Debate Experience:

4 Years at Lansing High School

3 Years at University of Nebraska- Single-person policy.

Past Graduate Assistant for the University of Nebraska debate.

Head Coach at Lincoln NorthStar for 3 Years

3L in law school. Education Law and Policy.

My email is dikecolin@gmail.com, please add me to the email chain OR do a speech drop.... tbh I prefer speech drop at this point in my career. It is much simpler.

Few things before I go into specifics:

1. Clipping will lose you the round and any chance you had at getting a speaker award

2. Disclosure is always good and necessary. This does not guarantee you a ballot if you are losing on the standards debate, but it should tell you that I am very sympathetic to the education claims.

3. DO NOT be an ass. You don't look cool and will not be rewarded.

4. If the opposing team drops a DA or something that is obviously a round winner- do not waste my time. Just extend the dropped argument and sit down.

5. Go as fast as you you want. Just make sure that you are CLEAR and you are SIGN POSTING between cards...... see how I accented those with font and you read it in your brain with a different tone..... do that with your voice on tags and dates.

6. Arguments that I will not find appealing-

-Nuclear terrorism.....like who is giving them the nuke...and how are they developing them? Also, I'm just skeptical of underlying assumptions from people reading Islamic terrorism bad.

-Death good

-Wipeout

-Spark

-Bad impact turns (Racism good, Warming good)

7. Things That Annoy Me:
A) Flowing off the speech doc, then answering cards that weren't read, etc
B) Responding to blippy 2ac theory args without a warrant (e.g., "no neg fiat, voting issue") FOR FORTY FIVE SECONDS!!!
C) Reading un-highlighted cards.

---------------------------Crowe Warken (NDT)---------------------------------

If you are from NFA-LD. Do not read this. Its not for you.

I am a new judge to NDT. A few things:

1) Speed: You all do not fall under point 5 above- Go slower on tags (IDC about the speed you go through the card text). You should probably be going 50%-60% speed on T/Theory debates (the same speed you go on tags). Yes, that's annoying, I apologize. Also- perhaps a hot take- I think flashing analytics and T blocks is good. If you pre-wrote it and it is the best version of your argument, you should not be afraid that the other team understands your arg and should not hope to win on dropped args from speed. The purpose of this addendum is that I am very willing to be lenient on you going faster on T/Theory args if they are in the doc and I can refer back to them. I am talking 75% speed max.

2) If your 2NR/2AR is not starting by writing my ballot, you are doing it wrong. That is not to say that this narrows and precludes other offenses on the rest of the flow, but it does frame the first things I look at when making my decision AND helps you clarify what you think your route to the ballot is for me. The alternative is you charging the mound on me for not seeing your obscure route to the ballot which isn't rad.

3) My paradigm for judging is not going to be nearly as refined as your seasoned NDT vet. or your ordinal 1 pref. My RFD is probably not going to flow like an elegant story that wraps up every issue in the debate. As such, please feel free to ask questions after the round and I will always give you the thoughts I have.

***********************************HIGH SCHOOL LD*****************************************

I come from a policy background. Use that to your advantage. If you want to read value/criterion, you need to have specific instructions on how I weigh impacts under the value.

If you are interested in going for a really dense philosophy argument, I am going to be more work as a judge because of my relative newness to LD. Make sure you are impacting out all the claims you are going for. I also am just not a fan of super old philosophers from the 1600s. It seems to be more of a race to obscurity than actually doing "philosophical" debate as debaters indicate.

STOP ASKING IN CX TO "SUM UP YOUR POINTS." It defeats the whole point of CX. This goes for every format, but it is the worst in LD.

I am all for us sharing evidence. You should always be ready to share your evidence with the other team. If you don't, I am very easily persuaded by arguments saying you can't prove the truth or falsity of the other teams arguments.

If you are reading a framing argument that says that there is a specific burden for the aff/neg (we only have to defend one subsidy is bad, the aff has to repeal all subsidies to meet their burden, ect.), then you need to win standards to win this argument.

Speaker points can be increased if you separate the framing debate from the case debate- (put them on their own sheet of paper). I flow debates this way and deeply appreciate when debaters do this because the clash is all in one place.

Please don't reach to saying an argument is abusive if you don't have another answer. Most of the time it isn't abusive, you just haven't thought of an answer yet.

Neg Kritiks in LD need to have more work done in the 1NC than in policy. Just reading the link, impact, and alt in the 1NC creates super late-breaking debates that always favor the neg and creates poor clash because the aff has to respond to 6 minutes of functionally new offense in as 3 minute 2AR. To that end- I think any representations, Role of the ballot/judge, and alt solves the aff arguments should be in the 1NC. Not doing this substantially lowers my willingness to lean neg on theory objectification (Condo, floating piks bad, etc.)

Underviews with theory preempts are fine, but YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN. I have to have time to flow the arguments. I generally believe that any prewritten theory should be 1) Flashed and 2) disclosed.

Please read the rest of this paradigm- the things I think in policy that are explained generally transfer to LD- specifically on the theory stuff.

*************************************Policy Debate********************************************************

**Topicality vs. Plan Text

I feel pretty comfortable adjudicating topicality debates. However, this isn’t permission to blow through your 1NC interp and 2NC blocks as fast as you can. The fastest way to get a decision that you don't like is to poorly sign post between arguments and not give me at least a little pen time. Specifically, slow down on nuanced arguments that intersect multiple standards (Bi-directionality controls ground because.....). My views on T primary revolve around the following:

1. T is always a voter and never a reverse voter!

2. Reasonability is a way to determine the sufficiency of the aff’s counter-interp; not whether or not the aff is “reasonably topical.” Delete the phrase "reasonably topical" from your vocabulary. Too many times in high school debates, 1AR and 2AR’s do a poor job of extending reasonability. Saying “good is good enough” is not an argument. You need to give reasons why reasonability is preferable to competing interpretations.

3. Contextualized interactions between different standards (ie: limits controls the direction of ground, or precision determines the lit base for which a team derives limits offense, etc.) needs the most explanation for me, however I find them very compelling.

**T-USfg

I am ok with this argument vs non-topical affs. Reading it is by no means a silver bullet and sometimes a counter-method goes further, but dont feel like you should or should not read this argument.

As far as defense goes I generally am under the impression that T is a floor not a ceiling and discussions of aff’s internal links can happen via topical versions of the affirmative. TVA and switch side debate are defensive arguments and must be paired with a net benefit to win!

**Theory

I love theory debates. The fact that you can debate about the rules of debate makes it the best game out there. I am ok with almost any theory argument if you have a justification for why it produces good education.

Grain of salt- theory debates require the fastest typing and flowing because it is frequently your own words and has the fewest cards. If you want me to understand, you want to slow down to like 75% so I can get everything on my flow.

Generally, condo is good, and delay CP's are abusive

Fairness is a sliding scale. Even if you think I might err neg on condo in a debate with one conditional advocacy, that default level can be reduced by things like multi-plank conditional CP's, CP's with no solvency advocate, etc.

I am also a big fan of whole res v/ plan text theory args in LD.

**CP

I am a big advocate for nuanced and developed counterplans, and believe it is one of the most strategic ways to subsume aff offense. I default to sufficiency framing until told otherwise. If there is no clear victor in the theory debate I will usually default negative.

I generally think that CP’s should be textually and functionally competitive but feel free to tell me otherwise. I tend to lean negative on theory and think that most objections are reasons to reject the argument not the team.

**DA

I’m a fan. Try to read specific links, because I am of the opinion that generic links are usually punished by link thumpers. The 2NR should do impact calc and make turns case arguments.

I am willing to vote on zero percent risk of a link if you clarify that there is zero percent of a link with a justification.

**K

I am always open to K’s but not very familiar with all of the literature. Please refrain from assuming I know what you’re talking about or using buzz words. “death good” K’s or any other assorted shenanigans are not compelling and is a poor strategy for earning my ballot. I think the K should have specific links to plan action rather than to the status quo or links of omission. I think permutations are very compelling against Ks that are not contextualized to the affirmative’s policy. Alternatives need to be clearly explained. I will not do the work for you. One of my biggest frustrations is that some judges seem to front kids alt solvency because the neg tosses around big words. I am not that type of judge; the negative should be responsible for defending the actualization/implementation of the alt.

K's that I have read and have a good understanding of- Militarism, Securitization, Identity (Queerness, Anti-Blackness, Fem, ect.) Spanos, Pan, Warming Reps, Terror Reps, Adaptations of Heidegger, Anthropocentrism.

K's that I am harder to sell on because my knowledge of the lit base is low: Deluze/Guattari, Spacialization, Semio-Cap,

K's that I just really do not like at all: Baudrillard, Battallie, a lot of abstract post-modern philosophy.

Background:

4 years at Lincoln North Star; 2 LD <3, 2 PF. Competed at local and national circuit. Ran the trad & progressive ish and a tiny bit of phil w/ absolute hatred (Rawl's, Kant, Macintyre). Mostly read antiblackness (+ Warren, Wilderson, Curry, Karera) and Islamophobia. I do NFA-LD (single policy) at UNL.

Virtual debate will be wonky so speech drop/email chain is highly recommended. Yea I want every card read in round (debaters cut iffy evidence 25/8 -- lez not do that).

Email -- azzadebate@gmail.com

*Do what you want as long as you’re not being problematic. My job is to adjudicate the round as is. Even if I hate the arg, I'll evaluate it if it's warranted/impacted/dropped/conceded/etc. Adaptability is in yo favor tho.

Few big things:

1. Being racist, sexist, homophobic/transphobic, islamophobic, xenophobic, ableist, etc. will get you absolutely nowhere. I will ruin any chance you have at getting a speaking award and you def wont win. Choose your words wisely.

2. Debate should inclusive, as long as that's not being threatened then coo. I vote for identity-based args more.

3. Disclosure is always good -- Idgaf how you feel about it if you think it puts you at a disadvantage. It dont. Just disclose. READ DISCLOSURE THEORY.

4. I love sassy and confident debaters. I cant stand arrogance (and if you are you better not suck). Drop any unnecessary attitude. You look down bad and will irritate me.

5. Engage your opponent's args substantively. Comparing, collapsing, weighing, and impacting is justice. Line-by-line is my preference but big picture analysis at the end is always better.

***PLEASE DONT DO THIS: pick 3 "main'' arguments and summarize why you're winning them. Just no. Hella rzns why dis bothers me and it's not strategic. Please go down your flows.

6. If your extensions don't include warrant and impact, get it together bruh. Tell me how and why you're winning your args, I ain't doing any work for you.

7. I hate it when debaters read identity args that they can't identify with. Speaking for others/commodification is 100% true. You’re gonna bug me if you do this.

8. I wont vote on any yay death or oppression good. Trust me you wna take the L over wasting my time spittin bs and making me tell you how bad it was.

Speed:

- 6-7/10 but don't get too crazy now. I hate having to yell clear, dont make me.

- Accommodate opponents who don't mess with speed for whatever reason (novice, disability, ESL/ELL, etc). Go for speed theory if there's abuse.

- Start. your. speech. slow. Gimme sum time to get into it.

- Pause between cards for like 3 secs yo, it won't kill you to be comprehensible and gimme pen time. Signpost!! If I miss stuff bc i dont know where your sentence began and ended hehe das all you.

- Go at conversational pace and be punctual for t/theory, interps, ROB/J, overviews, underviews, framework/standards, etc. They're mostly text and don't involve hella cards so it's tough tryna get everything down. Chill n bear with me.

*** With online debate, Imma b chilling with "I didn't catch that" in my RFD if you're not clear and go too fast.

CX:

- Don’t ask “summarize/explain your entire contention for me” — it says you suck at flowing and/or weren't paying attention.

- Do what you want, cut it short or extend it with prep idgaf as long as everybody coo.

- Most likely won’t be paying attention so lmk if you’re tryna get me to realize sumn important.

- Do. Not. Bicker.

(Value)Criterion/Standards:

- I don't care for values -- they're not that important. Please collapse if you can. There's no need for yall to be debating morality v justice ong you'll live.

