hi! my name is devanshi (she/her), i'm a current junior at mcgill university (it's in montreal) and i debated policy at lexington before that. if you're reading this, i'm probably your judge.

if the round's about to start:

- email: devanshisbhangle@hotmail.com

- be organized - subpoints, good line by line, etc.

- tech > truth - if you win the flow, you win the round.

- p l e a s e be clear. if you don't think you can be clear, slow down a little: you're better off going at 80% speed where i can understand everything you're saying as opposed to 100% where i can understand maybe half. i'm not shy about asking you to be clear but tbh it's not a good experience for any of us so please let it not come to that.

- pf specific: speed is fine. theory is fine, progressive args are fine, identity args are fine: i'll vote based on what's on the flow; simply reading any of these arguments doesn't guarantee a ballot for or against you.

- my topic knowledge is p limited - i study microbiology + immunology, so i get epidemiology / pandemics / public health, but outside of that, assume my understanding is what you'd expect for ur average college kid

- please don't make arguments or engage in behavior that threatens the safety and wellbeing of the people in the room or marginalized folks writ large. this includes, but is not limited to: making racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic comments, deadnaming / (intentionally) using incorrect pronouns, saying slurs, etc. i will not tolerate it, and doing so will result in an automatic loss, laughably low speaker points, and a word with your coaches.

- if your opponents are making you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, please let me know! i believe every video conferencing system has a function where you can privately send people messages. you can also email me. similarly, if there's anything i can do to make your experiences better (including using correct pronouns, avoiding certain topics, etc.) please let me know in whatever way is comfortable for you.

- disclosure = good - show me you disclose, and i'll give you + your partner +0.2 points

- speaks are fluid and arbitrary, but i do my best to default to higher speaker points :')

- for pf specifically: i have 0 idea what defense being "sticky" is ??

other stuff / if you have more time:

- an aff has to do two things: 1) create change; 2) be tied to the resolution in some way. beyond that, i don't really care whether it's a k aff or not. either ways, you should be able to defend your model of debate.

- i won't meticulously comb through your evidence for you. if there's a specific card that's really good for you or damning for your opponents, point it out to me in round.

- kritiks --> i'm minimally familiar with antiblackness, cap, and feminist literature, but beyond that, assume i have a very basic understanding (except for pomo, in which case, i know literally nothing). either ways, i find jargon confusing + unnecessary - in my experiences, the best k debaters have also been the ones who could most clearly explain what their theories are and how they link to the aff

- i do my best to consciously distance my decisionmaking from any preconceived biases. that being said, here are the ones i won't budge on: death is bad, racism/sexism/homophobia/genocide/bigotry is bad, climate change is bad, cancer/disease is bad.

- impact calc <3

- i like when counterplans have a solvency advocate that's specific to what the text mandates.

- not a huge fan of dodgy politics disads; make sure they're extended well and supported by your evidence.

- try not to be aggressive?? especially to novices / younger debaters / people with obviously less power in the situation than you. if you need to make someone feel small to look better, you're probably not a good debater lol

- recommend me a book/show: if i've read/seen it, +0.1 points; if i haven't, +0.2 points; if it's one of my favs, +0.3 points.

- tell me how to vote in the 2nr/ar!

good luck, be nice, have fun! <3

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE

As a Congressional debate judge, I am listening for fervor, passion, and rhetorical integrity. Students who begin or lapse into reading their speeches will not receive high marks from me - extemporaneous speaking is key here with ideas presented in flavorful tones without the monotone elements that derive from reading a series of sentences. The proficient asking and answering of questions is key to receiving a high score from me. I listewnt to your words and expect clear pronunciation, medium pace, and enlivened debater from you and your peers. Once the session has ended, please accept my 'virtual high five' as a response to your gestures of 'thank you for judging' mantra.

