Logistics…

1) Let's use Speechdrop.net for evidence sharing. If you are the first person to the room, please set it up and put the code on the board so we can all get the evidence.

2) If, for some reason, we can't use speechdrop, let's use email. I want to be on the email chain. mrjared@gmail.com

3) If there is no email chain, I’m going to want to get the docs on a flash drive ahead of the speech.

4) Prep stops when you have a) uploaded the doc to speechdrop b) hit send on the email, or c) pulled the flash drive out. Putting your doc together, saving your doc, etc... are all prep. Also, when prep ends, STOP PREPPING. Don't tell me to stop prep and then tell me all you have to do is save the doc and then upload it. This may impact your speaker points.

5) Get your docs in order!! If I need to, I WILL call for a corrected speech doc at the end of your speech. I would prefer a doc that only includes the cards you read, in the order you read them. If you need to skip a couple of cards and you clearly indicate which ones, we should be fine. If you find yourself marking a lot of cards (cut the card there!), you definitely should be prepared to provide a doc that indicates where you marked the cards. I don’t want your overly ambitious version of the doc; that is no use to me.

** Evidence sharing should NOT be complicated. Figure it out before the round starts. Use Speechdrop.net, a flash drive, email, viewing computer, or paper, but figure it out ahead of time and don’t argue about it. **

I have been coaching and judging debate for many years now. I started competing in 1995. I've been coaching LD debate for the last 10 years, prior to that I was a CEDA/NDT coach and that is the event I competed in. My basic philosophy is that it is the burden of the debaters to compare their arguments and explain why they are winning. I will evaluate the debate based on your criteria as best I can. I can be persuaded to evaluate the debate in any number of ways, provided you support your arguments clearly. You can win my ballot with whatever. I don’t have to agree with your argument, I don’t have to be moved by your argument, I don’t even have to be interested in your argument, I can still vote for you if you win. I DO need to understand you. Certain arguments are very easy for me to understand, I’m familiar with them, I enjoy them, I will be able to provide you with nuanced and expert advice on how to improve those arguments…other arguments will confuse and frustrate me and require you to do more work if you want me to vote on them. It’s up to you. I’ll tell you more about the particulars below, but it is very important that you understand – I believe that debate is about making COMPARATIVE ARGUMENTS! It is YOUR job to do comparisons, not mine. You can make a bunch of arguments, all the arguments you want, if YOU do not apply them and make the comparisons to the other team, I will almost certainly not do this for you. If neither team does this work and you leave me to figure it out, that’s on you.

The rules have changed for LD, however, that does not change my paradigm. The important change to the rules says this - "judges are also encouraged to develop a decision-making paradigm for adjudicatingcompetitive debate and provide that paradigm to students prior to the debate."

The paradigm I'm providing here should not be understood to contradict "the official decision making
paradigm of NFA-LD" provided in the rules.

Topicality is a voting issue. If the negative wins that the affirmative is not topical, I will vote neg. My preference is to use the least punitive measure allowed by the rules to resolve any procedural/theory violations...in other words, my default is to reject the argument, not the team. In some instances that won't make sense, so I'll end up voting on it. Topicality is a voting issue. This is VERY clear. If the negative wins that the affirmative is not topical, I vote neg. I don’t need “abuse” proven or otherwise. Not all of the rules are this clearly spelled out, so you'll need to make arguments. Speed is subjective. I prefer a faster rate (I can flow all of you, for the most part, pretty easily) of delivery but will adjudicate debates about this.

Attempts to embarrass, humiliate, intimidate, shame, or otherwise treat your opponents or judges poorly will not be a winning strategy in front of me. If you can’t find it within yourself to listen while I explain my decision and deal with it like an adult (win or lose), then neither of us will benefit from having me in the room. I’m pretty comfortable with most critical arguments, but the literature base is not always in my wheelhouse, so you’ll need to explain. Particularly if you are reading anything to do with psychoanalysis (D&G is possibly my least favorite, but Agamben is up there too). Cheap shot RVI’s are not particularly persuasive either, but you shouldn't ignore them.

 Fresno State |  Coach

Philosophy: 

I embrace all forms of debate, and particularly enjoy an intent that goes beyond winning the round.  In a perfect world, collegiate debate is a forum where arguments based on sound reasoning have the potential to develop into national policy.  My job is to mentor the development of every debate team I interact with, and to do it with compassion.

When it comes to developing arguments, the effort each team invests into debate determines the win/loss binary.  Ever wonder why people work without an emotional investment in the process that defines their labor?

For example, when I hear extinction meta-argument it makes me wonder about a great many things.  Every tournament I hear something like this: "If the world of the alternative does not succeed Iran will marry North Korea and form a bipolar nuclear axis of evil that will unleash an apocalyptic zombie Armageddon upon the world."  This immediately invokes a couple questions: 1) Is this believable or persuasive? 2) Has anything resembling this ever happened in the past? 3) If so, will I hear warrants that clearly link the claim to the evidence? 4) If not, could this space in the block be filled with something more significant?

The moral of the story can be found in Aesop's Fable of the North Wind and the Sun.  Please shine brilliantly and be persistent in your scholarship.

Judging: 

I have a preference for traditional debate, but it is not exclusionary.  I simply want to hear well-developed arguments. What this means is doing more showing than telling.  Walk me through the structure of your case.  Give me an overview to tune my ear.  Show me how one argument links to the next and use high quality evidence.  Develop a worldview for me, and be clear about the status quo.  Also, what does the world of the alternative look like, sound like, and feel like?  Sometimes a narrative will work better than other forms of evidence, particularly in critiques.

Note to spreaders: Please carefully consider what I can and cannot hear during your constructive speeches.  Can you engage me in a persuasive conversation?  Be detailed and clear with the tags.  I need to know where I am in your argument.

I am very open to Ks, but I need to hear evidence that grounds a K in the real.  How does your critique manifest in the material world?  Base your framework on a solid syllogism.  I will be listening carefully for logical fallacies.  Teams who can pick them out will have an advantage.  Lastly, I need to see clash over topicality demonstrated.  If your team runs a complicated K, show me how it directly relates to the resolution.  Stay on message as much as possible, particularly in cross.

Lastly, I do not have a background in technical debate and gamesmanship will probably be lost on me.  Therefore, I generally ignore complaints about abuse or ungrounded claims to fairness and topicality.  Use that time more wisely because I am not flowing it--unless it is central to your case.

Background:  Fresno State, M.A. in Communication.  Cal State Monterey Bay, B.A. in Human Communication with a minor in Journalism.

-Last Updated on 1/1/2020

Online Debate: SLOW DOWN - SLOW DOWN - SLOW DOWN

TLDR: I vote for K affs and I also vote for topicality against K affs.

Please add me to your email chain: tom.boroujeni@fresnocitycollege.edu

Please do not contact me for other schools' speech doc. Contact them directly. I have been contacted multiple times by different people asking me to share other team's speech doc. Why don't you contact them directly?

Novices: I am the strong proponent of the novice packet. Do what you will with this information.

Who am I?

I was the Director of Debate at California State University, Fresno from Fall 2016 to the summer of 2020. I now coach the Fresno City College debate team. I started as a tradition policy debater and made the transition into K debate. I have respect for both camps and whatever is in between. I tell you what I tell all my students, only run arguments that you fully understand and can explain to the judge. I also believe that debaters should have a basic understanding of policy debate before venturing off into the critical realm but that is a decision you should hash out with your coaches. I understand the implications of that statement and I am willing to defend it if you want me to do so. There is not any particular argument that I will not vote for. However, it is your responsibility to persuade me.

Speech Time and Evidence Transfer:
Your prep time stops when you pull the memory stick out, send the email, or drop the document into Speechdrop. If you forget a card, your prep time will run until you give the other team the evidence. Stealing time will lead to severe reduction in speaker points. Speech time is non-negotiable (No 10 min constructions or extra rebuttal speech).

Evidence Quality:

I am very sensitive to the quality of your cards. Things are getting out of hand with power tagging and out of context evidence. Section XVII. EVIDENCE POLICY of CEDA's constitution indicates:
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-B. Competitors shall be prohibited from using fabricated or distorted evidence.
------1. "Evidence" is defined as material which is represented as published fact or opinion testimony and offered in support of a debater's claim.
------2. "Fabricated" evidence refers to the citing of a fact or opinion that is either from a source that is found to be non-existent or not contained in the original source of the material in question.
------3. "Distorted" evidence refers to the misrepresentation of the actual or implied content of factual or opinion evidence. Misrepresentations may include, but are not limited to, the following:
------------a. Quoting out of context: selecting text from an article in such a way that the claim made with the selected text is clearly inconsistent with the author's position as that position is manifest in the article, book, or other source from which the quotation is drawn, when that material is taken as a whole.
------------b. Internally omitting words from a quotation or adding words to a quotation in such a way that the meaning evident in the resulting modified quotation deviates substantially in quality, quantity, probability or degree of force from the author's position as manifest in the quotation in question prior to modification.
------------c. Internally omitting words from a quotation or adding words to a quotation without indicating, either on the written form of the quotation or orally when the quotation is delivered to an opponent or judge, that such a deletion or addition has been.
------4. Fabricated and distorted evidence are so defined without reference to whether or not the debater using it was the person responsible for originally misrepresenting it.
-C. Competitors shall allow their judges and opponents to examine the evidence on request, and provide on request sufficient documentation on the source of the evidence which would allow another person to locate the quotation in its original form.
-D. Adjudication Procedures for by-law XVII
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Any challenge over tagline and content of the card is important to me. Make sure you know what your cards say and tag them properly.

