Melissa Cardinal Classic
2023 — Melissa, Tx, TX/US
Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HidePronouns: HE/HIM
if you want to address me call me judge or Robert I'm cool with either
STAN LESSERAFIM
I have been doing policy debate and extemp as well as congress for 3 years I am a very chill judge and there is not much you can do to make me mad or upset you can see how I feel about certain arguments under this
speed: go as fast as you want if I have the doc so send it to me BUT DO NOT SPREAD ON ANALYTICS OR EXTENSIONS
I will not extend anything for you so if you don't extend your case and the neg says this I will vote neg if it doesn't get extended and that gets called out so flow well so you can catch drops
email : rarroyo451@gmail.com
policy debate
da's: I want disads to have good links. I'm cool if it is generic but I will be more lenient to the aff on delinking from the argument. explain the link story really well and internal link as well. I want a lot of impact calc from the aff and neg and impact calc is something I use heavily when deciding which impact to go for. I don't have a preferred impact. I can be persuaded on any impact
cp's: I want them to have a very clear net benefit. I am open to the aff reading cp abusive if they want but will have a very high threshold on abuse
Topicality: If you run this as a time suck I honestly don't care but if you do I will hold you to a higher threshold on abuse I want abuse to be proved in round and I do not have a bias on reasonability vs. competing interps, it just depends on the debate. Obviously, the most important thing in these debates is the interpretations. Topicality always needs to have impacts.
Kritiks: Kritiks are fine, but I am far less familiar with the literature than you remember that. Obviously in these debates the more specific the link the better, but no matter the specificity of the link please contextualize it to the aff. The better the link the easier this is, but if you read a generic link it is going to take more contextualization, but that is your time, not mine. Your links should be to the plan and not the status sqou and aff teams should be quick to call out neg teams whose links are to the sqou. I believe that long overviews that explain the Kritik are probably okay, and for me probably important. Kicking the alternative is fine but you need to give me a good explanation on how my voting aff does anything without an alt.
Evidence: I will probably be reading evidence during the round, but I believe it is up to the debater to be doing comparative evidence analysis during the round. That being said my reading of the evidence will have not have any weight on my decision unless both teams make it a point of contention. It is not my job as a judge to vote against a team for reading bad evidence it is your job to tell me their evidence is bad and why that's important.
disclosure: if you are a massive school with tons and tons of backfiles (you know who you are) I won't even evaluate it but if not then I err on the side of the aff and hold a uber high threshold of abuse
Speaks: I know what it is like to go 3-1 and then not break because the judge gave you 25 speaks so I won't the lowest I will go is 27 normally but I will go to the lowest I can if you say anything RACIST HOMOPHOBIC TRANSPHOIBIC XENOPHOBIC SEXIST (don't be an incel) OR IF YOU ARE JUST GROSSLY RUDE TO YOUR OPPONENT(treat them like humans)
LD: im getting better at trad ld but If I was you I wouldn't
BACKGROUND:
Have been involved in debate as a student, high school debater, college debater, high school coach or a college coach since the Nixon administration. Yes I actually cut Watergate cards. So pardon my smile when asked how I feel about speed etc.
PHILOSOPHY
Try to be Tab as much as possible. But like all judges I have some personal preferences listed below:
TOPICALITY
Is a voter, don't usually vote on it unless it is mishandled or extremely squirely. Make sure to have a violation, standard and voter in shell. Haven't previously voted on a RVI on T.
THEORY
Tend to look at in round abuse.
KRITIKS
They are fine, but make sure you understand the literature, spend a lot of quality time on the link and have a clear alternative.
PRESENTATION
Speed is ok as long as you are clear. If you are not clear, I will say "clear". Make a clear distinction between your taglines and and your cards.
OTHER ISSUES:
Will vote you down for being rude or sarcastic. Proper decorum is a must. I will vote against sexist, racist et al. arguments.
CONCLUSION
I was fairly succinct on this paradigm, so feel free to ask me specific questions before the round. Also debate should be fun. A sense of humor is always appreciated.
