Last changed on
Wed February 3, 2021 at 3:42 PM EDT
Hi!! My name is Mimansa Bhargava and I am currently a senior at Lexington High School. I have debated in Policy Debate for 4 years now (Varsity for 3 years). I have written out brief descriptions of my ideas on different components in a debate that I keep in mind while judging. My email is 21bhargava@lexingtonma.org so you can add me to the email chain and/or if you have any additional questions after the round.
K:
I have always preferred debating in policy. That being said, if you run K arguments (either aff or off case) I will need you to clearly lay out the story of your K argument (impact, alt, what the world looks like post-alt, etc.). That doesn't mean you shouldn't/can't run K arguments. I want you to debate with the arguments that are your strengths and that you most enjoy debating about (after all the point is to have fun and learn). But just clearly explain it to me.
Policy:
I think to debate well in policy a team needs to advocate for a course of plan that would better solve a specific issue within the resolution or prove that a team is non-topical which has its own impacts within debate rounds. Even within policy, you need to articulate the story of the plan and the impacts that you are trying to sell. As long as you are coherently presenting your arguments, answering key arguments, and going for beneficial strats (which depend on the round), you would be in a good shape.
In any type of debate, there has to be clash for the round to be enjoyable and educational.
General:
I know debate is a competitive activity and often times the debate community can be toxic because of this. But please be kind and respectful to each other in and outside of a round. I will take speaker points off if I witness debaters being disrespectful in any way. Kindess only :)