- VC/Single ST is first thing I look at. It's in your favor to win your fmk. Win offense under your opponents too- its strategic and spares me a migraine.

- Extend uncontested justifications on the standards and don't waste my time (shocker but its offense).

DA:

Pop off ig. Find specific links, generic will only get you so far (lez jus not b basic). NR needa do impact calc and case turns.

CP/PICS:

- Make sure CP is textually and functionally competitive. Establish mutual exclusivity/net benefit or a perm is persuasive.

*** Delay CPs in LD are nonsensical- read a better strat.

Theory/Topicality:

- Not the best judge on them so don't expect me to be hella versed. If I'm left with a bunch of blippy args, I'll have a hard time adjudicating it. Big pic analysis is the move.

- I will vote for almost any theory with valid standards.

*** Meta-theory: debaters who read this think they did sumn and they didn't. Don't think about it.

- T/Theory is always a voter and never a reverse voting issue. Nothing about your 6 bullet point answers in your backfiles will make the case otherwise. Just beat the arg.

- "Don't vote on potential abuse" is bs - if it's a bad interp then warrant that.

- Extend all parts of the shell throughout the round.

- Theory is cool to critiquing debate norms and very persuasive if you're winning that it results in better education.

K:

- My favorite.

- I ain't a walking encyclopedia. I'm not familiar with a diverse amount of K literature. Assume I have no clue what you're talkin about and break it down.

- I'm familiar with identity (antiblackness, fem, ableism, etc), militarism, anthro, biopower, abolition. K's I'm not good with are Samio-Cap, Deleuze/Guattari, Baudrillard, Bataille, Puar, and alla that abstract dense lit.

- Alt needs to be explained. Neg is responsible for implementation of the alt. If I don’t get what your alt will do, that ain't it.

Speaks:

I'll give a 30 if you blow my mind and leave me with no criticism. A 20 you done messed up bad, I'm livid, you owe an apology, and your coach will hear of it.

Tricks:

Do I look like a clown? Am I the circus director? Yuh I'm the wrong b, you got me bent.

Other stuff:

- I strongly dislike phil but feel free to read it.

- Don’t care if you’re standing, sitting, laying down, etc. Get as comfy as you want.

- I’m the LAST person you’d ever want to post-round. Don’t try me.

---------------------------------------------------------- PF -------------------------------------------------------

- Tbh; I'm prolly punching the air if I get thrown into judging this. It's been a hot second since I was involved with PF so for better paradigm references (Avani Nooka Addisson Stugart)

- I don't care if you speak fast. If you can do it with clarity and your opponent doesn't care, please do.

- I expect a good clash but don't just re-state stuff. If you clearly have opposing evidence, one of you please do me the favor of reading your opponent's and tell me why yours is better, theirs is trash, yours is more recent, theirs is outdated, etc. Yall only got 3 mins of prep so I wont take prep for exchanging/emailing/checking out evidence but don't abuse it and make me regret it.

- If I ask for evidence please highlight the warrants for me, don't just give me the article link.

- Line-by-line is fine; actually preferable but big pic analysis is always better especially for summary and final focus.

- First team speaking; the rebuttal should only be attacking the other side. Building your own case does nothing for you. The only exception to that is a quick overview at the beginning of the speech about the impacts of your case (here's where you can throw in one tiny new card if you want) but only do this if it interacts w/ A2 your opponent's case. Don't do this if it's not insightful because you're wasting time you don't have. And that OV should be 30-45 secs max.

- Second team speaking; rebuttal should defend and attack. Defend first -- you don't want to risk losing offense. I'm not timing so idc about time allocation but it's best to split the time as evenly as possible.

- Summaries; needa do hella collapsing and weighing, this speech should be set up to frame the final focus. The offense/defense you want to win should be here.

- Final focus; tell me why you won and how your args were better compared to your opponents. It's very important to do the impact calc here. I default to comparative world analysis so use that to your advantage.

- For the most part, I'm not paying attention to CX and especially not the grand CX. In the rare case that I'm paying attention; I don't care who does/doesn't speak in grand CX so don't ask lame questions just to participate in it.

Learn and have fun :)

Preferred Pronouns: They/Her

I did LD debate for three years of high school and just graduated from Norfolk Senior High last year. I ran some kritical cases in those three years but never full K's so I'm not as familiar with them as other judges. I'll listen to them but just know that you will need to do a little more work in round for me to vote for them.

LD Debate -

General: I try my best to vote off what is heard in round. Whatever is presented to me in round and on the flow is what I will evaluate the round through. I like good clash but please be respectful during round. I know when I debated I hated being talked over so please be respectful of your opponent. Please engage with each others arguments and don't just read a page of cards and expect me to vote based on that. Also I'm pretty open to almost all arguments and positions unless its problematic.

V/C: I evaluate the round through whatever ethical lens you give me. That can be value/criterion, standard, R.O.B, etc.

Speed: I flow on paper. That being said I can keep up fairly well with fast paced reading. However, I don't like spreading and cannot flow it. If you chose to spread in front of me just keep in mind that there is a chance I won't be able to write down all the arguments you say which can come back to harm you later in round. Use this information to your advantage or don't. I will let you know if you need to slow down if needed. Also make sure if you are reading fast that it isn't exclusionary to your peer.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Email: melissamarieflores77@gmail.com

Bio

I have been judging Lincoln-Douglas debate consistently since 2007, and have limited experience judging Student Congress. I earned a Bachelors Degree in Political Science with a minor in English in 2011. Over my adult life, I have worked as a debate coach, Mentor for the Highly Gifted, filing clerk, copywriter, Communications Director/Archivist, and currently serve as a Website and Communications Technician for Lincoln Public Schools. I point all this out to say that I have spent my life in the field of spoken and written communication, using skills that I have developed in debate.

General Notes

I continue to judge debate because I truly believe that the skills and habits that students can develop in debate have an application in the real world and that they can learn and experience new ways of thinking and fairly evaluate all sides of an argument. That being said, I am typically regarded as a fairly traditional judge, and I emphasize clarity, organization, and topic knowledge in the students that I judge. My work in web design and communications has taught me that a simple, clear structure will help your audience understand you and limit misunderstandings, so doing that is always a pretty big plus for me. I tend to be on the harsher end of speaker point distributions, with 26 (out of 30) being average in my eyes.

I strive to be open to all forms of argument, but both I and your opponent need to understand them to in order to have effective debate.

I will not tolerate the use of profanity in round. If you wouldn't use it in the classroom, don't do it in front of me.

I will disclose my thoughts on the round after I submit my ballot. I request that you refrain from talking about the round until I make my decision, and that you at least make a show of pretending to take notes during the oral critique. I do not disclose speaker points.

Please figure out how to share your cases/cards quickly and efficiently over email, flash drive, paper or whatever. I've had far too many rounds recently where this has become a major timesink and nothing makes me grouchier then watching you fumble with technology for five minutes in the middle of a round.

Speed

I have been less accepting of speed the more I have spent time in the workforce and have found that speaking quickly is a habit that practically everyone around me does not appreciate. I will try to follow your arguments the best I can, but I will not yell clear, but will likely stop flowing if I feel that I cannot effectively follow your argument. I do not want the speech doc, unless I need to address an evidence or ethical concern. Your role as a debater is to communicate cleanly and clearly, and you should not rely on me reading a document to understand what you are saying.

Standards

I believe that a strong standards debate is an effective way to center cases around a focal point and build up writing and speaking skills that can be used in the future. That said, I am open to most forms of standards/framework, as long as they are explained and I am told how they interact with whatever your opponent is providing as well. If things are left vague, I will likely make a decision that neither of us will like.

Theory

To be blunt, I have very little experience with theory arguments, and like most arguments, I will strive to be open to them, but they need to be explained.

Kritiks/Performance

Once again, I have little experience with these kinds of cases, but have enjoyed them in the past when they are run well. Like any other argument, however, I expect you to clash with your opponent, and explain to me how you interact with your opponent's arguments in the round. Role of the ballot is a vital part of these cases for me, and it had better be well warranted, explained, and extended or else I am likely to drop your entire case.

Hey y'all, my name is Porter. This is my 7th year being involved in debate. Octafinalist at 2021 NFA-LD National Championship. Pronouns are he/him.

I would HIGHLY encourage the debaters to set up a speech drop (speechdrop.net), especially if the debate is occurring online/hybrid. If for any reason that does not work, please include me on any email chain at porter.giles@gmail.com.

----------

BIO: I am currently a senior at Illinois State University, where I now help coach and judge. I did 4 years of Lincoln-Douglas in high school, and I competed at nationals my senior year. I competed in NFA-LD my freshman and sophomore years of college, and spent my junior year abroad in Japan. I am a political science major with a minor in East Asian studies. I worked as the assistant debate coach for the LD team at Lincoln Southwest HS from 2020-2022, and University High School from 2021-2022.

----------

Case:

When evaluating rounds I will look to the framework , but I do a lot of the decision-making based on the impact level (for HSLD). I'm not a huge fan of traditional debates in HS-LD these days, so make sure you are doing it very well if you want to go for that. I like to see a lot of clear extensions of arguments that either go dropped or are under-responded to by your opponent, as well as good impact calculus. If you can make turns on your opponent's arguments go for it, I love to see that. PLEASE for the love of all things good give me some in-round clash rather than 45 minutes of unresponsive arguments that don't link to each other.

Side note: I will not vote for debaters who run arguments that speak over others' voices. Ex: white debaters running blackness.

----------

Speed: 8/10

In terms of speed, I can keep up with most spreading although in an online format you are running the risk of poor connection interfering with your speeches. SLOW DOWN FOR TAGLINES!! Clarity is more important to me than whether or not you can go Mach-5 and read 12 off-case positions. If your opponent is clearly new to the activity I will dock your speaks if you spread them out of the round. If you do this on top of being exceptionally rude to your opponent, I will most likely drop you.

----------

K:

I'm fine with the K debate, so long as you explain the alt and the links in a clear manner. Warrant analysis is a MUST on the K debate. I am most comfortable with critical arguments surrounding capitalism, consumption, necropolitics/biopower, and migration, although I will listen to anything if you explain the literature well. If you are reading a K aff I have a high threshold to vote against you on theory.

----------

Topicality/Theory:

Go for it. I enjoy the T debate at this point in my debate career and I am comfortable evaluating it. Slow down for your shell so that I don't miss anything you might want me to hear.

I probably need at least some instance of proven abuse, otherwise, give me a very compelling reason as to why I should vote on potential abuse. I generally have a very high threshold to voting on T against K affs.

Side note: I will NEVER under ANY circumstance, vote for disclosure theory. If you do choose to run disclosure in front of me, I will give you no higher than 26 speaker points.

----------

TL;dr Prefs:

tech > truth

phil - 3

Theory - 2

CP - 1

DA - 1

K - 1

tricks - Just don't do it.

Pronouns: he/him

I graduated from Lincoln Southwest in 2018 after four years of doing Lincoln-Douglas debate, making this my fourth year of on-and-off judging. I'm more of a traditional judge as traditional arguments are what I'm most comfortable with. To the best of my ability, I will judge fairly any argument you want to make, but be aware that it may take more explaining for me to understand less traditional cases or theory arguments. I highly value standards debate and clear analysis of why your impacts are more important than your opponents under the established standards.

Speed

I have no problems with speed as long as I can understand what you're saying. I will yell clear once, but after that it is on you to make sure I can follow. That said, in most cases I will be more receptive to a few arguments that are well-developed than a lot of arguments that are sped through to fit as many in one speech as possible.

Standards

Standards debate is extremely important to me since it tells me how to evaluate all of the impacts in the round, so I always want to see clear arguments as to why your opponent's standards are flawed or yours are more important. That said, don't be afraid to merge or concede standards if you can win under your opponent's. There's no need to waste everyone's time arguing whether justice or morality is more important. Again, value and criterion are what I'm most familiar with, but I'm open to any other method of evaluating the round so long as you can make it make sense to me and clearly explain why it's a more valuable tool to decide the winner than what your opponent is giving me.

