Hey guys, I'm writing this for my mom on her tab account. I do Varsity PF debate, so yeah this is a parent judge.

Background: My mom has worked in healthcare for 30 years, she has a Masters in Public Health and before that she was in the Peace Corps. She cares a lot about respect and making people's lives easier. She is very smart, so please don't completely lie and expect to get away with it. She listens to me rant about debate so she knows what's going on. Even though she is a parent judge and technically lay, she says she flows on paper. She has been judging for three years now, so I would treat her as more of a flay judge.

When you enter the round, definitely introduce yourself. It isn't super important but it will help her remember who is who.

She prefers when you time yourself, just don't go too overtime or under time or it'll probably look bad.

Try to be polite in the round, do not belittle your opponents. It is better for you to let each other speak than interrupt each other too much.

Speaking of, my mom can understand when you speak fast. If you're full on spreading you might want to let her know beforehand. That being said, if you don't need to spread, then don't spread.

My mom doesn't love it when debaters demand she has to vote a certain way or else. Instead, I would recommend saying you urge a con/pro ballot or even saying "please vote..."

Lastly, she isn't a fan of disclosing. She will disclose if it is necessary for a tournament or in a final round.

Okay good luck hope you do well. Please be nice to her!!!

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.

This is my eighth tournament as a judge. I am the parent of a debater.

I don't like when debaters talk fast and please speak at a normal rate and clearly so that I can understand your arguments. I can not award points, if I can not plainly hear your arguments. I may not always be looking at you when you are speaking that is because I am taking notes during the round. I find notes help me with decisions, following your flows and awarding speaker points. I'm am a numbers person so providing (stating plainly) empirical data as evidence will move me toward your argument.

Please remember to be respectful of your opponents and keep to the time schedule. Please do not interrupter speakers during cross, this will cause a loss in speaker points.

Above all do your best, have fun and enjoy the process!

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.

First off, I'm a lay judge - so lucky you! For the debates, I'll be looking for clearly presented logic and well organized arguments along with strong supporting examples referenced by teams. The clarity of your presentations will be important for me, as will the delivery of a position/rebuttal that aims to avoid a heavy use of colloquialisms (e.g. frequent use of the word 'like'). Courtesy is important and I'll be looking for teams to stick to precedented references and/or facts (instead of unsupported opinions) to support both their position and their rebuttals. Maintain cool heads, clear arguments, and composure throughout the debate. Finally, I'll be looking to make sure that teams maintain and reinforce their opening positions and major arguments from their opening cases through to their summaries. For me, the clarity of presentation for the summaries will be just as important as the opening cases. In my opinion, a succinct summary position supported with the most compelling evidence is equally important as the opening.

I'm a parent judge for Acton Boxborough.

Please talk slow. It is hard to make a decision if I don't know your arguments.

I listen to crossfire in order to scope the strength of your arguments.

Evaluate me as a lay judge.

I am a lay parent judge with experience judging a couple of tournaments.
My preferences:

1. Speak at a conversational speed.
2. I give more importance to valid and well researched points.
4. Avoid repetition and use of technical terms.
5. Please do not take too much time to pull up called evidence. Be organized.
6. I consider cross to give speaker points so be confident but not too aggressive.

Good Luck!

I am a first-time debate judge. Please make sure to speak slowly and walk me through your arguments. I appreciate confidence and respect in round. I look forward to hearing well-thought out arguments. Thank you!

I have been coaching public forum at Shrewsbury High (MA) since 2014, and am now the head coach there. Please note that Shrewsbury PFers have been instructed not to send their cases to their opponents or their judges. They also will not partake in Theory or K debates since they have no place in Public Forum Debate. They will be debating the resolution as is the entire goal of PF debate.

I have a lot of experience judging, but have also been in the tabroom a lot recently. I believe in the values of public forum debate, meaning that the debate should be able to be adjudicated by a citizen judge. I will flow, but I'm looking for clear signposting and a clear structure to each speech. This is just good practice.

