Amund461@umn.edu

Senior U of M, 4th year of policy debate, 4 years of high school debate.

I am not a fan of overviews.

I'm Sandy! I use they/them (ENG) or elle (ESP) pronouns. Please add me onto your email chains! My email is: boltonbarrientosdebate@gmail.com

2024 will be my twelfth year in the MNUDL :O

Talk to me about Spanish Debate!!!!!!!

• 1st year as the Spanish debate coach for Minneapolis South
• 4th year as the novice policy debate coach for Minneapolis South
• Debated for Roosevelt H.S. for 4 years
• Debated for Keewaydin M.S. for 3 years

Tag team is fine but I would love it if you high fived your partner when you do it. I won't enforce this preference in any way other than telling you at the beginning of the debate and it won’t have any speaker point consequences. I just think it's a great way to navigate cross-ex with your partner in a way that's balanced, equitable, and fun!

I highly value story-telling and big picture analysis in your speeches. I love a 1AC that's narrative (i.e. internal link chain) is easy to understand. I love a 2AR overview that tells me in enough detail the story of the AFF and why its impacts matter in the debate. I love a K 2NR that flips the script of the 1AC to tell me why the links actually do matter in the greater context of liberation and structural violence.

What does this mean for you practically?

• When listening to the impact debate (on any flow-- framework, T, theory, kritikal or policy strategies), I'm looking for you to strategically and persuasively tell me why the impact is the most important thing in the round. Exaggerate! Tell me it's "try or die" for the AFF/NEG! Minimize your opponents' impact any chance you get! Abandon phrases like "might happen" or "could solve" and replace it with "will happen" and "absolutely solves". Don't be afraid to use impact calculus. Of course, these framing tools require warrants just like any other argument, but they really make a difference in if I will confidently vote for you or not.

• Speaking of warrants for your impacts, you need coherent internal link chains. Telling me "vote AFF to avoid nuclear war" in your rebuttals isn't enough. It's important to answer questions like: War with who? When? And of course, what's the connection to the AFF's solvency? Telling me the "AFF makes capitalism worse" isn't enough; What part of capitalism? Over-consumption? Labor exploitation? Extractive logic? Wealth hoarding?

• Advocacy statements and solvency should be clearly and consistently explained and extended for both AFF and NEG (if applicable). If you're AFF, that's obviously the whole thing, but just please do make sure to consistently compare the efficacy of the AFF to any alternative NEG advocacies.

(I know alternatives are tricky to explain and defend, and I'm pretty sympathetic to K debaters as a former K debater myself. I do think the Alternative is a pretty cool part of the debate. I'm really interested in radical movement building and how communities organize to make change, if that's a helpful frame to consider when thinking about how you would explain your alternative to me. Feel free to email me with questions!)

• Compare your arguments with your opponents -- clash is king!
• Communicate effectively -- if you're so fast you're unintelligible, or if your Kritik blocks are so dense nobody in the round understands what's going on, that is on you.
• Evidence is really important, but I have a pretty expansive understanding of evidence: storytelling, anecdotes, poetry, dance, journals, zines, prose, scientific journals, history, accounts, common sense thinking, etc. are all forms of evidence that can generate knowledge and prove your arguments.

• For the sake of being honest about my implicit biases, I will admit this: I do not have the brain for theory debates. I find things like aspec, condo, intrinsic perms bad, etc. really challenging to flow and follow and as a result, I don't typically include them on my ballots. Sometimes theory happens because it must or because it's Rosebowl, and I get it. But if you're wondering if you should include your A-Z spec blocks in front of me, maybe wait for a different judge lol.

• I was a K debater in high school. I'm definitely still really interested in Kritikal literature as a person involved in community organizing and who is an Indigenous Studies major. If you're curious about Kritiks, want feedback on strategies, or just to talk through ideas -- please talk to me! I can definitely provide more specific comments and ideas on: abolition, settler colonialism and coloniality, indigenous and Chicanx feminisms, and queer theory. This is not to say I'll vote for Kritiks all the time or that I won't get your policy strategy. Run whatever you want.

• Please define your acronyms before you use them!

• As opposed to Abbie "Big A" Amundsen (<3), I am a big fan of overviews!

Have fun! Be nice! Stay organized! That's all it takes.

Email for chains: elysecolihan@gmail.com. Feel free to email as well if you have any questions.

Update: talking fast is fine by me, but a lot of spreading I've heard recently has been REALLY difficult to understand, PLEASE slow down if you can. If I miss arguments because I can't understand you, I can't flow them or weigh them when judging. PLEASE SLOW DOWN! PLEASE BE EXTRA CLEAR!

