I am a parent judge. This is my third year judging debate. I normally do policy. Please do not spread or use K's. Make this a fair round. Remember to speak clearly and most importantly have fun.

My email is urthirumal@gmail.com

I've been doing policy debate for three years now at Meadows School. I have experience running k's and CP's though I don't have any preferences toward other off-case arguments. For speaks, I can handle spreading pretty well, though I will give lower speaker points if your spreading is approaching unintelligible. Also, while not a requirement I appreciate the use of emphasis and good body language/hand motion when speaking. I will vote on good theory that is well explained, but poorly explained theory are some of my least favorite arguments. Plus I normally prefer tech over truth, though you can convince me of how I should weigh my ballot. For novice especially, feel free to use debate jargon, though I dislike it if you use these terms incorrectly. Lastly, even though I've been debating for a few years I don't know everything so I may not immediately know what you're referring to if you list a specific argument like "perf con," (don't worry I know what perf con is it's just an example) so I apologize in advance if I can't answer all of your questions and I ask that you always take time to fully explain your arguments during CX and rebuttals.

Hi! I am a parent from Basis Peoria who is fairly new to debate.

Policy:

Please speak slowly and signpost, otherwise I will not be able to follow your arguments and I will not vote for you. If there is something in the round that you want me to consider, bring it up very clearly so that I understand. Keep your case organized and don't use any complex debate terminology without defining it. Also, dont be condescending or disrespectful to your opponents :)

Good luck!

October 2017 Update:

I don't judge debates very often anymore, so I may not be familiar with certain topic-specific acronyms. I will not be offended if you want to ask me about my familiarity with certain acronyms before or during a debate. Also, a note relating to the 2017-2018 NDT/CEDA Topic: I do work for a health insurance company, so do with that information what you will.

(Updated January 2015)

Experience

LD at Horizon High School, 2007-2011 (Susan Seep)

Policy at ASU, 2011-2015 (Adam Symonds, Izak Dunn, Em Parker)

Assistant Debate Coach at Tempe Prep, 2011-2015 

General

- I think it’s very important to be courteous and respectful in a debate round. To paraphrase my high school debate coach, Susan Seep: I have a lot a respect for this activity, and I expect you to show respect for the activity. The way I think you show respect for the activity is by respecting each other.

- I also think it's my role as a judge to respect the debaters by taking their positions and arguments seriously by devoting my whole attention to them. For that reason, I've started a new experiment where I flow CXs.  CX isn't a speech, so debaters aren't responsible for responding to it; however, it is binding, so I'll hold teams to CX answers that I have written down.

- Extending an argument means extending a claim, warrant, and impact.

- If you debate paperless, you need to have a viewing laptop for your opponent(s).

- I probably won't be familiar certain abbreviations or topic-specific jargon.

- Flex prep and tag-team CX are OK

- There is such a thing as zero-risk of an argument.  I am persuaded by alternatives to the offense/defense paradigm

- Debate should be fun.  Do what you enjoy, and try to learn something

Kritiks

I think the aff should be able to weigh the impacts of the plan against the kritik, but will vote for framework arguments advanced by the neg about why the aff shouldn’t get to weigh its impacts or why weighing those impacts is illogical. 

For the aff, it’s an uphill battle to win that the K should be excluded from debate, but substantive arguments about the necessity of political engagement are persuasive arguments for why the alt can’t solve/net benefit to the perm.

The aff will have more leverage against the kritik defending whatever the negative criticizes instead of saying why those things don't matter (e.g., instead of saying "ontology doesn't come first," defend the ontology behind the scholarship in the 1AC).

I don’t like Floating PIKs and am also sympathetic to certain theoretical objections to different types of alternatives (e.g. reject alts or vague alts) - usually, these are not reasons to reject the alternative, but they do give the aff some leeway on the severance/intrinsicness arguments the neg makes against the permutation.

Non-topical Affs

I have been on both sides of the framework debate, so I wouldn't say that I have a heavy bias in either direction in terms of framework yes/no, but I do have some biases on particular arguments.

Neg arguments are more persuasive when they are substantive, not theoretical (although if the aff isn't germane to the topic/is in the opposite direction of the topic/doesn't defend anything, I'll find your theoretical objections more persuasive).  Arguments about engagement being a better political strategy, or ontological defenses of engaging institutions will get you a lot of leverage.  Theoretical arguments should both explain why the aff is bad for debate and why the framework interpretation is good for debate.

Arguments requiring the aff to have an advocacy statement usually aren't persuasive, unless the aff seems like it could justify aff conditionality (or it's not clear what the aff defends after the 1AC or CX of the 1AC).  Often, I would just prefer that you go for framework instead. 

The argument "no plan, no perm" has never made sense to me and seems like a terrible standard for competition.  I tend to believe the negative has the burden of rejoinder, and the perm is the aff's enforcement mechanism for that.  If the neg wants to make this argument against a planless aff when going for the K, it would be in their best interest to present a reasonable theory of competition that allows the aff to use the perm as a check against neg positions that are not at all related to the aff.  I would prefer that a neg going for the K against a planless aff grounds its competition argument in a philosophical disagreement with the aff (incompatible ontological claims, for example), a trade-off argument, or a performative DA to the aff.  

CPs

I lean Aff on most counterplan theory (e.g., Object Fiat, Consult, Word PICs, International Actor, Multi-Actor, 50 States, Agent, Conditions - in roughly that order), with the exception of conditionality.  I am also more willing to deviate from the offense/defense paradigm the more illegitimate I believe your counterplan is, assuming the aff has advanced a theoretical objection (especially if the net benefit is not topic specific).  For example, if the neg wins that an agent counterplan solves ~100% of the aff and is barely ahead on a generic politics DA, I'd probably vote aff, whereas, all other things being equal, if the negative has a nuanced, topic-specific counterplan with a more topic specifc net benefit, I'd probably vote neg (NOTE - that doesn't mean that I'm committed to offense/defense - although it does become more persuasive when there's a counterplan in the debate).

I'll reward debaters who slow down on counterplan texts in the 1NC, especially if it's multi-plank or complicated in some other way 

I will not kick the counterplan for the negative, unless explicitly told so (either in the 2NR, or at some point during CX if the aff asks the status of the advocacies).  Additionally, if the neg wants me to kick the counterplan for them, they should spend some (not necessarily a lot of) time comparing the SQUO with the aff (this can be a cross-application of a lot of net benefit outweighs analysis from earlier). If the neg doesn't tell me to kick the counterplan in the 2NR, presumption flips aff. 

