Add me to the email chain: thenateisgreat@icloud.com

Backup email: thenateisgreat@gmail.com

Nathan Brown, Peninsula 24'

Pronouns: he/him/his

Novice stuff (applies to everyone since I'm only judging middle school/novice anyway):

If you use google docs I'd recommend watching this video before the round: https://youtu.be/OXc7-GAyYOw

If you are unfamiliar with what an email chain is/how to operate one, please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGu6MOEDNeI'

Time your speeches, please!!! Also, time your opponents' speeches.

2nr/2ar should predict the most important things in the debate and make sure they win those, which is a prerequisite to judge instruction. 2ns should not spread themselves too thin in the 2nr or that makes it tough for me to vote on anything when I have too many options but not enough substance.

Top Level:

Call me whatever you want, Nathan, Nate, judge Nate, Nate dogg, etc. I won't vote on what you call me.

I try my best to be a fair judge, but if you don't understand the argument, please don't read it.

Your camera should be on, don't steal prep. If your camera is off, you should be letting me know what you are doing so I don't think you're stealing prep (i.e. sending out the doc). I will keep my camera on during the debate unless something unexpected comes up, so if I'm not visible on camera make sure I'm there.

Recording the debate is allowed and encouraged, it will help you get better.

Clarity over speed, but beware of the dangers of excessive speed and online debate. Relying on the power of your wifi and my wifi is risky, but if it cuts out for a significant amount of time I'll let you know and we can re-start from the timestamp.

Join rounds ASAP, disclose ASAP.

Tech over truth, dropped arguments are true, though whether or not the argument was truly "dropped" can be contested based on the previous speech. Open cross-x good, it's ok to ask a quick question of the other team during your prep, I believe the other team should answer those questions.

Policy:

Aff:

I've been a 2N basically my whole debate career; only run policy affs

I'm not more biased toward soft-left affs vs big-stick affs but know that soft-left affs usually come with the burden of winning framing. I'll vote for them if your framing is sufficient, but I will default to extinction first unless you tell me why to prioritize your impacts. I will never assign zero warrant or risk to extinction, but framing is a good way to mitigate their offense and bolster your impacts, but don't rely on solely framing to take out the neg's impacts. I'm only going to believe that there's an extremely low risk of the DA if you are actually winning some defense against it. Read whatever impact you want, especially nuanced impacts that can't be impact-turned. Also, I don't mind long internal link chains as long as they are logical and "follow-able".

No new 1ar answers unless it's to new impacts/offense in the block of course. If you manage to hide new 1ar answers disguised as extrapolations of 2ac answers, good for you.

Planless affs:

I don't think K affs in middle school/novice debate is a common thing, that's good. If you do read a planless aff, just know I do not have much experience with these but I will hold it to a high standard. I think fairness and clash are good, strong impacts so that makes your burden high. You have to prove to me why the ballot has the role you assign it in the debate, and why that role is good. I will default to the interpretation that the ballot is to communicate which team did the better debating to tabroom unless thoroughly persuaded otherwise.

Neg:

Dissads: Great, this is probably the neg strat you learned how to debate with. A dissad has to be complete, it needs uniqueness, link, impact. Just reading a single generic link card in your 1nc is not enough. Of course, aff-specific links are great, but you can defend generic links too. Make sure you're reading a dissad that still has uniqueness. (i.e. don't read senate elections if they're over)

Counterplans: CPs are good, make sure you have a net benefit. If the net benefit is internal, it's your burden to extend that along with the counterplan. If the net benefit is external (i.e. a dissad), then extend that through the 2nr. It's not a net benefit if it isn't extended into the last speech.

CP theory's a reason to reject the arg. (except condo)

PICs that pic out of a fundamental part of the aff are good. How legitimate your pic is is up for debate.  I don't like "should" competition (who does?)

Adv CPs are good, plank abuse might change my mind

Process CPs are probably bad

I think conditionality is probably good, but if you lose it, it's still a voter. For the aff, it will be a lot to convince me condo is bad, but if they're being extremely abusive with it in-round, that's reason to vote aff.  

Topicality: Affs should be T. Impacts are important. Also, make sure you extend your interp. It's easier to win T arguments that aren't super limiting and I tend to side with T interps that are specific and clearly exclude the aff's mechanism. It is the neg's burden to prove why the aff doesn't meet their interp, I am especially inclined to vote on the we meet if the neg reads a vague interp.