Nontraditional Cases

I have no problem with kritiks, but again my amount of experience with them is fairly low so I appreciate clear explanations, especially of the link. I'd rather not see performance cases because in my experience with them so far I've had no idea how to evaluate the winner of the round; however, if you choose to run a performance case I will do my best to evaluate it fairly.

I have a preference for traditional style cases but limited experience or preference for progressive style cases; I approach debates with an open mind and a commitment to fairness and impartiality. While I may not have extensive familiarity with progressive arguments, I am willing to listen and evaluate them based on their merits within the framework of the debate.

When evaluating traditional-style cases, I look for clear structure, logical reasoning, and evidence-based arguments. I value debaters who prioritize clarity of expression and adherence to established debate norms such as value criterion analysis and clash. I appreciate debaters who effectively use rhetoric and persuasion to support their positions. Additionally, I prefer debaters not to speed in their delivery, as clarity and comprehension are paramount in effective communication.

In regards to progressive style cases, while I may not be as familiar with the specific arguments and frameworks, I am still interested in learning and understanding new perspectives. I encourage debaters to explain their arguments clearly and provide sufficient context for me to evaluate their contentions. I value creativity and originality in argumentation, but I also expect debaters to maintain a level of coherence and relevance to the resolution.

My judging paradigm emphasizes the importance of clear communication, logical reasoning, and adherence to debate conventions. While I may lean towards traditional style cases due to my familiarity with them, I am committed to evaluating all arguments fairly and impartially, regardless of style or approach. Debaters can expect me to prioritize substance over style and to provide constructive feedback to help them improve their skills regardless of the type of case they present.

In General

Speed reading:

Please, Please, PLEASE do not speed read when giving your speeches. First off, I've had several concussions, so if your goal is to try and ensure that your judge has a sensory overload mid-round... then I guess I can't really judge kindly on your morals as a person. Second off, in my personal opinion I believe it is a super cheap way to win a round. Listing off several bullet points at your top speed to me feels like cheating because an opponent can not argue several points in the matter of a few minutes. (So please for love of everything logical do not Speed Read.)

Speaker Points:

I judge my speaker points based off of how well you are as a speaker. If you are slouched over and looking straight to your computer without making eye contact then your speaks are not gonna be 30/30. I will lower speaks if you speed read as well, a good speaker will speak at a conversational pace. I believe that speaker points are not based off of how you give your arguments and how you flow through the round, but how you present yourself

Bad Arguments:

Please, Please, Please do not start advocating for things like World War III or death to all people of the world just for fun and because it's "edgy". These types of arguments are not fun listening to without a full understanding on how they should be run because it doesn't lead to any good voters for myself to even look towards. (If you know how to properly run them and even your coach agrees that it makes sense, then go ahead and do it)

LD

Counter-Plans:

I am not a huge fan of Counter-Plans on the Affirmative or Negative. Most of them are kinda just super abusive and noneducational. The biggest issue I find is how can your opponent prepare for a counter-plan if they only planned for the resolution as stated? It leads to an unfair/abusive debate sooooooo... please refer to a regularized case.

DA’s and Perms:

i much less know what a DA is fully and after talking to Policy debaters/coaches, most debaters on the LD Circuit do not fully understand as well. Not really something I would vote on so please refrain from using them.

Theories:

Please only use disclosure if there is a specific issue before the round starts. This goes along with issues such as disabilities or impairments. I am not likely to buy an argument for disclosure if you state that it is unfair because you do not know what your opponent's case is going to be about. (Not knowing allows for more critical thinking rather than blocking out arguments with pure consequentialism)

I will vote on a theory shell if it outlines what your opponent did to break said rules of a Lincoln-Douglas debate round. I don't really want to hear anything over something that goes outside of the LD style. Such as both debaters ought to discuss a counter-plan would not be considered something that I would approve.

Performance Case:

Currently as of right now, I am working towards my bachelor's of the arts (theatre) and will be working towards a more specialized degree in the professional theatre industry. I will gladly listen to cases that are more performative and include things such as props or listen to someone try and sing their case to me. The only issue is that in doing so, I expect you have a sense of purpose for choosing this route in

My Ballot:

I tend to be more of a traditional judge. The biggest issue within the round I want to be resolved within the round is the moral obligation of the actor within the resolution. If the resolution applies ought within the wording then I think of the resolution as a question of ought. What does the actor ought to do? What is the obligation of the actor to do said action? It becomes a moral question for what obligation I as a judge ought to vote by. This leads to consequential arguments being weighed less since just because the action will lead to a benefit doesn't mean that the actor is obligated to do said action.

PF

This is my first year with judging Public Forum, meaning that you are going to want to avoid using any abbreviations or terms that are typically understood by common judges and debaters. I am going to be open to pretty much any arguments that are well warranted, but please DO NOT FALSIFY EVIDENCE. I have heard a few times from last year that some teams are a little sketchy with their evidence whether it was local tournaments or national circuit. If I found any sketchy data that you present then I will be a bit more harsh on speaks and more willing to listen to your opponent advocating to drop it.

Cross-Ex:

Please ensure that you are not being overtly aggressive to the other team, especially during Crossfire and trying to take away the ability for your opponent(s) to ask questions. I am not someone who enjoys watching people try act super aggressive during round because that's "how you win" or "that's how debate works" because honestly it is kind of d*** move and makes it super awkward to watch as a judge. (This goes for outside of round and outside of Cross-Ex as well)

These are just the biggest points I wanted to focus on within my paradigm, but if you have any other specific questions please feel free to ask.

If you have questions outside of the tournament, or on a round I judged and you cannot find me. Contact me on either my

Email: cdjackson2000@gmail.com

Along with this, my email may be on the paradigm though I do not wish to be on the shared document in round.

she/her/hers. I am a cynical person.

-

Apparently, I vote affirmative 51% of the time. Sorry about that.

If your opponent says that your authors need to be a particular identity, I am fully expecting you to say that all of your authors are that identity. Lying is okay if your opponent is needlessly shifting the goalposts. Likewise, you do not win if your authors are x identity. That's literally anti-intellectual.

A K/CP must fulfill each: Significance, Harms, Inherency, Topicality, and Solvency. If I don't understand your alt, that's probably bad. You should try to win something other than the CP.

I don't enjoy topicality debates. Yes, you should be topical. I do not care to adjudicate what is not topical enough. I will typically err on the side of 'more topical is better.' Theory arguments exist. I think they are rather boring. I do not vote on "norm setting." Fairness is a voter.

A good round discusses philosophy. I will vote on any cogent argument. This is not an invitation to read Kant. This IS an invitation to read extinction good.

The 2AR is not where you extend all the things you didn't have time to mention in the 1AR. If I vote on any late extensions, it's because I considered the round a coinflip.

Debate experience:

I have done four years of NFA LD at UNL, it is sorta like one person policy. For a kinda background in debate I run primarily identity-based arguments, ableism to be more specific. But you can run whatever you want in front of me.

My email is morganmcgee315@gmail.com, please add me to the email chain.

***********************************HIGH SCHOOL LD******************************************************

If you are going to talk about subjects like sexual assault, suicide, domestic violence, or other potentially triggering subjects you need to have a content warning before your case, and make sure that nobody in the room will be triggered by those subjects

TLDR: I am not a trad judge, I consider myself a progressive judge, so literally please do whatever you want in front of me, I will literally vote for anything, including disclosure theory. I didn't think I had to say this but don't use evidence with slurs of a group that you are not a part of i.e. don't read evidence with the word "cripple" if you are not disabled.

I don't know anything about Kant or philosophy do probably not the best judge for that kind of argument.

Don't read evidence from Peter Singer in front of me, I am not interested in evidence from somebody who justifies assault and genocide of my community.

K Affs: Go for it, I think K affs are fun.

K: I love Ks, but that being said they need to be good Ks, by that I mean do not read a k in front of me because you think I am a K hack because that is not going to go well for you. You need to have a good link (no link of omissions ew), you need to be able to explain your alternative, you need good reasons on why I should prefer ontology/epistemology first. I am most familiar with ableism literature, but if you explain to me your lit we should be fine. I'm cool with reps/rhetoric Ks. I am not the biggest fan of pomo. DO NOT READ ANYTHING BY NICK LAND IN FRONT OF ME, I WILL AUTOMATICALLY VOTE YOU DOWN AND GIVE YOU ZERO SPEAKS. HE IS A EUGENCIST AND AS DISABLED WOMAN I WILL NOT LISTEN TO ANY JUSTIFICATION OF EUGENICS.

DA: Try to read specific links because I am of the opinion that generic links are usually punished by link thumpers.

CP: if you are going to run them please know how to answer theory, nothing is worse than watching somebody read 3 cps and not knowing how to answer condo bad. I am a big advocate for nuanced and developed counterplans, and believe it is one of the most strategic ways to subsume aff offense. I default to sufficiency framing until told otherwise. If there is no clear victor in the theory debate I will usually default negative.I generally think that CP’s should be textually and functionally competitive but feel free to tell me otherwise. I tend to lean negative on theory and think that most objections are reasons to reject the argument not the team.

T USFg/Framework: Honestly as a k debater, not the biggest fan of these debates and quite honestly I have never seen this argument run well, that being said that doesn't mean I won't vote for it if it is well run. BUT IF YOU LOVE THIS ARGUMENT READ IT. I tend to default aff if there is no clear victor on this specific argument.

Flex Prep: If both debaters are okay with asking questions during CX, then it's fine.

Yes I will vote on in-round rhetoric arguments, so do not use racist/cissexist/ableist/homophobic/transphobic language, and I'll give you zero speaker points.

You should share your evidence and disclose because both of those things create more education in the round and better debates, so I have a low threshold for voting for disclosure.

If you like didn't get the vibe, I'll make it really clear here, as a disabled debater and a coach to disabled students I AM ALL ABOUT MAKING THE DEBATE SPACE AS ACCESSIBLE AS POSSIBLE. If your opponent tells you that they can't do speed, don't spread, if you do and speed theory is run I have a pretty low threshold on voting for speed bad. If your opponent asks for you to format your evidence a certain way, do it. If you need to communicate an access issue to me before the debate, please send me an email before the round. This is a private way for you to give me information that you do not want to share with the entire room (for example, if nonverbal communication isn't accessible to you).

Be rootin

be tootin

by god be shootin

but most importantly

be kind:)

I debated in LD for three years in high school in the mid 2000’s. With that being said, I am a traditional judge in that the Value/Criterion debate is an important determinant in the round. Should this become a wash, I expect sound logical arguments and LINKS to impacts that I should care about . Make sure these are clear , I won’t assume . I am open to multiple types of arguments (Kritiks, Counterplans etc.), however, they must be proven and well warranted. Debate is all about clash so burdens of proof and quantification of a particular sides obligation can be problematic if not argued soundly. Speed reading ( or spreading as the kids like to call it) is ok , but if I cannot understand you and stop flowing, then that is not to your benefit. Speak clearly or I will not flow the argument , periodt. Debate is a wonderful educational activity and I expect professionalism and decorum along with some fun. I also expect an unequivocal respect for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the debate round and amongst competitors. Happy Debating!

Contact info: Jess, They/She, jessodebato@gmail.com

Speech drop > Email

Quick Version :p

1 = Strike me; 10 = Pref me

Tech over Truth

K-Debate & LARP = 10

Phil = 9

Topicality = 8

Theory = 6

Trix = 2

Long Version :/

Experience:

- Queer+ Blasian

- Policy, LD, and NFA-LD (college LD).

- Read phil and k

I am a queer Asian/Black person. To be objective, requires me to acknowledge my social location. I read Reid-Brinkley’s essay on Debate and racial performance last summer and was struck by so many things that were purely true. I want those in debate to not have to perform something that they are not. Being a black debator doesn’t mean you have to read Afro pess or a queer debator doesn’t mean you have to focus only on queer issues. But in the flip side, I see how insidious debate is with the privileging of extinction level impacts that continuously abstract debators from the resolution and their embodiment. This is where I come into debate as a judge, educator, and learner — please feel free to perform as you would like to, your bodies, minds, and wishes precede those of what is expected of you to get the ballot. Being Tabula rasa, to me, means to be anything but a blank slate, it requires understanding a multiplicity of difference that integrally affects how I adjudate the round - “the thing then becomes it’s opposite”, subjectivism turns to objectivism.