Speed:
This section used to say "I am comfortable with speed but if you have your 1AR analytical arguments pre-written and you are machine-gunning them at me, be sure that I will miss a couple on my flow and if it is not on my flow, I cannot make a decision on it. I will yell "CLEAR" if you are not."

But I had to change it. I don't feel comfortable with some of your speeds anymore. My ears do not process too high or too low pitch of voices. I will tell you to be "clear" or "louder". No matter who you are and what you are saying, I reserve the right to ask you to be more clear. Slow down ESPECIALLY on analytical arguments. Analytical arguments are very important so If you want me to put them on the flow, please slow down.

Topicality:
I enjoy topicality debates because I have some legal background as a litigation consultatnt. I argue (and defend) that at least half of the arguments in the legal field are topicality arguments.

How do I evaluate topicality you ask? As an Aff, you should be able to solidify a relationship to the topic or tell me why what you are talking about is so important that you felt the topic should be ignored. For me, the most important components of topicality are education and fairness in that order. OR why topicality is bad.

Framework:
I put a very high value on this flow because it is about the activity itself. Framework tells me how I should be looking at the debate. Part of wining the framework flow is how you win through your lens. Absent the explanation of how you win, I probably vote against you because I think you don't know how you are winning and if you don't know why you should win through the lens you are advocating for then you have no business running framework.

Disadvantage:
Love them. I think most negative arguments are modified DAs. You can run a DA on anything that advocates for an alternative (i.e., Case, CP, and K). Explain the scenario of the DA to me. You also need to win that the DA outweighs the Plan or the Alt (or part of it).

Counter Plan:
Counter Plan is a way of solving one or more of the affirmative's advantages AND offering a Net benefit. The perm must be dealt with adequately.

Ks:
Like them and will vote for them. My threshold of acceptance for your explanation is higher because I think Ks do not have argumentative breath so they need to satisfy the depth. That depth requires a lot of work. So do the work for me because I will not do it for you. Make sure you link to the case. If you are have a link of omission, then you probably should have a root-cause claim or some other sort of explanation.

You need to solidify and explain your links. Impact analysis is important to me.

Remember
It is YOUR responsibility to persuade me and not my responsibility to understand your argument. Unnecessary yelling and fighting in the round will lead to severely reduced speaker points unless it is your argument that yelling and fighting is good (In that case it would not be unnecessary).

Last word
I think respect for the judge's RFD is very important. I see the debate in a particular way and judge it based on that view. If you do not like that lens then you probably should have done a better job of telling me what lens I should use and why that is a good lens (See Framework above). You do not have to pref me if you do not think I am capable of judging your debates, but if you do, respect my RFD. Do not make any sort of assumptions about my judging style. I do not vote for a particular style of debate, a particular school, or a particular team. I vote for the team that does a better job of arguing. I do not care if you are a first round or a novice debater, if you make the better argument you are going to win my ballot. If you do not respect my opinion as a judge then you should probably put me at the bottom of your pref sheet (strike me).

Role of the ballots that are self serving are bad. I think role of the ballot is always to indicate who has done the better debating. I rarely find role of the ballots persuasive.

I am a first year graduate student in Communication Studies. I have been involved with the speech and debate community for over five years. Although I have taught argumentation and debate, this is my first time judging Policy Debate.

In terms of my judging philosophy, I ask that debaters clearly explain their arguments, so watch your speed. I am not too comfortable with speed reading and jargon since my exposure to policy debate has been limited. This means debaters need to explain their arguments well and clearly state why I should vote for your team.  

 I also request that roadmaps be given at the beginning of each round. This means I would like you to clearly state how I should flow and organize the debate round on my flow template. I find that I understand the debate more when the debaters are organized. This requires me to be organized in the round and follow your arguments.  It is also important that you clue me in on when you want your prep time to start and stop. Overall, I also look for debaters to have fun. This is an educational activity. With that being said, there should be a balance of good sportsmanship along with thoughtful arguments.

I look forward to seeing you all in the round! 

Allison Brownlow

Assistant Coach, Saratoga High School
Years Competing: 5, Judging: 8

Judging Philosophy:

How I Approach Debate: I view debate as an educational activity.  While I am amenable to ‘debate is a game’ arguments, I find arguments that include and acknowledge the educational aspects of debate far more persuasive.  That being said, I try to remain as open as possible to any variety of arguments you want to run.  You want to run a plan with a hege advantage? Go for it.  If you want to run an aff that deconstructs the US/Mexico border though the lense of poetry? Go for it.  Just be prepared to defend your business.

How I Judge: I take as detailed a flow as possible.  I try to flow the internals of cards, so I rarely call for evidence.  Additionally, I am far more persuaded by your explanation of a piece of evidence, than someone who simply extends a piece of evidence and expects me to make inferences from it.  I do not flow CX, but if you are rude it will be reflected in your speaker points.  I tend to vote for arguments that are well explained with clear impacts and comparative analysis.  That means: impact scenarios that sound coherent; alternatives/CP that clearly explain their competitiveness and solvency.

I seem to end up judging a lot of ‘clash of civilization’ arguments. So a brief word about topicality and framework.  I will vote on both of these arguments when they are well impacted and explained in the context of the round.  I find myself not particularly persuaded by arguments that boil down to ‘you can’t do that, it’s not fair.’  There are many standards within the T/FW debate and fairness is so incredibly arbitrary that by itself, is rarely a persuasive standard for me.  If you can explain why the aff is specifically problematic and why that’s bad, chances are good I might vote for you.  Conversely, if you can adequately justify why you choose to disrupt/ignore a normative rule of debate (fiat, plan text, USFG, etc), then I might vote for you.

My biases: I realize there is no such thing as ‘tabula rasa.’  I try to be as neutral as possible when judging but there are a few arguments that I find I cannot be neutral about.  Arguments that are explicitly racist, homophobic, or sexist will never get my ballot.  I have no problem judging debates on the question of institutional racism, or structural oppression.  But if I witness a debater actively engaging in oppressive behavior, I will not vote for them.

Finally, while I am coaching high school students currently, I am not working closely with our policy team.  So I am not particularly familiar with the current topic literature beyond some basic knowledge about current relations with Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela.

High school debate: Baltimore Urban Debate League ( Lake Clifton Eastern High School).

College debate: University of Louisville then Towson University.

Grad work: Cal State Fullerton.

Current: Director of Debate at Long Beach State (CSU Long Beach), former Director of Debate a Fresno State.

Email for chain: Devenc325@gmail.com

Speaker Point Scale

29.5-30: one of the best speakers I expect to see this year and has a high grade of Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, Talent, and Swag is on 100. This means expert explanation of arguments and most arguments are offensive.

29 - 29.5: very good speaker has a middle grade of Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, Talent, and mid-range swag. Explanation of arguments are of great quality and many of the arguments are offensive.

28.4 - 28.9: good speaker; may have some above average range/ parts of the Cha.Uni.Ner.Tal.S acronym but must work on a few of them and may have some issues to work out. Explanation of arguments are of good quality and several of the arguments are offensive.

28 - 28.3: solid speaker; needs some work; probably has average range/ parts of the Cha.Uni.Ner.Tal.S acronym but must work on a few of them and may have some issues to work out. Explanation of arguments are of okayish quality and very few of the arguments are offensive.

27.1 - 27.5: okay speaker; needs significant work on the Cha.Uni.Ner.Tal.S acronym. Not that good of explanation with no offensive arguments.

< 27: you have done something deeply problematic in this debate like clipping cards or linguistic violence, or rhetorically performed an ism without apology or remorse.

Please do not ask me to disclose points nor tell me as an argument to give you a 30. I wont. For some reason people think you are entitled to high points, I am not that person. So, you have to earn the points you get.

IF YOU ARE IN HIGHSCHOOL, SKIP DOWN TO THE "Judging Proper" section :)

Cultural Context

If you are a team that reads an argument based in someone else's identity, and you are called on it by another team with receipts of how it implicates the round you are in, its an uphill battle for you. I am a fan of performing your politics with consistency and genuine ethical relationships to the people you speak about. I am a fan of the wonderful author Linda Martin Alcoff who says " where one speaks from affects both the meaning and truth of what one says." With that said, you can win the debate but the burden of proof is higher for you....