I love a good narrative, but not at the expense of solid evidence and impacts.

I want logically sound warrants, please don't just say that my card is from 2023 when theirs is from 2021...I want a real reason for why your evidence is better in relation to your contentions.

Please give me clash and weighable impacts. But please don't just say you outweigh on scope or magnitude without telling me why.

I really don't want to call for evidence, so please don't use false figures or try anything dodgy. This includes things like, "our opponents didn't respond..." when they clearly did respond.

I will not judge based on any plans, counterplans or critical theories. That is simply not in the spirit of public forum debate.

I don't like roadmaps. Your speech should be clear enough for me to follow without one and it's a problem if you need one, and although I'll probably let you give it, I won't be listening to it.

Don't be rude. This includes good etiquette in crossfire. Condescension will make me look for a way to give you the loss.

I do really like cases I haven't heard before. Just be careful though, the reason they're new is that there's usually an issue with them! That's the fun of all this right!?

I debated for four years at Lexington High School, and am currently not debating in college. I have little to no topic knowledge.

Please add me to the email chain: justinh4033@gmail.com

PF:

- Disclosure is extremely important.

- Debate whatever style you are comfortable with. I'm experienced with speed but do what you are comfortable with. Seriously. I just want a good debate.

Top Level

I'm a firm believer in the strategic aspect of debate. My favorite part of judging a debate is watching what kinds of unique strategies you can have come up with, the research you have done to support it, and how you execute it. I'm pretty open-minded and enjoy pretty much any type of debate, so run whatever you want. I would much rather you run what you're comfortable with, rather than trying to over-adapt to me.

I will not accept any discriminatory behavior (racism, sexism, homophobia, etc). I generally believe that you are good human beings and will be respectful to each other, so don't prove me wrong.

Tech over truth. How well something is debated determines how much truth I assign to it. While the truth level can lower or higher the threshold of tech required to persuade me, I will judge by the flow. A dropped argument is a true argument. That means it must have a claim, warrant, and impact.

Draw comparisons. Explain why your impacts are important outweigh those of your opponent. This also goes for every part of an argument, like uniqueness, the link, etc. Compare evidence and warrants. Draw a distinction between the alt and the perm. Explain how each argument implicates your opponent's arguments and the rest of the debate. The best rebuttals will break down the core issues of the debate and write my ballot for me. Debates that lack comparison make it difficult for me to write a decision, which will probably make one side unhappy every time.

Evidence quality. Evidence is incredibly important, but it can also be trumped by sound, logical arguments. I value good spin of your evidence. That being said, I strongly dislike when people highlight words out of context or jumble together random words to form an argument. So many teams get away with reading bad evidence, but if you don't mention it, it will continue.

T

I default to competing interpretations over reasonability, but this is totally up for debate. Reasonability can definitely be persuasive in the right circumstances. Lots of impact calc needs to be done on both sides, and the internal links to your offense should be clearly explained.

DA

Have good turns case analysis at each level of the disad (link, internal link, impact). Make sure to have good, recent evidence because these debates often come down to evidence quality. I don't have any strong opposition to the politics disad – the internal links may be silly, but it's probably a necessity on this topic and I will evaluate it like a normal disad.

CP

While it is very helpful to have them, CPs do not need carded solvency advocates, especially if they are based on some of the aff's internal links. All CPs need to have a clear net benefit and must be competitive. I would like an explanation of the perm and how it shields the link to the net benefit, and this explanation should be happening early on in the debate. PICs are awesome, especially ones that are specific to the aff.

K

I enjoy a good K debate, as long as there is good analysis and explanation. I will typically allow the aff to weigh their impacts. That being said, what does it really mean to weigh a fiated extinction impact against your epistemology? I believe affs should have a stronger framework push than just "weigh the aff" because most neg framework arguments will implicate this very process of impact calculus. Specificity to the aff is extremely important, but not necessary. However, generic link arguments without sufficient analysis will make me much more receptive to the perm. Don't read super long overviews - put the explanation of the K's thesis there, maybe an impact explanation, but the rest can go on the line-by-line.

