Valley Junior High Debate Tournament
2019 — West Des Moines, IA, IA/US
LD Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show Hidei vote for arguments that matter to me
don't be a sexist, racist, classist, homophobic, transphobic, or speciesist and you will be fine
TLDR- I will vote on any arguments you want to make as I have run many odd ones myself. Despite this I will not vote on racist, homophobic, you know the arguments just don't make them. Spreading is fine, just be clear and if you're against a novice maybe don't
How to pref me
1- Phil
2-Tricks
3-Theory
4-High Theory K's
5-Identity K's
Strike- LARP
Defaults-
ROB is Truth Testing if no other is stated. Theory is CI> Reasonability, RVI> No RVI, DTD> DTA. If no one reads a framework for whatever reason I'll assume util. Neg gets presumption and permissibility.
General Info
Tech over truth. For example, you are absolutely crushing your opponent but you concede truth testing and one a priori, sorry man that's a low point win for your opponent no matter how frustrating it may be :( When it comes to phil debate the frameworks I'm most familiar with are Kant, Constitutivism, Contractarianism, Rawls, Utilitarianism, Resisting Oppression, Self Ownership, Naturalism, Nihilism/skep, Realism, Pragmatism, and Paternalism. If you read anything else I may not be super familiar with it, so explain it more heavily than you otherwise would please. When it comes to tricks I will vote on the dumbest and most absurd arguments if they're warranted. Please be forthcoming in CX, the classic "what's an a priori?" discussion gets old, even though I had it many times. I'm not the best at flowing, so when you read important definitions or cards that will have implications later in the round please illustrate this by slowing down or something. Please don't become a monotone doc-bot, this makes the debate very boring for me. Listening to a rebuttal that sounds like a robot spewing words at me makes me want to take a nap, not listen. It's fine to spread and whatnot just add some emotion and emphasis while you do. At the end of the day I see debate as a game more than an educational activity. Past novice year most of the "skills" you learn are not applicable to the real world at all, so don't get worked up and have fun!
call me m.c., or you could attempt my actual name too if you feel like it (i might give you an awkward look if you get it wrong tho)
she/her or they/them
email: mcguodebate@gmail.com. set up the email chain before round
tldr
k - 1/2
policy - 1/2
theory - 2/3
phil - 3/4
tricks - strike
– be a good person
– disclosure is good
– i don't flow the doc during a speech, clarity is *highly* recommended
– prep time includes the time to compile the file
– prep time can be cx, cx time cannot be prep
– argument quality is *important* (your arg quality and speaker points exist on a sliding scale)
– Read whatever. But I am not the best judge for very dense or niche phil vs phil or tricks vs tricks debates. That doesn't mean you shouldn't run those positions in front of me, it just means that they need extra explanation
for online debates
keep a recording of your speech in case the internet connection tweaks
misc thoughts
– I enjoy creative counter-interps (but not interps. no shoe theory ok? ok ty :D)
– If you spend more than 1'30" reading underviews I'll just stop flowing and do my homework
– I tend to evaluate the interp/counter-interp similarly to plan/counter-plan. I think this POV allows more creativity in theory debates. Conditional/delay/consult counter-interp is kinda fun to judge
– Tech > truth is weird way to put it??? Tech is SUUUUPER important, but these two are not mutually exclusive. The truth of arguments is determined by the quality of the links/internal links and evidence, which is a key aspect tech. And "[y]our arguments do not start at 100% risk—they start at whatever risk your justifications for them imply. This means the implications of your arguments in front me will not be derived from the claim, but the warrant"(Ishan Bhatt). This means
a) I don't auto assign 100% risk to your arguments. For example, I don't consider "condo bad––strat skew" to be an independent voter and I probably won't care that much about a dropped one-line a priori
b) I have a much lower threshold for responses against blippy arguments
c) I re-read the warrants in your evidence to decide in a tough round
– I don't vote on out-of-round stuff except disclosure. It forces me into an awkward position. If something problematic has happened, taking it to the tournament tabroom or your coach is much better than trusting a teenager to be your arbiter
– For Ks, I find preclusion/root cause/perfomativity arguments to be a little sketchy and circular, and that time is better spent on answering/turning case
– Quality links are part of a good neg strat (*cough* e.g., kritiks *cough*), other wise the debate is sloppy
– I'm down for non-t affs. But if you know your affirmative is non-topical, admit it. "Pseudo-topical" affirmatives don't make much sense to me and it just makes it seem like you are scared of framework lol. And be sure to defend why reading it on the aff is uniquely valuable
Howdy, I'm Anthony Holm, I am a first-year out, currently a freshman at the University of Iowa
Email - TonyHolm2000@gmail.com
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LD DEBATE
TLDR: Don't read tricks in front of me, I want to see debaters making actual arguments their opponents can engage with, that goes for every argument.
