For the past 14 and 1/2 years I have been the head coach of the Speech and Debate Team at Huntington High School. As a Public Forum judge, I believe that hitting the key voting issues in the Final Focus is very important and helps to secure the winner. Explaining specifically why your team is winning the debate is how to finalize the win. In addition, hit the impacts clearly. Make sure the reasoning your team uses is clear and precise. Never assume that as a judge I know what you are talking about in your case, so explain the details clearly.

Speed is fine as long as I, the judge, can understand every word you and your partner say.

Email: shirzadian@marshall.edu

I’m a professor of English at Marshall University, where I also coach the MU debate team. My academic background is in rhetorical and critical theory--with a special emphasis on Disability Studies. I was a parli debater in college (2006-2010) at Cedarville University. Have coached IPDA since beginning at MU last year. I have a moderate amount of college LD experience.

I strive to be a tabula rasa absolutist. I’m a pretty meticulous flow judge. I like smart, meaningful policy debate clash, but I also vote on smart kritics so long as the links stand. I’m open to critical AFFs, though I feel like the bar is a bit higher than NEG K’s. I’m a politics nerd, and so love a smart, specific politics DA (get specific about the congresspeople and bills that will be put in play post-fiat).

I’m okay with a bit of speed, though I’ll also expect you to moderate if I sense your speed has rendered the round inaccessible to your opponent. I'm not keen on supporting the gasping-for-air level of speed. I'd advise you avoid it in our round together.

Link turns most frequently win my ballot. Nothing wrong with impact turns (just don’t double turn!).

Love impact calc args. I'm finding I often weigh probability more heavily that magnitude. The more specific / unique the impact, the better.

On T, Standards and Violation debates determine my ballot.

27.5 feels like the middle for speaks. If you’re a jerk, I’ll weigh that pretty heavily against your speaks.