DEBATE

I am primarily a tabula rasa judge, adjudicating arguments as presented in the round. Theoretical arguments are fine as long as they contain the necessary standards and voting issue components. I am not a huge fan of the kritik in PF and tend to reside in that camp that believes such discussions violate the legitimacy of tournament competitions; that being said, I will entertain the argument as well as theoretical counter arguments that speak to its legitimacy, but be forewarned that shifting the discussion to another topic and away from the tournament-listed resolution presents serious questions in my mind as to the respect owed to teams that have done the resolutional research deemed appropriate by the NSDA.

I am adept at flowing but cannot keep up with exceptionally fast-paced speaking and see this practice as minimizing the value of authentic communication. I will do my best but may not render everything on the flow to its fullest potential. Please remember that debate is both an exercise in argumentation as well as a communication enterprise. Recognizing the rationale behind the creation of public forum debate by the NSDA underscores this statement. As a result, I am an advocate for debate as an event that involves the cogent, persuasive communication of ideas. Debaters who can balance argumentation with persuasive appeal will earn high marks from me. Signposting, numbering of arguments, crystallization, and synthesis of important issues are critical practices toward winning my ballot, as are diction, clarity, and succinct argumentation. The rationale that supports an argument or a clear link chain will factor into my decision making paradigm.

RFD is usually based on a weighing calculus - I will look at a priori arguments first before considering other relevant voters in the round. On a side note: I am not fond of debaters engaging with me as I explain a decision; that being said, I am happy to entertain further discussion via email, should a situation warrant. Also, Standing for speeches is my preference.

Context

Hi! I currently work developing state transportation policy, and formerly competed for the Northwestern University and Milton High speech & debate teams. I've judged and competed in PF, LD, and Parli, but PF is my home.

My philosophy is to vote off the flow, while also keeping in mind the intended purpose of public forum debate. If an argument is not responded to in the debate, I will flow it through to impacts; however, the less realistically said argument is sourced and linked, the less it weighs in my decision. Every core argument should include sources, links, and impact.

Recommendations

Use rebuttal to actually rebut opponent responses, at least for the majority of the time - extending one's own arguments can be helpful, but when teams ignore each others' arguments, it makes the decision more difficult. Will not flow entirely new arguments past first summary.

Extend warrants and impacts. I will judge off the flow, so unextended but unresponded to arguments will flow through, however, are not as crucial as extended contentions. Weighing during final focus is useful, but is not the only thing you should be doing. Just as important are your logical chains - demonstrating causality and warrants will help you - as well as reminding the judge how you refuted opponent arguments!

Other

Debaters may speak as fast as they like but risk judge missing information. I flow fast but spreading outright is not advisable in PF.

Will usually disclose if permissible.

Theory is allowable, especially re: topicality, but it should not be the core of your case. Abuses will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Extra speaks for good puns.

Prefers to hear all sides and great if speaks clearly and thanks you and good luck!

Lexington High School 2020/Northwestern 2024

For 2024: I haven't judged in a while so I am rather rusty and I certainly don't have any topic knowledge at this point

Before the round starts, please put me on email chain: victorchen45678@gmail.com(no pocket box, and flashing is ok with no wifi)

Scroll down for PF/LD paradigm

Policy:

TLDR: tech over the truth but to a degree. (no sexist, racist, other offensive arguments) You do you, and I'll try to be as objective as possible. Aff should relate to the topic and debate is a game. Just make sure in the final rebuttal speech you impact out arguments, explain to me why those arguments you are winning implicate the whole round.

2022 season: I have absolutely no topic knowledge on this year's topic so expect me to know nothing and make sure you explain the stuff in a very detailed yet not convoluted manner.

The long paragraphs below are my general ideas about the debate

Top Level Stuff

1. Evidence -- I believe debate is a communicative activity, thus I put more emphasis on your analytical arguments than your cards. That being said, I do love good evidence and enjoy reading them. I think one good warranted card is better than three mediocre ones. I am cool with teams reading new cards in all the rebuttal speeches. A good 1AR should read more than 3 cards and don't be afraid to read cards in the 2NR. I believe that at least one speech in the block should be pretty card heavy, otherwise it makes the 1AR a lot easier. I will read the tags during rounds for the most part and read the text usually after rounds, but I won't do the extensive analysis for you because you should have already done that in the round.

