NHMUN Debate Comission Tournament
2022 — Santo Domingo, DO
Public Forum Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHello debaters,
I am currently a 2nd year Medical Student. I've been actively participating in Model UN, Public Forum, and Lincoln Douglas for 4 years; I'm currently coaching and judging Public Forum. Likewise, I like to think of debate as an empowering experience for both the debaters and the judges, so be respectful to the activity we all love.
I love clashes between arguments; boil down your arguments and tell me explicitly why you won the round and on which terms. Explain and analyze every piece of information even though I might already know what you're talking about. I deeply enjoy the use of fallacies while refuting evidence. I'm most likely to vote for you if your argument is wrapped around the extensive use of statistics and logic. Furthermore, I don't mind spreading, but I prefer if you could read at a leveled speed and tone; the debate is not about throwing arguments at my face, but about connecting them to the resolution at hand.
I understand the frustration of debaters when they encounter biased judges, this is why I completely place my beliefs aside; feel free to run any argument you like, at the end of the day the ballot doesn't depend on your beliefs, but on how you run your arguments and apply your knowledge into the round. I don't like Ks, I think they take away from the value of Public Forum, nevertheless, I will flow them (I just might not buy them). Likewise, I like to say I'm tech> truth, but if the tech is ridiculous, I'm not buying it.
Specifics on speeches:
1. I weigh the round on the established framework and how the speakers appeal to it.
2. All impacts should be warranted, linked, and with In-text citations to be valuable in my ballot.
3. All forms of refutation are good with me as long as they are sustained with factual evidence and quantification
4. Arguments dropped in the summary will not be taken into consideration in my ballot.
5. The Summary should be a weighing machine in the round, weighing done only in the final focus will not be considered in the round.
6. I am very flexible when it comes to final focus, so just tell me why you won, and you should be good to go.
General:
1. CXs can be as aggressive as you want but don't cross the line. Being disrespectful will have effects on your speaker points. (pls make it interesting for me)
2. Time yourself
3. If you are asked for evidence try to show it quickly. (I'll prefer if you say you can't find it, instead of spending 5 mins of the round looking for it)
4. Personal insults, projections against debaters, intentional misgendering, discrimination, or pettiness will be penalized by taking speaker points off (and you'll probably lose the round).
5. Be on time to the round.
6. I don't flow CXs, but I do take them into consideration for weighing my ballot.
7. Please don't add me to email chains or links. Just share the evidence in the round, and I'll be happy.
8. As I said, I've been debating for a long time, so don't try to create PF rules, I know them.
Have fun, debate is a wonderful experience!
(+1 speaker point if you make a Friends or TikTok reference)
Arturo Féliz-Camilo
I studied and practice law, hold two law degrees and teach History. I'm familiar and like the economic/social/historical arguments. I've been coaching (mostly PF) since 2013 for New Horizons Bilingual School in the Dominican Republic.
I love debate, and the strategy game. I love to see a good clash of ideas and interesting/novel analysis. I'll buy any argument as long as you link, warrant, and support it with relevant evidence. Still, I think some arguments are just in bad taste.
I believe communication is key. If I can't understand it due to speed, I won't flow it. I won't ask you to slow down. I almost never intervene. Debate should not be about brute force your opponents into submission, but about a clash of ideas.
I really enjoy a civil CX. Ask for evidence if you must, but don't make the round an evidence match. If you call for evidence I hope you're planning to do something with it. I listen to CX but won't flow it. I'll note cool stuff in the hopes it makes it into your speech.
It's ok to offer an off-time roadmap, just don't take a minute doing so. Quickly give it and move on. Don't ask. Just do it.
Explain, analyze, and warrant your case, don’t just read it. Weigh, impact, link, extend, boil down, crystallize. Feel free to sign-post/roadmap. Absent a framework and weighing I'll go with what stands in the end.
I'm not in love with Ks or Theory. Run them at your own risk. I like to think that we should debate under the agreed upon rules. I will buy arguments on technical aspects of PF, as a matter of order and fairness. I think too many debaters are running disclosure in a dishonest way. All that said, I will buy anything that makes sense, including abusive behavior, bad faith misgendering, and anti-violence. I am not absolutely closed to theory, but I'll usually only buy it if it's run in good faith, and not as a strategy to win a round.
Pettiness will not win me over, but you gotta stand your ground. Sassiness is awesome, but the line between the two is just so thin.
You want to win your round? Be smart, creative, fun, thoughtful, and strategic. Outweigh, outsmart, outperform, outclass your opponent.
Add me to your evidence chain arturo@arturofeliz.com
Hello!
A little background about me... I was a Public Forum Debate Coach until recently, and was a PF debater myself.
On to preferences..
If you present an argument/statistic, make sure you have evidence to back it up. Any evidence that is asked I will also ask to see. If there is some information that seems wrong to me, or manipulated, I will ask for it and if it turns out to be foul play you will automatically lose the round. Make sure all evidence is warranted. I weigh numbers more than I do words. Also, I discourage link chains. (Having to prove 3+ links to get to your impact.)