Email Chain: noahcorb101@gmail.com
Former CX debater. I'll listen to (almost) anything (which includes well-run and warranted arguments as to why I shouldn't listen to something). I have a philosophy degree, so I'm quite into theory (which includes T) when it's developed and run well, and I *love* a good K-prior debate. Please make sure you don't shadow extend- I value warrants more than taglines. This is my second year back in the circuit after a multi-year absence, so it would probably behoove you to focus on depth over breadth in your spreading and/or neg strats.
For K and theory debate in particular, please do notsimply read down your 2A/2N blocks without regard for telling me where on the flow you want me to be putting things and what is addressing what part of the debate/the opponents. I prefer competing interpretations evaluations on a typical flow, but I believe that in most cases this is a framework either team can win.
Otherwise, good luck, and if you have additional questions feel free to ask!
Note for LD: As you can probably tell from my CX background/paradigms, I'm going to pay a lot of attention to who is winning the framework debate: i.e. who is better using it to amplify their 1A/N offense relative to the opponents'. This flow serves partially as a (meta-extended) form of impact weighing for me, so the more work you do for me there, the more likely it is that I'll frame the round the way your case wants me to. Just keep that in mind for me given my background is mostly CX.
Policy Maker/Tab
I view the round more or less as a Tabula Rasa judge, but you can run just about anything. I'm pretty flexible I just need to know what your talking about, why its important, and what impact is has in and out of the round. Pen down means your judge isn't following your argument. Spreading at a speaking event makes no sense, but I'll listen to it as I grew up with it in round. Spreading Theory blocks I listen to a lot because this is a speaking event and I have to give you speaker points.
Theory
I'll vote on it, but it has got to be obvious and perfectly executed. The logical ground work must be there as well as standards and voters. If you go for everything AND theory in the end with no strat, expected to be voted down.
The K
I'm more of a realist, so abstract Alts are just that to me... abstract. real world Alts are good. I'll definitely listen to and vote on the K because I'm a bit of a games player judge but it must be ran correctly. Be sure you give me framework and do the logic leg work.
Stock Issues
I like a clean clashing rounds. If you can give me that, more quality evidence over quantity, and have a good strat and build in the 2NR (no shotguns), you can have the ballot. I WANT SUBSTANCE!
T
Topicality is a necessary portion of debate, but one thing I really hate is time suck T's. Although, if the other team is obviously off topic, you better throw a T.
CP
Love them. You should definitely do it, ill bite on condo, or no condo, ill literally take anything here, just make sure its run well. No Net benefits means no vote from me.
DA
Love disads because many of the time they actually make sense. Humanity is consequentialist by nature so this is the most accepted argument for a reason. I am ok voting for a generic disad if you can make it stick. The more specific the better though. Practical impacts are better than the oh so common, nuclear war scene, but I will vote on nuclear war if it sticks in the round and you actually pull its weight across the debate. Just saying "drag across the impact of nuclear war" isn't going to cut it. GIVE ME SUBSTANCE, GIVE ME THE STORY.
Performance
I can work with performance debate. I will vote on a K AFF if its executed well. Make sure it makes coherent sense to me and your audience and its content is clearly expressed.
Paperless/Prep
Flash Drive out of the computer and then we stop time. Hands off mouse/computer while opponents get the files up. TIME YOURSELVES! I'm ok with Speech Drop but you shouldn't be prepping while partner is dropping speech.
Have a good time... Speaker points go down if you're brash, nasty, and being uncalled for. Explain yourself well, play the game when you must, and also use this time to prepare you to become a well educated and fluent speaker. You control how the debate works, not my paradigm. Lets talk Policy and debate well!
Disclosures: hensleyca@cfbisd.edu
Should Debaters use Rapid Delivery (spreading)?
No. I don’t like it. It isn’t good public speaking, and it certainly isn’t persuasive.
How Should Debaters Approach Constructive Speeches?
A few well-developed arguments prove more persuasive than a larger quantity of arguments., Arguments should each be addressed individually.
How Should Debaters Approach Rebuttal Speeches?
Rebuttals should provide voters to address the important issues advanced in constructive speeches., Rebuttals should extend arguments individually which debaters advanced in constructive speeches.
