University of Houston Cougar Classic
2022 — Houston, TX/US
Policy Debate Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HidePronouns: they/he | Email: ixdebate [at] gmail [dot] com
Seven Lakes '21, University of Houston '26
Howdy! My name is Nine (pronounced like the number). Assistant coach for Seven Lakes & Isidore Newman. President of the University of Houston policy debate team, 2x NDT qualifier.
If you're interested in debating at UH, shoot me a message!
PF note:
1) please add sevenlakespf [at] googlegroups [dot] com to the chain.
2) please make the subject of the chain: "[Tournament] 24 PF Round [#]---[Aff team code] (AFF) vs [Neg team code] (NEG)" or something similar
example: "NSDA Nats 24 PF Round 1---Seven Lakes AR (AFF) vs Seven Lakes MJ (NEG)"
3) pre-flowing is pre-round prep. if you're pre-flowing during round start time, you should be taking prep for that.
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General:
- please do not refer to me as ma'am, miss, etc. my pronouns are they/he. if you have questions about this, please ask!
- i do not tolerate racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, ableism, transphobia, etc. please respect people's names, pronouns, and identities. just be respectful, it's really not that hard.
- debate should be a welcoming and accessible place. if you have concerns, please let me know and i will work with you to try to resolve them.
- feel free to email me with questions! i love talking about speech/debate/interp and am more than happy to answer questions or have conversations about it. even if you have questions about college, debating in college, etc., hit me up!
- have a good debate! have a good performance! have a good attitude! and most importantly, have fun!!!
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Debate (Policy, LD, PF):
if you’re WSD, you don’t have to read this section and can scroll below for the WSD section.
five minutes before round? here’s the tl;dr:
- put me on the email chain. set up the email chain even if i'm not in the room yet. email chain >>> speech drop unless there’s an issue with school emails or wifi.
- debate is for debaters! you do you and i will adapt accordingly! i'll vote on almost any arg. specificity, comparison, and contextualizing is important. offense over defense.
- yes, spreading is okay with me. yes, i’m okay to read ks in front of. no, i don’t care how you look or if you stand or sit, etc. just feel comfortable while you’re debating!
- probably not going to vote on condo bad.
- "nine" > "judge”
- i will always try to disclose my decision and provide feedback if the tournament allows it. i will not disclose specific speaker points.
- i flow on paper, so give me pen time and slow down for analytics. you can ask to take pictures of my flows after the round! yes, you can email me with questions later too.
doing prefs? here’s what i’m good for and what args i’m most familiar with. (you should still read the rest of the paradigm though):
- i'm good for both policy and k arguments. i coach and go for both policy and K arguments, and will be good for a policy v policy, K v policy, and K v K throwdowns.
- i’m less good for high theory, phil, and tricks/blippy theory. but, if they are read in front of me, i will evaluate them as best as i can, and i am likely looking for clarity/explanation of the argument and an impact to vote on. burden of proof comes before the burden of rejoinder. if i can’t explain your theory/shell/k/argument back to you, i won’t vote on it.
want more explanation? here’s the longer version (in no particular order):
i can not express this enough: debate is for debaters. i will adapt to your debating style accordingly. you do you! i will evaluate based on what’s on my flow. most importantly, have fun :-) !
- tech >>> truth. exceptions are, of course, if you are being explicitly racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc. everything else is fair game.
- stealing prep is bad. i will dock speaker points if i catch you stealing prep and tell you to stop multiple times. taking the time to take out analytics/to make a send doc is using prep. time your opponents' prep/speeches and hold them accountable.
- i flow on paper and flow each advantage and off case position on separate sheets of paper. give me pen time to flip pages between sheets. slow down on analytics. when you give an order, give me time to flip between my sheets.
- i flow based on what i hear. i will be listening to YOU, not a doc. that means that you should be very clear when spreading.
email chains/evidence:
- email chains >>> speech drop. add me to the email chain. please make an email chain before i’m in the room---i want to start on time. speech drop is fine if there are school email issues or if there are wifi issues, otherwise, please use an email chain.
- card docs are appreciated
- clipping cards: i will give a warning if i catch someone clipping cards. depending on how bad it is, i will either stop the round and/or dock speaker points
- ev ethics: missing paragraphs in between highlighted parts, misquoted/misattributed authors, cards starting in the middle of paragraphs, incorrect cites, etc. are reasons for teams to lose the round. if an ev ethics challenge is called, i will stop the round and evaluate the evidence unless tournament rules say otherwise (ex: UIL tournaments). i generally err on the side that i should strike the card not drop the team unless the team has already been notified of the ev violation.
- for PF: paraphrasing is bad. actually formatted cards are good.
speed:
- yes you can spread at top speed but slow down for tags, authors, and analytics.
- clarity > speed. i will yell "clear" if i can't hear you or if you are unintelligible. if i yell it enough, i will stop flowing.
- i have minor hearing damage in both ears and it flares up once in a while. i will let you know beforehand if i'm having a bad hearing day and if you need to be extra clear. i will say “loud” if you need to be louder.
cross-examination:
- i will take notes on CX on a separate sheet of paper sometimes. but, if you want the answers from CX to be applied to your speech, you need to say it in a speech!
- CX is so under-utilized. debaters need to be making more arguments during CX and aligning it with your speeches. please use CX to make arguments!
- i will boost speaker points for actually good CXs. (i.e., not spending the entire time on clarification questions, not doing flow check questions with the exception of status/reasons to reject housekeeping questions)
framework:
- you should have an offensive reason to prefer your model of debate or the aff.
- specificity is best, reading generic framework blocks is unpersuasive to me. you need to apply it to the aff.
- TVAs are nice to have but not necessary
- the best fw arguments implicate the aff's theory of power and/or describe why fw turns case.
- please give me judge instruction, framing points, etc.
- i really like implications to skills and iteration/testing. i like fairness if you’ve implicated it to case/the method.
case:
- yes case turns, yes impact turns, yes case debate. there isn't enough case debate in most instances.
- i am comfortable on voting on presumption if there is enough defense and/or i could not tell you what the aff does by the end of the round.
- for PF: defense is not sticky.
topicality:
- more teams should read it!
- T debate is best when the violation args are specific to the aff. but, don't miss the forest for the trees–you should still do comparison on the model/world of debate.
- i default to competing interps, can be changed in round
- will vote on reasonability if a reasonability arg is made, but this can be changed in-round.
K:
- yes, read the K if you want to.
- don't expect me to fill in gaps. don't rely on buzzwords and expect me to know them.
- if you're going for the alt, tell me what it looks like and how it applies to the aff. you can kick the alt if you don't think it's strategic, but you need to flag it and tell me how you win on everything else.
- link turns case args that are specific and contextualized to the aff are >>>>>>!!! please make more of these arguments!!!
- Ks with links to the consequences of the plan are the most intuitive links to me. but don't let that deter you from going for links to reps, framework, or similar non-consequence based arguments
DA:
- don't give me a contextless card dump, the more specific with how the DA interacts with the aff the better. i don't have opinions on specific DAs, read whatever you like.
- i will look for a clear link first then evaluate the impacts. link/DA turns case is always nice
CP:
- i don't have strong opinions about any type of CP. go ahead and read any flavor of CP you like, even if they’re “cheaty”.
- uncarded and/or multiplank advantage CPs are fine but generally require more explanation on how they solve. they should be relatively intuitive and/or based on aff warrants/cards. read as many planks as you want (read: condo thoughts in the theory section).
- i default to judge kick. but, this can be reversed in-round as long as there’s ink on my flow for it.
theory:
- condo is good. my threshold for answering condo bad is very low. i will vote on condo bad if it gets dropped.
- RVIs are silly to me, especially when they're just thrown out without a warrant.
- don't have strong thoughts on other theory issues.
- don't blitz thorugh pre-written blocks. again, i flow on paper. give me pen time to write down the analytics.
K affs:
- i like the education/real-world implications of K affs. i really like well thought out, thematically tight, content-packed, and well-structured K affs, especially if there are performance aspects to it.
- i like negs strats v. K affs that engage with K aff's theory of power (which can also include framework!), and am comfortable voting on presumption/framework
speaker points:
- (updated to match reigner's speaker point scale): i start at around 28.8 and go up or down from there. i try to adjust a bit based on the tournament. i evaluate speaker points based on strategic choices and articulations.
- debate can get heated and i don't mind mild roasts or whatever, but if you are just being flat out insulting and making people feel uncomfortable, i will lower your speaks (and stop the round in extreme instances)
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World Schools:
five minutes before round? here’s the tl;dr:
– yes, i know the format. i primarily did WSD in high school and used to primarily coach WSD.
– i flow and will vote based on what’s on my flow. i would rather vote on content, arguments, and warrants over speaking pretty.
– i value organized speeches!!! messy speeches = sad nine = sad ballot. ways to make sure your speech is organized: 1) enumerate your responses, 2) signpost your arguments, and 3) condense into clash.
– i would much rather vote on offensive over defensive arguments. worlds debaters are really really good at making defensive args, but not necessarily offensive ones. please have offense. i want to vote on your argument's impact!!!
want more explanation? here’s the longer version:
– format: follow it. that means no spreading, no “off the clock roadmaps” (i start the clock as soon as you say "as an off the clock roadmap"), taking 1-2 pois, etc. that also means no using heavy debate jargon (topicality, condo, etc.). you’re probably using those words in the wrong context anyway. “fiat” is definitely a word/arg that exists in wsd, but make sure you’re using it correctly.
– explain and characterize! the best debaters are the ones who can best explain their clash, how and why actors will act a certain way, etc.
– strategy and style are important! i value strategic debaters (ex: speech consistency, taking timed pois, not being contradictory, etc.) and if you have style on top of that, you will get some great speaker points at the end of the round. but don’t sacrifice style for content. i'll always prefer analysis > speaking pretty. the best strategic choices debaters can make in wsd is being explicit and giving me some judge direction, telling me what arguments i should prioritize in the round, and *actually* attacking the other team on their highest ground. the best replies are embedded with good judge instruction.
– issues about the debate can be resolved in-round. ex: if there is a debate about whether the team gets fiat or not, make the arguments in round and don't rely on me to default to whatever opinion i have of fiat. or, if you think the team isn't debating the heart of the motion, make those arguments in round. i expect a defense of what exactly the heart of the motion is from both sides in that instance. i'll evaluate those arguments based on what's on my flow.
– replies: the replies should be holding my hand and telling me what happened in the debate. tell me what i should be writing down in my ballot. tell me what you're winning and what they're losing. tell me how you've closed off the other team's path to ballot. please please please give me some judge instruction here.
– ideological lean: just because i do policy debate does not mean i lean towards policy style arguments. i truly and genuinely don't care what kind of arguments you run or go for as long as you give me a reason to vote for it. seriously, you do you. i'll vote on any kind of argument.
– principle debates: if it becomes a practical v. principle debate, i'm expecting a lot of weighing and why the principle outweighs practical or vice versa. i'm also in the camp that principle almost always needs some kind of impact (although it doesn't necessarily need to be utilitarian). for instance, if you're running a principle of democracy, your impact should be... democracy (surprise!). if you're running something about marginalized groups being harmed in some way, the impact could be structural violence or psychic violence to those people, which is on-face, bad and is probably overlooked. i love creative principles and creative impacts here.
– model debates: both models and countermodels need to be characterized. teams should tell me how they're mechanized, what the incentives are for key actors, and how the model might interact with core stakeholders. prop should fully articulate how they get offense from the model (this is where i usually see prop fail). opp's countermodel should articulate how it's mutually exclusive from the prop model and why it is preferable, i.e. net benefits or what the opp countermodel does better/how it avoids prop's model's harms (and this is where the opp team usually fails). i think model/countermodel debates are appropriate for a few policy leaning motions.
if the debate becomes when it is or isn't appropriate to have a model, teams need to establish 1) what in the wording of the motion grants you a model (usually the action verb and applying it to the context of the rest of the motion) and 2) why the model is goldilocks for grounds to debate (why it's not too specific/narrow of a model and why it's not too broad). regardless of what my thoughts are for what's the most strategic way to interpret the motion, i will defer to the arguments made in-round on this question.
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speech/interp:
a speech/interp paradigm feels useless sometimes just because y'all have already memorized/blocked out your pieces and there's little my paradigm will inform you about how to better adapt to me as your judge. but i guess my brief thoughts are here in the off-chance someone reads this and gets something out of it:
you do you, just follow the format and perform the best you can!
for extemp, looking for format things (i.e. having a roadmap, using on-tops, following the speaker's triangle, etc.). i prefer content over speaking pretty most of the time, but since it's a speech event, i still take presentation seriously. i don't really care if you do a three or two point speech, but the content should still be in-depth and make sense.
for oo/info, most of my ballots come down to the implications/why it matters portion. humor (even attempts at humor) is always a plus.
for interp, i'm mainly looking for clarity of plot (also, if there is a plot to begin with), embodiment and distinctions between characters, and clear blocking/binder "mojo".
Hey y'all. My name is James Allan. My email is jpa6644@gmail.com if there's anything here that's not clear. Please put me on the email chain.
Experience:
4 years at Lakeland Central School District, 4 years at Binghamton University, 2 years of grad fellowship at Baylor University, 1 year coaching Desert Vista, third year coaching for the University of Houston.
I received a first round at large bid to the NDT my senior year, the first in binghamton university history.
