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California Invitational Berkeley Debate

2022 — Berkeley, CA/US

JV Policy Paradigm List

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Dhruv Ahuja Canyon Crest Academy 6 rounds

Last changed on Sun February 13, 2022 at 10:27 AM PDT

Dhruv Ahuja he/him

Chaminade '21, UCR '25

Please put dhruvsahuja [at] gmail [dot] com on the chain. After the round is over, please send a card document of all relevant cards that were extended in the final rebuttals.

Note for online tournaments:

1. Please slow down and try to enunciate more.

2. If my camera isn't on, I'm not ready for your speech.

3. Please ask for visual or audial confirmation before starting your speech. Thanks!

General:

1. I am firmly strategy > ideology. None of my ideological preferences are strong enough that you should alter how you debate. As long as you make strategic arguments, backed by quality evidence, I don't care what you go for.

2. I care the most about argument resolution. Clear, explicit judge instruction and argument framing make final rebuttals far more efficient and persuasive. The best debaters are able to identify nexus questions of the debate and instruct the judge how to resolve it in their favor.

3. Evidence quality matters, a lot. Presenting high quality evidence, and accurately pointing this out, nearly always trumps mediocre spin. On the flip side, unqualified or otherwise weak evidence can easily be defeated by smart analytics.

K Affs and Framework:

1. K Affs: I find Aff teams are most successful when they use case to impact turn reading framework and/or the model of debate the Neg is proposing.

2. Framework: Neg teams are most successful when they choose framework impacts focusing on the competitive nature of debate, and use that to limit the scope and solvency of Aff offense.

3. K v K: Minimal experience. Detailed judge instruction and big picture framing will help. No strong preference on whether or not the Aff gets a perm.

Ks on the Neg:

1. I care a lot about framework interpretations. Teams should be exceptionally clear about the scope of their interpretation, and how it relates to other portions of the debate (think perms, impact comparison, etc.) as this will be the first part of the debate I will evaluate. I will not artificially insert a 'middle ground' interpretation that is not presented in the debate.

2. Specificity will be rewarded. 2NCs and 2NRs are most successful when they use their theorizing to reexplain the Affs internal links in their favor.

Topicality:

1. The predictability of an interpretation is highly relevant. Teams prepare for the topic based on what they expect it to include, not what they wished it included (otherwise you wouldn't be debating water).

2. Reasonability doesn't mean I'll auto-vote Aff. Please explain what 'reasonability' entails.

Plans/CPs/DAs/Case:

1. Plan and CPs should be specific, and backed by solvency advocates. If your plan is vague, it only means what the evidence supports it to mean. Teams should make smart solvency arguments relating to vague plans and read normal means evidence about how the plan would occur.

2. Better for smart Aff permutations than "CP is illegit". If the CP is competitive, it seems logical that it also legitimate.

3. Note about the Politics DA: "If your uniqueness card is a screenshot of a FiveThirtyEight-esque model, I will not vote for your disad. All it says is that you do not know how probability and risk work." - Parker Coon.

4. Soft-left Aff framing arguments are most intuitive when they provide an alternative model of risk-calculus that sufficiently considers probable impacts, rather than arbitrarily assert a certain form of violence should always be prioritized.

Miscellaneous:

1. No 'inserting' evidence, unless it cannot be verbally read.

2. Mark your cards during your speech. Anything that happens after is your prep time.

3. Clarification questions are CX or prep.

4. Accusations of clipping should include a recording, unless I notice it.

Devin Anderson Northwood High School 3 rounds

Last changed on Mon April 25, 2022 at 10:22 AM PDT

School affiliations: (Past) - Nevada Union HS, CKM, (Current) - Northwood HS, Harker

Updated for: Tournament of Champions 2022

Add me to the email chain: devinanderson@ucsb.edu

Round starts in 5 minutes:

-- Policy debate, 4 years for Nevada Union HS. Qualified to the TOC my junior and senior year, coached 2 TOC qualified teams

-- Judge instruction + framing is very important

-- Familiar with some arguments on this topic, but don't assume

-- More K background, love policy debates, do whatever

-- Tech > truth. Except for any argument that is racist/xenophobic/homophobic/etc.

-- I’ve abandoned a lot of my predispositions. Organized, well-warranted debates >>>

T/Theory

I enjoy these debates if debaters take the time to develop terminal impacts (i.e how norm violations undermine skills that would otherwise spill out and solve 'x'). The interpretation and violation should be very clear. Offense will win you these debates, too much defense and spreading through theory blocks will lose you them

Case

Very important. I am a big big fan of impact turn debates and heavy block case work.

CPs

Sufficiency framing is persuasive. The more specific and strategic the cp, the better. 2nc CPs are legitimate and strategic (most of the time). Solvency evidence is preferable but can be substituted with intuitive argumentation and CPs grounded in aff ev. Show me a centralized strategy around your CP and get to the nitty-gritty of its mechanism. Fiat does not make a CP the death star--answer the deficits thoroughly

DAs

Better for deterrence, appeasement, etc DA scenarios. Enjoy immensely, but less familiar with, intricate political capital DAs. I'll resolve the biggest question framed at the end of the debate, judge instruction is important here--you should tell me where the nexus of my decision should be. Strong evidence is key here, I will re-read cards in most debates I judge

I've debated for and against this argument most of my debate career--it has efficacy and value in debate. Overall: you do you in these debates. I enjoy skills and/or fairness offense and any combination of them. Debate is probably a game but there are args that are persuasive for why it is more or not so. I will evaluate this debate largely on the internal link and impact level, and how that implicates both teams' models of debate. ***Answer aff specific impact turns***

Kritiks

Make your links clear (name them!). Do not rely on overviews and buzzwords--rely on the argumentative power of your authors and explain how it relates to politics/debate/etc. The best debates are the ones that use an in-depth link debate to structure the rest of the flow. Links are DAs to the perm and the alt should resolve them. Framework is important in front of me--I default to letting the aff weigh their advantages. Chances are, I know your argument or a variation of it, but don't assume

K Affs

These debates are valuable, I will evaluate them as objectively as any other--whether it's structural, performative, or theory-based. Topic ties and smart c/i's on framework are ideal. These debate will be much easier for you if you're winning central offense about the topic/debate and their investments in them. Combine it with terminal defense/offense on the skills/fairness debate. To keep it simple: prove your model is good and that your advocacy generates more persuasive/warranted offense

Speaker Points

I reward smart cross-x questions, strategic pivots, and most certainly unpredictable (but logical) 2NR/2AR decisions. If 10 seconds in, I'm already psyched about your speech, good boost for you. I think speaker points are arbitrary and should give me the ability to help you get to where you want to be in a tournament. It's your job to prove to me why you deserve it. Don't be rude. ***Make me laugh, whether or on purpose or accidentally***

Joseph Barragan Damien High School 6 rounds

Dylan Barsoumian Damien High School 3 rounds

Last changed on Mon May 2, 2022 at 10:26 AM PDT

dvbarsoumian21@gmail.com

Chaminade '21 (2a/2n)

Baylor '25 (2a/1n)

TLDR --- I am an assistant coach at Damien HS. I have 0 content based predispositions. There are however non-negotiable rules: speeches have fixed times, sides are predetermined by tab, I flow only what the designated speaker says after the constructives etc. if you choose not to follow these rules seriously then im not for you. You would be way better off having me in the back of a clash of civs or KvK debate as opposed to a strictly policy round. Obviously I have argumentative preferences both in how they are constructed and deployed in round but good debating can easily reverse these.

- If you say or do something morally/ethically apprehensible I will not hesitate to provide you with your lowest prelims speaks.

- Tech > truth, BUT my inclination to vote on certain positions will increase/decrease depending on the level of extrapolation present i.e. arguments must be fully fleshed out in order to be given any semblance of weight in my decision.

- The first 30 seconds of your rebuttal speeches should crystalize the debate and ideally mirror my potential RFD.

- Judge instruction is not asking me to read a piece of evidence after the round - explain how that piece of evidence interacts with my flow and why it should influence my decision calculus.

- My decision calculus first and foremost usually comes down to what arguments are tailored to the casting of my ballot.

- Presumption goes to the team that deviates from the squo the least.

- I like cx sass and assertiveness but just make sure you dont confuse those things with disrespect and aggressiveness

- I default to judge kick absent being instructed no judge kick

- Link specificity is very important to me.

- Do not insert evidence unless it cannot be read verbally.

- Speaker points rate individual performance, strategic/bold pivots, general rhetorical appeal etc. because of this I generally give out a lot of low point wins.

- My camera is usually on, if its off seek confirmation prior to starting your speech.

Arguments --- I am accustomed to and have taken exclusively left leaning critical positions throughout the second half of my career, despite this I have no biases and will strictly defer to my flow for any argumentative inconsistencies. I will not fill in holes for you and you should act as if I don't know what the literature says while showcasing a superior explanation of your arguments.

- Policy Debates —- You shouldn’t pref me high if your strategy is solely reliant on policy args, not because I dont enjoy them but because im not that experienced. I enjoy these debates when there are a vertical proliferation of a few substantive and well-developed arguments as opposed to shallow horizontal ones. I really dislike 1acs that defend both soft left and big stick level impacts. You should implicitly send a card doc after the conclusion of your final rebuttals.

- Theory --- Condo is generally good but I've voted otherwise in the past. Dropping utopian alts bad isnt an auto dub same goes for most theory arguments. Rejecting the arg generally remedies any harms created, you're going to have to do some work to make me vote otherwise.

- Framework --- I have no biases here. Procedural fairness is both an internal link and an impact just depends on how you deploy it. However clash is only the former. Things you should do: Go for only one impact in the 2nr, do impact calculus/comparison, articulate solvency deficits to their model of debate, explain how your model solves and interacts with said deficits vis-a-vis tva/ssd, link/internal link analysis (most of their offense probably just assumes debate or the state), answering the specific 2ac's application of offense to framework without your prewritten blocks, predict/preempt 2ar shifts and compensate by doing judge instruction, ballot framing, and model comparison, answering the affirmative in the 2nr. I think that debate is a game but I also think it has the power to influence different material outcomes. I view Tvas as impact filters that don't need to solve the affirmative but should include aff literature. SSD becomes very convincing to me if the affirmative answers to T devolve into state/state education bad. I am a sucker for smart presumption arguments and have somewhat of a high threshold for aff solvency explanation. Although I never really go for framework, as a 2a who is quite fond of Baudrillard, Im constantly responding to it as well as coaching my debaters to go for it. These debates have the potential to be my some of my favorite rounds or some of my least favorite. If the level of framework debating described above seems synonymous with your style of debating you should probs prefer me highly.

- The K --- Try not to go for a k that you are unfamiliar with; not to say I wont vote for you if you win, but rounds where you constantly evade questions during cx and provide me with shoddy explanations that dont do your literature base justice will be reflected upon in your speaker points. I strongly prefer substantive critical debating and am not a fan of spamming contradictory critical positions derived from different schools of thought. But above all else make sure that you are telling me a story that I can retell to the affirmative in the rfd. I dont like implicit clash, you should be doing the line by line on the k proper. Link contextualization and drawing aff/topic specific historical examples separate good and great k debaters. I think framework is the most important part of the K but it can become ultimately irrelevant if the rest of the critique is winning that either the plan exacerbates the harms you've impacted out or the critique is winning an impact turn to the aff. I will default to judge kicking the alt if it was conditional but you need a reason why I should if the other team makes a judge kick argument. My favorite Ks are Lacan, Security, Baudrillard, Semiocap variants, Settlerism,

- K Affs --- I have experience defending and debating these types of affs and I think that the closer you are to answering the resolutional question, the better. I think that uniqueness is extremely underutilized in these debates and usually helps me weigh a lot of these ballot and impact comparison questions in your favor. When answering topicality YOU WILL LOSE if you dont have a competing interpretation of debate that you can solve your impact turns through. You should have some sort of advocacy text/statement in the 1ac. If I am left without understanding what the role of the negative is under your model thats probably a disad to it. When debating framework leverage your case as much as possible - I see a lot of teams struggling to decide on whether to defend a middle ground or the impact turn, just make sure you pick one so that the story of the affirmative remains constant, inconsistency in the different affirmative speeches both argumentatively and strategically warrant my neg ballot a lot of the time. Explaining how the affirmative solves the offense you are going for is vital. I also won’t vote on an impact turn your model can't resolve so you need to explain how you solve the offense you consolidated down to. The best 2a's pick and choose a few things to go for in the final speech and talk about how these arguments interact with both what the 2nr is going for and most importantly how that influences the casting of my ballot. I default to giving the affirmative the permutation but I can be convinced otherwise.

If you have any questions about anything that was/wasn’t mentioned above you can email me.

Speaker Points

29.6/+ - you are phenomenal and in to the top group of speakers i’ve judged during the season

29.3-29.5 - excellent display of skill, top group of speakers at the tournament, and makes it to late elims

28.9-29.2 - impressive display of skill, clears on speaks

28.6-28.8 - above average probably doesn’t clear on speaks

28.3-28.5 - average

28-28.2 - below average

27.9-27.5 - you made many mistakes

- 27.5 - something not good happened

Higher Speaks

- Eye contact during cx and moments of speeches

- Bleach and Jojos references

- Los Angeles Clippers praise

- Labeling and responding to arguments in the same order as the previous speech

- If we are in person and you bring me a redbull +.2 speaks

Alex Berry Isidore Newman School 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat March 11, 2023 at 8:05 AM CDT

My pronouns are he/him.

Saint Louis UDL policy debater in high school (2015-2018). Former president of NPDA parli debate at Tulane (Dec '21). I began judging LD and PF in 2018. I now work full time doing intake in the housing unit at legal aid and part-time at the Louisiana Children's Museum and Audubon Nature Institute.

Email chain: liv.berry014@gmail.com (also email me here if you have any questions or accessibility needs)

If you feel unsafe at any point in a round or during a tournament, let me know (either in person or via email) and I will do everything I can to get you out of the situation and get the issue handled w tab/equity office/tournament directors etc. Your safety comes first, always

I clap at the end of rounds

Please put cards in docs instead of the body of the email. I don't care if it's just one card - I want a doc.

Spring 2023 Update:

- I no longer think it is particularly useful to list all of my thoughts and preferences on specific arguments and debate styles in my paradigm. It shouldn't matter to you or affect the way you choose to debate. You should debate in a way that feels fun, educational, and authentic to you. I will judge the debate in front of me.

- I am not as involved in debate as I once was. Judging is now a special treat that requires taking off work. This could be good for you or it could be bad for you. Either way, it means I'm genuinely thrilled to be here.

- Be mindful when it comes to speed and jargon. I don't know the all the acronyms or buzzwords and I don't know community consensus or trends when it comes to things like counterplans or topicality.

Some general thoughts:

- TLDR: Read what you like and have fun with it! Whether you're reading a rage aff without a plan text or nine off in the 1NC, if you're into it, I'm into it.

- The best part of debate is the people. Be kind.

- I see my role as a judge as an educator first and foremost

- The best way to win my ballot is to filter arguments through impact framing. Why is your model/disadvantage/advocacy/etc more important? What does it mean to mitigate/solve these impacts in the context of the debate? Why is the ballot important or not important?

- Every speech is a performance. How you choose to perform is up to you, but be prepared to defend every aspect of your performance, including your advocacy, evidence, arguments, positions, and representations

- Tell me why stuff matters! Tell me what I should care about and why!

- If you are a jerk to novices or inexperienced debaters, I will tank your speaks. This is an educational activity. Don't be a jerk

LD SPECIFIC:

- I don't know what "tricks" or "spikes" are. I judged a round that I'm told had both of these things, and it made me cry (and I sat). Beyond that, I've judged lots of traditional, kritikal, and plan rounds and feel comfortable there.

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, LEARN THINGS

Russell Brand Lowell High School 6 rounds

Last changed on Fri March 3, 2023 at 1:45 PM PDT

Please put brand@responsible.com and lowelldebatedocs@gmail.com on the email chain

Long, long, long ago; back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, I was a regional finalist in High School impromptu and parli.

Now I am merely a parent judge and no longer have a dinosaur to ride, so instead I judge IE and Parli (and now Policy).

SQUALS 2023: I am a lay judge and have been judging debate for four years (two years for policy). Please, please, please don’t spread. I’m not going to vote on anything completely absurd like squirrels not having proper scuba gear leads to extinction. I will try to be as tech > truth as I can be, but my biases in terms of truth will probably influence decisions even if I don’t intend that to be the case. I have expertise in 5 areas of science and engineering.

Please read an actual plan in 1ac. We are not here to debate about the value of debate or try to attach metaphysics to real and important earthly problems.

Topicality: I will understand topicality and vote on topicality if you can prove that their plan has made the debate significantly unfair.

Kritik: Don’t run these with me, they’ll confuse me and I’ll mark against you for them if I’m confused.

CP: Love counterplans, bonus points if they are unique and well explained.