2. Cross X is incredibly important to me and I flow them---I find it extremely frustrating when the 2N gets somewhere in 1ac cx, and then the 1N doesn't bring it up in the 1NC. Winning CX changes entire debate both from a perceptual level and substance level. Use the 3 minutes wisely, and don't ask too many clarification questions. You can do that during prep.

3. Be nice -- Obviously be assertive and control the narrative of the debate round, but there's no reason to make the other team hate the activity or you in the process. I am cool with open cross x but you should try to let your partner answer the questions unless they are going to mess up.

4. Tech over truth, but to a degree- If an argument is truly bad, then beat it. Otherwise, I have to intervene a ton, and I prefer to leave the debating to the debaters. However, I'm extremely lenient when one team reads a ton of blippy, unwarranted, and unclear args( quality over quantity). The only real intervention is when I draw the line on new args, but you should still make them and somehow convince they aren't new.

5. Pay attention to how I react in-round --I will make my opinion of an argument obvious

6. Make 1AR as difficult as possible. I know a lot of 2Ns want to win the round by the end of the block. However, that doesn't mean you should just extend a bunch offs terribly. In response, the 1AR should make the 2NR difficult- reading cards and turning arguments.

7. Please please have debates on case. I understand neg teams like to get invested in the offs, but case debate is precious. A lot of the aff i have seen are terribly put together, especially at the Internal Link level. Even if you don't have evidences, making some analytical arguments on why the plan doesn't solve goes a long way for you. I vote on zero probability of aff's ability to solve so even when you go for a CP, you should still go to case so I would have to vote you all down twice to vote aff.

8. Impact/Link Turns-- love them; i don't care how stupid the impact is(wipeout, malthus, bees etc), as long as you read ev and the other side doesn't argue it well, I will vote for you. As for link turn, I don't really need a carded ev for that, just nuanced analytic is sufficient for me to buy them.

9. Be funny-debate is stressful and try to light up the mood. Love a few jokes here and there, but since I am someone not invested in pop culture too much, some of the references I probably wouldn't get. If you do it well, your speaker point will reflect it.

10. Speaks- I am very lenient on speaks. I just ask you to slow down on the tags and author name and any analytical args but feel free to spread through the text of the card. I love any patho moments in the final rebuttal speeches on both sides. Here are how I give speaks

29.7-30: A debate worth getting recorded and be shared with my novices.

29.3-29.6: You are an excellent debater and executed everything right

28.7-29.2: You are giving pretty good speeches and smart analytics

28.5-28.6: You are an average debater and going through the process. I begin the round with that number and either go up or down.

28.0-28.4: You are making a few of the fundamental mistakes in your speeches or speaking unclearly.

27.0-27.9: You are making a lot of fundamental mistakes and you are speaking very unclearly

<27.0: You are rude ie being mean to your partner, opponents, or me (hope not).

Clipping card results in automatic 0 speaks and a loss, but I won't intervene the round for you, you have to call out your opponents yourself. If one team accuses the other team for clipping, I will stop the round and ask the team if they are willing to stake the round on that. If the team says yes I will walk out with the recording provided by that team and decide if the cheating has happened or not. A false accusation results in an automatic loss of the team that got it wrong. Spakes will be given accordingly.

Now on arguments

DAs

Yes, love them(Idk if there is anyone who doesn't like a good DA debate) -- go through their ev in the rebuttals; this is where i would like a team to read A LOT of evidence on the important stuff. You can blow off their dumb args, especially the links.

Zero Risk is very much a thing and I will vote on it.

If the 1ar or 2ar does a bad job answering turns case and the 2nr is great on it, it makes the DA way more persuasive -- and a good case debate would greatly benefit you as well.

Politics is OK -- fiat solves link, da non-intrinsic are arguments that I will evaluate only if the other team doesn't respond to them at all. However, I do want to see good ev on why the plan trades off with the DA.