Hi all! I did 2 years of LD and 2 years of policy in high school (so I generally judge both), graduated 2019, and have been judging regularly during the debate season since then. I graduated recently from DePaul University in Chicago.

Basic things: generally fine with whatever round you want to have as long as both teams agree. Ok with tag-teaming, flex prep, sitting down or standing, spreading or not spreading. I am not super strict on debate formalities and will only judge you on the substance of the debate (and if you are mean to your opponent - that will hurt you!). Include me on the chain or don’t, I don’t mind either way.

The most important thing to know is I would prefer to hear whatever case you ENJOY running and are comfortable with. Though I love weird and interesting cases, if you would rather run a stock arg, I have no issue voting for you! Unless an argument is egregiously overtly offensive, I will vote for it if you win it. I am not a judge that will automatically throw out any type of argument regardless of my own feelings about it.

Don’t be mean or talk over your opponent (policy: this includes discussing with your partner during opponent speeches, please don’t do that, pass notes if you must). Explain your arguments well (don’t just read cards, explain how they work together to make a point). I LOVE a well done summary of the round, at the end of every speech if you have time, but most critically in final speeches. Slow down for tags and signposting.

More specific stuff:

I’m pretty familiar with common philosophy cases in debate and should be able to keep up just fine. I love a good K debate, and even more, I love a good weird case debate (I loved running biopower, wipeout, and timecube in high school). If you go this route, you still have to fully explain and develop your arguments even if you assume I’m familiar with it. Also, PLEASE don’t neglect framing and PLEASE tie your framing into EVERYTHING if you are doing a K debate. Lastly, if an argument hinges on your opponent's identities (race, gender, class, etc) alone, I would just rather you not run it. "They are __ so they can't __" is not a good argument for me.

I don’t like tricky cases. If you win, you win, but it’s much more enjoyable for all of us if you win on substance rather than cheap tricks. As such, topicality and abuse claims are fine with me when warranted. They MUST BE IN A SHELL, you can’t just make a quick abuse claim without explaining and move on. Though I don’t like silly abuse cases, if I’m hearing a really pointed a priori or try or die that completely obliterates opponent ground, it definitely makes me a little sad when someone doesn’t call it out as abusive. So go for it if you must! I support you!

I do think there is a big difference between policy and LD (outside of partners) and do think “we are in X type of debate not Y” is a valid argument sometimes.

In the interest of accessibility in debate, please err on the side of over explaining. It’s so easy to get caught up in debate jargon, and I often see novices competing at higher levels for the first time PANIC when this happens. If you are using debate terms (i.e. PIC, RVI, LAW, condo, etc.) please briefly explain them. If you hear something you don’t understand, never be afraid to ask (I am good with flex prep for this reason), and if someone asks you BE KIND! Everyone is at a different level and debate should always be an educational activity first and foremost.

Last thing: if you are a novice debating for the first time or competing at a higher level for the first time, please don’t panic! We have all been there (and as judges, seen it a million times), we have all looked silly and nervous and lost in rounds before, it’s a part of the process! Just know I understand, I’m not judging you for it, and I’m excited to see you learn and thrive. You got this! If you are at a higher level going against a novice, PLEASE BE NICE AND ENCOURAGING! I have seen these types of rounds go awry too many times. EVERYONE BE NICE!

she/they

If you have questions feel free to email me!

online debate updates: send your blocks and be patient with your fellow debaters. Connectivity issues are expected.

Top:

Put me on the chain: kleckner.isabel [at] gmail.com

STOP BEING AGGRESSIVE IN ROUND ITS NOT THAT DEEP

I think that sending your blocks makes debate better and making a separate send doc is a waste of your time- your blocks aren't as special as you think they are. That being said, I flow on paper and am not going to read things that were unintelligible.

I flow. If you make an argument I will evaluate it based on how it was made. I will not evaluate arguments you did not make.

- This means don't postround me with some "well what about this connection I did not tell you to make" !!!

If you are being actively racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist/transphobic/xenophobic I am fully prepared to give you the L and the lowest speaks the tournament will allow. I do not enjoy judge intervention, but draw the line when you make your fellow competitors feel unsafe.

Background/Personal preferences

On one hand, I've judged a lot of middle school debate so I am easily impressed. On the other hand, coaching 6th graders has given me zero tolerance for nonsense at your big age of Not Eleven.

