Name : Jenny Abrahamian

Affiliated School: Niles North

Email:jennifer.abrahamian@gmail.com

General Background:
I debated in high school in the 1990s for Maine East. I participated on the national circuit where counterplans and theory were common but kritiks less so. I was competitive nationally and cleared at several elite tournaments but TBH it has been a while since I've been in debate so don’t assume that I am up to date with debate-specific terms and abbreviations (i.e. if you say “PDB” I will have no idea what you mean—please just take the extra 2 seconds to say “Perm do both”).

ME

Experience:

I competed in the 90s, helped around for a few years afterwards but I have not judged a debate round in a long time. TL/DR--I am familiar with national circuit debate but assume that I will need some clear explaining on debate specific norms, K theory, role of the ballot and voting issues as those types of arguments change a lot over time.

I try to keep an open mind and not be ideological towards most arguments. I believe debate structurally is a game, but there are benefits to debate outside of it being just a game, give it your best shot and I will try my best to adapt to you. Have a good time, be honest and nice to each other and you will get the most respect from me.

DISADS AND ADVANTAGES

When deciding to vote on disadvantages and affirmative advantages, I look for a combination of good storytelling and evidence analysis. Strong teams are teams that frame impact calculations for me in their rebuttals (e.g. how do I decide between preventing a war or promoting human rights?). I should hear from teams how their internal links work and how their evidence and analysis refute indictments from their opponents.

TOPICALITY

I will vote on topicality if it is given time (more than 15 seconds in the 2NR) in the debate and the negative team is able to articulate the value of topicality as a debate “rule” and demonstrate that the affirmative has violated a clear and reasonable framework set by the negative. If the affirmative offers a counter interpretation, I will need someone to explain to me why their standards and definitions are best.

KRITIKS

I generally like kritiks as a philosophical exercise, but they should be used sparingly and not in every round. I think you need to understand them very well in order to argue them properly, and the kritik should not overtly conflict with your other arguments. If you tell a good story, I will be persuaded. Just be clear on your link, framework and role of the ballot analysis.

If you are doing something that kritiks the overall debate round framework (like being an Aff who doesn't have a plan text), make sure you explain to me the purpose of your framework and why it is competitively fair and educationally valuable.

COUNTERPLANS
I am generally a fan of CPs as a neg strategy. I will vote for counterplans but I am open to theory arguments from the affirmative (PICs bad etc). Counterplans are most persuasive to me when the negative is able to clearly explain the net benefits and how (if at all) the counterplan captures affirmative solvency. For permutations to be convincing offense against CPs, Affs should explain how permutation works and what voting for perm means (does the DA go away, do I automatically vote against neg etc?). If you are going to read a bunch of perms in the 2AC either slow down a bit or send out the perm text in the speech doc.

Random

Tag team is fine as long as you don’t start taking over cross-ex and dominating. You are part of a 2 person team for a reason.

Speed is ok as long as you are clear. If you have a ton of analytics in a row or are explaining a new/dense theory, you may want to slow down a little since processing time for flowing analytics or kritkits is a little slower than me just flowing the text of your evidence.

I listen to cross ex. I think teams come up with a lot of good arguments during this time. If you come up with an argument in cross ex-add it to the flow in your speech.

add me to the chain pls!

sbigelow24@dowlingcatholic.org

Glenbrook South '24

246115@glenbrook225.org

Tech > Truth

For novices, understanding your arguments is better than having good ones.

Warrants needed for everything. If the other team dropped T, explain why that means you win the debate.

Please flow. Especially because you're a novice.

+0.3 speaks if you: add me on the email chain, signpost, watch Game of Thrones (I will quiz you)

+0.1 speaks if you: are clear, understand your arguments, make Aayan Ali jokes

Broncos Country

Lets ride

email chain/email for comments: drewgartner1@gmail.com

Debate background:

Iowa City High: '11-'15
University of Iowa: '15

Coaching: Iowa City High '15-'18. '21- present

Important disclaimer: I have done nearly 0 research on this topic, and will likely not understand your acronyms without explanation. Please do not assume that I have a shared knowledge of the topic, and take time to explain things.

