I debated parli for 2.5 years at Irvine Valley and had intermittent experience in BP and IPDA during that time. 

As of this semester I coach Campolindo HS's parli team and am a member of UC Berkeley's parli team, although my schedule rarely allows me to compete for Cal. 

I have judged policy, parli, ld, public forum, congress, BP, and a plethora of IE's, and privately tutored speech students.

Overall:

I will not protect against new arguments in the rebuttals unless it is clear--after a few pts of order--that the speaker is trying to be sneaky. I expect that if your opponent asks for a text of the plan/cp/alt/perm(s), it will be provided. I can flow speed to a reasonable extent, but will dock speaks/not be able to evaluate your arguments if you are so fast that you're unclear. Please answer at least one question per speech if asked. Tag-teaming is fine.

Case debate:

AFF--Please make warranted and impacted arguments. I don't like voting on any remotely slippery scenarios and very much enjoy interrogative link debate. I am not keen on intrinsic permutations, otherwise perms are fine as tests of competition. I am also fine with unconventional affs so long as I am given a clear way to evaluate your performance and the other team is given a clear way to engage the aff/compete for the ballot. I will not vote on an RVI.

NEG--I believe theory precedes all other arguments in the round and will vote on it with a proven violation. I do not need articualated abuse to vote on theory. I am fine with DAs and CPs (including PICs). I do not like politics DAs because the links are usually awful. 

Trichot:

Please always debate policy. 

K:

I am fine with k affs and neg k's. I am not a k debater myself but will vote on one. However, I have a very high threshold for buying the efficacy of the alternative, and I view k debates as a comparison between the alternative and the plan. Please try to include specific links

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have before the round! Best of luck! 

I am a lay judge, and have been judging for over three years. Although I am aware and cognizant of the framework debate, the technicalities of it are not as important to me as the clarity of your argument and speaking. Please make sure to be polite to your opponent (being rude or abusive does affect your speaker points), signpost clearly, and speak at a reasonable pace (NO spreading or circuit debate please!).

Pls say "and" or something of the sort in between cards !!!!

About Me:

Email: pranav.chillappagari@gmail.com

Computer Science major @ SJSU

Debated for Dougherty Valley High School for 4 years, now debate for SJSU (mainly do speech now tho).

Call me whatever pronouns you want, I default to using they/them unless specified.

Have done Congress, LD, Policy, Parli, and a bunch of speech events, this paradigm is geared mainly for LD/Policy.

Preferred K debate in high school, read many performance affs, now I prefer plan-based debate (policy).

Plan Affs:

I mean pretty straight forward, make sure impacts are relatively recent, I appreciate an overview of the aff in the 2AC or 1AR and this is where I would like impact calculus to happen (IMPACT CALCULUS SHOULD BE HAPPENING).

CP:

I LOVE advantage counterplans, every chance I had to read them, I would. Specify how the cp solves the case’s impacts and specify how its competitive (if it is). Don’t spread through every plank of a counterplan, go a little slower so I can write what’s important of them. Run however many you want in however way (not literally, but I don’t mind cheaty CPs).

DA:

I don’t really like ptx DA’s, Ill still evaluate them obviously, but they can be called out so easily and all it takes are generic cards with no real warrant to beat some of them. But if they drop your terrible uq, go for it :). Impact calc, case turns, and case analysis are all important. The more specific the links, the better.

I like process counterplans, I feel like the impact debate becomes a little more nuanced depending on whoever passes, and even though meticulous, it is fun for me to watch.

T:

These are fun regardless of what you read them against. Legal precision and reciprocity are super influential to me. I default to Competing Interps on T. LINE BY LINE THE STANDARDS, why are y’all not putting offense on the actual standards. Remember to externalize voters and give a good interpretation as to why your definition isn't just better for the round but debate (not necessary, but added layer of defense).

Framework:

One off fwk is strategic, must have a TVA: and use it as offense against the aff.

ALSO EXTERNALIZE YOUR TOPICALITY IMPACTS OUTSIDE OF THE DEBATE ROUND.

Kritik/K-affs:

All of what I ran my last two years in hs debate, I am going to be critical when judging, but don’t be scared I still want the round to be educational so I will give good feed back.

How come half of y’all can’t spread clearly, I understand the words are long and annoying but is it THAT BAD. Overall, I am pretty well versed in a lot of generic K literature and have an extensive knowledge in identity based arguments. I would like if framing explained how I am supposed to evaluate impacts rather then just saying a ROJ/ROB. Like if your opponent gives a counter performance or is able to materialize their impacts according to your framework, I need to know what goes into the argument that “best solves [ROB].” Because that’s super arbitrary. IF YOUR OVERVIEW IS LONG, IT BETTER BE THE ONLY THING ON THE K SHEET OF THE 2NR. Otherwise, short overview explaining the story (and further explaining the alt) and an efficient line by line is good. If you are going to read a K, don’t just arbitrarily question the framework / case of the AC during cx. GO IN on the links you want to generate from them, this can save you a lot of time with your link walls since you can just say “refer to cx” rather than some long explanation. Other than that, impact turn and collapse. AND ENGAGE WITH CASE IF THE K IS SUPER SHORT OR GENERIC.

Piks / Word Pics -- honestly I don't hate word pics if the discourse needs to be called out, but I have never voted for a PIK (and probably never plan to).

K-aff specific: Explain why your model of debate matters against framework / t-usfg, this will probably be what I am going to be voting for in the round, so it matters. Other than that explain what the advocacy and ballot does. And yes answer the “what does the aff do?” Question.

Theory:

Default reasonability, I use a brightline of evaluating potential and actual abuse, putting more of an emphasis on actual abuse > potential abuse. I like condo bad, pics bad, and disclosure. But am easily swayed with these arguments as long as you impact out your standards properly.

I love new affs bad (I will never explain further).

Phil:

just explain well, go slow on analytics. Not your best judge for these, but I am more tolerant than most.

Tricks

cruel optimism, I go into debate rounds hoping that each debater will get something substantive from the round, and by the time the round is over I have effectively left the community.

But in all seriousness, go for it, I will evaluate it how you tell me too, and maybe you will be the one who helps me change my mind about these arguments.

2022

Similar preferences to those below. I still value clarity and clash. For Congress, I value presentation, delivery, and style as well. Most of all, be your authentic self. Make passionate arguments you care about. Discuss the real-world impacts. Be respectful of your opponents and have fun!

Stanford 2020 and 2021

Here are some preferences:

I prefer traditional NSDA LD debate. If you spread, run theory, and/or kritiks, I will do my best to keep track but I do not yet have the experience to judge it yet. I'm getting better at it, though, so if you have more "circuit-type" argumentation, be sure to signpost and explain.

It is also my belief that skilled circuit debaters can be just as skilled at traditional debate (take a look at NSDA Nationals 2011 and 2018). And this year's NSDA National Champion competed at this same tournament a couple years ago. So there is lots of crossover.

Signpost. I will flow, but you can help by keeping the debate organized.

Crystallize. Break down the debate. Tell me what you think are the most important voting issues. Weigh arguments and impacts.

Have fun debating the big ideas of this resolution. It matters and your opinions matter, so challenge everyone in the room to consider this topic both philosophically and practically.

Stanford 2019

Please put me on the email chain: hcorkery@eduhsd.k12.ca.us

English teacher. Long time baseball coach; first year debate coach!

Here are some preferences:

Stay with traditional NSDA LD debate. If you are on the circuit, I respect your skill set; I’m just not ready for it yet. If you spread, run theory, and/or kritiks, I will do my best to keep track but I do not yet have the experience to judge it yet. And it is my belief that skilled circuit debaters can be just as skilled at traditional debate (take a look at NSDA Nationals 2011 and 2018).

Signpost. I will flow, but you can help by keeping the debate organized.

Crystallize. Break down the debate. Tell me what you think are the most important voting issues. Weigh arguments and impacts.

Have fun debating the big ideas of this very important resolution. I am a Marine Corps veteran and I understand the real-world impacts of foreign policy decisions. Your opinions matter so challenge everyone in the room to consider this topic both philosophically and practically.

Stanford 2018

Public Forum debate was designed with both the public and the lay judge in mind. For this reason, I'll judge your round based on the side that presents the clearest, best-supported, most logical argument that convinces the public and the public's policy makers to vote one way or another on a resolution.

I appreciate it when you explicitly state when you are establishing a "framework," making a "contention" or claim, providing a "warrant" or "evidence" and analyzing an "impact."

For speaker points, I value poise, eye contact, gestures, and pacing (changing your voice and speed to make effective points).

Finally, since this is JV Public Forum, we need to have a "growth mindset" and understand that this level of debating is developmental. JV Public Forum debaters are trying to improve and ultimately become varsity debaters. Winning is obviously important (I've coached sports for 20 years), but in my mind there is a clear distinction between JV and Varsity levels in any activity. JV is developmental competition. Varsity is the highest level competition.

I am the Director of Debate at Immaculate Heart High School. I am a conflict for any competitors on this list.

General:

1. I will vote on nearly any argument that is well explained and compared to the arguments your opponent has made.

2. Accusing your opponent of an evidence ethics or clipping violation requires you to stake the debate on said allegation. If such an allegation is made, I will stop the debate, determine who I think is in the wrong, and vote against that person and give them the lowest speaker points allowed by the tournament.

3. I won’t vote on arguments that I don’t understand or that I don’t have flowed. I have been involved in circuit LD for almost ten years now and consider myself very good at flowing, so if I missed an argument it is likely because you were incomprehensible.

4. I am a strong proponent of disclosure, and I consider failing to disclose/incorrect disclosure a voting issue, though I am growing weary of nit-picky disclosure arguments that I don’t think are being read in good faith.

5. For online debate, please keep a local recording of your speech so that you can continue your speech and share it with your opponent and me in the event of a disconnect.

6. Weighing arguments are not new even if introduced in the final rebuttal speech. The Affirmative should not be expected to weigh their advantage against five DAs before the Negative has collapsed.

7. You need to use CX to ask which cards were read and which were skipped.

Some thoughts of mine:

1. I dislike arguments about individual debaters' personal identities. Though I have voted for these arguments plenty of times, I think I would vote against them the majority of the time in an evenly matched debate.

2. I am increasingly disinterested in voting for topicality arguments about bare plurals or theory arguments suggesting that either debater should take a stance on some random thing. No topic is infinitely large and voting for these arguments discourages topic research. I do however enjoy substantive topicality debates about meaningful interpretive disagreements regarding terms of art used in the resolution.

3. “Jurisdiction” and “resolvability” standards for theory arguments make little sense to me. Unless you can point out a debate from 2013 that is still in progress because somebody read a case that lacked an explicit weighing mechanism, I will have a very low threshold for responses to these arguments.

4. I dislike critiques that rely exclusively on framework arguments to make the Aff irrelevant. The critique alternative is one of the debate arguments I'm most skeptical of. I think it is best understood as a “counter-idea” that avoids the problematic assumptions identified by the link arguments, but this also means that “alt solves” the case arguments are misguided because the alternative is not something that the Negative typically claims is fiated. If the Negative does claim that the alternative is fiated, then I think they should lose to perm do both shields the link. With that said, I still vote on critiques plenty and will evaluate these debates as per your instructions.

5. Despite what you may have heard, I enjoy philosophy arguments quite a bit and have grown nostalgic for them as LD increasingly becomes indistinct from policy. What I dislike is when debaters try to fashion non-normative philosophy arguments about epistemology, metaphysics, or aesthetics into NCs that purport to justify a prescriptive standard. I find philosophy heavy strategies that concede the entirety of the opposing side’s contention or advantage to be unpersuasive.

6. “Negate” is not a word that has been used in any resolution to date so frameworks that rely on a definition of this word will have close to no impact on my assessment of the debate.

Email chain, pre/post-round questions: kabir.dubate.101@gmail.com

If you’re limited on time, do not stress! You'll be fine!

TOC 2021

Congratulations on qualifying for the TOC! I look forward to judging you! I would like to make your final debates of the season as fulfilling as possible, so please let me know if you would like any accommodations. I won't mind if you request to not have an RFD, for example.

