't know them. That being said I'm used to not being well-read and generally can figure it out from context, but the more specific, concrete examples you can give of how your impact manifests itself, the better off you will be.

Don't take my paradigm to heart, use it as a general reference. You can see how long it is and I've probably already forgotten half of it

Basic philosophy

I am not the fastest flow-er in the world. Slow down a bit or enunciate your tags/ argument names so that I know they are special, and it shouldn't be too much of a problem. As long as I have enough of your argument flowed down to jog my memory, you should be fine.

I debated at UT and debated for 4 years at Grapevine in highschool. I'm currently a lawyer (not an expert on personhood). I really like well-researched PICs.

Try to be clear on what arguments you are winning and why you are winning the round because of it. What this means is that when you make an argument, make sure you explain the larger implications it has on the debate. This doesn't mean make everything a voting issue, but rather that your arguments should all fit together in a neat and understandable way. If I have to do a lot of this analysis myself, you might not like how I end up evaluating your arguments.

An author name is not an extension, and I think debaters tend to breeze over conceded arguments without impacting them out in the way I talked about above. If you think an argument is conceded or mishandled, it still needs to be explained in the final speeches.

I'm not too familiar with a lot of the kritikal literature bases besides Virilio and anthropocentrism (and somewhat Buddhism. Daoism because I've been on a mindfullness binge recently), so keep that in mind when explaining your arguments. I still love hearing kritiks, just be sure to make your arguments as clear as possible.
I haven't heard a lot of debates on this topic, so try and keep that in mind if you were planning on throwing around a lot of acronyms at a fast pace. Making your arguments clearer can only be good for your speaker points.

I like hearing specific disads, generic ones are fine too if you can contextualize the link to your argument to the affirmative. Same thing with kritiks.
I'll be glad to answer any more specific questions you have before the round.

Disads

I prefer specific disads, but of course that's not always possible. I find that disad links can be pretty awful, and think that it can be a great place for an aff to gain some ground against the disad. However, I think that disads with strong and well-explained links can be extremely convincing. Politics disads can either be underwhelming if extremely generic, or very solid arguments if your link story is a bit more nuanced then "some people in congress hate the plan, so congress will suddenly decide they hate immigration reform.".

I did mainly kritikal debate in college, but in highschool I was more policy oriented, so don't be afraid to lean more policy infront of me. I actually find 8-off debates to be pretty interesting sometimes; I think that they force interesting strategic decisions and require a certain skill to both answer and execute well.

Counterplans

I am not a fan of conditions counterplans, or any other counterplan that causes a very small change in the process the aff goes through (consult counterplans also fall under this category). I tend to think that they form boring and repetitive debates. I will still vote on them if you are winning the argument, but I find the theoretical objections to them to be pretty convincing. I am a huge fan of specific pics. Any well-researched and well debated pic will likely give your speaker points a boost. I am not a fan of generic pics, or some of the old-fashioned word pics, such as the "the" pic. I think advantage counterplans can be extremely strategic, especially when paired with a strong disad.

Kritik

Kritiks are great, but I am not very familiar with a lot of the more complex kritikal literature. This means you have to make your explanation of the argument clear to me, or I'll have a hard time voting on it. I have no problem with affirmatives that don't defend government action as long as they are relevant to the topic or have a convincing reason not to be, but at the same time I have no problem voting for framework if the negative gives me convincing reasons why debates about government action are more useful than what the affirmative performance is trying to do. I would prefer negatives use well thought-out counter-advocacies over framework as those debates tend to be more interesting, but I do believe that framework has its place in debate.

I generally prefer that your link arguments prove that the aff makes the world a worse place in some way, rather than only prove that they are complicit in certain structures. I think that really talented kritikal debaters are proficient at framing their link arguments in offensive ways that show how an aff replicates problems in the world, rather than just claiming that the aff doesn't acknowledge a problem. The exception to this is if you can win substantial framing arguments that mean I should ignore the aff entirely.

I find anthro to be one of the most persuasive arguments in debate, and mourn its disappearance.