Post Rounding

I will not entertain disrespectful or abrasive engagement because you lost the round. If you have questions, you may ask in a way that is thoughtful and seeking understanding. If your coach thinks they will do this as a defense of your students, feel free to constrain me. I will not allow my students to engage that way and the same courtesy should be extended to EVERYONE. Losing doesn't does not give you license to be out of your mind and speak with malice. Keep in mind I am not from the suburbs and I will not tolerate anyone's nasty demeanor directed at me nor my students.

"Community" Members

I do not and will not blindly think that all people in this activity are kind, trustworthy, non-cheaters, good intentioned, or will not do or say anything in the name of competition or malice towards others. Please miss me with having faith in people in an activity that often reveals people engaging in misconduct, exploitation, grooming, or other inappropriate activities that often times NEVER get reported. MANY of you have created and perpetuated a culture of toxicity and elitism, then you are surprised when the chickens come home to roost. This applies to ALL forms of college and high school debate...

Judging Proper

I am more than willing to listen to ANY arguments that are well explained and impacted and relate to how your strategy is going to produce scholarship, policy action, performance, movement, or whatever political stance or program. I will refer to an educator framework unless told otherwise...This means I will evaluate the round based on how you tell me you want it to be framed and I will offer comments on how you could make your argument better after the round. Comparison, Framing, OFFENSE is key for me. Please indict each other's framework or role of the ballot/role of the judge for evaluation and make clear offense to how that may make a bad model of debate. OR I am down with saying the debate should not be a reflection about the over all model of debate/ no model.

I DO NOT privilege certain teams or styles over others because that makes debate more unfair, un-educational, cliquey, and makes people not feel valued or wanted in this community, on that note I don't really jive to well with arguments about how certain folks should be excluded for the sake of playing the "game". NOR do I feel that there are particular kinds of debate related to ones personal identity. I think people are just making arguments attached to who they are, which is awesome, but I will not privilege a kind of debate because some asserts its a thing.

I judge debates according to the systematic connection of arguments rather than solely line by line…BUT doesn’t mean if the other team drops turns or other arguments that I won’t evaluate that first. They must be impacted and explained. PLEASE always point out reason why the opposing team is BAD and have contextualized reasons for why they have created a bad impact or make one worse. I DO vote on framework and theory arguments….I’ve been known to vote on Condo quite a bit, but make the interp, abuse story, and contradictions clear. If the debate devolves into a theory debate, I still think the AFF should extend a brief summary of the case.

Don’t try to adapt to how I used to debate if you genuinely don’t believe in doing so or just want to win a ballot. If you are doing a performance I will hold you to the level that it is practiced, you have a reason for doing so, and relates to the overall argument you are making…Don’t think “oh! I did a performance in front of Deven, I win.” You are sadly mistaken if so. It should be practiced, timed well, contain arguments, and just overall have a purpose. It should be extended with full explanation and utility.

Overall I would like to see a good debate where people are confident in their arguments and feel comfortable being themselves and arguing how they feel is best. I am not here to exclude you or make you feel worthless or that you are a "lazy" intellectual as some debaters may call others, but I do like to see you defend your side to the best of your ability.

GET OFF THEM BLOCKS SOME! I get it coaches like to block out args for their students, even so far as to script them out. I think this is a practice that is only focused on WINNING and not the intellectual development of debaters who will go on to coach younger debaters. A bit of advice that I give to any debater I come across is to tell them to READ, READ, READ. It is indeed fundamental and allows for the expansion of example use and fluency of your arguments.

A few issues that should be clarified:

Decorum: I DO NOT LIKE when teams think they can DISRESPECT, BULLY, talk RUDE to, or SCREAM at other teams for intimidation purposes in order to win or throw the other team off. Your points will be effected because this is very unbecoming and does not allow this space to be one of dialogue and reciprocity. If someone disrespects you, I am NOT saying turn the other cheek, but have some tact and utility of how you engage these folks. And being hyper evasive to me is a hard sell. Do not get me wrong, I do love the sassiness, sarcasm, curtness, and shade of it all but there is a way to do it with tact. I am also NOT persuaded that you should be able to be rude or do whatever you want because you are a certain race, class, gender, sex, sexuality, or any other intersection under the sun. That to me is a problematic excuse that intensifies the illegit and often rigid criticism that is unlashed upon "identity politics."

Road maps: STICK TO IT. I am a tight flower and I have a method. However, I need to know where things go so there is no dispute in the RFD that something was answered or not. If you are a one off team, please have a designed place for the PERM. I can listen well and know that there are places things should go, but I HATE to do that work for a team. PLEASE FLOW and not just follow the doc. If you answer an arg that was in the doc, but not read, I will take it as you note flowing nor paying attention to what is going on.

Framework and Theory: I love smart arguments in this area. I am not inclined to just vote on debate will be destroyed or traditional framework will lead to genocide unless explained very well and impacted based on some spill over claims. There must be a concrete connection to the impacts articulated on these and most be weighed. I am persuaded by the deliberation arguments, institutional engagement/building, limits, and topical versions of the Aff. Fairness is an interesting concept for me here. I think you must prove how their model of debate directly creates unfairness and provide links to the way their model of debate does such. I don't think just saying structural fairness comes first is the best without clarification about what that means in the context of the debate space and your model of debate.

Some of you K/Performance folks may think I am a FW hack, thas cute or whatever. Instead of looking at the judge as the reason why you weren't adequate at defending your business, you should do a redo, innovate, or invest in how to strategize. If it seems as though you aren't winning FW in front of me that means you are not focusing how offense and your model produces some level of "good." Or you could defend why the model approach is problematic or several reasons. I firmly believe if someone has a model of debate or how they want to engage the res or this space, you MUST defend it and prove why that is productive and provides some level of ground or debatability.

Winning Framework for me includes some level of case turn or reason why the aff produces something bad/ blocks something good/ there's a PIC/PIK of some kind (explained). This should be coupled with a proficient explanation of either the TVA or SSD strategy with the voter components (limits, predictability, clash, deliberation, research burden, education, fairness, ground etc.) that solidify your model of debate.

Performance: It must be linked to an argument that is able to defend the performance and be able to explain the overall impact on debate or the world/politics itself. Please don’t do a performance to just do it…you MUST have a purpose and connect it to arguments. Plus debate is a place of politics and args about debate are not absent politics sometimes they are even a pre-req to “real” politics, but I can be persuaded otherwise. You must have a role of the ballot or framework to defend yourself, or on the other side say why the role of the ballot is bad. I also think those critics who believe this style of debate is anti-intellectual or not political are oversimplifying the nuance of each team that does performance. Take your role as an educator and stop being an intellectual coward or ideology driven hack.

Do not be afraid to PIK/PIC out of a performance or give reasons why it was BAD. Often people want to get in their feelings when you do this. I am NOT sympathetic to that because you made a choice to bring it to this space and that means it can be negated, problematized, and subject to verbal criticism.

Topic/Resolution: I will vote on reasons why or why not to go by the topic...unlike some closed minded judges who are detached from the reality that the topics chosen may not allow for one to embrace their subjectivity or social location in ways that are productive. This doesn’t mean I think talking about puppies and candy should win, for those who dumb down debate in their framework args in that way. You should have a concrete and material basis why you chose not to engage the topic and linked to some affirmation against racism/sexism/homophobia/classism/elitism/white supremacy and produces politics that are progressive and debatable. There would have to be some metric of evaluation though. BUT, I can be persuaded by the plan focus and topic education model is better middle ground to what they want to discuss.

Hella High Theory K: i.e Hiediggar, Baudrillard, Zizek, D&G, Butler, Arant, and their colleagues…this MUST be explained to me in a way that can make some material sense to me as in a clear link to what the aff has done or an explanation of the resolution…I feel that a lot of times teams that do these types of arguments assume a world of abstraction that doesn’t relate fully to how to address the needs of the oppressed that isn’t a privileged one. However, I do enjoy Nietzsche args that are well explained and contextualized. Offense is key with running these args and answering them.

Disadvantages: I’m cool with them just be well explained and have a link/link wall that can paint the story…you can get away with a generic link with me if you run politics/econ/tradeoff disads. But, it would be great to provide a good story. In the 2NC/1NR retell the story of the disad with more context and OFFENSE and compartmentalize the parts. ALWAYS tell me why it turns and outweighs case. Disads on case should be impacted and have a clear link to what the aff has done to create/perpetuate the disad. If you are a K team and you kick the alt that solves for the disads…that is problematic for me. Affs need to be winning impact framing and some level of offense. No link is not enough for me.