General

I competed in Policy and LD Debate for Dougherty Valley High School (class of 2020).

I'm a good judge for strategic and technical debate and will reward pro-gamer moves with high speaks.

I think that debate possesses revolutionary potential. Hard work, research, and the development of technical communication skills around a stasis point of clash (that should probably be guaranteed somehow) are very important requirements for successful high-school debates.

In my first years of circuit debate, I read ridiculous amounts of philosophy, mainly because I liked the edge. Although I have started to spend my time exploring other wonders, I don't think I have fully shaken off my Freirean roots. This information does implicate you; I intend on giving thorough RFDs and will try to fully understand every argument before I evaluate it. I will be glad to give feedback if you ask.

e-Debaters: please record every speech just in case. I flow off your speech, not the doc.

Miscellaneous Preferences

Quality>Quantity. Please collapse in the 2NR/2AR.

Compiling the doc is prep, flashing is not. Please 'clarify your flow' during prep or CX (e.g. "did you read X card?").

I accept spreading but clarity ∝ flow-ability ∝ memory. Please enunciate during online debates.

Hand-waving, grandstanding, etc. is understandable but usually unnecessary. If you don’t have any more doors to close, I would appreciate it if you would finish your speech early.

Please do line-by-line. Your speeches should follow an order. I am a fan of speeches that number arguments.

Evidence Rules

Credible and well-warranted evidence goes a long way. Citations must be complete (author name, title, date, and source if possible) or I will throw the card out. I find epic author qualifications to be quite persuasive, so include them if you want that advantage.

I dislike cards written by former debaters and coaches about debate. They come off as biased because their specificity arbitrarily discredits opposing views. I have also seen them replace student-based research, which I personally found to be one the most rewarding parts of debate.

If you have proof, you should stake the debate on an evidence ethics violation. Whoever's in the wrong gets an L 20.

If I notice (1) missing paragraphs/ellipses (2) miscut/mis-cited evidence, or (3) clipping, you auto-lose, even if no evidence challenge is raised.

My comments on arguments

Plans/CPs

I err against vague plans and counterplans that lack evidence. Debaters can’t define what their texts mean on their own, they need to support their interpretation with cards that comment on “normal means.” Against a vague plan, I would be more persuaded by no solvency and circumvention claims over spec theory shells.

I think the mandates of a plan text and CX clarification are binding. I like it when poorly written plan texts are punished with plan flaws and process counterplans.

To be honest, I think counterplans of all varieties are underutilized. I think my views with T and CP theory balances this for the aff.

Counterplan/competition theory is only persuasive when the affirmative contextualizes the abuse to the way the writing/literature of the topic divides ground.

DAs/CASE/"NCs"

Impact calc is a silver bullet.

I feel like it is much more likely for a plan to be less effective than for it to result in nuclear war or whatever the terminal impact of a DA is. These arguments are more persuasive to me than framing cards.

I prefer LD frameworks that focus on broad questions of ethical significance. I think it’s unnecessarily reductive to condense ethics into a value criterion/standard. For example, I think it’s totally OK to say that “liberty is a side-constraint on the State” as impact framing instead of a standard such as “upholding liberty.”

I tend to find the warrants in cards more compelling than purely analytic frameworks.

The comparative worlds versus truth testing distinction is strictly related to Topicality. All topics seem to make normative claims so the truth-testing paradigm has more in common with comparative worlds than most give it credit for. This implies that you can, in fact, defend the resolution as a “general principle” insofar as you win that (A) that’s what the words of the topic mean and (B) that’s good for debate. The downside to my view is that it validates linguistic tricks and moral skepticism, but these are very easy to answer.

Topicality/Theory/Procedurals

I lean against voting on obviously non-substantial violations of fairness/education. Debaters must provide a compelling abuse story, even if a theory argument is conceded. In other words, I strongly default to reasonability; warrants for competing interpretations reverse this default and oftentimes serve as tiebreakers.

Disclosure is generally good. In disclosure theory debates, I err in favor of the side that is as cooperative as possible. I'm not saying that you should disclose everything that your opponent asks for, but I am saying that both sides should clearly (and politely) attempt to reach a middle ground outside of the round.

Paragraph theory is usually preferable to shells. Debaters tend to blitzkrieg through prewritten theory blocks—please slow down.

In LD, weighing should begin in the 1NC, especially when it comes to overlimiting versus underlimiting.

Good T debates point out how they interact with counterplan ground. Proving why the "AFF is key" is a challenging task that requires a lot of research—I am willing to loosen the grips of the resolutional text if the affirmative puts this into pragmatic consideration. If there is a prep problem in LD, it's because of the wording of the resolutions, not because of the reading of plans.

With that being said, I tend to find interpretations that reflect real-world controversies (the "topic-lit") more convincing than readings that make it easier to debate.

Kritiks

I want to judge these debates more. Please don't make me regret writing this.

Framework—affirmatives should get their case and negatives should get their kritik (unless convinced otherwise). "Fiat is illusory" is impact framing rather than an absolute disqualification of the 1AC.

You should have a link. Generous link explanations can compensate for poor argumentation elsewhere. Kritiks apply to many affs in debate (especially LD), but debaters tend to be horrible at thinking of links.

Many 2NRs lack aggressive impact calculus despite the fact that common K impacts tend to have stronger internal links to extinction than many AFFs do.

Presentation and evidence quality matter. You should try to explain your argument in every opportunity you get, rather than be evasive.

"Tricks" are only stupid if they are under-explained. Floating PIKs are almost always invalid and new 2NR arguments.

Add me to the chain: goel.arya24@gmail.com

I competed in LD and Policy for Dougherty Valley for 4 years.

Call me Arya not judge plz.

General Beliefs:

I won't vote on things that happen outside of debate (except for disclosure, need a ss for this ) and won't vote on arguments about a persons appearance.

When I debated, I rlly disliked judges who evaluated arguments as a "wash" bc they were lazy, so I try my hardest to not do this.

Argument preferences: CP + DA >>> by far my fav 2nr, then smartly thought out T args, then Ks and phil.

CP/DA:

Love these arguments and am probably most qualified to judge debates involving these. Here are some general thoughts.

- I'm forgetful, so you'll have to remind me if you want me to judge kick.

- I dont rlly care about condo but try not having more than 2-3

- Love case specific DA's but politics and process cps just work

-

Please weigh. Please. 2nr and 2ar impact calc are not new arguments but the earlier you start weighing the better it is for both me and you.

Judge Instruction is key for close debates and high speaks.

Theory:

Here it is again: I'm not voting on someone's appearance

Defaults: C/I; Drop the arg; No Rvis

-Disclosure is almost mandatory. Most def a hack for disclosure (need a ss) - there is a line though, round report theory or "must use citebox" is frivolous if you opensource with highlighting. The more arbitrary your interp gets, the less likely I care about it.

-I wont vote on args I didn't flow or catch, so if even if your 8 word condo blip is dropped im not going to feel guilty about dropping you. Especially important because online debate is already bad enough without 3 seconds blips.

This doesn't mean you cant read paragraph theory, just that instead of reading 4 3-second blips, spend 15 seconds on one, well warranted arg.

-Counterplan theory other than condo is almost always a question of predictability. The negative should prove that their cp is grounded in the literature and the aff should prove the opposite. Counterplan theory is almost never a drop the debater issue.

Topicality:

Love these arguments when done with lots of good evidence and evidence comparison. So many counterinterps are just cards that say words but don't actually define them, or they're pulled from completely different contexts that make them useless. Thus evidence with intent to define makes me unbelievably happy.

-Not a fan of T args where the only topical aff is the whole res, this means I don't really like Nebel (still will vote on it)

-Semantics and Jurisdiction don't matter a lot in a vacuum but precision can be cool in close debates

-I find myself caring more about strength of internal link than impacts, so please spend a few seconds warranting these outs - for example, in a limits debate, you would do this with a offensive case list.

-A large risk of a limits, probably turns and outweighs everything else.

Kritiks:

In high school, I read a decent bit of literature mostly pertaining to pomo, afropess and set col, but did not personally read these args in debate.

-K affs get perms so you better make those links good.

-People need to go for Heg and cap good more against non t affs

-the smaller the ov and the more the line by line, the happier both me and your speaks get

"I like the security K because I dislike shoddy Affs with poor evidence quality" - Vikram Balasubramanian

- the larger and more complex your theories become, the more you have to warrant them - saying ontology and calling it a day isnt enough.

K-affs:

If you read a performance and forget about it in the 1ar, I'm forgetting to vote for you.

1-off T-fw is viable (and often what I did) but like why? Just read a pik or something else as well

FW is always a question about models of debate, so the 2nr/2ar better explain it to me like I'm a fifth grader

Don't really buy "limits are a prison" type arguments

Movements >= fairness

Philosophy:

I really don't have experience evaluating this kind of stuff, but promise rlly high speaks if you can teach me something about this kind of debate.

-"I defend the resolution but not implementation" and "Ill defend the res as a general principle" aren't real arguments and don't make sense. Either you're defending the whole res, or you read a advocacy text

-Skep is defense unless you win TT.

Default modesty and comp worlds.

-If you give me a headache with tricks I'm nuking your speaks

if your underview is longer than a paragraph I'm going to be grumpy.

Misc:

If you have good disclosure practice lmk and ill bump speaks if i agree.

If the 1nc is all turns and case you start at a 29.5

If I think you're clipping, I'll start following along on the doc. If I catch you clipping, I'll tank your speaks but won't stop the round. I will stop the round if someone accuses (requires recording).

Paradigms of people I (mostly) agree with if you want more info: Kabir, Ansuman, Shikhar, Tristan

Policy Stuff:

I have even less patience for bad theory here than in LD. The only things that rises to DTD are disclosure and condo. That said, Infinite condo seems persuasive to me.

All the stuff above still applies.

Parli Stuff:

I'm comfortable with anything you want to read with the caveat that you warrant your arguments properly and generously - my background is in Ld and policy

You can go as fast as you want - I can keep up as long as you're clear

Due to the nature of Parli topics, I'm a bit more amenable to stupid and friv theory args - you should be able to beat them if you want to win - THAT BEING SAID if thats your main strat - just strike me and save us both

Creative DAs and Cps get xtra speaks - everything else about args applies from above

kuhukg@gmail.com

I debated LD for four years at Newark Memorial and I went to the TOC my senior year.

I will evaluate any argument you choose to run as best I can. Some warnings:

I am a terrible, terrible flower. That means it is probably best that you go a little slower than you normally would just to make sure I flow that 10-second blip in the 1AR that will become a key piece of offense in the 2.

I ran a lot of K's in high school so I'm at least somewhat familiar with the lit. However, I still feel that debaters have an obligation to clearly explain their positions to their opponents during CX and speeches. If the position is seriously poorly explained and your explanations demonstrate a lack of understanding of your case, I may consider just not evaluating the position, and at the very least, I will seriously dock your speaks. On the other hand, I really enjoy good substantive K debate and I tend to inflate speaks when I'm happy.

My threshold for RVI's is probably as high as my threshold for theory. Which is to say, it's probably lower than most judges'. But don't take this to mean that I'll just vote for you if you run the RVI. Just as many things have to fall into place for me to vote for the RVI as for me to vote on theory or any other argument. I default competing interps.

I won't evaluate presumption unless there is some VERY clear argument made as to why there is NO offense in round. But in general, I think that this is almost never true and think that any argument linked to a framework (perhaps even a theory standard weighed by fairness/education) is probably a better reason to vote than presumption.

Make sure you have fun! I know debate is a super competitive and difficult activity but make sure you're not taking yourself too seriously in round - it is just a game. I also feel that if a debater is having fun, they're more confident and the round will be overall more fun to watch, which will be reflected in your speaks.

That's all that I can think of right now, but if you have any other questions, just ask me before the round. Good luck!

TLDR: You do you. I do what you tell me.

Disclaimer

I strive to judge like a "blank slate" while recognizing that I will never actually be one. Keep this in mind as you read the rest of this paradigm.

Email

carterhenman@gmail.com

If there is an email chain I will want to be on it. I would be glad to answer any questions you have.

Accommodations

Disclose as much or as little as you want to me or anyone else in the room. Either way, I am committed to making the debate rounds I judge safe and accessible.