Topicality

I'd generally prefer a DA or K, but I think that topicality debates can be interesting in their own way. I think that high school debaters tend to expand the topic a little bit too far, and get away with affs that might not necessarily be topical. Running topicality against a clearly topical aff will most likely not get you anywhere, and should probably be replaced with more viable arguments.

Framework

I decided to make a separate section for this, since I've been judging it a bit more and have more thoughts about it now. I think that sometimes teams forget that when i vote on framework, I'm voting on an interpretation of how debate should be, rather than voting on whether a team broke some "rule" of debate or not. Your argument could of course be that I should vote them down because they broke a rule, but I find this less convincing than arguments about what debate ought to be. I think that ways of mitigating the other team's offense is vital in these debates. For the neg, those would be SS args, TVA args, or any other argument about how your interpretation doesn't exclude their education. For the aff, this usually takes the form of criticisms of the neg's ideas of education.

A lot of the framework debates I've judged seem to focus on the aff alone, rather than the entire interpretation. I think that this is a mistake, and I would like to see teams tying their arguments back to their interpretations rather than just ignoring the interpretation after extending it and proceeding to talk about how unfair the specific aff is. I find a lot of aff interpretations to be very vague, take advantage of this when you make your predictability and limits arguments.

As a final note on framework, I think that novel and strategic aff interpretations could get you further than just "teams have to talk about the topic".

Theory

I find that there are certain arguments in debate that seem polarizing, as far as if they are beneficial arguments that should be used in debate or not. For these arguments that do seem to spur disagreement, I think that theory can be a fantastic argument against them, and would enjoy seeing an in-depth theory debate about them. On the other hand, theory arguments arguing that you shouldn't speed read, that counterplans are bad for debate, or that kritiks belong in LD, I do not find convincing. You're not likely to win on these arguments unless the other team severely mishandles them, so you might as well actually engage in their arguments instead of trying to just ignore them. A questionable argument that has been well-researched and has specific evidence is much more likely to look legitimate to me than a generic counterplan that just pushes the aff back a year and claims a politics net benefit. I think that clash is one of the most important parts of debate, and that if an argument disagrees with the actual content of the 1AC in a substantial matter, it should be permitted in debate. If an argument tries to avoid clash in unhealthy ways (mostly in ways that don't promote topic-specific research), then I am more likely to decide that these arguments are illegitimate.

Conditionality -

I think that more than two conditional arguments is pushing it, but I do not think there is much merit to saying that the negative cannot get even 1 conditional argument. If there's one conditional argument your time is probably better spent on debating the substance of the debate. I also think that you should make your argument as nuanced as possible, for example instead of saying just conditionality is bad, say that multiple contradictory conditional worlds is bad.


Speaker Points - I haven't judged enough rounds to have a well though-out system of giving speaker points, but in general better arguments will get better speaker points, and more persuasive speakers will get better speaker points. I also enjoy hearing novel arguments, especially in areas of debate where you often hear the same arguments over and over again, such as theory debates.

LD

I rarely judge this event. Assume I know nothing about the topic, but I am probably somewhat familiar with the critical literature base you're drawing from. I have a hard time voting aff in LD debates because of the huge time discrepancy that makes it seem as if there are a lot of dropped arguments. To get around this, I suggest grouping arguments often as the affirmative, and making it clear how your impacts outweigh any risk of what the negative is talking about, bringing up at least a few specific examples in the process.

Rachel Mauchline

Durham Academy, Assistant Director of Speech and Debate

Previously the Director of Forensics and Debate for Cabot

she/her pronouns

TL;DR

Put me on the email chain @ rachelmauchline@gmail.com

speed is fine (but online lag is a thing)

tech over truth

Policy

I typically get preferred for more policy-oriented debate. I gravitated to more plan focused affirmatives and t/cp/da debate. I would consider myself overall to be a more technically driven and line by line organized debater. My ideal round would be a policy affirmative with a plan text and three-seven off. Take that as you wish though.