Kritik: I can't stress this enough, you're probably in middle school if you're reading this, so please only read Ks that you can understand and defend. Reading blocks and never responding to the neg arguments on the K is not a good debate. I believe you should also defend the theoretical/framework reasons to vote for the K, though I am generally reluctant to vote on "you link you lose" unless the neg is clearly and thoroughly ahead on framework. That being said, root cause claims or "our impact makes theirs inevitable" are arguments I believe help mitigate case well. Long overviews are overrated - get to substance.

FW v K affs:

The aff has the burden of convincing me why their interp of what debate should be outweighs any neg offense, and that means responding to neg arguments thoroughly and explaining why your view of debate is better, because I will assume debate is a competitive game going into a round. I love clever neg add-ons or dissads on the FW or T flow. Fairness is an intrinsic good and probably the best impact to go for. Try to explain why you access more offense with FW than they do with a ballot. It's not hard to convince me that my ballot can only remedy procedural unfairess.

=Assorted Theory

ASPEC: prefer not, I'll vote on it if it's clearly warranted in the 1NC and (functionally) dropped by the aff

Disclosure Theory: I think disclosure is really important in a debate. That being said, it's a hard ballot to write unless there is proof that the aff purposefully evaded disclosing their aff before the round. Provide proof they refused disclosure and I'll hear you out, but for it to be a ballot it's gotta be extended heavily in block/2nr.

Condo: above, under "counterplans"

LD:

I do not have much experience with LD, but please refer to the "Top Level" section of my paradigm. If I am judging you for LD, you probably are just starting so don't stress out in round and have fun.

Add me on the email chain: redsilverstorm15@gmail.com

Peninsula Debate 2019-2021

Damien Debate 2021-2022

Top Level Stuff

Tech>Truth but truth doesn't hurt.

Offense/defense - zero risk only exists for theory.

An argument without warrants isn't an argument.

Dropped warrants are true - you still need some explanation to extend them though.

Neg on theory - infinite condo's good, judge kick, etc. Sole exception here is that while perf con obviously isn't a voter, I become very skeptical of certain "epistemology first/reps first" K framework arguments.

Inserts are fine.

Fairness is an impact.

Bias/Ideological Leanings

I'm a lot better for Ks v policy affs than I was a year ago, as they have become my most common 2NR. I especially have a soft spot for psychoanalysis as a security K. I don't have a predisposed opinion on framework (on the aff or neg) that can't be reversed with good debating (if you win that I shouldn't weigh the aff then I shouldn't weigh the aff, and vice versa).

Nevertheless, I always love and am familiar with classic policy arguments.

I'm probably not great for you if you read a K Aff, even simply on a level of familiarity, although I will do my best to adjudicate without bias.

Novice Notes

Try to only use word documents.

Don't say a count down before speeches.

Give an order of what FLOWS you'll be going to (ie "Case in the order of advantage one, then two. The X CP. The X DA").

Policy @ Northwood -> UCLA '26 (Environmental Science/Conservation Biology)

Email Chain - alexfu004@gmail.com

LD and PF paradigm at bottom

TL;DR

Debate is a game, do impact calc, I'm more familiar with Policy strats, clipping is bad, and clarity on analytics is important. Tech determines Truth.

F'23 Update: I'm only vaguely familiar with the topic (~15 rounds judged) so if you start using fancy econ jargon I might get lost, please slow down on analytics, especially in the T debate.

General

Don't be a bad person, you've seen it on other paradigms, no racism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia, etc.

DA/CP

I love them! Your disads should be specific to the aff, but generic links are ok too if you can spin it well enough. Condo is probably good, int'l/private/object fiat is probably bad. I mainly read process counterplans and states in high school so make of that what you will.

K

I'm pretty familiar with a few Ks but don't go for that many of them, barring things like Cap and Security. Case specific links would be great! The Aff should explain the perms instead of just throwing them out there, at least by the 1ar but preferably in the 2ac. I'll treat framework like an impact debate, but I tend to lean weighing the aff.

Ks I'm more familiar with: Cap, Berlant/Suffering, Yellow Peril/Orientalism, Security, Militarism

Ks I'm less familiar with: Deleuze, Bataille, "pomo"-esque Ks (with reason)

T

I'll vote on it, but I'm persuaded by reasonability more than other judges. The neg needs to win a clear instance of abuse beyond just "it's what they justify," and the Aff ideally should have specific reasons why the counterinterpretation resolves or turns neg offense.

Nontraditional Affs

I have very limited experience with reading K affs (maybe 2 or 3 times), but I'm receptive to them. I think that having a stasis is necessary for debate, and I think that fairness is good, whatever fairness means. That said, I do think that K Affs can provide unique educational value, and if the Aff can prove their aff is important to talk about certain issues I can still buy it. Framework is probably your best 2NR against K Affs, I went for education and movements mainly in my junior and senior year in high school but I can be persuaded to vote on fairness as well.