Competing: 3 yrs varsity for Mpls Washburn, 1 yr with Mpls South. This means I generally understand the arguments. That does not mean I'm willing to do a lot of work for you.

Coaching: 3 years coaching middle school, 1 year coaching highschool, various work at camps and tournaments.

Don't refer to me. If you do, it's they/them

Speed is only good if everyone can understand what you're saying. I'm not gonna say Clear because that's annoying for everyone, but if nobody can understand you you're only hurting yourself. If your only neg strategy is to outspread your opponent, you should probably get better at debate.

Round evaluation

Kritik

Ks v FW I go either way so do what you want*/do best. I'd like to consider myself a K debater, but have definitely been on both sides of this equation.

*unless what you want is to read high theory then definitely don't do that

I understand most literature bases. If I don't, it is on me to do preliminary readings during prep, not on you to explain the entire thesis of the theory to me. While I do expect you to fully explain your arguments, don't be concerned that any lack of personal understanding on my end would prevent you from running what you're comfortable with.

I am a strong proponent of "nothing about us without us." This isn't an instant ballot, just please interrogate why you feel the need to read theories about identities you do not have, and be prepared to explain what it contributes to the activity. I am open to the idea that there are exceptions.

Ks on the aff

Absolutely go for it.

Debates where the negative reads an actual position that isn't FW are probably my favorite version of the activity.

That being said, it is very possible to lose on FW in front of me- your aff still needs to have an impact it can solve for.

Impact debate

I do believe in real-world impacts from debate- it can be a game but y'all spend too much time in it to think it hasn't also shaped your subjectivity. THIS MEANS DON'T SAY PROBLEMATIC STUFF ("death good" & other args that can cause harm to people are not acceptable)

Do the warranted impact calc ("it's good/bad" is not an impact and you will not win)

Evidence

Good evidence is good but I will not read it unless you tell me to.

I believe that rehighlighting is an underutilized tool. I also believe that somebody said that and y'all thought it meant "rehighlight one random card every round to check off the box." It is only useful on; A: cards that matter for a main argument, and B: cards that actually flow your way. One line where the author presents an opposing argument and later concludes against it is not useful for anyone.

If possible, send your files as word documents. PDFs, google docs, and body of the email all make it harder for the other team to process.

Topicality

Full disclosure, I was once given a 25 on the local circuit for ""disrespecting T,"" so unless the aff actually isn't topical this is probably not the best move in front of me.

There Are good topicality arguments. "I don't know how to debate a K" is not one of them.

Miscellaneous

"Meme rounds": I do fundamentally believe we are here to learn. If you and the other team collectively decide you would not like to do that, we can figure it out, but please reconsider your relationship to this activity.

Perfcon is probably real, especially if one of those positions is a K. Again, open to the idea of (WELL-EXPLAINED) exceptions.

"small schools" args: I debated for two Actually small schools. I believe there definitely are a lot of structural inequities between big debate schools and smaller schools. It is usually not a meaningful argument in the debate.

Condo: I won’t enjoy judging a condo debate because there are way more interesting and persuasive arguments but I don’t necessarily lean in any direction.

My email is mart4516@umn.edu

Please note if I do not respond immediately just continue to email till, I respond. I promise you are not bothering me. I assist several professors and so sometimes it will get buried fast. Please tell me which tournament and what round and any specific questions you have for me.

I have a Finance degree. I did a lot of classes in international relations and business, so I have a solid base knowledge on the world economy.

I did High School Policy and recently have been helping a few schools in Congress and LD. I did not debate in college which means all of my thoughts are from before the pandemic so take it with a grain of salt.

I am a pretty expressive judge. You will know how I feel about certain arguments.

Congress:

I am an experienced Parli judging at TOC level tournaments. I do evaluate P.O’s in my breaks for the round. I do value the round being moved fast and efficiently. Typically, I allow 1-2 mistakes per hour of debate. I am more lenient at the Novice and Middle School level.

If the chamber constantly breaks cycle this will affect the entire chamber, you should be prepped on both sides of bills. We are asking you to roleplay which may mean defending positions you are not comfortable or do not align with your personal beliefs.

Does your speech flow?

Is your hook generic?

Do you read off a paper?

Are you robotic?

Are you repeating points already made?

Do you move around the room?

Do your points make sense? (If you are doing a company takeover does your bill actually allocate enough funds)

TOC BID SPECIFIC:

Please show me that you want it. I expect you to be prepped for both sides of the debate. Please expect me to evaluate every part of your speech as given above. I will evaluate P.O’s but at this level I expect you to be nearly flawless in the round.