Previously coached at/conflicted with: Lakeland, Binghamton University, McQueen, various ADL debaters, Baylor University, Desert Vista, University of Houston.
how i make decisions
I used to flow on paper but have transitioned to flowing on my computer. it is still in your best interest to go at about 85% of what others would consider "top speed" in front of me so i can catch more warrants, examples and analysis for your argument.
i like judge instruction, i like well engaged framework debates that tell me how to view how the debate is going down, i like rebuttals that start with "vote (aff/neg) to (explanation of what the aff/neg ballot does/means/signifies) which solves these impacts. these impacts outweigh and turn my opponents' impacts because..." you catch my drift.
i determine the competing thesis-level/key/framing/whatever-you-want-to-call-it questions presented and determine which team sufficiently answered theirs/their opponents' framing questions and work backwards from there.
i generally give more weight to dropped arguments if the impact to the argument is adequately contextualized (you can say i lean towards tech over truth but it's debatable obviously).
randomly how i feel about different arguments
k aff v. framework: debate is cool because you get to actively debate about the rules
i am indifferent about framework as a strategy to negate affs that don't hypothetically defend a topical plan text. in my mind, if negatives don't successfully insulate the framework page from case offense (win a convincing "framework comes first" arg, in other words) or use standards to turn the aff method or impact, i very rarely vote negative in those debates. i like standards that defend the topic, not just topical debate in the abstract. i am pretty sympathetic to the very simple argument "don't maintain fairness, if fair debate produces X bad thing". both teams should point out that the other team is grossly misrepresenting how their model of debate actually doesn't go down the way it is described.
k aff v. k neg: debate is cool because you get to test different explanations of how power is distributed and how it operates
presumption is an underutilized neg argument in these debates and too easily dismissed by affs. how does competition function and why should i care/not care about it? what is your theory of power and how does it differ/overlap with your opponents'? explain, analyze and develop in your constructives but you should be crystallizing your big dense words for me in your rebuttals in terms of impacts and impact comparison. what is your method/theoretical approach/critical approach/alternative and how should i think about "solvency".
policy aff v. policy neg: debate is cool because even seemingly hyperbolic and contrived internal link chains teach the participants about logic processing and decision-making
show me unique, topic research that is specific and interesting. i'm slowly gaining more sympathy for cheaty counterplans. i have a low threshold for voting on presumption or inherency, with smart, warranted analytical arguments even without cards. i like politics disads. i don't like cp's that randomly first strike asian countries. i like T.
policy aff v. k neg: debate is cool because forms of rhetoric and knowledge employed by the debaters is up for debate.
neg teams usually win debates by impact turning the education/worldview/representations/justifications introduced by the affirmative (framework) or by winning that the plan emboldens/worsens/justifies the impact/social system that outweighs and turns the affirmative. i very much make sense of the world of policy aff v. k neg debates in terms of pre/post fiat debates. policy affs should be ready and willing to defend the scholarly underpinnings of their affirmative. i am very susceptible to aff tricks (util, negative state action link turns, alt solvency presses). i am very susceptible to neg tricks (floating pik, framework turns, epistemology indicts, serial policy failure). judge instruction is a necessity in these debates.
random list of great debate minds i have learned from, competed against, was judged by, worked with:
(basically who shaped the way i think about debate to give you a better insight into how i make decisions)
Amber Kelsie, Vida Chiri, Tj Buttgereit, Jeff Yan, Geoff Lundeen, Ben Hagwood, Stefan Bauschard, Carlos Astacio, Willie Johnson, Kevin Clarke, Jesse Smith, Reed Van Schenk, Brianna Thomas, Michael Harrington, Jacob Hegna.
I really like debate
this is my tenth year in the activity and i love participating and learning and teaching in every individual debate. what i am now realizing from the grad student side of things is how much the community is dependent on unrecognized and uncompensated labor from grad students, mostly feminized bodies, people of color, black people and disabled people. be nice to grad students, we are trying our best lmao
About Me: I am Afro-Latino with the pronouns him/he. I graduated from Alief Taylor High school in Houston. I've debated in LD, Policy, and Congress all four years. I am majoring in Economics and minoring in philosophy which is why I love debate so much because it encompasses both those things.
Email Chain and questions: Carbajaljilson@gmail.com
Basic Details: I don't mind spreading, just make sure you're clear and slow down on specifically important information and analytical data to make ensure it's on the flow. If you aren't clear, I probably won't remember it or put it on the flow. I'll yell clear if needed.
I don't vote for people who kiss "butt" to the judge. Don't run arguments just to satisfy me, Run arguments that satisfy you and you believe will have a good clash. All that matters is that you're confident in your case and display great arguments throughout the round.
Don't expect or assume that I know exactly what you're talking about. It will hurt you. I haven't done much research on this topic so make sure To explain your arguments well and clear.
K: I like hearing all types of Ks, especially performance Ks. However, if you run them, please know what you're talking about and how to run a K. I've seen many K debates where both teams have no idea what they are doing or talking about. Don't run Ks if you're unfamiliar with the information. It can lead to low speaking points.
K Aff: I don't mind it, just make sure not to stray away from the topic and have a clear Alt and link. Most K aff can get permutated if not run well.
Theory/T: I like theory debates however, please don't run STUPID theory arguments for the sake of winning the round or to get an advantage, I will most likely not vote on it if you do. (If you have a question on what I mean by "stupid", let me know before the round starts). For T's, I default to counter- interps. Have a good explanation of internal links and impacts.
CP: Please explain how your CP is better than the AFF's plan. Conditional CPs are fine; just don't have five CPs and only one of them as unconditional; this is abusive. It ruins clash in the debate round, and I like to see clash. Please establish if a CP is conditional or unconditional if more than one is used.
DA: Make sure to have a clear link and internal link. Be specific on the impact and include impact calculus to strengthen your argument. Utilize DA's to enact turns on the aff's case. Have a great DA structure and try not to have too many links and internal links, it can hurt you in the end.
Clash debate: I love to see clashes in the debate round. If you avoid clash or dont clash with your opponent, speaker points may be affected. Just make sure to be clear in on voters
If you have any questions, feel free to email me or let me know before the round begins. :)
Hi I'm Lee Carter. My email is bloopfourtyfour@gmail.com
I am 20 years old. My pronouns are he/him, I'm 4 years out of high school debate and I competed for Heights High School in Houston, Texas. I debated for 3 years starting out in Policy for about a year and a half and finishing with LD for the last year and a half. For reference, I was good enough to go to national tournaments and stuff but never good enough to clear. I got damn close though. When I debated I really liked theory and phil and when I couldn't run that I ran LARP. I was coached by Isaac Chao.
Pref Shortcuts:
Theory - 1
LARP - 1
T - 2
Phil - 2
K/Kaffs/Non-T stuff - 3
Tricks - 100% strike. Don't make me sit through a tricks round seriously.
I don't ever want to intervene
But I feel like so often debaters just let so much up to the judges interpretation you know? The point is to write your own ballot, so the less work I have to do the better. If you make it really obvious why you deserve the win by using substantive argument weighing, evidence comparison, etc. then me intervening should never become an issue. Just make sure you do your job 100%.
I default to comparative worlds
Of course, you can convince me otherwise. In fact, when I was a debater I was quite fond of truth testing since I ran a ton of Kant. But in general I think comparative worlds is better for debate and I will default to it if no one argues otherwise in the round.
Tech over truth 99.9% of the time
By that I mean, your argument has to contain a minimal amount of plausibility to me. For example, if you say "x is true because I say so", I'm not even going to entertain that argument nor hold your opponent to a burden of answering it. It's kind of hard to pin point exactly what I mean here, but essentially I will be receptive to anything you say unless it is totally dumb and unrealistic. No this doesn't mean I'll hack against your terminal impact, no this doesn't mean you can't run silly techy things in front of me, this just means that there's a certain brightline where I start losing receptiveness to arguments and the closest way I can identify / describe that brightline is when your argument has arbitrary / illegitimate / outlandish warrants.
Highlighting / reading / evidence rules
Always read what you highlight, never skip highlighted words without making it explicit to everyone in the room, never read anything in small print without making it explicit to everyone in the room, and lastly, do not refer to anything you didn't read as if you read it. I consider violating these rules cheating. I will usually never read the small print because the argument I'm presented as the judge is whatever words come out of the debater's mouth which is usually the highlighted words. I will typically only ever ask for evidence if I am suspicious of evidence fabrication. It makes me happy when I see good author qualifications and consistent and clean speech docs. I also fancy cyan highlighting.
Prep time
When using flash drives, prep time stops when the flash leaves your computer. When using email, prep time stops when the email is sent. Under no circumstances should you preview / look through your opponent's case or write anything down if your prep time is not being taken. I consider violating this rule cheating. I don't terribly care if your computer is messing up, it's your duty to make sure things are organized and orderly and sent where they need to be.
Signposting / roadmaps
Signpost well and effectively, tell me specifically where you are going on the flow, name arguments you're responding to, if there's a way your strategy unfolds then make it explicit rather than trying to keep it secret and holding me to the expectation of figuring it out. Roadmaps are a really good tool and you should always use them. If you can help it, try not to divert from your roadmap. If you must divert, make it explicit where you are going instead.
Speed
I'm fine with speed but keep in mind if I’m judging online, connection / quality might be scuffed. I'd say my threshold for speed is 6/10 where 10 is the fastest debater on the circuit. Slow down for important things like tags, author names, signposting, etc. If you spread through a condensed block without separating things properly by saying AND or NEXT or slowing down then I will likely miss things.
Weighing
Always weigh. Weigh preemptively if you want, certainly weigh when you have access to both impacts and always extend your weighing and impacts. Weight comparison goes a long way, and by this I mean "magnitude > timeframe" etc. I never really understood what an overview does. Your extension doesn't have to be individual cards, extending just the general thesis of your case in the overview is probably fine, but if you miss something crucial and don't explicitly extend it, I'm not gonna extend it for you.
Framework
My thoughts on framework are pretty much identical to Isaac Chao's, your impacts matter so long as they are implicated under a warranted framework. And so my decision calculus goes: I first determine which layer is the highest, then find the winning framework on that layer, and lastly adjudicate the offense to that framework.
Theory
I reeeeeeaaaaaaaalllllly love theory rounds. I default competing interpretations. Reasonability is fine but my expectations for your brightline are a bit higher than typical I think, it is not enough just to establish your brightline but you also have to tell me why your brightline is good / true. Whenever I hear "if it's link turnable, it's sufficiently reasonable", I immediately think: well, you have yet to tell me why that's true or a good brightline at all. I default no RVIs. An implication to your shell is imperative. If you don't tell me what to do about your opponent's abuse, I'm just not going to do anything. Additionally, I think weighing on the theory debate is more important that most other places, since theory usually comes first. If I have 2 instances of abuse from both debaters but no weighing between the two, I'm just going to label the flow irresolvable without intervening and move on to the next layer.
LARP
Since I was kind of a noob most of my debate career, I have the easiest time adjudicating LARP rounds because they make the most sense to me and I have the most familiarity with them. Specificity is good. Keep your cards updated, recent, and relevant. You have to tell me if you are kicking out of a conditional counterplan. I don't understand at all what judge kick is, but on a surface level to me it just sounds like asking the judge to intervene if doing so would be favorable for the debater. That being said, don't bring up judge kick.
T
T is good with me, only reason I put T at a 2 is because I'm not totally versed in the semantics vs pragmatics debate within Nebel type shells, so if your T strat involves that then either don't run it or do extra explaining to ensure that I understand.
Phil
I love a good phil debate, but at the same time about 75% of the phil debates I've experienced have been ones that have left me totally puzzled. I would love to judge your phil round, but know that the only phil I'm super knowledgeable about is util and kant. If the phil you read is not util or kant, assume that I don't know it, and let that inform your strategy.
K
If 1 off K is your strat of choice, you definitely don't want me. Here are Ks that might work out in front of me: cap, fem, security. Anything else usually requires some previous knowledge from the judge, which I just frankly don't have. Keep in mind that judges who are capable of adjudicating K heavy rounds containing stuff like Afropess, POMO, other really hard Ks probably studied them extensively within a camp or even university. I wouldn't suggest reading that kind of stuff in front of me because the likelihood that you can teach me the thesis of your K in 45 minutes (when people good enough to be considered versed and competent judges in it have probably studied it for years) is highly unlikely. Additionally, I don't understand most role of the ballot arguments, they all sound self-serving to me and are typically along the lines of "if it's not the K offense, then it doesn't matter" and it's usually warranted with "the impacts of the K are bad". Also I have yet to be convinced there's a substantive difference between role of the ballot and role of the judge. Essentially, if your strategy is "Muahahaha my opponent will surely not understand this, I'll sit back while he foolishly concedes the whole flow and ensure my win on the ballot with the judge like some kind of sick inside joke !!", you probably don't want me as your judge because I'm not going to understand your position either and I'm going to be very receptive to your opponent's (probably surface level) arguments against it. If it's not one of the 3 Ks I listed at the top, assume I don't know it.
Non-T
I think the Non-T debate can be really entertaining. When I competed I ran a case called Absurdism where I (and my partner when I had one) would essentially just try to establish change in the debate space by ignoring the rules and even sometimes settling rounds with coin flips, and spending time just educating our opponents and judges with our personal experiences with debate and creating a space where our opponents and judges could share their own. Realistically, this was an utterly awful competitive strategy. I ran it probably 25 times and won like twice. Additionally, I did not understand at all how I was supposed to defend Non T, so when people ran T on me I just kind of ignored it lmao. What I'm trying to say is, the Non T debate can make debate really fun and I like to experience it, but from a competitive standpoint I don't understand it a whole lot and if it's your strat I'm also probably not the judge for you. Like, you'll make me very happy by reading fun non T things in front of me, but I won't understand what the heck is going on, will likely not judge competently, and you’ll probably lose…
Speaks
I've never really had to give speaks in a space where it terribly mattered, what I will say is that you can generally expect over a 27. From my 3 years in debate I don't think I have once seen a round where a debater actually deserved a 30, so I will probably not give you one. Although, the easier you make my life as a judge the higher you can expect your speaks to be. I usually don't let ethos effect my speaks because I think that enables things like perceptual dominance, but at the same time make sure you are confident in what you say and make sure your voice is heard.
toss me on that email chain: aacchapman2@gmail.com
I graduated from UCLA in 2019. I coached LD for 4 years at Harker. I work in a volunteer capacity with the Heights now. That said, I have always had a lower threshold for speed. I'll yell slow twice then I stop flowing until I can comprehend the argument.
I am the most familiar with policy/framework/theory arguments. I won't vote on an RVI on T
Practices Trigger Warnings
Debaters reading positions about suicide, depression/specific mental health, sexual violence, or any similarly traumatic issue, the onus is on them to ask those in the room permission to read the position. Spectators may leave, but judges and opponents do not have that option, meaning there is an expectation that if one of them objects to the triggering subject, that the debater will not read that position. If a debater does not adjust their strategy after being asked to, they will start the round with a 25. If you do not ask before round, but someone is triggered, speaks will similarly be docked. If there is no trigger warning but no one is triggered, the round can continue as normal.