I think it's best to have a CP and DAs together because there are just a lot more options at that point. If you really wanna just go for the DA, you need to have a heavy case debate up to that point for me to really evaluate the status quo since most of the aff are built to mitigate the status quo.

CPs and theory

I dislike process CPs-- I really don't like these debates -- I've been a 2n as well as a 2a, but I will side with the aff - this goes for domestic process like commissions as well as intermediary and conditional that lurk in your team's backfile. However, I have a soft spot for consult CP (my first neg argument). Just make sure you do a great job on the DA.

States, international, multi-plank, multi-actor, pics, CPs without solvency advocates are all good -- i'll be tech over my predispositions, but if left to my own devices, I would probably side with aff also

Condo -- all depends on the debating -- I think there could be as many condo as possible. but I also believe zero condo could be won. Still, my general opinion is that conditionality is good and aff teams should only go for them as a last resort.

I will read the solvency evidence on both sides. Solvency deficits should be well explained, why the solvency deficit impact outweighs the DA.

I don't like big multi-plank CPs, but run it as you like and kicking planks is fine

Judge kick unless the 2AR tells me otherwise.

Ks

I have some decent knowledge with a lot of the high theory Ks, but I am probably most well versed in psychoanalysis. That being said, I do want you to explain to me the story of the k and how it the contextualizes with the aff well in the block. Don't just spill out jargons and assume i will do the work for you. A good flow is important. What happens with alot of K debates is that at some point the negative team just give up on with ordering and it's harder for me to know where to put things. Any overview longer than 3 minutes is probably not a good idea but if that's your style, go for it, just make sure you organize them in an easy to flow manner. I probably will do the work for you when u said you have answered the args somewhere up top, but i would prefer the line by line and your speaker point will reflect how well you did on that.

FW should be a big investment of time and I think it's strategic to do so. That being said, you have to clearly explain why the aff's pedagogy is problematic and the impacts of that.

I am meh with generic links, just make sure you articulate them well. That being said, most of these links probably get shielded by the permutation.

Alt debate is not that important to me. I don't believe a K has to have an alt by the 2nr. I go for linear DA a lot, but make sure you do impact calc in the 2nr that explains why the K impact outweighs the aff. For the alt, I would like the aff to read more than just their cede the political block, make better-nuanced args.

Planless affs

I am probably not the best judge for these kinds of aff but I will evaluate them as objectively as possible

Framework:

The aff should defend the hypothetical implementation of a topical plan. At the very least, the aff has to have some relationship to the topic. I want the offense to be articulated well because many times I get confused by the offenses of these affs. I think fairness is absolutely an impact as well as an I/L. I default to debate is a game and it's gonna be hard to convince me otherwise.

I think the ballot ultimately just decides a win and a loss, but I can be convinced that there are extra significances and values to it. That being said, I have seen a lot of k aff with impacts that the ballot clearly can not address.

T

Not a big fan of these debates and never have been good at it.

From Seth Gannon's paradigm:

"Ironically, many of the arguments that promise a simpler route to victory — theory, T — pay lip service to “specific, substantive clash” and ask me to disqualify the other team for avoiding it. Yet when you go for theory or T, you have cancelled this opportunity for an interesting substantive debate and are asking me to validate your decision. That carries a burden of proof unlike debating the merits. As Justice Jackson might put it, this is when my authority to intervene against you is at its maximum."

On this topic specifically, I dislike effect Ts

These debates are boring to me and I will side with the aff if they are anyway close to being Topical, and that's usually how I have voted.

Reasonability = yes

LD:

I feel like most of the policy stuff should apply here. I never debated LD but I have judged quite a bit and I almost always see it as a mini Policy round.

PF:

I am more tech than truth, but I will absolutely check on evidence quality to make sure your warrants indeed support your claims. Feel free to run whatever arguments and I am willing to vote on any level of impact as long as good impact calc and weighing is done. If you have strong evidence you shouldn’t worry. I will not evaluate anything that’s not in summary by the final focus. And also please don’t stop prep to ask for another card. Ask for all the cards you want in the beginning and you will see plus on your speaks.