Experience

I competed in LD in high school (2009-2013) in Wyoming and northern Colorado with some national circuit exposure.

I competed in policy at the University of Wyoming (2013-2018) and qualified to the NDT twice. I loved reading complicated courts affirmatives, bold impact turns, and Ks with specific and nuanced justifications for why they are competitive with the aff. I wish I had had the courage to go for theory in the 2AR more often. I studied (mostly analytic) philosophy and some critical disability theory to earn my bachelor's degree.

Style: agnostic.

All debate is performative. I can be persuaded that one performance is contingently more valuable (ethically, aesthetically, educationally, etc.) than another, but it would be arbitrary and unethical on my part to categorically exclude any particular style.

That being said, I am not agnostic when it comes to form. An argument has a claim, a warrant, and an impact. I do not care how you give me those three things, but if you do not, then you have not made an argument and my RFD will probably reflect that. This cuts in many directions: I hate K overviews that make sweeping ontological claims and then describe implications for the case without explaining why the original claim might be true; I equally detest when anyone simply asserts that "uniqueness determines the direction of the link".

Organization matters. However, I do not think organization is synonymous with what a lot of people mean when they say "line by line". It means demonstrating a holistic awareness of the debate and effectively communicating how any given argument you are making interacts with your opponents'. Therefore, when adjudicating whether something is a "dropped argument" I will parse between (a) reasonably predictable and intelligibly executed cross-applications and (b) superficial line-by-line infractions. Giving conceptual labels to your arguments and using your opponents' language when addressing theirs can help you get on the right side of this distinction.

Evidence matters. A lot. Again, I do not mean what a lot of people mean when they talk about evidence in debate. It is about a lot more than cards. It is also about personal experience and preparation, historical consciousness, and even forcing your opponents to make a strategic concession (by the way, I flow cross-examination). I read cards only when I have to and tend to defer to what was said in the debate regarding how to interpret them and determine their quality. Thus, I will hold the 2NR/2AR to relatively high thresholds for explanation.

I flow on paper. This means I need pen time. It also magnifies the importance of organization since I cannot drag and drop cells on a spreadsheet. Because I flow the "internals" of evidence (cards or otherwise), you will benefit enormously from clarity if you are fast and will not necessarily be at a disadvantage against very fast teams if you are slow but efficient with your tag lines.

Substance: mostly agnostic.

Hate and disrespect are never conducive to education and growth. I presume that the need to disincentivize abusive speech and other behaviors overrides my desire to reward skill with a ballot, but it never hurts for debaters to remind me of why this is true if you are up to it. This includes card clipping and other ethics violations. In general, I will stop the round if I notice it on my own. Otherwise, you have two options: (1) stop the round, stake the debate on it (you may lose if you are wrong, but they will certainly lose and receive no speaker points if you are right), and let me be final arbiter or (2) keep the issue alive throughout the debate, but leave open the option to go for substance. I think this is the most fair way for me to address this as an educator, but please do not think option two gives you license to go for "a risk of an ethics violation" in the final rebuttals or to read a generic "clipping bad" shell in every one of your 1NC/2ACs. That's icky.

There is no right way to affirm the topic. There are wrong ways to affirm the topic. I can be sold on the notion that the aff did it the wrong way. I can also be convinced that the wrong way is better than the right way. It may yet be easiest to convince me that your counter-interpretation of the right way to affirm the topic is just as good as, or better than, theirs.

Theory is mis- and underutilized. You get to debate the very rules of your debate! Current conventions regarding negative fiat, for example, will inevitably make me smirk when you read "no neg fiat." Still, if you invest enough thought, before and during and after debates (not merely regurgitating somebody else's blocks at an unintelligible rate), into any theory argument I am going to be eager to vote on it.

"People have become educated, but have not yet become human.” - Abdul Sattar Edhi.

TLDR;

Do whatever you want, but do impact calculus.

A Little About Me:

I competed for Dougherty Valley High School between 2015 to 2019 in Public Forum and Extemp. It's been a number of years since I was involved in the debate space and I'm sure PF has changed since I left. I am generally okay with any type of argument, but I have limited experience with K's and Theory. You will benefit if you slow down while presenting these types of arguments.

Specific To Stanford 2024:

I am fine with spreading but I would highly prefer you email speech docs to your judge beforehand.

On The Juicy Stuff.

I am a Tabula Rasa (Clean Slate) judge so I will believe anything you tell me, but it needs to be warranted. I try to limit my judge intervention as much as I can, however, I won't be afraid to intervene is if there is no impact calculus in the round. Other than that, I'm fine with any type of argument you throw at me, and you can speak as fast as you want.

I will try to be a visible judge so if I start shaking my head maybe don't go for that argument, but if I am nodding that's probably a good sign. I use my computer to flow. I will yell clear if it is too fast, but my threshold is pretty good, but if you want to full-on spread please flash me the speech doc so I know whats going on.

Tech > Truth.

Time Yourselves.

I evaluate framework and overviews right on top. I love it when I know what impacts are going to be the most important, and which impacts I should prefer. This helps you organize and helps me understand what the narrative of your team is. I love, love, love overviews/underviews and think they make Public Forum Debate interesting.

Please sign post, especially in Summary and Final Focus.

Whatever is in Final Focus must be in Summary, however I am totally ok with you extending defense from rebuttal to final focus if you are the first speaking team. This is because I believe that Public Forum Debate is structurally disadvantaged for the first speaking team. That means first summary obviously needs to have all your offense. I will literally stop flowing if the argument in Final Focus is not in Summary.

I love it so much when teams collapse into two to three issues in Final Focus. I love it when teams blow up impacts in Summary and Final Focus and use the ends of their speeches to do Impact Calculus. This is really important, I NEED good impact calculus to evaluate who I vote for. I need to know why you win on things like Probability, Magnitude, or Time-Frame and I need to know why those are more important than what your opponents are going for. If you don't know what impact calc is do some reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_calculus

I award speaks based on how you speak, and how you conduct yourself in cross. If you are blatantly rude, offensive, racist, sexist, etc. I will not be afraid to vote you down and nuke your speaks.

I will always call for evidence if you tell me to call for it. I am bad at remembering tags, but I definitely call for cards.

PLEASE FOLLOW NSDA/CHSSA (Depending on the tourney) EVIDENCE RULES AND HAVE EVIDENCE ETHICS. I need to hear author last name and date in the speech, otherwise its just rhetoric.

On other arguments. I'm totally ok with things like K's, Theory, whatever else but do know that I personally have minimal experience with K's or theory shells so I will need these types of args to be well warranted and explained.

If you have ANY questions about my paradigm or my decisions please do not be afraid to ask.

If you are funny and not offensive, I'll probably up your speaks.

Good Luck!

Also I think the way that I view debate is very similar to Shreyas Kiran, so check out his paradigm if you are bored.

Email me at TheSaadJamal@gmail.com if you have any questions.

yo

I'm a senior @ stanford double majoring in international relations + anthropology and i did policy in high school

2020 NOTE: I don't know much about this years' resolution-- explain topic-specific acronyms if you use any!

email: edasulj@stanford.edu

POLICY:

tl;dr- i'll listen to literally anything! i love unique arguments but even more importantly i love clash.

kaffs- i love them. i came from the smallest school possible (no coaches, no other policy team) so i find them extremely helpful with specific research focus for small teams/schools. i love them when they are unique and tailored to each individual debater. i think that the best k affs are ones that i can feel the emotion and power in every word you choose to say/sing/rap/dance/draw/perform.

ks- i think ks are extremely productive in debate; prob read some lit on what you are planning on reading. specific links are super awesome and engaging. but if u do k debate pls don't read off your computer the entire time it's sad. i read a lot of postmodern theory (both in hs, but also now in school as a college student), but this may help/hurt you. bad k debates are worse than bad policy debates, so make sure you know what you're talking about. empirical examples for k debates are persuasive. many judges don't feel compelled to vote for postmodern ks because it is hard to tie them to something tangible in the status quo. there are examples-- refer to art, movements, historical events...etc.

framework- framework can be extremely productive, tailor your framework arguments specific to the aff. tva's are good arguments-- make them

das- a really good da debate is exciting to watch. i love it when teams destroy case and do really good anaylsis on the da. pls don't make your 2nc extension of the da just reading more cards, like take the warrants of your 1nc and exacerbate them in the block. good da debates are great.

cps- i mean i'm down for listening to the most abusive cps you have. i think really specific ones are killer. i don't really care about theory unless someone calls you out on it. if you read a delay cp or a plan plus like tell me why that plus/net ben is so important. otherwise i'll vote on like perm: do CP

t- if you can't list a topical caselist with your interpretation why read t. read t when there is an obvious advantage the aff is getting away with. i don't really have a favorite between reasonability vs. competiting interps. like tell me which one to prefer and i'll do whatever.

theory- tbh theory debates are boring i'd still vote on them if i have to

case- case is so underrated especially in kaff debates. if you can destroy case on the kaff i'll be happy to vote on neg presumption or some case turn. if you go destroy case i'll reward you.

truth over tech- i lean more for tech over truth. but i am persuaded by ethos.

do u love the jesus cp?- sure, read whatever weird args you have. if you commit to them i'll give them credit in the round. EDIT: ok but also I strongly dislike the 30-speaks argument!!!!!!!!!!

prep/cross-x- tag team is cool and flashing doesn't count as prep

extras:

debate is an activity that i love and that i invested a lot of time in. please look like you're having fun, at least.

i guess i am a point fairy. debaters work really hard and i think that getting average speaker points like 28.3 is just not exciting nor rewarding. if life is meaningless and debate fills a meaningless void in our lives ill try to give y'all some temporary happiness with higher speaker points.

LD:

pretty much the same as policy; i don't really vibe with debates that are only about the rules of debate

PUBLIC FORUM:

tldr; debate is a game, so use whatever strategies you want. don't care about your speed, but do care if you're using speed as an excuse to not make real arguments. warrant all your arguments! I don't judge PF too often, so assume that I do not know anything about your resolution. Explain acronyms if you use them. HAVE FUN :-)!!

Dougherty Valley '20

Email: shravan.konduru4@gmail.com

Debated in LD for 3 years. I have also been to a few policy tournaments.

Hard and Fast Rules

-You must disclose or give cites to me upon request.
-You must make your speech doc during prep time.
-You must be willing to email or flash cases. If your opponent does not have a laptop you must have a viewing computer, pass pages, or lend your opponent your laptop.
-Card clipping or evidence ethics violations result in a loss-20. If you think your opponent has done either of these things, stop the round for an ethics challenge.
-You must have proper cites for your cards (including author name, publication date if available, and source at the least). I will disregard evidence that lacks proper citations.
-Please avoid adding brackets to your evidence. I would prefer if you remove them or at least restrict them to tense, punctuation, and offensive language.

General Beliefs
-I won't vote on arguments I didn't flow, and args I didn't understand will take a very minimal explanation to beat back

-CX is important

-Not a fan of tricks

-Theory: I have a high threshold for voting on theory. There needs to be a substantial violation of fairness and education. My defaults are no RVI, competing interp, and drop the debater. 1 Conditional advocacy is okay, but more than that would make it easier for me to vote for a condo theory shell if read. I think T can be a strategic argument and are sometimes fun debates to watch. There should be a lot if evidence comparison and should be thoroughly impacted out in terms of how the world of your opponent's interp operates and why thats bad.

-Counterplans and disads: My favorite form of debate. Make sure the disad link chain is clear and is impacted out well. Impact calc is very important in the NR. For counterplans, make sure you articulate well why it's competitive and preferable to the affirmative. I don't judge kick, unless I am told to do so.

Kritiks: Not my favorite type of argument to read or debate. If you are comfortable with it, go ahead and read it, but make sure you explain each part of the kritik without trying to flood your opponent with complex jargon. I am not too familiar with different k lit, so it might be in your best interest to limit the k's you read to common ones.

Please add me to the email chain: CameronLange@gmail.com

I was a LARP-y national circuit LD debater at Marlborough from 2016-2020.

