It is the responsibility of any judge to set aside personal biases, which I strive to do in full during any round of debate.  When I state that I am a traditional lay judge from an area that debates slower, I do not mean to imply that particular cases will be immediately discounted for their criticality or theoretical examinations of the event.  Rather, it is the responsibility of the debaters within the round to convince me of the superiority of their argument.  In determining a round, it should be considered that the entirety of the argument must be coherent and open to discussion on both sides.  In other words: please do not spread in a round without disclosing your case to myself and your opponent.  Debate is not particularly educational at excessive speaking speeds.

For deliberation, I look toward the flow of the debate itself.  While I expect that debaters are capable of tracking arguments and defending their cases, personal remarks or excessively abusive language may have an impact on deliberation.

Email:

beckman@mtsd.org

As a Lincoln Douglas Judge I am a very traditional judge from a very traditional area of the country. With that, comes all of the typical impacts.

I am not able to flow spreading very effectively at all.

I, very rarely, judge policy, but those would be in slower rounds as well. Because of that, though, I am at least somewhat familiar with K debate, K AFF, theory, CP's, etc.

For me to vote on progressive argumentation in LD, it has to be very clearly ARTICULATED to me why and how you win those arguments. Crystal clear argumentation and articulation of a clear path to giving you the ballot is needed.

About me:

I’ve competed for Poland Seminary High School and Bowling Green State University. I then judged and coached for Poland Seminary High School for five years. I am now judging for McDowell High School. I have judged all speech and debate categories at multiple levels and am excited to see some great competition!

Judging style:

I like civility and respect in the round. Debate is public speaking, so speaking at a rate where your argument is understandable is important. If I miss something, I may ask for your card.

Please explain anything technical. Context is essential. Otherwise, I may be lost on your argument.

I give weight to impacts and will value points based on those.

I may not catch everything but do expect me to be flowing the round.

Off-time roadmaps help me be organized and make sure I’m on track. Always appreciated. :-)

I do not like the use of emotionally hot material (school shootings, 9/11, etc..)

Individual Speaker:

I award points on how well you speak to get your point across. I use speaking style in constructs and how you conduct yourselves in the cross. Rudeness, racism, sexism, offensiveness etc., will get you marked down to the lowest ranking.

General: