I am a parent judge and I will try to take notes throughout the debate. I prefer it if the speakers are clear when speaking and polite to their opponents throughout the entirety of the debate.

-Shameerullah Basheer

Hello! I'm Shreya (she/her), a 4th year varsity parliamentary debater in high school! If you're reading this right before the round (breathe! you’re going to do great!), here's what you should know:

• Weigh, weigh, weigh! I really dislike judge intervention and avoid it as much as possible but I can only do that if I have arguments weighed for me. No matter how good your argument is, if it’s not weighed against the other team’s arguments, I can’t evaluate it in the context of the round which will make me sad :(

• Signpost please! I can handle speed for the most part, but I need to know where you are on the flow. The more technical/complicated the argument, the more I need signposting. Passing texts can help with that if you choose to do so.

• Be nice! This one’s simple, just be respectful to others. You are opponents right now, but you are fellow debaters and human beings first and foremost. Disrespect will make you lose speaks at best and result in you being dropped at worst. I trust y’all to be kind though, just do your best and have fun :)

Feel free to ask me any questions about any of the stuff on here before the round. Good luck!

Note for events besides parli: I don't have experience in them, so please limit the jargon-y terms! Sometimes a debate-specific phrase is needed; in the case that a word has a specific meaning in your debate event that someone wouldn't immediately understand from context, please explain it. I will do my best to keep up and flow of course, but this will make it a lot easier for me.

I am a lay judge, so please try to do the following things!

- Make sure to speak slowly and explain terms as thoroughly as possible (please avoid debate or even topic-specific jargon unless very clearly defined in the 1st speech.) Remember, if I can't understand you, then that makes the debate harder to judge!

- Make speeches easy to follow: signposting, using road maps, clear speaking, and making flowing simpler are all advisable.

- Be objective with the information you provide, but there is room for creativity in how you present it.

- Be respectful and reasonable. Discrimination/unfairness in a round will not be tolerated. Debate is a safe space for discussion; it must be maintained.

- Avoid theory and K arguments. I have no experience with these kinds of debates, so it will be beneficial to stick to case level. However, if you can simply prove a reasonable abuse in a round, only then is theory acceptable.

- Have fun and learn! Debate is here to teach so many things, and enjoying the round brings you closer to winning it.

I debate Parli for four years at WHS and now I study nuclear engineering @ Berkeley

TLDR: I am a flow judge and evaluate tech>truth, I like evidence-based debates and will always evaluate evidence-based arguments and refs over every logical warrant unless you give me explicit reasons to do otherwise. If you are running a K you might want to refer to that part of the paradigm. I will also evaluate scientific evidence above all other types of evidence, I'll refer you to the K section if you want to know how this affects Ks.

Presentation:

please keep yourself to a speed that will let me comprehend you, (i.e. please don't spread your lungs out, I can take fast speeds but I'm growing old and my ability to understand speeches delivered at mach speed is waning).

I don't really care about formalities, just signpost.

I dislike speaker points, I will give you them based on how well you wrote your arguments

All texts in chat

Case:

This really should be like every other judge in parli debate. Evidence, warrants, impacts, extensions, etc. I like wide collapses because it gives me multiple reasons to prefer your advocacy. If you have a narrow collapse and it is a big-stick/round winner impact then I will obviously evaluate that above. You have to weigh impacts, if you don't you will lose. If both sides fail to weigh impacts, I will default to who wins their links.

- Constitutionality is NOT an impact, the constitution can be amended and changed.

Theory:

I am quite familiar with theory and was a bit of a theory hack in high school. I dislike lay theory a lot, don't try running it because it's really unclear what I'm supposed to do with it. If you are going to run theory, run it in Interp, Violation, Standards, Voters format. Theory is very viable when run correctly and I will not hesitate to vote on it. Also, extend your standards and make sure to do work on them because I often evaluate that before any major voter level arguments.

Some notes on Theory:

If your opponent runs Trigger Warning Theory, just apologize and make sure to read trigger warnings in future speeches. I don't want people arguing against the concept of trigger warnings because that's not only morally reprehensible but it also sets a dangerous precedent. If you still do not read relevant trigger warnings after your opponent has asked you or has run theory on you, I will drop you and tank your speaks.

"Friv Theory" is completely fine and I don't really have an issue with it unless it requires your opponents to do something like take off their shoes which can make them really uncomfortable. Otherwise, it is just as valid as any other argument in the debate. Tricks are super fun to judge and make the debate interesting.