• I have not debated or regularly listened to spreading since before the pandemic, so please don't read at top speed. This is especially true if your speed trades off with your clarity. I can't consider arguments I didn't hear, even if they’re sooo good.
• Similarly, I don't vote on arguments I don't understand. If I can't articulate what your alt is/does in my RFD, I won't vote on it.
• I am biased against tricks, silly plan flaw arguments, frivolous theory, etc. and will look for reasons not to vote on them.
• I will give you low speaker points if you are rude to your opponent. Be kind to one another! :')

Dougherty Valley '19

The Ohio State University '23

Add me to the email Chain: lee.8871@osu.edu

he/they

If you are comfortable, please email me a speech doc before each speech. It makes judging so much easier especially on zoom :)

-----------------

FOR yale,

haven't judged in lowkey a minute, be kind. Haven't judged on the topic either so i'm not too familiar with the literature, cards, etc. If there is a problem, make it clear, if an argument doesn't make sense, tell me why.

------------------

I competed nationally in PF and Extemp in HS, did a bit of Congress and LD as well.

I am tabula Rasa, and I'll vote on anything.
I try really hard to be non-interventional, but with more and more debaters reading scripts instead of cards, etc. I've grown the habit of calling for cards to confirm statements made by debaters.

In general:

I like warranted arguments. In fact, I would buy a strong Warranted and logical argument over an argument backed my evidence any day. Although I'll vote on anything, this is just how I evaluate it. I really enjoy impact calculus and would like to see that starting to be set up in Summary and maybe even in rebuttal. Just be really clear and extend your links cleanly.

I believe that 2nd Rebuttal should frontline, at least that's what I always did. I think it is a better competitive choice for 2nd Speaking team. At least touch the major offensive points of the case.

I am open to any critical argument and theory; however, I HATE frivolous theory. While I Think debate is a game, I do believe that public forum was an event made to be accessible to all as LD and policy became more progressive. That being said, go for it but proceed at your own caution.

Go as fast as you want, I'll tell you if you're going too fast. but for zoom, go slower.

Speaks depends on my mood. I won't ever go lower than a 27 for national rounds unless you give me a reason to tho.

Wear what you want, I just care about what you say (although I will include feedback for future lay rounds)

MY PARADIGM is also very similar to Saad Jamals:)

https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?judge_person_id=70840

Don't be afraid to ask Questions before the round because I know this Paradigm is short, but don't overcomplicate it!

4 years of Policy and LD at Dougherty Valley High School (2016-2020).

Please add me to the email chain: anish.maram@berkeley.edu

General

- Tech over Truth (usually)

- Speed is fine; I will say "clear" if I can't understand you. If your opponent asks that you do not spread, it's up to you, but it won't affect the ballot or speaks (barring unique circumstances).

- No racism, sexism, misgendering, etc.

- Any default stances I have on debate issues themselves are malleable. All preferences are superseded by what actually happens in the round

- Evidence comparison and weighing are critical.

- Pointing out power-tagged evidence will generally be more persuasive than reading an extra card

- I won't vote on an argument I don't understand

- Unwarranted blips don't need to be responded to. I don't mean bad warrants, but rather the actual absence of any warrant attached to the claim.

Case, DA, CP

*These are the arguments I'm most familiar with and effectively always went for.*

- I will probably not vote on 1 condo. Anything more and it depends.

- I'm receptive to all manner of counterplans. If the counterplan seems sketchy, defending a perm that takes specific liberties to restore competition will be more persuasive than generic "x CPs bad" shells.

- Conditional planks are conditional advocacies

- Judge kicking the CP needs a warrant

- I like sufficiency framing

Theory

*I have a medium threshold on theory and T, so the abuse story needs to be there.*

- I default to competing interpretations such that theory is a non-issue if the offending debater meets the interpretation, has offense on the interpretation, or has offense that outweighs on a counter-interpretation; if you want me to evaluate under reasonability tell me what that means

- I like turns on standards

- I don't like frivolous theory.

- Metatheory becomes somewhat truer as the quantity of shells increases and significantly truer as their organization decreases

- I'm neutral on RVIs and default to no RVIs

- Spikes in the 1AC are fine, but tricks are not ideal

- I default to NIBs being bad

- I have no preference for fairness v education as voters; magnitude probably matters

Topicality

- I'm less receptive to an RVI on T than on theory

- Reasonability is stronger on T than on theory. That being said, I think the best T arguments are probably more convincing than the best theory arguments when applicable

- Apart from those two, same as theory

Kritiks

*I'm familiar with most of the literature bases, but nuances need clear explanations. I did not go for these arguments as frequently as others.*

------- General

- Specific links are infinitely better than generic ones.

- Don't obscure the link story with a swarm of buzzwords. When the debate starts, I am equally as ignorant about U.S. foreign policy as I am about pomo.

- I think role of the ballot arguments are rarely read in a persuasive way, and so are most root cause claims or claims that a lit base is epistemically flawed. This has less to do with their veracity and more to do with begging the question. 1 card from a tertiary source is likely not going to get me to throw out the 1AC, so please expound.

- Specific K prior arguments can be persuasive

- Tricks like floating PIKs are ok, provided that you can theoretically defend them

- If the K operates on multiple layers that can access the ballot, the scaffolding should be apparent in the 1NC.

- Articulation of the alt in the 1NC and CX should not be vaguer than later in the debate. If the 2NR is much more lucid, it's a new argument.

------- Performances/ K Affs

- Please make the advocacy of the aff/performance clear

- TVAs can be compelling, so you should tell me why the aff is key when not in the direction of the resolution

- Framework either needs an impact that outweighs the performative advantage or to place sufficient defense on the advantage to make the impacts of framework outweigh.

Philosophy/ Ethical Framing

- I default to epistemic modesty and see phil as an impact magnifier rather than the sole determinant of what impacts matter; if you want the NC to be a pure impact filter I need more justification than it being better/truer

- Pairing NCs with defense and risk assessment makes them much stronger

Varsity LD debater at Dougherty Valley High School

Yes, I want to be on the email chain: s.mundres12@gmail.com

Top Level:

-Don't shake my hand

-you must add me and your opponent to the email chain

-I only evaluate arguments on my flow which are sufficiently warranted.

-I will be sad if you go for a blip in the 2nr/2ar

-Card clipping = auto loss and 20 speaks. If you feel your opponent is clipping stop the round and notify me immediately. NOTE: You will take the L with 20 speaks if you falsely accuse your opponent of clipping

-All cards must be properly cited.

-Tech > Truth

-Voting on presumption is stupid

-I am open to hearing nontopical affs, but lean more towards T-Framework.

-2ar/2nr impact calc is not a new arg

-2ar cards are legitimate only if responding to new 2nr args

-I am okay with speed. I will call clear 3 times, after that I will start decreasing speaks

-I start at 28 and go up/down. I will boost your speaks .3 if you roast Harvard Westlake. I will also boost speaks if you make me laugh. 30 speaks if you bring me food.

Theory:

-I definitely have a lower threshold compared to other judges

-Interp/Violation must be very clear.

-I default CI, Yes RVI, and drop the debater. I can be easily persuaded otherwise.

-I will vote on 1 condo bad

-I will vote on blips if properly ran but speaks may suffer

-I love Topicality debates

Kritiks:

-not the most ideal judge for this

-I am not familiar with dense K lit

-K's I understand well enough to vote for them comfortably: cap, security, anthro

-I hate generic links to K's with vague alts

-I will almost always vote against the K if someone can effectively go for the Perm + Alt Fails

-K tricks make me sad

NC/Phil:

-don't read em. I'm not good with it.

DA/CP

-my strongest point and your best bet infront of me

-Try or die is not very persuasive because the probability of the aff's extinction impacts are, most likely, relatively low.

-I like politics disads. Generic links make me cry.

-I like well thought-out "plan flaw" arguments when the aff's plan is poorly or strangely written. However the impact has to be an actual impact. I find these blippy fairness voters to be insufficient. Try to contextualize the plan flaw as to a reason why the policy will fail. For ex. you read a plan flaw, and the impact is like vagueness which also functions as a solvency deficit.

-I enjoy process counterplans and think they should be read more often. Delay CPs and Consult CPs are kinda abusive imo but I'll vote for it.

-Going for a link turn or straight turn to a disad in the 2ar is a p fire strat. If it's executed well your speaks will reflect that. But there's a chance that this strat will backfire on you so you should really think of it as a last resort unless they rlly screwed up or like conceded it.

-PICs are very strategic. I will vote on PICs bad but it should not be hard to answer in front of me.

-I'll judge kick if you ask me to.

hiya!

please email chain or pocketbox and add me: ariannenguyen @ uchicago . edu

paradigm as of 2019-20

about me: she/her, varsity policy, st francis high school class of 2020, 2n for most of my debate career. i'm pretty straight policy -- soft left aff, very weird mishmash on the neg (security, politics/process cp, t, disads to k affs are all in the regular rotation)

run what you want and have fun! know that i am less familiar with and therefore less likely to follow your k args w/o explanation but will vote for them. this year, my 2nrs have usually looked like a politics disad and a process cp (about 2/3 of the time) or t against a policy aff.

please be respectful -- racism, sexism, homophobia, etc are not acceptable.

i've been a 2n for a while now and i probably lean neg on most questions of cheating counterplans, politics das, floating piks, etc but am willing to be persuaded. i care a lot about the reasonability/competing interp/inround vs potential abuse debate and much prefer theory as a reason to reject the argument than a reason to reject the team.

crossex is super important!

ppl who have taught me a lot about debate/whose paradigms match mine: sam haley-hill, tony hackett, annabelle long

for LDers: i am very policy-oriented, am unfriendly towards tricks/theory/RVIs/nebel T/etc, and appreciate good signposting/argument naming

My Name is Taylor Parker. I am currently a senior. I have over 3 years of debate experience from the meadows school. Two years of LD debate and a year of Policy.

Flash me your evidence/ include me in an email chain before the debate round starts.

Give roadmaps before you start your speeches.

I don’t mind speed just make sure you are clear and coherent in your arguments. I will say clear if I cannot understand you.

Flow the debate. Organization is key to any debate.

Know your times and time yourself.

Have fun and do your best, good luck!!

Dougherty '20, LD and Policy

Cal '24

Please put me on the email chain: aayushpatel27@gmail.com

Update: I say go slower than normal later, but like y'all really got to try bc I have debaters spreading unsent phil indicts at top speed. I would suggest attempting to go like 80% percent speed so even if you undershoot you'll be ok.

I will yell slow twice. Slow down or I'll miss arguments.

Haven't much topic research, please explain acronyms. Please make an effort to go slower because we're online. It has also been a little bit since I've listened to spreading, go slightly slower than you would go otherwise.

Feel free to message me on Facebook if you have any questions

Shortcuts:

Policy 1-2

K 2-3

Phil 2-4 (The more trix you plan to read, the lower I should be preffed)

Theory 3-4

General:

I think Arjun Tambe is pretty smart and so is his paradigm.

-Compiling is prep/flashing is not.

-Spreading is fine but heed the bolded warnings above, especially in an online format

-I will read cards (especially if its a factual question) but I appreciate creative spin more than some on theoretical (in the philosophical sense) questions. I will still gut check args if they're blatantly misconstrued. Good author quals are great here.

-I won't vote on arguments that force me to consider activity outside of the rd. Disclosure is the only real exception

-I will also not vote on the appearance or attire of a student

- I'll vote for nebel but I really won't like it.

-Signpost for your life, my flows get messy sometimes

-People need to utilize cx more. It is my favorite part of the debate. Good cx will be rewarded with higher speaks. Good cx entails: Purposeful questions; Minimal clarifying qs, with those asked having some strategic purpose-this will be clear to me immediately during cx or you will make it clear by referencing cx in a later speech; Poise and a lil bit of (respectful) sass.

-Judge instruction wins rounds; I think Parth Dhanotra was very good at this. This includes really good evidence comparison

-Most of the below is malleable and you can convince me to diverge from my opinions in any round

Policy/"LARP"

I've mostly gone for policy-type arguments during my career and am probably best at evaluating them. So feel free to read them in front of me. Italicized text in this section is unabashedly ripped from former teammates and coaches who I will cite because I agree with them on a lot of things. I will edit this as my views develop.