Lincoln Douglas

I've judged a variety of traditional and progressive debates. I prefer more progressive debate. But you do you... I am happy to judge anything as long as you defend the position well. Refer to my specific preferences below about progressive arguments. In regards to traditional debates, it's important to clearly articulate framework.

Public Forum

weighing.... weighing.... weighing.

I like rebuttals to have clear line by line with numbered responses. 2nd rebuttal should frontline responses in rebuttal. Summary should extend terminal defense and offense OR really anything that you want in final focus. Final focus should have substantial weighing and a clear way for me to write my ballot. It's important to have legitimate evidence... don't completely skew the evidence.

Here are my specific preferences on specific arguments if you have more than 5 mins to read this paradigm...

Topicality

I enjoy a well-articulated t debate. In fact, a good t debate is my favorite type of debate to judge. Both sides need to have a clear interpretation. Make sure it’s clearly impacted out. Be clear to how you want me to evaluate and consider arguments like the tva, switch side debate, procedural fairness, limits, etc.

Disadvantages/Counterplans

This was my fav strat in high school. I’m a big fan of case-specific disadvantages but also absolutely love judging politics debates- be sure to have up to date uniqueness evidence in these debates though. It’s critical that the disad have some form of weighing by either the affirmative or negative in the context of the affirmative. Counterplans need to be functionally or textually competitive and also should have a net benefit. Slow down for CP texts and permutations- y’all be racing thru six technical perms in 10 seconds. Affirmative teams need to utilize the permutation more in order to test the competition of the counterplan. I don’t have any bias against any specific type of counterplans like consult or delay, but also I’m just waiting for that theory debate to happen.

Case

I believe that case debate is under-covered in many debates by both teams. I love watching a case debate with turns and defense instead of the aff being untouched for the entire debate until last ditch move by the 2AR. The affirmative needs to continue to weigh the aff against the negative strat. Don't assume the 1AC will be carried across for you throughout the round. You need to be doing that work on the o/v and the line by line. It confuses me when the negative strat is a CP and then there are no arguments on the case; that guarantees aff 100% chance of solvency which makes the negative take the path of most resistance to prove the CP solves best.

Kritiks

I’ll vote for the k. From my observations, I think teams end up just reading their prewritten blocks instead of directly engaging with the k specific to the affirmative. Be sure you understand what you are reading and not just read a backfile or an argument that you don’t understand. The negative needs to be sure to explain what the alt actually is and more importantly how the alt engages with the affirmative. I judge more K rounds than I expect to, but if you are reading a specific author that isn’t super well known in the community, but sure to do a little more work on the analysis

Theory

I’ll vote for whatever theory; I don’t usually intervene much in theory debates but I do think it’s important to flesh out clear impacts instead of reading short blips in order to get a ballot. Saying “pics bad” and then moving on without any articulation of in round/post fiat impacts isn’t going to give you much leverage on the impact level. You can c/a a lot of the analysis above on T to this section. It’s important that you have a clear interp/counter interp- that you meet- on a theory debate.

Emily Mendelson, she/her // add me to the email chain: emendel1@binghamton.edu

Experience:
I debated at Binghamton for four years starting as a college novice, taught at the UTNIF for two summers and qualified to the NDT my junior and senior year. For the past two years I was coaching at Baylor and just completed my MA there. Currently, I'm a PhD student at Illinois and the program coordinator for the Broome County Debate Alliance. As a debater I read mostly disability stuff before doing more performance-y things like coloring and balloon animals, but that was just a framework argument. I'm familiar with the majority of k's but can find myself persuaded by framework if done well.

In-Person Debate / Legal Personhood Thoughts: 
I'm really excited to see what cool things people come up with on this topic. You're welcome to do / read / say whatever you want in front of me as long as it is not actively harmful to someone else. As we return to in-person debate, don't forget that debate is fundamentally about the people in it. Be a good person. 

