TL;DR: Speed is fine, tech> truth, send a speech doc, read cut cards, disclosure is good, paraphrasing is bad.

Background

I currently coach a few teams and worked at a debate camp this past summer for a month so I like to think I am above the level of a washed first-year-out.

I debated public forum at Marist for 4 years (2019-2023). Competed in lots of rounds on the national circuit and went to TOC my junior and senior year.

I expect there to be an email chain sent up for evidence exchange every round. My email is:

jescayg@nd.edu

General Paradigm

-All offense you plan on going for along with turns must be front-lined in second rebuttal. That being said defense is not sticky, I don't know who started saying that but given that summary must mirror final that doesn't make structural sense. If a team kicks out by extending a delink, it is typically safe to assume the remaining defense on the argument is conceded. Often, defensive concessions can be taken advantage of elsewhere on the flow, and I am partial to debates where teams consider how arguments interact with each other at both a practical and technical level.

- Speed is non-issue for me as a judge and probably a net-positive for public forum as a whole. I'll be honest and say that any speed bad arguments likely will never win my ballot. "Flow better" is a sufficient response in my opinion. Still going fast doesn't mean you can sacrifice clarity. This is magnified by a world where teams don't read more than one sentence from a card or paraphrase. If you are unclear enough that your only solution is for me to flow off the doc, then your speaker points will reflect that. That being said, I will do my best to avoid having to clear you. I despise intervening and think the burden of clarity falls on you rather than the judge.

-Weighing without comparison isn't weighing, it is just extending your impact. Most buzzwords used for weighing are just part of timeframe, magnitude, and probability. Unless its an impact turn debate, please take time to compare both your links and internal links. I love when teams stake the ballot on either a link turn or an impact turn, so don't be afraid to kick case and go for offense on their case. That being said, collapsing is essential, and prioritizing quantity of offense over quality typically isn't the best strategy.

Evidence

-On a personal level I will always prefer full cut cards and no paraphrasing, nothing you do in round will be able to convince me that not having cut cards and/or paraphrasing is good for the activity as a whole.

-Please call out bad evidence practices, if you don't feel comfortable reading theory that's fine but you can still be making arguments in the speech that call for rejecting the argument (if I am on a panel in which theory is not an option I will be extra partial to this);

- I love when teams compare and contrast their evidence to their opponents, and it is something that teams do not do with enough frequency. This adds an extra layer of analysis to your arguments and helps make them more persuasive.

-Verbal citations are a must and need to include author name and date of publication. Not only is it unfair to make your opponents go back and check for authors and dates on all you pieces of evidence, but it is also plagiarism as you are taking someone else's work and utilizing it as your own.

Progressive

Theory

-I default to competing interpretations unless told otherwise. Unless the theory is frivolous I'm not likely to buy any RVIs as I don't think teams should be punished for good-faith norm-setting.

-Disclosure is good and paraphrasing is bad, I will have no hesitancy treating either of those as a voter and dropping the violating team. I would suggest that every team just disclose and don't paraphrase because otherwise you are going in to a theory debate you will most likely lose. That is not a case of me intervening, but rather due to the fact that the majority of arguments against disclosure and in favor of paraphrasing aren't good.

-99.9% of the time trigger warnings are unnecessary in PF. If it non-graphic I don't believe it should have a trigger warning point-blank. In my experience trigger warnings prevent important debates from happening, and are often used to silence underrepresented voices. The literature also seems to conclude that trigger warnings are a trauma magnifier, so do with that as you please.

-I'm indifferent on round reports if you disclose, but think they are unhelpful if you don't.

Kritiks

-The time constraints of PF make it really hard to have a good K debate, that being said, I think it is good for teams to be pushing the threshold on what arguments are accepted in PF.

Arguments I read in high school: Securitization, Word Pic, and topical race/gender arguments with a ROB

Arguments I debated: Anti-blackness, Rage, Fem, Cap, Set-Col, Orientalism, Spark, Dedev, Wipeout (not endorsing the last three just saying I debated them)

The tl;dr: is that I can evaluate K debate to the extent of a PF first year out with some familiarity navigating the policy backfiles. If you win the K on the flow you will win my ballot, but don’t assume I have prior knowledge when it comes to the more unorthodox K positions (especially non-topical ones).

- If you are reading an argument that talks about changing the debate space, please don't have an opt-out form, it is counter-intuitive, and potentially terminal defense on your method if you are willing to not debate an argument that aims to change the space.

Speaker Points

I'll start everyone at a 28.5 and adjust from there on a sliding scale. It'll be a mix of style and strategy.

Have fun, debate is a game.

I am a three-year varsity debater. I do flow and will vote off the flow; however, crossfire will not be flowed. Do not try to gain extra preparation time by over-asking for cards and/or delaying the time it takes to send your cards to the opposing team. Both competitors are responsible for upholding the time intervals for each speech and cross during the debate and to time their prep time. If there is an email chain to exchange evidence, please include my email (willfligg23@gmail.com) 

Thanks

Experience:

I'm a varsity debater at Marist School. I did policy my first year, so speed isn't an issue. I currently do public forum on the national circuit.