Perms: I HATE when people have more than 3 perms. Perm theory is good here for me, do it and not just GROUP them. For a Method v Method debate, you do not get to just say you dont get a perm. Enumerate reasons why they do not get a perm. BUT, if an Aff team in this debate does make a perm, it is not just a test of competition, it is an advocacy that must be argued as solving/challenging what is the issue in the debate.
Additionally, you can kick the perms and no longer have to be burden with that solvency. BUT you must have offensive against their C/P, ALT, or advocacy.

Counterplans/Advocacies: They have to solve at least part of the case and address some of the fundamental issues dealing with the aff’s advantages especially if it’s a performance or critical aff…I’m cool with perm theory with a voter attached. I am cool with any kind of these arguments, but an internal net benefit is not enough for me in a policy counterplan setting. If you are running a counter advocacy, there must be enumerated reasons why it is competitive, net beneficial, and is the option that should be prioritized. I do love me a PIK/PIC or two, but please do it effectively with specific evidence that is a criticism of the phrase or term the aff used. But, know the difference between piking out of something and just criticizing the aff on some trivial level. I think you need to do very good analysis in order to win a PIC/PIK. I do not judge kick things...that is your job.

Affs in the case of PIK/PICs, you must have disads to the solvency (if any), perm, theory, defend the part that is questionable to the NEG.

Race/ Identity arguments: LOVE these especially from the Black/Latinx/Asian/Indigenous/Trans/Sexuality perspective (most familiar with) , but this doesn’t mean you will win just because you run them like that. I like to see the linkage between what the aff does wrong or what the aff/neg has perpetuated. I’m NOT likely to vote on a link of omission unless some structural claim has risen the burden. I am not familiar with ALL of these types of args, so do not assume that I know all you literature or that I am a true believer of your arguments about Blackness. I do not believe that Blackness based arguments are wedded to an ontology focus or that one needs to win or defeat ontology to win.

I am def what some of you folks would call a "humanist and I am okay with that. Does not mean you can't win any other versions of that debate in front of me.

Case Args: Only go for case turns and if REALLY needed for your K, case defense.…they are the best and are offensive , however case defense may work on impacts if you are going for a K. If you run a K or performance you need to have some interaction with the aff to say why it is bad. Please don't sandbag these args so late in the debate.

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am of the strong belief that Congressional debate is a DEBATE event first and foremost. I do not have an I.E or speech background. However, I do teach college public speaking and argumentation. The comments I leave will talk about some speech or style components. I am not a judge that heavily favors delivery over the argumentation and evidence use.

I am a judge that enjoys RECENT evidence use, refutation, and clash with the topics you have been assigned.

STRUCTURE OF SPEECHES

I really like organization. With that said, I do prefer debaters have a introduction with a short attention getter, and a short preview statement of their arguments. In the body of the speech, I would like some level of impacting/ weighing of your arguments and their arguments ( if applicable), point out flaws in your opponents argumentation (lack of solvency, fallacies, Alternative causes), cite evidence and how it applies, and other clash based refutation. If you want to have a conclusion, make sure it has a short summary and a declarative reason to pass or fail.

REFUTATION

After the first 2 speeches of the debate, I put heavy emphasis on the idea that these speeches should have a refutation component outside of you extending a previous argument from your side, establish a new argument/evidence, or having some kind of summary. I LOVE OFFENSE based arguments that will turn the previous arguments state by the opposition. Defensive arguments are fine, but please explain why they mean the opposition cannot solve or why your criticism of their evidence or reason raises to the level of rejecting their stance. Please do not list more than 2 or 3 senators or reps that you are refuting because in some cases it looks like students are more concerned with the appearance of refutation than actually doing it. I do LOVE sassy, assertive or sarcastic moments but still be polite.

EVIDENCE USE

I think evidence use is very important to the way I view this type of debate. You should draw evidence from quality sources whether that is stats/figures/academic journals/narrative from ordinary people. Please remember to cite where you got your information and the year. I am a hack for recency of your evidence because it helps to illuminate the current issues on your topic. Old evidence is a bit interesting and should be rethought in front of me. Evidence that doesn't at some level assume the ongoing/aftermath of COVID-19 is a bit of a stretch. Evidence comparison/analysis of your opponent is great as well.

ANALYSIS

I LOVE impact calculus where you tell me why the advantages of doing or not doing a bill outweighs the costs. This can be done in several ways, but it should be clear, concise, and usually happen in the later speeches. At a basic level, doing timeframe, magnitude, probability, proximity, or any other standard for making arguments based on impact are great. I DISLIKE rehash....If you are not expanding or changing the way someone has articulated an argument or at least acknowledge it, I do not find rehash innovative nor high rank worthy. This goes back to preparation and if you have done work on both sides of a bill. You should prepare multiple arguments on a given side just in case someone does the argument before you. There is nothin worse to me than an unprepared set of debaters that must take a bunch of recesses/breaks to prepare to switch.

So I would like to start off by stating that I am from SFSU.  For those of you who may not fully understand what that may mean-I’m more in tune with K based arguments and I have never argued in any round that Capitalism is good.  That being said I do have a good grasp on American Politics so if you plan on running more policy-oriented arguments please rest assured I can and will follow along.    

While I may be partial to certain types of arguments, if you can out debate your opponents I will vote for you.  Credible sources are a pretty big thing for me so for those of you who may want to use Fox News or any other blatantly skewed source-try not to do so.  I will still consider it* but please note that there are much better sources out there-so take the time to do the research.  

Also anyone who happens to get unnecessarily combative with their opponents-or with their partner for that matter-will be docked speaker points; anyone who may try to argue with a decision I have rendered will be docked points as well.  You can ask me plenty of questions about why I voted a certain way but also keep in mind that you and I have other rounds to attend.  

*If I am forced to consider Fox News I will also consider The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, etc. 

6 years debate experience plus a few years coaching, will accept both on-topic and off-topic arguments, traditional or K. Whatever works for you, but be convincing. If you spread, slow down for tags and authors. If you aren't clear I won't flow and that is where I make my decision. Be respectful to your opponents, obey the time limits, prove your case, and tell me what the in-round voting issues are. If you choose to tag team I still expect equal effort from both partners.

I currently at a coach at a high school in LA's UDL. I am a recent USC graduate, where I was primarily a 2A running affirmatives with plan texts and social justice-y advantages over the course of 3 years. I debated 4 years in high school at Saint Francis HS in CA before then.

For the HS oceans topic, I have mostly judged JV level debates so far this year. Please take care to explain your terms. 

You should feel comfortable running anything in front of me. I will try my best to make the debate safe and flow less traditional arguments to be faithful to the performance, including any affective results. Please be respectful of people in the debate space and try to have fun! 

Prep time ends when the flash drive leaves your computer.

***

Below are just thoughts about contentious things I have run into judging/debating in the past:

Framing (both role of my ballot and impact framing) is important. You should seek to control the most meta-level debate structure claim; that will characterize how I evaluate the individual components of each team’s competing story.

Offense and defense matter but I don't vote automatically on dropped arguments unless you call a TKO: Technical drops are not always conceptual dropped arguments and require extra impact explanation, not mere extension.

Presumption is neg until an alternative advocacy is offered, then it goes aff. I don't see presumption as about "least change."

DOF - Cal State Northridge 

Competed: 8 years. Critic: 14 years 

Last updated: 9-2-16 (Most recent update: General topic discussion)

I had originally said that my judging philosophy is “tabula rasa.” However, judging over the years has caused me to rethink that position somewhat.  I don't think anyone can actually be a blank slate.  So, instead, I have included some ways that I approach debate/debating that may be helpful for your style. 

I have noticed I have a hard time hearing debaters in rounds the last couple years, so you may want to go slightly slower than top speed or speak louder if possible during analytic arguments/long K tags if you want to make sure I get all of them. 

I tried to be thorough in this judging philosophy (so it is kinda long), but while I competed on the national circuit in college, I am mostly regional these days, so if I missed a question of current significance, please feel free to ask. I haven't judged a ton the last two years (2014-2016), and almost exclusively on the regional circuit, so I am probably less-versed than usual on trends in the activity. What this means for you is that if there is general agreement on the meaning/use/significance of a piece of evidence or a particular theory argument, I may not be familiar. This doesn't mean you shouldn't make/use it, but that you should probably warrant all of your claims and not rely on general community agreement as that warrant. 

Role of the Judge/My Preferences

I am an educator outside of debates and view myself as such within debates. I will do my best to comment on how to use our experiences together in debate as a learning experience. As such, don't work to change your style because you are debating in front of me.  I will still listen to any type of argument. I am as comfortable with politics/CP/case disadvantages as I am with philosophical discussions in critical and performance literature.

I will do my best to decide the debate how the debaters ask that I decide the debate. What I list below are my default positions, so absent any argumentation on the question, this is where I lean.  This does NOT mean you will automatically pick up my ballot if your argument is in line with my default.  If contested, you still need to win that your argument is true/relevant in the debate you are in, regardless of what I say here.  I often vote against my own preferences.  

