BACKGROUND:

Hi! My name is Alyson Brusie and I debated in PF in high school from 2014-2018. I first-spoke throughout my high school career pretty exclusively. I attended Colgate University in Hamilton, NY where I am majored in International Relations and minored in Peace and Conflict Studies and now attend Georgetown Law. After competing in high school, I worked for the Emory National Debate Institute (ENDI) in 2018/19 and NDF in 2019/20 (Boston/Des Moines and Session 2/3 online in 2020).

Feel free to ask me anything before the round starts, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. If you have additional questions that for whatever reason are not asked after the round, feel free to email me at abrusie@colgate.edu.

PARADIGM AS OF 10/5/20:

FOR ONLINE DEBATE: I expect an email chain to be set up at the beginning of the round for evidence exchange (use email above). I expect you to send cut cards promptly when requested to the email chain. Please don't be aggressive in cross, online debate is hard enough to debate and judge. Speaking quickly is not the best over Zoom, keep that in mind.

I am assuming that you are doing things you should be doing (weighing, collapsing, giving me voters in the final focus, etc.) and that you're not doing things you shouldn't do (extend through ink, take too long to find evidence, being overtly offensive, etc.), so I'll just continue with some "quirks" about me as a judge:

1. DO NOT LIE ABOUT OR MISCONSTRUE EVIDENCE! This is my biggest pet peeve. I WILL drop you if you do this. It is quite literally cheating and incredibly dishonest. If you typically run shady evidence, you should STRIKE ME. If you paraphrase, DO IT CORRECTLY. If you don't know how to correctly paraphrase, don't do it, end of story. If both teams misconstrue evidence, I will most likely drop the side that has the more egregious offense or the team that has that faulty evidence more integral to their advocacy. I am not shy to call for any evidence that I suspect is suspicious at the end of the round and expect it presented to me in a timely manner when requested. I did this a lot in high school, if you run faulty evidence by me and I pick up on it, expect a drop in speaker points, probably a loss in the round, and me to get quite angry and, if the tournament allows it, an angry/annoyed oral RFD (if you know me, you know that I don't get angry easily/often).

2. Don't be overly aggressive (you'll know it when you see it). Through my debate experience, I have become extremely perceptive and sensitive to sexism, especially in the debate community. Keep that in mind.

3. Don't spread. I can follow some speed, but if you go too fast for me, I will miss a lot. I flow on paper so it will be pretty clear when I'm not flowing something. I will try my best to follow as closely as possible though. This is especially true when it comes to rounds online. If there's a connectivity issue, I will miss more if you speak faster and it will be harder for me to tell you if I am missing anything if you are going too fast etc.

4. There is a very good chance that I will vote on the easiest path to my ballot, so provide very clear argumentation. If something goes untouched by the other side and you extend it through every speech and weigh with it/make it a voting issue, there is a very good chance you will get my ballot. I love a good narrative :))) this includes collapsing on main args, weighing, and fully extending every part of the argument.

On progressive argumentation:

Overview: I didn't have much experience seeing progressive debate in high school, nor have I seen it run very often through judging. My knowledge on the matter is limited because I never had the training to fully understand the inner-workings of progressive argumentation so if you run it, I cannot guarantee that I will evaluate it correctly unless you specifically make an argument as to how I should evaluate it. Make it very clear for me :) . That being said, I am adaptable and am open to hearing it if you know what you are doing. Please keep the debate accessible to everyone though, don't run progressive arguments on opponents who are less experienced than you.

Theory: please don't. Only use if and only if there is a very clear and distinct violation that you find it absolutely necessary to derail the round to call your opponents out AND you have past experience running theory. If you think that all judges would buy your theory argument, then go for it I guess? Don't expect I will evaluate it the way you want me to evaluate it.

Kritiks: I am open to it, but please only run a K if you have a direct relationship with the argument.

Rowland Hall 20 ---> BC 24

Yes I want to be on the email chain: retepchase1234@gmail.com

People I enjoyed having in the back: Chris Paredes(all-time ordinal 1), Whitt Whitmore, Kyle Joseph, Jasmine Stidham, Michael Obuchi, Graysen Stille, Grace Kuang, Christina Phillips.

General thoughts:

-Tech>Truth (obviously no racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism good in front of me or in general).