Current paradigm (2022-current) ~~~~

Preferences are 1 (low) - 10 (high pref). X marks the spot.

Stock/Util affs: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-X-10

Notice how I put stock “LARP” affs on the same level as K affs. I think I have equally voted for both styles of argumentation equally. I have seen some fantastic Stock affs that fundamentally interact with K’s and explain the K’s theory of power better than they do. It’s not about what kind of argument, but how you have weaved what you are defending to attack your opponents stuff. For example, I watched an stock gun control aff hit a queer rage aff, whereas the gun control aff used the theory of criminalization of urban areas to impact turn social death - that absent threat of force, the criminalization of entire populations in urban areas, which include queer people would have no justification.

Kritiks/K-Affs: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-X-10

I love K debate that is explained well! Give me good links, clever argumentation that interacts with your opponents arguments/assumptions! I love queer pess, Afro pess, historical materialism ~ new developments in K lit. As long as you make your arguments apparent and not obscure to the point that your opponent doesn’t know what’s going on, then we’ll be good.

Theory: 1-2-3-4-5-6-X-8-9-10

I will and have voted on topicality before, but I also understand how FW debate has been used to silence alternative styles of debating. What this means is that I’ll evaluate T on offense/defense - as long as you give me a clear picture about why the standards are important to fairness/education and how these benefits outweighs any of the aff’s impact turns on the T she’ll, then we’ll be good.Please don’t be blippy - T debate often happens like so, just make it clear and It’ll do you lots of good.

I’m open to lots of diff t stuff - such as the Reid-Brinkley Three tiered process stuff that’s going around, accessibility arguments, disclosure.

DA/CP: 1-2-3-4-5-6-X-8-9-10

I was taught stock policy by this one funny norfolk mentor, who always ranted about the Stock issues With that being said, I’ll evaluate CP/DA akin to how policy debators in the past have debated it. I’m cool with that.

Trix: X-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Trix are anti-educational - due to an over focus on semantics that is exclusionary to ELL debators, and a heavy emphasis on technique that is exclusionary to debators with dis/abilities, I won’t evaluate trix.

Okay so note on spreading - there’s a distinction between speed reading and spreading that is found on the nat circuit. I’m leaning more towards pretty quick speed reading - I may miss things if you spread. Most of all make sure your opponent isn’t excluded in your in round practices. I used to hate spreading because of not being able to understand things, but now listening to circuit debators I really think it’s just a clarity thing cuz debators were just not being clear.

Old Paradigm (2019-2021)~~~~~~~~

policy read this -

I'm cool with k's/k aff's/or very stock policy debate.

I have a leaning towards K's, but equally said, I love it when stock policy aff's have substantial meaningful engagment with K. I'll vote for a da, t, really whatever you give me. Sorry this is short, but i can answer more questions and also i forgot to write a paradigm.

If you were to read anything on my paradigm please look at these three things first.

1) No spreading at all. Here's why: Debate has become a hyper-competitive activity. Debaters don’t get better at uncovering the truth or debating, they become better at winning debates. The hyper-competitiveness of debate has pushed the development of itself toward a technique-orientation. In the final analysis, the rounds are not about the truth and passion of your arguments, it’s about how many arguments you can put down, how fast you debate, analytical tricks you hide in your case, and your ability to extemp answers on the spot. This high standard of professionalism and prioritization of technique over truth leads to an exclusionary space. It constantly skills checks debators – excluding debators with disabilities and shutting out truthful arguments that don’t conform to norms. As a judge, I am obligated to disincentive ableism in all its manifestations. I want to change my community for the better. Although spreading is a norm in both LD and Policy, in order for debate to be a truly educational and inclusive space I must be diametrically opposed to it. Moreover, spreading excludes debators who don't speak english as a first language. I had many friends who weren't considered "successful" in this activity because they couldn't keep up. With this in mind, I am wholly truth over technique. Even if you don't word an argument in the most fluent way, I will still give it credence when I see you try your best to explain something to the fullest. What matters to me in debate, is not how many arguments you can dish out, but how you carry through with your arguments, how you defend them, and how you develop them within the round.

2) I have a high standard for quality of evidence. If you read to me a bunch of extinction impacts with highly suspect warrants, I will, on face, throw the impacts away. Here's why: Extinction impacts have become oversaturated in the debate space in both policy and LD. Once again we return to the topic on how debate has become a hypercompetitive activity - it's easy to win off extinction impacts when you can prove the tiniest bit of a risk, even if there is little or no connection between the resolution and the actual terminal impact. This trend in debate suffocates the real and harmful oppression impacts that affects a plethora of disadvantaged groups. In so far as low probability extinction impacts could always be used to make light of tremendously harmful oppression concerns, I have the obligation as an educator to view them with more scrutiny. My requirement is this - in order to have me evaluate your extinction impact you must have tremendously high uniqueness and deliver to me a crystal clear scenario-link chain. I will be flowing every single sentence of your warrant.

3) If you are gonna make a bunch of turns and analytics, they must be as clear as day. I want your arguments to be fully developed. Please explain fully how something is a turn, rather than merely labeling it as one. If these turns and analytics aren't sufficiently warranted I won't be able to evaluate them.

LD Debate -

General: I try my best to vote off what I hear in round and to minimize my biases. Even though debate is competitve, be cordial with eachother. Hostility is anti-education and I will intervene if I have to. Genuine engagement with your evidence (don't card dump!) and one another is really important to me.

V/C: I evaluate the round through whatever ethical lens you give me. That can be value/criterion, standard, R.O.B, etc.

Tricks: Blippy arguments make me sad :(.

Affirmative: I think debates are better when Affs are resolutional, but am open to kritial affs.

Topicality: I have a higher threshold in terms of actual abuse, but the opponent has to give reasons as to why potential abuse is bad. I'll vote for topicality based on what ya'll bring to the table.

Kritiks: Those are fine as long as they are coherent. Explain your link, impact, and alternative well to your opponent.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

PF Debate -

As an educator my role is to make sure the debate space is inclusive. I will take actions to ensure racist, sexist, anti-LGBT, and ableist arguments be not condoned within the round.

Framework - If you don't provide any, I'll assume cost-benefit analysis.

Extensions - Make sure your extensions are crystal clear and not blippy. If you want me to evaluate an argument it should be sufficiently explained.

Final focus and summary - Arguments that are presented in the summary should be consistent throughout the whole round. Make sure the arguments that you are going for in the summary exists in your final focus too.

Impact crystalization - Make sure you clearly crystalize the impacts of the round and weigh it against your opponents.

My name is Mashaylla Peterson, I am a judge for Hastings High School . I did LD debate for 4 years as well as going to nationals in world schools debate. I have competed and placed in Nat Quals congress, as well as learning *SOME* aspects of CX debate as well as judging speech and debaqte at the national level. This being said, I’m a very traditional judge. I enjoy LD because of the philosophy and moral appeal. I won’t typically vote for Kritiks or critical affirmatives unless the Role of the ballot and the rest of your case are on point. I DO NOT appreciate speed and I can’t flow what I don’t hear, so if you must speed, I suggest proper annunciation, and I would honestly ask that you make sure I know you are someone who speeds. Being said, SPEEDING and SPREADING are two VERY different things. I have not and will not vote for someone who spreads.

Here are things I've been typically known to vote on (some will be LD specific and some wont)

Framework- Any case should have framework that makes sense. I do expect (in varsity and especially at state, nat quals etc) that there is a framework debate that takes place. I also expect that the case you build goes with your framework and that you don't just have a bunch of random things put together. Basically at the end of the day I am and always will love a nice clear linkage throughout the ENTIRE case.

Value and Criterion- Considering this is LD's main focus besides your framework this is what I really want to see pulled all the way through the debate. I DO NOT appreciate circular standards, but I don't mind a well done single standard

Evidence: I don't typically like having to call and ask for evidence/philosophy but do keep in mind I put my heart and soul into LD.. I have been known in rounds to let you know if the philosophy in your case isn't correct or being used the right way, however I usually won't vote on incorrect evidence etc unless your opponent also notices and makes it part of the debate.

Last but not least my big expectation is to have clear impacts. At the end of the day as a judge I cant and do not want to vote for anything if I have no idea why I care about it. When doing impacts please also realize Micro Vs Macro debate. For instance if one of the impacts when I vote is: 3 million people die vs damage to the economy, typically its going to be way easier to vote for not killing a bunch of people. Obviously at the end of the day its going to be up to both debaters to bring the impacts down the flow so that I can see the harms vs the benefits of the aff/neg world

Other than things I have highlighted I am a pretty much anything goes judge. Good luck!

Please add me on the email chain or if you have any questions: shriyasinghraghuvanshi@gmail.com

Hi! I am Shriya Singh (she/her/hers) and I debated at Millard North High School for 4 years in LD; I am currently studying political science and history at UNL. I am open to all types of arguments and case strategies as long as they are framed and executed well. With that being said, read what you are comfortable and can succeed with. :) <3

tldr:

- the way to my ballot is first and foremost impacting out the contention arguments and connecting them back to the framework

- I look at both contention and framework, you need to do work on both

- impacted out extensions made on the flow, rebuilding your case

- worst case scenario: i don't default to neg status quo right away, but the the aff needs to show me a glimmer of hope in order to overcome the neg

General

- please let me know before round, or asap if there is anything I can do to make the debate round more accessible to you. the activity is most fun when everyone can participate fairly and to their fullest extent!

- if there's a trigger warning (tw) in your case and your opponent asks you to not read it and that case/argument is still made in round you will immediately be dropped and reported. don't do it.

- speed: don't really care, go with a pace you're comfortable with and I'll shout out clear if I'm having trouble keeping up

- I pay attention during CX and what is said in CX is binding

- after your speech time has concluded you can finish up your sentence just don't try to finesse some args

- do not care about sitting/standing, eye contact/lack thereof, etc (your speaks are based off of your args and their quality and like if your being mean or something)

Flow

- please sign post and tell me what argument/contention/subpoint you are referring to and on what flow it is

- extensions: don't just say extend "xyz" please impact out the argument and tell me why explicitly I should care about that argument and what it does for the off/neg world

Actual Debate Stuff

Framework

- please collapse the values if you can

- weigh your framework against your opponents, why are you presenting me the better world under your framework?

- pre req. args, fw hijack, turns, try to not make them buzzwords, but they do add considerable weight in your favor when done correctly

Contention Level

- impact out your arguments, identify the effects of things, how you solve, how you do things better, etc, but please impact it out

- warrants should be used to contest arguments and rebuild your case (I don't usually call for evidence unless its going to be a deciding factor in the round)

- tie your contentions back to your framework

- cross apply, extend, and try to write the ballot for me, literally tell me why you are winning.

Phil/Tricks

- I understand basic level Phil and am responsive to it, but if you read it and execute it well its prolly fine, but please be clear in explaining your phil, I just don't know the dense stuff very well and ill get confused

- theory/tricks: clean extensions and implementation of them are very important, please refrain from hitting me with multiple offs for no reason

Kritiks

- open to all positions, please check with your opponent before round if it maybe triggering

- PLEASE WARRANT THE LINK, explain the link story and what your alternative does

- not particular over k over theory or vice versa, depends what happened in round, convince me why I should favor what you think matters more

- ROTB: you have the power to show me the potential of my signature, please do with appropriate impacts and application. Round goes to whomever wins the ROTB.

LARP/DA's

- CP's: needs to clearly solve and have a net benefit, DA over K , if not I will go for aff perm(s) and theory. the aff needs to show why the CP can't solve, beat the net benefit or show that the perm is superior

- DA's: I think they are legit, but you need to show why and how it links to the aff. I'll vote on non-uqniue args, but if not then I will go the aff's no link args, DA turn, or if they managed to outweigh on case v.s DA. impact clac is your best bet here

- condo: don't have an opinion against/in favor of it, so yeah go for ig. depends on how you manage to kick out of it and what happens after that. also remember to ask your opponent in cx the condition of the cp because I do hold the round accountable to cross-ex checks.

