Lexington '21, Sarah Lawrence '25, she/her, yes I want to be on the email chain---amandacxdebate@gmail.com

title the email chain something along the lines of Tournament---round x---aff team (aff) vs neg team (neg)

general:

tech>truth

I debated for four years at Lexington and debated at Michigan on the antitrust topic (2021-2022) before transferring. I have always been a 2a.

*online debate: please try to keep your camera on if at all possible

Counterplans:

I think that these are great. I would prefer if there is some form of a solvency advocate but what that looks like is up for debate. Smart perms are preferable to theory debates on a process cp. Links should be a sliding scale and proving the cp links less than the aff should be sufficient. I probably default to judge kick but it doesn't take much to convince me not to.

Theory:

I think that conditionality is probably good but again this is open to debate. I think new 2nc cps are probably abusive unless in response to new 2ac offense. I think cp's should be functionally and textually intrinsic which means making perms to test either textual or functional competition (functionally competitive but textually intrinsic perms or vice-versa are great). Object fiat, private actor fiat or lopez cps are probably not theoretically legitimate. Otherwise, almost all other theory arguments are a reason to reject the argument, not the team, and winning them, especially if they aren't going for the cp, will be an uphill battle.

Disads:

I really love these, I think I give pretty much every 1nr on a da, mostly politics. I would prefer specific links against generic ones. Other than that specific da to the aff are great and I would love to hear them. Everything else here is pretty straightforward.

Topicality:

These debates are okay, I don't really know what the topic should look like so make sure to impact out all of your standards and what limits your interp places on the topic. I don't think plantext in a vacuum is a fantastic we meet but I have voted on it before because oftentimes teams don't have an alternative model. If you can't explain the alternative to plan text in a vacuum you aren't in a great place there. RVI's are not a thing. I also tend to default to competing interpretations.

Impact turns:

I love impact turns! I’m willing to listen to anything. I love space!

K:

In general, I would prefer if you have specific links to the aff otherwise winning case outweighs gets substantially easier. I also think you need to impact out the links and explain how they turn each case. Winning framework for either side makes the debate substantially easier but it hasn’t been game over if a team loses it either. I would prefer if there aren't super long overviews that require a new sheet of paper. If the k is a floating pik please make it clear in the block

Kaff:

The stuff I said about K's applies here, except the framework section, obviously if a team reading a kaff can’t beat framework they lose but that feels obvious. I probably won't understand your aff that well and I probably haven't read most of the literature, but the more time I spend in college the more I have read in an academic sense. However, if you are reading a kaff please explain how you solve and why the ballot is key. I am going to need a specific thing to vote on and if you are hedging all of your bets on one arg please make sure to impact it out. More often than not kaffs will have a blip in the 1ar and then blow it up in the 2ar, please develop your arguments fully, nothing annoys me more that half a sentence that I can’t really give as a full argument but the 2ar makes it seem like THE thing.

Aff:

I prefer extinction affs and am probably more familiar with these as I pretty much solely read hard right affs. That being said I do not think I am a terrible judge for soft left affs, but I need you actually to explain framing and apply it to the other flows.

Framework:

I am probably neg leaning here. Debate is probably a game, and while it can in some ways be more than that, I think at its heart debate is a game. Fairness is the most persuasive impact and I also personally think it's the best impact. Make sure to have a reason why the aff can't weigh its self and preferably get to case in the 2nr. A lot of the aff path to victory was covered above in the kaff section.

k v k:

I have never debated in one of these, but I have found myself in the back of a few. Here are just some basic thoughts I have developed. I think the aff should be able to get a perm. I would like both sides to explain their specific theory comparing it to either the alt or the aff.

Speaks scale:

I try to average around a 28.5 and move up or down depending on what happens during the round. If I go below a 27 something happened in the round that I probably talked to you.

If caught clipping lowest speaks possible (this does mean zeros) and auto L

things that are important but had nowhere else to go:

Speech times in HS are 8 min constructive, 3 min cx, 5 min rebuttals, and however much prep the tournament allows, this is non-negotiable. CX is binding. There is only one winner and one loser. I won't vote on things that happened outside of the round (disclosure, prefs, etc.). If you feel unsafe or something offensive happens I will assist you in going to tab, but do not think this should be a reason to win the ballot and instead a reason for the round to end immediately. Luckily, I have never been in a round where this happens, but I understand that it does which is why tournaments have policies for it.

You have to read rehighlightings you can't just insert them.

I'm becoming annoyed with CX of the 1NC/2AC that starts with "did you read X" or "what cards from the doc did you not read" and will minorly (.1, .2 if it's egregious) reduce your speaks if you do this. I am more annoyed if you try to make this happen outside of speech or prep time. 2As, have your 1A flow the 1NC to catch these things. 2Ns, same for your 1Ns. If the speaker is particularly unclear or the doc is particularly disorganized, this goes away. A marked copy does not mean the cards that weren't read are removed, please don’t do this it takes so long to remove the cards.

