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.

Congressional Debate -

Presiding Officer: Presiding Officers should be an individual who can show mastery levels of understanding of the role of Presiding Officers in the chamber. It's understood this would be a presiding officer who, once elected, can show leadership of the chamber by beginning with a phrase similar to “this chamber will come to order.” I expect the Presiding Officer will use their best effort to recognize speakers around the chamber in a fair and balanced manner. Describe gavel time signals. Explain procedures clearly: i.e., how they will recognize speakers, etc., that the Presiding Officer will not call for motions at any time (speakers should seek their attention when they wish to rise to move something), and that when it is clear that debate has exhausted on a bill/resolution, The Presiding Officer will ask the chamber if they are ready for the question, rather than waiting for the previous question (which should be reserved for forcing end to debate that has become one-sided or repetitive in arguments). The Presiding Officer should have confidence and authority when addressing the chamber. The Presiding Officer should use a calm, controlled and caring voice to show a genuine interest in the chamber’s business at all times.

Speakers: My expectations for speakers are competitors who have their speeches made beforehand on bills that they really have a passion about. Speakers should be ready to speak and ask questions that are going to challenge their opponents to think candidly and without much preparation. I expect speakers to think critically on the bill in question and be able to show expertise on the subject at hand. These topics take some time to truly research. I will be able to distinguish a speaker who has really taken the time on the topic beforehand or a speaker who clearly is looking for "cheap" speaking points. Although this is simply competition to some, this is a great practice and really good insight for folks to understand how our Congress works in the real world. I want them to understand the Difficulties of passing legislation that may be viewed as "one-sided" or not. I expect good back and forth discussion amongst speakers when it comes to various bills that may one day, affect them in real life if we are to see these bills appear in a real State or United States House of Representatives or Senate. These folks are the people of tomorrow. WE need our folks more involved than ever before; so to my speakers; act as if you have genuine care and passion for what you are debating for as if your FUTURE depends on it and is hanging by the rafters.

add me to the email chain (both please):
mrajusrikantam@gmail.com
qlspolicy@gmail.com

background: currently a 2nd year varsity policy debater for quarry lane (2N/1A) and student coach for novice policy at quarry lane, but briefly did PF and extensively did most speech events + congress for all 3 years of middle school

not novice/tldr: im pretty involved with debate and can probably meet you where you are, so debate how you want---as long as you debate well (judge instruction, clash, weighing) you'll have a fair shot at winning your argument. only slight note for k debate (on aff and neg), ill be good unless its above a mid-level highschool varsity standard. also, i defer judge kick unless debated otherwise. i mostly work with novices so that's what the rest of this paradigm is geared towards, so if you don't think that describes you/its 5 minutes before the round, feel free to skip the rest. good luck!

For Novice Policy (10/20/23): i recommend looking at my pf paradigm below and taking whatever applies to policy out of it. but for a more top-level and policy-debate oriented summary, my most important things/some reminders are:

1. i am tech > truth --- this essentially means that if an argument is dropped (not answered) by the other team, i wont let them make new responses and will take your argument as the "truth" in the round, giving you the full weight of it. however, you must point out the argument is dropped, explain the argument itself, and tell me why them dropping it is important. just extending it really isn't enough---and this goes for arguments that aren't dropped too. the flip side of this is to make sure that if you think an argument is winning, extend it in the 2nc/1nr for neg or 1ar for aff so that you can have it in the 2nr/2ar---i wont let you make arguments that weren't in previous speeches UNLESS it's a response to a new argument your opponents make.
2. do weighing and respond to your opponents arguments --- debate is about interacting with your opponents, not having a one-sided monologue. if you aren't comparing your arguments to your opponents (telling me why your evidence is better and their evidence is worse, explaining why your argument matters more than theirs, telling me why the reasoning behind their arguments is stupid, etc), it will be very hard for me to decide the debate. i will reward you making + explaining smart arguments and interacting with your opponent's arguments with high speaks.
3. extend your arguments fully --- for a DA, that means explaining your uniqueness, link, internal link, and impact—for a counterplan, that means solvency (how does your counterplan solve all of the affs plan) and net-benefit—for a K, that's your link, internal link, alternative, and if you need it, framework—and for topicality, that's your interp, violation, standards, and voter (more on this at the bottom***)—again, if you don't do this, it makes it hard to decide the debate because then i have to intervene and decide whether or not i will give you whatever part of your argument you didn't extend (which means you could lose a round you deserve to win). and again remember, extending an argument isn't just saying the words "link: the plans progressive taxes hurt the IRS" and moving on, but explaining HOW progressive taxes hurt the irs (all your warrants and arguments should come from the card you read before)
4. collapsing on neg --- i know it's tempting to go for everything in the 2NR, but you need to make a choice and go for one winning argument. that can be a counterplan + DA, just a DA, just the K, just T, or maybe even really explaining a turn or 2 turns you have on case. of course, make sure your arguments are offensive (reasons why the aff is actually bad and i should vote negative) and not just defensive (arguments that minimize how good the aff is/their impacts). if you are going for a DA, it is good to have case for weighing (your impact outweighs or maybe even turns theirs), and for the K or CP, it is good to have case against any solvency deficits (reasons your cp/alt don't solve all the of affs plan). if you're going for t however, you don't need to go for case or anything else at all because t is a procedural argument and is what i will evaluate first.
5. sending evidence/general in-round logistics --- make sure to adhere to your prep time and time your own prep + speeches---i will also be timing you, but it's a good practice to have. while i won't vote against you for minor and clearly accident clipping (not reading all of the highlighted words in your cards), if you are being really abusive then it's kind of forcing my hand. please just say "mark the card at (the last words you said)" if you want to start reading another card---i really don't want to vote on clipping. send speech docs on the email chain with all cards BEFORE speeches—this applies to any card you read, unless you decide to read it mid-speech (please include analytics for the 1nc/2ac---be kind to your opponents). and lastly, this goes without saying, but racist, sexist, homophobic/transphobic etc. arguments/behaviors will not be tolerated by me and result in bad speaks and/or being dropped.
6. flow!!!!! --- it's super important to make sure to respond to your opponents arguments and realize that they dropped some of your arguments. i'm gonna decide the round off my flow, so you should plan how to win the round off yours.