If you are relying on your opponent being unable to engage with your argument as a strategy that will make me sad.
I don't care how you present yourself, you can wear whatever makes you comfortable and you can sit or stand or fly.
I'll presume based on speaker points (in Elim rounds I'll presume based on speaker points I would have given). However, if you argue for a different method of presumption I'll presume based on in round arguments.
General info:
- Although I used to read tricks and I'll understand them if you read them, I've come to realize how extremely toxic and exclusionary tricks-style arguments are. So I really don't want to hear them being read.
- I don't want to intervene, please make it clear what my evaluative mechanisms are, I.E. the tools I should be using to evaluate the round.
- I'll assume some stuff like conceded arguments are true, AC is 6 minutes, etc. Unless you make arguments about why I shouldn't.
For Novice Debate: This changes a lot of my paradigm, I think debaters should be focusing on the fundamentals at this stage. So don't read tricks (a prioris, Nibs, friv theory) I will ignore these arguments.
- If you read a K or read theory, please run it correctly. I'm very happy listening to Novice debaters read advanced arguments but make sure you do it correctly although during the first topic I am going to have a low bar for responses (this does not mean novi get to ignore these arguments, I'll be upset if I think you're trying to take advantage of my leniency)
Speaks- Everyone gets above a 29 unless you do something that makes the space exclusionary or toxic (tricks debate or prey on your opponent's misunderstanding) cause then I'll just give you average speaks. If you do something extremely out of line you get a 25.
Cross Ex:
Do whatever you want, T-Pose, Levitate, Ascend, I do not care just make sure your opponent can hear you and so can I
I probably won't pay much attention to the actual content of CX cause I'll be writing comments on the previous speech as well as CX strategy, so if you're gonna call back to the content of cross remind me
I want a fun cross, if things get heated I'll pry be paying close attention. A fire cross-ex is my favorite thing in Debate so if you get going, please be confident, be aggressive, and get the concession or slip up you need. So long as you are not personally attacking your opponent or causing psychological violence in another way be as aggressive as you want.
if you can dodge questions masterfully I will be very happy
if you let your opponent get away with murder then I'll be less happy
Spreading
do it, just send the email chain if you're opponent asks.
Framework: Probably my favorite kind of debate, determines what offense is / what impacts are/ how to weigh. The biggest mistake in framework rounds is just a bunch of conceded preclusion claims with no interaction, I’ll attempt to resolve these by doing work myself which I don’t want to do. Furthermore, if you just read a bunch of straw man dump arguments against a framework (like most people do to Kant) it will make me sad.
-TJFs: fine read them if you want.
-Skep Triggers: Funny, I always enjoy the new ways debaters articulate them.
Skep: Do not read skep as your primary argument, if skep comes up in round it should only be as a result of framework issues triggering skep, I.E. both debaters defend consequentialism but consequences fail is also read.
Impact justified frameworks: make me sad :( read them if you want but be ready to defend them.
Theory- I don’t default on any paradigm issue, they should be read in the round, if you do not read fairness/ed./whatever is a voter I will not evaluate theory as a voting issue.
- Also, I’m fine if the counter-interp text is just “I’ll defend the violation” or “converse/inverse of their interp”. I will never “gut check” against theory args.
- Personally, I think RVI's are good, competing interps is true, and theory is drop the debater. I'll do my best to keep these biases out of my decision though.
- if it turns out you had some masterful strategic plan that required you to not read paradigm issues (I've done that before) then I'll be happy if the strat works.
T: Is fun I like it, a lot of the same rules for theory still apply
- Nebel T confuses me so be clear about it.
Interps: I'm fine with minimal extensions, "extend the interp" with a very fast explanation would be fine I.E. "Extend the interp NIBS are bad"
Spikes: I like them, read them more. They are probably necessary for certain affs just cause the 1AR can be soul-crushing when debating tricks gods (@Peregrine Beckett) or just in general.
- I'll listen to OV arguments like "spikes are ableist" but I don't think these arguments are very persuasive given that most under-views will preempt these.
K’s- I think Ks are really interesting and can have some good debates, but I do have a few problems with them
- don't be purposefully vague about the K in order to take advantage of your opponent's misunderstanding, this will really upset me. So If you do not read a clear explanation of the K, I will not vote on it. of course, if your opponent straw mans it a bunch I'll be much more lenient.
- ROBs-ROJs should have normative justifications, I need clear warrants as to why our decision calculus ought to be based around the issues the K talks about
- I want to see the K debater substantively respond to the AC/NC instead of making very broad overviews.
- Read Non-T aff's all day long I think they can be great, just make sure you are very clear about them.