I am gay. I am not a good judge for queerness arguments. This isn't a "you read it you lose/i will deck speaks" situation, but you have been warned its a harder sell than anything else mentioned, except the first paragraph of this section where I outlined nonnegotiables.

LD:(stolen basically directly from Eleanora)

I have neither competed nor frequently judged in lincoln-douglass; I have knowledge of the content of the topic but not any of its conventions. I understand the burden for warranted arguments (especially theory) is lower in LD than in policy - I'm reluctant to make debaters entirely transform their style, so I won't necessarily apply my standard for argument depth, but if the one team argues another has insufficiently extended an argument, I will be very receptive to that.

Affiliations:

SVUDL 2018 to present

LAMDL 2020 to present

Yerba Buena High School 2018 to 2022

Stanford 2022 to present

Pref Recommendations (For LD):

1 - Policy, Ks

2 - T

3 - K Affs, theory

5 - Phil

Strike - Tricks

About me:

Hi, my name is Kastella/Kas. You can call me either of those. I debated at Yerba Buena High School in CX (2 years) then switched to LD (2 years). I mainly debated on the circuit and read soft left affs, ks (mainly cap k), das, and t. If it matters, I did not bid but broke multiple times at tournaments such as Berkeley, Nano Nagle, Loyola, Jack Howe, etc. 

My pronouns are she/they. I will use they for anyone I am not familiar with, please let me know if you would prefer otherwise. 

Add me to the email chain - kastella2004@gmail.com

Tech > Truth

Clarity > Speed

I LOVED spreading when I debated. It was my favorite part of debate, so feel free to do your thing. However, be clear. I'll say clear once or twice but after that, it's up to you to continue. Your speaks will suffer if I can't understand you.

Everything in this paradigm is simply preference. I have been removed from debate for a while, so while I am not as familiar as I used to be, one thing stays true: debate is what you make of it. Do what makes you comfortable and I will try my best to evaluate the debate fairly. However, I will not vote on any arguments or behaviors that makes the debate unsafe (racism, sexism, etc).

Stuff to know:

Sept/Oct Topic: I don't know anything about this topic, so beware!

Kritiks: This was my main strat when I debated. I think that ks are good and strategic. While I am most familiar with the cap k and its variations, feel free to run any k. However, I need a good link story, which can be developed in cx and in the 2nr. Without it, I have a hard time voting for you if I don't see how the aff links. I don't have as strong of an opinion on the alt or framework but if you are going one off, those matter a lot more. If you plan to run this on the aff, I have a similar opinion. You should be able to defend your model of debate and have a clear link to the topic. If you don't have a link, give me good reasons on why that is/why that's a good thing.

DAs: Love these! I appreciate specific links and good link chains. Basically, I like a good story. Each part of the DA needs work to be done to have a solid link chain: how does the link lead to the impact? Is your impact bigger than the aff? Is this DA likely? All things to consider. If the internal link doesn't make sense, there is a smaller threshold for the aff to answer the DA in my opinion. 

CPs: Should be competitive with the aff. PICs are questionable. I dislike multi-plank CPs. Don't have a huge opinion on CPs. If you decide to read multiple, theory is not your friend, especially if the abuse is clear. If not, then you're good. 

T: While I try to be fair, I err on competing interps. Interps should also be carded. Reasonability is something I would be willing to vote on but I probably need more than that to safely vote aff. As for the neg, your responsibility is convincing me that the aff is untopical, which means I need clear standards to your interp. 

Theory: I'm fine with theory. I have a higher threshold for voting on it but if there is a clear violation to a reasonable interp you set out, chances are I'll be voting on it if you do the work. However, I need it to be more than just a blip. Simply saying condo bad with no clear interp or standards is not enough. Reasonability means a lot to me and is underutilized. Also, if you plan to run RVIs, that will be an uphill battle but not impossible. As a disclaimer, I care a lot about disclosure as a former small school debater. I read disclosure theory a lot as well. That being said, there has to be a reasonable violation for me to vote on that as well. 

Framework: Feel free to run it. Similar to T, I need a clear interp, violation, etc. The aff should have to defend their model of debate and you should be able to defend yours. Definitely have a TVA. I enjoy tricky arguments on framework and creativity. 

Trad: I debated in trad, so I have a decent understanding. As long as you are able to defend your case versus an NC or a circuit debater's strategy, then feel free to run your strat. 

Phil: I don't have much experience in phil nor did I debate it much. I will evaluate it as long as you are able to explain it to me. Treat me as a parent judge in this regard.