Theory/Topicality

- I think these args are most useful when they are used to confront actual abuse in round rather than to bully in the round, but I will listen to and vote on it but the aff needs to present a genuine reason as to why the off is present in the first place

- if its a wash I default to drop the arg, on theory I drop the debater on T, no RVI, creates bad norm/ethic, and competing interns

Disclosure

- don't care, but you should try to disclose if you can

Speaks

- I disclose speaks and then also try to give a reason why they are the way they are

- avg. is 28 and then up or down based off of round

- I do not discredit you for "lack of eye contact" or like "not standing" or "packing up early" do what you are comfortable with, its cool I literally do not care

Debate is an intellectual, procedural, rigorous, and educational game with unfixed win conditions. Almost everything in a debate -- including what 'a debate' is or what 'the topic' is -- is up for grabs. That said ...

My biography is unimportant, but I debated from 2014 to 2018. I debated in each event for about a year. I was primarily a K debater but I enjoyed debating philosophy (LD), for a wide audience (PF/Congress), and idiosyncratically (CX). I was a decent debater and probably performed better than I deserved. I call myself a 'policy judge' since it's the event I most enjoyed and spent the most time with, but that term carries a lot of baggage.

For several reasons, I object to the existence ofspeaker points. However I no longer think my previous method of handing out speaks is particularly workable, especially when I'm the only person using it. So: 28 is average, 28.5 is good, 29 is great, and 30 is awesome. (And I do believe in giving out 30s; none of this "there's always room for improvement".)

I usually read most of my decision directly, word-for-word from my ballot. My ballot will be more coherent than my spoken RFD, in part because I don't have a loud voice, and in part because trying to reinterpret what I wrote on the fly is difficult.

I like critical affirmatives and traditional affirmatives about equally. All affirmatives -- including 'traditional' ones -- carry the same burdens, but 'critical' affirmatives should especially be able to defend: Jurisdiction (whether I have the right to vote for your position), venue (why this advocacy should be happening in debate and not elsewhere), form (why this particular kind of structure / speech is better than alternatives), methodology (why the kind of advocacy you're taking is better than others), and evaluation (what are the parameters of an affirmative/negative win).

I am fine for the kritik. I don't view Ks as cheating (in any event), much like I don't view counterplans as cheating.* I preferred the K as a competitor and I generally find K debate more enjoyable to watch as a judge, but it doesn't boost your chances of winning or losing. I have deep familiarity with some K literature, passing familiarity with other lit, and no familiarity with yet other lit; I'm keeping this vague so you explain even what I might be familiar with.

* To explain this point. There is a special issue of a debate journal in 1989 which discusses the counterplan, and the introduction describes the problem like this: "The counterplan has never been more popular nor more controversial. [...] Virtually every tenet of traditional counterplan theory is now an object of serious challenge. [...] [T]hese essays employ the flash and fury of the conflict at hand to provoke thoughtful reflection on [...] fundamental questions facing competitive debate." [Robert Branham (1989), "Editor's Introduction: The State of the Counterplan", The Journal of the American Forensic Association, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 117-120.] This is silly. I think objections to 'the K' are just as silly, and the problems addressed in that issue are eerily similar to ones we contest in K debate today.

Presumption goes negative, unless they have an advocacy in the last speech, in which case it goes affirmative. I find myself voting on presumption much more than I'd like ...

Theory only requires that the violating argument be dropped. If you argue that conditionality is bad, that only automatically applies to the conditional arguments. For theory against arguments to result in dropping the debater, you have to argue that. Note that, in some cases, theory is not responding to an argument, but a speech act or ethical issue; in those cases, drop the debater probably automatically applies.

Certain types of theory make more sense in LD than in policy, like speed and conditionality. Some make less sense (though not zero), like disclosure.

Flashing, emailing, and uploading speech docs, and asking or reading evidence, all count as prep time. Any time you are typing, reading, conferring with a partner, or preparing, there needs to be a clock running.

I don't care about tag-team cross orsitting vs. standing. I spoke sitting for almost my entire debate career.

Extensions are arguments, not pro forma statements. "Extend the dropped arg" or "extend the evidence" are somewhat bizarre things to say, since if you only extend a claim but not its warrants, there's no reason to believe it's true. "Extend the arg that X because Y" or "extend this evidence which says X" are better.

For an argument to survive by the last speech, it should be present in earlier speeches and extended. If you have awesome solvency evidence in the 1AC but it's not in the 1AR, I'm not sure how it's even possible for you to 'extend' solvency into the 2AR. It's like preserving an issue for appeal.

I can't handle incredibly fast speed, but I've been able to keep up with all of the policy rounds I've judged so far. I don't believe in yelling 'speed' or 'clear'. Obviously slow down on analytics, taglines, etc., where specific wording needs to be on my flow.

I have no inherent problem with tricks or RVIs or other arguments that seem to get a ton of attention in paradigms but nobody seems to actually ever run. Make your case as to why they're cheating and why cheating is bad.

I have zero moral obligation to enforce the 'NSDA rules' or any other rules unless the tournament instructs and requires me to. Just because it's declared a 'rule' somewhere doesn't actually mean anything. When I'm not required to enforce the rules, doing things like running a counterplan in PF doesn't necessarily result in an automatic disqualification of the argument, nor is it enough to just say 'the rules prohibit counterplans'. You should be making an argument.

In Lincoln Douglas, I think plans are particularly vulnerable to topicality and don't fit the overall structure and purpose of the event, but they (like K's) are OK in my book. Running a counterplan in response to a whole-resolution, philosophical affirmative is winnable but not strategic for several reasons. If someone can explain what their actual problem is with single standards orroles of the ballot or what have you (versus a value and criterion), I might explain why they don't bother me, but I've yet to see an explanation ...

Public Forum is a confusing event. Treat me like another out-of-touch policy judge since I'm unfamiliar with the norms and expectations of this style of debate. Because of the structure and purpose of PF, though, I don't think the second rebuttal needs to respond to the first; it's probably strategic to do so anyway. Arguments that are in final focus need to be properly extended in summary.

Congress is more confusing. It is a somewhat theatrical, speech-like form of debate, which has lower burdens of proof. I think past the first two speeches, debaters should be responding in some form to one another, and as debate on legislation continues, more and more of our speeches need to present direct refutation or support of others. Because Congress is theatrical, I don't think 'true' or particularly 'strong' arguments need to be presented; many members of real legislatures have idiosyncratic (or outright false) beliefs which are poorly defended. You just need to make a plausible defense of whatever stance you are taking and directly engage in the debate that's happening before you. The presiding officer has special duties: They are obligated to preserve the interests of the body. This means that, in addition to accurately assessing who speaks and when, they must support the orderly flow of debate, and they must encourage active debate.

Phrases I dislike: "As a brief off-time roadmap" (it's never brief), "independent voter" (it's never independent), "at the leisure of my opponents and judge" (we're not here for leisure), "star/circle/highlight this" (I'd really rather not draw), "judge" (is this all I am?).

I spent my high school career debating Lincoln-Douglas. After graduating in 2012, I have consistently judged LD in Nebraska. I am more familiar with traditional debate but am open to accept more progressive positions as long as there is a clear claim, warrant, and impact. I strive to be "tabula rasa" when evaluating debate. Just make sure to do your job and convince me why I should vote in your favor.

Speed: I am not a fan of speed. I can keep up most of the time. However, attempting to speed can certainly negatively impact the debater if I'm not able to efficiently flow. I will clearly express if you're going too fast by not flowing and giving you a confused look.

Arguments: I am open to almost every type of argument as long as it is warranted and clear.

Theory: I will vote if very clear abuse is present. However, unless its absolutely necessary I will be upset with you if you turn the debate into a theory round because you lack substantial responses to your opponents case. I am a big fan of discussing the actual resolution.

Overall, I am a fairly traditional judge. Yet I have experience debating and judging more progressive debate. Demeanor and decorum are important to me. Presentation is important. However, I will ultimately vote for the winner of the best arguments.

BIO: I recently graduated from Truman State University with a Bachelors degree in Communication. I grew up in Kansas City, MO, where I debated four years of CX in high school and then moved onto NFA-LD. Just a personal note about debate, I believe this is a space to be heard and that real change can come from arguments in debate rounds. I also view debate as more of an educational activity than a competitive one, although we all love to win lol, but I want to see that you are really learning about the topic and that you have a real understanding of the arguments that you are making.

*** side note, I will not let you forfeit a round. I will make you debate and it will be awkward so please do not try.

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SPEAKS

0-20: Your coach needs to have words with you about how belligerent/ racist/ homophobic/ rude you are to other members of the community. I have no tolerance for these kinds of things and you shouldn't either. Debate is dying and we are a community. Being aggressive and being rude are separate things. Be kind to one another.

25-26: You failed to do anything correct in the round

26-27: you do minimal correctly. You have not come to grasp with what debate is and how arguments function together.

27-28: You get a c-b on this debate. some important dropped args or framing questions are not challenged

28-29: You handled this round well. There were minute problems that can be resolved easily that can bump you up.

29-29.5: You are a solid debater and have done exactly what I would do (or slightly better) to answer different arguments. Typically this range is also associated with you winning against a very good opponent, or very easily.

30: I have no corrections. You have had a perfect round and all of your arguments are on point and delivered properly. You have made some kind of strategic decision that I did not think about that I find genius.

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WILL VOTE ON

Disclosure theory - you will really need to impact it out, I will vote on proven or potential abuse

Theory out of 1AC

Speed theory - if justified, although speed is a useful tool, it should not be used to weaponize the debates. If your opponent asks you to slow down and you do not, but your opponent does not bring it up, I will intervene and I will severely doc your speaker points.

Framework v. K affs - love it

Framework turns v. other positions (Ks, DAs, Case args) - love it too

CPs in HS LD

CP theory

K LD - I will listen to any K you want to read, but if I can tell if you don't understand it or it isn't topic specific, you are going to have to work really hard to get me to vote on it. I have a general knowledge of most Ks, I am most familiar with Fem Ks, and discourse related arguments.

Speaking for others arguments (There are ways to not make this problematic. However, identity is very individualized and commodification of someone else's identity for your own gain is a problem for me. For instance, do not be a white male debater reading the narrative of a black woman.)

HS-LD

For any arguments that relate to it see above. In terms of how I evaluate LD rounds I rely heavily on the framework debate to determine how I will evaluate the round. Pay it it's due and try to win it. However, if you are able to show how your arguments fall into your opponents’ framework then I will be willing to vote for you if they win the framework shell. Also please clash with each other. I have seen too many rounds where each speech is just explaining 1ACs and 1NCs and I don't have a specific reason to vote against one or the other. At that point my personal morals let me decide how I feel about the topic. You don't want that. I don't want that.

I am more progressive when it comes to LD due to my policy background. This means PICs, Ks, CPs and DAs are all acceptable. weigh them and explain the args as they apply to the aff case.

I prefer single standard debate as well. Death is bad and morality is good (but subjective) I dont need a specific mechanism for how we prevent or entrench one or the other. if you read it thats fine but I probably won't look at it that much unless you thoroughly explain it to me.

NFA - LD

SPEED: I can do speed. I do have some conditions though. PLEASE READ T SHELLS SLOWLY!!!! I need to hear the definitions, standards and voters. Bottom line is if it isn't on my flow I can't vote for it. Speed SHOULD NOT be used as a weapon especially if there is a specific debater in the round that has a disability that hinders them from spreading or flowing quick speech. Be respectful of individuals and their experiences.

TOPICALITY/THEORY: needing proven abuse is BS. Affs that say dont vote on potential abuse are wrong and should read counterinterps that apply to their affs. If the neg interp is bad then warrant that out in the standards debate.

If you want to win T in front of me you should pull through all your standards and voters, a dropped standard or voter is an easy way to win T if you can impact it out. I would also much rather see one or two well thought out T shells than multiple small violations.