How Should Debaters Approach Evidence?
Citations after article introduction are preferred.
How should debaters use values, criteria and arguments to support a value position?
Build the value that is not overly complicated and should be relatable, and criterion should not be over technical.
What arguments (such as philosophical, theoretical or empirical) do you prefer to support a value position?
Empirical, but a highly persuasive philosophical approach can potentially work just as well.
Kritik (K) arguments:
Critical arguments should provide substantial evidence for their support: as in every criticism needs at least one "For example" or at the very least a thorough clarification with a credible, referenced source.
How should debaters run on case arguments?
Make sure all claims are supported with specific, defined examples. Avoid paraphrasing.
How should debaters run off case arguments?
Make sure they have a purpose or illustration for the case at hand.
How should Debaters run theory arguments?
The focus should be winning the debate, not just attacking a person’s style or flaws of method.
What other preferences do you have, as a judge?
Remember that in order to win a round, respect towards your opponent is paramount. It is hard to find in favor of debaters who belittle or berate their opponent in or out of round. This is especially important for Policy and World Schools: teams will lose points for whispering audibly during their opponents' speeches; learn to communicate with your teammates by writing!
As a CX Debate judge, I prioritize clear communication and respectful engagement over spreading. I value debaters who present their arguments effectively without sacrificing civility and decorum in the debate round. I encourage participants to engage in thoughtful, well-structured discourse that fosters a positive learning environment for all involved.
Email: ronaldlongdebate@gmail.com
Competed in events through UIL, TFA, TOC, and NSDA circuits. UT Austin 2020, hook 'em horns.
You either win, you learn, or both.
2027 J.D. Candidate
2021-June 2023: Director of Speech and Debate, Callisburg High School
2018-2021: High School debate consultant
2018-2020: Policy Debate, NDT and CEDA circuits, University of Texas at Austin
2018-2020: Student Assistant, UIL State Office - Speech and Debate
2014-2018 years: Speech and Debate, Princeton High School
Sparknotes:
I think I am a gamer judge. For the most part, I treat debate as a game. You can run any argument, and it should have some claim, warrant, and impact. Do what you do best. I evaluate arguments by comparative analysis through a lens of offense/defense. I vote close to how I flow. I look for specificity, line-by-line, warrants, and contextualization. I’ll vote for any argument under any framework you explicitly put me in and win. Typically, I evaluate tech over truth. Around the neg block, I like a strategic collapsing of arguments. If you can't beat a bad argument, you should probably lose on it.
For other specific strategies and threshold questions, ask me before the round.
Don't...
make offensive or rude comments. I’ll probably start deducting speaker points.
cheat, for the most part, that means don’t clip cards.
Logistical Stuff:
Do not unnecessarily draw out flashing/speech drop/email chains.
Speaking:
Speed is fine; go as fast as you want (after GT-AM 500 WPM, I may yell “clear” twice before I stop flowing).
I like catching theory args, analysis, warrant-level debating, and sometimes authors, so slow down a bit there.
“My partner will answer that in the next speech” is NOT a cx answer; if you use it, it’s minus one speak.
Framework:
I'm fine with good framework debate and am okay with voting under any framework you explicitly tell me to. I think it usually comes down to winning some argument about why you have a better model of debate and/or some methodology. There should be an impact or offense to whatever standard you extend. You should probably be winning some piece of offense under that framework. Impact framing on arguments you plan on winning under the framework debate is probably helpful.
T:
I don't really default to competing interps or reasonability. It depends on the debate. There are general parts of T. If you go for T, then explain and have an impact or an explanation to your standards (like limits and ground) and voters (like fairness and education). This usually includes warranted reasons to prefer and comparative analysis. For Aff specifically, I think it is strategic that you have some offense, pre-fiat arguments against T, a discussion of case lists, and/or neg args.
Theory:
I think theory involves the rules and/or norms of debate that are challenged, changed, or presented. I think theory arguments have general components. I was never a theory hack or anything. If you go for a(n) potential/in-round abuse story, then it is probably offense, and you should give me warrants and have an impact story. Tell me how and why I should evaluate. If you run any theory (especially if it’s what you decide to go for), you probably need to warrant it and have some framing mechanism and some offense.