DA: Please don’t read some generic link, make the link specific to the aff, and make sure to explain impact link chain clearly.

Case: Love case debate, if you can prove you know the aff better than the affirmative does and then prove its a bad idea I will be very impressed and give you good speaks.

Cross-X: I flow cross-x, don’t be overly aggressive or rude, it will reduce speaks. Strong cross-x which will increase speaks include: any question that highlights a missing link in the argument or an inconsistency in the argument.

+0.1 if you tell me what your favorite dinosaur is before you speech

In IE, I particularly look for

* good transitions

* cohesion (does it sound like a single talk instead of unrelated series of short monologs)

I strongly dislike when the enthusiasm to show emotion interferes with diction and severely treble shift voices.

In Parli,

* I have difficulties when people speak too fast. (Especially if it is faster than my pet dinosaurs used to run.)

* I am generally not persuaded by "theory" in Parli.

Yao Yao Chen Liberal Arts and Science Academy 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat September 24, 2022 at 7:43 AM CDT

I've coached LASA since 2005. I judge ~100 debates per season on the high school circuit.

If there’s an email chain, please add me: yaosquared@gmail.com.

If you’re using a flash drive, prep stops when you pull the flash drive out of your computer. If you’re using an email chain, I won’t count attaching and emailing as prep time. Please do not steal prep.

If you have little time before the debate, here’s all you need to know: do what you do best. I try to be as unbiased as possible and I will defer to your analysis. As long as you are clear, go as fast as you want.

Most judges give appalling decisions. Here's where I will try to be better than them:

They intervene, even when they claim they won't. Perhaps "tech over truth" doesn't mean what it used to. I will attempt to adjudicate and reach a decision purely on only the words you say. If that's insufficient to reach a decision either way--and it often isn't--I will add the minimum work necessary to come to a decision. The more work I have to do, the wider the range of uncertainty for you and the lower your speaks go.
They aren't listening carefully. They're mentally checked out, flowing off the speech doc, distracted by social media, or have half their headphones off and are taking selfies during the 1AR. I will attempt to flow every single detail of your speeches. I will probably take notes during CX if I think it could affect my decision. If you worked hard on debate, you deserve a judge who works hard as well.
They give poorly-reasoned decisions that rely on gut instincts and ignore arguments made in the 2NR/2AR. I will probably take my sweet time making and writing my decision. I will try to be as thorough and transparent as possible. If I intervene anywhere, I will explain why I had to intervene and how you could've prevented that intervention. If I didn't catch or evaluate an argument, I will explain why you under-explained or failed to extend it. I will try to anticipate your questions and preemptively answer them in my decision.
They reconstruct the debate and try to find the most creative and convoluted path to a ballot. I guess they're trying to prove they're smart? These decisions are detestable because they take the debate away from the hands of the debaters. If there are multiple paths to victory for both teams, I will take what I think is the shortest path and explain why I think it's the shortest path, and you can influence my decision by explaining why you control the shortest path. But, I'm not going to use my decision to attempt to prove I'm more clever than the participants of the debate.

Meta Issues:

I’m not a professional debate coach or even a teacher. I work as a finance analyst in the IT sector and I volunteer as a debate coach on evenings and weekends. I don’t teach at debate camp and my topic knowledge comes primarily from judging debates. My finance background means that, when left to my own devices, I err towards precision, logic, data, and concrete examples. However, I can be convinced otherwise in any particular debate, especially when it’s not challenged by the other team.
Tech over truth in most instances. I will stick to my flow and minimize intervention as much as possible. I firmly believe that debates should be left to the debaters. I rarely make facial expressions because I don’t want my personal reactions to affect how a debate plays out. I will maintain a flow, even if you ask me not to. However, tech over truth has its limits. An argument must have sufficient explanation for it to matter to me, even if it’s dropped. You need a warrant and impact, not just a claim.
Evidence comparison is under-utilized and is very important to me in close debates. I often call for evidence, but I’m much more likely to call for a card if it’s extended by author or cite.
I don’t judge or coach at the college level, which means I’m usually a year or two behind the latest argument trends that are first broken in college and eventually trickle down to high school. If you’re reading something that’s close to the cutting edge of debate arguments, you’ll need to explain it clearly. This doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear new arguments. On the contrary, a big reason why I continue coaching debate is because I enjoy listening to and learning about new arguments that challenge my existing ways of thinking.
Please mark your own cards. No one is marking them for you.
If I feel that you are deliberately evading answering a question or have straight up lied, and the question is important to the outcome of the debate, I will stop the timer and ask you to answer the question. Example: if you read condo bad, the neg asks in CX whether you read condo bad, and you say no, I’ll ask if you want me to cross-out condo on my flow.

Framework:

Don't over-adapt to me in these debates. If you are most comfortable going for procedural fairness, do that. If you like going for advocacy skills, you do you. Like any other debate, framework debates hinge on impact calculus and comparison.
When I vote neg, it’s usually because the aff team missed the boat on topical version, has made insufficient inroads into the neg’s limits disad, and/or is winning some exclusion disad but is not doing comparative impact calculus against the neg’s offense. The neg win rate goes up if the 2NR can turn or access the aff's primary impact (e.g. clash and argument testing is vital to ethical subject formation).
When I vote aff, it’s usually because the 2NR is disorganized and goes for too many different impacts, there’s no topical version or other way to access the aff’s offense, and/or concedes an exclusion disad that is then impacted out by the 2AR. Without a credible counter-interpretation that the aff meets and that establishes some sufficient limits on the scope of debates, I lean negative.

Topicality:

Over the years, “tech over truth” has led me to vote neg on some untruthful T violations. If you’re neg and you’ve done a lot of research and are ready to throw down on a very technical and carded T debate, I’m a good judge for you.
I'm a stickler for the quality of a definition, especially if it's from a source that's contextual to the topic, has some intent to define, is exclusive and not just inclusive, etc.
Reasonability is a debate about the aff’s counter-interpretation, not their aff. The size of the link to the limits disad usually determines how sympathetic I am towards this argument, i.e. if the link is small, then I’m more likely to conclude the aff’s C/I is reasonable even without other aff offense.

Kritiks:

The kritik teams I've judged that have earned the highest speaker points give highly organized and structured speeches, are disciplined in line-by-line debating, and emphasize key moments in their speeches.
Just like most judges, the more case-specific your link and the more comprehensive your alternative explanation, the more I’ll be persuaded by your kritik.
I greatly prefer the 2NC structure where you have a short (or no) overview and do as much of your explanation on the line-by-line as possible. If your overview is 6 minutes, you make blippy cross-applications on the line-by-line, and then you drop the last three 2AC cards, I’m going to give the 1AR a lot of leeway on extending those concessions, even if they were somewhat implicitly answered in your overview.
Framework debates on kritiks rarely factor into my decisions. Frequently, I conclude that there’s not a decisive win for either side here, or that it’s irrelevant because the neg is already allowing the aff to weigh their impacts. Usually, I find myself somewhere in the middle: the neg always has the right to read kritiks, but the aff should have the right to access their advantages. Kritiks that moot the entire 1AC are a tough sell.
I’m not a good judge for “role of the ballot” arguments, as I usually find these to be self-serving for the team making them. I’m also not a good judge for “competing methods means the aff doesn’t have a right to a perm”. I think the aff always has a right to a perm, but the question is whether the perm is legitimate and desirable, which is a substantive issue to be debated out, not a gatekeeping issue for me to enforce.
I’m an OK judge for K “tricks”. A conceded root cause explanation, value to life impact, or “alt solves the aff” claim is effective if it’s sufficiently explained. The floating PIK needs to be clearly made in the 2NC for me to evaluate it. If your K strategy hinges on hiding a floating PIK and suddenly busting it out in the 2NR, I’m not a good judge for you.

Counterplans:

Just like most judges, I prefer case-specific over generic counterplans, but we can’t always get what we want.
I lean neg on PICs. I lean aff on international fiat, 50 state fiat, condition, and consult. These preferences can change based on evidence or lack thereof. For example, if the neg has a state counterplan solvency advocate in the context of the aff, I’m less sympathetic to theory.
I will not judge kick the CP unless explicitly told to do so by the 2NR, and it would not take much for the 2AR to persuade me to ignore the 2NR’s instructions on that issue.
Presumption is in the direction of less change. If left to my own devices, I will probably conclude that most counterplans that are not explicitly PICs are a larger change than the aff.

Disadvantages:

I’m a sucker for specific and comparative impact calculus. For example, most nuclear war impacts are probably not global nuclear war but some kind of regional scenario. I want to know why your specific regional scenario is faster and/or more probable. Reasonable impact calculus is much more persuasive to me than grandiose impact claims.
I believe that in most cases, the link is more important for determining the direction of risk than uniqueness. The exceptions are when the uniqueness can be definitively determined rather than probabilistic.
Zero risk is possible but difficult to prove by the aff. However, a miniscule neg risk of the disad is probably background noise.

Theory:

I actually enjoy listening to a good theory debate, but these seem to be exceedingly rare. I think I can be persuaded that many theoretical objections require punishing the team and not simply rejecting the argument, but substantial work needs to be done on why setting a precedent on that particular issue is important. You're unlikely to win that a single intrinsic permutation is a round-winning voter, even if the other team drops it, unless you are investing significant time in explaining why it should be an independent voting issue.
I think that I lean affirmative compared to the rest of the judging community on the legitimacy of counterplans. In my mind, a counterplan that is wholly plan-inclusive (consultation, condition, delay, etc.) is theoretically questionable. The legitimacy of agent counterplans, whether domestic or international, is also contestable. I think the negative has the right to read multiple planks to a counterplan, but reading each plank conditionally is theoretically suspect.

Miscellaneous:

I usually take a long time to decide, and give lengthy decisions. LASA debaters have benefitted from the generosity of judges, coaches, and lab leaders who used their decisions to teach and trade ideas, not just pick a winner and get a paycheck. Debaters from schools with limited/no coaching, the same schools needed to prevent the decline in policy debate numbers, greatly benefit from judging feedback. I encourage you to ask questions and engage in respectful dialogue with me. However, post-round hostility will be met with hostility. I've been providing free coaching and judging since before you were birthed into the world. If I think you're being rude or condescending to me or your opponents, I will enthusiastically knock you back down to Earth.
I don't want a card doc. If you send one, I will ignore it. Card docs are an opportunity for debaters to insert cards they didn't read, didn't extend, or re-highlight. They're also an excuse for lazy judges to compensate for a poor flow by reconstructing the debate after the fact. If your debating was disorganized and you need a card doc to return some semblance of organization, I'd rather adjudicate the disorganized debate and then tell you it was disorganized.

Tony Choe College Prep 1 rounds

Ailin Chuang Leland High School 2 rounds

Isabella Cohen Sonoma Academy 4 rounds

Tim Do Canyon Crest Academy 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat March 4, 2023 at 6:28 AM EDT

TOP-LEVEL I: if you can engage with your opponent's arguments and do PROPER weighing (for PF) or proper analytics/framework (for CX/LD), i will fall in love with you; doing so = high speaker points.

TOP-LEVEL II: debate is supposed to be a fun activity. i get that winning is great and that most of you guys are pressured to bid (this applies only to the national circuit). i love winning too, who doesn't. but seriously, please relax. i want everyone to have fun. please do not solely rely on the ballot to have fun with this activity; this activity should be more about the friends you make, the arguments you choose to read because they are the ones that interest you, and many more.

hello! my name is tim (sim low's league boyfriend), and you can refer to me as judge or just by my name! i competed mainly in public forum and lincoln-douglas as well as some forensic events (impromptu and original oratory) during high school (c/o 2020), and i currently compete in college parliamentary for johns hopkins university, where i study neuroscience.

email chain: littletimmy10004@gmail.com (please do not judge)

credentials: won multiple speaker awards and broke at tournaments in college parliamentary and VHSL district level awards (my high school team solely competed at local/district levels).

you can reach me at hdo11@jhu.edu for any questions or concerns; i am always open to giving feedback and helping you understand why i evaluated the round the way i did, so just feel free to reach out!

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notes to all formats:

--- always remember to warrant, mechanize, and weigh; don’t ever give me bare statements. be comparative, add layers and depth to your rebuttals, and always be explicit rather than implicit. what this looks like is engaging with your opponent's arguments and showing WHY your argument/impact is more important than your opponent's. how you delineate this importance is up to you, as there are many avenues you can take to do this.

--- i can, and will, follow speed; that does not mean, however, that you should speak at an incomprehensible pace. i will say ‘clear’ or ‘slow’ up to three times - if you fail to adapt, i will flow what i can and whatever i cannot will be missed. UPDATE: i realized that there are some of you guys who genuinely speak at >500 wpm; this is absolutely insane for me, so please slow down or you risk me not catching and flowing what you say, which will be reflected in the RFD.

--- if you even, at the slightest, include any rhetoric that is prejudiced or bigoted, you will automatically be given a loss with the lowest speaks possible. i believe that debate should be fair and equitable to all, so if you include any arguments that are prejudiced/bigoted or actively display any actions that belittle your opponents, i will drop you; trust me, i have done this in the past and will continue to do this as it makes my job easier.

--- please do not be rude to each other during the debate, particularly during the cross-examinations/rebuttals; if i find that you are being excessively, and persistently, disrespectful, your speaks will be docked -0.5.

--- i will happily answer questions after the round, but i will not tolerate being yelled at by you or your coaches. as much as i love feedback from you guys, please do not post-round me in bad faith. UPDATE: no one has ever post-rounded me in bad faith yet, which is a good thing, but if you do end up post-rounding me, trust me that my decision will not change. my RFD will be comprehensive enough that when i explain it to tab, they will also agree with my RFD and stick with my decision.

--- i am uncertain as to whether or not this applies to all formats because i came from a high school with a relatively small debate team, but please disclose your case(s) online in a timely manner. i hate voting on disclosure because debates should be about the actual resolution. however, i will always believe that debate should be an activity that is equally accessible to all individuals, so if there is a disclosure argument that has substantive warranting and weighing, i will still end up voting for it at the very top.

--- remember to have fun! at the end of the day, debate is, and should always be, an activity that everyone enjoys. let’s have some educational and meaningful debates!

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public forum (my favorite event):

--- i prioritize efficiency, so please be EFFICIENT AND QUICK in sending cases, cards, etc. when necessary and requested. ive had too many rounds where the round went past the tournament time by 10-15 minutes; if this happens in your round, i will deduct speaker points.

--- send me your cases and any evidence you all intend to read prior to starting your speeches. yes, this means the ac/nc and rebuttals. if you all opt out of this, speaks will be docked -0.5. UPDATE: if you cut cards throughout the round, please send me the updated version; this just provides me a second alternative in determining what was said in the round in the case that i missed something on the flow.

--- i want to see cards with proper citations on them; if not, don’t be surprised when your speaks are low. UPDATE: proper citation is very, very important. do not cheat and paraphrase what the research stated; if this happens and someone picks up on it, i will 100% vote on this. please don't have miscut cards or misrepresent your evidence as i will drop you with the lowest possible speaks.

--- do not make me do extra work. if you are going to make a claim, warrant, mechanize, and impact it out; if you are going to go for impact calc, delineate everything to me. what this looks like is going from step one of an argument and showing me all the steps in between to reach step five of the argument. you should never give me one step and then jump to the conclusion without delineating to me how you got there. fail to do so, and i will start to make assumptions and trust me, these assumptions will not help you.

--- i am a firm believer that the most important skill in PF is analyzing evidence and weighing arguments; if you don't know what this looks like, i am happy to go over an example prior to the round starting.

--- just because there is an argument that is dropped and you collapsed on it does not mean i will auto-vote on it. you need to still show me why you are going for that argument, why it is important, and why it outweighs any other argument that your opponents bring up. this is where comparative analysis comes in.

--- my new biggest pet peeve in this format is when debaters tell me "this is frontline" or "i extend this." if you do not tell me why you are doing these things or why these things matter in the round, i will be sad... very sad.

--- i am okay with theory and Ks being in PF, but i would prefer them not to be; theory is okay if it pertains to misrepresenting cards, not cutting cards properly, and violating basic rules.

--- you can run any argument you want. i am a firm believer that every judge should be able to adapt to the debaters to ensure that the debaters can run any argument they want. however, this does not mean that you should just throw arguments at me and expect them to work. you need to warrant it out, provide specific link-chains, impact it out, and weigh it.

--- besides that, i don't think i have anything else to say about this format. PF will always be my special place in debate, so feel free to debate however you like. i am a pretty straightforward judge; i will evaluate you the way you want me to, but just make sure you uphold what i stated above!

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policy:

i will be honest. if i were you, i would not pref me very high. although i have a general understanding of policy and how arguments should interact with each other, i am nowhere near as good as the top judges that you have seen on the circuit. i will change this once i feel confident that i am a good enough judge, but until then, do not pref me lol.