DAs 

Try to stick to the line-by-line instead of grouping “the uniqueness debate,” or “the link debate,” when you’re extending the DA in the block. The better the line-by-line in the block, the less leeway I will give to the 1AR (and worse line-by-line = more 1AR leeway).

A bad disad can easily be beaten by smart, developed analytic arguments.  The aff does not need offense to beat a disad, especially when there's not a counterplan in the debate

Case 

I think it’s strategic to spend a lot of the 1NC on case. It puts a big time crunch on the 2AC, and makes it easier for you to weigh the impacts of your off-case arguments against the Affirmative.

Good, smart analytics can beat a bad advantage, and I am willing to vote negative on presumption. 

Topicality 

I love Topicality and am disappointed that judges aren't more willing to vote for it.  I would prefer that you go at about 75% of your top speed, especially on the standards debate

My default is competing interpretations. I also think that T is about what you justify, and potential abuse is a voter.  This doesn't mean that I don't find aff reasonability arguments un-persuasive, but that they should be reworded in the rhetoric of competing interpretations (e.g. instead of saying "competing interpretations is an arbitary race-to-the-bottom," I'm more persuaded when someone says "arbitrary interpretations are unpredictable, which precludes effective clash over the topic, even if they're winning their limits/ground arguments"). That being said, if you are making a reasonability argument (and these are fine and good to make in the 2AC), tell me what it means for how I should evaluate the debate (e.g. "if there's a negligible difference between the interpretation and the counter-interpretation, vote aff"). In-round abuse and topical versions of the aff are good but not necessary.

Plan text in a vacuum is not a persuasive aff argument for me - I am persuaded by negative arguments that it leads to aff conditionality and doubles the number of arguments the negative has to win in the 2NR if they want to prove counterplan competition.

I prefer that specification arguments have reasons to prefer that are related to the topic over a generic "90% of policy is implementation" card

Theory  

Please go at about 75% of your top speed. I’ll listen to any theory argument with a clear interpretation and impacts.

I default to reject the argument not the team for all theory arguments except conditionality.  Even if the other team does not say, “reject the argument not the team,” I will probably just reject the argument absent an argument from the debaters why that isn’t sufficient.

1. Hi! I'm a lay judge, so please slow down on your speeches especially the rebuttal speeches. Please don't be rude and enjoy debating!

Hello there!

My name is Srinivasa Doki. I am a parent judge in my second year for judging. This means some MAJOR things you must do in order for me to evaluate your ballot:

1. SIGNPOST! THE BETTER THE ORGANIZATION AND CLARITY OF SPEAKING, THE BETTER I CAN EVALUATE YOUR ARGUMENT. OTHERWISE, I WILL NOT FLOW YOUR ARGUMENT AT ALL!

2. DO NOT SPREAD OR FAST TALK! I CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU IF YOU DO NOT SPEAK CLEARLY.

3. DEFINE UNCOMMON TERMINOLOGY TO ME! I UNDERSTAND CP, DA, T, ETC. BUT PLEASE MAKE IT EASY FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TERM MEANS.

Debate Round Stuff:

Email is dokisri@gmail.com

5 mins max to set up the email chain.

Proper Etiquette and kindness is expected from all competitors.

NO K AFFs! NO TRICKS! NO DEBATER MATH! NO FRIV THEORY!

Aff:

Run whatever affs you like. But make sure you explain the problems in the status quo, what unique plans are passed in your aff, what you solve for, etc. Make it easy for me to understand and why I should vote aff rather than Neg. Make sure to respond to off-case args made from the opponents.

Also, when you argue against off-case, here is some stuff I expect from you guys:

1. Be as precise as possible. This means going into the card and looking at the evidence itself! This also means what arguments that were attacked by the neg should be defended properly.
2. Explain why the off-case do not matter as much! This could be no uniqueness, impact turn, etc.
3. Argue why your aff is not affected by the neg's off case or how the aff's world solves for this.

Neg:

Please do not run a K. I do not understand them well and I get very confused by them.

CP and DA are fine, but make sure to be specific in how doing the aff causes this. (For example, this could be telling me a card that links into the DA). Also, make the DA logical enough to occur, not some random DA that makes 0 sense!

I am not experienced in Topicality, but I know the main gist of the T. If you do run them, explain why this is a voter issue! Have great claims and evidence in order for me to give you the W!

I do not know what Theory (other than T) is. So restrain yourself from those unless it is a serious violation and must be address. If that occurs, explain why I must weigh that over any other argument (make sure it's an actual problem in the round).

Misc Stuff:

Probability > Reversibility > Timeframe > Magnitude

CX is your time to ask questions, but I do not like tag-team CX at all.

T and Theory > Case (Bring it up in round though)

Do not be aggressive in CX and bring up points said in CX in later speeches.

Rebuttals must explain why your side outweighs other side via impact calc and contrasting your world with the opponent's world.

No sexism, racism, bigotry, etc.

I additionally time every speech and prep, but you should do so as I default to how much time is there for prep (I will count it so long as it is not a blatant lie for getting some more prep time).

Have fun!

Email chain/contact: lanikfrazer@gmail.com

About me - I was the director of speech & debate at sonoma academy for 4 years, and coach for 3 years prior. I debated at SVDP and at Cal and have taught at the CNDI. I no longer do anything debate related.

General - My judging philosophy is pretty simple - you should ultimately do what you do best. I prioritize specificity, contextualization, and evidence quality over your style of debate. Really, I can't stress this enough. I don't judge many policy v. policy debates, but I am able to adjudicate them. I do, however, primarily judge K v. K/clash rounds.

Organization is very important. I flow on paper. I am not a fan of huge overviews and card dumps- please do the work for me and tell me where I should flow things. Explaining warrants is crucial. Empirics and examples are great. Impact analysis is critical. Tech should be truth.

Topicality - I will vote on topicality. The negative must win that their interpretation is good, predictable, and resolves their voters. You should be explaining why, as a whole, your vision of the topic is good, and have tangible impacts. Potential abuse isn't super compelling to me, but I'll vote on it if you tell me why I should. Ks of T are often pretty trifling and need to be explained in depth. "Community consensus" on T doesn't mean much to me and should not be taken for granted.