LARP- is cool, it's not my cup of tea so I don't do it much. But it's strategically beneficial so LARP all you want.
- if you make some wacky argument like spark or dedev you'll be very cool.
If you have any questions just ask me. if you're trying to do prefs, shoot me an email.
"People can portray me anyway they want because I don’t give a damn… But don’t you analyze me and don’t you tell me what I am until you get close enough to understand what I am. Then you can make an analysis of me. But don’t you dare do it until then." - Lyle Alzado
Kyle Kopf (He/Him/His)
West Des Moines Valley High School ‘18 || University of Iowa '22 || Iowa Law '26
I want to be on the email chain (but I do my best to not flow off of it): krkopf@gmail.com
Conflicts: Iowa City West High School, West Des Moines Valley High School
Bio: I coached Iowa City West LD for 5 years. I debated LD for Six Years. Received one bid my junior year and 3 my senior year.
I don't like long paradigms so I did my best to keep this as short as possible. My opinions on debate aren't what matters anymore. I try to be as tech as possible and not intervene.
OVERVIEW:
I won’t automatically ignore any style of argument (Phil, Theory, K, policy, T, etc), I will only drop you for offensive arguments within that style (for example, using a policy AC to say racism is good). That being said, I am more familiar with certain styles of arguments, but that does not mean I will hack for them. Shortcut for my familiarity with styles:
Phil – 1
Theory/T – 1
K - 1
Policy - 2
Tricks - 3
Online Debate:
-Please speak at like 70-80% of your top pace, I'll be much more likely to catch your arguments and therefore vote for you if you actually slow and don't rely on me shouting "slow" or "clear" a lot. Also, slow down extra on underviews, theory, and author names because I'm extra bad at flowing those.
-Please keep a local recording in case your speech cuts out to the point where I miss arguments. If you do not there is no way for me to recover what was missed.
-I find myself flowing off the doc more with online debate than I do normally
-If you think there are better norms for judging online I should consider, feel free to share before the round!
-I will always keep my camera on when debaters are speaking. Sometimes I turn my camera off during prep time. Feel free to ask me to turn my camera on if I forget.
SPEAKS:
Based on strategy, quality of discourse, fun, creativity etc. NOT based on speaking style. I will shout “clear” as needed without reducing speaks.
SPEED:
Don’t start speech at top speed, build up to it for like 10 seconds. Slow down significantly on author names and theory underviews.
IDENTITY AND SAFETY:
Firstly, I've stuttered for my entire life, including the 6 years I was in debate. Speech impediments will not impact speaks or my evaluation of the round whatsoever. I default shouting “clear” if needed (I always preferred being told to clear than losing because the judge didn’t understand me) so please tell me if you prefer otherwise.
Secondly, If there is anything else related to identity or anything else that might affect the round, please let me know if you feel comfortable doing so.
Ks:
This is what I primarily read in high school. I’m familiar with K strategy, K tricks (floating PICs need to be in some way hinted at in the 1N), etc.
Theory/T:
I read some theory although significantly less than Ks. Since I've started coaching I've become a lot more familiar with theory strategy. Assuming literally no argument is made either way, I default:
- No RVI
- Competing Interps
- Drop the debater on theory and T
- Text of interp
- Norms creation model
- “Converse of the interp/defending the violation” is sufficient
Phil:
I started reading phil in high school and I coach a lot of phil now. I'm comfortable in these debates.
Tricks:
I'll vote on just about anything with a claim warrant and impact.
Policy:
While I never debated policy arguments in high school, I've judged a lot of policy-style rounds and am much more comfortable with them now.
Postrounding:
I think post-rounding is a good norm for debate to encourage good judging, prevent hacking, etc. Always feel free to post-round me. I'll be VERY strict about starting the next flight/round, allowing debaters to be on time, etc but feel free to find me or email me later (email at top).
Misc:
*If you're kicking a CP or K, you need to explicitly say "kick the CP/K", not extending is not sufficient to kick
*All arguments must have some sort of warrant. The warrant doesn’t have to be good or true
*If an argument is new in the 2, I will disregard it even if it’s not pointed out. To clarify, you still should point it out in case I missed it.
Lillian Poulsen (she/her/hers) - lillie.poulsen@gmail.com
West Des Moines Valley 2018 - VPF for three years, NLD for one
Coached for Iowa City West NPF for two years, WDM Valley NPF for one year
I'm a junior studying journalism and environmental policy at the University of Iowa.
Basics:
Speed is OK — make sure you're clear.
Read what you want, and I will listen.
Don't be sexist, homophobic, racist, classist, ableist, etc. or you will lose.
This is a learning environment — don't be rude or you will lose speaks.
Signpost!!