TOP-LEVEL: i know many judges include in their paradigm like specific preferences for how certain arguments should play out; for example, a judge may describe their preferences regarding CPs, DAs, theory, topicality, etc. for me, i genuinely do not care about which arguments you run, as long as they are all properly explained. what this looks like is don't just run the cap k and just spit out words. tell me why you link and why it matters in the round you are in. my biggest pet peeve is when debaters just throw words at me and expect me to do the extra work.

--- tech >>> truth.

--- i am a BIG, I REPEAT BIG, fan of analytics and framework in policy; if you can do meta-analysis framing, that is *heart eyes*.

--- ive gotten increasingly better at understanding Ks; if you are going to include them, just explain them a bit more to me and i should have full understanding of them.

--- you must extend or collapse on whatever you are going for in the 1NR, 1AR, 2NR, or 2AR; if you don't include these arguments here, then don't really expect them to be reflected in the RFD.

--- please don't rely on policy jargon. i am a firm believer that simply stating policy jargon will never be sufficient substitutes for explanations of your evidence or thesis. if you are going to use jargon, explain them and then move onto your other arguments.

--- overall, i perceive policy to be a format that is becoming even more diverse in terms of what arguments can be made. this is what i enjoy about policy, so make any argument you want, but just make sure you always explain your arguments and concepts to me.

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lincoln-douglas:

--- this is the event that i am LEAST picky with; just do whatever your heart desires and i will evaluate you the way you want me to!

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speaks:

--- when i judge, speaks always start at a base level of 28. depending on how the round goes, i move up/down. if you want me to move you up, be communicative, have good strategy and in-round choices, be comparative, weigh, impact… you get the point. if you want me to move you down, i think it is pretty self-explanatory as to what you should do.

--- if you get a 30.0, i will be framing your speech and showing it to my novices on my debate team. if you get a 29.5+, i am clearing you and expect to see you in outrounds; if you get 29.0-29.4, you did well and i believe you can break if you are in a bubble; if you get 27-28.9, you performed as expected; anything below 27, you did something terrible and i had no qualms docking you.

--- most importantly, no speaks theory.

Jackson Eckel Liberal Arts and Science Academy 5 rounds

Last changed on Thu October 21, 2021 at 11:51 PM CET

LASA 20

Emory 24

I'd like to be on the email chain: meleckel[at]gmail[dot]com.

3 important things you should know:

1. The people that have most influenced how I judge debates are Yao Yao Chen and Mason Marriott-Voss. I tend to emulate them when deciding debates, so look to their paradigms for more clarity.

2. "I am not persuaded by personal callouts or issues external to what occurs within the debate round I am judging." - Catherine Haus.

3. Tech > Truth. This applies to me as well. This paradigm at times might read as if I have strong opinions, but I will put those aside and attempt to provide an objective, unbiased, decision. The following are just preferences, not rules I abide by.

K Things:

1. Neg K v. Policy:

A. I think the aff should get to weigh the aff and the neg gets links to the plan.

B. Links to reps are OK but it's important you explain how the aff's representations produce XYZ impact. Too often, teams say "Reps bad" and say "Extinction" with zero connection or explanation. Just as the aff has defended an impact to their plan and not the entirety of policymaking, the negative must win an impact to the aff's reps, not the entire history of how those reps have been used.

C. Links to fiat, scenario planning, and other nonsense that doesn't engage with the content of the aff are likely a non-starter.

2. Aff K v. Policy:

A. I think fairness is an impact. Debate is an activity that is driven by competitive incentives with winners and losers. Most every decision we make in a round is shaped by the desire to gain a ballot. I think both sides, regardless of their argumentative preference, have voluntarily subscribed to this activity. Regardless of what model of debate is desirable, most everyone agrees that debate itself is desirable, to which fairness is a precursor.

To beat fairness, the affirmative needs to forward a counter-interpretation that mitigates the risk of a predictable limits DA with an external impact that outweighs "fair debate". Impact calculus in these debates are very important.

B. I'm not a fan of jargon. Too often teams say "Neuroplasticity DA" or "Pathologization DA" without an explanation of what this means. I am much more interested in the aff explaining their argument and how it interacts with the neg's offense than throwing words at me and hoping 1 sticks.

C. I'm not persuaded by the variant of arguments that say framework is violent.

Keith Eddins South Eugene High School 3 rounds

Last changed on Thu March 9, 2023 at 5:32 AM PDT

UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2022: Please be aware that as of February 24, 2022, the post-Cold War geopolitical/international security world underwent a monumental (and likely permanent) change. If you are going to make any arguments -- whether you're AFF or NEG, asserting internal links or existential impacts -- built around a conventional war in Europe; America's, NATO's, or Russia's propensities to escalate; the threshold between conventional and nuclear conflict; etc., please ensure that your evidence is up-to-date and timely (and, yes, that probably means written sometime after February 24, 2022) and/or please be prepared and able to explain logically and analytically how any older evidence/logic still applies in light of real-world developments in Central and Eastern Europe. Also be aware that if you read evidence (or make an argument) that fails to take account of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, I will almost certainly accept your opponent's analytical arguments -- provided they're logical and persuasive in post-February 24 terms -- as more valid than out-of-date evidence and pre-invasion academic theorizing. And your opponents should feel free to ask you, in CX, to explain how and why any pre-February 24 evidence/arguments are still applicable to the position you're advocating or negating. I'm not trying to be difficult, but the world of geopolitics and international security has been radically altered over the past six months. Also, be aware that I spent a large chunk of my 30-year diplomatic career working on NATO issues (including stints at NATO headquarters and on the NATO desk at the State Department). While I don't expect high school debaters to understand or appreciate every detail or nuance of how the Alliance functions on a day-to-day or issue-to-issue basis, please do your best to avoid completely mischaracterizing NATO decision-making or policy implementation.

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Note on Timekeeping: In all forms of debate I expect competitors to keep their own time (to include tracking prep time for both themselves and their opponents). Also, debaters should keep track of their opponent’s time (including prep). I will make an exception for novices at their first few tournaments, but otherwise time yourselves, please.

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After retiring from a three-decade career in the U.S. Foreign Service, I returned to high school debate as a (volunteer) coach and frequent judge in 2013. I'm no longer the head coach at Oak Hill School (as of June 2020), but I still provide some assistance (to South Eugene High School) and judge fairly regularly. Beyond that, I teach public policy and international affairs -- as adjunct faculty -- at the Univ. of Oregon.

CX Paradigm (you should read this even I'm judging you in a different debate format because it speaks to my overall approach): My judging style and philosophy has evolved significantly over the past decade. While I still consider myself more of a truth-over-tech/policymaking-paradigm judge, I don't believe -- as some would suggest -- that policymaker automatically equates with a simple utilitarian approach. Far from it. Essentially, I view the two teams as playing the role of competing actors within a government or other policymaking body, each trying to convince me to endorse their policy option. But I remain open to an alternative framework if one of the teams can convince me that that alternative framework should or best applies.

And while I have an inherent bias toward the realistic (particular as it involves global security issues such as nuclear weapons, NATO and Russia, and the nature and distribution of power and influence within the international state system), I'm fine with K debate. That said, although I know my Marx/Engels/Lenin pretty well from my academic training and Foreign Service experience in Moscow and the former Soviet bloc, if you want to run French post-modernist arguments -- or anything of that sort -- you'll need to explain it to me in terms I can understand and appreciate. And that may mean slowing down enough to make yourself more comprehensible and persuasive. I would also advise you against running any sort of performance AFF...I'll judge it if you run it, but it's as difficult for me to evaluate as Dramatic Interp. For better or worse, I still view the resolution as the starting point of any policy debate, and I still believe that an AFF case needs some version -- however abbreviated -- of a case and a plan. And case matters. A significant percentage of the AFF ballots I write end up noting that NEG essentially conceded case...that shouldn’t be the norm. (And, yes, on the other side of that I still very much believe that presumption lies with the NEG...and that going for it is a legit approach that can easily win a debate for NEG if AFF fails to meet its burdens.) Unless something is truly and grossly abusive, I am not particularly keen on RVIs or similar arguments for a behavior as opposed to a policy issue on the flow.

As for T, I am more than open to T arguments and will vote NEG on T if the AFF can't make a coherent topicality defense. But be aware that I have a very inclusive topicality threshold (to put it in 2014-15 oceans topic terms, if a case involved salt water I was ready to accept it as reasonable... provided the AFF made that argument).

I'm good with aggressive spreading, but recommend you slow down enough to allow me to hear and easily flow your tag lines and organizational structure; sign-posting may seem old-fashioned, but if you want me to flow your argument in the correct spot, intelligible sign-posting remains an important element in the process. Pet peeve addressed to 1NCs: LABEL YOUR ARGUMENTS, please. 'Next' is not a label. Off-case, tell me whether you're reading T, a DISAD, a CP, a K, or something else. Similarly, ‘case’ is not a label. Tell me where you want your argument flowed. It may seem 100% clear to you, but it may not be as clear to me (even if I have your speech within the email chain). Assuming there is an email chain, I expect to be part of it: eddinska@gmail.com.

Tag-team CX is fine, but recognize that if the debater who is the designated questioner or respondent is completely overwhelmed by their partner, both team members will likely receive reduced speaker points.

Lincoln-Douglas and Parli Paradigm: I'm pretty much tabula rasa in both these formats, happy to judge the debate as it's presented and debated. I will always be a flow judge (who values line-by-line clash as much as possible). But I'm generally more 'progressive' in judging LD and Parli than I am in judging Policy. Go figure. In both LD and Parli, I very much appreciate theory/framework arguments. I also think both LD and Parli debates benefit from explicit plans/advocacies, which thus opens up the NEG option of CPs/counter-advocacies. Ditto K debate in LD and Parli...go for it, provided you know what you're doing (and can present the K clearly and coherently). Basically, the more LD and Parli resemble Policy, the better.

Public Forum Paradigm: You should follow the rules, of course, but I'm comfortable with pushing the limits (in terms of advocacies and counter-advocacies and such)...that said, I'm open to the other team pushing back on PF rules/norms regarding plans and CPs and such. I see framework as a key element of PF; it's important to establish (and win) your framework (and then, having secured the framework, explain how and why it matters to your case). I will always evaluate the debate off my flow, so line-by-line clash and full coverage of the key issues are important. That means spreading is fine with me...you don't have much time in PF, I know, so use what you have to the fullest. Ditto theory (to the extent theory exists in PF). Again, PF is kinda/sorta Policy Lite, and I'll always prefer -- but not insist upon -- a more Policy-like approach.

Matheno Frazier-Bey Skyline High School 2 rounds

Izak Gallini-Matyas Minneapolis South 3 rounds

Last changed on Wed November 2, 2022 at 1:21 PM EDT

He/Him

Minneapolis South/Occasional judging for Minnesota

My email is izakgm [at] gmail.com, add me to the email chain before the round, please and thank you.

Good debating overwhelms anything else on here. I've coached and judged teams of all styles. I will try my best to evaluate the round on your terms and not my own.

do whatever you gotta do for your internet quality. I'd like camera on but if you can't, you can't, and I won't hold it against you and you don't need to explain to me.

IN PERSON DEBATE IS BACK and its time to shed our eDebate norms like "not saying the words that are in the card text while we spread". I will most certainly let you know I'm not getting it. Teams that spread clearly: I see you, I hear you, I honor you, and I am here with you!

How I judge - big picture > minutia.

I appreciate explicit impact comparison, judge instruction, and when the 2nr/2ar starts in a place that helps me resolve the rest of the debate. I don't mean "they dropped my role of the ballot!!!!!!". If you say "extinction outweighs" but don't tell me what it outweighs, I'll just assume you mean its important since you haven't made a comparative claim.

I'm flow centered, but not a fan of cheap shots or punishing small mistakes. I'm not a perfect flow. In fact I am certainly one of the worst flowers on the circuit and yet I use my flow to decide the round. If you want me to evaluate your argument its on you to make sure I write it down. Late breaking and unforeseeable arguments may justify new responses. I do have 2n sympathyTM and will check the 2ar against arguments that weren't in the 1ar. 2nr line drawing or instruction remains helpful.

I think in terms of risks, including zero risk and presumption. Offense/defense works well a lot of the time, but I'm not a cultist. If internal links are missing and the other team points it out without reply, I'm not giving you 1% just for fun.

I think I used to be harder on the 1ar and 2nr. Now I give a bit more leeway if there was sufficient explanation earlier in the debate. I pay close attention to and often flow cross-x if its going somewhere.

I read less evidence than many judges at the end of the round. If your superior evidence quality is not explained, I might miss it. I will not reconstruct the round through the docs afterwards. I won't read along unless I suspect clipping. If you deliver the text of your evidence incomprehensibly fast I will not read the text of it later to figure out what you said. Again, the burden of communication is on you.

I love strategic concessions and rehighlightings. If you are right and you read it in the speech, I will prioritize your analysis. It makes sense to insert things like charts. If its "a stake the round on it" kind of issue, please do not insert a rehighlighting, I need you read it. If its just an FYI about a tertiary issue... go off I guess.

I'm expressive and might intervene vocally to move you off a stale cx direction or motion to move on if you are repeating yourself in the speech. It will be pretty obvious in person if I have stopped flowing because I don't understand what you are saying. My resting face is rather stern, don't take it personally. I'm probably still vibing with you.

FW v K aff - Yes, I will vote either way. It comes down to links and impacts like any other debate and the best teams in these rounds have offense and defense.

Neg teams: I'll be honest, if you say debate is a game more than twice my eyes start to glaze over. Fairness can be an impact but it usually feels like a small one. By this I mean if the aff wins any impact at all it will be more important to me than fairness. If that's your approach you'll need to be playing great defense (lots of ways to do this) or really filtering out aff offense somehow. I say this and yet I think fairness/clash is by far the most strategic version of this argument. Y'all think I didn't notice you just ctrl-f'd your fairness blocks with clash? Ignoring the questions posed by the aff or repeatedly mischaracterizing the aff's claims will likely result in an aff ballot.

Aff teams: I'm open to whatever approach you want to take. I'm personally more interested in strategies built around a counter interpretation even if its not an intuitive (or predictable) one, will vote for impact turns alone and in many cases that is more strategic. Just FYI, I do not know what the symbolic economy is, so if you are the first one to explain it to me then kudos. I think I just learned what a psychoanalytic drive is last month but I still might not understand it. If the TVA is something I'm thinking about during my decision time, even if you dropped it, then you've written or explained your aff poorly. If your model doesn't explain a role for negation, or your aff is so uncontroversial that it doesn't hold up to a basic inherency push, I can see myself voting neg easily.

Ks on the neg - Love these debates. Explanation is vital on both sides. Aff teams that explain their internal links and solvency have the most success against ks in front of me. Aff framework arguments that exclude kritiks entirely will be a tough sell. If the alt is cheating, you can point that out tho ;) I've yet to hear a persuasive explanation for judge choice - I will only vote on benefits of your plan that you explain. Neg teams do well with strong links that implicate the case. You don't always need an alt in the 2nr, but you might be better off defending an imperfect alt instead of just the squo, especially if the 2ar is on to you. Perms are a valuable tool but 90% of aff wins would be on case outweighs whether the perm was present or not.

Policy stuff - Yes. I like internal link and solvency presses. Impact defense can make sense, but "x doesn't cause extinction" might not get your there if the other team has a nuanced impact comparison. I have a loose attachment to the "link first" camp until you tell me otherwise. My time in Minnesota has left me with a love for impact turns, don't care how dumb it seems. If you can't beat stupid... I don't know what to tell you.

I struggled with Judge Kick for a while. I've come around. I still enjoy strategic and narrow 2nrs (i.e. not making me do this). If you explicitly (saying "squo is always an option" in 1nc cx counts) flag this as an option by the end of the block I'm game. I am open to affs that ask me to stick the 2nr to the cp.

Complicated Perm texts can be explained and inserted - they should be written out fully and sent for all to see. Counterplan texts that you don't want to read fully.... No thank you. Be more creative with how its written.

Things it might be helpful to know about me/carrots+sticks/hot takes inspired by OTT

i understand why no one does this but if the aff team took a stance on something (like an actual explanation of how they solve not solely hedging against agent cps) and the neg fiats through a solvency deficit based in literature and the aff went for theory I might be more likely to vote aff than most. This obviously goes out the window if the aff says the phrase "for the purpose of counterplan competition" at any point in cx.
some bonus speaker points (maybe .2?) if your neg strategy (policy or k) hinges on tech and not nato. Feels like there is room for das/impact turns in this area and I would like to see them.
If your wiki is sparse your points are capped at 28.5 - its JV behavior, you get JV points.
If you can't answer basic CX questions about a position you are asking for an L 27. If you think the round is over and you stop your rebuttal VERY early because you have already won (invoke a TKO correctly), the baseline for your points is 29.5.
I'm lukewarm for plan text in a vacuum. "Only non-arbitrary" blah blah blzh both teams should just debate about what the aff does. I will require some extra convincing before the 2ar and will heavily protect the 2nr here.
truly random defaults that have come up more than once in rounds that I want on the record: perms are tests of competition so I will jettison them if they would hurt the aff. you can implicitly answer a "ballot pic" by trying to win the round.