Theory - I have a high threshold for theory debates and find them to be blippy and frivolous most of the time. I default to rejecting the argument and not the team, but if there is a voting issue it must be thoroughly articulated and should have a very strong presence in the 2nr/2ar. Slow down, be clear, and do more than read the shell.

Framework - I mostly judge debates wherein affirmatives do not read a traditional plan text. I am fine with this. Should affirmatives at least be in the direction of the topic? Probably, but not necessarily. Framework read against a K/performance aff that does something concrete is typically not a good argument to read in front of me. You should be engaging in what they do and you should do more than say that they shouldn't be allowed to do it. Provide a creative topical version, and explain why fairness or education or whatever comes first (and why this means the aff can't access their own pedagogy). Do more than provide a case list, but explain why those cases are good for debate. I tend to think that fairness is more of an internal link and not a terminal impact, but if you're winning that I will vote for you.

The K - love it. I spend a lot of time reading critical theory and am probably familiar with your lit, but I will not do extra work for you, so the less jargon/more explanation, the better. Be specific and have contextualized links (the link should be to the aff and not the world). You should also answer all of the aff's impacts through turns, defense, etc. Framing is super important. The permutation is underutilized. Impact turns on the aff are cool, but not when it's something you shouldn't say pedagogically.

Disadvantages - Fine. Win your link, turn/outweigh the case, impact calc. Intrinsicness is silly and I'll probably not evaluate it much unless it's seriously mishandled (though it can be compelling against things like riders DAs, which are, in my opinion, a misinterpretation of fiat).

Counterplans - Great. I love a creative advantage CP. You should have a solvency advocate. I definitely lean neg on most theory arguments here, but that doesn't mean I won't vote on them.

Let me know if you have any questions. Shoot me an email before the round if you want me to be aware of access needs, pronouns, etc.

Lay judge - I prefer if you speak slowly and clearly, send speech doc if you do not

Be polite in round

I prefer if you stick to traditional debate; explain any progressives and debate jargon in round

Tell me clearly why I should vote for you

Email for an email chain is singla.shradha@gmail.com

JUDGING NOVICE ONLY 

Hey everyone! My name is Chloe, I'm a senior at the Meadows School, and I've debated policy for 3 years. 

I don't have a problem with spreading as long as you are clear and concise so that I can understand it. 

I am not the biggest fan of K affs and usually do not vote for them. 

Please be considerate to your opponents! 

I'll give you extra speaker points if you're confident in your speaking or are funny and make the debate interesting. 

Overall, practically everything is fair game -- just try your best to be persuasive and present your argument in an understandable/organized manner. 

Also, please put me in the email chain so I can follow along during your speeches: chloegastwirth@gmail.com

You should also take charge of timing you own speeches, cross ex, and prep time. Most importantly, have fun and do your best! Good luck!! :))

Judges for: Sonoma Academy (2019-present)

Previously judged for: Peninsula, MBA, Meadows

UCLA '23

Add me to the email chain: gibran.fridi@gmail.com

Email Chain Format: [Tournament Name Round # : Aff Name vs Neg Name]

Speed is fine, but clarity over speed. I will yell clear, but after the second time if I don't understand what you're saying, I won't flow it. Also please disclose on the wiki.

St Marks Update: I have been absent from the debate community for a while. I have zero topic knowledge but I have been judging for 6 yrs now. Explain your acronyms and let me get accustomed to spreading speed again and you should be set.

Some Clarifications for this year because these things keep happening in round:

-cross-ex is not prep

-sending marked docs if it takes more than a minute is prep.

-marked docs don't need to have cards that weren't read taken out, that is your job to flow. The only time u should be sending out marked docs is if you actually mark a card.

- if we are having tech or wifi issues, try to resolve it best before the round starts. I would rather start late but everything working than stop after every speech due to wifi issues.

TLDR

Do what you do best. Trying to adapt to me as a judge is a waste of time. Although I am more familiar with policy arguments, I will vote for any argument you run as long as you do it well. K v K, Policy v K, K v FW, Policy v Policy.... i will vote for anything.

Arguments are claims, warrants, and impacts -- means that "dropped" arguments are true only if you explain why they matter and the reasons they're true. I need more explanation than just "they dropped the DA- we win!"

Tech>Truth

Topicality

I'm down to see a good T debate. I think T is vastly underused by 2Ns. If your 1N is a killer T debater, use it to your advantage. Most affs to some extent are untopical, so make them stop cheating. Have a good interp/counter interp and give me some good clash on the standards debate. I don't defer to reasonability or competing interps, so I will be convinced by both.

Theory

If condo is a legit strat for you it should be a big part of the 1AR and all of the 2AR. I will vote on condo, but there has to be in round abuse. If they read states and neolib, I will not be very convinced to vote on condo. And I definitely believe that neg should definitely have condo to test the aff. Other theory args aren't as convincing to me unless the other team completely drops it.

DA

Probably my favorite debate argument. I love a good CP/DA neg start.

A good advantage CP with a sick DA can be a killer neg strat. But have some good evidence on how and why the CP solves. Usually, 1AC evidence can be used as solvency advocates for ADV CPs. Also, the CP better be competitive, cause then I have no reason to vote for it.

K

Yes, most K's are cool and I will definitely still vote on the K even though I'm most familiar with policy arguments. I think Ks are very interesting and probably produce the most real-world change. But if you don't understand your K and can't explain it to your opponents, I will have a hard time voting for it. Have some good links that you can explain. Also, the alt better solve or at least do something. If you can't explain what the alt does and what voting neg does, then please don't read that K. There's nothing more embarrassing than watching a K team not know what they are talking about in cross-ex. What K lit I know well (Cap, Set Col, Gnoseology, Security, Orientalism, Foucault). Bad K debates are worse than bad policy debates.ngl if ur a POMO team, don't pref me lol. I really don't want to listen to Bifo, Baudrillard, D&G etc debates.

Policy Affs

Do what you do best. Have solvency advocates, win the case solves something.

K Affs

Used to err neg on these debates, but as I judge more and more rounds, I feel differently now lol. I don't really have a preference anymore and yes I will vote for K affs. I am more experienced with policy but recently I have really enjoyed K aff rounds. Same rules apply as the K above.