The question for what necessitates a trigger warning is difficult to objectively delineate - if you have a reasonable suspicion someone could be negatively impacted by your position, ask before you read it - explicit narratives are probably a good starting point here. Trigger warnings are contentious in debate but I've seen students negatively impacted in rounds because they were not present and have engaged in conversations with other coaches that lead me to conclude something along these lines is necessary. At the very least, debate is (or should be) a 'safe space', and I believe this is a necessary first step towards achieving that goal. Feel free to discuss this before the round if you are worried it will become an issue in round.
This (admittedly strangely) probably means I'm not the judge for "must read a trigger warning" shells - they often make debate rounds uncomfortable and i have seen them leveraged in ways that make debate spaces unsafe - if no one was triggered, don't spend your time on that shell.
https://medium.com/@erikadprice/hey-university-of-chicago-i-am-an-academic-1beda06d692e#.bqv2t7lr6
This article is very good at articulating my views on the importance of trigger warnings
It is not up for debate that if someone was triggered on account of your failure to adequately make use of trigger warnings, you'll be punished through speaks and/or the ballot
[Evidence Ethics]
- Things I will drop a debater on whether or not their opponent brings it up: Card clipping, mis-representing the authors claims, grossly misrepresenting a cite (Use discretion here - but a completely missing site would seem to qualify here). The round stops if I notice this happen, or if the opponent brings up this claim. If the opponent brings forward this claim, I will evaluate the claim after the round has stopped.
- Things I believe should be debated out (with the caveat here that it's an uphill battle - I think these are good norms): Other disclosure norms (not including the whole paragraph in a cut card, broken links, etc).
- If you expect the round to be stopped (Category #1, or Category #2 but its a panel) I expect clear standards/arguments in a doc emailed out laying out the evidence claim, and specifically, why I should vote on it
- I will not vote on evidence ethics claim that hedge on the TFA constitution. While I respect the TFA executive board and generally agree with most of the constitution, I think it sets a bad precedent in requiring debaters, especially in Texas, to be beholden to overarching academic councils.
[Things I would like written out before a speech]
- Interps & Counterinterps
- Perm texts
[Strategies I love]
- A good internal link debate w/ deep evidence comparison
- Having a true/stellar response to UQ or Inherency
- Nuanced T
- A unique plan aff that is extended the whole round & leveraged correctly
[Strategies I don't love]
- Tricks
- Dense Phil
- Analytical args
- Dense critical lit
Affirmative teams have to present and defend a rationale for change, and should offer a plan text (which is more than restatement of the resolution) and demonstrate solvency. If the format is need/plan or a modern rendition of same, the problem must be significant and inherent. If the format is comparative advantage or something like it, inherency tends to be about the superiority of departures from present policy over incremental adjustments. Critical affirmative presentations need to be aligned with suggested policy changes.
Negative teams can win by disputing the significance of harms, demonstrating that existing programs (status quo) are sufficient and appropriate for addressing issues (or offer advantages over the affirmative team’s approach), or showing that an affirmative team’s plan can’t solve identified problems. If there is a meaningful challenge to the affirmative team's presentation or if unique and probable and significant disadvantages flow from the adoption of an affirmative plan, that also works. (A single well articulated disadvantage can suffice, but the all-too-common species/planet extinction or end-of-the-world scenarios are unlikely to register with me unless comprehensively and credibly advanced.)
An affirmative team can dismiss most “politics disadvantages” with common sense analysis rather than reliance on “proof” to the contrary, since such argumentation is usually speculative and reflects conventional wisdom, which is as often wrong as correct. Both affirmative and negative teams strike me as more informed and more capable when they are comfortable employing analytics instead of carded evidence when it fits the moment. Given that extensive advance preparation is the order of the day, speakers departing from scripts and thinking on their feet, clashing directly with their opponents' position(s) is refreshing. I also relish seeing/hearing "authoritative" evidence picked apart and challenged instead of being countered with other "authoritative: evidence (although a combination approach is even better.)
When a negative team presents a counterplan, in my view, that is a statement that they agree with the affirmative team’s identification of a problem (or problems) but suggest that a different solution makes more sense—-as such, they concede everything else that's ordinarily debatable. A counterplan should have more than a skeleton text. since I also expect an affirmative plan to be more than just a restatement of the resolution. I frown on introducing a counterplan late into a first negative constructive speech, or introducing more than one counterplan, or abandoning it or them later in the debate. Generally speaking, if a negative team introduces fodder and claims to be just "testing" the affirmative positions, I conclude they are unwilling to take and defend a position, so I am turned off.
When negative teams argue a K position, I like to see/hear obvious links to discussions of public policy. When K positions are being refuted, I enjoy it when one philosopher’s position is undermined by another philosopher’s position. When there is a K argument and a counterplan, I expect them to line up utterly. When an affirmative K is presented, I evaluate it in terms of policy---I think it can be done well, but if it isn’t, it’s often because critical analysis of an issue doesn’t inform policy alternatives.
Humor is an important component of persuasion, so I enjoy injections of mirth in policy debate. Short and sweet and sophisticated is best.
“Speed” in speaking is usually a bore, since robotic recitations of factoids are devoid of persuasive nuance.
email chain:
add breakdocs@googlegroups.com as well
top level:
Policy and K debates are my favorite, but reading what you want and giving a good speech is much more likely to get higher speaks than trying to tailor what you read to what you think my ideological preferences are.
In regards to Policy vs K debate, if I were biased either direction, it's probably in favor of policy, but I don't think this matters in a technical debate where your arguments have warrants. Do with that what you will.
Tech > truth, but truth determines the extent tech matters. A blatantly false claim like "the sky is red" requires more warranting than a commonly accepted claim ie "the sky is blue". Unwarranted arguments in the constructive that receive warrants later on justify "new" responses to those warrants. This doesn't mean I won't vote on tricks or theory, but the ability to say "X is conceded" relies on "X" having a full Claim/Warrant/Impact - the absence of crucial elements of an argument such as warrants will mean that adding them in later speeches will justify new responses. If an argument is introduced in a speech where no such response is valid, it carries little weight, for example: I am not going to think fairness categorically outweighs education if fairness outweighs is introduced in the 2AR.
(9/11/24) Because of this, claims start from zero and are built up through warrants. I do not want to judge tricks debates. I will abide by the above paragraph with far more scrutiny than I have in the past. Theory and phil debates are still fine, but I'll be much more hesitant to vote on blippy shells, analytic skep triggers, and other less warranted args than I have in the past.
random thoughts:
Qualified authors & solid warrants in your ev are important. Evidence comparison and weighing are also important. In the absence of evidence comparison and weighing, I may make a decision that upsets you. That is fundamentally your fault.
In the absence of paradigm issues, I'm going to evaluate theory contextually. This means I will only grant you the logical implication of the words you say, and will not automatically grant you assumptions like drop the debater. For example, if a 1AR tells me "PICs are a voter cuz they steal the aff", this logically means that PICs are a bad argument, but doesn't explain why the neg should lose for reading it. Functionally, this means I'd default drop the argument absent any explanation. This headache can be easily avoided through warranted, extended arguments.
K affs being vague and shifty hurts you more than it helps. I'm very unsympathetic to 2AR pivots that change the way the aff has been explained. Take care to have a coherent story/explanation of your K aff that starts in the 1AC and remains consistent throughout the debate.
I default to judgekick.
Alief Taylor '22
University of Houston '26
Add me to the email chain --- Only4debate@gmail.com
Welcome! Debate is an educational and oral activity, I enjoy watching rounds that demonstrate that both sides have engaged in deep research into whatever area of argumentation they have invested themselves into! Everything here is negotiable in round and subject to context, do what you do best and I will evaluate the round to the best of my abilities. I default to an offense-defense paradigm. During my collegiate debate career, I have read all sorts of arguments including planless affirmatives, vanilla topical affs, and everything in between feel free to do whatever.
Planless Affirmatives: Affirmatives should be in the direction of the topic and I echo thoughts that the resolution should not be completely disregarded. However, I think unique approaches to the topic are valuable, and I love to evaluate an affirmative that teaches me something new about the world, I dislike affirmatives that weaponize vagueness or work by confusing the judge or others. I prefer you to choose and defend a theory of power consistently through the round.
T vs Planless Affs: In rounds where you can go for a creative strategy specific to the method of the Affirmative I highly recommend doing so! However, T has become essential to the arsenal of negative debaters and thus I believe in evaluating it fairly. I find arguments specific to the method of the affirmative most convincing, detailed caselists, and lit-base specific TVAs to be interesting. I dislike you spreading your coach's framework blocks at full speed.
Disadvantages: read a link, turns case articulations are too often just sped past and you can only benefit from doing more work than you think.
Counterplans: Make competition arguments! I'm a believer that teams are getting away with too much on process stuff, ask questions in cross! If you're reading a counterplan, make sure you have a net benefit, whether real or fake, and tell me how to evaluate it versus case!
Kritiks: Ditto my thoughts above, I think an in-depth explanation of how the alt functions and how it's different from the affirmative will only benefit you. I want more from you than just tagline extensions, you are often exploring a lit base contributed to by lots of smart people, treat it as so!
Theory: neg gets condo, sorry not sorry.
Extra: I believe I'm generally good for silly arguments that demonstrate you have put thought into them, I'm not a fan of wipeout/spark/death good etc but I think counterplans with interesting net benefits and non-resolutional procedures can be fun, similar thoughts for "soft left affirmatives". Don't overadapt!
Revision Date: 09/13/2017
Affiliation: University of Houston
It's been awhile since I've been involved in the activity, but there are some things that I still maintain:
Topicality: It's a prior question, especially for the early season. I normally view topicality through a framework of competing interpretations. Negatives who want to go for topicality should have be able to tell (1) under their interpretation what affirmatives actually are topical and (2) what arguments the negative couldn't read.
Disadvantages: What's not to like? Do the evidence comparison for me. Tell me why a disad outweighs/turns case and vice versa, or else I might impose my own worldview. Relevant sidebar: Saying "our evidence postdates" isn't enough. Make it contextual, and tell me how a sequence of events interact with one another.
Counterplans: There should probably be a solvency advocate and a well articulated net benefit.
Critiques: I used to be comfortable with critiques, but arguably far less now because I've been removed from the activity. If you want to win, your critique should be able to articulate why the critique turns case, and an alternative that resolves the links.
Framework/Topicality: I don't particularly care for these debates. That being said, I understand why they happen. Affirmatives should probably read a topical plan in front of me just to avoid these questions.
Conditionality is also probably good, unless there are 4 (arbitrary number) different positions.
Email- Aaron.Does.Debate@gmail.com - add me to an email chain. Feel free to email me any questions after the debate.
Hello to all who reads this!
My name is Aaron, I did 4 years of Highschool debate and am currently doing my third year of collegiate policy debate at the University of Houston as a junior! As such I am very familiar with all forms of debates and styles so don't be too scared to run something new and fun.
In general, I will vote for anything, just explain your position well. I have been delving mostly into the collegiate policy topic, so I haven't spent a lot of time researching the high school topics as such make sure you're clear about your argument.
TLDR: I will not explain nor extend arguments for you. I think theory, framework and T come first. Generally, I don't like T (I just think it’s boring to evaluate, I will vote on it). Impact calc key (extinction outweighs is my default though I can be persuaded with FW and other arguments), extend warrants not taglines and compare evidence. on case args are key. I love clash of Civs :). You should make sure you signpost and control my flows if you want to win. Post rounding helps no one and changes nothing.
K- 1
Framework-2
Policy- 3
T-4
Theory-5
Tricks-6
--Broad Topics--
Speed- Always clarity over speed. I will accept fast arguments but expect a hit to the speaks if you sacrifice clarity for speed. otherwise, if you're fast and clear expect an increase in speaks- unless you have some kind of disability which inhibits this in which case, please let me know so I take that into consideration.
Stock issues- always important if you're lacking harms, you lose.
Evidence- If you have to ask yourself about whether or not it needs ev then it needs ev. Make sure you understand your own ev. Even if I know what your ev is saying I will pretend I don't and down you if the ev is key to the round. Can't convince me if you can't explain it. Ev comparison is Key.
Weighing- my default is weighing based on key arguments and magnitude so I will weigh extinction over structural violence normally BUT if you explain to me why I shouldn't, I will happily listen and weigh differently (extinction rhetoric bad, SV prerequisite, ETC).
General notes- make sure you're extending arguments and warrants not tags. (Tell me why your evidence is true and what the evidence is saying. I hate hearing rebuttals that just repeat taglines.) Tech>Truth except in cases that are very clearly not good tech/good for education. (Even if your opponent's drop a slavery good argument even though you were technically ahead on that I will not vote on it.) Don't make Bigoted/bad arguments in front of me. Bigoted arguments will get you downed and reported to your coaches/the tournament staff.
--Specific Topics--
K- framework is key. you need to tell me why and how I should weigh the K vs The AFF or vice versa, In general I lean more towards basic Pess K's and the cap K for voting, but I'll vote on anything just make sure it makes sense. Beyond framework make sure your alt solves and that you're explaining your links. For the neg, I think most K's require robust framework debate so make sure you're doing work here - Links need to be clear and you need to explain how they lead to the impact and how the alt solves. specific stuff here - I don't like omission links that much but I try not to let that sway me, I prefer big impacts on the K page in the event you need to win impact calc (unless you won FW), ALT SOLVENCY IS KEY, also I hate immaterial alts, I will vote on immaterial alts but It takes more work on alt solvency to make sure I understand exactly how you solve.- alt solvency is key because presumption does flip Aff if the alt is net worse for the squo- performances need to link to your theory of power don't just start yelling for no reason.
K Aff's- Refer back to my opinion on K's except now you have to convince me on why I should weigh your K at all or else I will vote on T.
T- T is a procedural fairness question so I will evaluate this first but generally I don't like T debate I think it's a boring debate and more often than not the Aff is most definitely topical. That being said I will not ignore the T flow if you are a T centered debater don't be scared to read it I will evaluate it I will simply be unamused while doing so. That being said I'd recommend putting your time elsewhere. (If you're hitting a K Aff - T is strategic this is one of the only situations where I'll happily vote on a T debate that was too close for comfort.)