If you still have questions, please feel free to email or ask me before the round!

Old water topic thoughts archive

- Glad I didn't judge enough on this topic to have thoughts. We only heard extinction affs all year because of the bizcon da? Now that's what I call cowardice. Excited for NATO!

Old CJR thoughts archive

- learning about the criminal justice system is nice. If you teach me something about the topic (yes critical knowledge is part of the topic get over yourself) over the course of the debate, boost to your points. If your aff is about cyberattacks strike me, I simply don't care. If your aff is about cyberattacks and you debate the internal link level well enough to convince me that you were actually talking about criminal justice reform,

- i have some professional experience working on police reform. I live in Minneapolis and South high is blocks from where the 3rd precinct burned. My personal belief is ACAB. I feel familiar with many of the practical arguments for and against abolition, so I have a high threshold for link debating. aff teams, feel free to go for "abolition bad" instead of the perm...

- I'd love to be a judge that fully resolved framing first before substance. Unfortunately the quality of debating here is often such that I have to resolve some substance to figure out what to do.

Eric Gao Northwood High School 3 rounds

Bryan Gaston Heritage Hall School 3 rounds

Last changed on Thu March 2, 2023 at 2:36 PM CDT

*Updated for 2023*
Bryan Gaston
Director of Debate
Heritage Hall School
1800 Northwest 122nd St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73120-9598
bgaston@heritagehall.com

I view judging as a responsibility and one I take very seriously. I have decided to try and give you as much information about my tendencies to assist with MPJ and adaptation.

*Note on virtual debating: SLOW DOWN a little, no matter what people want to believe speed does not transition AS WELL virtually as it does for in-person debating.

Newer NOTE: Debaters don't look at the judge in CX anymore, online debate has wrecked this. All in-person rounds I judge the rest of this school year....if a debater keeps eye contact with me the judge during their cross-examinations they get a minimum of 29 speaker points.

**NEW NOTE, I may be old but I'm 100% right on this trend: Under-highlighting of evidence has gotten OUT OF CONTROL, some teams are reading cards with such few things highlighted it is amazing they actually got away with claiming the evidence as tagged. When I evaluate evidence I will ONLY EVALUATE the words in that evidence that was read in the round. If you didn't read it in a speech I will not read the unhighlighted sections and give you the full weight of the evidence--you get credit for what you actually say in the speech, and what you actually read in the round. Debaters, highlight better, when you see garbage highlighting point it out, and make an argument about it---if the highlighting is really bad I will likely agree and won't give the card much credit. This does not mean you can't have good efficient highlighting, but you need to have a claim, data, and warrant(s) on each card.**

Quick Version:

1. Debate is a competitive game.

2. I will vote on framework and topicality-Affs should be topical. But, you can still beat framework with good offense or a crafty counter-interpretation.

3. DA's and Aff advantages can have zero risk.

4. Neg conditionality is mostly good.

5. Counterplans and PICs --good (better to have a solvency advocate than not), process CPs a bit different. It is a very debatable thing for me but topic-specific justifications go a long way with me.

6. K's that link to the Aff plan/advocacy/advantages/reps are good.

7. I will not decide the round over something X team did in another round, at some other tournament, or a team's judge prefs.

8. Email Chain access please: bgaston@heritagehall.com

9. The debate should be a fun and competitive activity, be kind to each other and try your best.

My Golden Rule: When you have the option to choose a more specific strategy vs a more generic strategy, always choose the more specific strategy if you are equally capable of executing both strategies. But I get it, sometimes you have to run a process CP or a more generic K.

Things not to do: Don't run T is an RVI, don't hide evidence from the other team to sabotage their prep, don't lie about your source qualifications, don't text or talk to coaches to get "in round coaching" after the round has started, please stay and listen to RFD's I am typically brief, and don't deliberately spy on the other teams pre-round coaching. I am a high school teacher and coach, who is responsible for high school-age students. Please, don't read things overtly sexual if you have a performance aff--since there are minors in the room I think that is inappropriate.

Pro-tip: FLOW---don't stop flowing just because you have a speech doc.

"Clipping" in debate: Clipping in the debate is a serious issue and one of the things I will be doing to deter clipping in my rounds is requesting a copy of all speech docs before the debaters start speaking and while flowing I read along to check from time to time.

CX: This is the only time you have “face time” with the judge. Please look at the judge not at each other. Your speaker points will be rewarded for a great CX and lowered for a bad one. Be smart in CX, assertive, but not rude.

Speaker Point Scale updated: Speed is fine, and clarity is important. If you are not clear I will yell out “Clear.” The average national circuit debate starts at 28.4, Good is 28.5-28.9 (many national circuit rounds end up in this range), and Excellent 29-29.9. Can I get a perfect 30? I have given 3 in 20 years if HS judging they all went on to win the NDT in college. I will punish your points if you are excessively rude to opponents or your partner during a round.

Long Version...

Affirmatives: I still at my heart of hearts prefer and Aff with a plan that's justifiably topical. But, I think it's not very hard for teams to win that if the Aff is germane to the topic that's good enough. I'm pretty sympathetic to the Neg if the Aff has very little to or nothing to do with the topic. If there is a topical version of the Aff I tend to think that takes away most of the Aff's offense in many of these T/FW debates vs no plan Affs--unless the Aff can explain why there is no topical version and they still need to speak about "X" on the Aff or why their offense on T still applies.

Disadvantages: I like them. I prefer specific link stories (or case-specific DA’s) to generic links, as I believe all judges do. But, if all you have is generic links go ahead and run them, I will evaluate them. The burden is on the Aff team to point out those weak link stories. I think Aff’s should have offense against DA’s it's just a smarter 2AC strategy, but if a DA clearly has zero link or zero chance of uniqueness you can win zero risk. I tend to think politics DA's are core negative ground--so it is hard for me to be convinced I should reject the politics DA because debating about it is bad for debate. My take: I often think the internal link chains of DA's are not challenged enough by the Aff, many Aff teams just spot the Neg the internal links---It's one of the worst effects of the prevalence of offense/defense paradigm judging over the past years...and it's normally one of the weaker parts of the DA.

Counterplans: I like them. I generally think most types of counterplans are legitimate as long as the Neg wins that they are competitive. I am also fine with multiple counterplans. On counterplan theory, I lean pretty hard that conditionality and PICs are ok. You can win theory debates over the issue of how far negatives can take conditionality (battle over the interps is key). Counterplans that are functionally and textually competitive are always your safest bet but, I am frequently persuaded that counterplans which are functionally competitive or textually competitive are legitimate. My Take: I do however think that the negative should have a solvency advocate or some basis in the literature for the counterplan. If you want to run a CP to solve terrorism you need at least some evidence supporting your mechanism. My default is that I reject the CP, not the team on Aff CP theory wins.

Case debates: I like it. Negative teams typically underutilize this. I believe well planned impacted case debate is essential to a great negative strategy. Takeouts and turns can go a long way in a round.

Critiques: I like them. In the past, I have voted for various types of critiques. I think they should have an alternative or they are just non-unique impacts. I think there should be a discussion of how the alternative interacts with the Aff advantages and solvency. Impact framing is important in these debates. The links to the Aff are very important---the more specific the better. Some K lit bases I'm decently familiar with: Capitalism, Security, Anti-blackness, Natives, Reps (various types), Fem IR, Anthro, Nietzsche, and Queer theory. Some K lit bases I don't know very much about: Baudrillard, Bataille, Deleuze.

Big impact turn debates: I like them. Want to throw down in a big Hegemony Good/Bad debate, Dedev vs Growth Good, method vs method, it's all good.

Topicality/FW: I tend to think competing interpretations are good unless told otherwise...see the Aff section above for more related to T.

Theory: Theory sets up the rules for the debate game. I tend to evaluate theory debates in an offensive/defense paradigm, paying particular attention to each teams theory impacts and impact defense. The interpretation debate is very important to evaluating theory for me. For a team to drop the round on theory you must impact this debate well and have clear answers to the other side's defense.

Impact framing-- it's pretty important, especially in a round where you have a soft-left Aff with a big framing page vs a typical neg util based framing strat.

Have fun debating!

Eli Grossman Polytechnic School 3 rounds

Last changed on Thu February 17, 2022 at 5:34 PM EDT

Eli Grossman Paradigm v2 (last updated 2.17.22)

Polytechnic High School (CA) - Class of 2019

Brown University (RI) - Class of 2024

elig6173@gmail.com (Please add me to the email chain!)

Pronouns: he/him

About Me:

Hi! I debated varsity policy debate all four years of high school, mostly on the national circuit around SoCal. In terms of argumentation I was all over the place - on Aff, I mostly read soft-left affs (like Public Charge on the Immigration topic) while on the Neg I specialized in the Cap K and Lacanian Pyschoanalysis. Haven't touched debate for three years besides occasionally volunteer judging at local UDL tournaments. I now study ecology and evolutionary biology, but also take a healthy amount of humanities classes.

TLDR - *UPDATED FOR 2021-22 SEASON*:

Anything goes as long as you explain it well! Even if I'm familiar with the argument, I won't do the work for you. At this point, I'm three years out and haven't debated since high school. Coupled with my unfamiliarity with the topic, blasting through your blocks at 900 wpm is not going to be a winning strategy. That said, while I may be rusty in terms of flowing and processing spreading, I don't have any ideological axes to grind and would love to see creative, fun debating, whatever that looks like for you.

For Online Debate:

I have no experience judging online policy debate, so please bear with me as I adjust to the format. The below standards are from Kaita Igarashi's paradigm, and they make good sense to me:

"Spreading is only ok if BOTH you AND your opponent are good with it. Especially with online debates, spreading is only really accessible to those with good internet speeds and other resources like microphones, which is bad.

IF both teams are good with spreading, please only go at most 70% as fast as in person debates otherwise I'll probably miss a lot. If you're going too fast, I'll say "speed" a few times, and if you don't slow down, I'll stop flowing completely."

Ks, K-Affs, and F/w:

The only part of the wiki teams usually read...I'm down for anything!

Since these debates can get very messy if not done right, please just make sure you know what you are doing. Even if Aff is running the most ridiculous K-Aff ever, if I can't parse Neg's bajillion blippy f/w arguments at the end of the debate, I may make a decision you don't like. Similarly, if you can't explain to me what the hell your K-Aff actually means for the teams debating, my relationship to you all, and the activity as a whole, I may be a hard judge for you.

For Neg: If you're looking for advice on Neg strats, I mainly specialized in the Cap/Neolib K and Lacanian Pyschoanalysis, and I'm always happy to discuss strategy and give evidence/blocks after round! I'm much less familiar with critical race, gender, etc. theory, but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy your arguments - as long as you don't rely on jargon and clearly explain your points, I should be a happy!

Like framework, make sure you very clearly demarcate the different moving parts of this debate (w/m, c/i, standards, etc.) and in the rebuttals explain and collapse on the most important parts of the flow. If, after the round, I don't know precisely how the Aff's violation links to the external impact you're going for (and for the love of god, please have an external impact), you're in trouble. If you read multiple pieces of definition evidence in one shell, make it clear exactly which one (or if its a combo, what aspects of the combo) the Aff is violating.

*2021-22 Topic*: Because I don't have any experience judging the topic, I don't really have an idea of what the "standard" or "camp" affs are on the topic, so please don't presume that when you ramble on about "Section 702 Affs" or whatever that I know what you're talking about. Case lists are always helpful, but make sure to also explain why including/excluding those Affs from the topic would be good/bad.

CPs:

If your sneaky CP truly does solve 100% case and there's a risk of a DA, I will vote Neg.

However, I am definitely down for an Aff that wants to take the Neg to task on some theory argument, the more specific the better. Condo is always fine, and if Neg mishandles it I'll vote on it no problem, but I would really love to see an Aff just annihilate a Neg a specific theory argument like G-spec (gotta specify precedent courts will vote on for a Courts CP). So if you want to spend 5 minutes in the 2AR on "Consult CPs destroy debate," I may be your guy. However, what I said about about T and F/w applies here - clear argumentation and impact scenarios > spreading through blocks. Just because I think the "50 States" CP is cheating doesn't mean I'll vote for you unless you do the work.

DAs:

At the end of the day, policy debate is a sport and tech will always come before truth. That said, just because you read a DA doesn't mean I'll automatically give a risk of one. If the other team has substantial defense, even if they may be lacking in offensive turns, etc., I have no problem giving your DA a 0% risk. I find risk framing that goes "well even if there's a 0.000000000000001% of the event happening, if it kills us all, the magnitude is infinite so..." is very unconvincing. If there's no alternative, of course I'll vote for it. But I'll be an unhappy camper.

Theory:

Not my area of expertise, but if ASPEC is your jam, go for it!

Keeyong Han Leland High School 4 rounds

Andrew Herman Isidore Newman School 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat March 11, 2023 at 6:42 AM EDT

Andrew Herman

he/him/his

Michigan '25 (go blue)

Debated policy for 3.5 years at Isidore Newman & now an assistant coach

(I was on the umich debate team for like a week if that counts for anything)

Please put me on the email chain: herha@umich.edu

There are LD and PF paradigms at the very bottom -- sorry if ya got me in those!

Don't be problematic. I will stop the round and give lowest possible speaks.

***ONLINE DEBATE UPDATE***

i prefer everyone's cameras to be on, but I'm telling you this right now, if it is the time between CX ending and you sending the doc, or better yet literally any time someone isn't talking, you should be unmuted and camera on because it LOOKS like you are stealing prep and if i can't see or hear you and it takes ten minutes to send an email im going to yell at you and dock speaks

Tl;dr

Run whatever you want as long as it's coherent

Usually, debate is a game and my ballot decides who did the better debating and nothing more, but hey if you're good then prove to me that sometimes it isn't and it can mean something!

Generally, your aff should have some form of advocacy statement at least in the direction of the topic, but obviously you can persuade me otherwise if you think you are really really really good at that. Yes you can read a K aff. Reading a planless poetic deleubaudrillartaille K aff that doesn't mention NATO once tho...eh...that's another story. You may still win, but it'll be a lot harder for you.

Theory debates are usually annoying and boring to me--please don't go for theory in front of me (yes, not even condo unless there is a super egregious amount of abuse--like I'm talkin 8 condo that are completely contradictory and obviously time skews and actually ruined the debate.)

I may give more credence to presumption args than other judges, but you seriously gotta prove 0% risk of solvency

Write my ballot for me in the last rebuttals -- what specifically am I voting for?

I believe it is the debaters' responsibility to keep track of time, be it speeches, their prep time, or their opponents' prep time. I generally am good with keeping track but it should be up to you to keep track of

For K ppl: my favorite K lit authors are Mark Fisher, Zizek, Jameson, Mbembe, José Esteban Muñoz, Badiou, and Gumbs.

Top Level

Tech>>truth.

Clarity>>>>>speed, especially on analytics, tags, and theory shells.

I like LbL a lot more than long overviews.

If ur overview is completely pre-made I can tell and it's usually either boring or redundant.

Don't clip.

Don't steal prep.

Time your own speeches and prep and try not to take too much time with the email chain.

Topicality

I am not the most familiar with the topic, so try to be a little light on topic jargon.

I default to competing interpretations over reasonability, but aff can certainly sway me.

I like good T debates and hate bad T debates. Engage in good clash -- I really like when people do good impact weighing for the standards debate and treat it like a disad.

FW/T-USFG

Debate's a game and my ballot means nothing, but I can be persuaded otherwise, it's just kinda hard. I definitely like clash of civ debates more than K v. K, so if you're neg and about to hit a k aff, keep that in mind.

Fairness is an i/L unless convinced otherwise.

If you are aff and want to win against this, articulate reasons as to why your advocacy necessitates a distancing/rejection of the resolution, and why resolutional debate is a bad model. Just saying that the USFG is bad is not enough--you need to articulate how your model is better rather than just exposing that the current model is bad.Again, Impact weighing is key here.

TVAs so true!! Please say this!!

SSD so true!! Please say this!!

Theory

I hate theory debates. Don't run frivolous theory.

"Reject the argument not the team" will usually get any team out of it (except condo obviously).

I will vote on condo but I'm not a good judge for it and I will be sad if you go for it.

No like seriously y'all theory is a bad strat in front of me and if you do go for it you need to slow wayyy down and over-explain everything to me and exactly what I'm voting on in the final rebuttal.

Kritiks

I ran a lot of Ks on the neg. Mainly went for setcol, cap/neolib, psychoanalysis, and security. My favorite Ks are definitely cap/neolib and security -- anything topic specific makes for more fun, interesting, and productive debates.