Planless Affs

I think fairness is an impact, and probably the most convincing one. However, you still need to explain to me why that matters. Impacts that rely on some spillover to institutions (i.e. Lundberg 10) are unconvincing to me. If you are going for T, you should answer relevant arguments on the case page. I think TVAs are strategic and don't have to be perfect.

The aff should have a mix of offense and defense to defeat framework. Most of the time, the impact turn approach is a lot more convincing than trying to win a counter-interpretation, but this depends on the aff. Leverage your aff against framework – impact turn the aff's model of debate or read disads to it based on the thesis of the aff. Defensive arguments can also mitigate a lot of the risk of the neg accessing their impacts.

Theory

If you're going for theory, in-round abuse is extremely important. I think the only the thing that can rise to the level of a voting issue is conditionality. 3 condo is fine with me; 4+ is pushing it. Counterplan theory objections are much less convincing if you have a good solvency advocate. I will lean neg on agent cps and 50 state fiat because of the lack of great neg ground on this topic. I lean aff on consult cps, word pics, and certain process cps. Unless there is a 2NR argument for it, I will not kick the CP for you.

I'm a first time parent judge. I got into debate because of my son who is a second year pf debater. I will try to judge the round based on only the information you present to me. that being said don't make stuff up or lie.

Be kind to your opponents.

I am a parent of a high school debater and I have been judging PF at the National and Regional levels for the last five years.

I love the guidance "To what degree will an argument improve the world as holistically as possible given the resolution––humans, environments, economies, etc.?" Using numbers, and sizes of numbers, to make these cases is critically important to my decision-making processes.

I love ethically-collected, fact-based contentions from reputable sources, such as from the gray circle at the top of this curve: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/?v=402f03a963ba Think tanks on both ends of the spectrum, particularly those funded by right-wing/Koch money can get a bit sketchy in this context.

And above all else, I expect measured cadence during statements (if I can't understand you, it does you no good!), and a spirit of graciousness during crosses. Points will be taken away for the above misses (particularly if I can't understand what you are saying) as well as any demeaning, sarcastic, or derogatory comments, facial expressions, tone, or evidence. I dislike using debate tribal language in excess and particularly in lieu of content. The "frothing at the mouth preacher style" does not work well with me; I merely ask you to be authentic. Your content should convey the weight of your arguments, not your actions. You will be docked speaking notes for discussions, nodding, or other facial/body expressions while the other team is presenting.

I also delight when humor can be interjected. And smiles are always appreciated.

I will happily share my thought process with teams once the ballots have been entered, while respecting the rules of the specific debate.

Hi! I was a public forum debater from Eagan, MN and debated PF for four years.

TLDR; To win my ballot win on the warrants, narrative, and flow. To get good speaker points, be respectful. *Please* don’t run any theory in round, this is public forum.

Here are my preferences in round:

1. Be nice. I absolutely hate when debaters are super aggressive, it's unnecessary in my opinion.

2. Reference your flow! This is extremely important, in every speech after constructive. In your speech, make sure you tell me exactly which contention, argument, or card you are referencing. Remember, my flow will contain only what you tell me.

3. I am okay with a little speed, but make sure that it isn’t as fast as a policy round.

4. Don’t paraphrase evidence. Always cite each piece of evidence you read (author, qualifications, and date), and make sure you have access to the full article. If evidence isn’t provided when asked, I will not weigh it.

5. I weigh evidence over logic, but you can use logic to de-link evidence.

6. You should extend terminal defense in the first summary, and should collapse to voters in both summaries. These voters should be repeated in final focus. Create a narrative and extend it. Tell me exactly why I should vote for you.

7. WEIGH. “Prefer this because…”. Make sure to respond to clash. Debates without clash aren’t fun for anybody, especially the judge.