Virtual Debate Notes:
Please speak slower and clearer than you think you need to. While I don't think people should be flowing off of speech docs, I think flashing analytics (or at least overviews, CP text, interps) is probably valuable just in case clarity or wifi issues arise. From what I've learned so far: debates are better when everyone has strong enough wifi to keep their cameras on, cx is messy when everyone's trying to talk over each other bc of zoom auto-muting whoever isn't the loudest, and cameras should probably remain on during prep if possible. I'm sympathetic to performance teams who are going to be uniquely disadvantaged by the virtual format.

Edits:
1. Check if everyone is there before you start your speech??? lmao I thought this one was intuitive but if my camera is off and you don't hear from me... I am not ready for you to start
2. I flow on paper, please give me some pen time even if you flash analytics
3. Speech docs w/ analytics are not a substitution for clarity

Judging Thoughts:
I'll vote any way you want me to with judge instruction, and if not, I love flowing so I'll default to the line-by-line.

Reading framework: I'm unpersuaded by fairness as a terminal impact, I think at most it's an internal link to education/clash/some better impact. That being said, I'm absolutely down to vote for fairness if there's a well-warranted abuse scenario or the affirmative is egregious in defending absolutely nothing. Specific TVA's are an easy way to persuade me in favor of your model of debate as long as they meet your interp.

Answering framework: You're better off concentrating most of your offense on impact turning framework in front of me, but I also think a lot of K teams under-utilize counterinterps and counter-definitions. I don't think your model of debate needs to be perfect but I do think there should be some explanation of limits and ground division between both sides.

K affs: I think there should be some sort of "method" to the aff in the sense that it's not just some sort of truth advocacy text that says 'vote aff because we say x thing is good.' Use examples to your advantage and please don't be afraid to actually defend something in CX. I was definitely guilty of being shifty but I would love it if you clearly defined the parameters and concepts in the aff instead so I have something better than a nebulous understanding of what you're saying.

Policy affs: On average, I think policy teams need to be doing a lot better job at explaining solvency throughout the debate. Make sure you have a clear internal link story & solvency advocate. In the rebuttals, walk me through how you want me to evaluate arguments in comparison to one another, even if it means you go much slower and read less cards. I promise it will pay off. Take a minute and explain some jargon you might be using.

Making my decision: Clear judge framing arguments will give you an easy way to predict which way I'm likely to vote. Clear impact calculus in the rebuttals is especially important to me and minimizes the likelihood I have to intervene. I love judging and I love learning and I love flowing so whatever you're reading I promise you'll have my full attention. If you don't want me to base my decision off my flow alone, I'm happy to abandon it. Just tell me why.

Additional thoughts:
- Arguments need warrants, please extend them. I'm tired of flowing just a litany of claims.
- CX is binding and I flow it. I'll know if you're lying later in the debate. Feel free to call other teams out on their lies.

Speaks: Good evidence is good. Read quality, well-highlighted evidence and you will be rewarded with higher speaker points. Highlight complete words. If your ev needs to be highlighted in a way that pulls letters from words to make new acronyms, your speaker points may suffer.

Hey y’all! I debated LD for three years for Sacred Heart in Mississippi. Over the years I earned a bid to the TOC, won State Championships, went to nationals, and broke at some circuit tournaments. I now debate for Vassar College. This summer I taught top lab at the UTNIF and I’m excited about continuing debate as a judge. I predominately ran Fem K’s, but I hope that you will debate in the way you are most comfortable with!

Before I get into specifics, I just want to say that I really don’t care what you read in round as long as it’s not sexist, racist, homophobic, or anything else offensive or morally repugnant. I don’t care if you sit, stand, or lay on the floor- just do what makes you comfortable. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable, please let me know!

Ok so now for the specifics. I’m sure you are either trying to do prefs or reading this before round so I will attempt to make this as simple and to the point as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or Facebook message me.

sarahberrypierce@gmail.com

Speed/Speaker Points.

- Go for it but put me on the email chain (sarahberrypierce@gmail.com)

- Clarity is important! I’ll call clear/slow/loud and I’ll try not to drop speaks unless the problem continues throughout the entire round.