- Debate is a competitive activity where the ballot grants a win or loss based on the quality of debating instead of the arguments or debaters presented.

-I think fairness is an impact but I do not think it is the best nor a good impact in every scenario.

Quick and dirty:

not your Baudrillard -----------------------x---your Baudrillard

fw -----x------------------------k/other strat v k aff

DaCP ---x----------------------k

policy aff-----x--------------------k aff

condo good-----x--------------------condo bad

tech---------x--------------------truth

quality ev-----------x------------------quantity ev

fairness -----------------x---------------education

ptx good---------x----------------------ptx bad

generics-------------------------x-------case specifc strat

process CPs good---------x-----------------process CPs bad

reasonability ------------x-------------------competing interps

reject the arg -----------x------------------reject the team

Ks: I did not read Ks in high school. I like to think I hold aff teams to a high standard against the k. Fw is super important, don't just read a generic shell. I have the least amount of practice with anti-blackness arguments and I am probably not the best judge for these rounds. It's definitely your Baudrillard. One note, please don't read satire in front of me, nobody but you will have fun and your speaks will reflect it.

Planless Affs/FW: As I said above I think debate is a competitive activity and I think that fairness is an impact but I do think we can gain something meaningful from debate whether that's portable skills or something else. Planless affs are strategic and if they are what you usually read then you should read them in front of me. I will hold negative teams to a high standard on FW and I would happily vote for a k aff. However, when left to my own devices, I lean neg on the majority of FW questions. I think both teams need to slow down substantially in FW debates, especially 2as (don't just throw out a bunch of DAs and expect me to know what they mean).

Planless Affs v Ks: If this is what you do best then do it, and I will do my best to adjudicate the round. That being said, I don’t think this is the best strategy. In general, I think planless affs don't get perms but you have to make and defend that argument.

Planless Affs v DAs: I like these strats. These aren't strategic but don't think you have to read a K against a planless aff because you have nothing else to read. I am willing and ready to pull the trigger on a mishandled CP and/or DA. They are also fun to watch.

DAs: I like DAs. I think negative teams need to do more than just card dump in the block, and they must have a big case push in both the block and the 2nr. I think defensive arguments are undervalued. Smart affirmative teams will have a specific strat against each DA with offense and defense. I think LTs are especially convincing against most DAs. I am a big fan of politics DAs.

CPs: I like CPs. If you go for a solvency deficit against the CP and the neg goes for a solvency deficit against the aff, weigh their relative impacts against each other. I think the literature around the cp determines its fairness. I will always default to judge kick unless instructed otherwise.<3

Topicality: I have little topic knowledge. I think limits are really convincing on the negative and I think reasonability is very convincing on the aff. I default to competing interpretations.

Theory/Process CPs: Dropped theory is a voter. I lean negative on condo. I generally think negative teams get infinite condo, but I can be persuaded otherwise. I don't like aspec but if they drop it I'll vote on it. However, I think a 1ar answer, even when dropped in the 2ac, is usually enough to convince me to not vote neg on a theory violation. I tend to lean more towards reject the argument not the team in most actual theory debates and I don't ever think it should be your main strategy. No RVIs should go without saying.

If you shout out Alexa Tsai in any capacity in any speech you will get +0.1 speaks

+.1 speaks if you open source

don't be a dick

Hi everyone! Gonna keep this pretty short so you have more time to prep and less just trying to read an essay.

In all rounds be respectful of opponents pronouns and any sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise hurtful language will not be tolerated.

Debate:

I debated all 4 years of high school and participated in nationals three times. I mainly debated PF, though I did also occasionally debate LD. As a general rule be respectful to your competitors. I am perfectly fine with some fire and passion within the debate but be careful it doesn't turn into rudeness. Humor is okay so don't be afraid to crack some respectful and applicable jokes.

(PF):

Feel free to add some speed to your speeches, though if you spew and it gets to the point of just an info dump then I will mark it down in speaks. I don't classify myself as a flow judge due to the fact that I won't drop you just because you dropped one argument, as long as it wasn't a large impact in the round. I won't flow cross though it will play into my decision. Furthermore, make sure you don't only tell me what the impacts and voters are but be sure to weigh and tell me why they matter.