8. If you're racist, sexist, or bigoted in any way... your speaking points? They'll reflect your low behavior.

9. Feel free to ask me questions before round!

Speaker point breakdown:

30-29 - pretty good

28-27 - could be better but good

26 - there's some improvement to be had

This is my fifth year judging PFD. I did not debate in high school or college, so I try to approach PFD as a "citizen judge." When I listen to a debate, I track a lot of factors. The three most important factors are: 1) citing information sources and demonstrating that you performed solid research and know your topic, 2) expressing a clear set of contentions and subpoints, 3) and how well you listen to your opponents and attack their argument.

In terms of delivery, I favor slow or medium pace and clear, well developed arguments.

Finally, it is important that each team respects its opponents. I understand that debates can get exciting, but I do not like to see opponents interrupting or talking over each other too much in crossfire. Good luck today.

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 have experience in speech from high school and British and French parliamentary debate from college. This means that while I can follow you if you spread or otherwise speak rapidly, I may not understand specialized terminology. As a judge, I value three things: clarity of argument, reasoning, and clash. Above all, however, I value consistency, so don't use one framework to justify one set of claims while adopting a different one just to be able to make some other claims to try and increase the volume of claims made. But in truth, I consider myself more of a one-man jury than a judge. I will never call for cards - that is your job - and I will only drop contentions if they are never defended or are successfully rebutted, and not because I personally find them incredible. You should also time yourselves and maintain a calm and civil crossfire; I should not have to interrupt.

Good luck!

I am a lay judge, who has been judging in the New England area for the last three years. I have debated in my high school and college days some 25 years ago, and by no means was that structured the way debates run today. I have picked up some of the PF debating jargon, but am definitely not at expert level yet. So, please do not assume I'm familiar with debating jargon and don't assume that I'm familiar with arguments, just because they've been common on this year's topic.

I'm not logistically challenged, so please feel free to find a comfortable spot that works best for you and makes you feel confident. This is about you not me.

Public Forum (PF) is supposed to appeal to a lay audience. Be very clear with arguments and thorough with your rebuttals. All I require is that I can understand the argument. Clarity is more important than speed for me, so please DO NOT SPREAD. I value quality over quantity. It is extremely difficult to listen, digest and take notes, when the debater speaks too fast! I often say, if you can't reach me, you have already lost the round!

Provide and agree on definitions, so that everyone including your opponents and the judges are the same page. Provide citations and be sure to explain how the cited information supports or refutes a point. I'm not big on statistics for the sake of statistics. Please remember numbers and arguments can be twisted any which way to support or refute a hypothesis. So, analysis and interpretation needs to be logical, reasonable, and believable. Please don't resort to doomsday soothsaying. It doesn't grab my attention, unless you can prove your impacts with the right evidence and logic!

I place a premium on well-supported "real-world" links, but this doesn't mean you throw a bunch of stats/ or jargon at me, you'll definitely lose me. Instead warrant/ impact your arguments logically to their full conclusion, make sure there is ACTUAL CLASH and possible vote. It is best to show me that your evidence presents a coherent story with both warrants and resulting conclusions that support your argument. Consistency with historical precedence/ the world we live in is very important for me. I'm open to hypothetical/ theoretical/ creative argumentation, as long as you can support your argument with logical reasoning, specific evidence/ statistics and/or historical antecedents from around the global. Remember, history doesn't belong only to the United States. Research global historical events and use them to your advantage.

In conclusion, my ballot often depends more on link credibility than on impact magnitude. Outline the case, restate and/or carry your main points into the summaries and final focus. Do not introduce new arguments after the first summary and do not forget to extend your case. Crystallize your case for me. DO NOT make me do the analysis and conclusions for you! I may get it completely wrong and you may not like the result!