CP

Clever (sheisty even) CPs are welcomed (see the annoying Asteroids CP DV read a few years ago)

I default to judge kick but I usually forget--remind me if this is what you want me to do

1-2 condo is fine. I really hate voting on dropped condo against a single CP, pls don't make me

Process CPs are fun.

PICs are usually good, but I can be convinced otherwise.

A lot of CP theory is annoying, but I am more likely to vote for it if the CP in question is particularly underwarranted.

DA/Case

Impact calc/judge instruction is the name of the game

Specific disads are a judge's dream but I did go for politics DAs fairly often even though I wasn't always convinced of its terminal impact. So make turns case args that don't only stem from the terminal impact of the DA to make it easier for me to vote for you. Those that come from farther up the link chain are great. Also read a good process cp if you resort to generic DAs

Please emulate the homie Anurag "Straight Turn" Rao and don't be afraid to go for case turns in the 2NR

General K Stuff

I didn't read ks as much as I would have liked to, but I got deeper into them just before senior year was cut short and ended up reading a decent amount of K lit. Most things should be fine as long as it is well warranted and explained. Solid fwk explanations>>>jargon filled overviews.

I also really enjoy interesting Ks that are paired well with specific offense on case. In general, don't be evasive, do good link work. I will also not hand you your ontology claims, warrant them and defend them. Winning it is often an uphill battle when contested competently.

K Affs

The exemplar in my mind was Coppell DR's aff from a few years ago. Be like them and you're a lot closer to winning

Must answer the question "Why vote aff"

I will vote for affs that reject the topic but I prefer that they have even a tangential link to the topic. To clarify, I prefer criticisms of the topic, not merely of debate. There are exceptions to this for me, (some of DR's) rounds, but I think it is easier for the aff to debate this way.

More convinced by framework that can be leveraged as a link turn (think movements) rather than arguments about fairness, which I find are largely trivial and difficult to resolve. The best debates are where aff uses well-warranted evidence from its theoretical canon (as opposed to generics like Robinson) is used to implicate FWK.

I also enjoy K v K rounds where the theory of both ks are implicated and in which a lot of cards are read but dislike them when they're just a blitz of k tricks.

Ks

I love love love love good link work. It makes it easier for me to evaluate the round as well as for you to answer args on other parts of the K flow. Go for them as mini-das instead of chunking them together in an overview.

Most of the FWK stuff above applies here, although I prefer link turns to fwk even more when the neg reads the K.

I also kinda like Ks like legalism, abolition and security especially when they have a very specific link to the aff. Good security Ks have links to the specific nations or regions in question, for example, and have a lot of nuance. These often don't fit your cookie cutter understanding of the K. For example, I read a security K with deterrence on case against an indo-pak aff. These were reconciled with a very specific explanation of South Asian subalterity.

Say yes to the Floating PIK question with your chest and defend it. They are often very strategic and it is often not very hard to beat prewritten PIK theory

Other stuff I agree with:

Framework—affirmatives should get their case and negatives should get their kritik (unless convinced otherwise). "Fiat is illusory" is impact framing rather than an absolute disqualification of the 1AC.

Phil:

General: Phil is cool, I enjoy the odd NC but they work best when coupled with solid case defense (or a tricky cp). Phil overviews could do with more judge instruction. Tell me what I'm looking for. I generally don't like trix but I understand that they can be strategic, although you will have to make sure I understand. Just explain them well and warrant them early. I'll hold your opponent to a very low standard when answering lightly-warranted one-liners.

These can be my favorite rounds, but I find that they rarely are given how they are debated in the meta.

My favorite phil is the kind that still can win rds under comparative worlds e.g. arguments about side constraints on things like gov't policy that are not necessarily reduced to a totalizing "standard."

For this reason, I love love love love it when CPs are read with an NC to solve back some of the head scratch-inducing implications certain philosophical theories have in the minds of west coast judges like myself.

That being said I am easier to convince than most that util is untenable, but your understanding of my threshold for this should be informed by my preferences on other parts of the flow.

I like phil less and less the trickier it gets. The comp worlds vs truth testing debate is very similar to that of topicality, and I think that generally truth testing is justifiable. I just really really dislike the tricks that come with these debates and am bad at resolving them. So please just read a DA instead or something.

Theory/T

I didn't read much theory during my career, don't like it that much. RVIs will most likely only get voted for if dropped. Just make sure you make an effort to help me keep my flow clean. Default to competing interps but only barely. I can be easily convinced to vote for reasonability.

Do this debate like a CP/DA debate with with the cp corresponding to the Interp and the internal links/impacts of the DA being your standards. Voters are your terminal impacts.

Well researched T that has a very clear and universal vision for debate will always do better. This means its implications for CPs must also be considered.

Broadly I think T should be a pragmatic question. It is also fairly easy to convince me that bad res writing has resulted in bad debate and the res should be interpreted more loosely.

That being said, I made an effort to try and read linguistics papers in order to answer Nebel T my senior year so really a well-warranted and clear semantics smackdown is also welcome.

In the end, feel free to read whatever you want. As long as there is a warrant, I'll do my best to evaluate it.

Also, my flows get real messy so write my ballot for me in the 2nr and the 2ar.

This paradigm is always being improved; I'm still working to calibrate/remember my opinions, so please please please message or email me if you have any specific questions and chances are I will be able to provide you with a more robust answer than can be found here.

Dougherty Valley 20'

Email: anuragrao315@gmail.com

I agree with Albert Sun:

"Refer to Arjun Tambe's judge philosophy:"

General Beliefs

-If you want me to know something about you (like pronouns or triggers or wtv) tell me before the round.

-If i call for a card you should give it to me. Flashing isn't prep unless it takes really long.

- Stop the round for card clipping, if you are right it's an L 20 for the other person.
-Brackets are fine it's its for problematic language or because you removed a graph or something. Otherwise i'm skeptical.
-I won't vote on arguments I didn't flow, and args I didn't understand will take a very minimal explanation to beat back
- Tech > Truth, however argument quality matters a lot. Even though something is dropped it needs to have a warrant and be explained. Just saying "Extend X card" and moving on is not enough.

-I prob won't get presumption if it has anything to do with tricks or phil

- If I see clever strategic moves or smart args your speaks will reflect that

-If i've had to call clear or slow like 3 times i'm not going to flow.
- I see a lot less evidence comparison in debate. If you compare cards and their sources I will heavily be persuaded. A lot of times I see people only reading evidence without any comparison and that gives me no reason to think the card you read is any better than the card I read.

- I don't want to intervene in this debate. Tell me what to do with certain arguments and what this implicates. Like I said above, I want to see you do the evidence comparison and break down the ballot.

-Tricks are not arguments. Tricks make me hate myself. This is actually why people feel like quitting debate like every two months. Stop being an ass. Do everyone a favor and cut some cards like the rest of us.

Counterplans and disads

-This is the run of what I read now, so i'll be most comfortable with this style of debate.

-Impact calc is a must. Disads can have a number of different impacts and interact with a number of different framing args. Contextualizing the disad in terms of case solvency or their framing is always a good idea.

-I like politics disads, but the threshold for explaining and winning a risk of an impact is somewhat high, given that the disad scenario is probably unlikely. Fiat theory can get very complicated, but I'm open to hearing your interpretation of what fiat includes when discussing links to certain disads. Also process counterplans are cool.

-I like well thought-out "plan flaw" arguments when the aff's plan is poorly or strangely written. However the impact has to be an actual impact. I find these blippy fairness voters to be insufficient. Try to contextualize the plan flaw as to a reason why the policy will fail. For ex. you read a plan flaw against some type of legal reform, and the impact is like vagueness which also functions as a solvency deficit.

-I like well-researched PICs. Sometimes the aff might defend something strange, finding unique and smart things to PIC out of are hot.

-Going for a link turn or straight turn to a disad in the 2ar is a p fire strat. If it's executed well your speaks will reflect that. But there's a high chance that this strat will backfire on you so you should really think of it as a last resort unless they rlly screwed up or like conceded it.

Topicality and Theory

-T/Fmwk needs to have some kind of external impacts. Procedural fairness is very unpersuasive unless it impacts out to like research or something. The best 2nrs on framework have a dense overview that's a nut

-T is a good generic strat if you want to go that route. I'll default to competing interps and drop the debater on T. There should be more evidence comparison in T debates between your interps. I don't see this frequently, and that makes me sad.

-I have a higher threshold for condo than a lot of LD judges. I think 1-2 condo is fine, 3 starts to push the limit. But at the same time, if your opponent truly messes up and concedes some massive argument off of the condo blip then i'd be persuaded otherwise. But I'm impartial to args like PICs bad/good.

Philosophy

-In general, I have no idea what NCs even mean unless its like the util/structural violence/kant NC. If this is your thing don't pref me high. I don't rlly know how to go for NCs in the 2nr, but if i look confused then you should probably have a thicc overview explaining the framing

- I will prob always find extinction first args important. Even if you read Rawls or some shit I'm going to be confused if you try to make extinction doesn't matter args. The best way to disprove extinction first is probability first or some critical reason why focusing on extinction engenders violence.

Critiques
-I assume kritiks/links to the aff’s representations should be part of the debate. However, I can be persuaded otherwise.

-Permutations solve links of omissions almost all of the time. There needs to be a good explanation of the link in order to be ahead on the K, otherwise I'll think case outweighs or the perm solves.

-Explain and contextualize the alt. What does me voting neg do to solve? What are examples of the alt being enacted? Usually people read this power tagged card about the alt but never explain what it even means.

- You need to explain your postmodern scholar's thicc literature well to me. I think I'm familiar with a lot of K lit by now, but all the nuances of specific authors I definitely don't know.

-I do not find broad, sweeping "root cause" and other arguments (e.g., "the aff evidence should be distrusted because capitalism corrupts academia") to be persuasive at all, unless they are applied well to the aff.

-I see a lot of people trying to out-left the K. Why? Stop trying. You're not going to out-left someone who reads baudrillard. Impact turns, case outweighs, the perm, and framework are your best bets against any of these arguments.

Stylistic preferences
You do not need to waste a ton of time "extending" your aff card by card if there wasn't case defense.

Act like you know what you are doing in cx.

Please don't give crappy sass, no one will think ur funny

Enunciate between your tags and your evidence.

Any picture of Albert Sun, David Si, or Kavin Kumaravel gets u extra speaks.

UC Berkeley ‘21

Okemos High School ‘18

General Stuff

My name is Manav Rathod and I am a student at UC Berkeley. I did 4 years of policy debate at Okemos High School (Okemos, MI). Senior year I qualified to the TOC with 3 bids. In high school, I mainly read Kritikal arguments (Afropessimism, Cap, Psychoanalysis, Deleuze, Baudrillard, Queer Theory) on both the aff and neg, however, don’t let that influence your thoughts on me as a judge. I have found many “policy” debates much more interesting/enjoyable than many “k v k” debates. Go for whatever you think is the best strategy to win the debate and execute it to the best of your ability – I will be happy regardless of the specific content.

There is no argument I am not willing to listen to. Debate is a space to explore your intellectual interests and be creative, so you should take advantage of that. So, if you like going for the politics DA, go for it. However, you should refrain from arguments that directly attack a person’s identity (such as racism good, sexism good, etc.). I am perfectly ok with listening to extinction good.

Tech > truth – as long as an argument has some warrant attached to it, it is true until addressed by the other team. I will do my best to protect the 2NR.

Topic Knowledge – I have some familiarity with the topic, however, it will benefit you to explain complicated nuances and to spell out acronyms (only once).

I flow on my computer and like being able to line arguments up.

My email is manav (dot) rathod (at) gmail (dot) com. I would like to be added to the email chain. You can also email me if you have any questions about my paradigm or want additional feedback about the round.

Speaks

I will try to keep speaks in the range of 28 – 29.5.

Speaker points will be determined by your persuasiveness, clarity, and strategic mindset. Smart debaters will always outspeak debaters who are just really clear.

Being funny, referencing TV shows, using easy to understand examples (especially in K debates), etc. will boost your speaks.

