Savannah Bonilla

pronouns: she/her

Be kind to your opponents!! Yall are here to debate not perpetuate a culture of hostility :)

Email Chain - savannahgrace2302@gmail.com

Experience: 4 years of high school policy with Salina South, currently doing LD and NPDA at Kansas Wesleyan University (2022 PKD Parli Champ ;)) and assistant coaching for Salina South.

I am a mom, and a student on top of being a part of this activity, so this early in the year prob don't assume I am as deep in the literature of this topic as some.

There are some things you should slow down for me. I am gonna flow the speech and not the doc, if you have a really dense block that you fly through as fast as you can, I'm gonna miss some of it.

Your 2AR / 2NR should write the ballot for me. I appreciate impact calculus, I appreciate clear analysis in analyzing arguments. The debate shouldn't be a block reading contest, I want to see more analysis and refutation. For the love of god engage with the material that you are reading.

Framework or K Aff: If I'm your judge in a clash debate, both teams are going to be unhappy. I'll try my best to evaluate both args as fairly as possible. Rounds that I have seen on the question put me at 50/50.

I think debate is a game, but, I am not a fan of judge adaptation, I think you should run what you want, and I will do my best to follow. Big theory debates are going to be frustrating for me to work out, and I will be less confident in my decision. Don't assume I am going to be familiar with every concept that you bring up, if I look like Im not getting it, im prob not.

I tend to be tech>truth, though I hold a lot of value in debating truth and have a low threshold for takeouts of low truth arguments. I don't feel as though I am as 'tech' as some of my peers, it doesn't mean I can't follow, but I might not be as inclined to make my decision here.

I will probably make a decision rather quickly. It doesn't mean that I am not paying attention or evaluating your arguments, I usually just don't need a long time to sort things out. I'm probably going to give you a pretty short and sweet RFD.

I don't think I'm hard to read, if I think your argument is bad, you'll probably see that on my face.

Be nice to one another in the round.

Will I listen to a K? Sure. I have voted here before but you are going to need to do some work.

"I am a K team - all I want to do is read the K, all of the K's, both sides, K-it-up, should I pref you?" Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I will happily listen to your K but it's safe to assume I am not read up on your specific k lit. If it looks like I am not jiving with your K, paint me a picture.

Disads and Counterplans? yes, please

Do you need to shake my hand? No thank you, knucks will suffice :)

Can we go fast? Sure.

·          I am all about direct clash.  

·          I have been known to vote for just about anything when it’s done well, but I am old and not inclined to like the performance debate.  

·          Criticisms are okay, if they have clear links and some way out of the impacts.  

·          I am not a fan of the "debate is limited to the people in this room" argument.  Either evidence matters and the debate extends beyond the round, or it doesn't and anything either team cares to say would seem to be fair game.  

·          I tend to vote on topicality when the impact debate is fully fleshed-out and the violation is clear.  

·          I will vote on theory arguments particularly when the impact on education or competitive equity is strong.  

·          Speed is okay, but if I can't understand card text, the evidence doesn't exist.  Tag lines are irrelevant.  

·          If an argument doesn't make it into final rebuttals, I won't weigh it.  I don't extend anything for you.  

·          I tend not to call for evidence after the round as I believe it is the debaters jobs to provide clarity regarding the meaning and key elements of evidence.  Doing so, in my opinion tends to lead to me reconstructing the round and intervening.

·           In the end, you need to explain why I should care about your arguments.  Give me reason to vote for you.  

·          I tend to default in the direction of the story that appears to be most true.

I look for well articulated arguments and a demonstration of understanding. Anyone can get up and read evidence, so show me that you understand how that evidence proves the point you are trying to make. I prefer good analysis of a few arguments rather than a large array of arguments. (Don't spread!)

Not everything leads to war.

Be nice to each other.

I am a Kansas HS assistant debate coach. I am a science teacher that values logic and scientific fact. My background is not in debate however, I have been coaching for 4 years. I have judged for high school debates for 36 years. I believe that most anything is debatable however some styles of argument work better for me than others. I am more of a CP/DA Case debate kind of judge. Speed of my flow is far lower than what I would call fast. Clear tags/authors and quicker on text is fine. Also please tell where things go and how they apply. I enjoy most debates but not a fan of T debates. If the aff is not topical run it. If the aff is center of the topic then do not run T. IF they are off topic, I am easily swayed on T. Theory debates are kinda like T for me. Rather not see it unless there is a legitimate violation. I do not penalize teams for style choices. I am not a fan of Kritiks. I need to be able to understand the words. If you speak for your partner during their speech or tell them what to say during their speech, you will lose. If you get up and take your laptop to your partner during their constructive or rebuttal speech and have them read what you wrote for them to say, you will lose.