Note: I probably default to fairness as an internal link to education for impacts like education or fairness, but I can be convinced otherwise.
Disads:
When you win the disad, you should also be winning some disad-case comparison portion of the debate (disad outweighs case, disad turns case, case solves disad, case outweighs disad, etc.).
Counterplans:
Counterplans are cool unless you tell me otherwise. To win the counterplan, you probably need to be winning some net benefit and/or competitiveness argument. I like some comparative analysis discussions like counterplan uniquely solves, aff solvency deficit, aff solvency advocate or mechanism not key, etc.
Kritiks:
Disregarding my knowledge, you should always assume you know your literature better than me or that I am unfamiliar with it. In high school, I read Technocracy, Myth of Model Minority, Cap, Neolib, and Security. Planless Affs I read included a Disaster Cap and a Baudrillard one. Please give me an overview for the K (try not to make it too long, like minutes-on-end long, because you might as well do the line-by-line at that point). I like clear explanations and warrants, like pulling specific lines from the evidence or generating links off Aff ev. There should be a discussion of how the K functions in the round, probably some framework debate, and an alt explanation (or the linear disad explanation). Be mindful of the floating PIKs.
Perms:
Be specific. For example, I think that saying “Perm do both” isn’t enough. There should probably be a solvency discussion. The severance, advocacy, intrinsic, etc. could go on the top level, and/or the theory page.
Affs:
I am usually pretty good with any format. If it is performance, a planless affirmative, and/or K aff, I would prefer you give me a ROB and/or ROJ. Take clear stances and advocacies, and contextualize them. You should pull warrants and provide explanations of the arguments and the method/reps/advocacy, etc.
Otherwise...
Questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, musings, opinions...?
I'm a tab judge who defaults to policymaker if you do not give me any other framework in the debate round. I do require debaters to give me voters and impact calculus otherwise the round becomes messy as I judge the debate on the things that happen in the round.
I do not tolerate racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive arguments or behavior in-round, including being disrespectful or condescending to lesser-experienced teams. Additionally, I have no tolerance for male teams who belittle women who are being aggressive. I do not care how far ahead you are on the flow; I will vote you down if you engage in this kind of behavior.
I also need to add this as well: Please remember that this activity is supposed to foster education and a sense of community. There is no reason to be condescending or rude to your opponents, your teammates, your judges, your coaches, or tournament staff. If you do so then your speaks will reflect as such.
Also if you post-round me expect me to edit your speaks for them to be dropped as well.
Questions? Just ask.
Email Chain: kmartin@netbenefitsdebate.com
In debate, I value true debating. I look for clash and actual consideration of competitor's arguments, not just person after person reading their pre-written, un-customized cards or speeches. I also value communication. If you talk too speedily and I cannot hear distinct words, those arguments will not be accounted for in my judging. This is not to be mean, but if I can't understand you, I can't really judge you. Finally, you will be polite and respectful. Yes, I want clash, but nothing personal. Debate your opponent's points, not their personality or appearance or whatever else. Honestly, that would just make me more sympathetic to them, so don't do it. And PLEASE, no lingo. Say real people words. I do not care enough to learn every swanky fancy term for something you could just call by name, so if you use debater's slang around me, I just plain won't know what you mean, and that's not good communication.
IEs are a little different. Of course you will not be clashing, so those parts don't apply. Still, I expect you to speak clearly, and I expect to not. be. yelled. at. I don't mean I don't want to be lectured, because extemp speeches and oratories are literally lectures, but do not raise your voice at me. Get passionate, vary your tone, all that good stuff, but don't literally yell. It's kind of the same principle, if I can't hear you well and you're just being mean, I'm gonna have a harder time giving you first place.
And for POs in Congress, please, be chill. I'm not saying be lax on the rules, but in my opinion, an amicable (but not lazy!) chamber is the best kind. I don't like being yelled at. As long as everyone gets to speak and you run the room fairly, you'll be good in my book, and you'll be satisfied with your rank on my ballot.