(LD):

As previously mentioned I mainly did PF so I do like clash regarding points. Always relate back to your Value and VC. Mainly in LD what's most important to me is a strong and stable link chain, with extra points if it has evidence to back you up.

Speeches:

I did Oratory for 3 years and also participated in foreign extemp. Mainly with speeches, I'm looking for a strong and confident speech that will intrigue me. Make sure to have your movements down (it doesn't have to be the triangle but I would like some sign that you are alive).

---

If you have any questions feel free to email me at hhennrich02@gmail.com or ask before the round starts. Likewise, feel free to email me after the round with any questions.

My email is lorileiml@gmail.com please add me to the email chain! Don't be a terrible person!! Thank you

Winner of the 2023 Harvard College Tournament Costume Contest

Debater at University of Wyoming

Meadows Assistant Coach

K affs - should have a tie to the topic in some way, well explained affs are important - how do you solve x issue?

K - I think block dependency is high in these debates too - i want nuance arguments tell me why the aff is bad, on the aff side i want reasons the aff is good idea, other than that these debates are enjoyable to watch!!

Fw- Could go either way, i find myself in a bit of these debates where both sides just read their blocks at each other and don’t engage with the other person - i’ll reward someone who engages with the nuance of the arguments being made -- you can win a counter interp or an impact turn -- justify why you get to read FW - i’d rather vote for clash than fairness

Case- I love a good case debate. I think this part of debate is under utilized and can get good wins if you have a good case neg.

Da- Disad’s can take out an aff and I love turns case stuff. If you don’t know who switches their votes on a politics da that’s a little sad. you should explain the story of the da.

Cp- Counterplans are cool! Adv cp’s are not being used enough - a lot of people write affs that can be beat by a simple counter plan. Explain the process of the counter plan please :)

T- Im not a big fan of broad t definitions but I know they have to be used sometimes. T debates are also super messy so keep it clean. Tell me why them being untopical is bad. I haven’t judged a lot of T debates on this topic so explain it well.

Tech over truth :)

Clipping - I want video or recording otherwise this can be hard to verify unless i already know it’s happening

Other events- I enjoy judging other events besides policy! Please don’t worry about me being your judge I love all events of speech and debate and would love to learn more about them.

rubyshea.m@gmail.com

Add me to the chain - Aidin123@berkeley.edu

ASU LD: Do what you do best. Though within progressive-based arguments, I have a better understanding of some arguments over others; below is a quick look for prefs:

1 - Policy/Traditional

2 - Theory, Common K's (Cap, Set-col, etc..)

3 - Phil, Whacky K's (Need more explanation for me to evaluate fairly)

5/Strike - Non-T K Aff's, Tricks, Friv Theory (I do not have the background that I think I need to have to evaluate all arguments fairly and to the quality that you deserve, and friv theory is just an incredibly annoying nuisance)

- Scroll to the bottom for some additional specifics about things

- I haven't judged fast debate in like a year so please please start slow and build into it I need to adjust back.

LD at the bottom:

Just call me Aidin

UC Berkeley Chemistry 23' GO BEARS! BOO PINE TREES!

LD Coach Park City (2020 - Present)

TLDR;

I'm a very expressive person if my face says I hate it. It means I hate it. If I nod or smile, I like what you're saying. Follow the faces

I hate extinction level impacts! I think they create lazy debating where there is a convoluted link chain that will never remotely happen, BUT UTIL!!! So you can run extinction, but to your opponents say MAD.

Impact turns anything that isn't morally repugnant -- corruption, terrorism, oil prices -- because there are two sides to every story

I will say clear three times before I stop flowing altogether. Whatever is not on the flow is not going to be evaluated. PLEASE SIGNPOST!

Weigh, weigh, weigh, weigh a little more, and then after weighing, weigh again for good measure

Write the ballot for me in the last speech; the easier it is for me to vote for, the more likely you are to win

Utah Circuit: I debated a lot on the local circuit and now judge a lot. Have impacts and weigh.

- One rule: An extension is not an extension without an explanation and warranting behind it. I will not flow "Extend Contention 3," and that's it.

PF:

Follow my dearest friend Gavin Serr's paradigms for a more comprehensive look at how I would judge PF.

BIGGEST THINGS

- Don't steal prep - It's not hard to start and stop a timer.