When it comes to theory I love it. I tend to flow it on a different sheet so tell me when I need to pull one out. Theory args can win rounds in front of me if there are well warranted and aplicable to the topic. This means I will vote on Extra T or Effects T arguments if you make them well enough. Warrant out why some shells are weighed first in the round and explain to me how different shells interact with each other. T is never a reverse voter though and neither is theory. Predictability is not determined by whether or not something is on the wiki or if you have seen it before. Predictability is based on whether or not an interpretation is predictable given the resolution. The same goes for reasonability.

DISADS: I love to see disads! This is one of my favorite arguments to see and evaluate. However, if you run generic links that's no bueno for me. generic links from the Neg means generic responses from the Aff are acceptable. I don't want a generic debate y'all. give me some links that pertain to the case at hand.

CPs: They exist. I never really ran them but I do know how they work and I will evaluate them. Also prove it competitive. (Hint: I like Disads. that can help.) I will vote for the perm on presumption if you don’t prove them to be competitive as long as there’s a perm on the CP.

KRITIKS: I like the k debate and will vote for them but explain the literature. I am most familiar with feminist literature and identity kritiks. I have also seen antiblackness and afropessimism rounds that I have enjoyed a lot. But that does not mean I am entirely up to date on the newest literature or how your lit plays into the round. Just explain it to me. NEVER RUN MULTIPLE IN ONE ROUND!!!! The Alt debate turns ugly and I don't want to deal with that. Affs should either have a plan text or an advocacy statement as to what they do. I don't like performance debate as much as just reading the cards, however I have voted for poetry performance in rounds. I will listen to identity args. Race, disabilty, and queer lit are all acceptable in front of me and I can/ will evaluate them. Neg should be able to defend alt solvency. I am not going to automatically grant that. I will not kick the alt for you. saying "if you do not buy the alt kick it for me" is not an argument. If you do not explicitly say "kick the alt" or something of that nature I will evaluate the alternative. If it does not solve then I will be persuaded by risk of aff offense. I also want to point out that P.I.L. was correct, Anger is an Energy. If structures upset you, feel free to rage agaisnt them. This can include the debate, economic, racial, gendered, and other spaces. If you are oppressed and you are angry about it, I will not limit your ability to angrily refute the system.

CASE: I am always here for the growth, heg, and democracy bad debates as well as the prolif good ones. My strategy typically was to go T, K, O so I enjoy hearing why heg is bad and how the alt avoids it and how the aff isnt topical.

PRESUMPTION: I will not vote for terminal defense on the flow. I need an offensive reason to vote for you. Whether that be a disad, K, or advantage I need something to evaluate to give me a reason to reject the other team. Find it, win it, and extend it. Also, do the calculus for me of what impacts matter and why they matter. When I do the calculus I look to magnitude, timeframe, and probability. Explain why you fit into those please.

CONDO: I find it disingenuous to read more than one condo advocacy in one round. You can do it if you win the theory debate but I will be more lenient to theory in a world of multiple conditional advocacies. If you are running multiple advocacies please make it only be CPs. I don't want to see a CP and K in a round because almost always the CP will link to the K and I think that's cheating.

I WILL NOT VOTE ON

Topical Cps - I believe that they do steal aff ground and make it very difficult for the aff to debate solvency, yes perms can solve, and you are welcome to have that debate but I strongly dislike topical counterplans.

______________________________

At the end of the day it is my job to sit in the back of the room and listen to discourse on the issues presented. It is your job to determine how that discourse happens. Just because I say I do or do not like something should not change your strategy based on the round. I have voted for things I never thought I would and have changed my opinions about things a lot. I give higher speaks to anyone who can read my paradigm and change my opinion or do something that is incredibly intelligent in round. Do what you are comfortable with and I will adjudicate it based on what is in front of me.

Other than this PLEASE feel free to ask me.

Pre-Round Etiquette

1) I prefer you disclose cases, especially due to the online format this year, and if there's an email chain you can include me at atannehill314@gmail.com

2) Please tell me your preferred pronouns before the round.

3) If your case contains any material that could be psychologically damaging or harmful (such as mentions of suicide, sexual assault, domestic abuse, etc.), then please include trigger warnings.

4) Don't record the round without permission of everyone in the round.

5) Please don't cheat in online rounds by accessing outside sources - you should have the same level of integrity you would have in an in-person round.

Experience

I debated LD for 3 years at Lincoln Southeast and saw both traditional and nat circuit rounds. I am currently debating LD on the UNL debate team. I'm a first year out.

Speed

I'm generally okay with some speed, but I would prefer you to error on the slow side, especially due to the audio lag and connection issues that are prevalent with online debate. It's better for you to talk a bit slower and ensure that I'm able to hear everything you're saying. Also, please don't utilize speed as a weapon or I will drop your speaks.

How to Get My Ballot

I will vote on nearly any type of case, as long as it's explained well, but as I don't have a lot of experience with K's and Larp I would be hesitant to run anything too complicated or uncommon in front of me. I also generally won't vote on tricks. The arguments I prefer are: Phil>CPs/Plans>Theory>K's>Larp>Tricks

I will evaluate the framework level of the debate first and then evaluate the round based on who has the biggest or most contextualized impacts under the winning framework. This means that while framework is important, I also look for impact weighing or some method of showing how your offense links back into the lens for the round. You also need to warrant your arguments and explain them - I won't vote for a weak argument that doesn't have any evidence or explanations behind it. Finally, I want you to tell me what the world of your case looks like and what the implications of that are, so that you can essentially write the ballot for me in your final speeches.

If you are running theory or a K, make sure that you are articulate and clearly explain the arguments you're making or the literature involved. Don't assume I know what you're talking about. If I don't understand the K, I can't vote for it.

I also will not vote on any arguments that are hurtful (sexist, homophobic, racist, ablest, etc.) and you will lose speaker points.

Speaks

I am typically pretty generous with speaker points, but here are a few general rules to keep in mind:

Ways to improve your speaks:

- Be nice

- Explaining your arguments well

- Speaking clearly and confidently

- Signposting

- Making Marvel or Star Wars references

- Showing passion for both your case and debate overall

Ways to hurt your speaks:

- Being a jerk

- Being problematic

- Running abusive arguments

- Curb stomping Novices

- Reading a position you obviously don't understand

Ask me any other questions you have before round and, most importantly, have fun!

Please do not read arguments that can be interpreted as glorifying suicide. This is a specific vein of death good that I do not want to hear. If you have questions, please ask before round.

I EXPECT YOU TO USE SOME WAY TO FILE SHARE FOR ALL DEBATES!!! THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE SHOULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE CARDS YOU READ IS SILLY AND MAKES FOR BAD DEBATES. FAILURE TO SHARE YOUR EVIDENCE WITH YOUR OPPONENT AND MYSELF WILL RESULT IN A MAX OF 25 SPEAKER POINTS AND A LOSS IN ELIMS.

Disclosure updates in things i vote on section

I prefer for us to use speechdrop.net for file sharing but if we have to use one, add me to the email chain: dieseldebate@gmail.com

"debate is bigger than any one person. I believe in debate. I believe in the debate community. I believe that debate is one of the most valuable educational programs in the country and I am proud that it is my home."- Scott Harris

Are you a high schooler interested in debating in college??? If so, you should contact me and ask about it. We have scholarships for dedicated debaters who want to invest in our program and would love to welcome you to our team!

_______________________

Experience:

Competing

2012-2016: Policy Debate at Lee's Summit West High School, 2x national qualifier [Transportation infrastructure, Cuba Mexico Venezuela, Oceans, Surveillance]

2016-2020: NFA-LD at University of Nebraska-Lincoln [SOUTHCOMM, Policing, Cybersecurity, Energy]

2020 NFA-LD debater of distinction

Coaching

2018-2019: Justice Debate league Volunteer

2020: Lincoln Douglas Lab leader for the Nebraska Debate Institute

2020-2022: Assistant NFA-LD Coach for Illinois State University

2019-2023: Head LD coach for Lincoln Southwest High School

2022: Lab leader for the Collegiate Midwest Lincoln Douglas Cooperative

2022: Varsity LD and progressive argumentation lab leader for the Nebraska Debate Conference

2022-present: Assistant Director of Debate for the University of Nebraska- Lincoln (NFA-LD, some NDT-CEDA)

individuals who shaped my perspectives on debate: Justin Kirk, Adam Blood, Nadya Steck, Dustin Greenwalt

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SPEAKS

0-20: Your coach needs to have words with you about how belligerent/ racist/ homophobic/ rude you are to other members of the community. I have no tolerance for these kinds of things and you shouldn't either. Debate is dying and we are a community. Being aggressive and being rude are separate things. Be kind to one another.

25-26: You failed to do anything correct in the round

26-27: you do minimal correctly. You have not come to grasp with what debate is and how arguments function together.

27-28: You get a c-b on this debate. some important dropped args or framing questions are not challenged

28-29: You handled this round well. There were minute problems that can be resolved easily that can bump you up.

29-29.5: You are a solid debater and have done exactly what I would do (or slightly better) to answer different arguments. Typically this range is also associated with you winning against a very good opponent, or very easily.

30: I have no corrections. You have had a perfect round and all of your arguments are on point and delivered properly. You have made some kind of strategic decision that I did not think about that I find genius.

______________

WILL VOTE ON

Disclosure theory - if you read disclosure on either side and do not have open sources available for both sides on your wiki, I will massively doc your speaks. This argument exists to create better standards for debate. Failure to do so will result in dreadful speaks and a very easy out for your opponent to just say that you did not meet the burdens expressed in your argument.

theory out of 1AC

Speed theory (if justified, see speed section)

Framework v. K affs

Framework turns v. other positions (Ks, DAs, Case args)

CPs in HS LD

CP theory

Ks in HS LD (See K section in policy for specifics)

Speaking for others arguments (There are ways to not make this problematic. However, identity is very individualized and commodification of someone else's identity for your own gain is a problem for me. For instance, do not be a white male debater reading the narrative of a black woman.)

______________

NFA-LD/ Policy

SPEED: I can do speed. I do have some conditions though. READ T SHELLS SLOWLY!!!! I need to hear the definitions, standards and voters. Bottom line is if it isn't on my flow I can't vote for it. Speed SHOULD NOT be used as a weapon especially if there is a specific debater in the round that has a disability that hinders them from spreading or flowing quick speech. Be respectful of individuals and their experiences.

TOPICALITY/THEORY: needing proven abuse is wrong. Affs that say dont vote on potential abuse are wrong and should read counterinterps that apply to their affs. If the neg interp is bad then warrant that out in the standards debate. I do say if you want to win T you need to go all in in the NR and win the full shell. When it comes to theory I love it. I tend to flow it on a different sheet so tell me when I need to pull one out. That being said I don't see theory as a means of winning the ballot. It is just a means of getting me to not evaluate an argument. This can be changed though. I have done a lot of weighing condo bad v. T. Theory v. theory is always a fun time. Warrant out why some shells are weighed first in the round and explain to me how different shells interact with each other. T is never a reverse voter though and neither is theory. Predictability is not determined by whether or not something is on the wiki or if you have seen it before. Predictability is based on whether or not an interpretation is predictable given the resolution. The same goes for reasonability. Negs who read T should be able to provide a TVA or establish that the education we get from judging the 1AC is bad for the topic.

DISADS: Run them. This is one of my favorite arguments to see and evaluate. I think it is the best way to establish comparative offense. However, if you run generic links that's no bueno for me. generic links from the Neg means generic responses from the Aff are acceptable. I don't want a generic debate y'all. give me some links that pertain to the case at hand.

CPs: They exist. I never really ran them but I do know how they work and I will evaluate them. Also prove it competitive. (Hint: I like Disads. that can help.) I will vote for the perm on presumption if you don’t prove them to be competitive as long as there’s a perm on the CP.