I debated at Emporia High School for four years and coached there during the 2018-2019 school year. I have not yet judged any rounds on this topic, so please explain topic-specific information thoroughly. For additional background info about myself, I graduated from Emporia State in August of 2020 with a degree in Economics with minors in Political Science and Ethnic and Gender Studies. I currently work as a data analyst with data involving Medicaid/Medicare, specifically behavioral health programs.

If you need to add me to an email chain, or wish to contact me with any further questions from rounds, my email is emmagpersinger@gmail.com.

If you have any questions about my paradigm, ask before the round.

General

I expect debates to be done in a professional and polite manner. Be assertive with your arguments, but I will not tolerate blatant rudeness or prejudice. Debate is meant to be an inclusive space, and I expect everyone to treat each other as such. I would hope to not encounter any serious issues regarding this, but am not afraid to dock speaker points/vote you down if there are any problems on this matter.

Regionals will be my first time judging online, but given the nature of video calls I can anticipate that things may not always be as clear as they would be in person. I would like to be included in exchange of speech docs, and recommend you slow down on anything that is not expressly written on the document in particular.

Speed

I competed in the DCI division for two years doing high speed debates, so I have been exposed to spreading before. However, that has been three years, and when I was a coach two years ago I primarily judged in the novice division. That said, if you are going to spread I need you to ease me into it. Do NOT start off at your full speed, work up to it. Also, you need to be clear. This means slowing down on tags and enunciating words. If you are not clear, I will stop flowing. On theory arguments, topicality, and Ks, you will need to slow down.

Disads

I love plan specific disadvantages, but I understand generics are typically necessary. Specific links are good, but if you do not have one you need to at least contextualize it to the round. I like to see complete 1NC shells for these disads. Cards should fully warrant out uniqueness, link, an internal link, and an impact. I am willing to listen to and weigh any impacts that you choose to run. Impact calculus is very important.

Counterplans

Counterplans are fine. You need a net benefit to win and a complete counterplan text. I am also open to counterplan theory. If you run a delay counterplan, I will be very likely to vote on theory against it.

Topicality

I like topicality a lot. I prefer more specific topicality arguments rather than generics, but I am willing to listen to any you present. If you are running topicality, you need to warrant everything out. This is an argument a lot of people think they can skim over, but if you are not going in-depth with it you are not being persuasive. Fully cover standards and don't shadow extend. I default to competing interpretations, but if there is no answer to reasonability fw then I will judge topicality as such. T is never a reverse voting issue.

Kritiks

I was not a critical debater in high school. The only K I personally read was neoliberalism, so any other literature I am going to be unfamiliar with. With that said, I am not opposed to you running Ks, but you are going to have to slow down and simplify the debate for me. This means avoiding the use of jargon, and fully explaining each level.

I honestly would prefer that you avoid Ks other than neolib in front of me, but you ultimately make the decision on what is most strategic for you.

CX

I will pay attention during cx and how it impacts the round. Use it strategically. Be assertive but not mean.

Case

Aff

I don't have much preference on what kind of affirmative you read. I read a lot of smaller, structural impacts in high school; however, I am good with whatever kind of impacts you have as long as you warrant how you get to them and are able to weigh them against the negative team. My thoughts on critical affirmatives are very similar to how I feel about Ks. I have very little experience with them, which doesn't necessarily mean I am unwilling to hear them it just means you are going to have to do more work than with some other judges.

Neg

I personally love case debate. I think it is very important that affs have a prima facie case. If you are able to provide evidence that they are not and warrant out why that is a voter, I am willing to vote on the case flow. Circumvention is persuasive and presumption is a voter. Even if you are not typically a case-oriented debater, I think it is important you address case in some manner or it is going to be easy for the aff to weigh their case against your offcase.

Years debate in high school: 4 at newton high school (Space topic, Transportation, Economic engagement, Oceans)

Years debate in college: I debated three years in college at the ndt-ceda level (Military reduction, Climate policy, healthcare)

Overview:

Debate is an educational space and i value learning above everything else. I value kritikal and policy arguments, especially when they have nuance. I look for in depth debates.

Counterplans are legit

Critiques are legit- i want to know what the aff does, why that's bad, and what the alt does different.