- I default Neg. If there is no offense from either side, I'll stick with the status quo

- It's not an argument without a warrant

- A dropped argument is true, but that doesn't mean it matters. I need reasons why the extension matters. I'm not voting on something that I don't know the implications of it.

- Reading a card is part of the prep, without a doubt.

- If you want me to read a card indite, it's not my job as a judge to win you the round.

- If you will talk about marginalized people, framing and overviews are your friends.

- Please have link extensions in both the summary and FF

- Weighing requires a comparison and why the way you compare is better. Which is better, magnitude or timeframe? IDK, you tell me.

LD:

LARP

Solvency

DAs need to have solid internal links

Offense on the DA needs to be responded to even if kicked

Perms need to be contextualized

K's

A flushed-out link story is fabulous; do this every time you run a K.

line by line analysis is of the utmost importance

explanation and quality is better than quantity; I do not vote on things I do not understand, so take the safe route and spend a little more time explaining 5 arguments than dumping 15 that are all blippy

Use a framework and weighing case as your friend.

AFF - please extend and weigh case

Theory

I love the theory. Few caveats, however.

1) I hate frivolous theory. If you run condo bad on 1 or 2 off, I will likely drop your speaks because you're annoying. That being said, please respond to it, but the more frivolous it is, the lower my threshold for responses to it.

2) Disclosure is a MUST. Don't run disclosure theory if your opponent doesn't know what the wiki is. You don't need to disclose new aff's. 30 is enough time to prep.

3) Please WEIGH as much as possible I don't know the difference between an opponent winning time screw and another winning on the ground.

4) Competing interps - The less I intervene, the better for y'all, especially on the highest layer of debate where the round is won or lost. So I try to limit "gut checks" and reasonability unless otherwise told to in the round.

5) No RVI's default but can be changed with hearty effort

6) Please slow down on theory; it's hard to flow everything at top speed, especially if it's not carded and has 5 sub-points.

How I write my RFD's: “Sometimes I’ll start a sentence and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.” - Michael Scott

How I give my RFDs: “I talk a lot, so I’ve learned to tune myself out.” - Kelly Kapoor

How I feel judging: “If I don’t have some cake soon, I might die.” - Stanley Hudson

What I want to do instead of judging: “I just want to lie on the beach and eat hot dogs. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” - Kevin Malone

What happens when no one weighs: “And I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.” - Michael Scott

Have questions about chemistry or Berkeley? Ask away

Debate is something to be proud of, win or lose, and have a smile on your face.

Updated (06/29/2022)

Currently an IP lawyer. If i am judging, it is because i owe someone a favor.

Overview:

Ill say "what" if i didnt hear/understand what you said

PF:

a decade worth of national circuit experience. former national competitor. former top 10 PF coach. Ill disclosed if you want. time yourselves. 

CX/LD:

Love a good theory debate but i love a good debate on the merits (blame the pfer in me) i wont blame you for striking me lmao

tom.jj.perret@gmail.com

Hey! I'm Tom - I debated PF at Park City on the national circuit for two years. Please respect your opponents, their pronouns, and the circumstances they might be debating in while online.

Overall, I'm a pretty standard tech judge: If Team A is winning a link to an impact and Team B is not, Team A is going to win. If both teams are winning a link to an impact, I look to the weighing.

General:

I'm flowing what you say, not what I read off of your doc; if I don't understand what you're saying and I flow it incorrectly, that is your fault. That being said, I can handle speed as long as it's clear.

I used to think that this goes with without saying, but recent debates force me to remind you that you need full link extensions in summary and final focus.

I struggle to understand probability weighing; if you've won a link to an impact, it is probable. Impacts that are actually improbable definitionally have tenuous links that are easy to answer analytically. As a result, please don't use your probability "weighing" as a chance to read defense in final focus when it should have just been formulated as a link response in rebuttal.

Weighing is not weighing unless it's comparative.

Frontline in second rebuttal.

I'm not going to call for evidence unless you tell me to.

Theory:

Read theory in the speech after the violation occurs.

You need to extend the interp and drop the debater.

I think that paraphrasing is bad and that disclosure is good, but I'm not going to hack for you if you've lost that debate on the flow.

I default to competing interps, but I'm open to well-warranted explanations of the benefits of reasonability.

Critical Arguments:

I am unfamiliar with the technicalities of k debate, but I am familiar with some critical theory and am open to hearing well-warranted arguments.