Technicality:

Don't bring up new arguments in final focus. Remember to signpost. I won't count the argument if it was brought up after summary, which includes grand cross. Cross x isn't that important to me, so if an important point is brought up, tell me in your speech. Don't forget to weigh because it makes my decision easier. Make sure to clash in your debate and do analytics. Don't just read a prewritten rebuttal, summary, or final focus. Remember, extending arguments doesn't mean just saying "extend this card". You need to explain how extending it helps your case.

PF: I've probably debated on the topic multiple times, so please don't read me definitions unless they are a "unique" interpretation of the word.

Speaks:

high speaks: clarity, analytics, signposting

low speaks: spreading excessively, rude comments-- I will dock points for any offensive remarks against race, gender, nationality, etc. Cross isn't important to my ballot, but I will dock points if you don't let the other team ask questions.

I'm a 4th year PF debater at Marist School in Georgia.

Add me to your email chains

matthewhorne24@marist.com maristpublicforum@gmail.com

If you spread, send a speech doc

Tech>truth

Time your own speeches, prep, and crossfires.

I pay attention to cross solely for speaker points, if something happens that I should know about, let me know in the speech.

Please weigh and

Collapse in your summaries. Narrowing down the debate is important in the back half of rounds

Email me if you have any questions about rfd.

she/her | add me to the email chain: ellykang@mit.edu

competed in nat cir public forum for 4 years at marist

general notes

tech > truth

please preflow before the round

i will always prefer better comparatively weighed arguments

love weighing introduced earlier (especially in rebuttal!)

warranted analytics > unwarranted evidence

can handle speed but will clear you if i can't understand + you should be slowing down on taglines, send speech docs in the email chain if you spread

if you do paraphrase, please at least have cut cards. if evidence is called for and sent in the email chain, it should be sent in cut card format. if you don't have a cut card for key evidence, your speaks and the argument will be dropped.

won't evaluate arguments in cross unless they're made in speeches

rebuttal

must frontline in second rebuttal (at the very minimum, frontline what you collapse on and every offensive argument)

implicate your responses and tell me why they matter in context of the round

summary + final

defense isn't sticky

collapse in the back half. for anything you collapse on, extend every part of the argument (uniqueness, link, internal link, impact)

back half should be consistent. everything in final needs to be in summary or i won't evaluate it

progressive argumentation

i do believe reading cut cards and open source disclosure are good norms, but reading those shells is not an auto win. you have to win the shell for me to vote off it

i don't like friv theory that doesn't actually contribute education or fairness to debate + probably won't evaluate it. i consider friv anything that isn't disclosure, paraphrasing, or content warning theory. but note i have a fairly high threshold for what requires a content warning

have judged kritiks several times, but not the most familiar with them. if you read one, i'll do my best to evaluate

other notes

i give speaks solely based on strategic decisions in round

if you are any kind of -ist in round, i will immediately drop you with the lowest speaks i can give

if you have any questions you can always ask! feel free to email me if there are any others after the round

I am a four-year varsity debater.

Here are some guidelines for the round:

1. I expect everything in the final focus to be in the summary.
2. Second speaking teams must respond to the first rebuttal.
3. First speaking teams must extend defense in the first summary.
4. I don't flow crossfire.
5. Competitors are responsible for upholding the time intervals for each speech and cross during the debate and to time their prep time (I will keep time as well).
6. If there is an email chain to exchange evidence, please include my email (keeganleary23@marist.com).

She/Her

Marist '22 | Northeastern '26

Debated for 5 years on the national circuit

Include me on email chains nahasmaggie@gmail.com

I'd say I'm a fairly typical flow judge. Extend and weigh your arguments clearly. No new arguments in final focus. Make sure you are signposting in your speeches. I'm fine with some speed, but please don't spread. Please don't read me framework unless you actually plan to weigh under that framework. The second speaking team should absolutely be frontlining in rebuttal. That being said, the first speaking team does not automatically gain access to all unfrontlined responses during first summary. I want to see your arguments being extended fully, meaning extend whatever links/internal links/warrants/impacts/frontlines/etc. that you're going for. If you just tell me to extend your *enter last name* card, it will probably mean literally nothing to me, so focus on the actual arguments. I will always prefer cut cards over paraphrasing. I generally think paraphrasing is bad and disclosure is good for the activity. Stealing prep is really annoying and so is taking excessive time to produce called cards. If something important happens in cross, tell me about it in a speech, otherwise, it won't be on my flow and probably won't affect my decision.

The reason I love debate is because it is inclusive and educational. If anything happens in the round which goes against these values, I will dock your speaker points.

I am a four-year debater from Marist School in Atlanta. I did Policy debate for a year and a half and then did PF debate for 2 years and a half and did several speech events throughout.

Speed is fine, as long as you're clear. Please be nice to your opponents, I will take speaker points off if you're not. Please, please, please signpost and give off-time road maps! I am fine with theory and K debates, just make sure your opponents are ok with it too. I will time your prep time so do not steal. I do not flow cx but I do pay attention- especially to grand cx. I am not a fan of overviews- if you give one please tell me where to flow it and make it short.