While I will vote against my own preferences, I have found that I have the most difficulty removing myself from the debate with arguments that say people should be excluded from debates versus debating about the utility/agency/ability of perspectives that people speak from, within, or toward.

I agree that race, class, gender, ability, sexual identity, nation of origin, faith, and a host of other markers of identity have profound effects on our capacity to deliberate, discuss, engage in activism, or recognize, challenge, or otherwise engage our privilege. I see that as a starting point for discussion, not as a warrant to exclude someone from the debate. We participate in a communicative activity. I am happy (or at least willing) to listen to arguments about perspectives that should or should not be included. I will not tolerate arguments that suggest people themselves should be removed from the activity. 

Framework/Performance/The Res:  

I think that critical, philosophical, and performance based arguments are a valuable component to forensics - which means that I think that both the affirmative and the negative should be able to use critical arguments to generate offense.

Does that mean that I value critical arguments OVER more policy-oriented arguments? No. But what it does mean is that I  default to believing that affs should get to use critical advantages to weigh against disads, and that negatives should get to run criticisms against the affirmative.  

That being said, you can still have your realism good/PoMo bad debates versus the K. I have voted for “realism is inevitable – your K is idealistic and ineffective” about as often as I have voted for “your war impact claims are inevitable unless we criticize.”  

I think a primary problem in a lot of these debates is that there is either no in-depth discussion of method (despite using the words "our/their method"), which leads to (a) no clear articulation by the aff as to what an aff vote accomplishes if we aren't passing a policy - just because you say the words "role of the ballot" doesn't mean you have explained what that role is and/or (b) how the neg arguments turn the aff if they aren't tied to political action outside of the debate as an end goal.  Often, this results in a lack of clash where the aff says they don't need fiat, but don't say what they do need, and the neg says the activism the aff never really advocated will be bad activism.  Some clear discussion of method and function of the advocacy in the round will not only generate clash, but make the resolution of the debate far easier. 

It seems to be relevant to let folks know whether or not I read/have read critical theory for fun and/or profit.  I have done both.  My doctorate is in rhetoric, cultural studies, and gender studies, so I have read a fair amount of that literature.  That does not mean that I default towards this lit, or that I am any more likely to value it over other forms of argumentation, just that I am fairly well versed in it.  I actually don't hear as many disads as I would like.

My default position is that affirmatives have to defend the resolution. I do believe that topic specific education is good and finding creative ways to be topical stimulates critical thinking. I think it is entirely possible for affirmatives to be critical/perform and defend the resolution.  This year, we should be talking about whether it would be a good idea for the USFG to establish a climate policy to reduce emissions to some degree in the debate. Again, I have voted for aff teams that don't defend the resolution - this is just my default. 

Thus, framework arguments on both sides of the debate need to be well articulated and warranted with specific impacts for how I situate myself as a judge/critic/spectator/educator/policymaker. 

Topicality:  Interpretations must be well articulated, and voters well explained. Potential for abuse is potentially a voter – debate it out.  I enjoy well articulated T debates, but am often frustrated with the lack of comparison of impacts, or how standards/internal links relate to one another (i.e.: predictability v education).  If you would like to win my ballot on T, explain these types of things. 

Theory: I don’t lean one way or the other on theory (Dispo/PICS/etc). I do have a pretty low threshold for conceded theory arguments that are well articulated, and will vote on them if they are there. I will not vote on them JUST because they are there – that is the “well articulated” part. If you are going for theory, you should not be going top speed.  For contested theory I would say I have a medium threshold - not particularly high or low.

Disads: I don't tend to think there is 100% defense, but I also can be persuaded to substantially mitigate that risk through both evidence and analytics.  I often lament that there is no discussion of how the disad impacts relate to the case advantages. Generic links and turns can be made specific by analytics/discussion if well articulated - they can also be made irrelevant the same way.  Which is really just my way of saying you should actually debate the link instead of competing over who can read more 2 line cards that are plan-adjacent.  

Counterplans: See disads and theory.  I think artificial competition is an argument that has more utility than is currently being used.  I also think that permutations should be accompanied with a text and more nuanced than "do both", but if the neg let's the aff get away with it, so be it.

General in-round/deciding issues:

Paperless/Prep: While a great idea, paperless debate tends to annoy me. Consider this the "get off my lawn" section of my philosophy.

I think debaters rely too much on the document jumped to them, and not enough on the debate as it is occurring.  I won't be following along on the viewing computer or e-mail chain - I still think it is the debaters' responsibility to speak to me as a critic.  

I also run your prep time until the document is prepared, and we are only waiting for the other team to be able to access your speech - so if that is e-mail/Dropbox link sent, or jump drive is out of your computer, your prep time is running until you have finished preparing and are able to speak.

As a general rule, I don’t read very much evidence. I tend to read more evidence in out rounds, though not by much  I flow parts of the evidence, and listen for warrants. I think it is the debaters’ job to explain what their evidence says. Merely extending a cite will be ineffective. If you demand that I read all of your evidence after the debate, I almost certainly won’t. I usually call for cards when (a) there is a dispute about what the evidence says (b) I don’t believe the debaters are explaining the evidence/interpretation/plan text correctly (c) there is evidence on both sides of a question that is explained by both teams and I need to resolve it or (d) I want cites. 

Similarly, evidence is good, but so are well articulated analytics.  I think we rely too much on having cards for arguments instead of making smart, well reasoned arguments for why something is or is not true. 

Interactions between debaters, and between debaters and their arguments:

I can’t stand people being rude or overly obnoxious in debates. If you are too rude or combative, dismissive of the other team, their argument, or their attempts to engage your argument, or generally discriminatory in approach or intent (racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, ablist, etc) I will adjust your speaker points accordingly.

Tech v truth:I am not totally flow centric - if an argument is answered in the debate, but not necessarily on the particular line that the original argument was made, I will tend to give it to you.  However, that presumes that you have articulated such a response.  While I don't keep a strict hi-tech flow, I will also not connect the dots for you.  If your evidence/analytic answers an argument elsewhere on the flow, or responds to a class of argument (e.g.: Perception links), say so. 

Speaker Points:

UPDATED: 12/30/14: After reading other people's philosophies doing prefs for the swing, it appears I have a view of speaker points that is quite out of step with the average. I have adjusted the following section accordingly.

I view speaker points similar to how I view grading. Doing what you are supposed to do on an assignment is a B/B- depending on quality. Doing what you are supposed to in order to win a debate is in the 28 range. Doing work above and beyond what is needed to win is in the 28.5 range, and truly superior work is in the 29 range. Arguments that win, but do so as a result of the other team's failings, or ignoring a reasonable request for accommodation or inclusion may not result in "reject the team", but may result in a 27 or lower. 

Updated 10/29/13

 I'm still figuring out my paradigm and it is an every changing process as this is my first year out but, below ar my basic beliefs about debate. With that being said i'm also trying to determine what i look for when giving speaker points.

To get a better understanding of what my values are or what i look for I should start by saying that I have been heavily influenced by Sue and Jason Peterson and Theresa Perry. If my philo is confusing i suggest you look there for additional information. I debated for 3 years at CSU Chico

the reason you read the philo-  

Framework and non topical aff's - i believe that you should affirm the resolution. I love a good framework debate specifically when it is well carded. the community  bashes on the clash of civs debate but as a competitor they were probably my favorite to have. I think that the framework should have it's own built in topicality but additionally that a different topicality is worth the time investment. topical version of the aff is very compelling to me. 

stolen from Sue's philo: if you are going to "use the topic as a starting point" on the affirmative instead of actually defending implementation of your plan, I'm probably not going to be your favorite judge. 

If that is unclear i'll state it another way. If you are not even loosly related to the topic you should not pref me. I believe that the debate should at least in the same hemisphere as the resolution. I believe it at the most basic level the resolution is the commonality that binds the activity together.

K's-  holy batman if your link is solely based off a link of omission you are running an uphill battle before me. I think links of omission debates are the largest waste of time it is impossible to talk about all of these problems in the world in a 9 minute speech. Linking to the status quo is also problematic for me links should come off what the aff does not to what the squo is. alternative solvency needs to be explained so that it makes sense, I am not familiar with the literature base. Why is rejecting the plan necessary what does it actually do?

T's - go for it i'm down. i default to competing interpretation and don't like to vote on potential abuse

C/p and DA: always a dependable 2nr decision. I really enjoy listening to nuanced DA's. c/p with a solid internal net benefit are also underutilized.

case: 2a's hate talking about their case in the 2ac. a good 1nc strategy will have a large case debate ready to ruin some days. 

theory: should always be where it applies. however i'm pretty persuaded by reject the argument and not the team

I debated my last year in college as the 2N and the majority of the times I ran Ks and DAs.

