California Middle School Parliamentary Debating Championship
2019 — Oakland, CA/US
MSPDC Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI ultimately like to vote for the TEAM THAT "MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE" at the end of the debate.
I have judged LD and PF in the past 2 years and like both formats.
1. Talking fast is fine. I'm also good with spread if I have your speech doc.
2. I am okay with you running kritiks as long as you warrant, link, and impact it very well. I prefer you stick to case debate because I understand that better and think it's more educational, but if you're really passionate about your "alternative" argument then by all means run it. You'll just really need to explain to me what's going on or you'll lose me. Exception: I think some form of arguing for ending the world as a K is pretty OP. Interpret that as you will. No K AFFs, these are not topical.
3. I'm 100% tabula rasa. Act as if I'm a blank slate on the topic.
4. Tech > truth. I will accept anything you run without intervention. Two exceptions:
a. if your opponent rightfully calls out a bigoted argument (i.e., something racist, homophobic, sexist, transphobic, islamaphobic, anti semitic, etc), I will view it as such and may drop you depending on the severity and definitely tank your speaker points.
b. if there are conflicting pieces of evidence (LD or PF), and no one explains why their card should be preferred, I will call both and make my decision on which one to weigh more based on the merits of each (recency, methodology, scope, etc). Even if cards are weighed, I still might call both if I have doubts.
I appreciate well constructed arguments. I consider cross-X sessions also in my evaluation, so be clear when you answer and respectful when you question.
Please respond to all of your opponents arguments with proper justifications. Have proper evidences in support. Be truthful. If I find any indication of falsifying any evidence, that's a disqualification.
I am open to (and love) hearing GOOD COUNTER-PLANS, run'em if ya got'em.
I AM NOT TABULA RASA. Trust me, I don't want to be that judge that intervenes, but if you say something really untrue, like the sky is red, and I look outside and it is clearly blue, then I will catch it
I prefer quality of argumentation over quantity. GIVE ME GOOD VOTERS at the end of the debate. I WANT TO VOTE FOR THE BEST ARGUMENT not a bunch of minor points that didn't get discussed much.
Off-time roadmaps are OK. Please stay within the time limits for your speeches.
Be well behaved and respectful to your opponent(s) and enjoy the debate rounds, good luck!
Email: Surbhi.kochhar@gmail.com
About Me
I have 10 years of experience judging for various schools. I have mostly judged for Mission San Jose High School and periodically for independent entries like Stonewall Academy. The majority of my judging has been in Public Forum and I am familiar in the fundamental concepts of the format.
Preferences
I always come in with an open mind and vote based off of each side's arguments rather than personal bias. In order to win the round it is important that each side weighs each of their impacts. If impacts aren't weighed I won't flow them. If you want higher speaker points and want me to be able to flow your arguments, it is important that you speak clearly and at a good pace. I also appreciate it if you give me a little background into the topic and clear up a few things. Each side should provide a standard for me to weigh on so I can vote for a side based on the impacts. Both sides can also argue which standard is more relevant to the debate and which I should be judging on. If neither side proposes a standard for the debate I will just be judging on which side makes the world a better place. As for links, make sure that your links are logical and aren't huge jumps. If you suddenly jump from the EU joining the BRI to a nuclear war, I won't buy it. Please don't run theory. I will only take it into account if it is actually justified and reasonable (which it almost never is). Lastly, if a side brings up a new argument or point in Final Focus, I will ignore it. You're just going to be wasting your time.
Speaking Points
I will reward a debater with more speaker points if they remain clear and speak at an understandable pace. I dislike spreading as I feel its unnecessary. It is also important that each speaker is respectful in crossfire and other speeches. If any debater starts yelling and is overly aggressive I will lower their total speaker points for the round.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask me during the round. I hope you provide me with an interesting debate!