Please don't make morally reprehensible arguments. For more detailed feelings about specific arguments, feel free to ask me before the round. During crossX, please be inquisitive, investigative and probing, but not contentious or disrespectful. CAMARADERIE and HUMOR are always a PLUS! Most importantly, have fun debating and learn from each of these amazing experiences. Enjoy!

Saif Salim

Heritage Hall, Class of 2020

Amherst College, Class of 2024

ssalim24@amherst.edu (I want to be on email chains)

TLDR for Pre-Round Prep:

Be nice and have fun!

Policy aff's are great. I prefer strong internal link chains over 6 impacts. Make sure to actually clash on framing debates.

K aff's are great. Make them have something to do with the topic. Be clear about your mechanism from the 1AC.

Framework is great. Fairness is a weak impact, but a strong internal link. Please organize your speeches well.

K's are great. Make sure your links apply to the plan or reps of the 1AC.

DA's: Read specific links to the aff and detailed internal links to make me happy

CP's: Read em. Aff specificity is great, but a huge multi plank advantage counterplan that solves the whole aff is awesome if you can justify it. I hate ConCon and RegNeg, but I like topic-specific process counterplans.

T: Yes, if you actually think your interpretation is reasonable for the topic.

Top Level

Debate is a great place to challenge yourself and have fun while doing it... the first thing that I want to see is that everyone is enjoying themselves and having a good time. Some debaters think that they're too good or cool to afford their opponents respect and decency in-round: if this is you, I will not be a good judge to have in the back of your round. We are all here to have fun and get better, so if you are jeopardizing that in any way, don't expect me to be as willing to vote for you.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to shoot me an email or ask before the round starts. I'd be happy to clarify anything on this paradigm or offer you any other insight that I might have forgotten to include here.

In the world of online debating, make sure that you are slowing down and emphasizing more. It's hard to hear arguments coming at 400wpm over a zoom call, especially if there are connection issues. Plus, I flow on my computer so I can't see you while you're speaking - all non-verbal cues will have to come from your vocal inflection... make sure you're being clear about where you are in a line of arguments.

Tech over truth, for the most part. I try to stay as impartial in every round and evaluate things as objectively as I can within the bounds of the information that the round has provided. The only time tech over truth doesn't hold up is when you have insufficiently explained your argument - if you don't have a warrant or explanation to back up your claims, I won't feel comfortable voting for something.

About me

I debated for Heritage Hall from 2016-2020, was coached primarily by Bryan Gaston, Jasmine Stidham, and Joshua Michael, won the Oklahoma state championship as a sophomore with a senior partner (Vyas Venkataraman) and won NSDA nationals in Policy as a senior with a junior partner (Sam Ring). I ran mostly policy arguments for my first two years of debate as a 2A, but started leaning more toward K debate my junior year as a 2N. My senior year I was pretty flex... we read a K aff and I went for several different K's on the neg, but I also went for Process CP's and Heg DA's. You can really run anything in front of me and I'll be pretty receptive to hearing it.

Aff’s

I really don’t have much to talk to y’all about. Just do your thing. So many teams don’t actually utilize their case, let alone their 1AC.

If you read a soft left aff (as I imagine most will on the CJR topic), make sure your framing page doesn't just look like an extension of your 1AC authors and that's it. You need to engage the other team... I've seen way too many debates come down to a wash on the framing page which is unfortunate since it guides so much of how I will evaluate the rest of the round.

Planless Aff’s

If you want to run a planless aff and actually have a legitimate reason to do so (There’s a reason you cannot affirm the resolution, not just “But Bataille!!!”), I’m here for it. I love a well thought out K aff executed strongly.

That being said, I did like to go for, and will vote on, framework. You should have other strategies ready to go, and I don’t think you can read the same framework argument against every K Aff, but it’s still a good argument to fall back on if you have nothing else. I think that I actually lean slightly to the aff on the issue of framework debates: it will take you just a bit more work, but it won’t be too much. I'm predisposed to think fairness is an impact (that's magnitude can be debated) but could be persuaded otherwise.