Case

Destroy them on case. Nothing makes the 1AR harder than amazing case debate in the block.

Speaks

Don't steal prep. Flashing/emailing isn't prep unless it becomes an issue in the round. If you're very unclear, I will dock your speaks. Please don't clip. That's the last thing I want to deal with. You will lose the round, get a 0 and I will have to have a conversation with your coach. Also please don't make sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic etc. comments. You will lose the round and get a 0. Don't be mean to the other team. Friendly banter is always welcome.

For thirty years, I've competed, judged, coached, and taught this activity at "out rounds of the TOC" level quality.

In the past decade, I've judged nearly 150 rounds for those of you who are number-oriented. 44% of those rounds were "out rounds" or Round Robin rounds. I "sat" or dissented in approximately 11% of those panel decisions.

I have not entered myself into a judge pool for over a year, but out of respect for the Greenhill tournament's request for DODs to put themselves into the judge pool, I have entered myself and updated my paradigm.

After returning to the activity after a five-year hiatus that allowed me to miss all COVID-era online debatings, I honestly have no idea how to adjudicate debates fairly and objectively based on current line-by-line in-round execution.

My understanding of technical line-by-line debate and the current practice of line-by-line appear incommensurate.

I will not read speech docs because I expect you to speak coherently.

I will FLOW the round and vote based on MY FLOW.

If you abandon MY FLOW as the decision-making metric for the debate

I will not be very amenable to an aggressive and argumentative post-round discussion about how I voted in said debate.

If you like technical debates about complex and nuanced subjects based on evidence-based comparisons, I'm you're judge.

But PLEASE

FLOW and Debate from the FLOW

Allow "pen time," look up at me, take a breath when reading theory blocks, slow down, and make eye contact during essential/round decisive moments to ensure I'm getting it down on the flow or simply ready when you move on to the next argument.

I have zero ideological investment in the content of your arguments beyond my legal and professional obligations as a teacher and mandatory reporter.

I want to provide the fairest and most objective decision possible.

Please debate off the flow.

Pre-round questions about what I've written here are encouraged.

Hi! My name is Sabrinna and I am a policy debater at the Meadows School. This is my fourth year debating and my third year in varsity.

I'm totally good with spreading, just make sure you're staying clear!

I'm not the biggest fan of K affs, but if you do decide to go for it make sure it's well thought out.

I don't typically like theory but I'll vote on it if it's well explained, you'll lose me on it if you're too vague.

Please signpost and stay organized!! Well structured speeches will get you much better speaks. I will ask you for an order before each speech.

Please add me to the email chain: sabrinnaionescu@gmail.com

Have fun and keep things interesting!

Hello! My name is Kay Karlin and my pronouns are they/them. In high school I did four years of LD debate and two of congress. I've judged policy, PF and LD for five years. It is most important to me that competitions understand their own arguments and are able to convince me.

For all debate: email for email chains is kaykarlin6@gmail.com I understand technology issues but I set a timer for 5 minutes for any wifi/email/google doc confusion. Anything past 5 minutes comes out of prep time!

Extentions should include Year, Author, Tagline, idc what order, but you must include all these!

Arguments against people's identities, basic human rights, or that are aligned with racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, and other forms of bigotry will not be tolerated and will get you dropped and reported to your coach.

I am open to speed, but I will say clear if I can't understand you. However, as a coach and in general I am anti-spreading. I think that spreading is bad for debate, because it encourages us to make the space more inaccessible in order to win arguments. Again, I am fine with speed, you can spread in front of me, but I think that we should make a shift as a community away from spreading.

LD Paradigm:

I prefer to judge based on stock issues but I'm open to Ks/CPs/Theory so long as you can sustain your argument. If you NEED to run seven off cases to solve inequity in the debate space, I want to give you the space to do that. That said, running frivolous theory like "my opponent swore before round" will not be tolerated. (Do not run disclosure theory with me. It's bad for debate/small school accessibility and I will drop you.)

Definition debate is boring!!! Have a productive discourse!

For Ks-- my threshold is a bit higher but I never want to prevent you from making arguments you're passionate about. Just be prepared to highlight/defend/extend your link, impact, and alt. (Fine with K-affs, Identity Ks, etc)

I will drop speaker points for prefacing. (Using your time to question your opponent to frontload your case with arguments that haven't yet been presented in round)

DO NOT DROP THE FRAMEWORK DEBATE-- all of your impacts should be evaluated (and will be evaluated by me) under the framework. I do like to see competing ideas of frameworks, but I understand that timing makes that difficult, but I want to see debate about which world creates more benefit.

If you plan to debate in LD like it's Policy-lite I am not the judge for you. Framework is one of the most important things to me.

Policy Paradigm:

I prefer to judge based on stock issues, and I'm not a huge fan of theory, but debate is your world and I'm just living in it while we're in round and I'm open to whatever you can justify. That said, running frivolous theory like "my opponent swore before round" will not be tolerated.

I love to see speeches explicitly comparing the Aff and Neg plans and impact calculations based off that. Prove to me why your argument is better.

Tag Teaming for CX is fine, but I want to see POLITE cross examination. I will not rule based on CX unless I have to drop teams for competitors who create a hostile space, but I will also drop speaker points for prefacing.

Timing is really the only thing you need to defer to me as a judge; they're the only rigid rules in debate. If the answer does not start before CX is over, there isn't time to answer it.

PF Paradigm:

PF is the area of debate in which I have the least experience, but I like to see a healthy clash.

I want to see POLITE cross examination. I will not rule based on CX unless I have to drop teams for competitors who create a hostile space.

I will also drop speaker points for prefacing.

Timing is really the only thing you need to defer to me as a judge; they're the only rigid rules in debate. If the answer does not start before CX is over, there isn't time to answer it.

2013-2017: Competed at Peninsula HS (CA)

I earned 21 bids to the TOC and was a finalist at the NDCA.

Yes I want to be on the email chain, add me: jlebarillec@gmail.com

I am willing to judge, listen to, and vote for anything. Just explain it well. I am not a fan of strategies which are heavily reliant on blippy arguments and frequently find myself holding the bar for answers to poor uneveloped arguments extremely low.

Speed should not be an issue, but be clear.