Theory

Reject the arg, not the team is persuasive in almost every case, condo aside. I lean neg on condo; I can be persuaded otherwise, but it's an uphill battle for the aff to win on it. International and Object fiat are probably illegitimate, and require more work to be done on theory if you want to win on them as the neg.

Speaks

• being creative, strategic
• clarity, especially when spreading through analytics
• efficiency between speeches, sending out docs, etc
• if you're funny
• clear signposting!
• i was inspired by another judge but please get me food (+0.1? speaks) (but dont bankrupt yourself it's not worth it) (better to just speak better probably)

LD

I'll judge it like I judge a policy round, and I'm not familiar with a lot of LD theory. I'll try to adapt but please exercise discretion.

Public Forum

I used to do PF, don't worry about having to adapt too hard

Everything above applies, don't spread if your opponent is not okay with it though. Don't read policy-esque arguments just because you can, PF probably should be a bit more accessible. I'm more receptive to Ks than most PF judges, but don't read incomplete arguments i.e. a K without an alt just because PF doesn't have advocacies.

Email chain: eric.boxuan.gao@gmail.com

Stanford '25

Debated 3 years of Policy at Kudos, 4 years at Northwood. Have done all speaker roles at some point, mainly was a 2N/1A.

I've gone for both policy and kritikal arguments.

K affs should be at least related to the topic.

You should be timing yourself. I will stop flowing if your time goes too over.

CP/DA

Have ev comparison - this is usually the fastest way to win debates.

Explain why your cards being true means their theory is wrong.

A DA by itself can win a debate, as long as there's sufficient turns/solves case analysis.

T/Theory

Treat it like a disad - compare standards and weigh them against one another.

I'm not against voting for theory, as long as it's debated well. I personally kicked the aff to go for theory a bit more times than I should have.

Kritiks

K's I've gone for: Lacan, Cap, Security, Berlant, Puar (in that order of familiarity)

When going for the K, the most important thing is to have specific analysis regarding the aff. In a k debate, the team that talks about the AFF more wins.

Tie your story together, instead of just "aff is like [x concept] and [y concept] is bad".

PLEASE EXTEND YOUR IMPACTS.

I've seen too many debates that are much closer than they should be because of a lack of extended impacts. The best link story without impacting it out is ultimately still not a reason to vote for your side.

I appreciate strategic argumentation instead of reading blocks - if they drop a turn, go for it instead of some other piece of defense.

Put me on the email chain: boigalaxy8@gmail.com

TLDR: Framing and framework are good, use them to your advantage. I don't love theory, I won't vote on it unless it's highly contested usually, never drop theory, I like Ts, they're important overall, I love Counterplans and Ks - I will get confused if you do some extremely obscure K, DA's are just pretty much standard, Case is the Aff's offense, Off case is the Neg's offense, always do weighing, always looked for dropped arguments, always extend dropped arguments, yeah. I also flow everything to the best of my ability, I especially will flow arguments that are dropped and extended.

I vote GENERALLY more based on Tech > Truth.

Hello, I’m technically a 4 year debater, however I’ve mostly been doing debate seriously for only 2 and a half years, with that said I’ve been to many tournaments and have been to different camps and everything, so yea. Anyways, I used to do policy, I’ve switched to LD because of partner problems, and so you’ll see things in my paradigm that are a little Policy sided. <- last year, I have been pretty inactive in terms of participating in tournaments as a judge or debater, but I've still been looking at the new topics and different new cases that come along with them, so don't worry about me not knowing the topic at hand.

This part is mainly for newer people

Off-Case/Neg

T/Theory:I use to not like Ts and Theory much, and while that has remained largely true for Theory, I've turned a different leaf for Ts as I think they provide important ground debates for any given topic. If contested, Ts and Theories can be the most dangerous arguments in any given debate, as they are generally trying to contest whether the debate is fair or has any general benefit. This means that I can be forced to vote on T and Theory if it's extended by one team and unaddressed by another. I won't really vote on it however, if it just gets conceded by both teams without mention, because if both teams just drop it, then I can only assume that it's conceded on both sides.

CPs: Counterplans are great, there's not much else to say here. They are extremely diverse and can often times be extremely creative for both sides. There are also a lot of different tricky branches of counterplans that either side must address, which overall makes them very fun.