I just want y'all to be nice to each other. You're all overachievers who choose to put on a suit and debate politics on the weekends for fun, there's no need to get nasty or cutthroat or anything l like that. You're a lot more similar than you are different, which is a good thing! Just be cool, and I'll be cool too.
Good luck, all!
Speech - I value good structure, flow, and content. Have several good sources to support the information/argument you're speaking on. I appreciate when there is connection and the speech is conversational, engage with the audience. I enjoy seeing personality and other things that make your speech memorable.
General
Add me to the email chain -- colbymenefee@utexas.edu
I'm a tab judge but default to an offense-defense heuristic.
The best thing you can do to win my ballot is provide very explicit judge instruction. Tell me explicitly what to evaluate and how to evaluate it. My goal is for you to be able to debate in the way that you debate best.
K
I'm more comfortable evaluating policy v. policy and policy v. k rounds than k v. k rounds, but again, I want you to debate however you debate best. Assume that I am probably not familiar with your specific K literature; provide a clear explanation of the thesis of the criticism.
I expect a coherent explanation of how your alt resolves the link. Again, this explanation should not be contingent on me having background knowledge on the specific literature you're reading.
Topicality/theory
I default to competing interps but will evaluate the reasonability argument as it's given.
I have a very high threshold for RVIs -- unless the neg is reading a truly absurd number of frivolous t/theory shells, this is just an argument that I am not likely to find persuasive.
If you have a question you don't see the answer to, ask me.
Hi, I'm Lylliam! (She/Her)
I graduated Aubrey High School in 2021 and am now at Texas Woman's University until Dec 2024.
I debated LD for 2 years and then switched to Policy CX Debate for my last two years of high school. I competed in UIL, TFA, NSDA, and TOC tournaments and have qualified to TFA state, placed (3rd) at UIL state (4A CX), and have won a district championship in CX debate. I also competed in Extemporaneous speaking for all of my high school career and qualified to regionals several times.
I have been judging all kinds of speech and debate events for over three years now. However, I mostly judge CX debate, LD debate, and Extemp speaking events. I judge several invitational and district tournaments in UIL (3A-6A), TFA, and NSDA circuits.
I have 7+ years of experience combined (4 as a competitor, 3 as a judge).
GENERAL STUFF
Be nice, respectful, and professional to one another. Don't create hostile spaces. Trigger warnings, no slurs (without agency to use), etc.
Be courteous and don't steal prep, or use the internet when you're not allowed to, or clip. Just don't compete dirty.
Your speaks will take a dock if you do any of the above.
Do not read anything anti-immigration in front of me under any circumstance please and thank you. The same goes for anything racist, homophobic, transphobic, anti-semitic, islamophobic etc. Use common sense, don't be hateful, and be good people.
DEBATE
Please add me to the email chain- lylliamo@gmail.com
Speech drop is also good.
I expect you to keep your own times (especially in varsity).
If you're spreading some long typed out analytics and/or pre-written blocks please send them in the email chain or in speech drop it makes life so much easier.
I read K's and competed against K's during high school, and have also judged several K rounds. So yes you can read the K in front of me HOWEVER don't assume I, or your opponents, know of your specific literature and are aware of all the jargon. Please don't assume I'm smarter than I am, explain the terminology and why your lit matters in today's round and all that good stuff. I'm probably most qualified to judge queer theory K's since I mostly read queer abolition in high school. I love a good K round so do it well and make me happy! :)
However, be mindful of Performance K's and Theory in front of me, I don't feel I am qualified to evaluate these rounds.
Policy v. policy rounds are perfectly okay, I truly do appreciate a good policy round.
Compete in what you feel most comfortable with, and what you do best.
Progressive LD is good!!!
Also I enjoy FW debate.
I don't like wash debates, don't make me vote on presumption.
Also I hate personal anecdotes in debate.
!!!WARRANT OUT ARGUMENTS AND EXTENSIONS!!!
ROB/ROJ arguments are great.
Open CX is okay.
Stand/sit wherever you'd like, be comfortable.
Experienced teams need to be nicer to novices.
Love, love, love voters in rebuttals.