Planless Aff’s vs. K’s – Excellent, if there are links. These are my favorite rounds to judge when executed well. Just make sure you actually link to their argument, not just the overarching lit base the K aff comes from (Not all links to SetCol lit apply to every SetCol K aff, for ex.) Also, I know the debate of whether or not the aff gets a perm can be a messy one, so you tell me how to evaluate it. I will probably lean to the aff getting a perm, but if you tell me otherwise, you can sway me.

Kritiks

I’m a pretty big fan of a lot of K literature. That being said, if your link is “STATE BAD” without any contextualization, then I don’t want to hear it. Otherwise, if you have links contextualized to the aff, it will probably be good in front of me.

Well structured, technical K debate that emphasizes key issues in the round is vastly preferred over more nebulous "cloud clash" K debate with massive overviews. I don't think I've heard a single K that needed more than a 45-second overview. If you compartmentalize the flow cleanly into the Overview/Framework/Links/Impact/Alt, I will be very happy and it will be a much cleaner round to evaluate.

In high school, I ran all kinds of K's, ranging from vanilla cap K's to a Deleuze and Guattari K Aff my senior year. You can run almost anything in front of me, but make sure that you still explain your arguments. I'm familiar with the language and scholarship of DnG, and am familiar with the lit bases around Cap, SetCol, Antiblackness, Reps K's, etc.

You will almost never be able to persuade me that the aff doesn't get a perm. You can debate whether or not that permutation is possible or desirable, but I will almost always grant the aff that they can permute the K in some form or another. The solvency of that permutation is another question that should be debated accordingly.

Presumption flips when there is a K (with an alt) in the 2NR.

Impact Turns -

Yes. Please. Big case debates are awesome, but make sure you're doing it cleanly and clearly. Dedev is great, Heg bad is solid. Wipeout and Spark are ehhhhhhhhh... a bit more annoying, but I could be persuaded to vote for it if you debate it well enough. Just don't be cheeky about it.

DA’s

The more specific to the aff, the better. I’m not the biggest fan of the politics DA (every debate sounds the SAME) – I know they are strategically important and useful, but I just wish the debates didn’t all sound identical. Please contextualize your arguments.

I'm a sucker for a well explained internal link scenario, and good impact analysis. Make sure your impact calculus is contextualized, and specific to the internal link scenario the aff has presented.

CP’s

I think that you should craft your CP’s to be nuanced and specific to the aff. Same as the politics DA, I know there is strategic value in generic CP’s like States on the Education topic and Parole on the Immigration topic, but it’s just so awesome when the CP is hyper-specific to the Aff. You won’t be docked for reading generic CP’s, but you will be rewarded for reading specific ones.

I ran a lot of topic-specific process-type CP's in high school, so don't be afraid of running them in front of me. The key word is topic-specific: I don't enjoy process counterplans that have nothing to do with the topic like ConCon and RegNeg. Instead, read something like the Deliveries CP from arms sales or the Parole CP from Immigration. Also be prepared to defend yourself on the perm and theory debates. If you know how Stephen Pipkin evaluates CP's, you know how I evaluate them too.

Presumption flips when there is a CP in the 2NR.

T -

I love a good topicality debate, but only when the evidence is good. Make sure your authors are contextual, have the intent to define, and clearly describe what you're trying to define.

Make sure you impact out why limits are important. Too many teams just go for "their interp is unlimiting and steals neg ground" which is just an internal link to some other impact... make sure you finish your internal link chain and actually give me something to vote on.

Competing interps over reasonability, unless they're just on the right side of truth. I tend to side with the argument that abuse is based off what the Aff's interpretation justifies, not necessarily what they do.

Theory -

Filter - If it's a new aff, there is a much higher threshold for me to vote on theory because the neg has to see what sticks.

1AR’s – you gotta extend theory for a bit of time (45 seconds at a BARE minimum) if you want it to be 5 mins of the 2AR. Make sure you’re extending it strategically.