Ks:Ks are interesting, I feel like a lot teams are complete K teams or completely non-K teams, it's pretty interesting either way and I always enjoy listening to Ks. I dislike Ks when it's used in a very bad way, e.g. using it against a person who is new to debate, and this becomes even worse when the person presenting the K doesn't even know what they're talking about. I also can get confused by some very obscure Ks as I think most people probably can, and if you read that in the presence of me, I apologize but I will try my best to understand them. Otherwise, I understand K affs, K negs, and you can feel free to use Ks however you'd like.

DAs: I honestly don't even know what to say here lol, DAs are simple and an important and integral part of the Neg's off case, and rarely does a debate go without some sort of DA. The only reminder I have is to do impact calc against Aff.

Aff/Case

Obviously, case is the most important part of the Aff, it's your bread and butter and it's your main source of offense. There's not really much else to say here, read your adv and plan, and do framing + weighing, if you do everything good and the Neg isn't sufficiently answering your case, you should win the debate.

Theory: For theory, basically the same as Neg, it’s basically extra offence + win con for you.

General:

Add me to the email chain - kristenslew@gmail.com

pronouns: she/her/hers

Please do not throw around major issues just because they are strategic impacts. Actually, realize that these issues occur in our society. When deciding to win the debate or actually make it educational and debate for an issue (like if your opponent is being problematic or "-ist"), choose the latter.

More stuff:

I do both policy and LD. I will always vote on strat, flows, and impacts. Ultimately, the strat you have in debate and how well those args are articulated is going to allow you to win.

Speaks:

Don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Don't go around offending other people. Be nice in general. Your speaks are going to be very low if you are just mean. Don't bully others in debate, especially if they are younger than you.

Around 28.5 is what I am going to give. Be clear; I'm fine with speed but 450 wpm is the cap unless you are really really clear.

Strat:

Read anything; I've seen and debated pretty much everything.

I vote on topicality, theory, DAs, CPs, Ks, etc.

I have a good understanding of a lot of Ks; I'm not going to list them all, but I really think that debates become more interesting. Also, when running/going for Ks, make sure to run them well. Know the lit, otherwise, you won't have my ballot.

Email me if you have any questions.

Debated at Peninsula in Policy 2017-2021

I'm not super familiar with this year's topic so make sure not to take topic-specific terms and warrants in camp arguments for granted.

Be nice.

I prefer that you read a plan.

Infinite condo is better than no condo.

If it's not condo, you have to do a good job explaining why X theory argument justifies voting against the other team rather than just rejecting the argument.

I will default to judge kick the counterplan unless told otherwise.

I'm not great for high theory.

Impact turn the K.

email: dylanmichalak2003@gmail.com

(he/him); armangiveaway@gmail.com

Debated for four years at Peninsula

Currently at UC Berkeley (not debating) studying plant biology and data science

If I can't understand you I'll stop flowing. Don't expect me to compensate from the doc - I usually don't look at those until the end of the debate. Stay on the safe side and be clear even if it means sacrificing speed.

You must read your rehighlightings if you want me to evaluate them.

General notes: the rebuttals should be like an RFD, you need to explain a way in which I can feel comfortable voting for you while also taking into account your opponents offense. Please don't just extend arguments from your constructives but also interact with your opponents claims. Debate is either a game or shapes subjectivity or both, who cares. Either way, please don't say offensive things.

Plan-less affs: Please don't. But if you must I prefer if they be contextualized to the topic. If you're reading something complicated, I need a solid enough explanation in the round that's sufficient for me to understand what the argument you're going for is. Obviously T is the most intuitive argument against these positions and you should certainly go for it if you want to. I find that impact turning T is the best way to go if you're aff. Fairness is an impact. I also really like seeing contextualized and well researched Ks and PIKs against these sorts of affs. If you have one, don't be afraid to go for it.

Soft-left affs: I think they're great. You need a compelling argument for why I should shift away from the delusional impact weighing assumptions that policy debate has normalized. CPs that solve the aff are probably the best neg strat.

T v. plan: Don't really have any unusual thoughts on T. Go for it if you must. I have a limited experience going for or judging it but as long as you debate it well you should be fine.

K: I enjoy these, and I have found myself primarily going for them as I matured as a debater. I like specific critiques. If I listened to your 2NC in a vacuum and I didn't know what 1AC you were responding to then that's a problem so make sure to do the contextual work here to really impress me.

Framework for the K: I'm inclined to evaluate debates through an offense-defense paradigm. It's your job to show that the assumptions made in the 1AC implicate aff solvency/truth claims.

