Jag Invite Online 2020
2020 — OK/US
CX Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideAdd tyrossow@gmail.com to the email chain.
Background: I debated on the national circuit in CX (three years) and LD (one year) for Union HS (OK). I am now a sophomore at Baylor University pursuing majors in economics, philosophy, and political science. I was previously an LD instructor at VBI and taught debate this summer as well.
***General Thoughts***
--- Debate is a game. That does not mean the game should be exclusionary or lack educational value.
--- Tech determines truth. I’m not comfortable imposing my beliefs about the world onto the debate, unless the debate is offensive to a group of people.
----- I enjoy highly technical debates.
------- Speed is fine but be clear.
------- Evidence quality matters, but not if you don’t explain the warrants in said evidence. I’ll call for cards if there is a dispute about what a piece of evidence says, but I won’t vote on warrants in your evidence that are neglected in the debate.
------ If you clip cards or say something offensive about a group of people, I will give you zero speaks and an automatic loss.
----- Tl;dr for the rest of the paradigm: Like all judges, I have preferences, but I am generally comfortable with voting for anything. Win the arguments on the flow and you will almost certainly win my ballot.
***Policy Paradigm***
Policy AFFs: I like them.
*** Against the K: Don’t shy away from defending what you do. I’m more than comfortable with voting for a heg good + util 2AR if that’s the direction your aff takes you.
K AFFs: I have experience reading them and will vote for them. Performance is also fine if you communicate the importance of it. Framework specific preferences are addressed below.
Disads: Yes. Read lots of cards.
CPs: Yes. My views on “judge kicking” aren’t particularly strong either way; give me a warrant and I will evaluate it.
K: Yes. I have a fairly extensive background in K debates. This is mostly on the identity side, but I am okay with continental philosophy as well. In addition:
*** More specific link argumentation is always better. That doesn’t mean I won’t vote for a generic link, but I’ll be much friendlier to your K if you can tie it to the 1AC.
*** On questions of framework, I lean towards the middle ground; the aff can weigh the 1AC, but the neg can garner links external to the plan.
*** The block and 2NR need to clearly articulate the alt for me to vote on it.
*** I will vote for a floating PIK, but if the aff calls it out, I will strongly lean aff on the theory debate.
T: Yes. Don’t be afraid to go for it if you’re winning the flow.
*** I default towards an offense-defense paradigm over reasonability, but can be persuaded otherwise.
Theory: It’s fine. I’m not a huge fan but I’ll vote for it.
*** I was a 2N so I lean neg on most theory debates, including condo, PICs, process CPs, consult CPs, and international fiat.
*** On condo: one counterplan is almost certainly acceptable, two counterplans is probably acceptable, three counterplans is debatably acceptable, and four counterplans is really pushing it.
*** I’ll vote on a perf con arg if it is impacted out and turns the K.
Framework:
*** I lean neg. That does not mean you should be afraid to read a K aff in front of me; I will fully evaluate it like any other argument. Instead, it just means that you need to be going for the right arguments (under my paradigm) to win the debate.
*** On the neg, I am most persuaded by clash and procedural fairness arguments.
*** It helps me greatly if you have some way to suck up most of the aff offense. A TVA, truth testing, impact turns to the aff’s method, or some combination of these will greatly benefit your 2NR.
*** On the aff, I am most persuaded by arguments about how framework creates a poor educational model and/or necessitates exclusion.
*** You need to be defending your aff as a debatable argument. I'm not a good judge for impact turns to clash and fairness. Defensive arguments about how to preserve limits, ground, predictability, etc., coupled with your offense, are a much better strategy in front of me.
*** I would greatly appreciate seeing impact comparison from both sides. I feel that the neg is often ahead on questions of fairness, and the aff is often ahead on questions of education. Determining which impact outweighs is critical.
***LD Paradigm***
General Thoughts:
---- Spreading is fine, but be clear.
---- I am fine with progressive and traditional LD, and I have experience in both.
K AFFs/CP/DA/Framework/Ks: These are all good and addressed in my policy paradigm. Other thoughts I have specific to LD are:
*** I am more lenient towards CP theory in LD rounds due to the time structure. One condo CP or K is probably fine, but anything beyond that is probably abusive.
*** Comparative analysis that typically happens in the policy 2NC needs to be in the LD NC.
Plans: These are acceptable and I enjoy these debates.
*** I am willing to vote on Nebel T, and I am interested in hearing more of these debates.
Phil: Despite my primarily policy background, I enjoy these arguments quite a bit. I find philosophy fascinating, and these cases are the heart of LD, so please don’t hesitate to read them if this is your A strat.
*** Giving examples that prove your philosophy is vital.
Theory: My receptiveness to your shell will largely hinge on a personal “gut check.” If legitimate abuse has clearly occurred in the round, I will grant you more leeway on the theory debate. However, I will be frustrated if it seems as if you are fishing for a theory violation to run from substantive debate. This also means that I lean strongly towards reasonability on theory, not T; I think most experienced debaters intuitively know whether their strat (or shell) is reasonable.
*** This does not mean I won’t vote for frivolous theory. If you win the arg, I will vote for it. However, I cannot promise that you will be happy with your speaks.
*** I am fine with metatheory in instances where there is legitimate abuse.
*** RVIs are possibly fine. I will vote on it if you win the flow.
*** It helps me when you give a title for your warrants. For example, instead of saying “a) x b) y ” say “a) Time skew (or whatever warrant) – x b) (separate warrant) etc.”