I will be timing, but make sure you also keep track of your time. I don't keep track of prep, so make sure you're communicating prep time with your opponent(s).
If you have questions, just ask me. Feel free to send me an email or ask before round starts. Don't ask me any questions during your round.
If you make me laugh or you sing, I will give you higher speaks :)
Have fun with this! This is a stressful environment — I get it. I want to make this experience more fun for you, so feel free to be yourselves!
Joe Rankin
Bettendorf High School
UPDATED: October 4th, 2022
I'm not sure what happened to my previous Paradigm that was posted, but it appears to have been erased/lost. My apologies as I just learned of this at the Simpson Storm tournament (Sat, Oct 1, 2022) this past weekend.
My name is Joe Rankin and I am the head coach at Bettendorf High School in Bettendorf, IA. I have been the head coach at Bettendorf since the 2005-2006 school year. I primarily coach Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Congressional Debate, and Extemporaneous Speaking...however, I am familiar and have coached all NSDA sanctioned speech/debate events over my time at Bettendorf.
In terms of my coaching paradigm, I'd generally consider these the 'highlights:'
- I prefer topical debate. The resolution was voted on by coaches and students through the NSDA voting process. That's what I want to hear about.
- I can generally handle 'speed,' but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. I'd rather help you develop skills that you will actually utilize interacting with other human beings outside of this one particular subset of existence - so I'd much prefer a rate that is more akin to real-world applications.
- You can make whatever arguments you want to make...but I generally haven't voted on many things associating with theory, kritiks (or however you want to misspell the word critique), or other generally non-topical arguments you make in the round. It takes more work for me to believe those types of arguments are true and not a whole lot of work to make me believe those types of arguments are generally false. So, I wouldn't encourage this type of argumentation in front of me.
I figure that is sufficient for now. If you have any questions, I tend to give you that window before the round begins while setting up to judge. If not, please feel free to ask before the round. The end goal of the round for me is a competitive academic environment that is focused on education. I don't mind answering questions that will help all of us improve moving forward.
Hi, I'm Quincy. I’m an assistant coach at Iowa City West, I am in college at the University of Iowa, I debated for 2 years and I have been judging LD for 4 years, PF for 3 years and speech events for 2 years. For the sake of transparency, I’ve only judged 4-5 bid tournaments, but again, I’ve been around the block.
Email Chain Format:
Tournament Name: School Name (Aff) vs. School Name (Neg)
My email: qat1@rice.edu.
Share a couple of minutes before round. My email has a spam blocker, so it WILL take at least 3 minutes before I receive any email you send.
1. Spreading: If I cannot understand you, I will say 'clear'. I expect to be on the e-mail chain. If I have to say ‘clear’ more than twice, I will stop flowing until your you achieve clarity again.
2. Speaks:
a) Strategy: Debate is an intellectual battle. Strategy shows that you are a good debater. Creativity in your arguments shows ingenuity, which will be rewarded. Unorthodox standards or contentions are encouraged.
b) Common Courtesy: Some simple things affect this, like whether or not you ask to see if your opponent is ready before a speech or before CX. Signposting is always good. Off-time road map, etc. DBAA- don’t be a jerk.
c) Presentation: This has everything to do with how you carry yourself. Wealth can’t buy class. You can look more presentable with a $3 t-shirt than in a rumpled $500 suit.
I will award speaker points based on these factors, and debaters that exhibit a good combination of both of these will be the only ones whom I will award 30 speaks. I will typically award 27-29 or so.
3. Norms Setting: I will harshly punish prejudice (ableism, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.), evidence ethics violations, and other tomfoolery. I reserve the right to unilaterally drop you from the round if the violation is egregious enough. On the flip side, frivolous IVIs will not convince me.
Don't steal prep time, don't stall, and have your evidence and sources on hand in case your opponent asks about them.
4. Ks: I will give VERY low speaks if you run an identity K(e.g, afropess, queerpess, etc.) that doesn’t apply to you (e.g. afropess but you aren’t black).
5. tech > truth. Obviously. If you win K > theory, I’ll vote on that. If you do the opposite, I’ll vote on that too.
Lastly, if you have questions, or if anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask. However, you should wait until your opponent is present to ask questions.
Good luck, and may the best debater win!
P.S. +0.1 speaks if you tastefully roast any (current) IC West Debater.
Badgerland Only: online tournaments often have audio issues. Please ensure your environment is clear of ambient noise. I’d hate to vote incorrectly because of audio interruptions.
Hi! Im Brie! Warning: I cobbled together a repaired paradigm as the last time I had edited it was TWO YEARS AGO! Apologies. Have been judging a lot of competitions mostly at our school so I didn't worry as much about paradigm. If stuff sounds dumb or out-of-date thats cause it... is. Some are updated, ex. my preference for K's
1 - K's
2 - Theory, Tricks, Phil v Util Topicality
3 - phil v phil
4 - Larp
5 - nothing, will decently evaluate most things
I have been doing debate for 6 years, consistently LD with a little bit of Policy and PF experience, but like mostly LD stuff.