Not big on jargon-ey pomo stuff!!(If it's well explained and you win on the flow I'll still vote on it obviously)

Annoying and unfunny Baudy debaters who think they're hilarious please strike me. None of you are funny and your email chain memes have never made me laugh. You're not disrupting the sign with your cringey 2013 cat memes and paradox flows. Like if you run Baudrillard and are y'know just like "their use of signs is bad" then yeah sure it's a cool theory I guess and I might vote for it (depending on how good you are) but if u must be as insufferable and annoying as possible than yeah go away please.

I hate giant overviews--they are a waste of time. I don't want to have to flow it on a separate page just practice good LbL.

At the end of the round, I need to know what I'm voting for--please explain your alt.

You need to engage with the aff. Specific links to the 1ac are 1000000000x better than generic topic links or "they use the state"

I think far too many teams get away with linking to the squo, and I think it's an easy way for an aff to get out of a K's link.

Links of omission are bad. Floating PIKs are bad.

Affs should impact turn Ks more.

I won't vote for an argument based on something out of round, period.

A little political rant--just because it seems like a no brainer that capitalism is bad, you can't just be like "capitalism is bad, obviously." In better words, your impact shouldn't be capitalism. Capitalism should be your internal link to like climate extinction, genocide, etc. I'm not walking into every debate thinking capitalism is bad just because I'm left-leaning; I (at least try to) walk into every debate as a blank slate, and you should treat me as such.

Disads

Have good evidence.

Make sure your uniqueness ev is good on those ptx disads!

I like riders DAs and really garbage disads that mess around with how fiat works, but it's also pretty easy for aff to tell me why they're bad

CPs

I love a good garbage advantage CP and internal NB

I don't judge kick by default but it's fine if you tell me to.

Post-rounding (you shouldn't have to read this so if ur prepping for ur round and u got me obviously don't waste time reading this)

As right as you probably are (or at least think you are), I probably don't care enough about the round once my ballot is submitted enough to listen to you. My caring about the round stops the second my RFD is finished being given and your questions are answered. At best, If you really sway me on how stupid I am for making the wrong decision, then I'll go "oh shoot sorry!" and then walk out of the room and maybe be sad for a 20 seconds before getting some food and never thinking about it again. Debate is a persuasive activity--so persuade me better. If I missed/misinterpreted something that was critical to you winning the round then yes, that is on me, but also that probably means you didn't stress it enough in the 2a/nr.

Misc

+speaks for being funny and having fun

Stealing this from jon sharp's paradigm but other than like clipping or having your coaches help you during the round or making fake evidence, there isn't really such thing as "cheating" in debate, at least in terms of strategy/arguments -- if you think there is actual cheating, you file an ethics violation and the round stops, not whine in the 2ac.

Case turns are very epic and five minutes of case turns in the 2nr done right will make me happy and give good speaks.

I like meme arguments, just make sure they're funny and somewhat strategic and not a complete waste of time

Please be organized and have good LbL

Please signpost well

I am very expressive -- if you are saying something atrociously bad I will probably react

if blasting NBA Youngboy on your JBL Pill at 600% volume at 7:45am on a saturday is optimal pre-round prep for you, consider that it may not be for your opponents.

LD PARADIGM

I'm a bad LD judge - strike me. No like actually strike me I will make the wrong decision 60% of the time I don't understand LD norms.

If you do get me, treat it like 1v1 policy and read policy stuff - I like big stick impacts when it comes to LD

PF PARADIGM

Hahaha dude idk how PF works sorry y'all should have struck me

I'm tech over truth (if that even is a term in PF) and don't be too formal in front of me because it makes me uncomfortable

Don't say anything racist

Try to make it as close to a 45 minute policy round as possible

Emily Ibanez Arroyo Sonoma Academy 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat March 5, 2022 at 4:45 AM PDT

About me: (she/her/hers/ella) Sonoma Academy'19 & Dickinson College '23

I debated all throughout high school on the local and national circuit level. I went to CNDI camp and was a 1A/2N. I did four years of policy and one year of parli. GGSA #1 will be the first tournament I judge this year and exposure to the topic (no camp experience) keep this in mind.

I want to be on the email chain: ibanezae@dickinson.edu

Please feel free to ask me questions before and after the round or just say hello and introduce yourself if you'd like. I want to do what I can to make you feel that the round is an assessable and comfortable space.

Zoom: This format of debate is new to us all that being said it's not an excuse to steal prep or contact others outside the round. Please adhere to the honor code of former debate rounds. Time yourselves please. I will be doing so as well so I will know if you're running over time intentionally for prep.

Speed/Speaks: I am fine with spreading but with the added variable of zoom please go 80% your normal speed. If I can't understand you I won't flow it. I won't interrupt you to say clear, if you see me staring at you or clearly not flowing, adapt. I flow the speech not the doc. Good way to get good speaks from me is to give me clear instructions in the beginning:order, placement, and extension of arguments throughout the speech not just titles and authors. Etiquette to all in the round will also reflect in your speaks. Debate is meant to be a fun and educational space not one to be ungraceful or rude.

Affirmative: You should know your aff like the back of your hand. 1AC I expect you to shine in the CX.

CX: One of my favorite parts of debate itself. I think it is sadly underutilized but it's a key place for speaks to me. I want to see you shine in CX. I'm impartial to tag team just get consent from the other team. Be respectful and try to not talk over one other (no one enjoys seeing a repeat of the 2020 Presidential debate) I believe CX is binding, so be specific and careful.

Case: Case debate is very important. I love seeing it well played out.

Kritiks: I am fine with Ks and K affs. In high school, I leaned towards policy debate. However, I've studied critical theory and am familiar with some lit but again not everything so be very clear. I believe in round solvency and that a key point in the round should be the roll of the ballot and the a well explained alt. I would rather have a mediocre policy round than a bad K debate. Please only read Ks that you are comfortable and knowledgeable in.

CP: I love effective and specific CP/DA combos. Please do an effective block split each should have one speaker dedicated to either or one speaker to both. The first thing I should hear about DAs in any speech is that they outweigh and turn the case. Generic CP/DA combos are fine but you need to really focus on the link to the aff.

Kaita Igarashi Polytechnic School 3 rounds

Last changed on Sun November 27, 2022 at 5:29 PM CDT

Last Updated: 2/17/22

High school: MLK Magnet/Nashville UDL (2015-2019)

College: Brown University (2019-2023.5)

Email (Add me to the chain): Kaita.Igarashi@gmail.com

Pronouns: he/him

About me:

Hey what's up! I am an undergrad at Brown University who is studying Modern Culture & Media. In high school, I highly specialized in reading Puar, but I also went for Moten, Orientalism, and Set Col. Sometimes, I would read a soft-left aff and a more conventional neg strategy when it was required.

For Online Debate:

Spreading is only ok if BOTH you AND your opponent are good with it. Especially with online debates, spreading is only really accessible to those with good internet speeds and other resources like microphones, which is bad.

If you debate for a UDL:

Let me know, and I will give you any cards you ask for. Also feel more than free to reach out for strategy advice--I very much remember the frustration of being a UDL team going against schools with tons of coaches & resources.

=========Policy Paradigm=========

TLDR:

I prefer K debate, but I'd much rather you debate with whatever style you're comfortable with than trying to over-adapt to me (any good debate>bad K debate).

Truth>Tech. However, the further ahead you are on the technical debate, the lower my bar is for a truth claim. That being said, I do value a more focused, in-depth approach over blippy rebuttals with no story (judges aren't robots!).

At the end of the round, I'll vote for the best argument(s) on the central question of the debate. If neither team has a fully developed argument (claim, warrant, impact) by the time I'm writing my ballot, then I'll probably make a decision that neither team will like.

Preferences:

Examples are the way that you win ballots

Cards are usually overrated

We love clash

We love good pathos

Try not to be rude

Will give extra speaks for good prep time music

K-Affs/Framework:

I mostly read K affs in high school, but I also read framework on the neg so...

On both sides try to make sure that you are fully impacting out your arguments by the end of the debate. Fairness by itself is not an intrinsic impact.

For Aff: I think that you should probably defend a shift from the status quo.

-If you go for the counter-interpretation debate, then you should already have a coherent vision of what debate looks like under your interp for the rest of the year (i.e. tell me concretely what types of affs are included and which are excluded).

For Neg: if you only read the generic framework or framework/cap, I will only give you a maximum of 29.5 speaker points because more than that for me requires that I know that you've fully engaged with the other team's scholarship. I'll still vote on it but you might not get the speaker points that you wanted.

-I tend to view the TVA debate less as a CP vs. plan debate and more so as a theoretical argument for why a version of the aff is possible in the neg's interp.

-I'm probably more likely to be swayed by movement building standards (or really any exportable skills or methods) over vague appeals to standards that are intrinsic to debate.

-I won't vote on the small schools DA is you're from a big school.

Ks:

I am probably following you on most arguments, but this just means that I have a higher standard for your explanation. Be careful with reading too much jargon--Kritiks should never be exclusionary and only for those who "get it."

I find most "role of the ballot" arguments quite arbitrary and usually just an assertion of impact framing. Generally "role of the judge" arguments are more convincing for me because they tend to contain A. a warrant for why this framing is important and B. a coherent vision for what I should do with this framework. If you are able to contain both of those elements in a "role of the ballot" then I'll go for it. That being said, I still think framework is a very underrated argument for a neg k team to go for if you can pull it off.

Usually when I vote against the K, it is because the neg failed to do adequate link work to show why their theory of power implicates the aff.

CPs, DAs, T, etc.:

Even though I like K debate, I'm pretty comfortable with "policymaking" arguments. Just make sure that you have a coherent story and link chain by the end of the debate. If you end up missing internal-link(s), I won't give you the impact.

A substantial amount of these types of debates come down to impact framing for me.

Theory:

I'm bad at super techy theory debates, but if there's an argument that you really think is important then by all means go for it.

If you do, however, I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread through 15 subpoints at 400 wpm.

My range of reasonability changes significantly depending on what circuit I'm judging (e.g. I will probably allow more condo in the nat circuit than a locals)

==========LD Paradigm==========

I judge LD like policy except for the following:

Y'all have got to stop reading terrible arguments like tricks--seriously--if you still want to run theory 1. I default to reasonability (I won't vote on frivolous theory) 2. I really shouldn't have to say this, but I won't give you the arg if you don't have a coherent warrant 3. fairness is an internal link to education.

I like K debate, but I don't have much knowledge with philosophy debates (what is a Kant???)

I have a high threshold for evidence in LD. If you read an under-highlighted card that doesn't contain warrants or use a misrepresenting tag, I will not evaluate it.

Impact framing is very important to me. Even if both teams agree on a value/criteria you still need to tell me why you access that best.

I evaluate rounds on an offense/defense paradigm, which means if you aren't carrying any offense args into your last speech then I probably won't vote for you. I find a lot of my ballots these days being like "I vote [aff/neg] on a risk of offense b/c the [insert other team] didn't extend any offensive args through all of their speeches." Break the cycle. Read impacts. Read offense.

Josh Johnwell Isidore Newman School 6 rounds

Last changed on Wed March 22, 2023 at 6:35 PM EDT

Joshua F. Johnwell (he/him/they/them/queer/josh/whatever you want)

NYU Policy Alumni (2016-2020)
Houston, TX / Nat HS Circuit (4 Years) @ Dawson HS
GDI (Gonzaga) Alum - 4WK, 5WK Scholars, 2WK

Email questions to debatejosh@gmail.com
or just ask before round, preferably. oh & YAS, EMAIL CHAIN ME

Current Affiliations: NYU
Past Affiliations: BL Debate (2020-2021), Success Academy HS (2019-2020), Dawson HS (2012-2016)

- You do you

- Respect everyone's pronouns & please don't be violent/ignorant

- Procedural fairness is an internal link, not an impact or voter, but t and fw are good arguments I still vote for and am convinced sometimes that it is -- there's a good debate going on within SCOTUS and ptx on "fairness" currently that I think would make some good arguments (2023)

- Please don't read an anti-blackness kritik in front of me if you are not black // if you're a settler reading set col, there's probably an argument there too

- I am a flow-reliant judge who prefers tech over truth

- I would like a content/trigger warning for descriptive anti-black violence, mentions of mental health violence like [redacted], and anti-queer violence before giving a speech to adjust

- I have really bad internet at home, but will try my best to keep my camera on, and I am always present regardless! Please allow me to verbally "ok" or "I'm ready too" a speech before giving one -- I usually ask for an off-time roadmap before speeches anyways.

- I understand tech time and difficulties, and will accommodate (please be accommodating of others), so please send speech docs/ev proactively and ahead of time to everyone and just assume that analytics will be sent too -- I will only flow whatever comes out of your mouth tho

- Disclosure is usually good, maybe?

- My 2NRs in college policy was either T, or K and/or Case

- Love wholesome debate and community, but call your opponent out, perf cons, and their mistakes in your speeches more often please == please bring the smoke/that energy

---

*Updates for CEDA 2023*

Please don't pref me, esp. if you know me irl/online
Thought I was officially out of debate, but of course it always comes creeping back into your life
Please wear a mask around me if we are indoors/in close proximity and in our debate rounds---idc if you're vaxxed. If you need a break or need to adjust, I will accommodate or we will get tab involved
I'm a H-Town local; I will most likely be in-person and want to see everyone's faces! (with masks!) If y'all need to know how to get some places or any recs, please hmu or ask after round
Please don't quote my paradigm or my tweets at me, I know what I've said/written lol
FW is probably bad and you shouldn't read it at CEDA--the NDT was last weekend
I probably won't vote on T because I've only judged ONE practice debates on this topic and no tourneys -- bad 2nr idea in front of me esp. if you want me to keep-up, but also if it's your only arg, go for it sis
most of the below still applies but is out-of-date, maybe ask me? idk tbh
i could care less about this activity tbh but i love the people
minus speaker points if you make me cringe, double if it's visible (this may happen)
Write my ballot for me!

---

*Updates for ToC 2022*

- Please do not pref me LOL

- Why are y'all so uncomfortable around Black debaters/judges? Please do not codeswitch or posture weirdly/diff in round if you are not Black. Also, y’all gotta let Black folks rest and stop using them as tokenized examples

- In clash rounds, I hate voting; please do not punish me for making a decision

- I will not hack/vote for you just because you read anti-blackness, critical race theory, or baudrillard

- People should go for T more often; TVAs are important af to me

- Apologies are good but so is being uncomfortable sometimes

- I look for the easiest, most justifiable ballot (I prefer tech)

- Most of my paradigm is still true; the updates for NDT/CEDA are 100% true and applies to y'all here too

- I probably will not vote on things/arguments that took place outside of the round, especially without receipts

- I prefer T, not Framework i.e. they're not meeting our interp of the topic/talking about the right things, etc.---not so much framework i.e. you need a plan/policy/defend instrumental action

- For the love of god, I don’t really care about how many examples of your aff or alt you have—please explain what you do/how you solve/what your world looks like v theirs/how you solve the aff(or their harms)/at least how you resolve the links/da’s to case

*Updates for NDT & CEDA 2022*

- Please slow down for me because I am online / hybrid, at least on tags, but please do not change your strategy because of me. I'm a more 'stylistic' judge that prefers slower speaking in rebuttals and ethos "moments" on the flow for me to boost speaks, etc. -- I will always be flowing on paper for these debates.

- I will vote on presumption for K-affs/performances that "do nothing", arguably

- Neg fiat is horrible and a voter, maybe

- All of the above is still correct -- most of the below is still true/how I think about debate

- Write my ballot for me in your 2AR/2NR, please and I will boost your speaks

- If you refer to me/identify me as Asian I will drop your speaks

- Currently in Houston, TX but wishing I was in-person lol

---

*For PF* / Updates for harvard

I'm basically LARP'ing (live action role-playing) being in this section. I'm a policy debater, with a LD and CX coaching primarily background. I don't expect any policy or LD arguments however. Now, I coach, teach, and judge for BL Debate for PF.

- I value wholesome debates.

- Speed / talking fast is fine, I most likely will be able to understand you unless I say "clear" through the mic.

- I mainly care about clash (how well you cover and respond to arguments and their contentions/advantages, especially in rebuttal), sequencing (root causes, a-priorities, prior questions, pre-reqs, which contention outweighs/first) and framework (how should I weigh impacts/contentions in this debate, etc. - util good/bad? idk?).

- Speaking pretty is cool, but I much prefer tech over truth, but truth can prevail (please do your topic research; I'm writing this during the W. Africa topic).

- Kritiks and theory are fine, but I have a high threshold and I don't think that PF provides the proper time allocation for you to develop this position adequately. Maybe there's more leverage on the con side for these arguments, but again, do you; offense is offense. Please give an impact to theory.

OLD/Dated Paradigm (Most things still stand true)

****************************************************************************

TL;DR *Updated 10/24/20*: I vote on a lot of things, except theory unless really impacted out (this is not a non-starter tho)-- tell me how to write my ballot -- im fine with speed, i vote on k's and FW -- please read a TVA if T/FW -- I MAKE FACES ON MY WEBCAM during speeches and CX TO REACT/TELL YOU HOW I VIBE WITH ARGS -- if you postround me, i will postround back...