I read a good amount of post-fiat structural violence framing in high school.

I will cap your speaks at 27 if you read tricks.

Please just have a nice little case debate :(

Signpost or it didn't happen;

Arguments have to be in summary and final focus;

Consider slowing down a little for my tired old ears;

Err silly and down to earth over perceptually dominant;

Weighing is very important and shouldbe evidence-based;

It's okay to answer a theory shell then go for substance. Encouraged, even;

And meet NSDA rules for evidence or strike me. You have to have a cut card at a minimum.

Put me on the email chain and title it something logical: gavinslittledebatesidehustle@gmail.com.

Mike Shackelford
Head Coach of Rowland Hall. I debated in college and have been a lab leader at CNDI, Michigan, and other camps. I've judged about 20 rounds the first semester.

Do what you do best. I’m comfortable with all arguments. Practice what you preach and debate how you would teach. Strive to make it the best debate possible.

Key Preferences & Beliefs
Debate is a game.
Literature determines fairness.
It’s better to engage than exclude.
Critique is a verb.
Defense is undervalued.

Judging Style
I flow on my computer. If you want a copy of my flow, just ask.
I think CX is very important.
I reward self-awareness, clash, good research, humor, and bold decisions.
Add me to the email chain: mikeshackelford(at)rowlandhall(dot)org

Feel free to ask.

Want something more specific? More absurd?

Debate in front of me as if this was your 9 judge panel:

Andre Washington, Ian Beier, Shunta Jordan, Maggie Berthiaume, Daryl Burch, Yao Yao Chen, Nicholas Miller, Christina Philips, jon sharp

If both teams agree, I will adopt the philosophy and personally impersonate any of my former students:

Ben Amiel, Andrew Arsht, David Bernstein, Madeline Brague, Julia Goldman, Emily Gordon, Adrian Gushin, Layla Hijjawi, Elliot Kovnick, Will Matheson, Ben McGraw, Corinne Sugino, Caitlin Walrath, Sydney Young (these are the former debaters with paradigms... you can also throw it back to any of my old school students).

LD Paradigm

Most of what is above will apply here below in terms of my expectations and preferences. I spend most of my time at tournaments judging policy debate rounds, however I do teach LD and judge practice debates in class. I try to keep on top of the arguments and developments in LD and likely am familiar with your arguments to some extent.

Theory: I'm unlikely to vote here. Most theory debates aren't impacted well and often put out on the silliest of points and used as a way to avoid substantive discussion of the topic. It has a time and a place. That time and place is the rare instance where your opponent has done something that makes it literally impossible for you to win. I would strongly prefer you go for substance over theory. Speaker points will reflect this preference.

Speed: Clarity > Speed. That should be a no-brainer. That being said, I'm sure I can flow you at whatever speed you feel is appropriate to convey your arguments.

Disclosure: I think it's uniformly good for large and small schools. I think it makes debate better. If you feel you have done a particularly good job disclosing arguments (for example, full case citations, tags, parameters, changes) and you point that out during the round I will likely give you an extra half of a point if I agree.

Top Level:

Head-Royce '22, WFU '26

Topics I debated: Immigration, Arms Sales, Criminal Justice Reform, Water Resources, Legal Rights, Nukes

Add me to the chain, ask me before round

I debate on the college circuit and have been both a 2A and 2N at various times throughout my years of debate. I've read both policy affs and kritikal affs. On the neg, in high school, my partner and I primarily went for T or some other theory/the K vs policy affs and Cap/some theory argument vs K affs. In college, my partner and I primarily read a plan on the aff and k's on the neg.

Debate should be a safe activity for everyone. If you say or do anything offensive, I'll stop the round and give you a loss and zeros.

Short Version:

Do what you do best. I would much rather see teams who know what they are reading and talking about than teams who are trying to adapt to me but lack nuance. My knowledge is pretty flex, but more centered around kritiks. I will still vote for your CP/DA strategies though. I love a good T/Theory debate so if thats your jam, go for it. Writing my ballot for me at the top of the 2NR/2AR is key to get my vote.