Important Disclaimer Addendum: My comfortability with full mega-speed has lowered, especially in the realm of analytics. I would like your analytics to be slower, so I can really get it all down. Taking a few year break from debate really impacted my full spread comprehension.

I debated Policy all through high school and did some college policy as well. I mainly work with novices, now. Topic specific acronyms, let me know what they mean I won't know. Don't start your speeches full speed, start at 80% and work up to full speed.

I think most debates can/should be decided without reading evidence. This means it is the debaters' burden to tell me what the evidence says, and the implication of the evidence. This also means that I reward story telling/writing my ballot. I have no sympathy for debaters who ask about "well, what about this evidence that says x" after I give a decision. I will not be embarrassed to vote against an argument that I feel i do not understand. It is your job to tell me about that evidence and why it matters, not my job to read it and implicate it on the debate.

General Philosophy: I come from a team where our primary focus was "traditional policy debate" meaning we liked to read heg, environment affs, et.c. Our main neg strat was the DA and a CP, and that is the type of debate I prefer. I did do a lot of cap debating, and a fair amount of security debating, too. My knowledge of critical theory is very limited and I probably require a huge amount of work on the more "out there" ks to vote for you. That being said, I do believe a dropped argument is a true argument. I will vote on dropped arguments if they are dropped and explained. As a caveat, debaters tend to have bad flows and claim everything was dropped, when the reality is that they probably did not. Please do not use the term "functionally conceded" in front of me, that term makes no sense. Either they have dropped something or they have not.

Specifics:

Disadvantages- Probably my favorite part of debate is the top level interactions with case and good DA O/Ws and Case O/Ws and turns debates. These are probably where the majority of my decision calculus comes from. Obviously, you need to win risk/chance of your disadvantage being true, but good impact calc and turns debates are very convincing.

Counter Plans- there tend to be a lot of cheating counter plans, and as a 2a I am probably sympathetic to reasonable theory arguments and perm do the counterplan. That being said, most counter plan theory should be a reason to reject the argument, it will be extremely difficult to win that it should be a reason to reject the team

Ks- like I said above, i am mostly versed in cap and security. If you want to read too much beyond basic Ks, I am most likely not your type of judge. Floating PIKs are probably bad, don't let the negative get away with them.

"non traditional debate/ performance"- also not very versed in it. I am more than likely not the type of judge for this, but i will not reject any arguments out right. I am pretty sympathetic to FW arguments. However, if you are a "non traditional team" and you get stuck with me as a judge, don't lose faith, I can be persuaded. I enjoy critical affirmatives that actually engage the topic, not just reject debate outright, and plan texts are preferable.

T- I don't know much about this topic, so all the topic specifics should be slower and well explained. I think that most debaters try to go too fast in their final rebuttals on T, which leads to a lot of judgement calls. To remedy this, go slower in your final rebuttal, and you will be rewarded.

Theory- Most things are reasons to reject the argument not the team. I will probably not vote on dropped perm theory, even if you claimed it was a reason to reject the team.

Speech Docs/ Email chains

I would prefer if all debates were done with email chain. Please add me to the email chain at drewgartner1@gmail.com
I can tell when you are wasting time and/or stealing prep. DON'T. it's annoying, wastes everybody's time, and will undoubtedly lose you speaker points. technical issues do happen, yes, but they should be resolved quickly and efficiently. I would prefer every speech to start as nearly as immediately after prep or CX as possible. We don't want to be the last round done.