My favorite hook has been “In an effort to keep Parli Martin’s blood pressure down.” I love a little banter with your judges.

Trust me, this is just as awkward for you as it is for me.

My debaters will tell you that I am not nearly as scary as I seem.

POLICY:

I don’t swing one way or another on mechanics or types of arguments. I dislike poor argumentation.

I did mostly K's during high school, that being said I will vote on topicality as an apriori.

Please for my sanity have an alt that is clear, if it is from an unreliable source I will question the validity of the alt.

If you are going to run a theory argument there has to be in round abuse or at the very minimum a clear link to the ballot.

For speaker points, I care less about word economics and more on if you can get your point across. If that takes you 4 ummm, and a few pauses or if you can get it first time thats fine.

1.Yes I'm a tech judge, yes you can spread.

2. If your argument is "free-market capitalism is the solution to poverty," or " government regulations bad," then you're going to have to do a lot of work to convince me of that.

3. Do with that information what you will.

Also, my preferred name is Ollie and my pronouns are they/them

Hi, my name is Elliot (he/him) and I am currently a debater at Central, and coach at Capitol Hill. I have debated for two years, and currently compete in high school varsity. I'm pretty laid back, and I think that debate (especially at the lower levels) should be about having fun, and learning a little along the way.

Middle School Debate

There isn't much to say here, I am simply here to help yall have a good time and get better at debate. As a judge I will evaluate the arguments that you as debaters make in round.

My criteria for a good round is that:

1) The affirmative should read a plan text

2) Both teams should respect each other

and 3) that's about it.

This doesn't mean you can't be assertive with your questions in cx (cross-ex) or your rebuttals, but there is a fine line between being assertive and aggressive. I always try to assume ignorance instead of malice, but just don't like cuss out your opponents.

Novice Debate

Preeeeetty much the same thing as MS, except my familiarity with the packet is probably less. Other then that, yall should be fine, but I'll update this paradigm later, so maybe somethings will come up :/

Rocky references boost speaks.

she/her

Coach at Washington Tech

The Blake School 2011-2015 - competed in both the local and national circuit. Cleared to doubles at a couple of octos-bid tournaments, had moderate competitive success.

I ran a wide variety of arguments in high school from very policy focused to more critical. I did not debate in college, but I was heavily involved in doing theory research during my time in college. I spent a year in Finland working with their Centre for Religious Recognition, reading and researching a lot of theory, specifically about black liberation theology and its intersections with recognition theory. So I really geek out on theory.

That being said, I highly value and recommend that you fully explain and contextualize your arguments in the context of the round. My biggest preference as a judge is that a team really does a thorough job explaining their arguments and showing how that interacts with the other team. That can look like a very clean and precise line by line, or it can look like some stellar impact framing, but I need you to fully contextualize your arguments. Don't just rely upon jargon to get you through the round.

I will vote on what you tell me to vote on. Make your case for me. I like Kritiks, but I also genuinely enjoy hearing a well done debate on a policy focused disad. Make sure you cover your bases, answer your opponents arguments, and give me a compelling role of the ballot/impact framing that is fully fleshed out and extended throughout the debate.

Other than that, speed is fine just be clear, use a clear transition word, and just generally don't be a jerk.

Hi! I'm Kate and my pronouns are she/her. You can contact me or add me to the email chain at knozal@macalester.edu

Some background info for you:

I debated for Rosemount 2017-2021 and I have coached at Highland Park (St. Paul) since 2021. I am currently studying sociology and data science at Macalester College. I mostly judge on the local Minnesota circuit.

If I'm your judge:

First, I want you to enjoy debating and feel comfortable. If there is a way I can support you please don't hesitate to reach out beforehand or whenever a concern arises. I also really value education and I hope you do too. It will make me happy to see you doing your best to learn for yourself, and with your partner and opponents.

Second, I am looking for you to write the ballot for me in your last rebuttal. I don't want to have to do any work for debaters when writing my rfd so if you provide me with a clear way to evaluate impacts and how to resolve the round you will be in a great spot. With that being said, I vote off my flow but I'm not perfect, so it's your job to tell me where and what you want on my flow (aka signposting and clarity of speech are important). Tbh, I don't enjoy tricks or out spreading your opponent. I think the best rounds are when debaters are making smart and competitive choices but also considering others in the round and how you conduct yourself affects the community.

Other info about me as a judge:

As far as argument-specific questions go please feel free to reach out to me by email and I'll respond as soon as I can. My best advice to you is to read what you want to! Debates are way more fun when debaters care about and write their own arguments. When I was in high school I went for Ks on the aff and neg.