Clash debates:

Aff — Strategies that impact turn the Negative’s offense in combination with solid defense and/or a counter-interp (good)

Neg — Fairness, debate is a game (good)

skills (less good)

Topicality + Theory: More debating should be done over what debates look like under your model of the topic, less blippy debating at the standards level. Caselists are good and underutilized. I think some Condo is good. I think the Aff should be less scared to extend theory arguments against counterplans that are the most cheaty.

Kritiks: I find the link debate to be the most important here. Most times I vote aff it’s because I don’t know why the plan/Aff is inconsistent with your criticism. Strategies that are dependent on multiple non sequitur link arguments are unlikely to work in front of me.

I think that evidence comparison is extremely important and tends to heavily reward teams who do it more/earlier in the debate.

Rommel Loria (he/him/his)

I'm excited to be a part of this tournament, and this is my first time judging. I am an educator and began my career in this field as an English teacher. I now work at Sonoma Academy, where I am the Assistant Head of School. Previous to my career in education, I worked as a civil litigation attorney.

I earned a BS in Business Administration, with a major in Finance and a minor in English, from Georgetown University. I earned a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University. I also hold a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland, where I was Associate Editor of the Law Review.

I am really looking forward to hearing your arguments. To that end, please avoid spreading. Good luck!

*Please add me to the email chain: Rommel.Loria [at] sonomaacademy.org.

They/them ( Ask for other ppls in rounds pls!!)

You can call me whatever. Razeen, Judge, ご主人様.

email chain: razeennasar1@gmail.com

As a judge I critique y'all with feedback. However, I feel judges can't be told about their competency. Especially with the position of authority. Please don't see me as an all-knowing authority figure. I am a student just like y'all. I sleep, go to school sometimes, and am a disappointment to my parents. I'm human not a debate robot. You can use this form to criticize my judging without having your name attached. Or say I'm not lame and I did well.

Note: everything cut down word wise so it takes less time. Hence bare bone wording. Pls ask for elaboration irl :) Based on average reading speed TLDR will take 1 minute, whole thing 6.5 minutes of reading. Immensely cut down from initially 20 min(egregiously long).

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRkloyjH8sARng_HNNNPtHhlMFaIrPK0jekgp7bspJ9jppeg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Speaks:

If you look at my speaking points history I'm generally pretty generous. If you do 4 things for me I will give you 30 speaks for free!

1. Ask your opponents for pronouns or just have some exchange related to that in round
2. Email me your case so I can read along while you read your case (if I miss anything I can reference back or re-read during cross). Don't make excuses about why you can't. If you don't want to then just don't do it. The only exception I will make is if you show me the TOURNAMENT doesn't allow me.
3. Finish your speech coherently and use like 95% of your time with legitimate substance.
4. Send evidence efficiently and don't waste time in between speeches or waste time in general.

For every one missed I'll doc 1.25 speaks. If you are just mean or rude to your opponents then I'll just give an auto L with 25 even if you win on the "flow".I have no tolerance for being mean :) I will try my best to find reasons to vote against people who are borderline mean through the flow too. A respectful environment is a prerequisite to people feeling comfortable to debate! All these asks for me are EXPECTATIONS, not preferences!

SHORT I DONT WANT TO READ AN ENTIRE THING OF NONSENSE BUT I WANT TO KNOW THE JIST:

Did HS PF debate+ college parli. was okay in HS pretty good in college now.

Mostly, Tech>Truth. However, don't use tech to bully. Still subconsciously influenced by bias. Uncontrollable. Some arguments I inherently understand more.

IF IM MAKING EYE CONTACT THAT MEANS I AM CONFUSED AND DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FLOW NOT THAT I AM LISTENING INTENTLY!!! IF YOU TAKE ANYTHING AWAY TAKE THIS!!! At one point I get self-conscious if I look too much in confusion when I don't know what to flow and look down. >~<

Pf 2nd rebuttal frontlines. No New Offense FF not in summary. Policy/LD don't know extension norms thus gonna be forgiving w/ extensions.

Generally against tech being topicality, Theory, and Ks Would consider non-disingenuously for real abuse/problematic rhetoric.

Spreading can't flow fast so it's bad. Don't sound like you are drowning.

Extinction big no no. Unless topic calls for it. No daylight savings causes extinction(real round)

Make sure not same impact scenario. Don't weigh Nuke war w/ Russia against Nuke war w/ Russia on magnitude. Compare links. Talk about uniqueness.

I prefer warranted low magnitude high probability vs high magnitude low probability. Even if an argument outweighs, if it isn't extended well and I can't explain it I won't vote off it. Argument understandability is a prereq to voting on any argument for me. I have ALOT of rounds where I vote for an impact cuz it's the only one explained.

Jargon pls no. I barely know prog debate.

Don't expect me to understand afro-anthropessimism pre-post modern feminist neo liberal hauntology @400WPM.I barely understand my college lecturers at 1/4th that speed. even at normal pace without accessible wording I won't get it. 100% have not read your arg lit before. Need slow good explanation for new concepts to me aka most of arguments.

Don't assume I remember what each author said. I don't remember 1/2 of UCSD debaters in a quarter. You think I'm gonna remember aiusdbh 13 from the 1NC 45 minutes ago.

PF DEBATE

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Pls email me your cases before the start of the round.

Pls frontline in 2nd rebuttal rather than 2nd summary

I will vote off turns if not blippily read and make sense.

Pls use voters in the final focus and COLLAPSE. I'm serious about collapsing.

I... am lazy and use single-use paper plates cuz I don't like doing dishes, but also my romantic partner is in marine biology and roasts me for single use plastic... aka I can see both sides :)

POLICY DEBATE

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Don't understand "new sheets" and flowing is hard. Though i try my best. Most decision focused on 1/2 AR/NR. Better to be honest it's hard for me than lie. Sorry! I will try to be as informed as possible by the round. Pls bear with my stupidity. Know I'm trying my hardest to give a good decision.

Since I know this event fundamentally relies on spreading and silly impacts and stuff I will just throw out all my Pf and Parli stupidity and try my best to evaluate from a policy debater brain. Unfortunately, I am bad at policy lol.

PARLI DEBATE

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I compete in college parli. I have no clue what the norms are in HS parli. College parli is basically policy without the cards. So that is how I see parli. Pls don't try to spread it's already painful to hear in college. If it's the norm I'm fine with topicality and Counterplans. Please don't read an aff K, and if that isn't a norm yet thank god. I am open to K arguments if it isn't used to shut out opponent and outspread them with complicated jargon.