- Please do not feel pressure to spread if you are not comfortable with it or simply don’t want to- slow debate is still debate. I would much rather watch a debate where you are doing what you do best.

- Please don’t be overly aggressive/rude to anyone in the room and give Trigger Warnings if necessary.

- As far as speaker points go, I haven’t judged since camp so it’s likely I’ll be giving out high speaks until I figure out exactly what I want to do.

o 29.5-30- You could have been in finals with the performance you just gave

o 29-29.5- You are probably going to break, and the round was amazing.

o 28-29- There are some technical issues, but it was still good

o 28-27- Strategy issues, overall there is work to be done.

o 27 and lower- something wasn’t right.

K’s

- Love them, think they are great.

- Feel free to be creative but be sure to have specific links

- I still expect clear extensions and articulations of how the k functions

- Feel free to try reading a K in front of me, but if you aren’t comfortable don’t read them just because that’s what I read.

- If you are reading high theory or something abstract, be sure to explain it. I won’t want to vote for something I don’t understand.

Performance/Non-T

- Feel free to read your performance! I love to watch a creative debate but be sure to explain how the performance works and how I am supposed to vote based off it. J

- Non-T debate is fine as long as you win the advocacy

Policy

- Go for it! Explain it, have solvency advocates. Specific evidence > generic util.

- Good DA’s with specific links can make for a great debate.

- If you are reading a plan (especially if you know it might not be the most topical because let’s be honest… you know) you should have generic T and Theory shells prepped out. Be ready to defend the plan.

Theory

- I think theory can be a great check on abuse. Friv theory debates aren’t my favorite but if you are a good theory debater and there is a clear abuse story then I will listen.

- I’ll vote on an RVI if it’s won

- Disclosure is probably a good thing. I’ll vote on disclosure theory if it’s won but that shouldn’t be your only strat. I would rather vote on substance.

- Disclosure theory is beatable as well, but disclosure can be good for everyone!

Topicality

- Aside from K’s, I ran a lot of T and I would love to watch a good T debate but you should have a clear interp, evidence, standards, and voters.

- You still need to do work with the shell- if you are going to go for T, I expect comparison and weighing between the shell and the world of the aff.

- RVI’s on T aren’t a thing- either prove your topical or win that topicality is bad.

- I’ll gladly vote on topicality bad or turns to T if they are won.

Framework

- Go for it! I think I won almost every aff round on the K advocacy or on Framework.

- I may not fully understand your framework- you still need to explain it.

- Don’t be upset if I don’t vote on your framework if you do a bad job explaining it and extending it.

Tricks/Skep/Spikes

- I’m not the judge for you.

Misc.

- WEIGH!

- Clear extensions are great- I’m not saying it needs to take a long time or be super formal but just tell me what to extend and why.

- I expect you to share your speech docs with your opponent and me- if you don’t want to email then have another way for your opponent to access your doc.

- Flashing shouldn’t take forever. I know problems occur but taking 30 or more seconds to flash is too long.

- Please feel free to reach out with questions, comments, concerns, or just to talk!

- I look forward to watching you debate and good luck!!

Note: Paradigm was adopted from Evan Engel

Email Chain: shahrishabh7@gmail.com

I debated LD for 4 years for Westwood High School (2015-18) and am now a sophomore at UT Austin.

Conflicts/Association:

- DebateDrills Content Coach (conflict policy and roster available here)

- Westwood HS

General

Share your speech doc with your opponent whether you flash, email, use pocketbox, etc.

I think disclosure is very good for debate - this is not to say you cannot beat disclosure theory in front of me - it just means you will have a very hard time.

Policy

These are probably my favorite types of arguments. I would love you if you did good evidence comparison and comparison of links to the impact rather than superficially weighing impacts. I've read DA's, CP's, and Plans (basically every aff round), so I like to think I know most of the lingo and the function. If you read a plan, please read specific evidence instead of general util offense for the topic.