Disad's- Good links! I generally don't like generic links. I will accept link boosters in the 2NC if need be but try and make your link clear to begin with. + 1 Disad is almost never enough to win a round against a good aff remember to pair with something else (DA+Presumption, DA+CP, DA turns case)
CP's- You need net benefits, and you need to explain why it cannot be permed very clearly or I will not vote on it (assuming your opponent correctly calls you out on these things). - also, presumption flips Aff when the CP is net worse for the squo.
Adv CP's- same rules except only apply to specific advantages- net benefits to the advantage and why can't they perm?
Case- Case is the most important thing for the Aff. if you lose on the case flow then nothing else matters. Make sure you properly defend case. On the neg however if you have proper framing and off case positions case is less important, I still recommend covering it as much as possible as you're only more likely to lose if you don't cover case.
Theory- I will make fun of you for making silly theories on the RFD BUT a dropped/not covered argument is a true argument. That means even a silly theory could lose you a round if its properly explained and you don't cover it.
--more specific theory--
Condo bad- generally I don't like to vote on this either, but I will if the neg mishandles it or if the neg is running like 10 condo Args (yes, Conditional planks count, and I think act as an impact multiplier on condo).
Dispo bad- same as condo
Perf con- Usually this has to be super blown up and or conceded for this to even be considered a voter to me. I personally subscribe to multiple worlds. A good Aff and debater should be able to answer performative contradictions and a good neg debater should be able to explain why they can be contradictory.
General theory- judge kick bad but will do if told and uncontested - default is reasonability but I will not make that argument for you - Theory should be a rule of debate that is good not just a random reason to reject the team. - most theory probably isn't a real voter besides condo - I am VERY unlikely to pull the trigger on theory unless its condo, perfcon, or dropped.
Tricks- No.
Presumption- you have to tell me why. I will not explain to myself why the Aff or the CP or the Alt is worse than or for the squo
General biases- on the neg I like good K debate, so a good K is an easy way to the ballot, as far as policy debate I am partial to disads and case debating, I dislike T, everything else is fairly neutral. - on the Aff side I like seeing new and fun advantages and am partial to strong yet new (to me) link chains that I haven't seen before. If you can make an advantage that has strong links and impacts that I haven't seen before I will love to vote on it, that isn't to say you can't win without originality, I just like it when I am judging is all.
Speaks- I Think I go by standard norms, but I'll outline anyway. (I can tend to be harsh don't take it personally.)
30- perfect (if you get a thirty out of me be proud)
29- very good
28- good/acceptable
27- ok...
anything below 27 you had to have messed up extremely bad.
Playlist Update: Berkeley '25 - a friend told me since i ask debaters to recommend me music, i should put the music i'm listening to here for reference. i like this idea. currently listening to My Apologies to the Chef - Winona Fighter.
All chains: pleaselearntoflow@gmail.com
and, please also add (based on event):
HSPD: dulles.policy.db8@gmail.com
HSLD: loyoladebate47@gmail.com
please have the email sent before start time. late starts are annoying. annoying hurts speaker points.
Dulles High School (HSPD), Loyola High School (HSLD), University of Houston (CPD) - if you are currently committed to debating at the University of Houston in the future, please conflict me. If you're interested in debating at UH, reach out.
please don't call me "judge", "Mr.", or "sir" - patrick, pat, fox, or p.fox are all fine.
he/him/his - do not misgender people. not negotiable.
"takes his job seriously, but not himself."
safety of debaters is my utmost concern at all times. racism, transphobia, misogyny, etc. not tolerated - i am willing to act on this more than most judges. don't test me.
debated 2014-22 (HSPD Oceans - NDT/CEDA Personhood), and won little but learned lots. high school was politics disads and advantage counterplans with niche plans. college was planless affs and the K, topicality, or straight turning an advantage. i'm a 2N from D3 - this is the most important determinant of debate views in this paradigm.
every judge thinks arguments are good or bad, which makes them easier or harder to vote on, usually unconsciously. i'm trying to make it clear what i think good and bad arguments are and how to debate around that. on average, happiest in debates with lots of cards for a disad or K + case vs aff with a plan, but high-quality, well-warranted arguments + judge instruction >>> any specific positions - Kant, planless affs, process counterplans, and topicality can be vertically dense, cool debates. they can also be total slop. i'm a full time coach and i judge tons of debates, but my topic/argument knowledge won't save bad debating. i flow carefully and value "tech" over "truth", but dropped arguments are only as good as the dropped argument itself - i don't start flowing until i hear a warrant, and i find i have a higher threshold for warrants and implications than most. i take offense/defense very seriously - debating comparatively is much better than abstractions.
quoth Bankey: "Please don’t be boring. Your pre-written blocks are boring." increasingly annoyed at the amount of rebuttal speeches that are entirely read off a doc. a speech off your flow that is obviously based on the round that just happened with breaks in fluency/efficiency will get higher speaks than a speech that is technically perfect but barely contextual to the debate i'm judging.
Wheaton's law is axiomatic - be kind, have fun. i do my best to give detailed decisions and feedback - debaters deserve no less than the best. coaches and debaters are welcome to ask questions, and i know passions run high, but i struggle to understand being angry for it's own sake - just strike me if you don't like how i judge, save us the shouting match.
"act like you've been here."
details
- evidence: Dallas Perkins: “if you can’t find a single sentence from your author that states the thesis of your argument, you may have difficulty selling it to me.” David Bernstein: “Intuitive and well reasoned analytics are frequently better uses of your time than reading a low quality card. I would prefer to reward debaters that demonstrate full understanding of their positions and think through the logical implications of arguments rather than rewarding the team that happens to have a card on some random issue.” Richard Garner: "I read a lot of cards, but, paradoxically, only in proportion to the quality of evidence comparison. Highlighting needs to make grammatical sense; don’t use debate-abbreviation highlighting"
- organization: good (obviously). extend parts your argument as responses to theirs. follow the order of the previous speech when you can. hard number arguments ("1NC 2", not "second/next"). sub-pointing good, but when overdone speeches feel disjointed, substitutes being techy for sounding techy. debating in paragraphs >>> bullet points.
- new arguments: getting out of hand. "R" in 1AR doesn't stand for constructive. at minimum, new args must be explicitly justified by new block pivots - otherwise, very good for 2NRs saying "strike it".
- inserting cards: fine if fully explained indict of card they read – new arguments or different parts of the article should be read aloud. will strike excessive insertions if told if most are nothing.
- case debates: miss them. advantages are terrible, easily link turned. solvency can be zero with smart CX and analytics. executing this well gets high speaker points.
- functional competition: good, makes sense. textual competition: silly, seems counterproductive. positional competition: upsetting. competing off of immediacy/certainty: skeptical, never assumed by literature, weird interpretation of fiat and mandates. plank to ban plan: does not make other non-competitive things competitive. intrinsicness: fine, but intrinsic perms often not actually intrinsic. voting record on all these: very even, teams fail to make the best arguments.
- process counterplans: interesting when topic and aff specific, annoying when recycled slop. insane ideas that collapse government (uncooperative fedism), misunderstand basic legal processes (US Code), and don't solve net benefit (most) can be zero with good CX. competition + intuitive deficits > arbitrary theory interps.
- state of advantage counterplan texts is bad. should matter more. evidence quality paramount. CX can make these zero.
- judge kick: only if explicitly told in a speech. however, splitting 2NR unstrategic – winning a whole counterplan > half a counterplan and half a case defense. better than most for sticking the neg with a counterplan, but needs airtime before 2AR.
- "do both shields" and "links to net benefit" insanely good, underrated, require a comeback in the meta. but, most permutations are 2AC nothingburgers, making debates late breaking - less i understand before the block = less spin 1AR gets + more lenient to 2NR. solve this with fewer, better permutations - "do both, shields link" = tagline, not argument.
- uniqueness controls link/vice versa: contextual to any given arg. extremist opinions ("no offense without uniqueness"/"don't need uniqueness") seem silly.
- impact turns: usually have totalizing uniqueness and questionable solvency. teams should invest here on top of impact debate proper.
- turns case/case turns: higher threshold than most. ideally carded, minimally thoroughly explained for specific internal links.
- impact framing: most is bad, more conceptual than concrete. "timeframe outweighs magnitude" sometimes it doesn't. why does it in this debate? "intervening actors check" who? how? comparing scenarios >>> abstractions. worse for "try or die" than most - idk why 100% impact x 2% solvency outweighs 80% link x 50% impact. specificity = everything. talk about probability more. risk matters a lot.
- the K: technical teams that read detailed evidence should take me high. performance teams can also take me - i've coached this with some success, and i'm better for you than i seem. good: link to some 1AC premise/mechanism with an impact that outweighs the net benefit to a permutation, external impact that turns/outweighs case, a competitive and solvent alternative. bad: antonio 95, "fiat illusory", etc. devil's in the details - examples, references to aff evidence, etc. delete your 2NC overview, do 8 minutes of line-by-line - you will win more.
- aff vs K: talk about the 1AC more, dump cards about the K less - debate on your turf, not theirs. if aff isn't built to link turn, don't bother. "extinction outweighs" should not be the only impact calculus (see above: impact framing). perm double bind usually ends up being dumb. real permutation and deficit > asserting the possibility of one - "it could theoretically shield the link or not solve" loses to "it does neither" + warrant.
- framework arguments: "X parts of the 1AC are best basis for rejoinder/competition because Y which means Z" = good, actually establishes a framework. “weigh the aff”/“reps first” = non-arguments, what does this mean. will not adopt a “middle ground” interp if nobody advances one – usually both incoherent and unstrategic. anything other than plan focus prob gives the negative more than you want (e.g: unsure why PIKs are bad if the negative gets “reps bad” + "plan bad"). consequently, fine with “delete plan”, but neg can win with a framework push that gives links and alt without doing so.
- clash debates: vote for topicality against planless affirmatives more often than not because in a bad debate it’s easier for the negative to win. controlling for quality, I vote for the best K and framework teams equally often - no strong ideological bent. fairness or a specific, carded skills impact >>> “clash”. impact turns and counterinterps equally winnable, both require explanation of solvency/uniqueness and framing against neg impacts + link defense. equally bad for "competition doesn't matter" and "only competition matters". language of impact calculus (“turns case/their offense”, higher risk/magnitude, uniqueness, etc) helps a lot. both sides usually subpar on how what the aff does/doesn't do implicates debates. TVA/SSD underrated as offense, overrated as defense - to win it, i need to actually know what the aff/neg link looks like, not just gesture towards it being possible.
- best rounds ever are good K v K, worst ever are bad ones. judge instruction, organization, specificity key. "turns/solves case" >>> "root cause", b/c offense >>> defense. explaining what is offense, what competes, etc (framework arguments) >>> "it's hard to evaluate pls don't" ("no plan, no perm"). aff teams benefit from "functional competition" argument vs 1NCs that spam word PICs and call it "frame subtraction". "ballot PIK" should never win against a competent aff team. Marxism should win 9/10 negative debates executed by a smart 2N. more 2NRs should press case - affs don't do anything. idk why the neg gets counterplans against planless affs - 2ACs should say this.
- critical affs with plans/"soft left" should be more common. teams that take me here do hilariously well if they answer neg arguments (the disad doesn't vanish bc "conjunctive fallacy").
- topicality: for me, more predictable/precise > “debatable” - literature determines everything, unpredictable interpretations = bad. however, risk is contextual - little more precise, super underlimiting prob not winner. hyperbole is the enemy - "even with functional limits, we lose x and they get y" >>> "there are 4 gorillion affirmatives". reasonability: about the counterinterpretation, good for offense about substance crowd-out and silly interps, bad for "good is good enough". plan in a vacuum: good check against extra/fx-topicality, less good elsewhere. extra-topicality: something i care less about than most. extremely bad for arguments about grammar/semantics.
- aff on theory: “riders” to the plan, plan being "horse-traded" - not how fiat works. counterplans that fiat actors different from the plan (includes states) - a misunderstanding of negation theory/neg fiat. will probably never drop more than the argument. neg on theory: literally everywhere else. arbitrariness objection strong. conditionality is a divine right bestowed by heavenly mandate, so i defend it with religious zeal.RVIs don't get flowed. LD-esque theory shenanigans: total non-starter.
- disclosure: good, but arbitrary standards bad. care little about anything that isn't active misclosure. new unbroken affs: good. "disclose 1NC": lol.
- LD “tricks”: disastrously bad for them. most just feel like defense with extra steps. nobody has gotten me to understand truth testing, much less like it.
- LD phil: actually pretty solid for it. well-carded, consistent positions + clear judge instruction for impact calculus = high win-rate. spamming calc indicts + a korsgaard card or two = less so. i appreciate straight turn debates. modesty is winnable, but usually a cop-out + incoherent.
- if the above is insufficiently detailed, see: Richard Garner, James Allan, J.D. Sanford (former coaches), Brett Cryan (former 2A), Holden Bukowsky, Bryce Sheffield (former teammates), Aiden Kim, Sean Wallace, (former students) and Ali Abdulla (best debate bud). My favorite judges were DML, James Allan (before he coached me), Devane Murphy, Alex McVey, and Reed van Schenck - I liked them because they were ideologically flexible enough to enable 2nrs on anything, but consistent in they way they evaluated arguments and resolved decisions.
procedural notes
- pretty bad hearing damage in my left ear (tinnitus) + don’t flow off the doc. still quite good at flowing, but clarity matters a lot – 2x "clear", then I stop typing and put my hands up. debaters go through tags and analytics too quickly – give me pen time, or i will take pen time. you can ask to see my flow after the debate.
- terrible poker face. treat facial expressions as real-time feedback.
- i have autism. i close my eyes or put my head down during a speech if i feel overstimulated. promise i'm still flowing. i make very little eye contact. don't take it personally.
- card doc fine and good, but only cards extended in final rebuttals – including extraneous evidence is harshly penalized with speaks. big evidence enjoyer - good cards get good speaks, but only when i'm told to read them and how.
- CX: binding and mandatory. it can get you very high or very low speaks. i flow important things. "lying by omission" is smart CX, but direct dishonesty means intervention (i.e: 1NC reads elections, "was elections read?", "no" = i am pausing CX and asking if i should scratch the flow).
