Experience: I debated Policy and competed in OI and DI in high school back in the dark ages, coached a team in New York at Rome Free Academy in the late 80s, judged for Cary High School in NC for 3 years, and then founded my own team at Research Triangle High School, where I was the coach since the school opened in 2012 until I left to become a principal in 2019. I'm not currently coaching, but I enjoy the opportunity to stay connected to Speech & Debate by judging. Pronouns: she/her

PF and LD In Rounds: Do not bore me and do not confuse me. I’m comfortable with speed and will raise my hand or put down my pen if you’re going too fast-- If I can’t find your argument because of your speed, I can’t flow it and it won’t exist in the round. I like storytelling and analogies that show you understand and can communicate complex topics, not just read lots & lots of cards. I find a framework and definitions at the top of the case useful, especially if you continue to clearly link to your framework all the way through to FF. Roadmaps and signposts are helpful. Sometimes concessions are a good thing-- please do not continue to argue points you have clearly lost; support what you can win and don't keep beating a dead horse. Don’t take up valuable time in a round with minor or side arguments that are not linked to your impacts-- I will admire speakers who can stop chasing a unicorn and bring the round back to the main contentions. Despite my experience and the fact that I flow rounds, my style is more of a lay judge-- I will know the topic well but will be a tabula rasa for the round, so convince me.

Decision: I am looking to give a W to the team that can concisely compare both sides of the argument and explain why your side outweighs based on clear links to your framework, can deliver clear voters in the Final Focus and can cleanly extend through summary and FF. I want to be able to succinctly defend my RFD to both you and the opposing team, so clear claim-warrant-impact for the pro world or the con world is important to me.

Speaker Points: I have a strong IE background, too, so I value speakers who make excellent eye contact and speak with clarity & expression. However, I will reward good thinking-on-your-feet in the rounds more than just a well-delivered 1C. Your courtesy and professional demeanor will also play into speaker points. Do not talk over your opponent. You can be reasonably aggressive, just be courteous to your opponents' need to question you and don’t wander into rudeness. Discourtesy will result in deducted speaker points. Do not play dirty, take cheap shots, make faces or talk while your opponents are speaking. Keep your cool and remember this is a conversation, a communication event, and a sport. Professionalism and control will win you more speaks than angry tirades and emotional outrage or complaints about your opponent. Be excellent, or at least be striving for excellence.

Speech Events: I look for a presentation that makes me forget I'm judging and takes me directly into your scene or your argument.

*For interp events (OI, DI, DUO, POI, DEC, etc), I look for a structured cutting from a piece that is worth our time-- that has a message or a storyline that has literary, entertainment and/or social merit, whether classical or contemporary, serious or light hearted. I reward fully developed single characters more than multiple characters attempted without as much polish. Cross gender casting is fine; however I am not a fan of cultural appropriation so be respectful in the selection of your cuttings-- a mixture is fine but be sure to give credit where it's due and choose material that works for you. Accents should make sense for the character and not just be an artificial way to distinguish your characters. I look for a solid performance arc-- what is the climax of your presentation, and how do you build to take us to that emotional moment? Use the physical space and all the elements in your toolbox-- vocal, facial expressions, gestures or movement as allowed by your category. Do not illustrate-- not every word or phrase in your selection requires a gesture-- be natural. In deciding between otherwise equally impressive presentations, I look at the source material and who had the heavier lifting to bring the selection to life-- who really had to excel at original interpretations of the selection.

*For platform events (Extemp, OO, Info, etc) I look for structure: a creative, attention getting hook for your intro, good signposts so I can follow your argument, well placed and tagged evidence to back up your thesis, and a conclusion that ties everything together. I reward fresh insights into topics more than lots and lots of quotes and warrants.

*For Congress, I reward speeches that have a creative hook or analogy that shows your understanding of the topic, especially when it is extended throughout your speaking time. I look for arguments that move the debate along with fresh insights rather than rehashing points that have already made in the round. I give higher points to speakers who can use eye contact and sound fresh rather than reading directly from their notes, and who can refer to arguments already on the floor in ways that either concede good points or help refute what previous competitors have said. I will place speakers higher who ask insightful, cutting questions rather than those who just rise to speak at every turn; think quality vs quality in your participation in a round.