In terms of general debate etiquette, please send cases to both ME and your OPPONENT before the first speech. Preferably before round start, but before speech will not annoy me either.
And I swear to gosh if u read an argument that is blatantly homophobic or transphobic I will probably still evaluate it if goes COMPLETELY dropped but ANY semblance of a mini-kritik or response and that argument is gone.
Extinction first is annoying, lightly extended security K's will flow easy
Be respectful of pronouns, please :) Mine for rounds are she/her! :D
in terms of valued extensions, make them clear for me to flow them, and if you flow a good chunk of the tagline and a part of the card it will flow the whole contention, extending every card and tag is unnecessary.
Email: bt43083@wdmcs.org
Here are some deeper paradigm bits
Theory:
Love a good theory debate. If you get a good competing interps battle I will be a happy judge. But if you read really abusive or a bajillion shells it wont be as fun. Friv theory is fine, just don't read 10 shells in the 1A or 10 shells in the 1N- flowing that kind of debate is very very unfortunate. Extensions of these- please go down the list, interp, violation, standards, voters. Dont just read the interp and hope its extended. Give me WHY this makes your opponent drop.
Tricks:
tricks r fine, will evaluate if you do a good job at them! but explain them good thanks
Phil:
Phil is ok as long as you do it well, i dont have much preference for specifics but i used to use Kant a lot
K:
i love K's im a K debater and i will vote on good K's very easily. ks on top
Topicality:
Just do it good. getting a little more lazy on these points, but really topicality is just not the most interesting thing, if you use it correctly I will vote. There.
Substance Deont:
For example just using Kant and winning on case. Happens during rounds with 2 similar phil frameworks. I love evaluating these debates but will disregard substance when any K, Topicality, Theory, Phil fwk clash or tricks come up, and are extended to the end of the round.
Larpolicy:
I dislike Larp, probably because I'm a Valley Varsity, but Larp is not my jam. If both debaters are using Larp or policy cases I will have a basically break debate, where I just flow and evaluate normally, but when its a phil case user with theory vs a larp case user, it gets messy quick. Don't try and say "debate is consequentialist has to defend an effect on squo" without reading a must defend advocacy Theory shell. cause that will not flow. cause its just not strong argument.
Old paradigm, I will no longer give extra speaks for anything listed as extra speaks, but I think this paradigm is a classic: https://tinyurl.com/yyhknlsn
[Updated 3/3/2021] In fact, here is a list of things I dislike that I will probably not be giving good speaks for: https://tinyurl.com/55u4juwp
Email: conal.t.mcginnis@gmail.com
Tricks: 1*
Framework: 1
Theory: 1
K: 6
LARP: Strike
To clarify: I like K's and LARP the LEAST (as in, you should rate me a 6 if you like Ks and strike me if you LARP a lot) and I like Tricks, Framework, and Theory the MOST (you should rate me a 1 if you like Tricks, Framework, and Theory a lot).
Util is bad enough to be beaten by sneezing on it
Overall I am willing to vote on anything that isn't an instance of explicit isms (racism, sexism, etc.).
Other than that, here's a bunch of small things in a list. I add to this list as I encounter new stuff that warrants being added to the list based on having difficulty of decision in a particular round:
1. Part in parcel of me not being a great judge for LARP due to my low understanding of complex util scenarios is that I am not going to be doing a lot of work for y'all. I also will NOT be reading through a ton of cards for you after the round unless you specifically point out to me cards that I should be reading to evaluate the round properly.
2. I know it's nice to get to hide tricks in the walls of text but if you want to maximize the chances that I notice something extra special you should like slightly change the tone or speed of delivery on it or something.
3. If you have something extremely important for me to pay attention to in CX please say "Yo judge this is important" or something because I'm probably prepping or playing some dumbass game.
4. I will evaluate all speeches in a debate round.
"Evaluate after" arguments: If there are arguments that in order for me to evaluate after a certain speech I must intervene, I will do so. For example, if there is a 1N shell and a 1AR I-meet, I will have to intervene to see if the I-meet actually meets the shell.
Update: In order for me to evaluate "evaluate after" arguments, I will have to take the round at face value at the point that the speeches have stopped. However, as an extension of the paradigm item above, the issue is that many times in order for me to determine who has won at a particular point of speeches being over, I need to have some explanation of how the debaters thing those speeches play out. If either debater makes an argument for why, if the round were to stop at X speech, they would win the round (even if this argument is after X speech) I will treat it as a valid argument for clarifying how I make my decision. Assuming that the "evaluate after" argument is conceded/true, I won't allow debaters to insert arguments back in time but if they point out something like "judge, if you look at your flow for the round, if you only evaluate (for example) the AC and the NC, then the aff would win because X," then I will treat it as an argument.