KRITIKS: I like the k debate and will vote for them but explain the literature. I have read some of the authors including Deleuze and Guattari, Puar, D’andrea, Ahmed, Wilderson, Tuck and Yang, and most of the authors that relate to neoliberal subjectivity as it applies to consumption. I have also seen antiblackness and afropessimism rounds that I have enjoyed a lot. But that does not mean I am entirely up to date on the newest literature or how your lit plays into the round. Just explain it to me. NEVER RUN MULTIPLE IN ONE ROUND!!!! The Alt debate turns ugly and I don't want to deal with that. Affs should either have a plan text or an advocacy statement as to what they do. I don't like performance debate as much as just reading the cards, however I have voted for poetry performance in rounds. I will listen to identity args. Race, disabilty, and queer lit are all acceptable in front of me and I can/ will evaluate them. Neg should be able to defend alt solvency. I am not going to automatically grant that. I will not kick the alt for you. saying "if you do not buy the alt kick it for me" is not an argument. If you do not explicitly say "kick the alt" or something of that nature I will evaluate the alternative. If it does not solve then I will be persuaded by risk of aff offense. I also want to point out that P.I.L. was correct, Anger is an Energy. If structures upset you, feel free to rage against them. This can include the debate, economic, racial, gendered, and other spaces. If you are oppressed and you are angry about it, I will not limit your ability to angrily refute the system.

K's that I am v familiar with: SetCol, Cap, Afropess, fem, ableism, militarism, Biopower/ Necropower, Islamophobia

k's that I know a bit less: queer theory, Baudrillard

CASE: I am always here for the growth, heg, and democracy bad debates as well as the prolif good ones. My strategy typically was to go T, K, O so I enjoy hearing why heg is bad and how the alt avoids it and how the aff isnt topical.

PRESUMPTION: I will not vote for terminal defense on the flow. I need an offensive reason to vote for you. Whether that be a disad, K, or advantage I need something to evaluate to give me a reason to reject the other team. Find it, win it, and extend it. Also, do the calculus for me of what impacts matter and why they matter. When I do the calculus I look to magnitude, timeframe, and probability. Explain why you fit into those please.

CONDO: I find it disingenuous to read more than one condo advocacy in one round in NFA. You can do it if you win the theory debate but I will be more lenient to theory in a world of multiple conditional advocacies. If you are running multiple advocacies please make it only be CPs. I don't want to see a CP and K in a round because almost always the CP will link to the K and I think that's cheating. That is different for policy and I consider it much more debatable then.

PLANLESS AFFS: I believe the aff should do something. How that happens is up to the aff. I do not reject planless affs on face but they should at least have an advocacy. otherwise, I am persuaded by vote neg on presumption because the aff functionally does nothing. arguments about the importance of rhetorical challenges is a way to do this.

_________

HS-LD

For any arguments that relate to it see above. In terms of how I evaluate LD rounds I rely heavily on the framework debate to determine how I will evaluate the round. Pay it it's due and try to win it. However, if you are able to show how your arguments fall into your opponents’ framework then I will be willing to vote for you if they win the framework shell. Also please clash with each other. I have seen too many rounds where each speech is just explaining 1ACs and 1NCs and I don't have a specific reason to vote against one or the other. At that point my personal morals let me decide how I feel about the topic. You don't want that. I don't want that.

I think a lot of LD debaters fail to recognize the importance of uniqueness to their arguments. If the squo is in the direction of the arg you are talking about, you need to prove uniqueness for whatever point you are making.

I tend to default to the idea that Fiat does not exist in HSLD until I am told otherwise. This is an easy arg to make especially with a res that uses the word "ought".

I am more progressive when it comes to LD due to my policy background. This means PICs, Ks, CPs and DAs are all acceptable. weigh them and explain the args as they apply to the aff case.

Phil cases and I do not get along very well. It confuses me and I find that debaters are not the best at explaining philosophy in the limited amount of time we have in debate rounds.

I prefer single standard debate as well. Death is bad and morality is good (but subjective) I dont need a specific mechanism for how we prevent or entrench one or the other. if you read it thats fine but I probably won't look at it that much unless you thoroughly explain it to me.

how to pref me

policy style args (CP, K, DA)-1

Theory-1

phil-3

tricks-these are typically not arguments and hold minimal weight for me

______________________________

PF

If you have me in the back of the room for NSDA most likely it will be for public forum. That being said, I am not extremely experienced when it comes to public forum debate. I have coached and debated it in an extremely limited capacity but have substantial experience in other formats. The debate is yours but I have a few things that ought to be known before you walk into the room and start doing your thing.

1. Debate is a game of comparative warrants and impacts. Too many people in PF try to rely on just making claims without substantiating those claims with proper warrants. Just giving me a number is insufficient to prove the causality of an argument. I need to understand what the reasoning is behind WHY a number exists.
2. Uniqueness MATTERS! I have seen too many debaters (in all activities) fail to explain the uniqueness of their claims and arguments. The resolution provides an overarching truth claim that provides some direction as to how the world reorients itself post implementation. What does each world look like and how is it a shift to the status quo?
3. Evidence is incredibly important to me. If you choose to paraphrase, it will negatively impact your speaker points. I emphasize the use of actual properly cut cards in PF. I understand this is not a common practice so if I ask for evidence that you have read, you need to be able to provide the source and the lines where your arguments came from. Failure to do this will result in me not evaluating an argument, filing an ethics complaint, and tanking your speaks. Don't plagiarize or lie to me in a debate.
4. Speaker position does not influence me too much. I keep a rigorous flow that consists of all of the arguments made by both teams. You should pref the side you want before picking the order in front of me.
5. PLEASE provide an actual impact in debates. most PF rounds I have judged do not express an actual impact story and get stuck at internal links. you need a reason that your contentions are a problem
6. Finally, for any of it that applies above, please consult my LD and policy sections of my paradigm to see if any arguments should or should not be read at this tournament. Also, ask any questions that you may have before the round. I enjoy talking to people and hope to enjoy the debate you present me with.

__________________

At the end of the day it is my job to sit in the back of the room and listen to discourse on the issues presented. It is your job to determine how that discourse happens. Just because I say I do or do not like something should not change your strategy based on the round. I have voted for things I never thought I would and have changed my opinions about things a lot. I give higher speaks to anyone who can read my paradigm and change my opinion or do something that is incredibly intelligent in round. Do what you are comfortable with and I will adjudicate it based on what is in front of me.

Other than this PLEASE feel free to ask me. I only bite on tuesdays. Pref me a 1 and I'll be able to give you an experienced and fairly well rounded and open round.

If you have any questions for me, you can email me (jwtomsu@gmail.com) or ask me before the round starts.

I am in my second year as a coach for LD debate at Millard South and debated 3 years of LD at Elkhorn South.

In general, I try to have an open mind to most arguments, just keep in mind that I debated on a pretty traditional circuit, and I am not as familiar with some of the more progressive debate styles. I've learned a lot in the past year about some of the more progressive debate, but I'm still not 100% confident in knowing all the ins and outs of certain progressive debate. I will try and keep up with whatever debate I'm judging, but what I'm trying to emphasize is that I may not be able to comprehend a debate round where the debaters are using progressive jargon that I'm not familiar with.

Give me warrants and a framing mechanism to contextualize your impacts and I'll be good.

Speed: I'm probably between a 6 or 7 on speed. Note for online debate: I will follow the tournament rules for whatever I'm supposed to do if there are technical difficulties, but the rule of thumb for me is that I will try to be as accommodating as possible if any problems pop up. Also, I understand it can be an inconvenience, but please slow down for online debate as otherwise I will probably miss parts of the flow.

*** If there is an email chain I'd like to be added in case of technical difficulties with the online format, otherwise I will not look at it and speech docs are not a reason to spread in round. Email: premavasu23@gmail.com ***

Bio:

I'm currently a Sophomore at UNL. I graduated from Lincoln Southwest Highschool in 2020 where I competed in LD Debate for 4 years. I also occasionally competed in Congress, and qualified and competed at nationals for both LD and Congress. Below I have General Notes that apply to all events and below that I have specific notes about how I judge LD, Congress, and PF.

*** I've done my best to create a detailed paradigm, but I know I may have missed things, and it may be unclear what I'm trying to say, so please ask questions if you have them! ***

General Notes (For all events):

- I do not judge every tourney or coach, so I most likely am not super familiar with the topic in general. I also have a fairly traditional background and am out of practice with flowing very high speeds so just be aware of that!

- I believe that debate is an educational space, and we are all trying to learn! Please do your part to foster a welcoming environment where everyone can learn from each other and engage with each others ideas. In short, please be respectful towards your opponent (and me) so we can all learn and have a good time at debate.

- If you are running any arguments that are sensitive, or even if you think your arguments may be sensitive, please provide a content warning before the round begins. I think this is vital to creating a positive environment in the debate space. If you feel you are not comfortable engaging in a round due to sensitive content please feel comfortable letting me know and we can figure out what to do next.

- I have absolutely no tolerance for racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. in the debate space. Such behaviors are unacceptable, I will not hesitate to drop you on face, your speaker points will reflect this, and I will contact your coach to address these issues.

- I expect you all to time yourselves and be honest about that. I may also keep track of time, but no guarantees. For novices I will be keeping track of time, and I am willing to give you 30 second warnings during prep if you would like.

- I tended to lean more traditional as a debater, but I have experience with a wide variety of arguments. If you have more progressive or 'out there' arguments or debating style there is one thing that is very important to keep in mind: I am open to hearing any arguments so long as I understand your argument. Have a clear understanding of your arguments, and clearly explain those arguments to me and your opponent.

- I do not vote for disclosure theory. I encourage debaters to fileshare if there are internet issues with tourneys over zoom but I do not vote for theory based on disclosure on the wiki.

- I will disclose decisions unless tab tells me not to.

LD DEBATE

TLDR; I am a traditional-ish judge, and don't do well with very high speeds since I'm out of practice. I appreciate strong framework debate, impacting, and narrowing the round as it goes on. Please ask me any specific questions you may have! I have more specifics below.

The Round:

Standards:

I think framework is super important! Framework is the lens through which I view and evaluate the rest of the round. In your framework you should tell me what I as the judge should see as the most important thing to care about. Do I care most about saving the most amount of people, or should I care more about justice and what that means? The impacts I care about are determined by the framework through which I will weigh arguments, so please spend time explaining your framework in the context of your arguments, as well as how your framework interacts with your opponents framework and arguments.

The most common structure is Value and Value Criterion, this is the format I am most familiar with; I am also familiar with the use of single standards. I am open to other forms of framework so long as you explain clearly what you are saying and how that fits into your other arguments.

Contention Level Arguments & Evidence:

Claim, Warrant, Impact are foundation to contention level arguments. In short, what I am trying to say is that every claim you make (aka your arguments) should have a warrant (evidence) and an impact (why do I care about this at all?). These three aspects put together form a compelling argument to me.

When you extend or cross apply arguments it doesn't mean much to me if you just say a card name or read off a bit of the card's warrant analysis. Extend the impact, tell my why your evidence says what you say it says, and tell me why I should care. Relate your contention level arguments back to the framework you have established. I do my best but I'm not great at flowing card names, so explaining things and extending impact goes a long way for me!

Voters:

I know some people enjoy explicit voters, but I don't have a strong preference. If you have voters, great, if not that's fine too. That said, in your last speech I think that you should not try to address every argument made, but instead crystalize and focus on the most important arguments made in the round and advocate why you are winning them. I find this to be persuasive and it also makes the judges job easier (which should be the goal of a debater).

Argumentation:

As I mentioned earlier, I lean more traditional in my debating style. This means that I am most familiar with 'standard' case structure and arguments. This does not mean you can't/shouldn't run progressive arguments in front of me, it just means that I'll need you to be extra clear about what you are doing/saying.

I think my former coach put it best so I will have to quote him here: "I strive to be open to all forms of argument, but both I and your opponent need to understand them to in order to have effective debate."

*** 'progressive debate' can mean a lot of different things, and I don't have a detailed explanation of how I evaluate each different thing (Kritiks, Theory, plans, etc.) so please ask me more specific questions if you have them and I'll do my best to answer.