POLICY: I care about the stock issues but would not say I am completely "old school". I expect to hear impact calc. If done well, and related directly to the Aff. case, then I will accept Neg. Kritiks and counter-plans (CPs are expected in most arguments). If you spread incomprehensibly, you will lose points. Do not use theory based or alternate world cases. I will not allow open CX. Also, answering, "my partner will answer that" is not an acceptable response--know your case. Your analysis should be supported by “tangible” evidence. Substance is more important than quantity, and fallacies in your argument will cost points. No new in the 2!
LD: I am a traditional value/criterion judge. No value, no criterion, no good. If you mention a plan, solvency, start spreading, etc... you will lose the round. No new in the 2.
EVERYONE: Speaker clarity and pronunciation are valued highly. I appreciate passionate CX and rebuttals, but do not confuse passion for yelling and verbal abuse. Varying speech rate and tone/volume will score you points. Speak like you care.
I've done competitive debate for 7 years and currently do NPDA style of debate with UTTyler. I did 4 years of policy in High School 2018-2022. I will say my view of debate has changed a lot since debating policy in high school, so if you have any specific questions revolving my paradigm feel free to ask questions before the round. Other than that I'm pretty tab, just don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, or just outright derogatory to your opponents.
Policy - General Notes, please tell me how I'm voting in the 2NR/2AR, and tell me why I'm voting that way. I like to see ya'll pull your best piece of offense and collapse to that in these speeches, I think we've become to comfortable going for multiple positions, but if you think a simple Advantage outweighs the DA/CP then go for it, or if you're the neg and think Theory is the best out then I want to see you go for it for 5 mins. I think you should always being pulling your best peice of offense and telling me why it comes first, why it outweighs, and why the other potential win conditions by your opponents fall short. Also, I'm fine with speed, I just think that you should be willing to sign post- and I don't think you should be spreading all the time, I think it's beneficial when getting the initial arguments down, but If you're going to spread through cards and not even engage in the clash of the warrants I don't think spreading is doing you any favors. It's ok to slow down and make common sense arguments, and I don't see enough of them in policy so please just make them.
- Topicality/Theory - Idefault to topicality/theory being apriori even if not articulated, I think this comes from the view that topicality is a procedural. However, if you can articulate to me why topicality/theory are not a voting issue then I can buy that too. I will vote on a risk of abuse if it's articulated well by the negative, however, the aff can also win that potential abuse is not a voter in the round. I think a lot of times, especially in high-school policy, we aren't terminalizing impacts on topicality. (What I mean by this, high-schoolers often group fairness/education as a standard when I think they are more of the impact of topicality - i.e., if we can't test the aff then we don't know why the aff is true, or If we can't engage in clash that means we don't get the educational benefits of weighing and portable skills because we can't access the aff solvency method). Theory is a friend, if you think the other team is being abusive I don't mind hearing your articulation, but my threshold for voting on 2NC/1NR theory is higher then 2AC theory if there is no direct proven abuse.
- Framework - Often times I don't see framework debates in high-school policy, so I feel like I should clarify how I will evaluate the round if there is no articulation of my duty as a judge. I feel as though debate is a game and I default tech>truth (i.e., I will vote for an impact that is terminalized with a clear articulation of either magnitude/timeframe/probability over the risk of an impact that is not sufficiently weighed, however true it may be). But just because this is how I default doesn't mean I don't want to hear your framing shells, If I'm told to evaluate utilitarian impacts over structural impacts or vice versa, I will evaluate that level of the debate before I go through the rest of the sheets.
- K's - Ok so I only every ran Cap and Set Col in high school, however, being in college my partner (Leilani Hurtado) and I have read a wide variety of K's. So I will say I'm pretty comfortable with them, however, that doesn't mean I will know the literature you're pulling from, so explanations are always good. I also think that alternatives should be labeled clearly when running k's, I think the framework of the K should make implications about either how I evaluate debate or how I evaluate the topic and the alternative should be the best way to resolve your mpx.
- Everything Else - I'm cool with anything, if you have any questions about how I evaluate certain arguments, my default answer is I'm going to be cool with anything, just make sure you're collapsing to a piece of offense and not going for pure defense, otherwise I'm mostly to outweigh a risk of an mpx vs. that mpx being improbable.