I started debate judging in 2020.

Hello,

I am a parent judge and have recently started judging debates. Please speak slowly for me to fully understand you and capture notes.

Please be clear, concise and stay on topic. I appreciate strong evidence and teams that keep and stay on time.

Thanks,

Murtaza

Hello!

I debated public forum for all 4 years and was captain of Eagan High School pf debate.

Couple things to know about me:

I am currently a Junior at the University of Minnesota studying History with a minor in Chicanx studies.

I believe public forum is the most accessible form of debate meaning anyone should be able to come into the round and understand what is going on. It is an art form to be able to put complex topics into accessible words for the public to understand.

Therefore, go slow and dont be disrespectful. I strongly prefer traditional pf, if you do anything more you risk me losing you on the flow but I am able to handle someee speed.

I am against inaccessible academia and believe if you are using jargon (includes theory and Ks), you are doing pf wrong.

I make sure I listen intently on the summary speech as I was a second speaker in Highschool.

High school debate should to be a place where no one feels attacked. do not run anything sexist, racist, queerphobic, transphobic, classist, etc.

Remember: its just debate! use debate for experience and to expand your knowledge :)

Typical lay judge, make sure you go slowly and explain your arguments. Do not use debate jargon. Don't take a long time to find evidence, will probably find it annoying / lose interest. However, I am very receptive to theory argument and kritiks, so please feel free to run them around me!

(P.S. The theory and kritik thing is just a joke, please do not run it in front of me, I probably won't buy it.)

EMAIL: jcohen1964@gmail.com

I judge Public Forum Debate 95% of the time. I occasionally judge LD and even more occasionally, Policy.

A few items to share with you:

(1) I can flow *somewhat* faster than conversational speed. As you speed up, my comprehension declines.

(2) I may not be familiar with the topic's arguments. Shorthand references could leave me in the dust. For example, "On the economy, I have three responses..." could confuse me. It's better to say, "Where my opponents argue that right to work kills incomes and sinks the economy, I have three responses...". I realize it's not as efficient, but it will help keep me on the same page you are on.

(3) I miss most evidence tags. So, "Pull through Smith in 17..." probably won't mean much to me. Reminding me of what the evidence demonstrated works better (e.g. "Pull through the Smith study showing that unions hurt productivity").

(4) In the interest of keeping the round moving along, please be selective about asking for your opponent's evidence. If you ask for lots of evidence and then I hear little about it in subsequent speeches, it's a not a great use of time. If you believe your opponent has misconstrued many pieces of evidence, focus on the evidence that is most crucial to their case (you win by undermining their overall position, not by showing they made lots of mistakes).

(5) I put a premium on credible links. Big impacts don't make up for links that are not credible.

(6) I am skeptical of "rules" you might impose on your opponent (in contrast to rules imposed by the tournament in writing) - e.g., paraphrasing is never allowed and is grounds for losing the round. On the other hand, it's fine and even desirable to point out that your opponent has not presented enough of a specific piece of evidence for its fair evaluation, and then to explain why that loss of credibility undermines your opponent's position. That sort of point may be particularly relevant if the evidence is technical in nature (e.g., your opponent paraphrases the findings of a statistical study and those findings may be more nuanced than their paraphrasing suggests).

(7) I am skeptical of arguments suggesting that debate is an invalid activity, or the like, and hence that one side or the other should automatically win. If you have an argument that links into your opponent's specific position, please articulate that point. I hope to hear about the resolution we have been invited to debate.

I’m a parent judge, and this is my fourth year in debate.

1. Please be clear about your warrants and impact (signpost).

2. Talk clearly and at a normal speed.

3. Keep track of your own time.

4. Off-time road maps aren’t required but are appreciated.

5. I will not judge off cross-ex.

6. Weighing is important to me.

7. Your summary and final focus should be paralleled. I will ignore any new points brought up in either and speaker points will be lowered.