NOTE TO NOVICE DEBATORS:having done novice policy extensively myself and currently coaching my own novices, i have a lot of sympathy for novice policy debaters. i know this type of debate is hard to grasp and i want to do my best to help you understand it, so that you can enjoy policy and stay in the event if it's for you. please feel free to ask me questions post round, whether or not its about the debate that just occurred or my decision---ill be happy to answer any policy-related questions you may have :) as we can see from my paradigm, i'll definitely have a lot to say. best of luck in all your rounds!

***note for topicality, conditionality, and theory, if you're kind of lost: yes, if topicality is dropped by the aff or condo is dropped by the neg, i will automatically vote for the neg (for topicality) and aff (for condo) as long as you extend everything you need for it. i'll explain that below, but my recommendation for novice is that you justread your entire block from the 1nc/2ac to make sure you got everything (minus the cards on t---dont reread them, just read the tags of the cards). anyways, if you want a more thorough explanation: extend your interp (for topicality, this is usually a definition that is the first card you read in the 1NC [ex: job guarantee does not include job training], and for condo, it's the top or bottom line [condo ex: unconditionality/dispo/1 or 2 worlds solves]), explain why the other team doesn't meet your interp, also known as the violation (for t, this will be like "the aff violates---they include job training" or for condo "they are conditional and read 3 counterplans", your standards (which are probably prewritten and something like limits/ground for topicality, or depth/time skew for condo---make sure to explain them, or again, just reread your block from previous speeches) and your voter (essentially your impacts, probably fairness or education, but as long as you say the words "this is a voter" ill vote on it). theory is the same (interp, violation, standards, voter) but i'll be really hesitant to vote against the other team on it unless when you read your theory block in the 2ac/2nc/1ar, it says "this is a voter" or you yourself say "this is a voter"---otherwise, ill just reject the argument its on (probably the K or CP) but not vote completely against them on this issue. i love t and theory and can pretend to like condo, so if you have any questions, i'll be delighted.

For PF (4/2/23): tech > truth. i will judge off the flow. debate the way you want, but keep in mind that i am coming from policy and you should treat me like a tech judge. having been on the receiving end of interventionist rfds myself, i will strive to keep my personal bias to a minimum. however, that means that YOU have to do the work for me. do weighing. tell me what arguments matter more and why. be comparative. i value and reward the explanation and implication of arguments. don't just extend arguments—explain their importance and how it impacts the round. quality > quantity. on that note, make sure you are extending arguments correctly and fully (uniqueness/link/ILs/impact). i am good with speed/spreading, and i will be okay to judge a theory/k debate as long as it's no more than a JV-policy level debate. i err disclosure good and paraphrasing bad, though you are welcome to try and change my mind, i won't hack for them. send speech docs with cut cards BEFORE speeches—this applies to any card you read, unless you decide to read it mid-speech. have warrants to back up your claims. i don't really have a tolerance for bad evidence ethics, so send those docs and don't misrepresent your cards. frontline in the second rebuttal. if you go for an argument without frontlining defense, and then your opponents extend that defense, i will evaluate it as conceded defense. any argument that isn't responded to in the next speech, besides 1st constructive, i will consider dropped. offensive args in final focus must be in summary, and defense isn't sticky. any argument you want in the ballot must be extended in summary AND final focus, including dropped defense. take advantage of dropped offense + collapse! both are strategic decisions and i will reward them if they call for it. dont steal prep or be disrespectful. this goes without saying but racist, sexist, homophobic/transphobic etc. arguments/behaviors will not be tolerated by me and result in bad speaks and/or being dropped. admittedly, i am actually really intrigued by pf cross and all its theatrics. however, i won't evaluate cross unless it's brought up in a speech.

lastly, feel free to post-round me! i think its highly educational and good for debate. good luck everyone!

p.s. yes i know this pf paradigm is practically a copy of sachi patel's---she is and probably always will be my best connection to PF :)