Speaker Points

It's very easy to impress me, using technical skill and clarity.
I am okay with speed, but will yell clear once or twice before the speaks begin to get docked. Nobody likes kids who are fast but incoherent, going slower is in your best interest.
Being nice/reducing all hostility is very preferable. If you have made it this far and are still reading, I will likely increase speaker points if you work "jambalaya of awesomeness" into one of your speeches, especially if you are original and make me laugh rather than just saying it to say it. I have a relatively low threshold for docking speaks due to hostility. Being assertive and being aggressive are much different, know the difference. I probably will not say anything if you are being overly rude/rude at all, but it will significantly hurt your speaker points, but will not affect the decision calculus.

hi, i'm betsy!

she/her

please put me on the email chain! betsydebates@gmail.com

senior at glenbrook south, in my fourth year of debate

clash clash clash clash! your top priority should be actually responding to the other team's arguments.

simple arguments that you actually understand & can explain > weird complicated blocks that your varsity wrote for you

do not steal prep

stand when you speak

be nice!!!!!! and speak clearly above all - if i can’t understand you i can’t vote on any arguments you make.

i'm pretty comfortable judging most arguments, as long as they're explained. this is particularly true if you're reading high theory ks, weird technical cps, etc - it needs to be adequately explained if you want me to vote on it, don't assume i already know about it.

join the women & gender minorities in policy debate collective! ask me about it or email wandgminpolicydebatecollective@gmail.com, follow the Instagram @women.genderminoritiesincx

Hi! Betzy, she/her

Senior at Dowling Catholic High School, 4th year of policy

Please put me in the email chain & any questions you have, feel free to email me:

bsandoval24@dowlingcatholic.org (But if that doesn't work then anailbetzy26@gmail.com)

Have fun, DONT steal prep ;), DO signpost, Clash/respond to others arguments pls, You do you but at the same time be respectful

Whatever you run is fine but if it's a more complex (aka k's) argument please try to explain it in more.

yes please include me on email chain- warrensprouse@gmail.com

Please turn on your cameras when you are speaking if at all possible.

Remember to weigh claims and warrants within your evidence; I am much more likely to vote on well-explained arguments than taglines, even if those arguments do not necessarily have evidence to back them up. If you can do both- awesome.

Do not be rude or disrespectful to your opponents or your partner.

Tell me in the last rebuttals how to weigh your arguments and how to compare your impacts with the other team’s.

If you read cards that are not in the novice packet and were given to you by your varsity debaters, that is cheating and I will yell at you.

pronouns: any | email: victorthoms037@gmail.com

TL;DR

• Read what you enjoy reading - if that's something like tricks or other silly things I'm good with that
• Tech > Truth ||| Pref sheet below
• Tag-Team CX/Flex-Prep is alright
• If you have a trigger warning, offer an alternative option
• Good with speed
• Judge intervention is stinky, I try my hardest not to do it
• Online debate: I am fairly laid back for online debates, so if you know that wifi or clarity might be an issue please send a doc of your constructive.

• Pref Sheet: 1 (fav) - 5 (meh)

  Theory - 1

  K - 2

  Larp - 2

  Phil - 3

  Trad - 3

  Tricks - 4

Background/// I debated policy for 3 years at Millard North with some experience at the nat circuit level. I qualified for nationals twice and had some success in the Nebraska circuit. In my experience, I interacted with a wide variety of arguments, if you have questions please feel free to ask.

Coached policy for 2 years at Omaha Central (21-23)

Currently coaching LD at Lincoln North Star (23-24).

The not TL;DR part

PF/// Full disclosure, I am not fully acquainted with the norms of PF, but as long as teams clearly weigh in their round I should be able to make a cohesive ballot that is hopefully acceptable.

Policy/// Literally read whatever you want as long as I am able to understand it. Very tech over truth so I really just want to see debaters reading what they enjoy so they can compete at their best. Otherwise, the LD section will give more context to how I feel on certain arguments that are found in both.

LD///My LD experience comes from judging and coaching, not from competing. Keep that in mind.

Trad - Trad debates and other things like it are debates I'd like to see go further than they typically do. It could just be me being a bozo, but I'd like to see justifications for why specific frameworks are important for the round and the impacts you claim to solve for. But honestly I'll still vote you up if you don't do that so feel free to ignore my whining.

Phil - I can't say I am the most familiar with phil, but frameworks in these rounds tend to keep me more captivated and this might ensure that I will buy your persuasion and voters more.