This is your debate so feel free to run what you would like but just be able to explain and defend your arguments. Remember, I can only evaluate what I can hear and understand so embrace clarity in your speech and arguments--break down your arguments so that I can understand them. I won't connect the dots for you so be sure to signpost, make clear transitions, point out flaws in your opponents' arguments, and tell me how to weigh impacts. Tell me exactly why and how you are winning.

I enjoy passionate debates and debates with clash. Don't be rude or hostile. Just be respectful, have fun and enjoy this educational learning experience! :)

Judging Philosophy - Winter 2017 

Assistant Director of Forensics, California State University, Northridge

Competed: 4 years (Was mostly a 2A. Debated novice, JV, and open). 

Coached/Judged: 4 years (Policy, LD, some Parli).

Email evidence exchange? Sure! robertloy5@gmail.com

General stuff…

I care about the knowledge produced in debate rounds. This means rounds should be educational and include an intellectually stimulating conversation. I also value competition, strategy, and research in debate and believe these things are necessary to achieve understanding and growth. 

With that said, I’m open to forms of argument that help us become better people. Although I believe plans should affirm the resolution, I also value creative affirmatives that challenge problematic norms in the debate community. Take what you will with that statement. 

Paperless debate has been a hindrance in some of my rounds. Thus, I’d prefer you take the time to organize your files and dropbox strategies when you’re in front of me. I usually keep time pretty closely as to help the round run smoothly, but I do have one rule regarding paperless debate: I run prep until the document is prepared and you’re able to speak. This means prep stops as soon as your flash drive is out of your computer or a dropbox link has been sent. Don’t hold up the round, please. 

I’m not the best with speed-reading anymore. Please slow down. 

I also don’t call for cards unless I need to clarify something myself. It should be the debater’s responsibility to explain the internals and details of arguments. 

Also, have fun. That's also pretty important too. 

 Specifics…

Framework/Resolution debate: I have no preference between policy or critical/performance debate. I look for impact comparison, clarity, and clash. Don’t assume that I’ve read your authors (I might have read them, but that’s not the point). I do think, however, that the plan should affirm the resolution, whether that be done through traditional or creative/critical ways. 

Topicality: I especially pay attention to well explained interpretations and violations in this area. Speed usually hinders my ability to understand these things, so slow down when you’re reading this. I actually like T since it makes my job easier (proven abuse is an easy win in front of me). 

Disadvantage: All parts of a DA matter in this area. I look for strong links and big enough impacts to vote on. This means comparing AFF impacts is crucial here to prove this risk. 

Counterplan: These arguments are useful in improving clash and competition, thus perm debate is also crucial to enhance this competition. I don’t care for a list of “perm do both…” arguments if they’re not explained well. 

Theory: I look for a well explained and in-depth discussion here. Don’t just read your blocks, explain and make connections for me. If a theory argument is dropped and uncontested, it’s the responsibility of the other team to tell me why this matters. I won’t vote on theory just because it’s there. 

Note: I'm open to any clarification or elaboration on my judging philosophy. Just ask before the round! 

I recently changed my last name from Magallon Garcia to Andrade. I am the Director of Debate at CSU, Fullerton (CSUF). I coached for CSUF very briefly at the beginning of last year, but worked with them a ton for four years before that. I debated for four years at CSUF and four years in high school. My scholarly and debate expertise centers on critical and performance arguments. I don't mind traditional DAs, CPs, T and Framework debates, but my feedback for critical/performance arguments is stronger because I tend to coach and judge more critical/performance arguments. 

Certain comments: 

1. Just because I see more "performance"/critical debates, that does not mean I will unconditionally do work or vote for these arguments. On the contrary, I have really high expectations for such debate since I am a firm believer that you must be toughest against such arguments to make them stronger. 

2. I see a ton of framework debates so I have specific comments about such arguments. I think framework is a very good argument to test the practicality of "performance"/critical affirmatives. However, there is a difference between making the framework argument a mere topicality-type throwdown and making it a counter-advocacy to solve the affirmative. It is best when you can prove that the affirmative's discursive/performative/critical approach/solvency is incomplete/inadequate/dangerous and that the state could avoid such problems or solve better. 

3. For every type of debate, I appreciate extreme clarity and in-depth analysis. This standard is true for every judge.
4. Do whatever you want, just be ethical and don't offend people.

I am a huge fan of people being nice to each other. In the end, debate IS an activity where we lend ourselves to learn from being in-the-world with others. 

I have not been around debate for over 6 years and judge one or two tournaments a year.  I'm not really sure what my paradigm is anymore, but here are a few pints that might help you when doing your prefs or if I do end up being your critic.  

1. I only judge 1 or 2 debate tournaments a year my flow and my hearing won't be used to the super fast robotic delivery that top POLICY debaters are known for.  If I am not keeping up,  I will let you know.  

2. I have voted for plans, counterplans, interpretations, FW, T, performances, alternatives, permutations, presumption, theory and even on a SPEC argument once or twice.

3. There is judge intervention in every round. Making the judge intervene so it benefits you is for you to figure out.

4. If you aren't winning the thesis of your argument, why does the line by line matter?

5. You don't need to win every argument to win a debate. If you try to win every arg, you probably need more coaching. I know some really good coaches that do private tutoring.

6. If my RFD doesn't make sense, it is probably because I was confused during the round.   If you do #7, I will probably not be confused.  

7. "We are winning the (insert argument here) which wins us the debate. Even if they win (insert opponents arg here)....." is probably a good way to win most judges ballots.

8. I am pretty obvious with my nonverbals. Sometimes even verbal.  I've been known to stop a round or two in extreme situations.  

9.   I don't mind answering questions after the RFD, but please don't debate my decision because it won't change and you probably won't see me again anyway.  If I happen to be judging at a tournament it is probably because I am there to catch up with friends that I have not seen in a long time.   I know this is important to you, so I'll work hard to listen and evaluate all your arguments and to provide a coherent explanation as to why I voted the way I did.  

10.  Try to have fun and make everyone laugh.  I can guarantee that I can make you laugh..... or cry if you want :). 

The 2013-14 season is my first season out, so my paradigm is still evolving. I competed for four years for CSU Fullerton, and was a CEDA double octa finalist and competed at the NDT.

Generally speaking, I enjoy watching all debate. I prefer a more critical oriented approach, but if you want to be straight up policy or the deepest left performance, I enjoy watching pretty much everything. As long as you can justify the argument you're making and explain its importance, I'll evaluate it in the round. And above all HAVE FUN! Run what you want to run, whatever that might be, and I'll do my best to evaluate it.

A nonspecific note, I LOVE explanation. I enjoy teams that make smart analyticals where appropriate, instead of spending their constructives saying 'more cards' and saying hardly anything else. This doesn't mean I won't vote for tons of cards, it's a style thing. You've got a great brain, let it shine!

If you're spreading, you should strive to be very clear. In particular, your tag, author, and card should be easily identifiable. Don't let them blur together, that just makes things harder on me, you, and your opponents.

K's: Love em. I primarily went for the K, and read transgender theory, cap, Baudrillard, Cuomo, Deleuze, Spanos and Nietzsche over the course of my career. I love hearing a good K debate, whether that's clash of civs or K on K violence. Make sure the 'story' and thesis of the K clear, and as long as I understand that story/thesis I'll be willing to vote on it. It will be easier to win the perm as the aff if you explain what the world of the permutation looks like. If you just say 'perm do both' and move on, I'm going to be heavily erring in the neg's favor.

CP/DA: Read whatever you want. I like a good CP/DA debate, especially with clever, creative, and competetive CP's, rather than generics.

Framework/Topicality: With regards to framework and T, while I will vote on it I generally lean more towards the K aff in this clash. If you do decide to read a straight up framework, you'll be in a much better position in front of me if you're applying your framework arguments to the aff and explaining what your framework means in relation to the affirmative, not just extending arguments. If the aff is 'debate about debate' this is doubly true. I will generally default to a competing interpretations view, unless y'all tell me to think differently in the round. Reasonability doesn't make sense to me unless you're giving me an explanation of what is/is not reasonable. Finally, in-round abuse is usually more persuasive than hypothetical abuse.

Performance: I did a lot of performance debate when I was competing, if you want to perform, go for it. Just make sure I understand why your performance is/was good.

Closing thoughts: Be creative, smart, and funny, and above all, do you.

Updated 9/8/18

I am now primarily judging NFA-LD.

PARLI: If you have me as a parli critic, know that it is not my strength nor my favorite style of debate. I just think that referencing evidence with no ability to check the accuracy of your reference makes it difficult to evaluate conflicting arguments, but I will do my best. Having well-warranted arguments beyond just a source (so explaining the warrant, not just naming the source and claim) will help your efforts. I can flow pretty fast debate, but without evidence, the arguments sometimes come fast and furious and I can't write or type that fast, so slow down a bit if you want everything on my flowsheet at the end of the speech.