My name is Gabrielle Cabeza and I am a junior at UPenn. I competed on the national circuit in Congressional Debate during high school. I believe that Congressional Debate is a beautiful hybrid of substantive debate and eloquent speaking. As such, I look for very strong argumentation with solid warrants and strong impacts as well as strong performance through pacing, tonal variation, and emotion. Be professional, courteous, and argumentative without being overly aggressive.

I have judges multiple events, however I spend most sessions in Debate, Congress, L-D and PF.

The opportunity for me to judge at Nationals several times has been exciting and very rewarding!

I want to be able to understand you, please speak clearly. My expectations for this

event are:

Disrespect is never ok, be fair to each other and treat people as you would like to be treated.

Be kind, to others as well as yourself.

Logical, clear arguments are appreciated!

"Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." Desmond Tutu

Yes, Email Chain: mclelland0@icloud.com

Debated Congress, Extemp, PF, Policy and World Schools in high school. I am a well-rounded debater that understands the flow and structure of every event.

Public Forum:

My goal is to be as close to a tabula rosa judge as possible in PF. I am a flow judge and feel speed is okay in PF - let the natural course of the debate determine the speed. I live for solid clash. I will not hesitate to call for evidence at the end of a round if a card doesn't make sense or your opponent effectively convinces me your source/analytic is not credible.

While voters are important, I will vote on the entirety of the round. Don't mention something in your voters that didn't occur throughout the round. Make sure you weigh in your latter speeches - failure to weigh leaves it in entirely in my opinion of what occurred during the round.

Lincoln Douglas:

I am holistically a tabula rosa judge in LD. While I will accept any argument introduced in the round, I do not prefer K's, . This style of debate is value-focused - make sure that you provide me a solid weighing mechanism that aligns with your value criterion. Speed does not bother me - just ensure your opponent is at the same level as you.

While I typically won't decide a round based on theory, I will take it into consideration if abusive arguments or tactics are highlighted, not through a block and jargon, but a logical explanation of the theory and why it matters. Please... do not give me an off-time roadmap. The only time this is needed is for Policy/CX debate where I might have 8 million flows... in LD there's two flows - we can follow along.

Congressional Debate:

Reference my PF/LD paradigms to see what I look for from general terms on argument structure. I highly value clash in congressional debate. I do not like the congressional debate role play - use that time to make substantive and logical arguments. I pay close attention to evidence used in speeches - academic journals and case studies in addition to publications in the last two years will rank you higher. Congress speeches are short, so make you evidence use short, impactful and highly analytical to show your understanding - don't just read other people's work to me during your speech.

I fairly consider PO performance in my ranks. I will give the 1 to a PO that has zero issues with precedence/recency (speeches and questions), actually runs an efficient chamber (I should hear you talk as little as possible), understands Robert's Rules of Order (know the difference between majority and super-majority votes) and expertly manages the chamber (if there's no prefacing, rule down prefacing; stop speakers or questioners that go over time; enforce the rules that are set). Not everyone is GUARANTEED an opportunity to speak on every bill in this event. I expect a strong PO to strike down one-sided debate and use discretion to move to previous question without chamber approval for the sake of active debate.

Your ability or lack thereof to rebutt as a questioner and answerer in questioning will be considered in my rankings. Questioning is an exceptional opportunity to convince me of your ability to ask well-intentioned questions. As mentioned in the beginning of my congress paradigm... clash is vital to doing well on my ballot.

!! Note on Inclusion !!

Speech and Debate is SUCH a fun activity - which makes it even more important it's inclusive and accessible. Do not utilize CX time to assert dominance and/or privilege. Condescension, consistent interruptions of opponent, xenophobia, racism and classism are all behaviors that absolutely have no place in this activity. Your crossing of the above-mentioned lines will decimate your speaks and potentially get you dropped in that round whether it's round 1 or finals. There is absolutely no reason in this activity to make people feel unsafe or uncomfortable.