Please be clear when you spread

Topics I'm familiar with ~~

Emerging Technology- It was the 2022-2023 topic, my favorite and where I started debate - it was relevant to real world events and it was really interesting to debate about

IDEA- It was to expanding education for persons with disabilities and I thought it was weird that the packet CP was to fund it through marijuana legalization

Income Inequality - Currently suffering through it

Theory~ run it, I'll listen but like if the other team spends 10 seconds on it the flow is out -

Aff has infinite prep - Neg has 13 minute speech --- This argument is a 50/50 split for me

Kritik ~ Love Kritiks - very rarely will someone know how to debate FW but love K debaters that do -- Also I buy really vague alts, like REALLY vague alts - not too vague though I guess...

Do not impact turn the cap K

IF applicable - run orientalism Kritik, I wanna see it and advocated for

Counterplan~ CP with analytics that says we solve AFF without explanation get me ick. Also like find cards that say you solve AFF somehow it's easy. Love net bens but hate internal net bens -- I genuinely believe that CPs need to have a net ben or otherwise they're kinda bad for the debate space because it just allows NEG to have so many ways to solve AFF and it could be something ridiculous like magic to solve the AFF and I would agree on that theory argument

Disadvantage ~ Run it, idk

Topicality ~ Yeah cool run it

Planless AFFs ~ I think that they are okay but have two weaknesses in my opinion.

1 - On FW, can you proof that your way of debating is good for the debate space and that o/w procedural fairness - that's where I get loss a lot because I do believe in procedural fairness is lost when K-AFFs are run but they can and should proof that current debate space it's in is all that matters

2 - If policy focus plan then can it solve your impacts without being vague - if not policy focus how is it not exclusively AFF - Can you also proof that only AFF solves while not letting the NEG to easily counterperm or not letting them just say "okay you solved it in this round already" somehow explain how that solvency in this round is not enough

he/him

General

I am in my third year debating at South High school, I love debate and want to be a part of it as much as I can!

Judging

If you are a middle school debater who sees this - good job! If you refer to me as "Egyptian Diplomat Andrew Slides" in a speech I will laugh and bump your speaks +1.

I am pretty chill with whatever since these aren't super complicated debates. Just be nice to each other and try to have a good time.

However, if you do some of the following you will have a much higher chance of winning in front of me (especially since middle schoolers don't read paradigms). If some of these seem very obvious to you, you're in a good spot.

GENERAL

• directly respond to the other teams arguments ("they say this, I say this")

• refer to me when speaking; you aren't talking to the other team, you're talking to me

• make analytical arguments instead of just reading evidence; this is obviously the case for rebuttals but goes for all speeches except the 1ac and maybe the 1nc. Evidence is important, but making smart arguments that pick apart the other team's positions will make you go far

• FLOW - it's so obvious when people aren't flowing since they just read stuff without taking into account the other team's errors. If the other team drops an argument you made, POINT THAT OUT. If the aff drops the DA in the 2ac or 1ar, you're almost definitely going to win the debate. However, if you say nothing and the aff brings it up in the 2ar, I'm gonna be begrudging to do that work for you.

• use all of your speech time and all of your prep time

• SOUND CONFIDENT - let's be real, do any of us know what we're talking about? Not really, especially someone like me who's relying on you to educate me on the debate subject matter. If you sound like you know what you're talking about, you probably do, how am I supposed to know?

• start your 2ar's and 2nr's by saying something like "vote [aff or neg] on [whatever argument you're winning on]". So if you're winning on the DA, say "vote negative on the DA that outweighs case".

IF YOU WANT REALLY HIGH SPEAKER POINTS

I give speaker points with discretion; 18-20 range is reserved for those who impressed the hell out of me and need to be debating in high school ASAP

• choose the best arguments you've made and explain them in the rebuttals instead of just extending everything or responding to what the other team said. Who cares if they've won an impact to the DA if there isn't a link? This is along the lines of pointing out errors in the other team, but just because they didn't drop an argument doesn't mean their response is good. Remember, you only need to win like 1 or 2 things to win the debate, so pick those and explain them to me.

• implicate arguments - ok, you've won no link on the DA, now what? Obviously I know what it means and will vote aff on it, but if you say something like "they don't have a link to the DA, this means we can pass the plan with no consequences while solving our impacts. so even if they're 100% right about their impact, you still vote aff", now I know exactly what my decision is going to be, because you just told me.