Tech vs. Truth

I am someone who prefers truth based debates, and I think this ties back into how I think framework and impacting arguments is important and compelling. That said I am also comfortable judging technically. I honestly think this comes down to how the round is debated. If both debaters are focusing on line by line and technical arguments, I can evaluate tech over truth. If debaters are making arguments about the underlying truths or moral good or what have you then that is how I will evaluate the round. I think here it is up to the debaters to steer the round in the direction they want and I will evaluate what I'm left with.

Speed:

- To be honest, I do not like speed very much, but I can certainly understand and flow speed if I have to.

- I prefer when debaters focus more on debating and communicating arguments vs. getting as much as they can on the flow.

- If I had to pick a preferred pace it would be slightly above conversational

- I have experience debating people who speak quickly, so if you talk fast I can follow along for the most part

- I only write down what I can hear and understand, so if you speak very very fast I'm going to have trouble following your arguments.

- You'll know you are too fast if I am not writing at all and I've put down my pen. I do not yell slow or clear unless things get really really bad.

- I think it is good practice to ask your opponent if they are comfortable with spreading, and to respect their answer if they say no.

- Speaking fast does not impact my decision (unless I can't flow important arguments) but it does impact speaker points.

Speaker Points:

For me there are two aspects of speaker points: 1) argumentation/debate, 2) presentation

I value quality arguments being made, clash in arguments, and well thought out analysis throughout the debate round. Essentially, I would like to see quality debating and I will reflect that in how I award speaker points! Debate is also a communication event so I do value how you present your speeches. If you are speaking quickly it does hurt your speaker points with me. Above all else, if you are communicating arguments clearly and interacting with arguments you are on the track to get good speaks from me.

If you are rude or disrespectful in round to your opponent this will automatically give you lower speaker points.

Congressional Debate

Though I am primarily an LD judge I want to re-emphasize that I have a history competing in congress and I have a very good understanding of the event. I may not cover everything here so please feel free to ask me questions!

Speeches

As someone who primarily did LD, I am going to be most focused on the 'meat' of your speech, in other words, your main arguments. I think having good introductions etc. are great, and add great value to the presentation of your speech, but what I am going to be most critical about is your main arguments you make in the speech.

I think that a good main argument in your speech will have a claim, warrant, impact structure. Your argument is essentially a claim you are making. That claim should be backed by verifiable and reliable evidence. Evidence is a part of the warrant, the warrant is essentially the main point you are making. Your claim and the warrant are given meaning by impact. Impact is why what you are saying is important and why the listener should care at all.

Some additional notes...

Evidence: evidence is not just reading something off. The evidence should provide a meaningful why. If a statistic says 20% of college kids like coffee, you should also tell me why that is the case.

Impact: Impact is very important but also must be backed by evidence or intuitive logical claims. Tell me why XYZ is the impact of the action you advocate for. Also, I am an LDer so I love to hear why I should care about things. If your impact is that people are dying (it might sound a little crazy) but convince me that saving people is what my priority should be.

Questions

Do not underestimate the value of questions! A key aspect of good congressional debating is staying involved in your house and showing judges and fellow competitors that you are active and listening. Questions are a great way to stay involved and show us that even if you aren't giving a speech you are still actively debating!

- this is a bit of a pet peeve, but please don't ask questions to someone who agrees with you to garner more support. These questions often add very little to the actual debate and don't move the discussion forward.

- great questions are questions that further debate, for example, questions that go beyond evidence and attack the core ideas in the arguments themselves make for great questions.

Debating

I think every single congress judge says this but please debate. Especially as a LD person I highly value the debating that happens in a congress session.

To me, this is what I mean when I say debate:

- interact with each others arguments. Explain why the other representatives are wrong. Provide well thought out counter arguments

- don't be afraid to give a rebuttal speech! Even if a speech is short if you are spending your time thoughtfully analyzing and rebutting others in the session, I see that as time well spent

My final tip for debating is something that not everyone does, but I think it helped me in actively debating during congress: take notes. Especially for those of you who are newer to congress, I think taking notes is really really helpful. I took notes in congress out of habit from flowing in LD. There are a few benefits to doing this.

1) taking notes can help you keep track of what has been said so you don't repeat what someone else said in your own speech

2) taking notes allows you to see and think over what has been said. This visual helped me come up with rebuttal points to previous speeches

3) taking notes shows the judges that you are involved! Taking notes, similar to asking questions, is a way to show judges that even if you aren't giving a speech you are still engaged and paying attention to what is going on.

Precedence / Recency:

I expect the Presiding Officer to handle this. To be honest I don't remember how this works so if you have questions about this it should be directed to the Parliamentarian or another judge on the panel.

Presiding Officers:

Again I am not well versed in parliamentary procedure, so I don't have clear guidelines or expectations as to how the P.O. handles parliamentary procedure. I do appreciate when the presiding officer is fair and efficient in how they run the session. If you have more specific questions about how I assess P.O.'s I'd be happy to answer any questions you have as best as I can.

Public Forum Debate

I am primarily an LD judge, and I have not competed in PF debate. That said I have a solid general understanding of PF from years of watching rounds and talking with my peers who do the event.

I encourage you to take a look at my LD paradigm. My LD paradigm covers my general view of debate and what I like to see in debates. Although the particularities will be different the general things I look for in a round remain the same. The way I award speaker points is also going to be the same as in LD. Also, please ask me questions! I would love to answer any specific questions you have since my PF paradigm is not very detailed. I'll do my best to summarize what I look for in a round below along with some thoughts I have about PF

- I believe debate is an educational event, and I enjoy when debaters are clear with their arguments. I believe this clarity allows for everyone to engage with the ideas presented. In the case of PF clarity and clear explanation of arguments is especially important because I'm not as familiar with particular nuances in PF.

- I think that every good argument has claim, warrant, and impact. My LD paradigm, explains this so I will summarize briefly. I want to see strong claims that are backed by evidence. Evidence alone is not an argument, so explain what your evidence says and why it supports your claim. I also really value impact.

- On the topic of impact. I think impacting arguments is vital as impact is what gives your argument meaning. I know that weighing different impacts is important in PF. In PF, I will generally default to a utilitarian calculus (saving the most lives etc.) unless I am strongly urged otherwise (for example I find human rights arguments compelling).

- Evidence: I am not the type of judge to ask competitors to see the evidence they talk about in round. I base my decisions based on what I heard and flowed in round. Thus, if there is evidence clash I expect debaters to tell me why theirs is better or worse etc. Of course if there is a serious evidence dispute I may ask to see evidence but for the most part I go based on what is argued in round.

- I have seen framework being used in PF, but to be blunt I am very apprehensive of it. I am very familiar with the concept of framework because of my background in LD but in my experience it doesn't fit well with PF arguments. If you are going to run framework in front of me I will be a harsh critic because of my existing experience with framework and my knowledge of how framework should interact with the rest of your arguments.

- You do not have to drastically change your debating in front of me for any reason, just be ready explain things because I'm unfamiliar with PF in comparison to other events!

- Please ask me questions! I know I am probably missing a lot of things in my PF paradigm and some of the things I have written may not make total sense. If you have any specific questions at all please ask me so that we can all have a good round!

Last Revision: December 9th, 2019

*Digital Debate Note (added 5/16/20):

1) I can handle just about any speed in person. The same doesn't hold true for online debate (at least until I get better equipment/get used to it). I hate telling people to slow down, but you should slow down during online debates. I will indicate via the chat function or by interrupting if you are lagging (just as I would say clear).

2) If someone drops out of the round via connection issues, we will pause the speeches.

3) Just like you wouldn't cheat by chatting with a coach during an in-person tournament, don't cheat in online debate.

4) Don't record the round without the permission of the tournament and everyone in the room.

TL;DR

Email for evidence/cases: colwhite54@gmail.com

I’ve coached or debated in just about every event, and I’ll do my best to adjudicate the debate as fairly as I can. Your best strategy is probably to make the arguments that you think would be the best arguments to win the debate. As long as you can do that while being a kind and ethical competitor, then you’re good to go. Respect the other people in the room and don’t be a jerk.

Let me know if you have any questions that aren’t answered by this paradigm.

Commonly asked questions about my preferences on a spectrum (heavily dependent on context - you do you 95% of the time):

Truth over Tech <----------------X---------> Tech Over Truth

• It’s probably not my job to say what’s true, but silly arguments have a much higher threshold of persuasion.

Speed <----X---------------------> NO Speed

• I mostly judge on a local circuit, but assume I can follow unless I say clear/speed.

“Trad” <------------------X-------> “Progressive/Circuit”

• I dislike these descriptors, so try to be more specific with your questions.

Debate the Topic <----X---------------------> Non-T

• I’ve personally read and voted for/against both, but I usually prefer if you debate the topic.

Quality of Evidence <-X------------------------> A Billion Terrible Cards

Number Your Arguments <-------X-------------------> Say “AND” between each card/analytic

Experience

I am the head coach at Lincoln Southeast High School, the former head coach at Lincoln North Star High School, and a former assistant coach at Lincoln East High School. I have been coaching since 2015. I run the Lincoln-Douglas Camp at the Nebraska Debate Institute. In college I won the 2018 national championship in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the National Forensics Association National Tournament after debating with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for three years. I was one of two American debaters to be chosen for the 2019 Tour of Japan through the National Communication Association’s Committee on International Discussion and Debate’s partnership with the Japan Debate Association. I also coached debate in Shanghai, China during 2018 through a summer fellowship with LearningLeaders. I competed in Nebraska high school debate for 4 years.

Events I most often judge/coach (in order):

HS/College Lincoln-Douglas

HS Policy/CX

HS Public Forum

HS Congress

WSDC (HS Worlds)

British Parliamentary (College Worlds)

American Parliamentary/NPDA (College)

HEnDA (Japanese HS Policy)

Specific Preferences Based on Events

HS LD

I evaluate the framework first and then look at which debater has the biggest and/or most contextualized offense under that framework. If I cannot distinguish your offense from your opponent’s offense, it is difficult for me to assess how the framework operates in the round. You have to tell me why your offense applies to whichever framework we’re using and why your opponent’s offense doesn’t matter or isn’t as important.

Ks are fine, phil is fine, LARP is fine, etc. Just don’t assume I know your lit. Hold yourself to a high threshold of explanation and go for one or two well-developed arguments rather than many arguments that are barely touched on.

Flex Prep: If both debaters are okay with asking questions during CX, then it's fine. I would prefer if you do not skip CX and use the rest as prep time. If you cut CX short, that starts cutting into your prep time.

I will not vote on your short, barely warranted a priori arguments that don’t connect back to a standard. You don’t get an auto-affirm/negate by dunking on silly trick args.

I won’t vote for suicide = good or oppression = good.

HS Policy

Refer to the College LD paradigm to answer most of your questions. The only warning I’ll give you is that theory justifications that have to do with the exact format of partner policy debate need to be explained since I usually judge 1-1 policy through college LD. I’m not totally up to date on the cutting edge of thinking about best practices in policy, but that just means you’ll have to warrant your theory args and win them rather than pander to my theoretical biases.

I won’t vote for suicide = good or oppression = good.

College LD (NFA-LD)

Yes, I do want the speechdocs.

I don’t find appeals to the rules persuasive.

Ks are fine - contextualize the links as much as you can. I want to know how the alt functions and differs from the Aff.

I will vote neg on presumption if the aff doesn’t function (I won’t vote for an aff with no solvency because they have a “risk of offense” - you have to win that you have a risk of offense).

I don’t need proven abuse to vote on T or theory and I default to competing interps (unless the Aff wins reasons why the neg does need proven abuse or wins reasonability, but that’s hard to do)

Disclosure theory is probably underrated in college LD.

Do not run full-source citations theory.

Public Forum

Don’t read actual plans or counterplans in an attempt to adapt to an LD/Policy judge. However, because I know what these positions are, I won’t drop you or your opponents because they read something that you thought was a plan/CP but wasn’t. Same goes for Ks/Theory Shells (however, theoretical justifications for things like definitions and observations - framework light - are super encouraged).

Read cards rather than paraphrase if you can.