**Updated 4/27/19 for ToC: I expect so much from y'all -- please slow down on theory and your shells for me -- or at least spread through card and go slow for tag. Please read a TVA if you're going for T/FW; just do you -- please don't authenticity check me or make me relive trauma, thanks.

**Updated 10/10/18 for Bronx: hi so idk much about the LD topic whatsoever this semester, so please default to fleshing out the warrants for me, etc. also, please be wholesome; there's a lot going on in my life lately. For those who have me in policy, cool, I debated on the Latinx America topic so I'm sort of familiar, but still you be you.

**Updated 3/3/18 for Lakeland LD/CX: My paradigm was written with policy debate in mind. I'm not too huge on "theory" hacks (just, no, please), I don't like RVIs, I don't like huge underviews, IF THEY READ A CASE WITH A PLAN/ADVOCACY/WHATEVER -- ANSWER IT (Idk why I have to say this). I like T more now than my paradigm suggests (idk why). Also my lit base on the multitudes of LD frameworks are limited af -- i'm a policy debater. Make reference to Beyoncé and queer stuff and I MIGHT boost speakers if you're funny.

Idk why I have to say this either but: yes, I am Black.

*******
If you are not Black (white and non black poc) do not read anti-blackness/Afrofuturism/pessimism/optimism arguments in front of me (aff/neg) if the other team calls you out at ALL you will lose the debate.... same for other PoC arguments that the authors say are for PoC. If it is not your position you don't get to use other peoples bodies to get a ballot.
******* - Jalisa Jackson

Most of this wiki is just a copy-and-paste of sarah lundeen's

This is basically just a TL;DR:

I'm reliant on my flow to dictate where the direction of our debate is going and i'm voting for the team that does the better debating. i desire the community aspect of debate and the friendliness that comes along with that. i dig rounds, and a community, where everyone is comfortable and getting what they want out of the activity, and i will try to accomodate that however means necessary. i live for the sass and clash in a debate, but there's a line to be drawn. also, i'm pigeonholed as asian a majority of the time, even though i'm black, and that annoys me and my psyche, so please don't assume anything -- also feel free to come up and conversate / have a discussion with me; i'm a southerner who loves branching out. i hate stealing prep.

If it's not in my job description, i ain't doing it. Now, i will listen to whatever type of debate you want to have (K, policy, performance, other), just do you boo. i'm not here to make a changes or to impose rules on this sphere. if you're good, great; just stick to what you're good at (i'm a very blank slate judge). i will not call for cards/ev after a round unless there's a fact check claim or just a large issue about the ev. with that being said tho, i'm not calling for ev if the debater is simply like "this evidence is on fire" or "call for this card after the round" - explain the warrants and flesh it out for me as a judge. I will not do the work for y'all, and i reward those who make my life easier.

Timing/Paperless - Speed: fine (idk why people go slow af on tags and an unclear sprint through the cite/card tho...?). Your prep time runs until you are finished prepping your speech - i.e. it is ready to email, saved to the jumpdrive, viewing computer, in the dropbox, whatever your method is. if you do not know how to functionally do these things or how to work your laptop, we're all going to have a bad time. Specifically, I hate people who steal prep (this can be in a multiude of fashions) and will call out against it - i.e. when the prep timer stops, you stop, all parties stop; just chill.

CP – I love a good CP neagative strategy and will give the neg more leverage on theory, but i will still evaluate aff theory (it just needs to be developed) and the neg still needs to defend their world. Conditional planks and multiple cp's is where things are gross for me, however. your cp should have a net benefit and you need to impact it out for me buy it especially if it's in the 2nr. i like "shady cp's" (Richard Min™) if done right– i.e. consult, process, delay, courts lol, but with that said they're probably bad for debate and i will most likely err aff theory. if you can explain the competitiveness in a topic-specific way, textually or functionally, i would live for this. Perms: do them, love them; they are a test of competition. PICS: i'm a fan, personally, but needs to be super specific and not a "throw-away" cp; embed that ish into your strat.

K – slay. me. i love the K; debate the k; live the k. I'm not familiar with the whole lot of dead french guys. Alternatives need to articulate what their world looks like, how it resolves the links, etc. i hold a high threshold for a k debate. my 2nrs in HS were baudrillard (i know, i'm sorry), cap, queer theory, etc. so i'm familiar with some literature, just not super specific. K affs need to be able to explain their framework/warrant to vote aff in a way which provides negative ground and debatability. I love k debate/performance and i think it has a lot of value to bring to the debate community –i prefer judging methodology debates too. pls don't just read blocks done by coaches/backfiles if you're reading these args, i love to see clash with links, da's to different methods/alts, etc.

Topicality – I'm not the biggest T fan, but i will vote on it! i say i'm not the biggest fan because i largely look at plans in a vaccum and reasonability sits well with me. that being said, this usually pertains to topics i'm debating on, and i have no knowledge of china besides helping out former HS teammates this year. a good t debate gives me a case list of examples under their interpretation. i evaluate t debates in a defense-offense type of way especially in competing interpretations debate. give me impact analysis, please.

DA – yaaas. you really can't go wrong with this. i love a good politics debate. give me a link story please for any type of scenario. i love the "traditional" craft and things you can do with a simple disad (turns, outweighs, etc.). most disads now-a-days have become let me just read the weirdest scenario and hope they don't have cards on it-- that's fine, i just want specifics and more specific links/story/argument will buy me more. do the werk.

Theory/Framework – i'm not a big fan of huge theoritical debates, but i can dig framework. FW has been read a bunch of times to my cases and i enjoy the substantive part of these debates. your framework needs to rise above the influence of "we could've done more" or "you need to be [XYZ]" because i feel like those debates are shallow and don't really engage with one another. if it's "impossible for you to debate" at this point, c'mon... if you have some good arguments about why they make debater better/worse in that it makes us better informes/more ignorant, better or worse people, etc I am all ears. Also, condo is okay until it becomes a mess i.e. condtradicting advocacies, taking it all into the block and not specificying your strat, always going for it in the 2ar, etc.

Underview – I would rather vote on how y'all debated, instead of intervening in anyway so i don't get post-rounded. Impact assessment and evaluation of the debate in the last rebuttals are important. a helpful tip is to write the ballot for me in the rebuttals, and most of the time mine will reflect that if you're winning. Speaks are a thing.

I don't enjoy listening to debates in which gendered/racist/ableist/homophobic/exclusionary language is used. At the very least your speaker points will be effected.

Arnav Kashyap Liberal Arts and Science Academy 5 rounds

Last changed on Wed March 22, 2023 at 12:55 PM CDT

Coppell AK

Texas DK

arnavdebates+judging@gmail.com

“Debate how you can, the best you can. Swag is good. Complexity. Concretization. Examples. Comparison” – Amber Kelsie.

“Above all, tech substantially outweighs truth. The below are preferences, not rules, and will easily be overturned by good debating. But, since nobody's a blank slate, treat the below as heuristics I use in thinking about debate. Incorporating some can explain my decision and help render one in your favor” – Debnil Sur.

**Update**

Debate's a game of tradeoffs. Aside from technical evaluation and applying an offense-defense paradigm, my beliefs are malleable.

I decide debates quickly and find few debates "close." I will not read cards unless their interpretation is contested. I'm confident in both my flow and my decisions, focusing on intervening as little as possible. I consider no substantive argument off limits. My strongest preference is that debaters take the easiest route to victory.

By contrast, many judges give indefensible decisions which reflect nothing short of a lack of respect for the debaters they judge. My role in judging is not about me, it is about the debaters. Within my own competitive career, I've seen careers ended and had tournaments end on decisions that have repeatedly made me question my participation in this activity. Most judges render hundreds of decisions over their time judging. Debaters are not entitled to the same privilege. There are a finite, limited set of tournaments they can participate in during their careers. It is blatantly disrespectful to take a debater's participation at a tournament for granted. Each debate should be treated as a debater's last. Thus, unlike the many judges I've had, I do not care at all about "rep" or how my ballot will be perceived by others. I will not use my ballot to attempt to "teach" debaters anything and will always apply the same criteria of evaluation for both teams. My sole consideration is how well debaters technically execute arguments in their speeches. Other concerns will be addressed in the RFD following the decision. Debaters deserve no less from the judges they get.

Top Level

1. I’m a second-year judge. I frequently judge and am reasonably familiar with the topic.

2. I’ve included sections from the paradigms of judges and debaters that have shaped my view of debate to provide a clearer picture. The strongest include Shreyas Rajagopal, Het Desai, and Vikas Burugu. All changes have been marked with brackets.

3. Debate is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. I loved this activity and hope you can as well. I have tremendous respect for the hard work you’ve done to come here and will try to reciprocate that in my decision. I will also be ready to defend my decision. “If you feel unsatisfied with my RFD, I encourage you to post-round me. I was/am always quick to disagree with judges as a debater and have always considered disagreement the highest form of respect.”– Vikas Burugu.

4. "I will only vote on an ethics violation about previously-read evidence (missing an author, missing a year, paragraph missing but no distortion, etc) if the team alleging the violation has evidence that they contacted the other team and told them about the issue. Clearly, you had the time to look up the article. As a community, we should assume good faith in citation, and let the other team know. And people should not be punished for cards they did not cut. But if they still are reading faulty evidence, even after being told, that's certainly academic malpractice."– Debnil Sur.

Prefs Guide

1. I’m likely better for policy v policy debates than you’d think. My voting records indicate an even record in the “clash.”

2. My speaker points seem to be lower than most. I have been disappointed in the quality of debates I've judged this year. When I do give higher speaks, it's to debaters that do the following:

A) Look like they want to be there! If debaters are having fun, judging is far more tolerable.

B) Narrate the debate's progression and prioritize argument resolution in their rebuttals. Final rebuttals should explain not how you could win, but why you have already won. Typically, this requires recounting an argument’s development in the debate’s prior speeches, explaining how you advanced the argument, and how your opponents failed to respond effectively.

For example, the phrase “No new 2AR arguments. I don't get a 3NR and 2NR strategy was based on 1AR errors” is commonly repeated in 2NRs. This is only relevant for instructing me to not evaluate “new 2AR arguments,” something I will already do. Instead, the 2NR should explicitly identify which arguments were new and/or are likely to be new and pre-emptively refute the 2AR justification for why they should be evaluated.

C) Efficiently and effectively translate their ideas into their speeches. This involves not only logical argumentation, but also presenting it in an organized and persuasive manner. Hard-numbering and clarity are extremely helpful. I am impressed by debaters that are both knowledgeable AND thoughtful in how they communicate their knowledge. Defining key terms, using meaningful labels and precise language, and emphasizing important phrases/varying speed of delivery are some effective tools for synthesizing complex information into a persuasive argument.

D) Accurately recognize and develop the core disagreements. Good debaters refute arguments from their opponents' previous speech. Great debaters prioritize refuting the arguments that will feature in their opponents' final rebuttal. Controlling narratives around the central questions of the debate is critical. I often find debaters are far too scattered. Most rebuttals should narrow the debate to definitively win their most compelling arguments.

Deciding Rounds

1. “Tech over truth. But... Debate is subjective and arbitrary. I consider “dropped arguments are true” to be not particularly helpful” – Anirudh Prabhu. Every debate requires some level of intervention to decide, so you’re best served explaining both your argument and their implications. Specific and explicit judge instruction that demonstrates strong strategic vision will be strictly adhered to. Holding my hand will be rewarded with higher speaker points, a quicker decision time, and a more favorable RFD.

2. When evaluating debates, I often imagine myself debating/coaching the teams I am judging, asking myself how I would respond to the arguments being advanced and/or better articulate the same argument. If debaters make the arguments I brainstormed or present one more persuasive than the ones I considered, I am impressed. Arguments based in truth (often supported by strong evidence) are more capable of withstanding rigorous scrutiny. This is NOT to suggest that I will intervene. Debate rounds are limited and I will solely decide debates based on the debaters’ speeches. I am simply more impressed by debaters that reveal clever strategic thinking and/or deep knowledge about a topic.

Joe Kieklak Little Rock Central 6 rounds

Last changed on Tue March 14, 2023 at 3:59 PM CDT

I am a debate coach at Little Rock Central.

Please put both on the email chain: jkieklak@gmail.com; lrchdebatedocs@gmail.com

General

You do you. I want to see you at your best. I believe that my role is to listen, flow, and weigh the arguments offered in the round how I am told to weigh them by each team. I will listen to and evaluate any argument. There is no educational warrant/it is unacceptable to do anything that is ableist, anti-feminist, anti-queer, racist, or violent.

My goal is not to intervene when judging. I can do that best when you: 1) explain why your impacts outweigh your opponents' impacts; 2) do evidence comparison as necessary; and 3) do judge instruction.

Policy Affirmatives

Go for it. There are persuasive arguments about why it is good to discuss hypothetical plan implementation. I do not have specific preferences about this, but I am specifically not persuaded when a 2a pivot undercovers/drops the framework debate in an attempt to weigh case/extend portions of case that aren't relevant unless the aff wins framework. I have not noticed any specific thresholds about neg strats against policy affs.

Kritikal Affirmatives

Go for it. I think it’s important for any kritikal affirmative (including embedded critiques of debate) to wins its method and theory of power, and be able to defend that the method and advocacy ameliorates some impactful harm. I think it’s important for kritkal affirmatives (when asked) to be able to articulate how the negative side could engage with them; explain the role of the negative in the debate as it comes up, and, if applicable, win the questions of fairness. I don't track any specific preferences. Note: Almost all time that I am using to write arguments and coach students is to prepare for heg/policy debates; I understand if you prefer someone in the back of the room that spends a majority of their time either writing kritikal arguments or coaching kritikal debate.

Framework

This is all up to how it develops in round. I figure that this often starts as a question of fairness or how a method leads to an acquisition/development of portable skills. It doesn't have to start or end in any particular place. If the framework debate becomes a question of fairness, then it's up to you to tell me what kind of fairness I should prioritize and why your method does or does not access it/preserve it/improve it. I have voted for and against framework. I haven't tracked any specific preferences or noticed anything in framework debate that particularly persuades me.

Off

Overall, I think that most neg strats benefit from quality over quantity. I find strategies that are specific to an aff are particularly persuasive. In general, I feel pretty middle of the road when it comes to thresholds. I value organization and utilization of turns, weighing impacts, and answering arguments effectively in overviews/l-b-l.

Other Specifics and Thresholds, Theory

• Perms: Explain how the perm works (more than "perm do X"). Why does the perm resolve the impacts? Why doesn't the perm link to a disad?

• T: Normal threshold if the topicality impacts are about the implications for future debates/in-round standards. High threshold for affs being too specific and being bad for debate because neg doesn't have case debate.

• Disclosure is generally good, and also it's ok to break a new aff as long as the aff is straight up in doing so. There are right and wrong ways to break new. Debates about this persuade me most when located in questions about education.

• Limited conditionality feels right, but really I am most interested in how these theory arguments develop in round and who wins them based on the fairness/education debate and tech.

Vandana Konda James Logan High School 3 rounds

Mitchell Laman Lovejoy High School 3 rounds

Last changed on Tue March 1, 2022 at 10:08 AM CDT

ou 25

mlamanv27@gmail.com

I wanna be on the email chain, but I won't be reading it while you give your speech, I'll look after the round or during prep if there's a card I need to check on.

I debated for four years at Lovejoy High School, but I compete at OU now.

-Tech>Truth. Giving good warrants is a part of tech though. If at the end of the debate a lack of clash forces me to do some work to fashion a ballot (as many debates do), then I will do the absolute minimum amount of work possible, and I'll probably tell you what work I was forced to do and how you could've done it yourself in your speech.

-Speed is fine, be clear. Be aware in online debate that fuzzy mics, bad internet, the poor speakers in my laptop, and a billion other things could make it much much harder to flow your speech.

-Please don't start your speech yelling at me. I get the instinct to go super loud super aggressive when you jump straight into spreading or even just a rebuttal where you have a bunch of pressure, but it's nicer for everyone if you build into your speed (although optimally you won't build into any aggression), and it gets you speaks.

-I'm familiar with most fields of K debate, so feel free to run whatever you like but be aware: Buzzwords do not a ballot make. Don't use the fact that you're running Psychoanalysis to be an excuse not to form specific and warranted arguments. You can make a very substantive debate with even the most highbrow of critical theory, so do it.

-I'm not super read up on this year's high school topic, so define your acronyms and don't assume I know every word of the water discipline.

-Mark your cards.

-I'll listen to any argument, no matter how bad or outlandish, but the more bad and outlandish it is, the easier it is for your opponent to beat it. If you lose on the flow to some absolutely ridiculous piece of nonsense, then you deserve to lose your ballot to the nonsense.

-I try to be as blank of a slate as I can be in the round, tabula rasa mode.