Kritiks

Neg

I won’t hack for your K – you must do the work of explaining your argument.

I don’t mind a long overview, but I would prefer it if all relevant parts could be moved to the line-by-line. I would prefer it if links were done somewhere on the line-by-line (I don’t care where just don’t put them in the overview). Also, labeling links with cool names is good.

Specificity is key – if you aren’t doing the work to show why the 1AC specifically is bad (by pulling lines from their evidence and contextualizing your 1NC cards to the action of the plan), I am likely going to buy the perm solves. You don’t need links to the plan, but you should try to contextualize your generic links to the 1AC as much as possible.

You don’t need an alt, but you should spend time framing what my ballot means in a world where there is no alt to resolve the K’s impacts.

“K tricks” are fine but be smart with them – don’t just throw stuff at the wall and see if something sticks.

FW is important – you should very clear offense here as well as defensive arguments. Having good framing cards in the 1NC (especially if you are going one-off) is important. I can be persuaded that I shouldn’t evaluate the plan.

Demonstrating robust knowledge of your theory, as opposed to constantly reading blocks off your computer, will likely boost your speaks.

Aff

FW should never be “Ks bad.” Winning the FW debate for the Aff requires having a clear reason why your model of debate is good (e.g. fairness, political deliberation, etc) and making sure you answer all the neg’s tricks (e.g. Antonio 95, fiat is illusory, etc.). Being technical here is very key and I can be convinced to weigh only the consequences of plan action.

Perms should be thoroughly explained by the 1AR.

I think a lot of the common “policy tricks” (pragmatism, extinction first, etc.) make a lot of intuitive sense, but you still need to do a good job establishing them.

Coming into the debate with a strong understanding of the neg’s position will help you immensely, so you should be reading their cards and making sure you use cross-x to really understand their argument. It will make it easier to find their weak spot.

K v K Debates

I can be convinced not to give the Aff a perm, but a lot of the neg’s arguments for why I shouldn’t are usually quite silly, but must be answered by the Aff.

Both teams need to have a robust number of historical examples.

Links and net-benefits to the perm should be clearly labeled.

FW (T-USFG)

Neg

While I read a K-Aff in high-school, I am very persuaded by a lot of the arguments by FW teams. You can definitely go for procedural fairness as an impact. I also like arguments about truth-testing/argumentative refinement and research. Explaining the importance of each these in the context of predictable limits can make a very easy neg ballot.

I am not very persuaded by impacts like dogmatism or state good. While I think there is some merit to the dogmatism impact, I haven’t heard a very strong argument about why that would outweigh any offense the Aff generally goes for. I think truth-testing functions as a much more persuasive defensive argument to mitigate a lot of the Aff offense. State good is more convincing to me as a K of the aff’s refusal of certain forms of political engagement.

TVAs don’t need to solve the Aff but should somehow align with the Aff’s criticism of the status quo. Having a card isn’t necessary but would be cool.

I am perfectly fine with a short 1NC shell with no cards other than definitions.

Aff

Impact turn stuff and you will probably be fine.

You don’t need a w/m.

You don’t even necessarily need a c/I – but it will make it harder for you to win unless you go for debate bad, which is perfectly fine.

Slow down when explaining your DAs – teams often breeze through several 1 or 2 sentences DAs that I can’t follow. Your 2AC analysis should have a clear warrant as to why the neg’s interpretation is bad, what the impact to that is, and how your interpretation solves. Examples here are key.

Defense is important, don’t forget it.

You should be very clear and upfront about why the TVA or reading it on the neg doesn’t solve.

DAs

Not much to say here. Impact calc is good and should be done sooner rather than later.

CPs

I don’t have many thoughts about CP theory – so do whatever you like. Words pics are probably not cool, but if you want to go for it.

You should probably have a solvency advocate. Using 1AC lines to justify a cp will boost your speaks.

T

I enjoy a really good T debate. Both teams should be doing a good job explaining what debate looks like under different interpretations of the topic.

Impact Turns

I love a good impact turn debate. DeDev, Heg Good, Heg Bad, Warming Good, Extinction Good, etc. I love them all. Especially, against K-Affs or new Affs they can be very strategic and should be heavily utilized.

Theory

I will vote on new affs bad – given the neg can explain a coherent impact.

Clipping

Don't clip. I will keep my eye out for it. If I catch it, I will warn you (unless it was egregious). If I catch you doing it again, I will give you 0 speaks and the loss. I will also allow the round to continue to the end.

If you believe the other team is clipping, start recording them and present the recording to me after the speech. I will listen and decide. You won't be penalized for calling out another team for clipping, as long as you do so in a manner that allows the round to continue smoothly.

If you are reading unhighlighted cards, I will expect you to read the whole thing, unless you clarify before your speech. If you don't, I will consider that as clipping.

First, I do not believe in spreading.  Please do not spread in a round with me.  If  you want to have better contentions, please choose better evidence, not pack more evidence in.  

I am fine with topicality/theory, but do slow down for the interpretation and standards for me to have sufficient time to write it down. 

I understand basic kritiks, but please nothing with too high theory.  Keep it simple though and make sure to slow down for role of the ballot args and the alt.  

The best arguments are the regular plan/CP args.  I would prefer these, but feel free to use whatever you want.

If I do not understand the argument or if it is not extended, I will not vote for it.  Explain everything thoroughly and focus on content, not amount.

affiliations/info:

previously: 2x qualified to the toc, won some debates, Berkeley '20, assistant head of ms speech and debate for harker.

more importantly, now: UChicago Law '24, am less "in debate" than i previously was.

my email is sarahhroberts@berkeley.edu – please put me on the email chain!

for novices/new debaters:

- do what makes you comfortable! debate is a ridiculous activity and the best part of it is that you get to say and argue whatever you want. if that looks like a lot of case arguments, great! if that is topicality and a disad, also great! i will listen to your arguments and give you feedback regardless of what you do :--)

tdlr: you should not pref me if:

- you intentionally don’t disclose

- your strategies rely heavily on friv theory/tricks

- you are going to be rude and uninterested in the debate

- your strategies rely primarily on personal attacks of other debaters

- you find yourself postrounding judges for egregiously long times after the rfd

- you read nebel t but 1. do not have an explanation of why semantics is the best frame for debate and or 2. do not understand the linguistic basis of semantics/pragmatics. this is the one thing my linguistics degree has given me.... i have an incredibly high baseline for this!

tldr: you should pref me if:

- you do not do the above

- you like high theory

- you like going 6 off w tricky cps + disads

- you like well researched politics scenarios

online debate:

- record your speeches -- if you, me, or an opponent cuts out, you don't get to re-do the speech -- you only get to send the local copy you made.

- please monitor the chat so that if there's a technical error we can adjust as quickly as possible

- if you are debating w your camera off then i will similarly be judging w my camera off.

- see Rodrigo Paramo's paradigm for essentially all my thoughts on online debate

unsortable thoughts:

· IMPORTANT: flex prep means asking questions during prep time - in no world does unused cx time become prep time - what????? you get your 4 (or 5) minutes that's it no more of this nonsense

· larp>>good k debate>>>theory heavy debate>>bad k debate>>tricks and phil

· i flow cx -- that means i’m exhausted of the arg that "cx doesn't check because judges don't flow it", that doesn't mean you don't need to make the arguments you establish in your actual speech.

· i’m not into postrounding. this includes but is not limited to: talking at me for thirty minutes, trying to re-read your 2a/nr at me, sending me excessive emails about why you think my decision is wrong. if you have had me in the back and have postrounded me every time, you should... maybe think about redoing your pref sheet!

· explain what perm do both looks like (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

· if you want/will need me to look at an interp/counterinterp/perm you read, those things must be sent within the speech doc. i will hold you to what is written, or you will risk me just evaluating the words I heard -- that also means no shifty changing in cx!!

· given how clear it is to me that no one can really flow a debate round as it is delivered based on prep time just becoming a spec review, you are fine to toss out a "slow" at your opponents if you can't flow/understand at their top speed. this is better than you asking 1000 clarification questions during your prep time.

specifics:

speaks --

total average, at present, is a 28.53. i have never given a 30. no ceiling on excellence!

things that help speaks: technical competence, numbering, getting the round started on time, good articulation of k lit, bataille, irigaray.

things that hurt speaks: making unstrategic decisions, no explanation of arguments, messy overviews, messy speeches, morally heinous arguments, unclear spreading of theory blocks.

general --

· if the 2nr is split, it will hurt your speaker points

· i will evaluate judge kick arguments

· please slow down on theory

· bracketing is not good, disclosure definitely is. be reasonable here though -- if your opponent literally has never heard of the wiki and you immediately try to crush them on disclosure theory, i will be unhappy :<

· i am not very persuaded by frivolous theory arguments and will hold responses to a lower level of depth than with well developed, pertinent theory args. if you have to ask me if a theory arg is frivolous before the round i think you probably know what the answer is.

· rvis – primarily on topicality – are not persuasive to me

k affs –

things you need to do when you’re reading these sorts of affs

· utilize 1ac ev through the whole debate and contextualize your answers to the theories in your aff

· explain exactly what the aff does/aims to do – are you working towards a paradigmatic shift in how we approach (x) policy or are you criticizing the structure of debate itself? what does voting aff do to resolve those issues?

· understand that teams sometimes just read framework because they don’t know how else to necessarily engage your aff.

· have good background knowledge... i'm so unenthused by people who pull out their ~fire~ baudrillard aff and then make args about creating meaning being good... like what? i will you to a high standard of background knowledge and contextualization/explanation.

i feel more qualified to judge high theory args than i do performances or args centered on individual identity.

fw vs k affs –

my record shows me leaning slightly more neg on framework vs k affs (maybe around 60/40?) presuming you’re not reading fairness impacts (in which case it drops to like 30/70). i think arguments about the specific mobilization/utilization of skills gained uniquely from debate tend to be much more convincing. things i’d like to see in these debates:

· examples of how movements outside of the political sphere have used political knowledge to further their cause

· reasons why knowing about the way legal systems work/interact is good

· a defense of fiat/hypothetical discussions of policies

· contextualized case arguments (which can often answer back for the “they didn’t engage us” claims)

policy affs vs ks –

too many teams pivot to the left when they hear a k in the 1nc. just defend what you did in the 1ac and explain why it’s good. some things that i think are important to do in these debates:

· win framework/win fiat/win why hypothetical discussions of policies are good

· answer the long k overview from the 2nc

· be able to explain/give examples of what the permutation will look like (you definitely get a perm)

· actually debate the k rather than just reading author indicts

· not back down from big stick impacts. you know what ground you get against literally every baudrillard k? heg good.

ks –

you need to have background knowledge of the lit and arguments, i will know if you just pulled a backfile out or haven't engaged with the lit in necessary ways! i only ever went one off in high school so i will expect a high level of articulation from you in regards to explaining your arguments and contextualizing them to the aff specifically. some things i’d like to see in a k debate

· specific quotes being pulled from the 1ac on the 2nc link debate

· technical debating rather than reading a 6 min o/v and saying it answers all the aff arguments

· having a good, in-depth explanation of the theory of your argument/why and how it interacts with the aff in cx when asked about it

· bataille

some authors i have read/continue to read in my free time/am knowledgeable about (bets are off for anyone not listed) ranked from most liked to “ehhhh”:

irigaray (bring her back), bataille, lacan/psychoanalysis, baudrillard, spanos (bring him back), berlant, edelman, deleuze/deleuze and guattari

disads –

i love seeing a well debated disad as much as i love seeing a well debated critique. i think it is really important to have good evidence and good analysis in these debates.

i am less familiar with very specific political processes disads so i may need more explanation of those whether that occurs in a quick 2nc overview or in cx given the opportunity. some things i’d like to see:

· good case engagement along with the disad. this means good impact calc as well as judge instruction

· clear explanation of the political scenario you're reading if it's a politics disad, clear analysis on the link chains if it's not a politics disad

· actual cards after the 1nc

counterplans –

i’ll grant you leniency in how shifty your counterplans can be. i think really specific counterplans are one of the greatest things to see in debate.

· if you cut your cp evidence from 1ac evidence/authors you’ll get a boost in speaks!