I have won 4 college parli tournaments this past year so like I feel like I know what's up with parli.

I love debates that are on topic and have relevant and easy to understand arguments that have nuance!

Longer preferences

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I am an idiot

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I'm stupid, not a humble statement. Don't let the absurd length fool you. It's a sign of insecurity, not knowledge. This is at the top for a reason. I make wrong decisions when forced to think myself. Verbally make a speech that I can nearly mimic in my RFD.

I'm not competing so don't assume I know topic-specific acronyms/words are. Common sense ideas to you aren't common sense to most people. I can't figure out push or pull doors don't think I can figure out your argument.

Debate jargon for prog is a no no. Just take the couple of extra seconds to explain. Don't assume arguments. Explain things like "fairness/education voter" and "reasonability means judge intervention" even though seems common sense explain why these are good/bad.

Fully explain all your args. The reasons why an argument is logically true beyond evidence.

Don't say extend from past speech. I already forgot that last speech bro. I have the short-term memory of a goldfish. Think of it this way, in your classes if your teacher says expanding on what was said 15 minutes ago, and doesn't somewhat reexplain there is simply confusion.

Access

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Don't use tech debate as a way to bully new debaters. Tech is meant to make debate fairer, and challenge knowledge. Instead, it's become a tool used by the privileged to win silly arguments with coach-made responses that less-resourced schools can't beat. Don't contribute to bad debate norms I will be sad.

Experience:

HS PF+ College Parli. was mid in HS (4-3 STOC). College I got better & have won tournaments. College parli is budget policy w/out cards. However, I'm mostly a topical debater. Vaguely understand/use CPs/T/Ks/Theory.

General debate

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In short, I will try to find the quickest way and clearest way to vote. If an argument is messy I'll likely vote off something way smaller that may not even outweigh. I want your last speeches to be what you want me to say in my RFD.

Tech Truth?

I am generally tech over truth with a couple of exceptions

1. When tech is used as a means to exclude
2. Dump low-quality args hoping for drops.
3. Arguments are clipped
4. Borderline false args e.g Nuke war good(low threshold for response)

Case

Please send case. Allows me to flow. Flowing helps me keep track. More likely to vote for yall. Also just good practice.

Rebuttals

Please try to signpost. By that I mean if you directly say, which response with things like " on x argument, their yth response about z we have x amount of responses. or if it's 1 response give the response.

Also, please don't say "no evidence, no warrant, no explanation" rather explain why the lack of a warrant means their argument is false and what it actually is like. Also, I am down for logical arguments. Not everything needs to be carded if it's analytical. If something is analytical like "no one wants to be nuked" and you say nO eViDenCe then there is no way I'm voting on the response.

Final speeches:

Please voters. Frame independent reasons to vote rather than line by line. go reasons why you win, and cover defense/turns on their offense.

Line by line = Line w/out the ine.

While I try to exclusively flow. Directing me on the flow can make me interpret the flow in a better way for y'all. Will focus on what I'm told to. So focus on best args.

Pls collapse. 1 good arg>3 bad arguments. Either you collapse or my mental health collapses.

Don't say "extend (author)" or "extend my response on x argument." extend what the author says or the argument itself. If you don't explain your arguments and just assume I know them I won't vote for them!

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Weighing

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I.Will.Do.Anything.I.Can.To.Not.Vote.On.Bad.Extinction.Scenarios.Within.my.Power.as.a.Judge.

Exceptions are topics that kinda rely on those ideas. Like Conflict for NATO/ great power conflict. Or climate change for PRC econ or enviro. Heavily prefer against it.

Probability weighing:

Fleshed-out arguments are rewarded. Don't go for the "risk of offense infinite magnitude extension multiply infinity." not gonna vote on that. arg of "risk of offense" means you aren't good enough to defend case. a low chance of your case to me is a 0 chance. However, the opponent needs to win probability claims.

Same/similiar impact weighing:

Make sure you aren't having exact same or similar impact to the opponent then OW on "magnitude"

Many topics have different sides same impact. Rather than weigh impacts you compare links or compare uniqueness. Uniqueness is the better route for me. 2 possible ways to deal w/ clash IMO.

1.Mostly look to Uniqueness 70% of time. Is SQUO going good or nah. If going well why fix something that isn't broken. Inversely, if things going wrong we need to take action to fix.

2. Distinguish impacts. Explain why your scenario uniquely links more. Maybe it's more specific. It affects more countries. It has bigger actors. Your link bigger than theirs. Whatever way to show e.x how your link into nuke war is better than theirs.

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Progressive Debate

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Structural Violence: Only prog argument I vibe with. Main it center of your narrative. Don't make it secondary defeats the purpose of prioritizing underprivileged if you deprioritize them by dropping arg on it.

Spreading: I can't follow it at all. I'll try to follow doc. Tell me what you cut from it. Heavily prefer not. Don't use as a way to shut out opponents. Will insta L.

Topicality:Don't read to add an extra layer. I will be sad. Don't make bad debate norms. Abusing new teams w/out resources to learn about debate in the meta sense is shameful. Only read if legit non-topical. If actually hurts ability to debate use it. Don't say "fairness/education voter" explains why. Default reasonability.

Kritik:I PROMISE I don't know your lit. I am stupid. keep it simple. Don't use area-specific lingo. If you have to have heard it before to know it don't read it. If you can't be simple w/ it that means you don't know it. Kinda troll nowadays become cancelling your opponent for "insert ism"

I have, lately, been more sympathetic to them in certain instances. I am fine with Kritiks on nuke war impacts, western construction of "terrorists," Orientalism on China impacts, Democracy promotion bad/ causes othering, AI deserving rights, Speed bad K, and tech debate bad K. Ultimately, I won't want to vote on a K that can be linked to anything and any topic. I feel that anything that is legit misunderstood and really messed up to the point where it shouldn't be "seen from both sides" is a place I would legit evaluate a Kritik.

K aff: No lol. screams "I'm not good enough to defend the topic, and I'm lazy." If you feel passionate anyway read it.

Theory:Frivolous theory will lead to AUTO L 25. Won't deal with it. Default RVIs. Minimal experience judging theory. The threshold for abuse is high. Must prove in-round abuse, not potential abuse.