If you're aff in front of me and you're choosing between impact turning or link turning the links, you should impact turn unless you have a good reason not to. I find teams tend to be more successful in front of me doing the former.

Theory: you need in round abuse to go for it. I love theory 2ARs against really abusive CPs. It's probably your best way out. I think i'm pretty charitable to condo 2ARs.

Thoughts on competition: I don't default to judge kick and I don't think "the status quo is always a logical option" is a particularly good model since it invites loads of judge intervention. If you go for a CP and the aff has offense to the CP that outweighs the offense the neg has forwarded then i'm voting aff. Same goes for the alt.

I have a lower bar for aff victory on the perm than most people I know. The role of the perm is to prove that all of the plan and some of the CP/Alt could plausibly happen and not trigger the DA. As long as I reasonably believe this to be true, then i'm voting aff. I don't think the aff needs to win a 'net benefit' to the perm bc that makes the perm no longer about competition and warps it into some sort of advocacy that the aff could go for which isn't what I believe the perm to be.

LD Note: You can probably skip the part of the AC where you define all the words in the res. Not a fan of tricks.

I'm a high school debater who's been debating for around 3 years now; I now debate in varsity policy.

Open to any kind of argument if you know how to go for them.

Just a general thing- make sure you actually extend the warrant of your card and no tagline extensions. If you don't point out which part of the card answers their evidence then I'm not going to read the card and try to find it for you.

Impact Calc- This is my favorite part of rebuttal speeches so don't do bad impact calculus. This is something I wish I had done more of in middle school and is super underrated. Do good impact calc.

DAs- OVs are helpful for both aff and neg- explain how you win on UQ, link, or impact like a story

CPs- Nothing in specific to say about these. They are good arguments and I'm pretty impartial to CP theory as well.

Ks- I'll be surprised if you read them in middle school. Make sure you have a clear understanding of it and know what the big technical terms mean and know how to go for one. It's better to be good at debating a DA and CP than to try to go for a K you have no idea about just because you think the other team can't answer it.

Theory- I'm pretty impartial to theory. Do a good job of debating it and I will vote for it.

Good luck y'all.

Peninsula Policy Debater add me to the chain pradyrajasai@gmail.com

tech>truth

Fairness is an impact

Don't say offensive stuff

Send me your analytics

I very much like traditional policy rounds than K rounds.

cp: Condo is usually good except when it's dropped. Sufficiency framing -- weigh the impact of the net benefit to the impact of the solvency deficit for me. I will vote on all theory arguments if properly debated and impacted.

da: Explain the link, and compare your link ev. It's not zero risk unless it is dropped or conceded.

Peninsula 22, UCLA 26 (not debating)

Email chain: lukasrhoades11@gmail.com

No rounds on topic, don't immediately jump into 3rd and 4th levels in cross-ex because I will need complete context to follow.

Tech>truth for arguments (claim, warrant, impact) that I flow. I won't look at the documents during your speech. I will only vote on arguments I've flowed in the final speeches that were extended in each previous speech since their introduction.

You can insert rehighlights for the portions that they read, but must read everything else. I won't vote on things that happened outside the round. If neither side says anything, I'll judgekick.

Peninsula '22 | USC '26

Add me to the chain:

chrislrsims@gmail.com

Did policy for three years LD for one year. Clarity > speed - if I can’t hear your argument I’m not going to flow it. Be nice!

Policy:

Ran almost exclusively policy in high school so very comfortable with these debates. Especially love counterplan competition debates and in-depth DA turns case/case turns DA.

Theory:

I don't like it unless there is in-round abuse. Reasonability and DTA are powerful, especially if explained thoroughly. My view of reasonability is that I should weigh the impact of the abuse versus the benefits a debate over the topic. Don't run ridiculous theory arguments.

Condo is good.

Kritiks:

Your critique should directly disagree with the plan or implicate the solvency of the case in someway. I do not like links of omission. Links should be clearly explained and turn/ow case. Case is critical in the debates, if you do not touch it I probably won't vote for the K.

Read a plan!

Philosophy:

Not comfortable with evaluating these debates.

Don't run any calc indicts, frivolous theory, and random independent voting issues.

Berkeley '26

Peninsula Graduate

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

If it's more than 2 short cards or if the card is long, put it in a doc.

You can insert rehighlightings, but explain the argument you're making.

I'm tech>truth, but complete arguments need claim(s), warrants, and impact(s). "They dropped the impact" is not an argument or something I can vote on alone.

Speed is okay but you need to be clear.

I will probably protect the 2NR from new 2AR arguments; there should be a version of the argument you are extending in the 1AR unless it is a new 2NR argument.