- personality is good, but self-righteousness isn't really a personality trait. it's a game - have fun. aggressive posturing is most often obnoxious, dissuasive, and betrays a lack of appreciation for your opponents. this isn't to say you can't talk mess (please do, if warranted - its funny, and i care little for "decorum"), but it's inversely related to the skill gap - trolling an opponent in finals is different from bullying a post-nov in presets.
- prep time ends when the doc is sent. prep stolen while "sending it now" is getting ridiculous. if you are struggling to compile and send a doc, do Verbatim drills. i am increasingly willing to enforce this by imposing prep time penalties for excessive dead time/typing while "sending the extra cards" and such.
- there is no flow clarification time – “what cards did you read?” is a CX question. “can you send a doc with the marked cards marked” is fine, “can you take out all the cards you didn’t read” means you weren't flowing, so it'll cost you CX or prep. not flowing negatively correlates with speaks. be reasonable - putting 80 case cards in the doc and reading 5, skipping around randomly, is bad form, but objecting to the general principle is telling on yourself.flow.
- related to above, if you answer a position in the doc that was skipped, you are getting a 27.5. seriously. the state of flowing is an atrocity. you should know better. flow.
- speaks: decided by me, based on quality of arguments and execution + how fun you are to judge, relative to given tournament pool. 28.5 = 3-3, 29+ = clearing + bidding, 29.5+ = top 5-10 speakers + late elims, 30 = perfect speeches, no notes. no low-point wins, generally - every bad move by a winning team correlates to a missed opportunity by the loser.
- not adjudicating the character of minors I don’t know regarding things I didn’t see.
- when debating an opponent of low experience, i will heavily reward giving younger debaters the dignity of a real debate they can still participate in (i.e: slower, fewer off, more forthcoming in CX). if you believe the best strategy against a novice is extending hidden aspec, i will assume you are too bad at debate to beat a novice without hidden aspec, and speaks will reflect that. these debates are negatively educational and extremely annoying.
- ethics challenges: only issues that make continuing in good faith impossible are worth stopping a debate. the threshold is criminal negligence or malicious intent. evidence ethics requires an impact - omitting paragraphs mid-card that conclude neg changes the argument; leaving out an irrelevant last sentence doesn't. open to alternative solutions - i'd rather strike an incorrectly cited card than not debate. ask me if i would consider ending the round appropriate for a given issue, and i will answer honestly. clipping requires a recording to evaluate, and is an instant loss (no other way to resolve it) if it is persistent enough to alter functional speech time (criminal negligence/malicious intent, requires an impact). inexperience grants some (but minimal) leniency. ending a debate means it will not restart, all evidence will be immediately provided to me, and everyone shuts up - further attempt to sway my adjudication by debaters or coaches = instant loss. loser get an L0 and winners get a W28.5/28.4. all this is out the window if tabroom says something else.
- edebate: it still sucks. i keep my camera on as much as possible. if wifi is spotty, i will turn it off during speeches to maximize bandwidth, but always turn it back on to confirm i'm there before speeches. assume i am not present unless you see my face or hear my voice. if you start and i'm not there, you don't get to restart. low-quality microphones and audio compression means speak slower and clearer than normal.
closing thoughts
i have been told my affect presents as pretty flat or slightly negative while judging - trying to work on this - but i truly love debate, and i'm happy to be here. while i am cynical about certain aspects of the community/activity, it is still the best thing i have ever done. debate has brought me wonderful opportunities, beautiful friendships, and made me a better person, and i hope it can do the same for you. i am very lucky i found it.
take care of yourself. debaters increasingly present as exhausted and malnourished. three square meals and sleep is both more useful and better for you than overexerting yourself. people underestimate how much even mild dehydration impacts you. it's a game - not worth your well-being.
i like music. i listen to a very wide range of it. HS debaters can recommend me a song to listen to during prep or decision time - enjoyable music gives everyone in the room +0.1. music i dislike receives no penalty.
good luck! have fun!
- pat
Richard A. Garner | Director of Speech & Debate | University of Houston | ragarner@uh.edu
Framework: Neg: topical version is very helpful; aff: probably okay if you defend the government doing a topical thing. One should be able to defend their model of debate. I put this issue first because it’s probably what you really care about. Everything else is alphabetical.
Case debate: Turning the case is my favorite thing to judge. Uniqueness is good here, but not always necessary with comparative evidence.
CPs/Competition/Theory: Comparisons win theory debates, along with impacts. I’m not sure that states or international CPs compete, but no one has ever put this to the test in front of me so it’s hard to say. No strong feelings about consultation or conditioning either way. K affs probably shift competition questions that rely on FIAT. Won't kick the CP unless you tell me to. Non-arbitrary interpretations are ideal.
Critiques: I understand these and am fine with them (understatement). From both the aff and neg, I enjoy narrative coherence, specific application, and alternative debates. New things under the sun are wonderful to see, but so too the old, artisanal ways upon occasion.
Disadvantages: I tend to think risk probability is never 100% absent drops, and that each internal link reduces certainty. Can have zero risk (though if the CP solves 100% of the case … probably need offense). Don’t tend to think that impacts automatically/100% turn case, or vice versa; instead, comparisons are evaluating risk probability bubbles/multiple competing worlds.
Judge Space: Judges are human beings, not argument processing machines; enjoyable debates matter. Evidence comparison is the highest art. Debaters’ flowing/line-by-line is generally terrible; embedded clash is nice, but at its root it depends on an organized approach to the flow. Drops: before the burden of rejoinder attains, there must be a full argument (claim/warrant/implication). I am displeased by a) subpoints with no b) subpoints, and by "Is anyone not ready?" because it is a linguistic abomination (see: bit.ly/yea-nay). I read a lot of cards, but, paradoxically, only in proportion to the quality of evidence comparison. Highlighting: needs to make grammatical sense; don’t use debate-abbreviation highlighting (ok: United States; not: neoliberalism). If I cannot understand the highlighting, I will not read the rest of the card for context.
Logistics: Add me to the email chain. I don’t read speech docs during the debate.
*Principles: Without getting too philosophical, I try to evaluate the round via the concepts the debaters in the round deploy (immanent construction) and I try to check my personal beliefs at the door (impersonality). These principles structure all other positions herein.
Speaker Points: I approximate community norms, and adjust each year appropriately.
Topicality: I evaluate it first. I enjoy T debates, and lean more towards ‘better interpretation for debate’ than ‘we have the most evidence’.
Brief Debate CV:
South Garland (competitor): 1995-1999
NYU (competitor): 1999-2003
Emory: 2003-2004
NYU/Columbia: 2004-2005
Harvard: 2006-2015
Houston: 2013-present
*
Random Poem (updated 3/30/23):
Strange now to think of you, gone without corsets & eyes, while I walk on the sunny pavement of Greenwich Village.
downtown Manhattan, clear winter noon, and I’ve been up all night, talking, talking, reading the Kaddish aloud, listening to Ray Charles blues shout blind on the phonograph
the rhythm the rhythm—and your memory in my head three years after—And read Adonais’ last triumphant stanzas aloud—wept, realizing how we suffer—
And how Death is that remedy all singers dream of, sing, remember, prophesy as in the Hebrew Anthem, or the Buddhist Book of Answers—and my own imagination of a withered leaf—at dawn—
Dreaming back thru life, Your time—and mine accelerating toward Apocalypse,
the final moment—the flower burning in the Day—and what comes after,
looking back on the mind itself that saw an American city
a flash away, and the great dream of Me or China, or you and a phantom Russia, or a crumpled bed that never existed—
like a poem in the dark—escaped back to Oblivion—
No more to say, and nothing to weep for but the Beings in the Dream, trapped in its disappearance,
sighing, screaming with it, buying and selling pieces of phantom, worshipping each other,
worshipping the God included in it all—longing or inevitability?—while it lasts, a Vision—anything more?
*
Previously
Dunya Mikhail, "The End of the World," The Iraqi Nights (3/30/23)
Sakutaro Hagiwara, "A Useless Book" (8/1/19)
e.e. cummings, "O sweet spontaneous" (1/4/18)
&c
Affiliation: University of Houston
I’ve been judging since 2011. As of January 2nd, 2022 I am the third most prolific college policy judge in the era of Tabroom. Ahead of me are Jackie Poapst and Armands Revelins, behind me are Kurt Fifelski and Becca Steiner. Take this how you will.
Yes, I want to be on the E-mail chain. Send docs to: robglassdebate [at] the google mail service . I don’t read the docs during the round except in unusual circumstances or when I think someone is clipping cards.
The short version of my philosophy, or “My Coach preffed this Rando, what do I need to know five minutes before the round starts?”:
1. Debate should be a welcoming and open space to all who would try to participate. If you are a debater with accessibility (or other) concerns please feel free to reach out to me ahead of the round and I will work with you to make the space as hospitable as possible.
2. Have a fundamental respect for the other team and the activity. Insulting either or both, or making a debater feel uncomfortable, is not acceptable.
3. Debate is for the debaters. My job, in total, is to watch what you do and act according to how y’all want me. So do you and I’ll follow along.
4. Respond to the other team. If you ignore the other team or try to set the bounds so that their thoughts and ideas can have no access to debate I will be very leery of endorsing you. Find an argument, be a better debater.
5. Offense over Defense. I tend to prefer substantive impacts. That said I will explicitly state here that I am more and more comfortable voting on terminal defense, especially complete solvency takeouts. If I am reasonably convinced your aff does nothing I'm not voting for it.
6. With full credit to Justin Green: When the debate is over I'm going to applaud. I love debate and I love debaters and I plan on enjoying the round.
Nukes thoughts:
The amount of time, reading, discussion, and even writing I have dedicated to American and International nuclear strategy is hard to overstate. Please treat this topic with respect.
The standard argumentative thoughts list:
Debate is for the debaters - Everything below is up for debate, and I will adapt to what the debaters want me to do in the round.
Aff relationship to the topic - I think affirmatives should have a positive relationship to the topic. The topic remains a center point of debate, and I am disinclined to think it should be completely disregarded.
"USFG" framework: Is an argument I will vote on, but I am not inclined to think it is a model that best suits all debates, and I think overly rigid visions of debate are both ahistorical and unstrategic. I tend to think these arguments are better deployed as methodological case turns. TVAs are very helpful.
Counter-plan theory: Condo is like alcohol, alright if used in moderation but excess necessitates appropriate timing. Consultation is usually suspect in my book, alternative international actors more so, alternative USFG actors much less so. Beyond that, flesh out your vision of debate. My only particularly strong feeling about this is judge kick, which is explained at the bottom of this paradigm.
Disads: I have historically been loathe to ascribe 0% risk of a link, and tended to fall very hard into the cult of offense. I am self-consciously trying to check back more against this inclination. Impact comparison is a must.
PTX DAs: For years I beat my chest about my disdain for them, but I have softened since. I still don't like them, and think intrinsicness theory and basic questions of inherency loom large over their legitimacy as argumentation, but I also recognize the role they play in debate rounds and will shelve my personal beliefs on them when making my decision. That said, I do not think "we lose politics DAs" is a compelling ground argument on framework or T.
Critiques: I find myself yearning for more methodological explanation of alternatives these days. In a related thought, I also think Neg teams have been too shy about kicking alts and going for the "link" and "impact" (if that DA based terminology ought be applied one-to-one to the K) as independent reasons to reject the Affirmative advocacy. One of the most common ways that other judges and I dissent in round is that I tend to give more credit to perm solvency in a messy perm debate.
Case debate: Please. They are some of my favorite debates to watch, and I particularly enjoy when two teams go really deep on a nerdish question of either policy analysis or critical theory. If you're going down a particularly deep esoteric rabbit hole it is useful to slow down and explain the nuance to me, especially when using chains of acronyms that I may or may not have been exposed to.
Policy T: I spend a fair chunk of my free time thinking about T and the limits of the topic. I used to be very concerned with notions of lost ground, my views now are almost the opposite. Statistical analysis of round results leads me to believe that good negative teams will usually find someway to win on substance, and I think overly dramatic concerns about lost ground somewhat fly in the face of the cut-throat ethos of Policy Debate re: research, namely that innovative teams should be competitively rewarded. While framework debates are very much about visions of the debate world if both teams accept that debate rounds should be mediated through a relationship to policy action the more important questions for me is how well does debate actually embody and then educate students (and judges) about the real world questions of policy. Put differently, my impulse is that Framework debates should be inward facing whereas T debates should be outward facing. All of that should be taken with the gigantic caveat that is "you do you," whatever my beliefs I will still evaluate warranted ground arguments and Affirmative teams cannot simply point at this paradigm to get out of answering them.
Judge Kick: Judge kick is an abomination and forces 2ARs to debate multiple worlds based on their interpretation of how the judge will understand the 2NR and then intervene in the debate. It produces a dearth of depth, and makes all of the '70s-'80s hand-wringing about Condo come true. My compromise with judge kick is this: If the 2NR advocates for judge kick the 2A at the start of 2AR prep is allowed to call for a flip. I will then flip a coin. If it comes up heads the advocacy is kicked, if it comes up tails it isn't. I will announce the result of the flip and then 2AR prep will commence. If the 2A does this I will not vote on any theoretical issues regarding judge kick. If the 2A does not call for a flip I will listen and evaluate theory arguments about judge kick as is appropriate.
Online Debate Thoughts:
1. Please slow down a little. I will have high quality headsets, but microphone compression, online compression, and then decompression on my end will almost certainly effect just how much I hear of your speeches. I do not open speech docs and will not flow off of them which means I need to be able to understand what you’re saying, so please slow down. Not much, ~80% of top speed will probably be enough. If a team tries to outspread a team that has slowed down per this paradigm I will penalize the team that tried for said advantage.
1A. If you're going too fast and/or I cannot understand you due to microphone quality I will shout 'clear'. If after multiple calls of clear you do nothing I will simply stop flowing. If you try to adapt I will do the best I can to work with you to make sure I get every argument you're trying to make.
2. I come from the era of debate when we debated paper but flowed on computers, which means when I’m judging I will have the majority of my screen dominated by an excel sheet. If you need me to see a performance please flag it for me and I’ll rearrange my screen to account for your performance.