Conditionality – It’s generally good. That does not mean that the neg can be abusive, nor does it mean that I won’t vote on it if it is debated well. Probably up to 2 condo is good… more is a bit sketchy. This is the ONLY REASON TO REJECT THE TEAM.

Conditional Ethics - Usually bad. Teams don't read condo ethics as much as I would like them to... if a 1NC has both an abolition K and a process CP in it, don't be afraid to pull the trigger on condo ethics, even if you're just using it as a solvency takeout to the K.

Tricky CP theory – I generally don’t want to vote on “your CP is too sneaky.” Of course there are a few caveats to this. If the CP is just incredibly theoretically abusive, I might vote on it. Things I probably won’t vote on: Agent CP theory, International CP theory, PIC theory, Multi-plank CP’s bad, etc.

Perm Theory – I have never seen anyone actually go for severance/intrinsic theory, but I guess I would. I’m not sure. It’s not a reason to reject the team.

K Theory – Floating PIK’s are a problem but you need to address them early in the round. I think that if the Aff doesn’t make a theory argument in the speech after it was revealed to be a PIK, I won’t vote on it. Sorry.

Vague Alts theory is definitely something that everyone needs to read more. Alts are so confusing and shift-ey. Please pin them down on something that they have to defend, and if they keep slipping around, run theory, and don’t be afraid to go for it.

I think that’s all we need to go over, but if you have any questions, just let me know.

Speaker Points

I will start at a 28.5 and move from there.

29.4-29.7 - I expect you to be in late elims, if not in finals.

29.1-29.3 - I expect you to break, and maybe win a few elimination rounds.

28.7-29 - I expect you to be on the brink between breaking and not.

30 - I don't think I will ever give out one, so if you receive on from me, congratulations on being the best debater that I have ever seen compete. This is reserved solely for legendary debaters who will be spoken about for years to come.

25-27 - you have said or done something in the round that unsettled me to the point where I think you should seriously re-evaluate the way you debate. This is almost exclusively reserved for debaters who are excessively rude or hateful.

Miscellaneous:

I will not vote on anything that happened outside of the round because I cannot verify anything that I was not there for. Sorry, but it's just something I can't evaluate.

If you actively advocate for racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist/transphobic/etc arguments I will tank your speaks and vote you down. I don't want to have written this, because this should be a given by now. Oh well.

If you clip cards, you will lose.

Don't steal prep. I won't vote you down immediately, but I will be pretty mad and may lower your speaks.

I was a Lincoln-Douglas debater for 4 years in high school, and then I debated Parliamentary for 4 years in college. I have two teens who have participated in Public Forum, and this is my third year judging PF. I take the concept of "public" in public forum seriously: Which team is the most persuasive to an educated and thoughtful undecided member of the general public? As veteran of LD and Parliamentary, I think fundamental values and principles matter. I am not persuaded by debate tactics or "scoring points" with obscure or hyperbolic arguments. Be organized and responsive to the other side. I like specific historical examples for clarity. Speak fast if you want, but only if you speak clearly and sign-post clearly.

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 have been a lay/parent judge for the past 4 years. I did not debate in high school and am not well versed in the technical aspects of debate. I judge rounds as if I were watching a presidential debate. (Because really you're doing this to learn how to present a point of view in the real world.) Are you able to present a valid argument with points relevant to the topic? Can you respond to the other presenters arguments in a logical manner with validated information ? Are you able to speak in a respectful tone yet still effectively argue your side of the question ?

I am a first time parent judge. Please speak slowly and clearly.

This is my first time judging, I’ll try my best to give unbiased judging results. But in order to do that, you need to follow these guidelines.

1. Please speak clearly and not too fast

2. If there’s difficult technical word, please try to explain it. If I can’t understand, I can’t judge fairly.

3. Please not to be rude.

4. Organize your sentences in a logical way. Avoid simple repetition of your content over and over.