Cross-ex is important.

Please do impact calc/argument comparison.

Theory: I will vote on dropped theory, if explained, and I think condo is good but can be persuaded otherwise.

CPs: I will judgekick counterplans if there are no arguments about it, and the 2AR can have new judgekick bad args.

T: Fairness is a impact and fairness>skills/education. Reasonability is a question of how I evaluate the interpretation debate, not the we meet.

Disads: I don't think a disad can have zero risk (including when the aff makes framing arguments) (unless it's already happened) so you should debate as though the disad has a sizeable risk. Specific cards and arguments are best -- use evidence quality, if you have it, to your advantage. 

Ks: I think the advantages of the hypothetical implementation of the plan should be weighed against the impacts to the links. I can be persuaded by framework arguments, but as with T, I think fairness>skills/education. Please do impact calc and make the links specific to the aff/case. I am very unlikely to vote for fiat is illusory type arguments or similar tricks.

K Affs: On framework, fairness>skills/education. I generally think that the aff should defend a hypothetical action of the United States federal government, but can be persuaded otherwise. Assume I do not know your theory, so you should make sure to explain your arguments clearly--I won't vote for you if I don't know what I'm voting for. For K v K, I am probably not the best, but if this debate happens, both sides should make the distinctions between the two Ks clear. I think the aff gets perms.

Definitely ask any questions you have before the round.

Be nice and good luck!

Please add me to the email chain: leftylexi12@gmail.com

If sending your docs on the email chain takes too long, it will count as prep.

She/her pronouns

If possible, cameras should be on at all times.

Talk slower than you would in person, especially if your microphone isn't good.

Quality > Quantity - I prefer less off case with more developed arguments.

Update for Loyola 2020

Honestly, not much has changed since this last LD update in 2018 except that I now teach at Success Academy in NYC.

Update for Voices / LD Oct 2018:

I coach Policy debate at the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, CA. It has been a while since I have judged LD. I tend to do it once a or twice a year.

You do you: I've been involved in judging debate for over 10 years, so please just do whatever you would like to do with the round. I am familiar with the literature base of most postmodern K authors, but I have not recently studied classical /enlightenment philosophers.

It's okay to read Disads: I'm very happy to judge a debate involving a plan, DAs and counter-plans with no Ks involved as well. Just because I coach at a school that runs the K a lot doesn't mean that's the only type of argument I like / respect / am interested in.

Framework: I am open to "traditional" and "non-traditional" frameworks. Whether your want the round to be whole res, plan focused, or performative is fine with me. If there's a plan, I default to being a policymaker unless told otherwise.

Theory: I get it - you don't have a 2AC so sometimes it's all or nothing. I don't like resolving these debates. You won't like me resolving these debates. If you must go for theory, please make sure you are creating the right interpretation/violation. I find many LD debaters correctly identify that cheating has occurred, but are unable to identify in what way. I tend to lean education over fairness if they're not weighed by the debaters.

LD Things I don't Understand: If the Aff doesn't read a plan, and the Neg reads a CP, you may not be satisfied with how my decision comes out - I don't have a default understanding of this situation which I hear is possible in LD.

Other thoughts: Condo is probably a bad thing in LD.

.

.

Update for Jack Howe / Policy Sep 2018: (Sep 20, 2018 at 9:28 PM)

Update Pending

Please use the link below to access my paradigm. RIP Wikispaces.

http://judgephilosophies.wikispaces.com/Vepa%2C+Teja

Peninsula '21, Cal '25

Email chain: nathan2web@gmail.com

For online debate: if I'm not in frame of the camera, don't start your speech.

Top level, debate is a competitive research activity where two teams compete to win. So, I will strive to be agnostic as to what strategy you choose to read, whether that's 10 off, 1 off, or hiding ASPEC (though your speaks will probably suffer for the last one). Tech > truth, although you'll have a hard time convincing me that our oceans are yellow.

Even so, these preferences are a set of ideologies that I've loosely maintained as I've judged--

T: I find that evidence quality is quintessential - I will lean towards a legally precise definition that reflects consensus.

DA: Actually debate the DA if you read a soft left aff. Riders are probably not legitimate.

CP: Solvency advocates aren't necessary, but coherent explanations of solvency are. I will default to kicking the CP for the neg if equally debated.

K: Good if they disprove why I should vote affirmative. I tend to dislike Ks that have a focus on 20 subpoints of framework (but if you win you win).

Non-traditional affs: Fairness is an impact, you can also go for others. Probably not the best judge for the aff teams. A lot of the time, I find it difficult to see how the ballot resolves aff impacts.