8. Don’t be rude, disrespectful, or passive-aggressive to opponents.

9. Anything said that's homophobic, ableist, racist, etc. is going to result in an "L" for your ballot and lowered speaker points.

10. Have fun!

I am a debate parent in my first year of serving as a judge. I am a partner at a small environmental law firm in Boston. I was a middle and high school History teacher for 7 years before going to law school. I expect debaters to listen to and be directly responsive to the arguments of the other side. I look for each debater to get involved in every aspect of the format, including Grand Cross. I do not need debaters to provide an off-time roadmap previewing what they are going to say during their allotted time. If you believe such a roadmap is important enough to spell out and use as a framework for your comments, you can devote some of your time to it. Debaters can use timing devices during the debate, but they should not use any alarms while tracking their opponents’ time. I expect that all evidence will be ethically researched and presented in the debate. I appreciate debaters who show courtesy to their opponents, who have a sense of humor, and who tell the truth about what they have said. I will deduct points for any debaters who are sarcastic, demeaning of opponents, or biased in terms of race, religion, sexual orientation, or social class.

Overview:

I love high quality, well researched discussions on what-ifs, but they need to be based on real science, realistic scenarios, or at least scenarios with impacts that can be reached with a quality link chain.

In general, I would like to hear a smart, substantive debate about the resolution that uses the topic lit. I tend to enjoy "policy" arguments and moral philosophy debate the most.

I reserve the right to evaluate arguments based on what the warrant justifies instead of what you claim. But I'll try to be charitable, especially if they're conceded.

Speaking style:

Please don’t talk fast especially when tournaments are done online.

I am not a fan of blippy arguments or unwarranted impacts. A warrant > claim + card.

Speaker points:

You'll get higher speaks for making good arguments, being strategic, reading original, well-researched positions, explaining argument content and function clearly, and sounding persuasive.

You'll get lower speaks for being unclear or confusing, not engaging with the relevant topical/philosophical literature, reading frivolous theory, avoiding clash, and being a jerk.

I'll do my best to calibrate my speaks with the overall judge pool, but it's possible my speaker points won't quite keep up with point inflation now that I'm not judging very often.

Policy arguments:

I love good policy-style debate.

Your evidence almost certainly doesn't say that you control 100% of your terminal impact (e.g., you solve 100% of X or you have a 100% chance of preventing X) and I will pay attention to that, even if your argument is conceded.

On the same note, I tend to discount poorly-justified big-stick impact scenarios (note: poorly-justified and low-probability are not synonymous. If you have a solid argument for why the plan has a small but real chance of causing nuclear war, I'll happily vote for it. If your DA makes a ton of logical leaps based on sketchy evidence, maybe not). I am not biased against extinction impact, but I also prefer smart arguments.

I like plans that are reasonably balanced and representative of the topic literature.

I am a parent judge who values common sense, clear logic, and coherence.

1. Arguments shall be clear and well-articulated, even if they do not cover every aspect.

2. If your evidence contradicts your opponent's, convince me with logic. More recent evidence may not be better.

3. As for mechanics, I am pretty flexible and should be comfortable with speed as long as you are clear. (However - I'm definitely not used to a policy level of speed so send me a speech doc if you do so). I'm open to theory, as long as it is not frivolous. I default to reasonability.

4. Have evidence ready, shouldn't take longer than 2 mins to find it or send it out. Also, I will take it from your prep if you're prepping when your opponent is getting a card.

5. Anything you want me to vote on must be extended in every speech, and collapse on voters in at least FF, if not summary.

6. Be respectful and let your opponents answer the questions you asked during the crossfire.

my email: klil.loeb@gmail.com

I did debate all four years of high school for Lexington. I debated LD for 3 years and PF for 1, so I'm pretty familiar with any type of argument. That being said, I do have some preferences that'll be helpful for me and you in terms of evaluating a round.