· i also think (specific, not generic word) piks/pics are pretty underutilized -- especially against k affs – i’d love to see more of these.

· i don’t think explanation-less "perm do the counterplan" or "perm do the aff" are legit.

theory –

less qualified to judge these debates imo, but will still listen to them. please slow down and don't spread through blocks -- i'll stop flowing if i can't understand it.

i have no tolerance for frivolous theory. if you are reading arguments related to what your opponents wear or what esoteric word needs to be in the 1ac, i will not enjoy the debate and will most likely not vote for you!

topicality –

a good block/2nr contains a well thought out and developed interpretation of what the topic is/view of how the topic should be explained and debated in regards to specific arguments that can/cannot be justified vis a vis the topic wording.

i really like to see good lists in t debates (untopical affs made topical by the aff’s interp, clearly topical affs that are excluded by the neg’s interp, etc).

case debate –

there needs to be more of it in every debate. go for impact turns. i love dedev. recutting aff cards.... amazing. if the negative drops your case or does not spend time on it you can spend less time on it in the 1ar/2ar too!!!!

ethics –

don't clip. if your opponent is suspected of clipping, you should have a recording of it and highlighted words in the doc that are clipped. if an ethics violation is called, i will stop the round after getting evidence of the violation from the team that called it and make my decision based on the tournament invite, the ndca rules, and the round itself.

Note for online debate: Use the file share if there is one. Also, please record your speeches, and don't go your top speed (70-80% is fine).

Bio: I debated in LD for Harker for 7 years and qualled to the TOC twice, cleared at a number of national tournaments, and won multiple speaker awards. I currently debate BP at Duke University.

Questions and email chain: sachin97shah@gmail.com

General Stuff:

Don't be offensive or rude. Time limits are set by the NSDA.

My argumentative preferences from high school don't completely determine the kinds of round I like judging. With that said, I'd say that I'm a good judge for LARP/policy and K debate, an ok judge for theory, and a pretty bad judge for phil and tricks.

More specific argument stuff:

DAs:

-Explain the story of your DA

-Have clear links and impacts

-Do weighing and impact calc

CPs:

-Explain why they compete

-Explain why there's a net benefit/why the CP is better than the aff

Ks:

-I expect a decent level of explanation of your theory; I'm familiar with most common Ks, but if you're reading some weird pomo K, I expect you to explain EXTRA well

-Explain the alt

-Understand what your K says

-Have specific links to the aff

T/Theory

-Impact out your standards

-Do standard comparison and weighing

-Do voter comparison and weighing

Specific Theory

-Condo-one condo is probably fine, more and I could go either way

-Spec-if the aff is whole res, this is probably not great, but I'll vote on tech

-I think that short theory arguments can be pretty strategic, and again, I'll vote for tech

If you have questions, you can ask me before the round or email me.

ucla '24

she/her

email chain: siyasharma2202@gmail.com

k affs:
sure. do whatever you are comfortable with.

f/w:
i tend to vote on f/w very often. don't read your generic framework blocks please. also education isn't really an impact, it's just an internal link to fairness. this paradigm is just an internal link to fairness.

k's
do explicit link work. i tend to weigh the aff against the k and have a higher threshold for alt solvency than most.

language/rhetoric k's:
impact the kritik out and make it a voter.

affs v. k's:
i want to see some sort of "case o/w" and/or "case turns the k" argument at the top of my flow. win the root cause debate, you can totally do it!

t:
yeah sure. i have been brainwashed by john turner to believe that the only viable standard to extend is limits. most t cards suck.

cp's:

weird counterplans are great, the more obscure the better.

da's:
i spent most of my career going for the disad and i think that any disad no matter how far-fetched, is legit.

theory:
yeah call out your opponents i guess.

rules:
tech > truth
you cannot clip cards
don't steal prep (emailing your doc isn't prep)

Please add me to the email chain: tsxbcdebate@gmail.com

Top-level Debate Opinions:

1. I'll evaluate almost any argument presented to me in round.
2. If an argument is conceded and adequately, I'll consider it in my decision.
3. I love, love, love seeing smart analytics against bad arguments.
4. The best way to get my vote is by having a clear view of where you want to spend your time and telling me a coherent story as to why the arguments you are going for mean you have won the round.

2023-2024 Policy Topic: New to the topic. Don't assume deep knowledge.

Case: Contest the affirmative. Most AFFs are not well constructed and their impact scenarios are embarrassingly fake. So, if you are deciding between adding a T shell --- that you and I know you won't go for --- and having more case arguments, do the latter.

Counter-plans: I'll listen to any CP, doesn't mean every CP is fair --- tell me if the NEG is cheating. Using CX to isolate how the AFF solves, then explaining how the CP solves those mechanisms, is how to win the CP debate.

Disadvantages: These are my favorite debates to judge. Do impact calculus and sprinkle in some turns case analysis, and you have a winning recipe. Prioritize DAs that link to the AFF.

Kritiks: I enjoy well thought out Ks that have specific links and reasons why the 1AC is a bad idea. As the links become more general, I give increasing leeway to the specificity of the AFF outweighing generic indicts of topic or whatever the K is problematizing. You would also being do yourself a great disservice if you don't answer the AFF. Also, going for the K doesn't mean you can skip impact calculus.

K-AFFs: These are fine (even ran one for a season), but I think that framework is a powerful tool that is very persuasive if articulated well. If you are reading a K-AFF, thorough explanations of what voting AFF means and why that solves your impact is the path to victory.

Speed: I am fine with spreading, but always choose clarity over speed. I'll call out clear and slow as appropriate. Using a more conversational speed during the rebuttals is an excellent way to create contrast and emphasize your winning arguments.

Theory: I don't particularly enjoy judging these rounds. I'll still listen to your theory shells and definitely include it in your 2AC, but, if you are going to go for theory, have a compelling reason.

Topicality: T debates are fun to judge. What I enjoy are NEG teams reading T for the sake of reading T shells; why not just use that time to do something that will actually help you in the 2NR?

Thank you for opening my paradigm.

Hi Yall!

(he/him) I'm Justin and I am currently a student at Claremont McKenna College for the Class of 2024! I did Policy debate since Freshman year and qualified for the TOC my senior year.

I was pretty flex during my first 3 years in debate, but eventually read one off kritiks and a k-aff during my final year of debate. I am pretty well versed in Queer Pessimism, Biopower, Psychoanalysis, and Afro-Pessimism as these were the main arguments I read in my final years of debate. However, this should not change any strategies you run in front of me!

Please put me on the email chain!: jshen24@students.claremontmckenna.edu

tl;dr:

- Run what you love, I enjoy listening to any debate from kritiks, topicality, to disads and counterplans.

- I will not accept ANY argument that is racist, homophobic, sexist, etc. This is your one and only warning.

- Please be kind and please have fun! I love this activity and spent almost all my free time in high school here, if you are enjoying the round your speaker points will improve!

Paradigm that I based mine off of: https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?search_first=Eunice&search_last=

See y'all in round!

FOR UK SEASON OPENER/ LONG BEACH:

This will be my first or second tournament I will judge during the season so please understand if I don't immediately grasp some of the intricacies in this year's topic. Mainly, this just applies to topicality and f/w when you explain specific violations so please just slow down on them!

For Ld Debate:

I'm a policy debater so I may not know all the tech and intricacies of your event but I will try my best to evaluate the round to the best of my ability! I love philosophical arguments, but I am down with any policy oriented strategies as well! Feel free to spread in front of me. I don't really buy RVIs but I will evaluate and vote for basically any argument you run in front of me (that is except anything racist, homophobic, sexist, etc.). Also most importantly- Please Have Fun!

I was an LD debater in High School and debated policy at Stanford. I'm open to whatever style of arguments you want to make, and I'll try to judge with as little intervention as possible. My preference is for evidence-based debate and structured argument over things that are really far out, but I've seen most everything before, and I'll do my best with whatever you've got going on.

It'll be very hard / impossible to convince me that things like death, war, etc. are not bad, that fairness/education don't matter, and that you should win without engaging with the topic in some way. I'm not a fan of dense moral philosophy and "meta-ethics" when used to exclude impacts and arguments that seem relevant. I do not like "a prioris," "spikes," "triggers," presumption, permissibility, and the like. If I didn't understand something when you first read it, I won't vote for it later on.

For more information or to get a sense of how I see debate generally, take a look at what Mike Bietz and Adam Torson have to say in their paradigms.

If you have questions, please ask

Do's:

Speak at a moderate pace. Use a tight, strategic case delivered with elocution.

Listen carefully to your opponent.

Be very mindful of impact, including cost v. benefit.

Offer a framework that is narrow enough to be defensible, broad enough to have impact.

Use contentions that connect your philosophical framework to real examples and statistics.

Don'ts:

Don't sneer or shake your head at your opponent--stay poised and professional.

Don't make logical leaps, especially ones that distort your opponent's case or lead to ridiculous outcomes.

Don't debate "circuit" style: my opinion is that a firehose of words is both unnecessary and clutters up most cases.

Do NOT use the strawman technique, or misquote your opponent to present a distorted or weakened version of their case.

Don't spend too much time on weak or overly vague frameworks, such as "justice" or "morality." Whose justice? Whose morality?

When you get into the zoom meeting, please send a message in the chat stating your code, school, preferred pronouns, and anything else you think I may need to know.

I graduated in 2019 competing in LD and have judged LD, PF, and Parli many times before. I am open to lay or circuit debating styles, however, please agree on a style with your opponent before the round begins. I don't like seeing circuit debaters rolling over lay debaters just because they can. It isn't educational; it isn't fun; don't do it. If you are going to spread, please send me and your opponent what you will be reading before your first speech. Especially over zoom, audio can drop out and I'd hate to miss something important.

For Parli, if you have a POI, please raize the zoom hand to (hopefully) be more clear.

I will do my best to stay on video, however, if the circumstances wherever you are debating from don't favor you being on camera, please do not be pressured to share your video - regardless of what the tournament rules are.

PLEASE COME PREPARED. I have linked a couple of resources below to aid you in your 2020 tournament preparation. This year has proved anything can happen so I'm open to whatever terminal impacts you have.

2020 end of the world prep:

What to do if there's an earthquake: https://www.tripsavvy.com/earthquake-safety-tips-in-los-angeles-1586562

What to do if there's a tsunami: https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/worldwide/how-to-survive-a-tsunami

What to do if there's a raging wildfire: https://prevent-lss.com/blog/theres-wildfire-near-home/

What to do if an asteroid is headed towards the earth: https://anonhq.com/what-can-we-do-if-an-asteroid-hits-us/

What to do if you encounter aliens: https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/xenology/appA.htm

Howdy! I see that you are interested in contacting me or I may be judging you! If this is the case you are in the right place!

• He/Him/His

• Yes, I would like to be on the email chain (r.rahul.v [at] gmail [dot] com)

tl;dr - You do you! I can follow you as long as you are clear, and I will make it clear if I can't. Have a fun debate! Debate is supposed to be an enjoyable, educational activity, and I am disappointed in people who make it otherwise. I will not accept ANY argument that is racist, homophobic, sexist, etc.

Update for CJR - I have not done work on this topic over the summer so please do go easy on the acronyms, especially if you plan to go for T.

If you want the more long-winded version of my background and methodology for adjudicating a round, read below.

I competed in policy debate for Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, CA for 4 years, and I am currently attending Cornell University ('24). I am not currently debating in college. I qualified to the TOC in my senior year. My debating style varied over the years but my junior and senior year I was going for the k on the aff and neg.

Critics that shaped the way I debate and view arguments include the following: Tony Hackett, Sam Haley-Hill, Eunice Jung, Daryl Burch, Dr. Shanara Reid-Brinkley, and Amber Kelsie.

Tech vs Truth - I think that Sam Haley-Hill says this best in his paradigm - "I think that the phrase 'tech over truth' is just as vacuous as its inverse." I do believe that a dropped argument is conceded. That being said, I do think that the concession of an insignificant, blippy argument is trivial when a team does more work to advance a more compelling, well-developed argument that outweighs it.