BOTH PARLI AND LD:

As far as argumentative preference, performance debates are not really my cup of tea. I like critical arguments and I'm relatively familiar with the literature, but if you are going to "use the topic as a starting point" on the affirmative instead of actually defending implementation of your plan, I'm probably not going to be your favorite judge. But, I think claiming some methodological advantage to a certain plan is fine and the negative is free to critique it up if they so choose, as long as they in some way specifically engage the affirmative's arguments (usually better if it is the affirmative's arguments and not just the resolution or the status quo, but that is debatable).

I do not enjoy nasty debates where people ad-hom each other, yell at each other, or otherwise argue instead of debate. I think debate should be enjoyable for both the debaters and me -- so be nice and have fun. And if your opponents are not nice, don't get sucked into the evil...maintain your composure.

Rebuttals are key. Make sure you take the time to explain your arguments, how they should be impacted in the debate, how they compare to the other team's.

LD:

I am no longer inclined to read much evidence, but if you want me to read evidence because of it being a focus of controversy in the round, identify the evidence by author AND warrant - not just author. I want to know WHAT to read and WHY I'm reading it. I prefer to hear the evidence and hear the explanations and vote on that because debate is about oral argumentation. So, I won't read anything unless I feel like I have to in order to be fair to both sides in the debate.

I am not prone to vote on "this is a rule" unless it is well-warranted. I get that LD has rules and I believe there are reasons for those rules, but I also believe that debaters should be able to articulate those reasons in a round in order to win on those arguments. So, if you are going to make arguments about what should be excluded in a round, be sure to provide warrants other than "its a rule". I am open to debaters asking others to speak more conversational in rounds as that is part of this activity's unique appeal, but I do think that you should be reciprocal - so don't ask for someone to slow down (or yell slow/clear during their speech) and then speak fast in your own speech.

I love a good T debate. Most pre-round questions seem to focus on in-round abuse and competing interps, so I will say here that I think both those arguments are things that can be debated out in the round. I don't HAVE to have in-round abuse, but I'm open as to why I shouldn't evaluate Ts that don't prove it. My default is competing interpretations, BUT if the affirmative is obviously topical under the negative's interpretation and explains such, I don't think they HAVE to have a counterinterp.

If you have any other questions, let me know before the round begins!

whatever you choose to argue, be passionate about it.

my threshold for T is really high.  The last argument I want to vote for is T, but I will for purposes of inround abuse/ground arguments, or a compelling argument about future abuse.  In order for me to be convinced of in round abuse T must clearly be the predominant argument in the 2NR, and it needs to be impacted.  I don't want to vote on T for the sake of T, articulate the impacts to convince me T truly comes first.  

framework there needs to be strong articulation of the impacts of choosing to debate/not debate a certain way.  The debate space is what we make of it, I am not moved by tradition.

I hate myself when forced to vote on a k that is not clearly explained.  Running a k for the sake of confusing an opponent is pretentious and unhelpful to advancing education for everyone in the round (myself included). Understand and articulate the ramifications of the issues discussed by your authors.  Do not take those issues lightly. Do not bastardize the life work of your authors.  If you can't explain to me or to the other team how your alternative functions I'll do my best not to vote on it (as an alternative to the squo no, as a case turn yes) 

basically, impacts are just as important to me on T, framework, and theory as they are on case, disadvantage, k 

keep the debate space meaningful, respectful, and engaging.  I'm a single parent of five children, I hear enough petty bickering at home, I'd prefer not to hear more of it in round

most of all thank you for sharing this incredibly rewarding learning experience with me and for keeping me connected to and inspired by the importance of this activity 

I see debate as a space for knowledge production, where we can use our ideas about the world to transform the world or make it a better place. The debaters get to decide what the debate should be about, be that a plan text or a critical approach to the topic. There are various approaches to the resolution and I am open to listening to your particular approach. You should advocate an approach that engages/attempts to engage the resolution.

That in mind I will provide a disclaimer, do not say evil things for the sake of competition, that approach is not persuasive at all! By evil I mean saying that genocides are good/necessary or that rape is ok, this extreme is not one that will persuade me to vote for you.

Framework

NEG- If you are going to go for framework make sure that the rebuttals contextualize the framework debate to the affirmative. Specificity in these debates goes a long way because often times framework is a blanket extension of standards with no explanation as to how the 1AC in particular causes the impacts.

AFF- If you are answering framework make sure you address their interpretation or provide a counter interpretation for the debate. Alf's should attempt to address the resolution, but if you dismiss the resolution I expect there to be a defense of a non-topical approach.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

If you have any questions please feel free to email me @ jntterodriguez@gmail.com

Hello, I'm a grad coach for Pepperdine, I used to debate for Mary Washington. I'm sorry if this philosophy doesn't communicate what you would like it to. Feel free to ask anything.

Respect to your self, opponents, partners, coaches and all those around you is paramount. We are all lucky that we have found this community. I know it is hard to find gratitude following loss, but I believe those trying moments are the moments that will make you a better person and a better debater. My decisions are far from perfect, but I'm trying hard.

Winning is less important than I thought it was yesterday. I take issue with the emphasis placed on competitive extracurricular activities within and among institutions that claim to be founded on the basis of education, but I've also recently come to appreciate a nice, arbitrary competition between honest folk. Read: the value of staged competition in debate is immense, but not impenetrable. Read further: debate how you will have the most fun. Read for theory: impact debate in terms of the educational institution that it is.

I have some preferences, here is what I know I know about them: 

• An argument consists of a claim, a warrant and an impact . An argument that is uncontested by the other team will be taken as truth. I will write down your arguments across the page, from right to left, in the order they appear in the earlier speeches, unless instructed to do otherwise.
• I love case arguments. But that's because I also really value the unique project of debate: where we place something in affirmation, or not. Interaction with an affirmative is a sign that the negative team knows what's good for them. If you're aff, and you haven't told me what to do, then I hope we are dancing, because that's something. If you're neg, and you're not dancing with the aff, then you better give me a good reason why you're a wallflower.
• I do not believe judges should read cards unless there is a dispute between competitors over what a piece of evidence says.
• Under-highlighting evidence, lacking or absurd evidentiary qualifications, etc. are to be taken advantage of.
• I am pretty expressive as a judge, nodding and whatnot, but these are just reactions. Physical gestures are likely. Verbal interruptions are much, much less likely to occur, though if I interrupt your speech time verbally I assure you it is because I believe it will be to your benefit.
• Cross-ex should be treated by both teams as speech time for the team asking questions. I'll often flow it. I understand the strategic value of the cross-ex filibuster to be very little.
• Card clipping or otherwise falsifying the record of a debate that I am judging will result in a loss for the team doing it. 
• Presumption goes to the least change, relative to the status quo.

EMAIL CHAIN: jsydnor@altamontschool.org -- all rounds should set up email chains before scheduled start time. I would like to be included.

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Former policy debater in HS and College. I come into LD from that background, and I love seeing where LD and policy are in communication with one another. While I'm familiar with K's, CP's, PICs, plan-focus debates, planless K Affs, T, Theory... I'm less familiar with some of the other arguments like high phil, a prioris, NIBs, etc. that are more well known in LD.

I am am open to most arguments, but I am unwilling to vote on arguments I don't understand enough to give a coherent RFD. The burden remains with the debater to make a sufficiently clear argument I can grasp and understand as a path to the ballot. I don't feel bad saying "I didn't understand this, so I didn't vote on it."

I don't buy into the argument division between "circuit" and "local" debate and that I should inherently discount arguments or styles because it's Alabama not a "national" tournament. Any kind of exclusion needs to be theoretically justified.

Speed: 7.5/10. Speed is fine but debate is still a communication-based activity and I'm a poorly aging millennial. Sending speech docs is not a substitute for clarity.

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-CP: I default sufficiency framing and will judge kick unless told otherwise. Would rather hear args about solvency deficit, perm, and issues with NB than rely on theory to answer.

-K: I think all forms of debate are great, but K's and K Affs offer something unique to the activity that enhances its pedagogical value. However, that doesn't mean I know your specific literature or that I am going to immediately buy what you're selling. I like close readings of the 1AC to generate links as quality critical work.

-K Affs: Go for it. I believe the Aff has to advance some contestable methodology beyond "res is bad, reject the res." I usually believe offense on method is the most interesting site for clash. T-USFG/FW isn't off the table as a true guaranteed generic response and can be a really strong option given the way some K teams write their 1AC.

-Theory: Not my favorite debate but I know it can be important/strategic. Go a little slower on this if you want me to get follow the intricacies of the line-by-line. I have some hesitation with the direction disclosure and wiki theory arguments are going, but I still vote on it.