MISC

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If you made it down here Idk why you wasted time reading this far lol

Disclose decision:

Yes, if tourney allows. Will try to be quick. Will try to be constructive as possible. If not being constructive lmk. Want to talk about strengths, improvement areas, the round itself, if you loss potential paths to the ballot. For winning team how to make more clear. A lot of apologizing. Pls if you have an issue bring it up w/ me directly rather than say stuff outside of round. I want to clarify and not "judge screw" as I had that as a debater I felt and ik the frustration. If you found RFD good bad you can give feedback on form.

If flight 1 goes quickly I will give feedback. If y'all troll with timing I'll just type my feedback. I assume y'all prefer to hear, just start the round ASAP.

NDCA wiki:

If you disclose that's cool and awesome! However, I'm not receptive to disclosure theory in PF. In other events, if used to bully new debaters that won't be tolerated.

Decorum:

The presentation has a subconscious effect on everyone. Will try to prevent that.

No tolerance for rude debaters. Will drop if bad enough rudeness. Don't be overly rule stigent/ talk over people/ be snarky/make too many faces. Also, will lower speaks. Be nice! Isn't hard. Will give high speaks otherwise.

IRL politics:

Pure tab judge is impossible and fake. IRL knowledge sphere is Marxism. not the "government does stuff" leftism though. Fine with being critical of America and the economy.

Updated for ASU 2021

I spent the first half of my debate career reading primarily "policy" arguments and the second half of my career experimenting with critical literature. Most of my 2NRs my senior year consisted of either psychoanalysis, politics (and CP/case), T, or framework. I've debated and coached both sides of the framework debate. I'm currently a lawyer. I have not judged any debates on this topic and have done almost no research on it either.

Contact info: rsrajan93@gmail.com (add me to the email chain)

Big picture:

-Each side should have offense (solvency deficits, DAs, etc.) to the other side's proposed advocacy (1AC, TVAs, CPs, K alts, etc.). In terms of impacts, however, I am comfortable believing that there is such a low risk of something happening that it is not a concern.

-Impact COMPARISONS frame my decision regardless of the genre of debate. Your final speech ought to provide some insight into why the strategy you are going for is a good one.

-While I care a lot about both evidence quality and spin, how you debate your evidence matters the most. Evidence quality will influence speaker points.

-Even...if argumentation is good because you're not likely to win every argument.

-Less is more. Final speeches ought to value breadth over depth. Fewer arguments that are better impacted out have a greater chance winning in front of me than hoping your opponent drops a poorly impacted one.

-I am quite good for impact turns, especially in Policy v. K debates.

-I have to be able to trace any argument that is in the 2AR to the 1AR. I will not reward aff vagueness or any attempt to obfuscate the debate up until the 2AR.

Note: Each debater gets one constructive and one rebuttal. After the 1AC/1NC, I will not evaluate what you say during your partner's speeches. This presumption can only be overcome with a very good and explicit reason.

Specific Arguments:

Framework: I judge this debate the most often. Fairness is far more persuasive as an internal link than it is as an external impact. The two most persuasive negative strategies are either: (a) an explanation of how the negative's conception of the activity promotes certain beneficial skills or a model of research (or engagement with the world) that links to some larger impact that outweighs and is mutually exclusive with the aff OR (b) a reason for why conceiving of debate as more than just a game structured by competitive incentives is bad. Negatives should still play defense to the substance of the aff via case answers, TVAs, state engagement good args, an SSD claim, etc. Such defense should also address aff impact turns to framework.

Affirmatives need a connection to the topic. Affs should also defend doing something and that advocacy should extend beyond the aff debaters. Otherwise, it's very easy for me to find that any impact on framework outweighs the aff. To effectively hedge against procedural fairness offense, affirmatives ought to have a vision of what debate looks like under their interpretation. I've noticed that I've been voting negative more often because affirmatives spend too much time describing the content of the aff and not enough time explaining how they grapple with the competitive structure of debate. Explain how you deal with the fact that debate is a competitive activity and how you would change our relationship to or channel the benefits of competition.

Lastly, I have a hard time completely separating "form" from "content." I am willing, however, to believe that one may be more important than (or control how I evaluate) the other.

Kritiks: Examples matter. While specificity to the aff is not required, specificity does influence how likely I am to believe the thesis of your K.

For the aff, if the negative critiques a methodological underpinning necessary for the aff to be true/function, the burden is on the affirmative to answer that critique. It behooves the aff to have a defense of their epistemology, ontology, representations, etc. or reasons why those considerations should not matter. The aff can and should make arguments about specificity, but needs to contextualize these arguments for the purposes of impact calculus or internal link takeouts.

When answering framework on the K, the aff should defend their model of engaging the resolution. I'm not too persuaded by arguments grounded in predictability or fairness.

Topicality: I default to competing interpretations. Reasonability arguments should be phrased as reasons why the negative's interpretation is bad. I also believe that T is about what you justify so potential abuse is a voting issue. I'm not too persuaded by plan text in a vacuum type arguments. For both sides, it's important to contextualize any standards to specific arguments grounded in topic literature.

CPs/Theory: I heavily lean neg on conditionality. I lean aff on theoretical objections to CPs that compete off the certainty of the aff. The negative can obviate a lot of these concerns by having a topic-specific solvency advocate defending the value of discussing the CP. My default is to reject the argument and not the team.

I will kick the CP if I think it's worse than the status quo. A neg team does not have to say judge kick. Affs can make arguments about why judge kick is bad, but I'm a tough sell.

If you have any questions or would like a typed up version of my RFD, please email me.

k affs: absolutely not

anything else: go for it

I debated for most of high school on the national policy circuit for Rowland Hall - I can follow along in debates well but might be rusty on topic specific jargon so if you’re reading T maybe put some extra attention into the interp and violation.
tech over truth as long as it has a spec of reality.
be nice to your opponents.
I will not time you or your prep.
have fun

do not be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. doing so will land you an L and 0 speaker points

*PLEASE READ IF YOU ARE AT CAL*: I need you to bring me pens and flow paper. doing so will show me you read my paradigm but also I need it. Lol.