Update P.S.: "Evaluate after" arguments are silly. I of course won't on face not vote on them, but please reconsider reading them.
Update P.S. 2: "Evaluate after" causes a grandfather paradox. Example: If "Evaluate after the 1NC" is read in the 1NC, it must be extended in the 2NR in order for me as the judge to recognize it as a won argument that changes the paradigmatic evaluation of the round. However, the moment that paradigmatic shift occurs, I no longer consider the 2NR to have happened or been evaluated for the purposes of the round, and thus the "Evaluate after the 1NC" argument was never extended and the paradigmatic evaluation shift never occurred.
5. "Independent voters" are not independent - they are dependent entirely on what is almost always a new framework that involves some impact that is presumed to be preclusive. I expect independent voter arguments to have strong warrants as to why their micro-frameworks actually come first. Just saying "this is morally repugnant so it's an independent voter" is not a sufficient warrant.
Also - independent voters that come in the form of construing a framework to an implication requires that you actually demonstrate that it is correct that that implication is true. For example, if you say "Kant justifies racism" and your opponent warrants why their reading of the Kantian ethical theory doesn't justify racism, then you can't win the independent voter just because it is independent.
6. I will no longer field arguments that attempt to increase speaker points. I think they are enjoyable and fun but they likely are not good long term for the activity, given that when taken to their logical conclusion, each debater could allocate a small amount of time to a warranted argument for giving them a 30, and then simply concede each others argument to guarantee they both get maximal speaks (and at that point speaker points no longer serve a purpose).
7. My understanding of unconditional advocacies is that once you claim to defend an advocacy unconditionally you are bound to defending any disadvantages or turns to that advocacy. It does not mean you are bound to spend time extending the advocacy in the 2NR, but if the aff goes for offense in the 2AR that links to this unconditional advocacy and the neg never went for that advocacy, the aff's offense on that flow still stands.
Update: Role of the Ballots are frameworks and do not have a conditionality.
8. Don't like new 2AR theory arguments.
9. I don't time! Please time yourselves and time each other. I highly recommend that you personally use a TIMER as opposed to a STOPWATCH. This will prevent you from accidentally going over time! If your opponent is going over time, interrupt them! If your opponent goes over time and you don't interrupt them, then there's not much I can do. If you are certain they went over time and your opponent agrees to some other way to reconcile the fact that they went over time, like giving you more time as well, then go ahead. I do not have a pre-determined solution to this possibility. I only have this blurb here because it just happened in a round so this is for all of the future rounds where this may happen again.
10. If you do something really inventive and interesting and I find it genuinely funny or enjoyable to listen to and give good speaks for it, don't run around and tell any teammate or friend who has me as a judge to make the same arguments. If I see the exact same arguments I will probably consider the joke to be stale or re-used. Particularly funny things MIGHT fly but like, if I can tell it's just a ploy for speaks I will be sadge.
11. In general, for online events, say "Is anyone not ready" instead of "Is everyone ready" solely because my speaking is gated by pressing unmute, which is annoying when I have my excel sheet pulled up. I'll stop you if I'm not ready, and you can assume I'm ready otherwise. (However, for in person events, say "Is everyone ready" because I'm right there!)
12. I will not vote for you if you read "The neg may not make arguments" and the neg so much as sneezes a theory shell at you.
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For traditional rounds: speak and argue however you want (bar racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other ism or phobia)
*WHEN YOU READ TRICKS: I PREFER BEING UP FRONT ABOUT THEM. Pretending you don't know what an a priori is is annoying. Honestly, just highlight every a priori and tell your opponent: "here are all the a prioris"**.
**Seriously, I have yet to see anyone do this. Do it, it would be funny, I think.
freshie at valley high school
bring me a stuffed monkey and i'll be happy.
i'm an okay LD debater... don't get mad at me if you disagree
Hi I'm Jalyn (she/her/hers), UCLA '24. I debated at WDM Valley in LD for ~7 years, and coached Millburn LD from 2021-2024.
I coach with DebateDrills- the following URL has our roster, MJP conflict policy,code of conduct, relevant team policies, and harassment/bullying complaint form:https://www.debatedrills.com/club-team-policies/lincoln-douglas-team-policy
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I honestly think that my paradigmatic preferences have gotten less and less ideological. I'll vote for anything that constitutes an argument. yes you can read policy stuff, tricks, and kritiks in front of me. i like phil but i'd rather judge anything else over bad recycled kant. I've left my old paradigm (written as a FYO) below as reference, cuz i still have the same takes, but to a lesser extent.
i give high speaks when you make me enjoy the round and drop speaks by like 0.3 every 30 seconds of a bad (read: unstrategic and not thought through) 2nr/2ar.