-T vs Plan Affs --I believe plans have the burden to be topical, and topicality is determined by interpreting words in the resolution. If you read a plan that is not whole res then you should always go into the round proving you definitionally are topical. I generally believe analytic counter-interps (like mainstream theory debates on norms) and reasonability alone are not winning options. Has the Neg read a definition that excludes your plan? If yes, you have a burden to counter-define in a way that is inclusive of your Aff. I am very persuaded that, absent a sufficient "we meet," if the Aff cannot counter-define a word in the resolution that is inclusive of the plan then I should A] not consider the plan reasonable, even if reasonability is good, and B] no sufficient competing interpretation of the topic, which is an auto-win for the Neg. (K Affs can be an exception to most of this because the offense to T and method of establishing limits is different.)

- T vs K Affs -- Willing to vote on it insofar as you win that you've presented a superior model for debate and that voting for you isn't violent/complicit. I generally believe fairness is not an impact. I like strong answers to meta-level questions, such as Aff descriptions of what debate and proceduralism vs debate as a game/site for unique type of education and iterative testing of advocacies.

-Phil: You should assume I know 0 of the things necessary for you to win this debate and that you have to do additional groundwork/translation to make this a viable option. I've only seen a few phil debates and my common issue as a judge is that I need a clear articulation of what the offensive reason for the ballot is or clear link to presumption and thus direction and meaning of presumption.

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If you choose to not set up an email chain or a reasonable alternative and then waste a bunch of time during the round with, your speaker points will be capped at a 27.5. Debaters saying "I'm not spreading so we don't need to share" or, even worse, "I don't want your team to have my arguments" are huge pet peeves of mine. This activity is net better when you can look at your opponent's evidence, analyze it, and contest it. Calling for cards is not sufficient nor time conscious. Just send the doc with the evidence you're going to read in that speech before the speech.

I like experiments, creativity, and I make few assumptions about how a debate should unfold. Impacting out the minutia of arguments to a larger thesis in the last rebuttals is important. For me role of the ballots are a form of impact calculus and framing, and I settle these issues before I evaluate anything else on the flow. I usually flow straight down and can keep up with speed but please say your author names clearly.

I have a high standard for link & internal link explanations. Aff needs to explain how the perm overcomes the links and what the net benefit is or I won't vote on it. 

Prep ends when the flash drive leaves your computer. 

I am excited to hear what you're excited about. I think this is a place to test ideas and hence, I think you should run the arguments you feel most passionatley about. 

If you don't have time to read anymore of this, just know that honestly you should just do you.

My preference is for the debaters to tell me how to decide the debate. 

What is my role and why is this a good framing for debate? 

Simply offering a role of the ballot argument is often too little on its own.

Additionally, what constitutes an impact is also probably another good discussion to have.

I try my best to be fair and vote for who mostly clearly explains why they win, this gets more difficult if the debaters don't establish how to do that.

Otherwise, I generally vote for teams that win impact framing, potential offensive turns, and risk/direction of the link-type arguments. 

Organization -this is really only important to me if it is important to you. Yes, the organization of your speech makes a huge impact on what I perceive it is that you are going for/think you are winning, but I am comfortable with top down style if that is your stylistic preference.  Know, when you make this choice to reorganize debates I can be more inclined to vote on my gut and what I perceive as the thesis of the 2NR vs the 2AR

Speed really doesn't matter to me, but slow debate can be really effective sometimes. In the rebuttals clarity is key, and if you really want me to get something, you should slow down and say it.

As a note-I love watching debaters who have fun in round. I am known to laugh a little or make some expressions when I hear things in rounds that surprise me, please don't be thrown off by this as, it is often a good thing. 

I love specific CPs and enjoy creative deployment of these arguments. I suppose I just like to see these used as a way to show how deeply you have prepared for this affirmative case. I am less excited about procedural CPs, but will vote for them if deployed well. 

The K

This is the literature I am honestly the most involved in. Please tell me how the K impact relates to the Aff impact to make this easier for you to win your K.

Also, permutation debates here are HUGE, the clearer your competition with the aff the better.   

K on the Aff ? Go for It! 

If Framework is your neg strategy agaisnt the K aff, I am open to this, but I am always looking for how this provides a substantive turn to the aff.

The DISAD- Yes, go for these arguments! 1) I am looking for smart impact comparisons to the affirmative. 2) I would like to see how the DA turns the case if you are going for the DA and the status quo as your neg strat. 

T/Theory arguments can be really strategic if done well.

I believe one in depth standard out weighs multiple shallow standards.

I am inclined to reject the arg not the team, but can be persuaded the other way. 

Serverance and intrinsicness are probably bad. 

Applications of how your whole argument/strategy apply to theory are appreciated. 

Case- I strongly recommended making arguments here. It might be all you need in the 2nr. Case turns, impact defense, and even mini critiques on case are all a good idea.

Other Things 

Speaker Points- I generally give between 27.5-28.5. Anything higher means you should you know you were exceptional and anything lower means you probably did okay, but didn't excel in that particular round.

Perception can be really important in debate. If I get the idea that you don't care about your arguments, then I probably won't either. 

I believe your extensions should have some depth in the final speeches. Mentioning an author and then moving on does not count as extending an argument. I will not call for the card. 

Glad to answer any questions you have. 

Aaron Weathers

Debated 4 years at the University of Louisville

Debate is a game. Debate is a site of activism. Debate shall be defined by the debaters. During my career, there were many judges that were antithetical to my style of debate. I chose to debate in an alternative style with an emphasis on identity. I feel that our identity shapes our worldviews and this perspective can and should be allowed in debates, if the debaters should choose this style. Big picture arguments go a long way. I want to understand the overall thesis or story of your argument. Also, I believe that there should be a role for me as the judge, as well as, a role for my ballot.

Now, with that said, I’m extremely sympathetic to other forms of debate and am willing to hear the spectrum of arguments. At the end of the day, defend your position on whatever subject (resolution, Ks, performance, etc.) you decide and may the best debaters win.

Be Concise. Be Thorough. Be witty. Be who you are.

Assistant Director of Forensics, Pepperdine University

General

A couple of years ago I repositioned myself in my relationship with debate, geographically and literally. This was an active choice to genuinely integrate my identities as a debate coach, mother, advocate, educator and partner. This only relates to you in that this choice is fairly clearly reflected in my judging philosophy, most directly under the “critical” section. After a recent CEDA one of my debaters asked me if I’d let my daughters grow up to be policy debaters. Unexpectedly, yet without hesitation, I said: NO. I didn’t want to have that answer. But I still do.

I’m not sure how I change that sentiment immediately, but I’m sure that it starts by being here to listen to the voices, the arguments of the debaters; to know what y’all want and need this activity to look like. This philosophy is my imperfect attempt to communicate that to you.

Specifics

Counterplans & Disads

I love a specific, creative strategy and that includes counterplans. I think it’s fair to say that I lean neg on cp theory, but don’t take that as license to favor generic/abusive strategies over specificity and creativity. I’m ok with conditionality and PICs generally (love specific PICs – solvency advocates, net benefits we don’t hear every year…) but I sympathize with the aff when the neg runs multiple CPs or CPs in the block.

Much like my thoughts on CPs, I enjoy creativity and specificity. I spend a fair amount of time talking about/cutting politics cards, and I enjoy listening to those debates. I think that impact calculus usually doesn’t happen early enough or sufficiently, beyond the tagline blurbs spewed out at the top of 2ncs/1nrs (“nuke war outweighs, that’s our X evidence”). Solid impact debating can save/win debate rounds.  Side note: Case debates are appreciated, undervalued and under-utilized.

Critical Debate

Like CPs, I prefer these arguments to have specific links and a tangible alternative. I’m ok if that link is something like our orientation to particular issues in the topic, a practice of the community, language, framing, etc., and the alternative is a method of resistance (or something in that vein). I appreciate arguments that are supported by scholarship and articulated as germane/responsive to the resolution and/or the other team’s argument(s). I think there are myriad ways in which a person/team can respond creatively.

Topicality

Slow down on T for me. I probably default to “Eh, you’ve got some ground” more often than people (who like T debates) like. I will listen to your T argument and evaluate it however you tell me to (or win that I should). The first sentence is just full disclosure. People often have this as a “/framework” section and I guess you can largely apply my sentiment re: T to those fw debates. If your fw argument is more exclusively about the way we orient ourselves to debate, you should probably see my philosophy re: critical debate.

Other Stuff

I don’t want to be in your email chain or sent a slew of cards I don’t ask for at any point. This is nothing against you. I just want to focus on evaluating the arguments as I hear them, as we create them in this space. I will call for cards if something is unclear and I feel it’s my fault OR if the debate is close on an issue.

All arguments are fine. I've been in debate for ten years and heard most of them. Don't make the debate round a hostile space for me, yourselves, or the other team, unless that's your argument and you're prepared to defend it. Basically just be nice.