I default to competing interps over reasonability; No preference for Fairness vs Education; If you run a K and decide to leverage it against Theory, it needs to be extremely well done. (If you say that Fairness skews eval of the flow, I will not consider opposition arguments about pre-round equity unless they manage to explain how it also skews eval of the flow); I will not eval "spirit of the interp" arguments.

I evaluate RVIs and have a fairly low threshold for them.

Finally, I am perfectly fine with replacing the weighing mechanism/definition if both sides agree to it and won't penalize either side. It's not necessary to run theory in those instances.

Kritiks

TLDR: You have to run the K super super well, I don't really have a tolerance for bad/weak argumentation on the K level. This means that given the information you provide, your links and impacts have to make logical sense to someone who has never read the source material. Your alt solvency also has to be really well explained, Ks are an all or nothing here, if you run a bad K that makes no logical sense I will point out logical inconsistencies and give your opponent the win by default.

Familiar Lit Areas:

- Security

- SetCol

- Anthro

- Religion

- Cap

Just because I mainly know these specific Lit Areas doesn't mean that I won't evaluate any other K. I love new and interesting Ks with interesting ideologies/ important systematic issues to highlight.

I love Ks and love seeing them be debated but there are very important boundaries to not cross.

POMO

I don't like pomo. I can briefly explain why if you ask but I would stray away from most pomo, nietzsche is fine tho.

Identity Ks

Identity Ks are important in debate because they are used as survival strats by marginalized groups in this space. That being said I have 3 main notes about Identity Ks.

1. Every other judge has already said this but DO NOT RUN A K ABOUT A GROUP YOU ARE NOT PART OF. I will drop you.

2. Do not assume your opponent to be CisHet, this can cause forced outing, and attempting to do so will result in you being dropped

3. Attacking the concept of religion or highlighting its rhetorical violence is NOT the same as attacking members of a specific religion. The former is a valid argument, the latter is an equity violation.

K Generics

Read extensive framework; Bonus points if your framework allows your opponent to leverage their case which means more clash

I will evaluate Theory against Ks so be prepared for that

Links are pretty important and I don't like the Epistemic Skew argument very much because it nonuniques itself imo. This means you have to actually win your links substantially. I am also very receptive to the perm double bind.

If you have any questions, please ask them before the round or email me at mehulnair@berkeley.edu.

Hi! I'm a high school judge, and am currently in my third year of high school debate. I can handle speed pretty well, so don't be afraid to spread. I'm fine with pretty much any type of argument, including alternatives (CPs) as long as they make sense and are well explained. I won't tolerate any type of abusive behavior during the debate round, and will vote you down right away if you are abusive (you call your opponents names, or interrupt them during their speech without asking POI, etc). I expect/like good evidence, reasoning, and impacts in your arguments/contentions/assertions. Other than that, I can't wait to judge your debate!

I am a parent judge with little to no experience in judging. I would prefer a normal/slow talking pace and clear structured arguments.

I am a lay judge.

I am affiliated with Dougherty Valley High School. I usually judge parliamentary debate and am familiar with the event. This is my third year judging. I will award speaker points by looking for clarity of thinking and cogent delivery.

I will base my decision at the end of the debate on strong arguments and good responses. I'm fine with CP's as long as it has solvency. PIC's are a great strat. Don't run conditional cps. TALK SLOW. If you are going too fast, I will say slow once. Don't read K's. Not a big fan of theory either but I default to reasonability. On framework, I enjoy util.

I will take a lot of notes and pay thorough attention throughout the debate. Don't overuse statistics and evidence. Evidence is there to support your argument, so use it when necessary.

Real-world impacts are important. Talk about real-life scenarios as much as possible.

I value truthful arguments over debate skills. Debate skills should help you extend and defend truthful arguments. Don't try to win on technicalities, use logic, and strong argumentation to win the round. If your opponents concede your argument, I will acknowledge it, but don't use that concession to win the entire round. If your arguments are better and you defend them well, you will win. Please weigh in your last speeches.

I am a parent judge with no debating experience. Have been a lay judge for the last 3 years. I may not be familiar with certain jargon that you use, so where necessary please clarify.

I take notes throughout the round and will try to flow. I like logical, reasoned and well-developed arguments and normally vote heavily on impacts. So let me know why your points matter.

Good luck!

I am a lay judge (parent judge) and have very little judging experience. I am looking for well laid out arguments, clearly presented, relevant to the topic and to the other side’s argument. I value logical and coherent arguments that can persuade a rational mind.

Please don’t talk faster than an average person can understand. If you speak so fast that it sounds like the “fine points” at the end of a commercial, I will presume that speech is meant to be ignored.

I know very little about debate jargon. If you use any, please explain to me clearly.