SCROLL DOWN FOR LD PARADIGM

PF Paradigm:

- Weigh. Clash is SO important and is too often avoided. All your arguments should be connected and should flow in a way that I can directly compare one to another. If both teams are talking about separate topics that don't interact, that's a pretty unsuccessful round, and I won't know where to vote.

- Extend. If something is dropped in any speech, I won't evaluate it, even if it's brought up again later. Make sure anything you want to factor into the decision is mentioned in every speech, and is especially emphasized in final focus. If its not brought all the way into your last speech, I'll consider it conceded, and won't vote on it.

- Sign post. If I don't know what you're talking about, I won't factor it into my decision.

- Be polite to your opponents. If you're rude, definitely expect me to lower speaks. It doesn't help you in any way to ruin what should otherwise be a good round with a bad attitude. Have fun and be nice and you'll have no problems.

- Most importantly - and what I'll be paying most attention to - use your last two speeches (especially final focus) to CLEARLY tell me why you should win the round over your opponent. The clearer you are, the easier it will be for me to make my decision, and the happier you'll be with the outcome. I vote off both offense and defense so make sure to maximize your voters.

Some little things:

- I'm fine w speed

- Time your own speeches and prep

- I don't flow/vote off cross. Anything you want me to remember should be brought up during speeches

- I love unconventional arguments

- DON'T have a loud conversation while I'm filling out my ballot omg i cannot express how much this irritates me

- Also feel free to make the round fun in any way - whatever that means to you, I love when people make me laugh (when its appropriate)

The debate is about you so have fun! I'm chill with anything as long as you do everything listed above:)

Feel free to ask any other questions before the round!

.

LD Paradigm:

I’d prefer if you didn’t read Israel-Palestine specific colonialism / genocide in front of me.

- do what you want for the most part i don't care if you just tell me why i should vote for you

- Tech > Truth

- I love plans/counterplans/disads etc.

- I like K's. I ran K's.

- I'm not super into phil but I'll vote on it if it's explained well. Make sure you actually understand what you're saying otherwise how am I supposed to figure it out from you.

- I like theory

- WEIGH AND WARRANT. If there's no clash, I won't know where to vote. The easier your arguments are to understand, the easier it is for me to vote

- FOR ONLINE DEBATES: slow down! It's almost impossible to understand when either my or your computer's slow. I'm fine with speed otherwise though if you're CLEAR!! If i can't understand you though, I'll dock your speaks.

Good luck:)

I am Deepak and you can consider me as a typical lay judge. I would like you to

*Speak clearly, preferably at conversational speed

*Be respectful

*Have fun

Good luck and Enjoy

This is my fourth year as a citizen judge, and I take my role in the tournaments very seriously. It is such a joy to witness well-prepared debaters making contentions with respect and grace. I base my decisions on your ability to convince me that you have the sounder argument in this particular round, and on your professionalism and respect for your debate colleagues. I don't need to see your cards, and I trust you to take responsibility for timing yourself. Bring on the debates!

As of when I'm writing this, I am a first year out from Lexington, MA. My freshman year was policy, and my sophomore, junior, and senior years were in PF. Since I came from policy, I have a pretty lax view on PF and can probably handle speed (unless you truly suck at spreading or have a garbage mic). aadharsh2010@gmail.com (for email chains)

*Crypto Topic*: I know more than a decent bit about crypto. At the end of the day, I'm still tech, but my previous experience with crypto will affect my threshold for buying arguments and also means that if you don't weigh or engage with your opponent's argumentation, weird stuff might happen.

Evidence

I may call for evidence if it seems fishy or is debated on for a bunch of the round. Also if you call for evidence, I usually would like to see it too, be it via an email chain (aadharsh2010@gmail.com) or physically.

Round Stuff

I expect second rebuttal to have at least some frontlining in it, and it'd be best if anything that was round deciding be in both the summary and the final focus (If neither team extends properly, the decisions might actually be based on marginal amounts of offense which is never fun, because it gets very sketchy very quickly). Don't waste too much time on defense in first summary, please.