In theory arguments- i will not settle for blanket claims of unfairness, i need to know the specific in round abuse and how that held up education in the name of a W for the other team. If you go for theory- spend the entire 2nr on it

Dont know what else to put on here! Um, make my ballot for me. Tell me what you won, how you won it, and why that means you win the ballot. Im pretty tabula rasa

Email Chain: brandons3333@outlook.com

Please add me to any email chain made in round because that will ultimately help me dissect your argumentation and relay that importance to round.

I am the South High School assistant debate coach and I did policy debate for 4 years at Salina High School South. I did KDC and DCI circuits in high school so I'm well versed in most styles of debate. In regards to round etiquette , first rule is to make a safe environment for every debater in the room. No one wants to walk into a round that is filled with hostility. Use the correct pronouns for people...point blank, please be respectful to others. When it comes to argumentation I am open to listen to anything. I flow the round and will be in tune with everyone debating so please make sure to extend and have a clear direction of where you want to take your argumentation in the round. When it comes to my judging style I tend to vote on stock issues, but again I am completely open to anyway the round goes so be critical but also make sense. When it comes to speed I can handle spreading as long as you are clear with your taglines and please make sure to signpost. On a line by line basis slow down to articulate your argumentation. I'm not a fan of time sucks, if you're reading an argument tell my why it's important in the round or I won't vote on it. I love theory and K's as long as they clearly relate to the debate. I read Fem and Queer theory in high school but am willing to listen to anything. If there are any other questions please feel free to ask before round.

Big believer in strict analysis of evidence. Big believer in rigorous proof of claims as a way to limit topic area. So intelligent T debates, prima facie minimal standards--all good. Very interested in source arguments, as they tend to limit the wackiness of kritiks. So if you have an actual grasp of the critical thought involved, use it. Big believer in the old stock issues as minimal requirements for Aff victory. Really dislike grandiose disads with weak links, brinks, etc. Reasonably fast flow, but don't let that be a license for poor quality argument. Greatly dislike rudeness, snottiness between teams. Teams that do not understand their own arguments, evidence, or how the world generally works are at a disadvantage vis a vis those who do. Watch me for non-verbs. I enjoy easy-outs, so I have less to follow and write on ballots, so if you can claim a solid win before the round is done, I'm with you. Teams I admire have strategic minds, are able to take an aerial view of the round, do not become too detached from reality. That said, an uncontested decision-rule will still work. What I dislike and what I will vote on are not mutually exclusive. I may give you the win for something I detest, but I'll be unhappy about it. That should only affect you if you see me again and fail to heed whatever advice I offered on the ballot.

I debated for four years in high school and did forensics in College.

I am currently the assistant coach at Moundridge High School in Moundridge Kansas.

Policy Debate:

I tend to vote policymaker, if there are no policy options in the round I will vote stock issues.

Individual Issues:

Counter Plans: I will vote for a counter plan both nontopical and topical.

Disadvantages: I will vote for a generic DA. Saying the DA is generic is not an answer that will win.

Topicality: Topically must be argued more than just in a 1NC Shell. If you drop standards and voter I no longer care about your Topicality.

Theory: I will vote on theory arguments if you have evidence along with standards and voters.

Kritik: I will vote on a K. I prefer ones that are in a policy framework but will consider any alt as long as the team defends the position.

I will not vote on just defensive arguments as a policymaker, if there is no reason not to try the plan then I will vote for the plan.

Lincoln Douglas:

I will consider the value and criterion debate first when weighing the round.

Your criterion should logically support your value.

Speed- LD is intended to go deeper rather than broader and more philosophical, your debating about interpretations, not plans. I don't think speed supports this kind of debate. Don't lose depth for the sake of speed.

Evidence- I think that evidence is important, however, a lack of evidence does not mean a loss. Empirical examples can be just as weighty as traditional evidence.

Both debaters are responsible for clashes, don't ignore your opposition's value or criterion. I don't want to hear a debate in a vacuum.

I have debated and coached at both the high school and college level.

I would probably call myself a policy maker in that, if left to my own devices, I ask if I would vote for such a proposal as the aff if I were in a position to set policy for some organization.

I don't mind debate about debate theory. Don't plan to win the round by confusion. If you are running some non-traditional stuff, you'll need to justify that to me, and maybe even prove to me you know what you are doing by explaining it to me. If you are going to run a topical counterplan, you'd better be able to tell me why that is a justifiable approach. (Sorry - I am old school on this. At least you know it.)