Argument Specific:

FW: Can go either way, but I probably err aff. I have a much higher standard for fairness as an impact compared to clash. This doesn't mean I won't vote on it, it just means I prefer clash. The aff team has to clearly explain their interp and the world of the interp. Redefining words of the resolution is key for teams that want to go for the w/m. Implicating the framework DA's to the TVA and SSD is important and I will unlikely do that work for you.

K's: I am versed and experienced in most k lit, but that doesn't mean I'll hack for you. I love specific links to the aff and I like pushes on framework as well. In high school, the K was our go to, so take that info how you will. For aff teams, making sure that your 2AC blocks are responsive to the correct theory of K is a must. I don't have a preference between a case o/w strat and perm/link turn strat, just make sure you articulate and flag the args you want me to vote on in the 2AR.

K Aff's: I love kritikal affs and think they are really interesting and a great part of debate. I read a K aff my junior and senior year. Please clearly explain what your method/solvency does. I should be able to explain it back to you at the end of the debate, and if I can't, you probably don't have my ballot. K aff's get perms.

DA's: You have to have a clear link to the aff, and there has to be impact comparison. A good turns case analysis versus aff impact will make my ballot a lot easier to get.

CP's: I like a good counterplan debate, but I think that advantage cps with a ton of planks can be abusive. I am not the best in a competition debate. There has to be a net benefit to the permutation.

T/Theory: I love T and theory, so please read it. There needs to be a specific violation and impacts explained and warranted through the 2NR for me to vote for you. Plans should be clear and explain what the aff does, I will not be happy with vague plan texts and opens the door for potential theory arguments.

Case: This is the most underutilized part of debate. A good case debate can dismantle an aff, so please spend time on it.

Other things:

Disclosure: It should be 100% correct, and I am not afraid to drop a team for bad disclosure. This includes disclosing the wrong plan text or changing something without alerting the other team.

If you bring an ethics challenge, the round stops.

Please, please, please be nice to each other.

You have to read the card/rehighlight, not insert it.

i debated pf for 4 years in high school and am now a senior at villanova university.

how to win my ballot:

- weigh.

- i'm fine with speed. if you're losing clarity because of it, i'll call "clear".

- collapse!

here is how i think i’m like every other pf judge:

- don't just say that things are true, i want to hear some warrants. i won't vote on an argument i don't understand.

- if your offense is in ff, it should be in summary.

- hit the line-by-line hard.

- i know as close to nothing as possible about kritiks and theory. nonetheless, i'm not ideologically opposed to their use in public forum, so go for it if you can explain it in a way that a person who knows nothing can understand.

- a dropped argument is a true argument, but that doesn't mean it matters. you've still gotta weigh it to win the round on it.

- impact calculus is a waste of time if it isn't comparative and contextualized to your opponents' offense.

here is how i differ from community norms:

- in my rfds, great analytics beat a poorly-cut card 9/10 times. evidence quality matters, but quality argumentation matters a lot more.

- impact turn anything that isn't morally repugnant -- corruption, terrorism, oil prices -- because there are two sides to every story and it can pay off to advance an uncommon perspective.

- if the off-time roadmap is more than five seconds, i will be very sad

- please don't steal prep!

- there's an over-reliance on stats in pf. tell me a story and explain why it matters.

- i will not drop a team for misconstruing evidence. the most i'll do is choose not to evaluate the evidence as part of the argument *if* it's indicted. if you realize that your opponent is misconstruing evidence, ask me to call for the card and i gladly will before making my decision.

speaker points: this is about what you say, not only how you say it. if you deserve to win rounds, you'll get high speaks.

the best piece of advice i ever heard during my 4 years debating came from my coach, gavin serr (our paradigm preferences are practically identical, so take a look if you'd like to learn more about my judging style):

debate in a way that you can be proud of, and always remember that your integrity is the most valuable thing that can be won or lost in a round.

questions? you can contact me at ngwilliams19@gmail.com.

Lowell '20 || UC Berkeley '24 (Studying Computer Science, not debating) || Assistant Coach @ College Prep || she/her/hers

Please add both kellyye16@gmail.com and cpsspeechdocs@gmail.com to the chain.

Please format the chain subject like this: Tournament Name - Round # - Aff Team Code [Aff] vs Neg Team Code. Please make sure the chain is set up before the start time.