If there's an email chain, put me on it: wjalynu@gmail.com. In constructives, I don't flow off the doc.
TLDR - LD
Please note first and foremost that I am not that great with postrounding. To clarify, please ask questions about my decision after the round--I want to incentivize good educational practices and defend my decision. However, I really do not respond well to aggression mentally, so please don't yell at me/please treat me and everyone else in the round with basic respect and we should be good!
quick prefs (but please read the rest of the TLDR at least)
1- phil
2- theory, id pol k/performance, stock k
3- pomo k, LARP
4- tricks
for traditional/novice/jv debate: I'm good with anything!
i honestly do not care what you read as long as the arguments are well justified. less well justified arguments have a lower threshold for response.
I am fine with speed. At online tournaments, please have local recordings of your speeches ready in case there's audio issues/someone disconnects. Depending on tournament rules, I probably can't let you regive your speech if it cuts out, so be prepared. I will say clear/slow.
I rate my flowing ability a 6/10 in that messy and monotonous debates are difficult for me to flow but as long as you're clear in signposting, numbering, and collapsing, we shouldn't have any problems.
I view evaluating rounds as evaluating the highest framing layer of the round as established by the debaters, then evaluating the application of offense to it. In messy debates, i write two RFDs (one for each side) and take the path of least intervention.
i assign speaks based on strategic vision and in round presence (were you an enjoyable person to watch debate?). However, if you make arguments that are blatantly problematic, L20.
Many judges say they don't tolerate racism/sexism/homophobia/ableism/etc, but know that I take the responsibility of creating a safe debate space seriously. If something within a round makes you feel unsafe, whether it be my behavior, your opponent's behavior, or the behavior of anyone else present in that round, email me or otherwise contact me. I'll do my best to work with you to address these problems together.
LONG VERSION - LD
Ev ethics
- If a debater stops the round and says "I will stake the round on this evidence ethics challenge" I will follow tournament/NSDA rules and evaluate accordingly (generally resulting in an auto win/loss situation). However, I usually prefer ev ethics challenges are debated out like a theory debate, and I will evaluate it like I evaluate any other shell.
- I really am not a fan of debates over marginal evidence ethics violations. like i really do not care if a single period is missing from a citation.
Disclosure
- I don't hold strong opinions on disclosure norms. Disclosure to some extent is probably good, but I don't really care whether it's open sourced with green highlighting or full text with citations after the card.
- reasonability probably makes sense on a lot of interps
- I strongly dislike being sketchy about disclosure on both sides. Reading disclosure against a less experienced debater without a wiki seems suss. Misdisclosing and lying about the aff is also suss.
- disclosure functions at the same layer as other shells until proven otherwise
Theory
- I strongly dislike defaulting. If no paradigm issues or voters are read by either debater in a theory debate, this means I will literally not vote on theory. I don't think this is an unfair threshold to meet, because for any argument to be considered valid, there needs to be a claim, warrant, and impact.
- You can read frivolous stuff in front of me and I will evaluate it as I would any other shell, but more frivolous shells have a lower threshold for response. For more elaboration, see my musings on the tech/truth distinction below.
- Paragraph theory is fine, just make sure that it's clearly labeled (i flow these on separate sheets)
- Combo shells need to have unique abuse stories to the interp. generally speaking, the more planks in a combo shell, the less persuasive the abuse story, and the more persuasive the counterinterp/ i meet.
- "converse of the interp" has never made much sense to me/seems like a cop out, if you say "converse of the interp" please clarify the specific stance that you're taking because otherwise it's difficult to hold you to the text of the CI
- overemphasize the text of the interp and names of standards so i don't miss anything
- you can make implicit weighing claims in the shell, but extend explicit weighing PLEASE
T
- RVIs make less sense on T than they do on other shells, so an uphill battle
- T and theory generally function on the same layer for me but I can be persuaded otherwise
- Good/unique TVAs are underutilized, so make them. best type of terminal defense on T IMO
- altho I read a ton of K affs my jr year, I fall in the middle of the K aff/TFW divide.
- if you're going to collapse on T, please actually collapse. don't reread the shell back at me for 2 minutes.
- see above for my takes on defaults
K
- I am more familiar with asian american, fem, and cap (dean, marx, berardi), but have a decent understanding of wilderson, wynter, tuck and yang, deleuze, anthro, mollow, edelman, i'm sure theres more im forgetting, but chances are I've heard of the author you're reading. I don't vote on arguments I couldn't explain back at the end of the round. if the 1ar/2nr doesn't start off with a coherent explanation of the theory of power, I can't promise you'll like my decision.