Tricks: Not viable. I will not vote for it, so would not recommend trying.

Overall, these are just my opinions. You do you. Be nice. Have fun. 

Let me know if you have any questions or clarifications though. See you soon! :)

Hi!

Lamdl alumni,

Debated for bravo medical magnet high school.

The first few years I ran mainly policy affs and negs, then my last year I ran a k aff on chicana feminism, and set col/cap ks on the neg.

Disclose as soon as possible pls.

Debate should be fun so run what you like (however any hurtful arguments will not be tolerated).

i think i hate spreading now?

recently debaters have been unflowable through the analytics/blocks/standards, make sure youre very clear because if I dont hear it I cant flow it

Be respectful, nice and have fun!

add me to the email chain please: pantojaasenat@gmail.com.

Policy affs

I ran policy affs my first few years of debate. Make sure you’re winning your solvency and preferably a framing argument as to why the aff is important within this space.

For the neg, case turns ! also solvency deficits.

Ks & k affs

I like them. This however doesn’t mean I know all about them so make sure you really explain your theory of power and really flesh out your links. If you want to win the alt, make sure everyone knows what your alt actually does. Specific aff links> generic links, 1 off K with a lot of substance are probably some of the best debates. In terms of framework make sure its clear why your interp should be preferred,

CP/DA

Make sure your CP is competitive with the aff and you have a good net benefit.

I get easily persuaded by good permutations, so make them and also don't drop them (both sides).

Make sure to explain that your disads ow the aff. impact calc! On the aff, link turns!

T/Theory

education>fairness. Make sure you’re contextualizing your impacts to the round and the space.

Random thing but title the email chain Tournament --- round x -- aff team vs neg team

TLDR; I am willing to listen to anything, don’t be sexist, racist, homophobic etc

About me:

I am a senior at Lexington and have been debating for three years. I have always been a 2n. Line by line is super important and I would appreciate it if there aren’t a bunch of super long overviews, they tend to be slightly useless. Please feel free to ask me questions after the round or email me – I’m usually good at responding.

tech>truth

Disads:

I love these but cjr sucks. There are no disads and especially no topic disads. Turns case is super helpful and I would prefer specific links but it's fine if they don’t exist. Spin is super important and if you only have generic links you should try to contextualize it. Please have updated uniqueness or I will be sad. Politics DAs are great.

Impact turns:

Yes! I love these debates. I have gone from everything from co2 ag to iran first strikes good. I am most familiar with dedev because I run an econ aff this year and have been in quite a few of these debates. Make sure to resolve the sustainability debate :))

Counterplans:

They should be textually and functionally competitive. I am willing to vote on theory but it needs to be pretty impacted out. 2nc cps are fine but be ready for theory debate. Most teams probably won’t go for theory so feel free to try to get away with anything. I want an explanation of how the counterplan solves the aff. Cheaty counterplans often lose to the perm, but I also think that people should try to write more creative counterplan texts.

T vs policy affs:

I love a good T debate, but don’t go for a terrible T interp just for the sake of it. T-enact is just True. I do not think I have ever heard a compelling argument for plan text in a vacuum and every other argument is not that great. Predictability probably turns debatability but that's a debate I am willing to listen to. Any other arguments that aren’t t-enact there is a debate to be had over them. Make sure to impact it out. T-subsets are just bad, and I do not think there are any apps that actually meet.

T vs kaffs:

Fairness is an impact, and should probably be the impact that the neg goes for. I have never gone for anything but T against kaffs even if they drop something. Having SSD/TVA is probably helpful but you don’t need to win it as long as you’re ahead enough on the impact level. I typically do not understand why a case is necessary in these debates, either you're winning framework and the aff should lose or you aren’t.

Kaffs:

I typically think it's better for affs to read a plan. I am not versed in any of the lit. If you are reading one of these, please have a reason why you solve and explain your method. There is nothing more frustrating than not knowing what the aff does until the end of the 2ar.

Ks:

I have a decent amount of knowledge about cap and abolition but I’m willing to listen to anything, just make sure to explain/contextualize the theory. I think that extinction probably outweighs and the aff can probably weigh itself. If this is a soft left aff vs the k I would spend considerable time on the link turn/perm because I think that's where these debates matter the most.

Ks vs kaffs:

Please dont… I will be sad and lost. I guess I would weigh the aff and I guess there could be a perm.

Theory:

Definitely willing to vote on it, especially condo. This isn’t an excuse for blippy ASPEC shells, though,

Speaks:

I try to give decent speaks but I think my baseline is a 28.5 and I’ll move up or down depending on the round.

Bottom line:

I will flow everything but I probably won’t time, so please keep your own time. I’m fine with tag teaming cx and spreading. Good luck and have fun!