Background

I debated for four years at Lowell High School. I’ve been a 2A for most of my years (2Ned as a side gig my junior year). Qualified to the TOC & placed 7th at NSDA reading arguments on both sides of the spectrum. I'd say my comfort for judging rounds is Policy vs. Policy > K vs. Policy >> K vs. K.

I learned everything I know about debate from Debnil Sur, and I think about debate in the same way as this guy.He's probably the person I talk to the most when it comes to strategies and execution, it would be fair to say that if you like the way that he judge then I am also a good judge for you.

General Things

I'll vote on anything.I think there is certainly a lot of value in ideological flexibility.

Tech >>>>>>>>> truth: I'd rather adapt to your strategies than have you adapt to what you think my preferences are. The below are simply guidelines & ways to improve speaks via tech-y things I like seeing rather than ideological stances on arguments.

Looooove judge instruction - if I hear a ballot being written in the 2NR/2AR, I will basically just go along with it and verify if what you are saying is correct. The closer my decision is to words you have said in the 2NR/2AR, the higher your speaker points will be.

I think evidence quality is important, but I value good spin more because it incentivizes smart analysis & contextualization - I think that a model of debate where rounds are adjudicated solely based on evidence quality favors truth more than technical skills. As a result, I tend not to look at evidence after the round unless it was specifically flagged during speeches. With that being said, I’ll probably default to reading evidence if there’s a lack of resolution done by teams in a round. You probably don't want this because I feel like its opens up the possibility for more intervention -- so please just help me out and debate warrants + resolve the biggest points of clash in your 2NR/2ARs.

2023-2024 Round Stats If You Care:

Policy vs. Policy (11-18): 37.93% aff over 29 rounds, 22.22% aff in a theory debate over 9 rounds

Policy vs. K (5-2): 71.43% aff over 7 rounds

K vs. Policy (2-3): 40% aff over 5 rounds

K v K (1-0): 100% aff over 1 round

Sat once out of 12 elim rounds

Disads

Not much to say here - think these debates are pretty straight forward. I start evaluation at the impact level to determine link threshold & risk of the disad. My preference for evaluation is if there is explicit ballot writing + evidence indicts + resolution done by yourself in the 2NR/2AR, I would love not to open the card document and make a more interventionist judgement.

CPs

Default to judge kick. If the affirmative team has a problem with me doing this, that words "condo bad" should have been in the 2AC and explanation for no judge kick warranted out in the 1AR/2AR.

The proliferation of 1NCs with like 10 process counterplans has been kind of wild, and probably explains my disproportionately neg leaning ballot record. Process/agent/consult CPs are kind of cheating but in the words of the wise Tristan Bato, "most violations are reasons to justify a permutation or call solvency into question and not as a voter."

I think I tend to err neg on questions of conditionality & perf con but probably aff on counterplans that garner competition off of the word “should”. Obviously this is a debate to be had but also I’m also sympathetic to a well constructed net benefit with solid evidence.

Ks

Framework is sosososo important in these debates. I don’t think I really lean either side on this question but I don’t think the neg needs to win the alt if they win framework + links based on the representational strategy of the 1AC.

Nuanced link walls based on the plan/reps + pulling evidence from their ev >>>> links based on FIATed state action and generic cards about your theory.

To quote Debnil “I'm a hard sell on sweeping ontological or metaphysical claims about society; I'll likely let the aff weigh the plan; I don't think the alt can fiat structures out of existence; and I think the alt needs to generate some solid uniqueness for the criticism.“

Bad for post-modernism, simply because I've never read them + rarely debated them in high school. If you have me in the back you need to do a LOT of explanation.

Planless Affs/Framework

Generally, I don’t think people do enough work comparing/explaining their competing models of debate and its benefits other than “they exclude critical discussions!!!!”

For the aff: Having advocacy in the direction of the topic >>>>>>>> saying anything in the 1AC. I’ll probably be a lot more sympathetic to the neg if I just have no clue what the method/praxis of the 1AC is in relation to the topic. I think the value of planless affs come from having a defensible method that can be contested, which is why I’m not a huge fan of advocacies not tied to the topic. Not sure why people don’t think perms in a method debate are not valid - with that being said, I can obviously be convinced otherwise. I prefer nuanced perm explanations rather than just “it’s not mutually exclusive”.