- buzzwords in excess are filler words. they're fine, but if you can't explain your theory of power without them, I'm a lot less convinced you actually know what the K says.
- some combination of topical and generic links is probably the best
- i find material examples of the alt/method more persuasive than buzzwordy mindsets. give instances of how your theory of power explains subjectivity/violence/etc in the real world.
- floating piks need to be at least hinted at in the 1n
- idc if the k aff is topical. if it isn't, i need a good reason why it's not/a reason why your advocacy is good.
- you should understand how your lit reads in the following broad categories: theory of the subject, theory of knowledge, theory of violence, ideal/nonideal theory, whether consequences matter, and be able to interact these ideas with your opponent
Phil
- the type of debate I grew up on. NC/AC debates are criminally underrated, call me old school
- I'm probably familiar with every common phil author on the circuit, but don't assume that makes me more amenable to voting on it. if anything i have a higher threshold for well explained phil
- i default epistemic confidence and truth testing (but again. hate defaulting. don't make me do it.)
- that being said, I think that winning framework is not solely sufficient to win you the round. You need to win some offense under that framework.
- i like smart arguments like hijacks, fallacies, metaethical args, permissibility/skep, etc.
- sometimes fw arguments devolve into "my fw is a prereq because life" and "my fw is a prereq because liberty" and those debates are really boring. please avoid circular and underwarranted debates and err on the side of implicating these arguments out further/doing weighing
Policy
- Rarely did LARP in LD, but I did do policy for like a year (in 8th/9th grade, and I was really bad, so take this with a grain of salt)
- All CPs are valid, but I think process/agent ones are probably more suss
- yes you need to win a util framework to get access to your impacts
- always make perms on CPs and please isolate net benefits
- ev>analytic
- please weigh strength of link/internal links
- TLDR I'm comfortable evaluating a LARP debate/I actually enjoy judging them, just please err on overexplaining more technical terms (like I didn't know what functional/textual competition was until halfway through my senior year)
Tricks
- well explained logical syllogisms (condo logic, trivialism, indexicals, etc) (emphasis on WELL EXPLAINED AND WARRANTED) > blippy hidden aprioris and irrelevant paradoxes
- i dont like sketchiness about tricks. if you have them, delineate them clearly, and be straightforward about it in CX/when asked.
- Most tricks require winning truth testing to win. Don't assume that because i default TT, that i'll auto vote for you on the resolved apriori--I'm not doing that level of work for you.
- warrants need to be coherently explained in the speech that the trick is read. If I don't understand an argument/its implication in the 1ac, then I view the argument (if extended) as new in the 1ar and require a strong development of its claim/warrant/impact
TLDR - CX
I have a basic understanding of policy, as I dabbled in it in high school. Err on the side of overexplanation of more technical terms, and don't assume I know the topic lit (bc I don't!)
Misc. thoughts (that probably won't directly affect how I evaluate a specific round, but just explains how I view debate as a whole)
- tech/truth distinction is arbitrary. I vote on the flow, but truer arguments have a lower threshold for being technically won (ex. the earth is round) and less true arguments have a higher threshold for being technically won (ex. the earth is flat)
- I think ROB/standard function on the same layer (and I also don't think theres a distinction between ROB and ROJ), and therefore, also think that the distinctions between K and phil NCs only differ in the alternative section and the type of philosophy that generally is associated with both
- I highly highly value adapting to less experienced debaters, and will boost your speaks generously if you do. This includes speaking clearly, reading positions and explaining them well, attempting to be educational, and being generally kind in the round. To clarify, I don't think that you have to completely change your strategy against a novice or lay debater, but just that if you were planning on reading 4 shells, read 2 and explain them well. It's infinitely more impressive to me to watch a debater be flex and still win the round than to make the round exclusionary for others.
- docbots are boring to me. I just don't like flowing monotonous spreading for 6 minutes of a 2n on Nebel, and it's not educational for anyone in the round to hear the same 2n every other round. lower speaks for docbots.
- I will not evaluate arguments that ask me to vote for/against someone because they are of a certain identity group or because of their out of round performances. I feel that oversteps the authority of a judge to make decisions ad hominem about students in the activity
- pet peeve when people group permissibility/presumption warrants together. THEY'RE TWO DIFFERENT CONCEPTS.
- i'm getting tired of ppl asking "what did you read" "what didn't you read" during cx/prep but ESPECIALLY after the speech before prep. like please just flow. it's kinda silly to just ask "what were your arguments on ___" for 2 min of prep cuz like just tell me you weren't flowing then!
- this list will keep expanding as I continue to muse on my debate takes