DAs

Not a whole bunch to say here, but make sure you do actual impact calc, don't just repeat your extinction impact and say, "Magnitude outweighs." There is no more interesting debate to judge (or to be in) than a round with really good impact clash.

Also I like DA-Case 2NRs, think they're fun. If you can do one right, go for it, not enough people are willing to try them. That said, I'm not gonna lower my threshold for voting on an argument just because I like it, so make sure you can do it right.

CPs

I like my perms specific. If you can articulate a clear world where the CP and the aff coexist, then I'm a lot more likely to go with it. Neg solvency advocates are fantastic, but not necessary if the CP is well argued. I lean neg on 50 state fiat, international fiat, and PICs, and lean aff on delay CPs and consult CPs, but as mentioned before I try not to bring any biases into a round, so the way I lean will nearly always be overshadowed by the ink on the flow. Specifically ask if you want me to judge kick, I won't otherwise (if your opponent asks to judge kick feel free to tell me not to and if you argue well I won't).

Topicality

I default to competing interpretations, but don't take that to mean you don't have to answer reasonability. Topic specific definitions are great, and I don't think enough people are willing to be technical on T debate. For some reason, most debaters just spit their blocks out and don't really engage with their opponent's topicality. A T speech that specifically refutes your opponents points and contextualizes your extensions to the flow will more often than not knock your opponents on their rear, so try it.

I wanna hear more impact calculus in topicality. What does it mean for debate when we define the topic in too narrow/broad of terms? What does it look like in debate rounds when we don't have a bright line for conversation? Don't just say a standard name and say it solves education and fairness, give me actual reasons to prefer your interp and you'll outweigh your opponent's.

I'm always down for a cohesive critical strategy, but if you're cross-applying your K lit from another flow onto T make sure you do it cleanly because nothing makes a flow messier faster than a poorly done cross-application.

Kritiks

I was a K debater throughout the majority of my career, and I've read through the majority of literature bases most people read. Make sure to explain your K, and make sure to be engaging with your opponent. I know there are debaters who read Ks that not even they understand, and win rounds by just spouting buzzwords (I know because even I was one once, so I know how strategically, ethically, and pedagogically bankrupt it is), so don't do that.

I like specific perms, look above for the CP thing I already wrote. Name your links in the block, it makes it easier for everybody. I want warranted alt explanations, and if you can actually tell me what the world of the alt looks like you'll be in a much better position to win the flow.

I love K FW, I find it the most interesting and engaging part of any debate, so definitely be willing to use it. I like being provided a lens to view the round through, as I think it helps to clear up any parts of the debate where I might be otherwise forced to intervene due to a lack of clash.

I like good K affs, obviously being related to the topic makes T way easier to win, but if you're good enough to win that you don't even have to follow the topic then I'll listen. If you have a K aff, you're probably gonna have to win some turn on T, although I guess just outweighing it is an option too. Just make sure that if you're trying to outweigh T-USFG I want specific reasons on why your education is more valuable than the education the neg creates. I don't want to just hear both sides say they make "better education" and nobody ever contextualize what the difference is between the scholarship of both sides and which one I should choose over the other.

Any other questions, feel free to ask before the round or just email me, I'm totally down if you have more specific things you wanna know about, but I only use this email for debate so if you email me outside of a tournament it might take me a day or two to see it and respond.

LUHONG LIN Foothill High School 3 rounds None

Jordyn Mahome Univ Of Chicago Lab School 3 rounds

Heer Mehta College Prep 2 rounds

Last changed on Thu September 15, 2022 at 8:35 AM CDT

Heer Mehta

Blue Valley West '20

heermehta001@gmail.com

TLDR

- This is my third year judging, but am still a pretty new judge. I don't really keep up with the topic/lit, so keep that in mind. I am probably a better judge for policy debate. For kritik-oriented debates, I need a lot of explanation.

- tech over truth

- indicting authors and evidence is important and you will be rewarded for that

- an argument = claim, warrant, impact

- It's okay to be competitive, but don't be a jerk. You'll lose speaker points.

- I am fine with speed, but please be clear and make sure you slow down a little bit for important arguments because you want to emphasize those.

- As you get later into the debate, the fewer cards you read the better (unless you're the 1ar and you need to). I do not like seeing laptops in the 2ar/2nr. Line by line!!

- Impact calc is very important at the top. Judge instruction is very important to me. I don't want to do the work for you - tell me why I should vote for you. I am not a big fan of judge intervention, so if you want to emphasize an argument or indict the other team's cards, please do not expect me to do that for you.

- not a fan of 10 off in the 1nc

Case - I appreciate a good case debate. For the aff, I think a lot of debaters can forget to use their 1ac cards to answer things on different flows - use them.

Disads - read them.

Counterplans - I like advantage CPs, but I'm probably not a good judge for consult/PICs/process counterplans. Conditionality is probably good, but I can be persuaded otherwise. Please read a solvency advocate.

Topicality - yes competing interps. By the end of the debate, you should only be going for one standard. I see topicality as a disad, so both teams should explain why the other team's interp is worse for debate. Frame your arguments in the context of the topic - don't just read generic T blocks.

Kritiks - I went for generic neolib and arm sales kritiks my junior and senior year, so I am not well-versed in the K lit. I will listen to it if you wanna go for it, just make sure you clearly articulate things and emphasize important arguments. A lot of debaters will rely on fancy jargon to sidestep a real explanation of what the kritik actually is. It is more valuable in my eyes for you to be able to apply the argument. For these debates, judge instruction is extremely important. Long overviews at the top should be shortened and replaced by line by line throughout the flow - it's easier to follow and more organized. On the other hand, I think link/FW arguments are convincing by the aff. Make sure you're explaining why the kritik is not just the status quo and how the aff makes it worse. Fiat is illusory doesn't make sense to me.

Framework - affs need to have some link to the topic. I like fairness impacts, but I can be persuaded with topic education.

Theory - make you sure you have an impact to your theory arg.

Harrison Noah Skyline High School 1 rounds None

Elysian Orlando The Quarry Lane School 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat March 11, 2023 at 7:30 AM EDT

Hey friends!
TLDR; I did one year of Public Forum in high school and went on to do NPDA/Parli, IPDA, and more PuFo in college. I also coached policy for a couple of years and have judged/coached all of these events for several years now. I'm fairly open-minded to any argument that is well justified and I'm going to vote for the team that paints the best picture via their impact comparison. I want you to write my ballot for me in your closing arguments. Also please note I will not vote on any argument that isn't extended in your final speeches. If you want me to vote on something you need to extend it and tell me why I'm voting for it. Other than that, just have fun, debate is your space.

Here are just a few specifics, feel free to ask about more:

On Evidence:
I believe there is far too much emphasis on evidence in many rounds of LD and CX as of late. Cards are important for backing up a claim which specifically needs evidence (think statistics, quotes, etc). Some folks are quick to dismiss their opponent's arguments by saying "no evidence" without actually responding to the merit of the argument. Conversely, the overemphasis on evidence has made some students afraid to get up and make an argument simply because they don't have a card on it. Perhaps it is because of my background in NPDA, but I strongly believe that many claims can be made and warranted via analytics and in fact that these arguments are even preferable because they demand that debaters think on their feet and respond to the argument specifically instead of searching desperately for a card that may or may not actually verify the claim they want to make. An argument has 3 parts: Claim, Warrant, Impact. A card is one type of warrant but historical and or/material analysis is another which is just as valid and I encourage debaters to make whatever argument occurs to them so long as they can warrant said argument.

On Strategy:
In general, I don't care what you read. Debaters should make their own strategy and use whatever they think is competitive. That said, I am of the opinion that "6 off" strategies tend to be uncompetitive because no arguments are really developed and I will lean towards skepticism of neg blocks which develop a lot of new arguments because their initial constructives refused to engage the debate in depth. Quality tends to prevail strategically over quantity but I won't impose this belief onto you, if you think 6 off is more strategic, then prove it and I'll vote for it if you win. There is no K, CP, or theoretical argument I will reject outright on principle. Some arguments are likely more theoretically legitimate than others (An uncondo K is probably pretty alright and 8 condo delay CPs may not be) and some arguments are certainly more true than others but what I think is irrelevant in context of what is said in the round. Whatever it is you decide to go for, I do believe "collapsing" is good and makes debates simpler and also that arguments should be explained in context of one another. That's to say, how does "straight-up" make sense of the K, how does theory make sense (or not make sense) of the Aff, so on and so forth. Framework is the most important aspect of debate (followed by links). Tell me what my role as a judge is or the role of my ballot is and precisely how I ought to use it. I want to do as little as possible when writing my ballot and want as much of the argument as possible to be framed and explained for me. You should understand the difference between defense and offense and recognize that defense does not independently win rounds. Defense can empower offense but is not sufficient in and of itself to overcome any offense which improves upon the status quo.

*As an updated addendum to this, I would strongly prefer not to vote on violations that are alleged to occur outside of a debate round.
** A second addendum on theory - in light of some rounds that have occurred in early 2023, I'm realizing that in a debate that collapses to theory where theory truly feels like a wash, I think I'm preferring to flip to the team that didn't go for theory. This means you should use theory with me in instances that truly feel abusive. This is not to say that I won't vote on potential abuse, but it is to say you better win your shell convincingly if you intend to collapse on potential abuse

On Speed:

In general, I don't mind speed at all. I used to debate quite quickly, I listen to every podcast in the world on 2.0, and one of my previous partners was probably one of the fastest there ever was. That said I don't think speed should be a tool of exclusion and I do think there is a point at which speed is used (especially in evidence style debates) as a tool to lazily "warrant" an argument by reading cards that don't say what you say they say in the tagline and just hoping no one notices. Obviously, you should slow down to read taglines but even when you're "spewing" out the actual card, it should be comprehensible. This is especially true in a world of online debate which can become particularly hard to understand. I've watched some judges in a panel be too afraid to clear/slow when no one can understand a word someone is saying (especially in online debate). To be clear: I am not afraid to clear/slow you. Clear means speak more clearly, slow means I need you to slow down. I'm much more likely to say clear than I am slow as I want to hear the merits of your cards so if the card becomes an issue in a debate I can actually hear what you read. I don't mind going back to read a card that is contested but I also think that as soon as I start spending time outside the round reading, I'm now being asked to input my interpretation of what I read and apply it to what the debaters said. This quickly begins to violate the so-called "path of least resistance" that most judges are looking for. As such, my preference is to evaluate what I understood and hopefully not have to go back and read. It's the responsibility of debaters to make sure that what they're arguing is understood by the judges to the maximum extent possible. Spewing out a card at a speed you can't handle without slurring your words does not accomplish this goal. You'll get a lot further spending your time making coherent arguments everyone can understand than you will spitting nonsense to make fake claims.

If you ask me for prep, I'm just going to run your time, it's up to you to keep track of how much you're using. Flex prep is fine, but if you're going to do it, please ask your opponent and establish it at the beginning of the round. I've had some debaters ask me if flex is OK after their opponent already used some or all of their prep and this seems unfair to me.

PLEASE provide me a copy of all texts (Plans, counterplans, perms, alts, interpretations, etc)

Kathryn Pham Liberal Arts and Science Academy 5 rounds

Last changed on Sun January 16, 2022 at 8:11 AM CDT

yes, I want to be on the chain: katiepham770@gmail.com

reagan ‘20

northwestern ‘24

I coach for LASA

Updates can be found at the bottom of the page

tl;dr: do what you do best. I’ll accommodate for you

almost none of the following paradigm is set in stone: these are mostly just my preferences. I can be convinced otherwise on most of these things, it just depends on how you spin it and frame it. I will always do my best to put my personal convictions and preferences aside for a debate because arguments ought to be what the debaters make of them. I tend to think that bad arguments ought to lose, regardless of what category or style they are. If there is something you’re still unclear on after reading this, feel free to ask questions.

firstly, the things that ARE set in stone: don’t clip. don’t steal prep. don't be mean to everyone. don’t say death good, racism good, sexism good, etc. I know most of you probably won’t, but I feel like it needs to be said. if your strategy relies on being sneaky (intentionally omitting things, relying on them messing up because you tricked them, etc.) do not pref me. there is a difference between being strategic and being sneaky.

a couple notes:

- I have a face when I’m focusing that looks as if I hate you or I am very confused. I don’t hate you, and I’m not confused. I promise its just my face. I’ll do my best to control it because I know it can be off-putting, but if it happens, its nothing you did.

- I don’t like small talk at all. Please don’t do it if we don’t know each other.

- being called "judge" feels weird. just call me kathryn (not katie, i know the email is misleading).

- I am very sensitive to the way that non-men and trans men are treated in debate, and this especially goes for non-men of color and queer people of color. I will never hesitate to call you out and contact your coach(es).

Top Level

- I really appreciate when the 2AR/2NR give me a way to frame the debate and make it really easy to write my ballot. "Even if" statements are cool.

- When evaluating a debate, I always start with questions of solvency: what do I think the aff solves? What do I think the alternative/counterplan solves? I do this by analyzing how the debaters explain their solvency, how they answer solvency deficits, evaluating solvency advocates, etc. I then move to questions that were highly contested in the 2AR (if the aff presses the internal link of the disad, I evaluate that part of the debate. I'll do this for every part that was in the 2AR/2NR (so long as I can trace it back to earlier speeches, if I can't trace them back, I will not evaluate them)) until I conclude one way or the other for every issue. After that, I'll use your framing, impact calc/comparison, and what I've concluded from your explanation and evidence to assign risk of the aff/disad and that helps me decide. This process is subject to change because I'm sure my judging process will change as I get more experience.

- When in doubt, I default to data, empirics, logic. I look at the studies in your cards and weigh them pretty heavily, especially with politics. Charts, graphs, tables, all cool. I find that biases in evidence and methods by which your author comes to their conclusion are really necessary to account for and really relevant to what the card says and why.

- Your arguments need to be complete. Make sure your claims have warrants. Make sure your disads are complete shells.

- Mark your cards. Send a marked version. If you raise an ethics violation, you need to have proof. Accusations of clipping that turn out to be true get an immediate L and a 25 in speaks for the team that clipped. Accusations of clipping that turn out to be false get the same thing for the team that accused.

T-USFG/Framework (I put it at the top. You’re welcome.)

- When evaluating the 2NR/2AR I look first for impact comparison/what do I think the aff solves with their model vs. what do I think the negative solves with their model. This part is especially hard to adjudicate when both sides don’t do the comparison between the two models, so please do that for me.

- I tend to think that people ought to affirm topical action, however if you have a defense of your model I’m willing to hear it. You're much better off going for a couple of solid impact turns to framework rather than a terrible we meet argument and 6 disads that are all the same thing just tagged slightly differently. I don't even wanna hear your interp + our aff.

- I conclude aff in more debates that I’ve watched than I’d like to, usually because the negative spreads themselves too thin or doesn’t do enough impact comparison in the 2NR. I conclude neg in debates where I would have liked the aff to win for the very same reason. There ARE compelling aff arguments against framework, but the trouble usually comes from not responding to the tricky neg defense/tricky internal link turns/not doing impact comparison.

- I’m more persuaded by limits/fairness arguments than I am about education or ground. It’s also not hard for me to conclude that debate is a game and competitive merits matter. However, these are not reasons to skimp on explanation.

- I like switch side. I think do it on the negative resolves a lot more offense than teams think it does, especially when affirmative answers to T-USFG seem to be more about excluding their scholarship rather than affirming a topical plan.

- Teams should press the subjectivity debate more than they do – it implicates a lot of the answers that aff teams make. Not contesting the subjectivity level when a lot of the affirmative strategy depends on it is an easy way to lose.

- T-USFG is not genocide, the Iraq war, or anything else you say it is. I'm unwilling to conclude that.

- I lean to competing interpretations, but reasonability is a lot more underrated than it ought to be.

- Predictable limits are your best shot at getting my ballot. I like caselist comparisons a lot, I wanna know what their model justifies and what yours justifies and compare them.

- Much like framework, I like fairness/clash type impacts here. I am unpersuaded by ground and education.

- I think that precision/intent to define/field context is more important that other people do. If your interpretation doesn’t actually define anything and instead you’ve cherry-picked your evidence to say what you want, I will likely be more lenient towards the other team.

- While I was not K-savvy in high school, I went to a school that was K-heavy so I am very familiar with a lot of the literature of antiblackness, settler colonialism, fem IR, security, and have had some exposure to Baudrillard (though not willingly, lol). I have my own conceptions of all of these things, but I will always default to the debaters’ explanation of it.

- The affirmative should get to weigh the aff against what the negative wins that the alternative solves by the end of the debate. I think that’s probably the most reasonable frame for both teams in terms of fairness, so any “weigh the aff” type arguments takes a lot less work for me to lean your way. On framework of the K, "you don't get K's" and "you dont get the aff" are both equally unpersuasive.