3. This is an echo of point 1, but it's touchy and I think bears repeating. The series of audio compressions (and decompressions) that online debate imposes on us has the consequence of distorting the high and low ends of human speech. This means that clarity will be lost for people with particularly high and low pitches when they spread. There is, realistically speaking, no way around this until we're all back in rooms with each other. I will work as hard as I can to infer and fill in the gaps to make it so that loss is minimized as much as possible, but there is a limit to what I can do. If you think this could affect you please make sure you are slowing down like I asked in point 1 or try to adapt in another way.
4. E-mail chains, please. Not only does this mean we don't have to delay by futzing around with other forms of technology but it also gives us a way to contact participants if (when) connections splutter out.
5. The Fluffy Tax. If during prep or time between speeches a non-human animal should make an appearance on your webcam and I see it, time will stop, they will be introduced to the debaters and myself, and we shall marvel at their existence and cuteness together. In the world of online debate we must find and make the joy that we can. Number of times the fluffy tax has been imposed: 4.
6. Be kind. This year is unbelievably tiring, and it is so easy to both get frustrated with opponents and lose an empathetic connection towards our peers when our only point of contact is a Brady Bunch screen of faces. All I ask is that you make a conscious effort to be kind to others in the activity. We are part of an odd, cloistered, community and in it all we have is our shared love of the activity. Love is an active process, we must choose to make it happen. Try to make it happen a little when you are in front of me.
I debated policy as a 1A/2N out of Heights High School for 3 years, graduating in 2021. I am currently a student at Prairie View A&M University studying computer engineering. I started my career competing through the Houston Urban Debate League and dabbled in my local TFA and UIL circuits.
I have not judged a round since the end of last season, and am largely out of debate. I have done no topic research and am likely best at this point for a slow, relatively traditional round. Pref accordingly.
The extent of my competitive success was qualifying to UIL State, TFA State, and making it to the semifinals of the HUDL City Championships. I had limited exposure to the national circuit, outside of going to a few bid tournaments for policy and debating LD at UH my senior year because my partner was unavailable. I am a multi-year alumni of the TDC Student & Teacher's Institute and my views are heavily influenced by my coach, Isaac Chao. I am generally in agreement with his paradigm, although do feel free to ask me specific questions.
Add me to the chain: jolivettehoust@gmail.com
I am usually fine with most arguments in debate but here’s a pref cheat sheet:
- LARP: 2
- T/Theory: 3-4
- Phil: 4
- Identity Kritiks: 2-3
- Pomo Kritiks: 4-5
- Tricks: Strike
Some general thoughts:
- Again, remember that I have not judged a great deal in general, and also have not picked up a ballot since May of last year.
- I read mostly policy-style arguments with a kritik here and there, but was never deep enough in the lit to be a one-off team.
- If I were to rate my threshold for speed 1-10 (10 being the fastest debater in the circuit) I would probably be at a 6.
- I am an exceptionally rusty flow; please be clear and not too blippy. I have not judged a round since May of 2023.
- I do not have strong presuppositions about whether the affirmative needs to defend a topical plan. While I never read a non-topical k aff, I debated with teammates who did.
- I strongly believe that debaters should not read any arguments making ontological claims of violence toward a group of people they do not belong to.
- Disclose or not, it's up to you. I'm sympathetic to Black debaters who refuse to disclose, however.
For specific positions:
- LARP/ Policy - I was the 2N and I usually ran combinations of disads/counterplans along with a kritik mixed in here and there.
- Theory - Theory is fine; we read theory a lot. Frivolous theory is also fine just as long as it makes sense and you sell it to me. I wasn't super technical on this flow though, so if it gets messy or too fast then I'm not a great judge for these debates.
- Phil - is fine as long as you explain it to me well. I probably won't have read your literature though, so slow down on the spreading when you’re explaining the argument and break it down.
- Kritiks - I'm more familiar with identity kritiks (i.e Afro-Pess, Afro-Futurism, Cap) than post-modern kritiks; have read essentially no pomo literature.
- Tricks - I’d rather you not because no. If you do I can assure you that I won’t flow the round right.
Hello friends! I'm Kiran, I do policy debate at the University of Houston and help out Kinkaid in policy and PF when I can :)
Don't need to take prep for tech issues, sending cards, etc. but please don't end prep and keep talking to your partner about what you need to do in the speech.
Also, please be nice and a good human being during rounds (and outside of them!)
Yes, I want to be on the email chain: kiran.debate@gmail.com
General things:
I know very little about the high school topics argument-wise, but know quite a lot generally about IPR.
Do whatever and do it well! I read ev during the round but am not flowing off the doc, fine with speed, and I evaluate only what makes it onto my flow.
I won't vote on ad-homs or things that occurred outside of the round. I don't flow RVIs.
I vote on arguments with a claim, warrant, and impact.
You can insert evidence.
Policy v Policy:
These are my favorite debates to judge and the ones I'm best at adjudicating.
Default is judge kick but can be persuaded the other way.
There can be 0 risk of an adv or DA, but it is very difficult.
CP theory is better expressed as competition arguments.
Internal link comparison>impact comparison.
NEG leaning on condo.
Topicality:
Default is competing interps.
More persuaded by AFF flex than a big fight on precision.
Policy v Ks:
Prefer links specific to the AFF with good turns case explanations
Don't love big overviews that try to filter the whole debate, but more and specific examples that illustrate your theory of power are much better
I won't arbitrate a middle ground interp on framework unless it's advocated for
K Affs v Framework:
Pretty sure my record is 50/50 in these debates
Fairness is an impact, but I'm more persuaded by clash
Framework is the large majority of my 2NRs v K AFFs, but I am a lot less persuaded than most by a 2NR that does not mention the case
Need to know what the AFF does before the 2AC
K v K:
Almost never in these debates, not super familiar with the lit, if I am judging a debate where this is the strat-I need clear explanations and examples
Tricks:
No.
Speaks:
I start at a 28.5. Don’t ask me for a 30.
PF:
I largely evaluate PF rounds the same as policy rounds
Don't need big picture things, just explain why your thing outweighs the other team's
Defense is not sticky, I have no idea what that even means
I die a little every time a team paraphrases or spends 20 mins figuring out which cards to send after a speech, please do this before your speech or I will dock speaks.
Speeches are so so so short, you don't need to explain the entire story of your arg each time, just explain why it matters, what your opponents missed, and how I should evaluate it.
Feel free to send me questions, and have fun y'all! :)
Rex Kidd
Add me to the email chain - trexdebates@gmail.com
University of Houston Debate 2025.
I welcome arguments in all their forms. I mean this quite literally. Denounce modernity or impact turn innovation - within the parameters of debate, I don't care. My only request: whatever form yours may take, please be considerate and take the time to outline for me the claim of the argument, the warrants to support it, and the impacts of its significance. Even better, organize these arguments so the ideas are unambiguously clear; and at the end of the debate tell me in no uncertain terms why you win and why they lose. At the end of the day, I think debate is an enjoyable game with lasting subjective consequences. What these consequences are, and the extent to which they can become desirable or malignant, is open to interpretation. I believe this responsibility to interpret ultimately resides with the debaters, not the judge. I won't superimpose. I'll try my best to simply evaluate. Have fun!
Debate should be a welcoming and open space to all who would try to participate. If you are a debater with accessibility (or other) concerns please feel free to reach out to me ahead of the round and I will work with you to make the space as hospitable as possible. Have a fundamental respect for the other team and the activity. Insulting either or both, or making a debater feel uncomfortable, is not acceptable.
Online Debate
Speed - I am fine with spreading through the body of cards, but if you want something flowed (taglines, authors, analytics, etc.) you need to slow down, -75%-60% of top speed allowing me pen time to keep up with the debate.
Microphone quality- if I am unable to understand you due to microphone quality, I will give multiple “clear” warnings, but if the issue isnt resolved I simply will stop flowing.
Krishna Lathish
they/them
if u don't put me on the email chain i'm holding your speaks hostage and also it will definitely impact my flow quality especially if ur a super spreader or whatever so be warned - if i can't keep up i'm flagging you twice to slow down then putting down my pen: krishnalathish14@gmail.com
let me know how the round can be made accessible for you and any pronoun/name stuff
did speech - oratory and broadcasting - in high school, started policy in college
i've only been rocking with debate for about a year and also have zero experience in pf or ld so everything i write is in the context of policy
i like:
- clarity > speed
- clear interaction with the other team's arguments, especially picking apart specific warrants and responding to their fairness, clash, education impacts and giving disads to their f/w
- when you name and number arguments
- offense then defense
- good lbl debating, i kind of hate flowing rounds i'm not competing in so help me find and mark the args and ev you've responded to!
- JUDGE INSTRUCTION - omg ur 2xrs last 30 seconds should be "here's your ballot and rfd". i like spectating more than judging to be honest and i am decently lazy, so i want to be told what was and wasn't dropped and what your pathway to the W was. that being said, i'm still flowing the round so don't tell me smth was dropped if it very much wasn't lol
- interesting cx questions - its enough to just ask a question the right way sometimes to show me a gap in the other team's arg/thinking
- kritikal argumentation aff or neg especially when link specificity has depth and isn't just "your actor is the US, state bad" and you have clear impact framing; so very interesting stuff
i don't like/am not good for
- high debate theory - to be candid it's not very engaging to me and i'm just not great for it bc i'm still wading through my own understanding of stuff like condo
- kind of a subpoint but on T: i'm not a topicality-head but it is something i'd LIKE to vote on, so weigh this how u want to: i think T is cool and am not hostile towards it vs i have decent inexperience with debating it myself, never voted on it before
- f/w debates that don't interact with each other, tell me why your model is preferable and then why theirs isn't don't just reiterate ur 2ac, 2nc voters over and over
- basically just debating that just presents evidence but doesn't take time to tell me why i prefer it to the other team's stuff and makes me do debating work for the round in my head, does that make sense? yes
- being rude to be assertive, there's a difference and if you don't know what it is you should err on the side of kindness
- when you jump around on the doc and don't clearly and slowly flag it; i swear this'll kill your speaks and maybe your ballot if it messes up my flow and you don't send a marked doc
- stolen prep; its a bad habit i know sometimes you don't realize other team cut prep i'll still call you on it
- time urselves pls
tech > truth until u try to be terrible, will stop the round if u try to impact turn racism, sexism, any of the -phobias. don't be my judging horror story
have fun debating, i'm just here to write you a ballot and give feedback and be wowed. really i just love to watch this activity eeeee u guys r so smart ⸜(。˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝
My pronouns are they/them.
rylee.stgl@gmail.com for evidence sharing purposes.
I participated in policy debate at both the high school and collegiate level.
Spreading is okay. Open cross-examination and flex prep are okay as long as it is consensual between the competitors. All arguments are acceptable, K and Theory included. I default to policy-making. Defending the status quo is a valid negative position.
Disadvantages: Specific/non generic links are the most important thing.
Counterplans: Would honestly rather you read five good disadvantages than four good disadvantages and a medium counterplan that is going to have seven perms read on it. Counterplans are fine, obviously, but should be specific. Default position is that PICs are bad so just know you'll have to do more work to convince me.
Theory: There should be a very clear warrant for it. If there isn't a clear warrant for the argument, RVIs are hip and cool. I value clash, fairness, and education in that order so ideally I would rather you be having a conversation about the efficacy of the AFF's plan but there is an expectation to maintain competitive integrity.
Topicality: Most topicality arguments come off as time skews and I tend to value reasonability pretty highly so unless the AFF is clearly nontopical (effectually topical or extra topical included) there is a low chance I will vote on this. If the topicality argument is unfounded, RVIs are hip and cool.
Kritiks: Critique the AFF, not just the resolution. Prefer Ks with actionable alternatives.
Framework (CX): As mentioned above, I default to policy-making framework so I want to see the AFF's plan weighed against either the status quo, counterplan(s), or alternative(s). That said, probability > magnitude, provided the impacts are suitably large. Timeframe is tricky depending on impact, mass extinction tomorrow isn't necessarily as impactful as continued systemic violence, for instance, but there are reasonable arguments on both sides and I think that is a debate worth having.
Framework (LD): Most framework debates, in my experience, just dissolve to the frameworks being the same or similar enough that the winning side can solve using either. Your frameworks should have specific value criteria to help weigh the round.
If you have any questions not covered by the above or would like elaboration, please ask.
Elise Matton, Director of Speech & Debate at Albuquerque Academy (2022–present)
EMAIL CHAIN: enmatton@gmail.com
· B.A. History, Tulane University (Ancient & Early Modern Europe)
· M.A. History, University of New Mexico (U.S. & Latin America)
Competitive Experience:
· CX debate in NM local circuit, 2010 State Champion (2005-2010)
· IPDA/NPDA debate in college, 2012 LSU Mardi Gras Classic Champion (2011-2014)
Coaching Experience:
· Team Assistant, Isidore Newman (primarily judging/trip chaperoning — 2012-2016)
· Assistant Coach, Albuquerque Academy (LD & CX emphasis — 2017–2022)
Judging Experience:
· I judge a mix of local circuit and national circuit tournaments (traditional & progressive) primarily in CX and LD, but occasionally PF or other Speech events.
Note Pre-Jack Howe:
· Jack Howe is my 1st national circuit tournament in policy this season — I haven't seen or judged many rounds at all yet this year and definitely not too many fast/technical/progressive rounds on the topic. Do not assume I know Aff topic areas, core neg ground, abstract topic-specific acronyms, etc. Adjust accordingly!
General Notes (this is catered for policy and national circuit LD. PF notes are at the bottom).
· Speed is fine generally so long as it's not used to excessively prohibit interaction with your arguments. I do think there is a way to spread and still demonstrate strong speaking ability (varying volume, pacing, tone etc) and will probably reward you for it if you're doing both well. Go slower/clearer/or otherwise give vocal emphasis on taglines and key issues such as plan text or aff advocacy, CP texts, alts, ROB/ROJ, counter-interps, etc. Don't start at your max speed but build up to it instead. If you are one of the particularly fast teams in the circuit, I recommend you slow down SLIGHTLY in front of me. I haven't been judging many fast rounds lately, so I'm slightly rusty. I'm happy to call out "clear" and/or "slow" to help you find that my upper brightline so you can adjust accordingly as needed.