I'm not a fan of plans bad theory arguments. I think you should either read a T shell or a more nuanced reason why their type of plan text is bad.

Kritiks

I like good K debate a lot. An NR containing a well explained, and well impacted K that doesn't forget about the case is a good thing. An NR containing a K you've never read the lit for is hair pullingly frustrating. Ask yourself if you can explain your position without the use of buzzwords, if the answer is no, you risk being in the latter category. I am not very familiar with some literature bases that seem to be popular today, so be prepared to explain your links/alternative to me like I haven't encountered it.

I'm not generally a huge fan of the 4 minute K overview followed by line by line constituted primarily by "that was in the overview". Take time to clearly explain and implicate the links/impacts/framing arguments and contextualize them to the aff.

Non-T/Performance Affs

I believe people should be able to do whatever they want with their affirmative, and I will by no means auto vote you down for not being topical. That said, I find T/Framework to be an extremely persuasive argument and I will be hard pressed to vote aff absent a robust defense against it, whether that comes in the form of impact turns, a counter-interp, or something else.

Topicality

Your interp needs evidence, standards and voting issues. A good T debate should involve a deep comparison of the world of debate each interp justifies, not just competing 6-points of the limits standard. Textuality as a voter just barely meets the standard for coherent argument, i'll vote on it, but it will be defeated easily in front of me. I'm reluctant to vote on RVIs on T, but will vote on one if you're handedly winning why you should get one.

Theory

I'm not a fan of frivolous theory, i'll vote on it, but there is a low bar to answering it. If you're struggling to figure out whether a certain shell is too frivolous, don't read it. I am extremely persuaded by infinite regress/arbitrariness arguments against the vast majority of spec shells.

Ethical Philosophy/Framework

I am far and away the least versed in this part of LD. I'm not unwilling to vote on anything you choose to read, just understand that if it's more complicated than the simple end of ripstein or util, you will need to explain it to me like I'm a distracted 5 year old.

Spikes/Tricks/Skep

I greatly dislike these arguments and please don't pref me if you plan to read them. I am a firm believer that comparative worlds is the best interpretation for debate. Chances are if you're winning in front of me on a blippy theory spike or an apriori, it's because the rest of the debate was literally impossible to evaluate and you will not be happy speaks because of it.

Speaks

Good speaks for: strategy (1NC/2NR and 1AR/2AR), persuasion, technical line-by-line, enjoyment of judging the round. My speaks might be lower than you expect (I generally agree with Rodrigo Paramo here)

Here is a scale

30 ~ best debate I've ever seen, I was on the edge of the seat, I would be disappointed if you didn't win the tourney

29.5-29.9 ~ Late elims for sure

29-29.5 ~ You are definitely breaking

28.5-28.9 ~ You maybe should break?/be in the bubble

28-28.4 ~ Might get to the bubble

27.9 and below ~ you made major strategic errors/said or did something messed up

I debated policy and PF at Magnolia high school and now i debate policy at the University of Houston and i work for Kinkaid. I would like to be on the email chain mnsanford@uh.edu

Do what you do best. I am most familiar with k debates but I think it's the burden of the judge to adapt to whatever the debaters want to do so i will vote on anything. ld rounds - please be very clear on the FW debate - have an explicit framing mechanism, explain what offense links etc. on theory, i don't like to default to any specific issue in this style of debate because I barely understand it. you may not like how i vote here unless you explain your argument to me like i don't know anything about debate

I use speaker points to reward smart strategies and arguments, high quality evidence, and generally making the debate an enjoyable experience. please be respectful to each other and please don't spread if you want me to understand everything you say. that being said, i rarely give points below 28.