Larp/Plan texts - I tend to be pretty picky on plan texts, but most teams get away with reading fairly mid plan texts so it doesn't really matter to me. Rounds I do better in have clearly conveyed solvency mechanisms and framing that justifies why their impacts matter in the first place.

DA - No preferences here, just make sure it links and weigh.

CP - Counterplans can vary a lot so I will just talk about them generally. I prefer for debaters to clearly state their net benefit and why it's mutually exclusive. Obviously, CPs tend to be very strategic so if you bend these rules I'll be fine with that, just guide me how to evaluate it in round.

K - I read a variety of Ks while debating, and have seen even more diverse arguments when I started coaching. Read whatever K you like, I would just want to make sure that the K has a clear story and solvency mechanism. If it is predicated on pre-fiat arguments, be sure to give examples of the alternative working in the past. Or if it has never been tried, why its a good idea to risk it all on the alt.

ROTB - Spend more time on your role of the ballot than you think you need to. I need to know why I should be voting the way I am, not just a baseless request. I prefer role of the ballots that do more than just imply that I should hack for the side that reads it. This doesn't mean I won't use it, but it will be a far easier debate for you if it is justified by whatever you are reading.

Theory/ T - Theory is something I read in pretty much all of my rounds in policy. I will always evaluate theory first in rounds. While I am very familiar with theory and topicality, I want debaters to actually give examples of abuse to justify why they are reading it. These can be the most flimsy justifications in the world, but I want to see them there because if not I will buy reasonability or we-meets very easily. I say all that but I do recommend y'all to read theory in front of me since it makes winning my ballots easier. (read it well though!)

Tricks - I am not the most familiar with tricks, but I evaluate it before most other arguments in the round. If the argument is flimsy and mostly there to be a goofy time skew, I will buy your opponent's offense quite easily. Don't stop that from you reading them since the time skew strategy is an effective one, just kick them and justify why offense doesn't carry through.

Note for 2024 debate - I haven't judged in forever please just debate assuming I don't know what I'm doing and you NEED to spell it out for me.

Hi I'm Lily! I graduated from Lincoln East High school in 2022 in Nebraska and did predominantly LD and policy debate.

pronouns are she/her

Notes for online debate: I usually don't have issues with speed and always spread as a debater, I actually prefer it, however, expect to go at 80% speed when online debating in front of me- if I can't understand you I'll say clear once. I will flow everything I hear, so if I miss something due to your speed that's on you.

If you have any questions you can email me @lily.zeleny@gmail.com- please send a speech doc! Disclosure is a must, unless you have a REALLY REALLY good reason and communicate that well and make sure the round is totally accessible for your opponent. If there is abuse in the round and you run theory- I'm going to vote on it. That means If you're being mean in round or refusing to make the round accessible to your opponent, I don't care if you're the "better" debater, I will vote on theory. Debate needs to be a safe and accessible space for all, if you are creating a negative environment, you can expect your ballot and speaks to reflect that.

I'm not good at judging T don't run it if you're not good at debating it.

Run what you want in front of me, I primarily ran more progressive arguments but debating in Nebraska I'm very comfortable with your standard trad round. Just because I'm familiar with the structure and have run many progressive arguments doesn't mean I will understand your specific literature- make sure you are explaining your arguments well. I mainly read literature around gender, queerness, and disability and am most familiar with those kritiks. Feel free to run a nontopical K aff- I love them.

Plan affs are boring (like really boring for me to judge, if you want me to be happy don't run one)(unless your in policy then fine ig) but also I'll vote for them. Don't run tricks in front of me, it will be the fastest L of your life. Also I REALLY don't want to vote on your RVI and it will be the very last resort. That being said at the end of the day I'll vote for almost anything that's not abusive and I'd rather see you debate what your confident in then running something you never have before just because I said I hate your plan aff.

I don't care how you debate, what your wearing, if your camera is on or not- just debate.

Debate is educational (unless u tell me it's a game). Please be kind. IF you are Racist/sexist/homophobic etc. I will drop you immediately.