· Put me on the email chain (enmatton@gmail.com) but know I don't like rounds that REQUIRE me to read the doc while you're speaking (or ideally at all). I tend to have the speech doc up, but I am annoyed by rounds where debaters ASSUME that everyone is reading along with them. I flow off what I hear, not what I read, and I believe that your delivery and performance are important aspects of this activity and you have the burden of clearly articulating your points well enough that I theoretically shouldn't need to look at the docs at all for anything other than ev checking when it's requested. If someone who wasn't looking at your speech doc would not be able to tell the difference between the end of one card/warrant and the beginning of a new tagline, you need better vocal variety and clarity (louder, intonation change, inserting "and" or "next" between cards etc, etc.
· The most impressive debaters to me are ones who can handle intense high-level technical debates, but who can make it accessible to a wide variety of audiences. This means that I look for good use of tech and strategy, but ALSO for the ability to "boil it down" in clearly worded extensions, underviews, overviews, and explanations of your paths to the ballot. I strongly value debaters who can summarize the main thesis of each piece of offense in their own words. It shows you have a strong command of the material and that you are highly involved in your own debate prep.
· I believe that Tech>truth GENERALLY, BUT- Just because an argument is dropped doesn't necessarily mean I'll give you 100% weight on it if the warrants aren't there or it is absurdly blippy. I also have and will vote for teams that may be less technically proficient but still make valid warranted claims even if they aren't done formatted in a "Technical" manner. Ex: if you run some a theory argument against a less technical team who doesn't know how to line-by-line respond to it, but they make general arguments about why this strategy is harmful to debaters and the debate community and argue that you should lose for it, I would treat that like an RVI even if they don't call it an RVI. Etc.
· Use my occasional facial expression as cues. You’ll probably notice me either nodding occasionally or looking quizzically from time to time- if something sounds confusing or I’m not following you’ll be able to tell and can and should probably spend a few more seconds re-explaining that argument in another way (don't dwell on this if it happens — if it's an important enough point that you think you need to win, use the cue to help you and try explaining it again!) Note the nodding doesn't mean I necessarily agree with a point, just following it and think you're explaining it well. If you find this distracting please say so pre-round and I’ll make an effort not to do so.
· Use Content warnings if discussing anything that could make the space less safe for anyone within it and be willing to adapt for opponents or judges in the room.
Role as a Judge
Debate is incredible because it is student-driven, but I don't think that means I abandon my role as an educator or an adult in the space when I am in the back of the room making my decision. I believe that good debaters should be able to adapt to multiple audiences. Does this mean completely altering EVERYTHING you do to adapt to a certain judge (traditional judge, K judge, anti-spreading judge, lay judge, etc etc)? No, but it does mean thinking concretely about how you can filter your strategy/argument/approach through a specific lens for that person.
HOW I MAKE MY RFD: At the end of the last negative speech I usually mark the key areas I could see myself voting and then weigh that against what happens in the 2AR to make my decision. My favorite 2NR/2AR’s are ones that directly lay out and tell me the possible places in the round I could vote for them and how/why. 2NR/2AR’s that are essentially a list of possible RFDs/paths to the ballot for me are my favorite because not only do they make my work easier, but it clearly shows me how well you understood and interpreted the round.
Topicality/Theory
Part of me really loves the meta aspect of T and theory, and part of me loathes the semantics and lack of substance it can produce. I see T and Theory as a needing to exist to help set some limits and boundaries, but I also have a fairly high threshold. Teams can and do continue to convince me of appropriate broadenings of those boundaries. Reasonability tends to ring true to me for the Aff on T, but don’t be afraid to force them to prove or meet that interpretation, especially if it is a stretch, and I can be easily persuaded into competing interps. For theory, I don’t have a problem with conditional arguments but do when a neg strat is almost entirely dependent on running an absurd amount of offcase arguments as a time skew that prevents any substantive discussion of arguments. This kind of strat also assumes I’ll vote on something simply because it was “flowed through”, when really I still have to examine the weight of that argument, which in many cases is insubstantial. At the end of the day, don’t be afraid to use theory- it’s there as a strategy if you think it makes sense for the round context, but if you’re going to run it, please spend time in the standards and voters debate so I can weigh it effectively.
Disadvantages
I love a really good disad, especially with extensive impact comparisons. Specific disads with contextualized links to the aff are some of my all-time favorite arguments, simple as they may seem in construct. The cost/benefit aspect of the case/DA debate is particularly appealing to me. I don’t think generic disads are necessarily bad but good links and/or analytics are key. Be sure your impact scenario is fully developed with terminal impacts. Multiple impact scenarios are good when you can. I'm not anti nuke war scenarios (especially when there is a really specific and good internal link chain and it is contextually related to the topic) but there are tons more systemic level impacts too many debaters neglect.
Counterplans
I used to hate PICs but have seen a few really smart ones in the past few years that are making me challenge that notion. That being said I am not a fan of process CPs, but go for it if it’s key to your strat.
Kritiks
Love them, with some caveats. Overviews/underviews, or really clearly worded taglines are key here. I want to see *your* engagement with the literature. HIGH theory K's with absurdly complicated taglines that use methods of obfuscation are not really my jam. The literature might be complex, and that's fine, but your explanations and taglines to USE those arguments should be vastly more clear and communicable if you want to run it in round! I have a high threshold for teams being able to explain their positions well rather than just card-dump. I ran some kritiks in high school (mostly very traditional cap/biopower) but had a pretty low understanding of the best way to use them and how they engaged with other layers of offense in the round. They weren’t as common in my circuit so I didn’t have a ton of exposure to them. However, they’ve really grown on me and I’ve learned a lot while judging them- they’re probably some of my favorite kind of debate to watch these days. (hint: I truly believe in education as a voter, in part because of my own biases of how much this activity has taught me both in and out of round, but this can work in aff’s favor when terrible K debates happen that take away from topic education as well). Being willing to adapt your K to those unfamiliar with it, whether opponents or judge, not only helps you in terms of potential to win the ballot, but, depending on the kind of kritik you're running or pre-fiat claims, also vastly increases likelihood for real world solvency (that is if your K is one that posits real world solvency- I'm down for more discussion-based rounds as theoretical educational exercises as well). I say this because the direction in which I decided to take my graduate school coursework was directly because of good K debaters who have been willing to go the extra step in truly explaining these positions, regardless of the fact I wasn’t perceived as a “K judge”. I think that concept is bogus and demonstrates some of the elitism still sadly present in our activity. If you love the K, run it- however you will need to remember that I myself wasn’t a K debater and am probably not as well versed in the topic/background/author. As neg you will need to spend specific time really explaining to me the alt/role of the ballot/answers to any commodification type arguments. Despite my openness to critical argumentation, I’m also open to lots of general aff answers here as well including framework arguments focused on policymaking good, state inevitable, perms, etc. Like all arguments, it ultimately boils down to how you warrant and substantiate your claims.
MISCELLANEOUS
Flash time/emailing the doc out isn’t prep time (don’t take advantage of this though). Debaters should keep track of their own time, but I also tend to time as well in case of the rare timer failure. If we are evidence sharing, know that I still think you have the burden as debaters to clearly explain your arguments, (aka don’t assume that I'll constantly use the doc or default to it- what counts is still ultimately what comes out of you mouth).
I will yell “clear” if the spread is too incoherent for me to flow, or if I need you to slow down slightly but not if otherwise. If I have to say it more than twice you should probably slow down significantly. My preference while spreading is to go significantly slower/louder/clearer on the tagline and author. Don’t spread out teams that are clearly much slower than you- you don’t have to feel like you have to completely alter your presentation and style, but you should adapt somewhat to make the round educational for everyone. I think spreading is a debate skill you should employ at your discretion, bearing in mind what that means for your opponents and the judge in that round. Be smart about it, but also be inclusive for whoever else is in that round with you.
**PUBLIC FORUM**
I don't judge PF nearly as frequently as I do CX/LD, so I'm not as up to date on norms and trends.
Mostly when judging PF I default to util/cost-benefit analysis framing and then I evaluate clash and impacts, though the burden is on you to effectively weigh that clash and the impacts.
Final Focus should really focus on the ballot story and impact calc. Explain all the possible paths to the ballot and how you access them.
Compared to LD and CX, I find that clash gets developed much later in the round because the 2nd constructive doesn't (typically?) involve any refutations (which I find bizarre from a speech structure standpoint). For this reason, I appreciate utilizing frontlining as much as possible and extending defense into summary.
Impressive speaking style = extra brownie points for PFers given the nature of the event. Ultimately I'm still going to make a decision based on the flow, but this matters more to me when evaluating PF debaters. Utilize vocal intonation, eye contact, gestures, and variance in vocal pacing.
Grand Crossfire can be fun when done right but horribly chaotic when done wrong. Make an effort to not have both partners trying to answer/ask questions simultaneously or I'll have a really hard time making out what's going on. Tag-team it. If Grand Crossfire ends early, I will not convert the time remaining into additional prep. It simply moves us into Final Focus early.
I have a much lower threshold for spreading in PF than I do for CX/LD. I can certainly follow it given my focus on LD and CX, but my philosophy is that PF is stylistically meant to be more accessible and open. I don't mind a rapid delivery, but I will be much less tolerant of teams that spread out opponents, especially given email chains/evidence sharing before the round is not as much of a norm (as far as I've seen).
I am often confused by progressive PF as the structure of the event seems to limit certain things that are otherwise facilitated by CX/LD. Trying to make some of the same nuanced Theory and K debates are incredibly difficult in a debate event structured by 2-3 mins speeches. Please don't ask me to weigh in on or use my ballot to help set a precedent about things like theory, disclosure, or other CX/LD arguments that seem to be spilling into PF. I am not an involved enough member of the PF community to feel comfortable using my ballot to such ends. If any of these things appear in round, I'm happy to evaluate them, but I guess be cautious in this area.
Please feel free to ask any further questions or clarifications before/after the round!- my email is enmatton@gmail.com if you have any specific questions or need to run something by me. Competitors: if communicating with me by email, please CC your coach or adult chaperone. Thank you!
email: saron.regassa@gmail.com
I am a college policy debater and a public policy major at the University of Houston. I am mostly a K debater, I find those debates the most interesting. I will try my best to be a “blank slate” for the purposes of the round. Don’t assume that I have advanced background knowledge in the topic. If you can convince me, in the context of the debate round, that your argument is true, I will accept it as such. Tell me how I should evaluate the round and why you should win. I am open to all kinds of arguments, as long as you explain them, but prefer when you can show me impacts to vote for.
As of 2022 I am a policy debater and Economics student at University of Houston. Back in high school I used to compete in debate and speaking events. I've done World Schools Debate, Info speaking, Extemp, and I did LD for a year. Put together I've been debating for 5 years.
I will try my best to be a “blank slate” for the purposes of the round. If you can convince me, in the context of the debate round, that your argument is true, I will accept it as such. Tell me how I should evaluate the round and why you should win. I am open to all kinds of arguments, as long as you explain them, but prefer when you can show me concrete impacts to vote for.
For policy rounds please put me on the email chain. My email address is: wajih2003@live.com
ASK ME ABOUT THE TEXAS DEBATE COLLECTIVE AND/OR THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON HONORS DEBATE WORKSHOP
EMAILS - yes, “at the google messaging service” means @gmail.com
All rounds - esdebate93 at the google messaging service
Policy - dulles.policy.db8 at the google messaging service
LD - dulles.ld.db8 at the google messaging service
QUICK GUIDE- My preferences/self-assessment. You are free to decide that I am great/terrible for any given form of argument.
Policy - 1
Kritiks - 1
Topicality/Framework - 1
Philosophy - 2
Theory - 3
Tricks - Strike
ABOUT ME
I am currently the program director at Dulles High School, where I also teach AP Psychology and AP Research. I primarily judge Policy and LD. I've been in debate since 2007 and have judged at every level from TOC finals to the novice divisions at locals; you are not likely to surprise me. I have no significant preferences about the content of your arguments, except that they are not exclusionary in nature. I like research dense, content heavy strategies. As such, I am best for Policy v Policy, KvK, substantive phil debates, and Clash Debates. Quality of evidence is more important than the quantity of evidence for me. I believe that Aff teams, regardless of style choice, must identify a problem with the status quo (this can be the state of the world, the state of thought, the state of debate, or something else) and propose some method of solving that problem. I believe that Neg teams, regardless of style choice, must disagree with the viability, desirability, and/or topicality of that method.
DECISION MAKING
I am deciding between competing ballot stories in the 2NR and 2AR, evaluating their veracity and quality using my flow. Tech > Truth, but blatantly untrue things are harder to win. Spin control > me reading a card doc, but I will read evidence if the spin is roughly equal in quality. Judge instruction is the highest layer of the debate. Speaks start at 28.5 and move up or down from there. 30s should be rare, it is unlikely you earned it. Don't ask for one.
THINGS I CARE ABOUT
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Respect for Others - Don't be a jerk. Use people’s preferred pronouns, provide accommodations when they are requested, be prompt and ready to go at start time, and be mindful of the power dynamics in the room. I will defer to how the aggrieved party wants to handle the situation should an issue arise. If I’m not picking up on something, let me know.
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Investment - Apathy sucks. Caring about stuff is cool. Whether you’re more invested in saying stuff that matters or chasing competitive success, I just want to see that you care about some aspect of the thing you are giving up a significant amount of time to do. Take notes during feedback and ask questions.
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Transparency - I believe that disclosure is generally good, as it enables people to read, think and prepare better (obvious exception for when it raises safety issues). Don't be a jerk about it with people who don't know better. Shiftiness and lying are bad. If you are reading arguments that implicate the desirability of transparency, that is perfectly fine. This is just a starting point.
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Flowing - Do it. Preferably on paper. Definitely not in your opponent's speech document. If you answer a position that was in the doc but was not read, your speaks will be capped at 26.5. There is no flow clarification period. If you're asking questions, it's CX or prep time.
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Clash - Compare warrants and weigh. Rehighlights are fine, but your speech should explain why it matters. I am not sympathetic to strategies that attempt to dodge clash, like tricks. Specific links, counterplans, topicality interps, etc. are way better than generics. K links should quote the aff.
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Line by Line Organization - The negative team sets the order for arguments on the case page. The affirmative team sets the order on off case positions. Number or label your arguments as you go down the flow. Overviews are fine, but your whole speech should not be a blocked out overview with no attempt at line by line argument/evidence comparison. Jumping around between pages is extremely annoying and will impact speaker points.