Theory: Condo is generally good. Most CP theory is probably a reason to reject the argument.

Other things--

My ideologies have been influenced significantly by these people: Dhruv Sudesh, Kevin Sun, and Scott Wheeler. If any part of this philosophy is confusing, you should look at theirs.

Card quality matters, I will always value smart analytics over terrible evidence—although a claim has much more significance/credibility when tied to an academic work.

If I can't understand you, I won't flow.

Don't egregiously re-highlight then "re-insert" an entire card, read it.

I don't about things that happened outside the round.

Be nice.

From Kevin Sun's Evidence Ethics:

"I have judged a handful of high stakes debates this year that were decided on evidence ethics. I’ve found that these decisions are inevitably unsatisfying as they will rely on my own subjective assessment of the argument in question.

I can safely say that I am completely unqualified to judge these debates. I am not on Twitter or Facebook, and I do not interact with debate people regularly outside of tournaments. I do not know what the community consensus is on certain authors, and I will feel uncomfortable rendering a personal judgement an author’s character after hearing 10 minutes of spreading on the subject.

In hopes of giving debaters some foresight, I would like to clarify my perspective on this genre of theory argument. High stakes evidence ethics challenges (e.g. “reject the team because they included the wrong author qualifications”, “reject the team because [author] is problematic”) will require a high burden of proof and an egregious violation. I have a strong predisposition against positioning these ethics challenges as reasons to fully disregard the rest of your opponents arguments, and I would prefer to just reject the argument in question rather than to hinge my decision on it.

In these circumstances, I would suggest clearly explaining which of your opponents arguments I should throw out if I resolve this challenge in your favor.

Would rejecting this author evaporate your opponent’s framework argument? Should the negative even be allowed to substitute this author with another that makes a similar argument? You’re likely to get further with me by detailing the implications of this ethics challenge in terms of the rest of the debate rather than relying on me to assume that I should automatically make it a gateway issue.

I would suggest finding other ways outside of a competitive debate argument to navigate this ethical challenge rather than placing it in my hands as a judge."

I'm a high school policy debater, I've been doing policy debate for almost 4 years now.

I don't have any preferences on speed or specific argument strategies.

Your role as a debater should be making my ballot easy for me -- if you tell me to prioritize an argument or vote off of a specific reason, I will until proven otherwise.

Weighing, especially in the last speech, will get you further than you think.

Peninsula '23 | Emory '27 | Peninsula, OCSA

coralynnchiang@gmail.com

Pre-Round: Do whatever you need to do to win, my argumentative preferences marginally affect your chances at winning relative to dramatic strategic adjustments.

Top Level:

1. Tech > Truth. Flow (straight down) > evidence (preference for comprehensiveness & conclusiveness over other metrics, but amenable to judge instruction) > intervention (unmade cross-applications, etc.). Intervention is a result of interpretive ambiguity - judge instruction, warrant comparison & argument implication minimize this.

*Won't intervene or reject arguments automatically, but amenable to argumentative clarity objections to a punitive tech > truth model. Embedded theory arguments, floating PIKs & argumentative extrapolations not clearly based in evidence justify entirely new answers.

2. Topic knowledge for fiscal redistribution is medium-high. I've judged a lot of debates and am involved with Peninsula but moreso in strategy than research.

3. Clash is good. Demonstrate topic knowledge, consolidate the debate early & read more evidence. You will 'have my heart' & be rewarded with speaker points. This is my only 'strong' opinion and frames the rest of my thoughts about who 'should' win a debate.

Content:

1. Topicality. Affs designed around clash-avoidance should lose to T, but otherwise, going for T is susceptible to reasonability.

2. Counterplans. Better for the aff on theory & competition than most. The aff should center reasons the counterplan doesn't answer the 1ac / is anti-educational & the neg should center fairness in their defense. Impact calculus & interpretive integrity (clarity regarding what counterplans are included / excluded) matter.

3. Disads. The link often matters more than uniqueness (think: a 40% chance of Biden winning in the status quo is still a 40% risk of extinction if the link is true). Narrative coherence & try or die matter.

4. Kritiks. Preference for at: case outweighs is answer the case > util k > alt solves > framework. Aff answers to framework need to center a defense of a model of debate (vs. clash) or a unique impact intrinsic to topicality (vs. fairness). Good for both debate good + clash & no link to debate bad + fairness.

5. LD. Relatively new to judging & exclusively competed in policy. No objection to substantive philosophy, but lack institutional memory. 'Tricks' are terrible for clash and unlikely to prove successful in front of me, especially given this activity's issue with clarity & argumentative incoherence (won't flow off the doc).