Clear and fast-paced speeches are my preference. However do not spread, I will not flow.
During crossfires, I like civil interactions between teams. Though please keep it interesting. Be sassy and clever, but not abusive. Make me laugh and I'll give you 2 extra speaker points. Also in Grand-cross, both partners should speak. Everyone should be taking their own time and staying within the speaking times.
If an argument or impact is not mentioned in Summary I consider it dropped. Period. If it is mentioned in summary but not carried through to final focus, i also consider it dropped. No new arguments will be accepted after rebuttal.
Frameworks are a must. If you don't do Framework weighing/comparisons in rebuttal and/or summary adequately i will choose my own. Make sure your framework is clear to me. Impact calculus(i.e. probability, magnitude, scope, timeframe, impact short circuiting, reversibility, etc.) is ESSENTIAL in summary and final focus. Tell me what you win and why you win it, and why you win it better than the opposing team does.
USE TAGLINES, in every speech. No exception. Make sure your speeches are organized.
I love a good argument/impact turn, pointing out non-uniqueness, slick stuff like that.
Do NOT leave time in a speech. Do NOT go over your time. I will keep your time; however, please do so as well. If you keep talking past your time and do not stop when I ask you to, I will be decreasing your speaker points significantly.
That's about it, if you have any questions or concerns I'll be happy to briefly answer them before the round begins.
Most importantly, have fun!
Hello Debaters
I am currently in 12th grade, and I am the Senior Captain of the New Horizons Debate Team in the Dominican Republic. I have been debating for the past five years, which means that this activity is something I admire and love.
SPECIFIC PREFERENCES:
- I really enjoy off-time road maps, since it gives me a preview of what the structure of your speech will be, so if you can, try to do them. REMINDER: Please follow the structure of your off-time road map as much as you can, and don't do something completely different than what you stated you were going to do. If you are not going to follow your off-time roadmap, then it would be unnecessary to do it.
- Make eye contact with me during the speeches.
- I will keep track of your time, but it is also important that you do so too.
- You can be assertive and a bit aggressive, but please don't be rude.
- Make the debate interesting and fun both for me and for you. Make each round a unique experience for everyone present in it.
FRAMEWORK:
- To me, the framework is one of the most important aspects of a round. Please defend it the same way as you would defend any argument, and restate the framework in every speech.
- If your framework and the opposing team's framework do not have a similar focus, try to agree on the framework that you will have for the rest of the round in the first CX, and abide by it for the rest of the debate.
SPEECHES:
- In terms of speech, I don't mind debaters speaking quickly as long as they are understandable. Slow down if you can't handle the speed because it's essential for me as a judge to be able to understand the strong points that you've worked so hard to prepare, but also, remember to speak loudly and to emphasize on important points for me to fully flow the ideas you want to express.
REBUTTAL:
- In rebuttal, please state your blocks in a form of point by point. In the end, this will make my flow be more organized.
Example:
The opposing team in their contention 1 stated: X
* Our first response states: Y (here you proceed to explain your block)
* Our second response states: Z (here you proceed to explain your block)
SUMMARY and FINAL FOCUS:
- In summary, it is CRUCIAL to mention the framework, voting issues, and winning strategies between these two speeches. REMEMBER that if you don't mention something in your summary, I won't take it into consideration in the final focus. Finally, remember to do weighing, and tell me explicitly why you won on all of the most important points inside the round.
Have fun and remember to enjoy each round!
Hellooo! I am an ex a public forum debate and am currently in med school! I have quite a bit of debate experience (debated for 4 years) and now I coach PF.
I would really appreciate that you guys use technical debate terms/jargon throughout the round. I'll try to include as many details as possible but if you have any other questions feel free to ask. Remember the most important thing is that you try your best and have fun!!
- I can keep up with a pretty fast pace just make sure its understandable, but slow down when reading your impacts or numbers so I can get them all down.
- In your rebuttal I really would prefer a line by line approach but if you don't it wont hurt you.
- For summary please make sure to use impact calculus and explain to me why they apply to each individual issue. Make sure you really summarize for me what happened in the round but please don't just make it another rebuttal that'll make your speaks lower...
- On that same note do not mention any arguments in final focus that you didn't extend through summary. If I hear something not mentioned in summary in final focus, i'll just stop flowing.
- In final focus, same thing as summary don't just refute everything again. This your chance to really grab my attention and tell me why your'e winning. Make it priority to get all the voting issues across. Flat out tell me what they are and how you won them.
- On evidence, I really don't care if you ask for it but if you ask for a new piece every 5 secs i'll probably get annoyed and lower your speaks. With that being said, if you debate over a card for a while i'll ask for it at the end and use that for my decision.
- I will ALWAYS keep time, but do as well try your best to NOT leave more than or go over 3 seconds. In cx, if you go over time just finish your sentence (briefly) don't waste time by asking me.
- I love a fiery cx but if you're rude you'll lose speakers, and if you're just plain disrespectful ( racist/homophobic/xenophobic etc.) you're losing the round.
- If you make me laugh, bring me coffee, or reference Grey's Anatomy your speaker points will be boosted:)
Goodluck!