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Debating the Case - Both the affirmative and negative teams should center the case. If you’re aff, the case should go first. If you’re neg, don’t treat the case page like an afterthought, and certainly don’t focus solely on the impact level. Contest uniqueness, link, internal link, and solvency claims. Making the case page K 2.0 with nothing but cross-applications is both boring and unstrategic.
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Judge Instruction - The top of the 2NR/2AR should be what you want my ballot to say. Tell me how I should be thinking about arguments and their interactions. Tell me what matters most. When Neg, anticipate 2AR arguments, prime me for skepticism, and tell me where which lines to hold. When Aff, assume I'm voting Neg, figure out why I would vote Neg, and beat that ballot.
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Complete Arguments - Arguments have a claim, warrant, and implication. I will evaluate arguments, not isolated claims. If you make a warranted claim without explaining the implication for the debate, you invite intervention.
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Projection and Enunciation - I like fast debates, but if you are unclear I am not going to pretend like I understood you and flow it.
Other than these 10 things, don’t overadapt. Do your thing, do it well. Feel free to ask any questions you have before we start, and I'll do my best to answer.
debatesheff@gmail.com
If policy ALSO add lcandersoncx@gmail.com
If LD ALSO add breakdocs@googlegroups.com
Policy debater at the University of Houston '26
Coach for Seven Lakes HS and Break Debate
Update for Durham (1/17): I don't judge PF a lot and a lot of the norms confuse me. That being said, everything in this paradigm applies to PF. You should make a conscious effort to label arguments and number your opponents responses on the flow. You will not win if your ff is just "aff can't solve", to win debates you require offense. Not everything is a turn. Defense is not sticky. Do judge instruction, your final focus should be telling me what parts of the debate are the most important and why you are winning them. My hands will not be on my keyboard if you make an “IVI” or read non-resolutional theory because if something so egregious happens that it makes a debater feel unsafe I will either intervene or ask you if you want to take it to tab, or the argument is bad and should not have been read in the first place.
I hate deadtime in debates. It makes me increasingly frustrated when there isn't a timer running and it seems like no one is doing anything. To reduce this please have the email chain with the speech doc sent AT START TIME.For every minute past start time without a doc sent i will deduct .2 speaks.
Stop asking for marked docs if they didn't mark any cards. Learn how to flow. Asking for what cards were and weren't read must be asked with a timer on whether it is Cross or flex prep.
Be clear, especially during cards. I should be able to hear every word. You get two warnings - after that, I will immediately stop flowing. I am not going to have docs up during your speeches, so make sure you are debating like a human and not a spreading robot.
I consider myself tab for arguments that are in Policy, but I am not great for LD shenangins outside of things like basic phil arguments. Regardless, conditoned on my biases listed below my decision will be determined based on my flow.
K affs being vague and shifty hurts you more than it helps. I'm very unsympathetic to 2AR pivots that change the way the aff has been explained. Take care to have a coherent story/explanation of your K aff that starts in the 1AC and remains consistent throughout the debate
Inserting rehighlightings is fine as long as you explain why it matters in the speech. I usually read ev while making decisions.
Condo is good and the negative can read as many as they want to. I default judge kick but that can be debated. This is not to say I will not vote on condo, but it requires substanial mistakes to be made by the negative in order for me to get even close to think 2AR on condo is a good option.
Most CP theory arguments are better made as competition arguments. I lean neg on most CP theory questions besides things like Object, private actor, or multi-actor fiat.
I will not adjudicate anything that didn't happen in the round including out of round violations.
I have a disdain for argumentative cowardice. You should not pref me if your entire strategy is based on arguments like tricks, RVIs, or frivolous theory. I will not vote for you.
Qualified authors & solid warrants in your ev are important. Evidence comparison and weighing are also important. In the absence of evidence comparison and weighing, I may make a decision that upsets you. That is fundamentally your fault.
Answering a 1NC position that wasn't read is an auto 27.5. I don’t care. Flow.
Stolen from Pat Fox: When debating an opponent of low experience, i will heavily reward giving younger debaters the dignity of a real debate they can still participate in (i.e: slower, fewer off, more forthcoming in CX). if you believe the best strategy against a novice is extending hidden aspec, i will assume you are too bad at debate to beat a novice on anything else, and speaks will reflect that. these debates are negatively educational and extremely annoying.
Updated: 09/10/23
Debate:
Please preflow before the round starts to expedite the round especially when it's flighted
I won't disclose unless I specifically say at the beginning of the round
LD Debate:
Argumentation:
I value your ability to communicate your arguments the most out of anything else in round. Students often have interesting arguments whether progressive or traditional but if you struggle to communicate those arguments effectively, you'll lose me. It isn't my job to fill in the gaps of arguments and make links for you, if the arguments themselves aren't fleshed out and conveyed in a manner that makes sense it isn't my job to do it for you.
!!No Frivolous Theory!! - I think this makes for a bad round, if there's legitimate abuse within round that's the only time I believe theory should be run.
Speed:
If you intend on spreading, I request a speechdrop, otherwise I won't be able to keep up.
Line-by-line vs Big Picture:
I'd prefer a balance of both, I want you to go line-by-line on the most important arguments but overall crystallize and provide the big picture for me.
Speech:
What I look for:
-Speeches that flow well from point A to B, which means ensuring you transition well and organize your ideas well
-I prefer an abundance and variety of sources to be used which I want your own analysis of as well (especially in extemp)
-I value your ability to create a speech that's informative, flows well/is organized well, and has an abundance and variety of sources over your ability to speak well - but good speech should be written well and performed well, but if I have a preference then it's: well-written speech > well-performed speech, because the first shows me depth and substance that the latter doesn't
General
Debated at Jack C Hays and Trinity University
Graduate from Trinity University 2024
Email: averydebate1@gmail.com
Debate - All
ONLINE --- Please go like 85% percent speed. It can sometimes become difficult to understand debaters over computer audio and my own typing. Wait for a VERBAL confirmation I am good to go before starting a speech.
) Have docs sent at round start time
) Send cards in files
) Disclosure - don't really see a world where I want to vote on disclosure. Mis-disclosure depends on whether or not it is verifiable within the round by the debaters mis-disclosure occurred. I do believe disclosure is a good practice and should be done, but lack of disclosing is probably not any kind of round ending decision.
) Please be nice in round - No one wants issues
) I've found out I am not a fan of debaters trying to be snarky in speeches and at worst has made me very very uncomfortable in the past.
) Do not misgender your opponents - Even If not called out in round your speaks will suffer and I will probably not be looking to view things favorably for you in the debate. I have no issue voting on misgendering and will be happy to do so. This can be avoided by simply gendering your opponents 1) correctly or 2) referring to speeches and not the debaters.
How I Judge
) Everything is either offense or defense at the end of the day. The team with the most important/largest offense in the round wins. Defense is important, but I need some kind of reason to vote for a side. Risk of impacts need to be a more substantial risk than the other side, not just a risk - please do weighing!
) My threshold for an extension and complete argument is fairly high. "they dropped it so 100% risk" is not an extension in my world and I will be very hard pressed to accept that as an argument. If your speech does not have a WARRANT and an impact to it that is describle after the end of the speech I will not be voting on it. Debaters tend to have the reverse amount of time allocation - you should be explaining these args more not less. Make them matter. I dont care if the opponent dropped them if I dont know what it is or why it matters besides 5 words on an advantage. I really dont want to do the 2AR/2NR work of implciating your arguments for you, that is the job of the debaters. I will often vote on worse args that have impacts over a team going for unconnected statements.
) I tend to be somewhat expressive in round. You should not take my expressions and movements as comments on your arguments.
) I like to evaluate debates as technically as I am capable of - This does not mean all arguments exist on an equal playing field in their acceptability in the round. I carry in my own beliefs into round and can't purely disentangle them from how I evaluate arguments. This doesn't mean i wont vote on such arguments, but the thresholds is high and I am much less likely to be persuaded by your Heg DA versus an aff about a literary work.
) Please attempt to engage K Affs on a deeper level. Opening up a book and reading is good and will make your arguments better. This doesnt mean Framework isn't a viable option against Kritikal affirmatives, but deeper and creative arguments are likely to be rewarded. There is almost certainly someone out there that says the aff is bad, you can find them.
) I sometimes struggle to understands debaters spreading. If I need you to slow down I will clear you. Please be sure to signify vocally in some way when you transition from card text to tag, too often debates spread without enough differentiation.
) I flow on my laptop for most rounds
) I tend to not flow off the doc. You're speech should be understandable without me having to look at it. I will look at cards during prep and after speeches If I feel as though I need to.
) Better Cards > More Cards - Truth and being correct is more important than having a lot of people being wrong. I'd rather you invest in quality evidence that actually says something than trying to string together a conspiracy theory from 6 cards.
) Massive fan on the weird side of arguments. Things that are considered "tricks" or "trolls" are often arguments I can see myself voting on IF AND ONLY IF you do the work of demonstrating how it interacts with the other side in a way that reaches an Impact. It would be preferred if the impact wasn't just presumption.
) Presumption is a very silly argument versus most Kritikal affs. I don't think this activity requires anyone to pretend signing a ballot does anything in any round for me to vote a side.
) Will not vote on cards written by current debaters
) Will not adjudicate issues that occurred outside of the round
) Will vote on Spark/Wipeout
) Not voting on RVIs in policy -- In LD I really really dont want to and am likely to not be persuaded outside of extreme circumstances.
) Every time I enter speaker points it is basically a number randomly generated from my head. I don't have a system for this nor plan to make one. I will give speaks on the vibes, but I tend to hover around high 28 to low 29 for doing an okay/good job.
College - Climate
) Unsure what T looks like on this topic outside of the subsets debate. I currently do not have thoughts on any portion of this.
) I think there is ALOT of potential for cool affs and negative strategies on this topic. Big fan of a lot of the climate change critical literature in all its versions and think there is good potential for aff specific engagement no matter how you approach it. This is 100% a topic you should have something specific as a link to the aff, especially if you are reading the Cap K.
) Please no warming good
) Unsure what Kritikal affs look on this topic yet, but I'm hopeful for some cool stuff that doesn't just become "markets bad" by the 2ar. If that is your aff I'm probably not the biggest fan of it.
Thoughts On Arguments That Are Maybe Important To You
) T-Framework - I think these debates can sometimes be interesting but most of the time become slugfests. I think the negative should probably go for a real impact (not fairness). I am much more interested if you decide to do something that is a bit more topic or aff tailored with framework rather than preaching about the glory of limits for the sake of meaningless gameplaying. Hypotesting anyone?
) Condo -my condo threshold is not set at a certain hard limit, but once it starts becoming 3+ condo I am willing to listen to the argument as much more real and less of a question of mere technical concessions. Please don't drop condo or turn it into a condo v theory debate.
) I dont see a world I vote on a-spec as a reason to drop the team.
LD Quick Pref List:
K -- 1
T vs K-Affs - 1/2
K-Affs - 2
Policy Strat - 2
T - 2
Phil - 3
Theory - 4
Tricks - 4
OLD LD THOUGHTS
Framework vs K Affs -- I think a lot about framework debates and have become mostly opinionless on them. I find these debates conceptually really interesting but I'm not sure how much of that can ever be drawn out in LD. Do things with framework besides "limits good!" and engage the aff more. This debate in LD I think is very skewed negative.
Policy Affs vs K -- I end up tapping out on extinction first a lot, but this is mainly due to lack of impact framing or weighing by the negative. If you are doing a framework push in the 1ar/2ar you need to implicate what winning it gets you/ why the links dont matter anymore etc on a substance level. I often find perm explanations from policy affs very lacking, I'd much rather judge an impact turn to the K than a nonsensical perm 2ar. How affs win this debate is by having offense on the the K at some substantive level (links, alt, impacts, not broad issues of "fairness"). Negs should be turning the aff in some way or interact on some level with the aff outside of "there is a link, moving on to impact." otherwise I'm left just evaluating between 2nr impact rambling versus 2ar impact weighing.
Phil - Yes. I have cut phil affs of all varieties and read a lot of them in highschool (Rawls, Contractualism, Scanlon, Virtue Ethics, Kant, even a little Schopenhauer)
I've cut and prepped induction fails, Trinity goes for no free will and we live in a simulation. I rock with a lot of these arguments. I think teams are pretty bad at answering them. do with that what you will. I don't think any of these arguments require truth testing framework to win.
Make it so I either negate or CAN'T affirm the resolution with offense of why affirming would be bad or impossible then you will probably be in a good spot -- Just make sure its CLEAR and an actually strategy and not paired with like 20 other tricks and triggers -- If it's your winning arg, make it win the 2nr and GO for it
Policy Args - Yes they are good. Functionally and Textually compete, explain things. I don't go for or extend these things very often, but I promise I will follow whatever you do. Don't be afraid to go for a CP DA. There's isnt much to say about DAs -- Have uq, a link, have an internal link, have an impact; do that and youre golden
I find a lot of cards about China to be kind of ridiculously racist at points. Policy teams please point this out more.
T - LDers please read an interp with definitions of the resolution words, I'm not a fan of people just saying "grammar" or basing the interp on vague vibes the aff maybe did something bad (Nebel). I try not to hold on to many defaults on T because I think debate about meta level questions should be largely up the debaters. Counter-interps should be extended, they should have standards, and they need reasons why they are good (I dont really care what the reason for it being good is, just make sure you answer the opponents args, otherwise T interps become two ships in the night).
WEIGH WEIGH WEIGH
RVIs on T is an arg I think is foundationally silly -- you dont get to win for following norms. However, drop or undercovered args are undercovered args, go for them if you must.
Theory - Most theory read I find pedantic and rarely a reason to DTD instead of DTA (except condo). Lean neg on condo in LD but very open to it being read. Strong tendency to not vote for AFC, ACC, Colt, TJFs, etc.
Probably not the judge if your A strat is 1AR theory restarts, but I will vote on it I just likely won't be very happy. These debates just end up becoming theory overview 2ars which become very intervention heavy to evaluate.
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I'm a novice college debater at University of Houston. I'm fine with whatever argument you want to run as long as you give some judge instruction.