- I’m uncomfortable voting for K alts that I don’t know a whole lot about, as in the question “what does the alt do/look like” was never really clearly articulated. Please take extra time to do that. otherwise, you may not be all that happy with my RFD when I distort your alternative to be what it isn’t.

- Like all people, I like link specificity. It makes the aff’s job harder and my job easier. The more specific the better. I think in K debates its important to fuse the link and impact debate together so that each link is packaged with a particular impact. It’s more coherent that way. Consider only going for one or two very fleshed out links instead of like 6 really bad ones in the 2NR

- Tech > Truth. Spin is cool, but you have to have a reasonable evidence backing for it.

- Evidence comparison is important. If you don’t do enough of it, I will either default to your opponent’s characterization of it or come up with my own convictions that do not match to the way you think of your evidence. Either way, you will not like the result. This is not talking about author quals. You need to compare warrants.

- I am a huge fan of straight turn debates, particularly impact turns. Do with that what you will.

- More evidence isn’t always better. I think fewer pieces of good quality evidence are more valuable than more pieces of terrible evidence. You ought to apply your evidence and unpack all the warrants rather than reading a million new cards. Quality is so much better than quantity.

- Impact comparison is necessary. Do a good amount of it. No, this is not the same thing as impact calc. It's "even if they win their impact, here's why you prefer ours anyway"

- If your disad does not have uniqueness/link/whatever in the 1NC and you read that in the block, the 1AR gets new answers. You need to have a complete argument.

- Zero risk exists.

- Every time you say “see-pee” instead of “counterplan,” a kitten dies and I hate you a little more.

- I like counterplans that are textually and functionally competitive, but your counterplan by no means has to be. I mostly just think you should have a solvency advocate.

- Theory is fine, and I’ll let y’all decide which counterplans are cheating. I lean negative on most theory except for conditionality, on which I am a true neutral. I can obviously be convinced otherwise.

o On conditionality, I find qualitative interpretations much more convincing than quantitative ones. I don’t know why 4 is worse than 3 which is worse than 2 and so on.

o Judge kick is the logical extension of conditionality, so I’ll do it unless the aff contests it and y’all debate about it. Then I will decide whether to or not.

- I like process counterplans with nuanced internal net benefits, PICs, and techy debates of these type.

Case

- Very underutilized! I love nuanced case debate so please do a lot of it. If youre not doing 2-3 minutes of case work, you’re doing it wrong. I think that you ought to give me judge direction when doing case debate, tell me what it means for the debate if you do win this argument.

- One thing that makes me sad is when you ask really good questions in CX about case and then they never make it into the 1NC. You can use analytics to rip apart a lot of the aff internal link chains -- any logical hole in the affirmative should have at least an analytic in the 1NC.

- Case turns are cool. Unpack the warrants.

- I reward good case debating because its not very often that people really do case debate in the block like they should, and when they do, its often done poorly.

Miscellaneous

- I reward clever strategies, organization, being funny, and clarity. Clarity > Speed always. I have low reading comprehension so I have overdeveloped auditory learning to compensate, so it is important that I can clearly hear the warrants of your evidence so I can understand and flow them. I also reward open sourcing, so I’ll check if you do. If you open source, +.2 speaks for y’all both.

- I hate ASPEC. Viscerally. I really struggle to reconcile the idea that dropped arguments are true and just how much ASPEC sucks. I suppose I'll vote for it but only if in the doc and dropped. Otherwise, no chance. If it's dropped, but it wasn't in the doc, I don't care, I'm not voting for it. If you unironically do this and get mad at me when I vote aff, you are likely bad at debate and I will have no remorse voting against you.

- This is directed at everyone, but mostly cis men in debate: stop yelling. we are in a small room and no one else is talking while you're talking. there is no reason to shout. please stop.

- Good vine references get you +.3 speaks. Bad vine references (i.e. too mainstream or they sucked) get you -.2 speaks.

- I cannot stress this enough: be. nice. I said it earlier, but I will say it again. I genuinely hate watching debates where y'all are mean to each other. I enjoy nice and polite debaters more than I enjoy good debaters, hopefully you’re both. I am unafraid to call you out if you are mean. I am unafraid to contact your coach if you are excessive.

- Respect your opponents. Respect their pronouns. Put a trigger warning on your stuff. Don't cut each other off. Generally, just be respectful.

- If you have further questions, I think about debate very similarly to Yao Yao Chen, Sruthi Ilangovan, and Brian Box. Andrew Xiang and Haaris Siddiqi are people who have influenced the way I approach debate and probably judge as well.

****Updates****

- TOC 2021 UPDATE - zoom can be glitchy and the quality of mics on computers tends to be rather bad, so its important that you slow down and be more clear than you think you need to be. additionally, do not delete analytics from your docs. i will be so much more lenient with your opponents if your "aff slaying argument" is a 3 second blip in the 1NC that sounds scratchy and unclear via zoom is dropped in the 2AC.

yes, i'd like a card doc of the cards you find relevant at the end of the debate. negs, during 2ar prep you should start compiling the card doc for the neg, just for time's sake. i don't want the limited time i have to decide to compromise the quality of my decision.

Gurminder Singh James Logan High School 6 rounds

Ne'Jahra Soriano Canyon Crest Academy 3 rounds

Vineet Tallavajhala College Prep 6 rounds

Brendan Tremblay Damien High School 6 rounds

Jack Walsh Davis Senior High School 6 rounds

Last changed on Sat November 5, 2022 at 12:11 PM +07

update for Notre Dame: Second tournament, judged 8 rounds so far this year, I volunteer coach for one team in a limited capacity on the high school topic, I have some familiarity with common topic acronyms and arguments.

Put me on the email chain jackwalsh01@g.ucla.edu

THE IMPORTANT PART: I try to be totally agnostic when reaching decisions, but in terms of my experience I will probably be the most effective judge for clash of civs and kritik debates. I mostly answered framework and kritiks as a 1A and my neg debates were almost exclusively 1-off settler colonialism. That being said I've found myself more and more agnostic on the question of framework. I will absolutely vote on framework against a k aff, and my experience in very technical framework debates can probably help you because I can understand how your arguments interact. Trying to win framework versus a k aff in front of me means that a switch side claim or a TVA (the TVA probably being more persuasive) is very important, as I believe that framework teams should be able to provide for the education of the aff under their interp.

And a bit about me, plus general thoughts on debate

I'm Jack, I was a 1A/2N. I debated for three years for Davis Senior High School in CX, I attended the TOC my senior year. I did NPDA for two years for UCSD with no major accomplishments, now I'm at UCLA and I'm getting back into judging and coaching in high school CX. If you have questions about debating and growing at a team without debate infrastructure I have a LOT of experience with that, having had to do that in both high school and college. I read queerness arguments on the aff and settler colonialism on the neg.

I'll be able to understand pretty much any rate of speed but I can only write so fast, so slow down a little bit on your very technical and in-depth analytic shells .

Tech>truth, but it's close. I can definitely be persuaded the other way. Additionally, I think that truth can be a substitute for tech, but that tech probably cannot be a substitute for truth. True arguments require a higher amount of contextualization to your opponents arguments, and I have a higher threshold to buy these kinds of arguments because you only need to win a few to win the round. I have not yet voted for a kritik that did not win either the efficacy of their alt or their framework interpretation, I could see voting for such a kritik only if your link card is particular spicy and turns case-y (and even then it's still helpful to have framework).

I don't like having to reread speech docs. I will default to the contextualization that I hear in the round of cards, interpretations, linear disadvantages, and advocacies. This means that you have substantial latitude to spin your arguments, but also that I will hold you to a high standard for explanation and cross-application. The way that different arguments implicitly interact will very rarely come into my decision

When I reach a decision, the first place I look is the 2NR and 2AR. The role of these last two speeches is to explain how I write my ballot for each side. The 2NR should tell me where to look on my flow when crafting a negative decision, and the inverse for the affirmative. I will probably first try to evaluate the relative impacts of the affirmative and negative, based off of the framework/impact debate. Additionally, when reaching my decision I will try to look at the round through both the viewpoint of the affirmative and negative as they portray it in their final rebuttal.

After I reach and type out my decision, I will take the losing teams final rebuttal and resolve every argument on the flow based off my decision. Until I have done that I am not positive who I am voting for, but by the time the debate ends I am probably 60-70% sure who won the round.

I'll probably inflate your speaker points, just don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.

Leigh Walters Little Rock Central 6 rounds

Andrew Wixson Kent Denver School 3 rounds

Last changed on Tue November 2, 2021 at 9:12 AM MDT

Updated 11.02.2021

Coach at Kent Denver School; he/him/his; HS LD 2014, TOC/NSDA competitor; second season coaching policy, LD & PF; conflict with KDS and Valor Christian High School.

> Please include me on email chains - andrew.wixson@zoho.com <

POLICY:

JUDGE INTERVENTION — I try to be as tabula rasa as can reasonably be expected — an argument is claim, warrant, impact. My paradigm is an abstract list of preferences and while I obviously live for its incorporation in front of me, it does not mean I will outright refuse to vote for you if you do certain things, but I will naturally accept weaker responses to problematic arguments. Bottom line: be as explicit as you possibly can about why I should or shouldn't vote for certain arguments so that I'm not forced to intervene, leaving everyone far more frustrated than they would've been if you simply said out loud how I ought to write the ballot.

DISCLOSURE — Please please please disclose early and often to the wiki and in-round and don't cheat. My thoughts on this have evolved, but I'm at the point where I think that radical transparency is a good hard policy to have and I really don't think there should be much dispute.

BEST STRATEGIES — The vast majority of my debate experience is in LD so I'm rather biased towards philosophical debate since that's what I came up on. I absolutely love Ks, but if you're running them in front of me, please make sure you're actually making it count and not just using a generic K purely to confuse your opponent with no deeper substance. Empirical debates that whittle down to an evidence dispute are very interesting to me, but I'm not the most skilled at making informed calls based purely on the data, so be careful to over-explain and not assume that hard data will win rounds by default. Obviously, theory's the only way to check abuse and debaters definitely need that guardrail, but please don't run non-applicable theory for strategy's sake or I will be very sympathetic to I meets and counterclaims of abuse.

AFF BURDEN — You have to have a present a topical advocacy, by having a well-warranted plan text. I tend to prefer concrete advantages, but justify anything, there's great ways to subvert this expectation if executed properly. I default NEG unless given topical offense by the AFF. This does not mean that AFF teams are bound to only reading topical offense in their constructives, it just means that at the end of the round the AFF has to have some shred of topical offense survive that I can hinge my ballot on.

NEG BURDEN — I default NEG, which means just cast as much doubt on the resolution as you can by any means necessary. Please make sure off-case positions are relevant: DAs and CPs only work on plan texts and word kritiks/PICs only work if your opponent used the actual language ascribed in the literature you're reading. Too many NEGs have one strategy that they use to answer every AFF regardless of its relevance so please be careful to avoid giving this impression.

CX — CX is the fun part of debate. CX is binding, but take a deep breath and relax, be funny and likable, and perceptually dominate and you're good to go. Please don't use CX as an opportunity to abuse your opponent, especially if they are obviously a weaker debater than you, it will make me uncomfy and that should not be the goal.

KRITIKS — Krit lit is awesome. Don't assume I know your K — even if you think it's generic, make everything crystal clear as K debates often get way too muddy to justify an objective decision. If it's obviously policy backfiles, I won't be impressed. I won't vote on what I don't understand, so if you can't extend it without reading verbatim from the author nor explain your argument to your opponent in CX, I will be very hesitant to vote on it. If you're running a K with no alt, I don't have a reason to vote on it unless your opponent massively fumbles it. Please do the explicit weighing for me since Ks are inherently ambiguous and don't hesitate to back up any argument you're making with a theory justification.

THEORY — Be careful to address substance first and foremost and avoid cheap tricks that don't actually contribute to anyone's understanding of the round. I default to reasonability, drop the argument, and fairness over education and competing interps on T. I'm much easier to convince with "I meets" than most judges — i.e., theory should only be run on real violations and the threshold for those violations is high enough that you should be using a substantial amount of your speech time defending that it comes before any substance happening in the round. Potential violations are trash and I prefer that you warrant why the theoretical interpretation isn't valid and move on, because providing offense back to a counter-interpretation becomes infinitely regressive.

SPIKES — Just don't. While there's *a* reality where I vote on this if someone openly doesn't address it at all, I doubt they're winning on substance anyways so just avoid it in front of me especially if I'm rolling my eyes the whole time you're reading them.

SPEED — While I can follow speed, I probably can't flow your top speed — clarity is the issue, particularly if you aren't disclosing. Try to slow down on analytics, tags, and author names so I can follow where you are in the document. Please email/flash me your speeches.

DELIVERY & SPEAKER POINTS — I like giving high speaks. If you are making smart arguments and debate well, your speaker points should be good. A 30 will be hard to come by (but not a 29.8), but I'll tend to average 28.5. Well-placed jokes are the best and can (usually) only help your speaks. My judgment on how to assign speaker points is based on my perception of your debate sense and ability to cut through the BS and make complex arguments crystal clear. I won't hesitate to give you a loss 0 for oppressive discourse that creates an uncomfortable debate space or justifies things we all know are atrocities. I tend to be expressive during the round, so look up from your computer every once in a while and adjust accordingly.

Do what you do best and please be original and creative. Great weighing and writing my ballot for me wins rounds, it's really that simple. Don't get lost in the formality of it all, literally just level with me and bring me on a journey, that's what it's all about.

LD:

DISCLOSURE — Please please please disclose early and often to the wiki and in-round and don't cheat. My thoughts on this have evolved, but I'm at the point where I think that radical transparency is a good hard policy to have (other than local Colorado tournaments lol) and I don't think there should be much dispute.

BEST STRATEGIES — I'm rather biased towards philosophical debate and absolutely love a well-constructed K, so if you're running them in front of me, please make sure you're actually making it count and not just using a generic K purely to confuse your opponent with no deeper substance. Empirical debates that whittle down to an evidence dispute are very interesting to me, but I'm not the most skilled at making informed calls based purely on the data, so be careful to over-explain and not assume that hard data will win rounds by default. Obviously, theory's the only way to check abuse and debaters definitely need that guardrail, but please don't run non-applicable theory for strategy's sake or I will be very sympathetic to I meets and counterclaims of abuse.

AFF BURDEN — I like topical AFFs but non-topical AFFs can be really great especially when approached in a similar manner to a K. I tend to prefer concrete advantages on policy-based topics and ethical theory on moral dilemma topics, but justify anything. I default NEG unless given topical offense by the AFF. This does not mean that AFF teams are bound to only reading topical offense in their constructives, it just means that at the end of the round the AFF has to have some shred of topical offense survive that I can hinge my ballot on.

Tyler Angelo Zabolio College Prep 4 rounds

Last changed on Tue February 7, 2023 at 4:49 PM EDT

I am on the Gonzaga Policy Debate team and am currently a sophomore.

A few things to note

Use CX as an opportunity to explain your arguments/links. Make sure to ask good questions, be respectful but at the same time don't let your opponent waste your time.

Don't steal prep, I will time everything but make sure to do so yourself as well.

I have experience with most types of arguments but don't assume I have read your author/lit already. Explain theory/complex legal args in language that is understandable.

Impact calc is what wins rounds.

speed is fine but spreading outside of policy is cringe.

I tend to look at T stuff through a lens that is sympathetic to the aff. I think a lot of counter interps are pretty limiting and unconvincing. That said I have no problem voting on T if its impacted out well and the violation is articulated well. I am a big fan of going heavy on T against affs that are aggressively untopical.

Debating about debate is cool but if it is distracting from x scholarship it is less cool. Bad K affs are not cool but good K affs are cool so take that as you will. I lean neg on framework. That said if a K aff sufficiently answers/turns FW I have no problem voting aff. i find this specifically true when the 1AC has built-in or at least inferential answers to fw. Debate bad as an argument is not convincing to me, we are all here by free will and we all (or at least most of us) love debate or at the very least think it is a good academic activity.

Theory

Theory is good. Also if you read like 6 reasons to reject the team I think some warrants are necessary. ex:"Reject the team, utopian fiat bad" is not an argument. Also if you are going to go for a theory arg in a final rebuttal ensure your partner extended it substantially enough for you to have adequate arguments to go for. I tend to lean aff on condo stuff but not by much.

Kritiks are cool and I am a big fan of going for the K. Vague alts are annoying and if I cant understand how the alt solves case and you dont have good case D I am gonna have a tough time voting neg unless the link debate implicates that. K outweighs is convincing usually. Explain links in clear terms and be specific to the aff you are hitting. Specific links are better than generic like state bad links.

CPs are great but 10 plank conditional counterplans are kinda silly. They need to be functionally competitive in order to warrant a neg ballot.

DAs are awesome and CP DA strat is a classic. UQ is extremely important to me. A lot of links are way to broad for me to buy a chance at the impact.

Debate is hard and stressful but relax and be confident and have fun!

Feel free to email me with any questions tzabolio@gmail.com

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