(ASU Congress scroll all the way to the bottom)

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Here is some general paradigms I have:

Spreading: I think this is an educational activity; therefore, I do not like any sneaky tactics that give you an unfair advantage, like talking at the speed of light. For this reason, I HATE SPREADING, I think this makes debate inaccessible for the general person, and forces your opponent to also spread so they can respond to all of your points. This is especially true for debate formats like PF and BQ, as they are meant for lay judges. DONT SPREAD IN PF AND BQ. If you spread in PF or BQ two things will happen. Generally I will be very annoyed and hate judging the round, and I will not get very much down on the flow which will more likely than not lead to you losing the round. At a certain point I just stop flowing, and as a tech judge you are probably going to get the L. If you are going to spread in LD and CX, that is fine. HOWEVER, you should only be spreading the card text and I should still be able to understand what you are saying. If you are mumbling and I don't know what you are saying then I am not going to understand the evidence being read. You need to slow down on the Contention Names, card names, tags, warrants, and analytics. Spreading anything that isn't card text will ultimately end up with me not really flowing and you, most likely, losing the round. Debate is an oral argument so I should be able to hear and understand what you are saying. That is why if you are going to spread you only spread card text. Anything else I won't get on the Flow

Evidence Violations: If I catch you committing an evidence violation I will automatically drop you and cite that as the reason for the loss. Evidence violations are getting worse on the circuit and I believe it is no longer enough to just drop the argument. So make sure your card says what is says and don't misconstrue the evidence. This also includes debater math. You can't just mush two stats together and call it a day.

Cross examination/fire: I never flow this. I am typically writing in the ballot during this time; however, I am still paying a bit of attention to make sure you guys are being respectful to each other. If I notice it is getting out of hand I will give a warning to the person being disrespectful, and if it happens again then I will drop debater. If something completely and horribly disrespectful happens in round (racism, sexism, xenophobia, ableism), I will just drop debater. This is also a period for you to clarify things, not do another rebuttal. CX no tag teaming. The reason I say this is that 1). It was never originally meant to be that way anyway 2) that is time that your partner can be prepping. No tag teaming.

Tech>truth: you still have to tell me that your opponents dropped something I am not just going to automatically flow that through. Also, if you run something really far fetched you can, but the second your opponent calls it out as such I am less likely to buy it.

Signpost:Please please please signpost! Telling me you are responding to the first contention isn't enough. Tell me "On their C2, "specific warrant", we have "number" of responses". Or for progressives tell me what part of the progressive you are going to attach. If you are responding to a DISAD tell me if you are responding to uniqueness, external link, impact or internal link. Please be as organized and specific as possible. If you are going to address an argument as a whole TELL ME THAT, and tell me why that should be enough.

Weigh: Tell me why you win! Please weigh for me! If I have to do this you may not like the outcome. Also, it is not enough to tell me "I outweigh therefore I win". How do you outweigh? Are you outweighing on magnitude, scope, timeframe???

Extensions: You MUST extend in every speech. However, just saying EXTEND is not an extension. You need to analytically interact with your opponent's responses and tell me why I should buy your argument over theirs.

Everybody should time their own prep: I am timing speeches and cross. There is no 10 second grace period, I don't know where everyone got this rule from, but it doesn't exist. I stop flowing at the end of the time regardless if you keep speaking.

STAND FOR ALL SPEECHES AND CX PLEASE (exception GCF in PF)

If aff doesn't win enough offense or impacts for me to weigh that offense I presume negation.

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PUBLIC FORUM

The paradigms mentioned above are pretty much it.

If no framework is mentioned my default is a cost-benefit analysis.

The team that wins my ballot will tell me why their impacts outweigh the others.

NO PROGRESSIVE ARGUMENTS. I can't believe that I have to say this, but this is a lay friendly debate format. There is also not enough time to properly run and respond to them. I will drop the argument if it is run. Please just don't I will be so annoyed. If that is something you love to do then join LD or CX, but no progressives in PF.

I don't take prep time for calling and reading cards. That being said. If a card is called and it cant be located within 2 min it is dropped. It should be already cut and easily found. If there is a tech issue that is different. That being said. If you are reading the card don't take an eternity either.

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POLICY DEBATE

Refer to the general paradigms I listed above.

You can share docs through the doc share, but just know that I am only flowing what I hear you say. You can spread but ONLY CARD TEXT. You need to slow down on your tags, warrants, impacts etc and for your analysis for why I should extend your argument further in the round. I am NOT going to yell clear, so if you see me stop flowing you need to slow down otherwise you are most likely going to lose the round.

Run whatever you want, just make sure that what ever you are running is formatted correctly.

SIGNPOST SIGNPOST SIGNPOST PLEASE I BEG OF YOU For some reason policy people don't sign post enough. If you are reading responses to a disad or the plan you should tell me what parts you are responding to so for example this is what I am expecting:

"Onto the [BLANK] Disadvantage. First onto uniqueness, we have [#] of responses. 1) response response response 2) response response response. External link we have [#] of responses" That is what I am expecting when I say signpost.

Any other questions please ask me!

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LINCOLN DOUGLAS

I think I have judged LD on a circuit only a few times. I judge my LD kids all the time, and judge Policy now on the circuit regularly.

Like I said no spreading but card text. If there is an email chain put me on it, just know that I am only flowing what I hear.

The way I will judge the round is whoever wins under the winning framework. So just because you don't win your framework doesn't mean you can't win the debate. If you can still prove to me that you solve for the standard better than your opponent I will vote for you. That being said I understand that sometimes your arguments may be mutually exclusive from your opponents.

Since I judge policy so often I am fine with progressives run whatever! I am cool with K's, performance K's if you want (just make sure your K's are well linked), any plans or CPs I am cool with.

If you have any other questions please let me know!

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CONGRESS

For the love of all that is holy, this is Congress not debate. Do not use debate jargon. Dont say drop, extend, my opponent, vote aff.... this is Congress you say "pass this bill" or "fail this bill", "my fellow representative/senator" etc...

PLEASE TAKE YOUR SPLITS BEFORE THE ROUND! My biggest pet peeve judging Congress is when y'all agree on a docket, and there is no first aff or neg. And you have to take a bunch of 1 minute recesses. Those are also a pet peeve.

I really do not like rehash, at a certain point in the cycle you need to start doing rebuttal speeches and if you are all the way at the end of the cycle then do a crystallization speech.

Try not to rely heavily on your legal pad.

The more you sound like a Congress person the better you will rank. Rhetoric is your best friend.

I will rank PO pretty high if you do a good job. I won't rank PO in the top 6 though if there are A LOT of precedence and recency errors.