Background: I currently coach at Caddo Mills High School. I attended Athens High School and competed in forensics all four years, graduating in '14. I also competed on the collegiate level at Tyler Junior College and UT Tyler.
If you have any questions about a particular round, feel free to email me at phillipmichaelw91@gmail.com
For my general paradigm:
I consider myself a tab judge. I'll listen to any arguments that you want to run as long as you're doing the work and telling me why they matter (I shouldn't have to say this but I also expect a level of civility in your arguments, i.e. no racist, sexist, or any other blatantly offensive arguments will be tolerated). When I am evaluating the round, I will look for the path of least resistance, meaning I'm looking to do the least amount of work possible. At the end of the round, I would like you to make the decision for me; meaning you should be telling me how to vote and why.
Speed is okay with me. However, as the activity has become more reliant on the sharing of speech docs, I don't think this means you get to be utterly incomprehensible (I think this is especially true for theory arguments). If I can't understand you I will call "clear" once. If your clarity does not improve, I will stop flowing. I also believe that debates should be as inclusive as possible and speed, by its very nature, tends to be incredibly exclusive via ablenormativity. If your opponents have trouble understanding you and call "clear," I believe it is your job to create a space that is inclusive for them. *Note: this is not a green light to call "clear" on your opponents as many times as you'd like and vice versa. Once is sufficient. If clarity does not improve, I will make notes on the ballot and dock speaks accordingly. Keep in mind that the best debaters do not need to rely on speed to win.
Please keep your own time.
I evaluate LD, Policy, and PFD through the same lens. I'm looking for offense and I'm voting for whoever tells me why their offense is more important. This doesn't mean that you can't run defense but 99% of the time, defense alone, will not win you my ballot.
As for how I feel about certain arguments:
Theory/Topicality: I look to theory before evaluating the rest of the round. There are a few things that I want if you're going to run and or win on theory. First, I expect you to go all in on it. If you aren't spending all your time in your last speech on theory, that tells me that it's not worth my time voting on it. This means if you go for T and a disad, I won't vote on the Topicality, even if you're winning it. Second, I want to know where the in-round abuse is. How is what the other team is doing specifically detrimental to your ability to win? Lastly, please extend an impact. Why is the way that the other team has chosen to debate bad? Please don't stop at the internal links, i.e. saying "it's bad for limits/ground/etc.". Tell me why that matters for debate.
Framework: I look to FW before evaluating the rest of the round, after theory. It would probably be beneficial to run arguments on both sides of the framework in case I wind up voting against or in favor of the framework you go for (especially in LD).
Kritiks: If you want to run a K, I would like it to be done well. That means you should have framework/a roll of the ballot/judge claim, a link, impact, and an alt. I want to know how the way I vote impacts the world or pertains to the argument that you're making. The lit bases that I am the most familiar with include the following: Neolib, Baudrillard, and Set Col. Please do not assume that I am an expert on the literature of your choosing. It is not my job to become an expert on it in-round either. Instead, I believe it is your job to clearly articulate what your literature means in the context of the round. This does not mean I can't follow other kritikal arguments; just that arguments that are outside of my wheelhouse might require more explanation. I will listen to multiple worlds arguments but if it becomes ridiculous I will not be afraid to vote on abuse. To win the kritik, I expect well-fleshed-out arguments that are extended throughout the round.
Counterplans/Disads: Counterplans don't have to be topical. They should be competitive. Please don't read counter-plan theory on the same sheet of paper as the counter-plan proper. Tell me to get another sheet of paper. Your theory position should still have an interp., standards, and voters. Disads should be structured well and have case-specific links.
In LD, I don't think running counterplans makes a ton of sense if the Affirmative is not defending a plan of action (Hint: defending the resolution is not a plan). This is because there is no opportunity cost, which means the perm is always going to function. If you're going to run a counterplan, you're going to have to do a lot of work to prove to me that you still get to weigh the counterplan against the Aff case.
If you have any specific questions or concerns about my paradigm or the way in which I evaluate the round, don't be afraid to ask before the round starts.