Comparative weighing is also hugely important for me, so the sooner you start it in round, the better. Signposting is always pretty nice, and your speaks will reflect this.

Techier Round Stuff

I'm okay with DA/theory/K stuff (will only vote if both teams seem to understand theory, running higher level arguments to block your opponent on their knowledge is super scummy and your speaks will definitely reflect that).

Speaks/Cross

I don't flow or weigh cross in my ballot decision, so it'd be pretty sweet if you could mention it in a speech when your opponent concedes something in cross. I also hold the belief that speaks are independent of wins, so if you have great speaks but lose, know that you have the speaking stuff down, but just have a less than amazing case or something along those lines. If we're at a super lay tournament, I'll be a speaks fairy unless you do some dumb crap in round, I'm probably going to start everybody on a 28 and go up and down in increments of .5 or .1 if the tournament lets me. It's also totally fine if you want to debate without your cameras on, this will not impact how I eval you (I'll defer to tournament rules if they contradict this)

In general, don't lose sight of the fact that debate is a game. I see judges talking about humor on their paradigms a bunch, but I've never had the guts to crack jokes in round. I like humor and stuff if it is vaguely tasteful, and your speaks may be bumped. I generally believe that I do a crap job of hiding the ways that I feel about an argument, so reading me is going to be to your advantage.

Feel free to ask questions or message me on Facebook. Also I will disclose for sure at tournaments that allow it! Also please read my comments, I really do try to make them super good instead of browsing reddit in round :P

Misc stuff (will disengage this at any competitor's request, no questions asked)

- References to the Robert Chen round will warrant a speaks boost.

- Funny contention names will grant a slight speaks boost

- Citing rap lyrics in round and being funny is the dopest thing you can do to make me like you.

Former debater, current lawyer. I judge based on the flow.

Background:

I am currently a Sophomore, Army ROTC Cadet at American University. If you have questions about DC schools or ROTC, feel free to ask! I was Debate captain for two years at Milton High, Massachusetts.

Preferences

I recommend each team has their own framework, but don’t make the entire start of the round a framework battle.

If you speak quickly, I shouldn’t have an issue picking up your points/impacts, however I recommend you emphasize what you believe is your strongest arguments so I don’t miss it.

Sportsmanship is very important to me, so do not speak over each other during cross. If I pick up on any disrespectful behavior, you will lose points.

Please keep track of your own prep time. As a judge, I don’t like to intervene in rounds.

I usually consider all the impacts in a round, so if you believe your impact is important, make it clear.

Overall

I had a-lot of fun participating in debate in high school, so the most important thing is debaters have a good time and take each round as an opportunity to improve their skills.

Be respectful to the other team at all times.

Time yourself.

Speak slowly and clearly.

Clear articulation of claim, warrant, data, and impact.

Good evidence to the point, no spreading please.

I am a parent judge with a little bit of judging experience.

The biggest things for me that will help me in my decision:

-Please speak slowly so I can catch everything you are saying

-Lots of signposting so know what you are talking about

-Please don't leave anything unresponded to

-I value evidence, so please make sure to back up your arguments with evidence.

-Weigh your case against your opponents to really sell me on your argument

For evaluating speaks, if you speak slowly, clearly, and coherently you are sure to get good speaks

Please time one everything to make sure the debate goes smoothly

Any form of excess aggression or rudeness will result in very low speaks!

For evidence or case, docs use this email: parisvakili@hotmail.com

I am a parent judge, and my daughter does PF. I have a basic understanding of what logically makes sense. Please speak slowly and clearly. NO SPREADING, I can't understand what you're saying! If you're going to say technical terms like "scope" or "framework", explain what it means and why I should care. If your opponents drop an argument, explain why I, as a judge, would care.

I will be flowing, but please serve your arguments to me on a silver platter during summary and final focus. Speak confidently, be proud of your speech.

For both sides, if possible, include historical examples.

Have clear links supported by cards. No theories, please.

Overall, good luck! You all are gonna do great.