For the neg: I don’t really buy procedural fairness - I think to win this standard you would have to win pretty substantial defense to the aff’s standards & disprove the possibility of debate having an effect on subjectivity. I don't think I'd never vote on fairness, but I think the way that most debaters extend it just sound whiney and don't give me a reason to prefer it over everything else. Impacts like agonism, legal skills, deliberation, etc are infinitely more convincing to me. Stop with the question of "what does voting aff in round [x] of tournament [y] do for your movement", you're hardly ever going to get the gotcha moment you think you will. Absent a procedural question of framework, I am just evaluating whether or not I think the advocacy is a good idea, not that I think the reading of it in one round has to change the state of debate/the world.

Topicality / Theory

I default to competing interps. Explanations of your models/differences between your interps + caselists >>>>> “they explode limits” in 10 different places. Please please please please do impact comparison, I don’t want to hear “they’re a tiny aff and that’s unfair” a bunch.

Topic education, clash, and in-depth research are more convincing to me than generic fairness impacts.

Theory debates are usually the most difficult for me to resolve, and probably the most interventionist I would have to be in an RFD. Very explicit judge instruction and ballot writing is needed to avoid such intervention.

Ethics Violations/Procedurals

I don't flow off speech docs, but I try to follow along when you're reading evidence to ensure you're not clipping. If I catch you clipping, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don't know what you're doing. I will give you a warning, but drop you if it happens again. If the other team catches you and wants to stake the round on an ethics challenge, I doubt you're winning that one.

Questions of norms ≠ ethics violations. If you believe the ballot should resolve a question of norms (disclosure, open sourcing, etc), then I will evaluate it like a regular procedural. If you believe it's an ethics violation (intentionally modifying evidence, clipping, etc), then the round stops immediately. Loser of the ethics challenge receives an auto loss and 20s.

Evidence ethics can be really iffy to resolve. If you want to stake the round on an evidence distortion, you must prove: that the piece of evidence was cut by the other team (or someone affiliated with their school) AND there was clear and malicious intent to alter its meaning. If your problem isn't surrounding distortion but rather mistagging/misinterpreting the evidence, it can be solved via a rehighlighting.

Online Debate

Please don't start until you see my camera on!

If you're not wearing headphones with a microphone attached, it is REALLY hard to hear you when you turn away from your laptop. Please refrain from doing this.

I would also love if you slowed down a tiny tiny tiny tiny bit on your analytics. I will clear you at most 3 times, but I can't help it if I miss what you're saying on my flow ;(.

Lay Debate / GGSA
I actually really appreciate these rounds. I think at the higher levels, debaters tend to forget that debate is a communicative activity at its core, and rely on the judge's technical knowledge to get out of impacting out arguments themselves. If we are in a lay setting and you'd rather not have a fast round when I'm in the back, I'll be all for that. There is such a benefit in adapting to slower audiences and over-explaining implications of all parts of the debate -- it builds better technical understanding of the activity! I'll probably still evaluate the round similar to how I would a regular round, but I think the experience of you forcing yourself to over-explain each part of the flow to me is greatly beneficial.

Public Forum

I've never debated in PF, but I have judged a handful of rounds now. I will evaluate very similarly to how I evaluate policy rounds.

I despise the practice of sending snippets of evidence one at a time. I think it's a humongous waste of time and honestly would prefer (1) the email chain be started BEFORE the round and (2) all of the evidence you read in your speech sent at once. Someone was confused about this portion of my paradigm -- basically, instead of asking for "Can I get [A] card on [B] argument, [C] card on [D] arg, etc...", I think it would be faster if the team that just spoke sent all of their evidence in one doc. This is especially true if the tournament is double-flighted.

If you want me to read evidence after the round, please make sure you flag is very clearly.

I've been in theory/k rounds and I try to evaluate very close to policy. I'm not really a huge fan of k's in public forum -- I don't think there is enough speech time for you to develop such complex arguments out well. I also don't think it makes a lot of sense given the public forum structure (i.e. going for an advocacy when it's not a resolution that is set up to handle advocacies). I think there's so much value in engaging with critical literature, please consider doing another event that is set up better for it if you're really interested in the material. However, I'm still willing to vote on anything, as long as you establish a role of the ballot + frame why I'm voting.

If you delay the round to pre-flow when it's double-flighted, I will be very upset. You should know your case well enough for it to not be necessary, or do it on your own time.

Be nice & have fun.