Coach for Peninsula

Plz put me on the email chain atStevenyu0923@gmail.com

Tech over truth dropped arguments are presumed to be true, but I do believe that true arguments are easier to defend.

Simplicity is good. The more complex an argument is, the more explanation is needed beyond it's "dropped" or tag line extensions.

Truthfully, not the best flow in the community so would like you to slow down on analytics especially if not in the doc.

Hiding theory is cowardice. You can and might win but speaks = nuked

Every argument needs a claim, warrant, impact. If it's missing any one of the 3 components, I reserve the right to not vote on it.

For every min of prep you don't use I will give 0.1 of extra speaks up to a cap of 29.5.

You should debate as if I have 0 understanding of the topic

I find myself somewhat expressive during the debate. Feel free to use that to your advantage.

Tech over truth. But below are my predispositions. They can all be changed by technical debating but I find myself being convinced easier if debaters abide by said predispositions.

Anything is game. No args are off limits. Whether it's egregious impact turns or stupid theory arguments. But arguments about personal issues or issues outside of debate is off limits.

Fairness is likely an impact.

Condo is good.

Process CPs are bad but likely hard to win absent a good answer to arbitrariness.

Reasonability is bad.

Inserting rehighlightings is NOT ok.

Predictability > debatability

Debates and characterizations of ev > ev quality itself

Timeframe matters, determines directionality of turns case.

PIKs are probably bad but likely theoretically justifiable against a K aff. (went for this a decent bit)

Plan text in a vacuum is stupid.

Familiarity with arguments

Policy stuff all fine. Not a big fan of politics.

Turns case is as probable as the rest of the DA. If DA is 1% and turns case is dropped, it net values to 1% so the aff weighs 99% of the aff vs 1% of the DA.

Not a fan of complex theory debates other than T.

Adv CPs + impact turns are my favorite 2NRs in high school.

Ks are fine. Although it's best if the FW interpretation allows your opponents to weigh the plan because it's defense not offense. If you win FW without a link to the 1AC then I still vote aff on presumption. If you are spreading analytics on FW straight down, please save pen time. Winning case is a good idea proves education about case is good.

K aff vs T --- I find myself more aff leaning then people would imagine. I believe the only real internal link for the neg is predictability. Even that internal link is arbitrary and likely can't solve. K affs that just call T or whatever the neg does microaggressions will find a hard time succeeding in front of me. K affs that undercut the neg's internal links to fairness by indicting legal precision or predictability could be very successful.

I believe PIKs, creative impact turns, or counter advocacies are also ways to negate K affs.

LD

God forbid I ever judge LD but if I do, please stay as far away as possible from Phil or Tricks.

Middleschool:

Clarity > speed

Flow

Don't steal prep

Background

Hey! I'm Katie, and I currently debate for Dougherty Valley in mostly Lincoln Douglas Debate. I've done circuit LD for 2 years, Policy for 3, and a few tournaments in Parli, World Schools, Public Forum, Speech, etc.

I've almost exclusively read policy args on circuit, with a few stock Ks (security, cap, dualism, etc.)

Coached by Kavin Kumaravel -- a lot of my thoughts are greatly influenced by his.

She/Her

Email: zhengkatie6@gmail.com

General

Tldr; I'll evaluate any argument with a claim, warrant, and impact.

-Be nice be nice be nice -- especially during CX -- or i will nuke your speaks!

-CX is binding

-Default to putting it in the doc -- if I didn't hear it, I won't vote on it :(

DA/CP/Case

-Favorite 2NR. Have fun with counterplans. I think cool, creative CPs are the best.

-Every counterplan needs a clear net benefit

-Sufficiency framing is great

-Love a great case debate -- often underutilized on neg

-I've gone for a lot of bad disads so I'll evaluate them, but usually these need to be extended with a CP in order to win risk of a net benefit

-I like soft left affs, but open to anything

Kritiks

-Cool with them, but the alternative should be thoroughly explained or else links are non-UQ

-I'm not too familiar with non-mainstream K lit, so please err on the side of overexplaining if you're going for it

-Specific links to the aff are best but not required

K Affs/Framework

-I don't have much experience running k affs so I don't think I'm going to be the best at judging

-make sure your offense is clear on aff

-Go for one impact on t-fw in the 2nr

Theory

-Default reasonability

-Hold the line on many friv shells

Topicality

-Offense needs to be clear

[wip]

Please don't hesitate to ask questions after RFD! I want to make sure this is an educational space for everyone to learn, including myself.