Pronouns: She/Her/Hers (feel free to share yours in round!)

School Affiliation: I attended and competed at Claremont High School from 2016-2020. I am now a senior at Chapman University with a double major in Psychology and Sociology and a minor in the Honors Program.

I participated in speech and debate for 9 years during elementary, middle, and high school and have experience in a few events. I competed on both the California state and national circuit for Congress throughout high school, but off and on I participated in Parli, PuFo, and Policy. I also competed in other debate events like World Schools and Big Questions. For IE's I mostly did spontaneous events (Impromptu and International Extemp), but I have done a few prepared original speeches and have experiencing judging all types of speech.

With that being said, I don't enjoy most theory, spreading, or K's. I can follow some speed and understand basic theory (i.e. Topicality arguments), but please use that all sparingly with me. Evidence is important to a debate, but so is clash! I would like to emphasize that being rude to your opponent will never be tolerated and speaker points will be docked if you're blatantly bullying others in round (I hope I don't have to remind y'all of this, but homophobia, transphobia, sexism, racism, ableism, etc. will not be tolerated in round!!).

If there's an e-mail chain - add me to it! Just let me know at the start of the round and I'd be more than happy to provide my e-mail. If your case is going to involve sensitive topics that could be triggering to others, trigger warnings will always be encouraged and accepted in any round I judge. I also encourage and appreciate people sharing their pronouns in order to create an inclusive environment for all.

Regarding speaker points, I enjoy when speakers are clear and persuasive. There's not much to say there, just do your best! In the end, I hope we are all ready to create a fun, safe, and overall educational round.

—Joseph S.—

About me:

As a debater, I mainly do Congress and Policy, I have an appropriate amount of experience as a debater so I do understand the importance and structure of arguments. I am definitely more in favor of progressive debate than traditional debate, although I do respect traditional debates as well. As a speaker, I do IX, so I do know the importance of spontaneous speaking and of interpretation. If a person can speak and argue spontaneously, then that person has much potential in speech and debate.

Middle School Parliamentary:

To all speakers who give their speech I would much appreciate it if you could give a roadmap, even if it’s brief, it makes a big difference. Keeping a consistent amount of tone variation and eye contact will make your speech much more impactful. Speaking louder is always better than speaking softer, so try your best to be as clear and loud as possible and time management is extremely important.

For first speakers, ensure you have a good conclusion which sums your arguments and if your the 1st Opp, try to squeeze a refutation or two of the 1st prop in your speech. When you respond to POI’s during speech, try to not be hassled and respond in a logical manner.

For second speakers, always ensure you distinguish to the audience which argument you are refuting and which arguments you are presenting. If you are trying to insert a new argument, ensure to make that clear. Try not to repeat yourself, I know as a debater that refuting can be hard, but refuting is the only way to present an offensive (offense/defense) action to the other team.

For third speakers, I would say you arguably have the most important role, if the second speaker wasn’t able to finish refuting/reinstating every argument then assist them. Most importantly, always ensure you have a weighing mechanism, explain the procedures for your weighing mechanism and how you fulfill them. Time management is key for a good third speaker and a weighing mechanism makes a huge difference in the debate.

Always keep your arguments ethical, respectful, and ensure to always…