Kritiks - I would say this is what I am most comfortable with. That being said, do not go for a k just because you think I will vote for it - I would much prefer a nuanced counterplan and disad debate over you going for a k you do not understand. I was a 2N all through high school up to my junior year, and I have mainly gone for the K on the neg and generally 1 or 2 off in debates as a whole this year, but I have been more flex in years past. Will I know your specific k author? The answer is probably not, but I’m willing to put in my best effort, and I’m hoping you will too! The point is I cannot vote for a k that I do not understand at a thesis-level because I am also less likely to buy your link. Winning the thesis is not the same as winning the debate. The more contextual the k is, the better the debate will be.

(If you are interested in what type of Ks I went for in high school, the authors I probably understand the best are Warren, Wilderson, Puar, and Spivak. That being said I have also read a decent bit of set col, cap and psychoanalysis. I was last a 2N in my junior year of high school so here is a link to that: https://hspolicy18.debatecoaches.org/St%20Francis/Verma-Borde%20Neg)

K Affs - I am down. I was a 2A my senior year and strictly went for a planless aff. I am good with a performance debate as well. The only caveat is that a kritikal affirmative should at least have a solid link to the resolution, not just reading the same literature on every new topic. That being said, I think that framework is still a solid strat against k affs (or other ks!). Answers to framework on the aff should be substantive (that does not mean just going for structural fairness outweighs). While I would prefer a more substantive strategy against a k aff, I think that framework is still a strategic move in a debate on the neg (especially if the aff is new to you are from a small school with a small research base). I think it is fair to question the aff's relationship to the resolution. I also think that, if you have one, you should defend the performance and use it as offense, especially against TVAs that claim to solve the aff.

Case Debate - I think that people underestimate how much offense comes off of the case debate flow for both teams. Do it please!

T - I used to think that T debate was trivial, but after going for a planless aff and also seeing some outrageous things that policy teams try to get away with, I think that this is a genuine tool that the neg possesses. I think that topicality debates can be really good debates if teams do the proper work. Explain the internal links and do not just read down your blocks - be contextual! Also! Tell give me some external impacts! I think that T debates should have minimal judge intervention - that being said I will most likely only look at the evidence in detail if it becomes the center of the entire debate, otherwise, I will just be looking at the flow.

Theory - I am not here for your tricks debate or your RVIs or TKOs. I will vote on genuine in-round abuse though.

CPs/DAs - I would love to see a nuanced counterplan/disad debate any day over a trashy kritik debate (see above). Give me a plan specific link on the disad and good defense on case. Make sure you handle theory on counterplans! People get away with pretty sleazy counterplans and I think that theory is valid here.

Still want more information on what I went for? Here are the wikis from my senior year:

AFF - https://hspolicy19.debatecoaches.org/St%20Francis/Verma-Shen%20Aff

NEG - https://hspolicy19.debatecoaches.org/St%20Francis/Verma-Shen%20Neg

Overall, just have a fun debate and do what you do best!

Hi! I’m Kavitha and I do policy debate at St. Francis. I’m probably familiar with most types of arguments that LDers run (DA, CP, K’s etc) but won't know stuff specific to LD. 2A reading a soft left aff.

Tech > truth

want to be on the email chain - kavithavinod(at)sfhs(dot)com

no racist/homophobic/sexist behavior. She/her. no card clipping/cheating.

will prob keep speaks from 28-29.5

A similar paradigm from one of my coaches: https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?judge_person_id=7835

Da’s - I love a good DA debate! Case specific DA’s with a strong internal link chain would give you leverage against an aff which prioritizes high probability impacts. Do DA turns case analysis and defend framing.

CP’s - I love them! If you have a CP, make sure it’s competitive and has a clear net benefit. Not too big on things like Delay CP’s of “consult the natives” but I can be made to vote for them if aff responses are ineffective.

K’s - Tbh I don’t love the K, and will have a harder time following them because I don't know the lit (I usually take straight policy args when I can). However, explaining the thesis of the K clearly, doing the line by line (as opposed to a big ov), and contextualizing links to the aff would really convince me to vote for you, and help me evaluate the round better. You should explain how the alt solves, but it's less important in a world where you win your framework. Also, if you are more comfortable with the K, that's perfectly fine! Run what you want, just explain it to me.

For the aff - defend policy framing, have offense on your interp rather than K’s are unfair.

K Affs - If your comfortable with it, read it. Explain the thesis of the K, try to be in the direction of the topic and have an advocacy statement.

T - I’m pretty neutral on T. Explain why your interp and standards give you offense. You don’t need to prove in round abuse, just tell me why you have the best vision of the topic. I do lean slightly towards reasonability tho.

Case debating - you should do it

selena zhang (she/her/hers)

current conflicts, affiliations, organizations: harker (ca), okemos (mi), fairview (co).

if you would like me to know about anything to make the round more accessible to you (gender pronouns, where to sit, coronavirus/virtual debating accommodations, trigger warnings, etc), i encourage you to talk to/email me beforehand.

logistics

hi! i'm selena--i debated policy in high school on the colorado circuit and at uc berkeley. i graduated from cal in 2020. i have been coaching harker for 3 years and judge upwards of 50 rounds per season between policy and LD.

email for email chains: firstnamelastname 17 @ gmail [substitute as necessary]

if you are pressed for time, read the bolded parts.

online debate

1. please go at about ~80% speed of what you would normally go at. i will say "clear" if your audio is muddled or cutting out.

2. please remember to record your speech locally and to check after every speech/cx that no one has dropped off the call. if internet issues do arise, i will only evaluate the recording and will not allow any redos.

3. i would prefer if you turn your camera on during the debate; however, i totally understand that this may not always be feasible [feel free to turn it off during prep, if you're away, or if you're waiting for RFD]

4. start rounds promptly and early if possible. this includes having the email chain ready, having the file downloaded and open, and being ready to give your speech.

general

- i will listen to whatever you choose to present, but tell me why you win.
- clarity over speed. i will very explicitly stop flowing if you are unclear.
- tech ≥ truth, regardless if you are running 1 off, 10+ off, or anything in between.
- open cx is fine and emailing/flashing does not count as prep, but keep both to a minimum. time yourselves and hold each other accountable.
- being assertive is fine; being rude is not. i trust you all to know the difference.

method

at the end of the debate, i holistically evaluate the round, with the strongest emphasis on the 2nr/2ar. i then work my way backwards and determine how well earlier speeches set up the final rebuttals. dropped arguments are not automatically true, but must be warranted. i will not intensely read cards unless if you tell me to or if i feel like it would help me understand the analysis done in your speeches.

this process is slightly different for LD and PF. the speech times for both activities do not allow for extensive argument development, so i tend to evaluate the earlier speeches with a little more weight than i would in policy. however, your 1ac underview/spikes should not be longer than your actual 1ac case.

thoughts on specific arguments

case: i love case debates. i am a huge fan of ones that have more than just impact defense in the block. case turns, author indicts, and recuts of the opponent's evidence are great to see in a round. extinction good and de-dev are valid arguments provided you explain it well. however, morally abhorrent arguments such as "racism/sexism/etc. good" are not valid.

counterplans: are generally good if they are well researched and have a thorough solvency advocate. i am not against any specific counterplans, but if you do choose to go for ones that are considered to be somewhat illegitimate and/or abusive, be ready to defend them.

disads: great. i especially like case specific ones that have a strong link chain. impact calculus is important.

kritiks: sure. i am relatively well-versed in some of the more common kritiks, but i am not very familiar with some of the hyper-specific k's on this year's topic. it would be in your best interest to explain and contextualize your k to me in relation to the affirmative. this could involve (but is not limited to) excavating a very specific link to the affirmative, showing how the thesis of your k highlights the truth of the 1ac, pulling out lines from the aff that link into your kritik, among others.

i have a high threshold for kritiks, so make sure you understand the literature behind the theory. alt solvency is important, but you do not necessarily need to win the alt in order to win the K. make sure that you can clearly communicate how your alternative would function if it were actualized. flesh out the link debate and the perm debate. provide a clear framework of how i should evaluate the round.

K affs/nontraditional affs: a lot of what was written above is applicable to here: i am fine with them. i would prefer that your aff is somewhat relevant to the topic, and unless you are able to clearly show me why you deserve to win with an untopical aff, i am more inclined to vote negative on these. understand your k aff from the inside out, and make sure you have good framework answers.

topicality (for policy affs): i genuinely love a good T debate, but i do have a high threshold for it. that just means i want to see it debated well. tell me why you win on T.

T-USFG and framework vs K affs: great arguments. i do not have any strong opinions on this argument, but i hope to see fleshed out impacts, contextualized answers as to why your model is good/why their model is bad both inside and outside the debate sphere.

theory: this description is for any type of policy-oriented theory argument, ie PICs bad/good, condo, ASPEC, etc. refer to the LD section below for my thoughts on "tricks" theory arguments.

since many people do not actively go for theory, i naturally have not judged many theory 2ar's. theory can be fine; however, i usually do not vote on it because the arguments and impacts are not fleshed out very well in most rounds. i find that i vote on theory if one side was at a clear and severe disadvantage coming into the round, and that the debater was able to explicitly contextualize this disadvantage.

ethics violations: (mis)disclosure and evidence fabrication can be voting issues, but i would hope that everyone appropriately discloses and correctly cuts evidence beforehand. if you would like to call an ethics violation, i will ask if you would be willing to stake the round on it. if you agree, i will evaluate the violation and grant wins and losses based on my decision. if you do not agree or would prefer to present the violation in a different manner (ie recutting the card), i will let the debate continue.

clipping: do not clip cards. i am comfortable dropping you on clipping, but i am generally reasonable if you stumble on a word or two. do not misrepresent what you read.

speaker points

my scale is relative to the tournament that i am judging at or the division of the event. other than that, my thoughts on speaker points do not differ much from everyone else’s, and i try to keep up with community norms. in general, i add points for clear speaking, well-developed arguments, and strategic argument choices, and i subtract them for the inverse of these qualities.

with the exceptions of CP/DA and other sensible combinations, a split 2nr will hurt your speaker points. saying "clear" either means your voice is muddled or that you are routinely messing up words or syllables that are critical to understanding your speech. i will say "clear" 2 times before i stop flowing.

judging LD

i judge LD quite extensively and have become very familiar with the style and format. most of what i wrote above is highly applicable to LD, especially at the circuit level. with my policy background, i have found that i am the best suited for LARP/K debates. however, please do what you do best: while adapting to your judge is important, i believe that a characteristic of good debaters is that they are able to win with their own style regardless of the person they are debating in front of. i like impacts, but i am also down to judge a good traditional/lay framework debate as well.

i am seeing an increasing number of tricks and troll arguments, so here is my stance on them: my threshold for answering these are generally low, so expect an uphill battle if you choose to go for frivolous theory, tricks, or RVIs in the rebuttal.

i normally do not judge that many phil/tricks debates, so if you insist on that strategy, please spend some time contextualizing and explaining your arguments as if i have never heard of it.

judging PF

in PF, i follow a very similar method in evaluating debates as i do for policy and LD. tell me why you win; write my ballot for me. i am open to any kind of argument as long as it is well-warranted. most of what i have defined above in regards to presentation are also applicable to public forum. keep your off-time road maps and formalities (asking to take the first question, for instance) to a minimum. i am more lenient on speaker points in pf than other pf judges and care more about your arguments instead of your actions.

paraphrasing cards equates to evidence fabrication -- have the whole card ready throughout the debate.

addendum

• engage with the other side's arguments and use your best judgement!

• i flow CX. flex prep is fine, but my decision will only be based on what is said during your designated speaking times.

• i understand that there will inevitably be disagreement no matter the decision, but i hope you can learn from the loss to win any of my future ballots. i can clearly tell the difference between asking questions with the intent of improving vs. saying snarky remarks/asking frivolous questions in an attempt to undermine my judging skill and character. if these decorum issues persist, i will end the discussion and ask you to hash out your further questions through email.

• if you ever need any clarification on RFDs on tabroom or what i said after the round, please feel free to reach out to me.

• i am generally fine with any of your personal preferences when it comes to debate, as long as your actions are not affecting anyone else's ability to engage with the round. i reserve the right to intervene in cases of bullying, harassment, or violence.