(there's always a chance I forgot to update here, so check the date on the wiki to make sure this paradigm is current)

https://judgephilosophies.wikispaces.com/Thompson%2C+Nathan

Nathan Thompson
Norman HS 14
University of Oklahoma 18
Updated 15 September 2018 sitting in the cafeteria before Greenhill round 1

Background

I debated for Norman High School (OK) for four years, graduating in 2014. I qualified to NSDA Nationals my junior and senior year, breaking twice and placing 24th my junior year. I primarily debated in Oklahoma and did not have the resources to travel. I have worked at the UTNIF LD camp as an instructor in 2015, 2017, and 2018. I like email chains - nltpeasley@gmail.com

Preferences

Speaking Preferences

• Speed is fine. I will clear you twice if I cannot understand you.
• THAT SAID, please do not fly through analytics or theory. I am decent at flowing but hardly amazing; if you hit the jets while reading a bunch of blipping theory args, I am going to get lost and miss stuff on the flow.
• I only vote on stuff I've successfully flowed.
• Indicate where your cards and arguments begin and end and slow down for authors and tags.

Framework

• Value and criterion are not necessary so long as you give me a way to decide the ballot.
• Label your framework arguments as what they are - I don't like tricky preempts or prestandards that become more than what they were in the constructive.

Theory/T

• I default to competing interps, although I find I've gotten friendlier to reasonability args over the years.
• I am probably not the judge to read a half-dozen theory shells in front of - you can do it if you think it's strategic or (obviously) to check abuse, but know that I might not like it if you overdo it.
• You must have absolute clarity on what your interpretation is, especially if the text that you give your opponent is different than the one you read in round.
• I will listen to potential abuse as an argument.
• I do not know what Nebel T is and am not about to learn now. If you read anything like that, don't expect me to know any overly-specific jargon.

RVIs

• I will evaluate RVIs like anything else.
• I will evaluate 2AR RVIs in response to new 2NR theory.
• The RVI needs offense back to a counter-interp.

CX

• CX checks abuse!
• CX checks abuse!
• CX checks abuse!
• That said, I'm not flowing CX, so don't lie about what's happening there after the fact...
• Don't lie or intentionally obscure your answers.
• I don't care whether you sit or stand, but be engaged.
• Flex prep is fine as long as it's agreed to by both debaters.

Kritiks

• I am not opposed to Ks, but I'm not super well-read on the literature base; make sure you're clearly explaining what your K means and does. Remember that there are scholars who study some of these K authors for literal decades to understand them properly; you can at least give a simplified explanation here. None of us are experts.
• Make sure your alt doesn't suck. I am not enthusiastic about voting on vague K alts that you can't explain to any level of detail.
• Have clear tags.
• Your K should still link to an ethical framework.

Extension Evidence

• New evidence should only respond directly to an objection to the original argument - do not post-date the original card and do not read new offense.

Weighing

• Weighing is the difference between bad debate and decent debate. Please do it early and often. Explain your clash and interactions with their arguments.
• Give overviews in 2NR and 2AR that frame the round.

How to Get Good Speaks

• Weigh early and often through the round. Demonstrate how your arguments interact with others on the flow.
• Demonstrate a clear strategy and understanding of the importance of arguments on the flow. Don't just go for everything or straight down the flow.
• Collapse in the 2NR/2AR! It is not worth either of our time for you to go for everything every round.
• Be clear in CX. Good strategies needn't be disguised.
• Don't argue with me about my decision. I will dock you speaks.

If you are clear, I will probably give between a 28 (borderline) and 30 (perfect, you've done something laudable, or I learned something). If you are not clear, I will probably give you between a 26 and a 27.5. Any points lower than 26 will be for punitive reasons (overt aggression or rudeness, problematic, etc).

Closing

I think debate has a lot of potential for good, but it's going to take effort from both of us to ensure that it's reached. Ask me questions after round if you want. Just don't argue about the decision.

I am a pretty traditional judge, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate well done progressive stuff. As long as you run it well, and make sure you're running it because it's actually valuable to the round and makes sense, rather than just because you thought it'd be cool to run a K, I'm happy. I like focus on the v/c debate. Obviously clash is important. Speaking skill is important to me, again make sure you're spreading because you're good at it and because you need to , not just because you've heard that's what people do. I am pretty easy going, so don't stress. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!! Good luck!!