CX(Policy) Debate

I LOVE direct clash, so if you can ensure that your arguments are responding to what's been presented in the round, then that will certainly be reflected in the speaker points for the round.
I prefer roadmaps to be short and concise. They do not need to be exaggerated, simply such as off-case then on-case, or off-case: 1T, 2DA, 1CP then moving to on-case. Throughout the round, I have always encouraged signposting. It ensures that your arguments end up on the flow where you want them to go, if you do not do this, then you run the risk of me putting it where I think it should go, and this could work against you. Take control of the round. Do not let me do this simply by signposting the argumentation throughout your speech.

T-Topicality
I have a low threshold on T for this resolution(22-23), so I would not spend much time on it past the constructive. Unless the AFF is truly not topical, which is difficult to imagine with the broadness of this year's topic. I would encourage addressing it and moving on to the NEG again unless the AFF is truly not topical and the violation is abundantly clear. Then, I probably won't be voting on this in the round.

DA-Disadvantage
In my personal opinion, this is the 2nd highest level of the debate that has been participated in for this topic. I love for the link-internal link chain to clearly show me how we get to whatever impact you advocate for throughout the DA(s) you run in the round. I would highly recommend impact analysis as the round progresses. Please know the difference between impact calc and impact weighing. Both are good. Just don't say you are doing an impact calc when you are actually doing impact weighing.

CP-Counterplan
I don't mind these, but want a clear explanation throughout the round as to why they can't be permed, what are the net benefits of doing it through the CP, and why the CP is competitive compared to the AFF. There are many ways for the AFF to answer the many different CPs that have come through on this resolution, and I have enjoyed the CP debate on this year's topic more than in previous years. For the NEG these take a ton of work for me to vote on, and for my ballot, it is not difficult for the AFF to answer them in the rounds.

K-Kritique
I will not interfere, but I do not spend much time, if any at all, with the literature, so you are going to have to do a ton of analysis...which, as a NEG Strat in my rounds, is probably a bad idea cause I tend to vote on clash and where that's happening. I'm not saying don't do it but be prepared to lose me quickly and lose my ballot quickly if the K does not make sense or has all the right elements to the argument.I think the most important part of this for you to see when it comes to K-Debate is that if this is your strat for the round to read a K. I will not reject the argument inherently, but want you to know I may not understand your argument at first and you may have to do more explanation and give more time when I am looking for DA and On-case position arguments. If you read this please make sure you have a complete K and are ready to explain the literature and how it is advocating for the change you want to see.

ON-CASE
THIS IS MY FAVORITE!!!! Especially this year, the abundance of evidence that generally links to the case that AFFs have to work through or that AFFs get to extend through the round has been incredible.

Realistically, I am looking for the stocks to be upheld, but want to make my decision based on those and what I believe will be the best policy in the round.

Last, I WILL NOT INTERFEER. I want you to enjoy the round, so read your evidence and debate your way. Please understand everything above is what I prefer to see in a round, and for me, the clash is the highest priority and the AFF burden to prove that policy is beneficial. Those are my two presumptions before the round ever begins, so whoever meets those and proves to me the policy is net beneficial or will lead to existential harm typically is who gets my ballot.

Speed, since that is what this question is really asking...I tend to err on the side of technical over articulate, as this is an incredibly technical event, and know how much time it has taken to develop that skill. That being said, POP THE TAG AND EVIDENCE TO ENSURE THAT IT MAKES THE FLOW...SPEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! I WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO KNOW YOUR CIRCUIT AND THE EXPECTATIONS...

(I,E UIL/TFA/TOC/NSDA EXPECTATIONS)

I will warn you to watch me or my pen. If I am not flowing the round, then there is a high probability that I am not following along with you, and the only saving grace for you is the speech drop, file share, or email chain if there is one. Please be present in the round and observant that it could be the difference in your win or loss, simply because I could not understand your attempt at spreading.

Again, this is not to say you can't, but I would for sure slow down on taglines/claims. Pop the source or card information before going full howitzer in the warrants of the evidence.

LD Debate

I am as traditional as it gets. I tend to keep a more technical-based flow. Slow, pretty speaking, and thorough argumentation. I weigh heavily on the Value and Criterion clash. I love good voters at the end of the rebuttal phase. I do understand progressive argumentation but for the sake of LD, I would keep it to a minimum. Signpost well and keep off-time roadmaps brief. Even though I prefer traditional LD Debate, I understand the merit of research that comes with progressive LD, I will evaluate these rounds and am quite capable of doing so since I spend most of my fall semester judging policy rounds. I would encourage you to read my CX(Policy) paradigm if this is your style. It will better help you navigate these rounds. I will also caution you with called drops especially if it appears this strategy is being used just to grab a win, I believe that harms the education in the round and makes me less likely to warrant them as drops rather than a lack of information. I would prefer an analysis of why the arguments are still valid and voting issues in the round rather than just calling them drops or unanswered arguments. Again, I stress reading the CX event above this to get a better understanding of how I will evaluate the round.

Please tell me when and where I will vote to control my flow and the ballot. If you do this, it should be a good round for you. I can not emphasize enough that CLASH is crucial, and I will know if you do not interact with arguments made by you and your opponent. If you declare it as an offense and can justify this claim, it could win you the round!

Congress

When it comes to a congress chamber, I have found that I enjoy healthy debate and awareness in a chamber. What this means is that for a PO and the chamber to understand when the debate has begun to circle around and there are no new arguments being developed...It is probably time to move to a previous question. If you feel that you have a really strong speech to give, but it is the same argumentation that has already occurred, I would encourage you to make sure that you are working on elements of refutation to direct speakers in the chamber along with crystalizing how the arguments have worked throughout the chamber. If this is not the strategy, it will probably hurt you to just get up there and give another 3:00 speech, developing the same cycle of arguments in the chamber. I really enjoy it when the debate on items is well developed and students are aware enough to understand when it's over and should be moving to the previous question for the vote to get to the next item in the chamber.

I have found that my ranks tend to be evaluated from the following parameters, but I do not think this is by any means the only way I would evaluate a chamber.

1st Priority--- Effective PO Procedures and chamber management. I do believe the PO is one of the most influential characters in the chamber. It is your job to have a clean and clear understanding of the parliamentarian procedures, and it is your job to reinforce the rules of the chamber. I do expect you to know the rules of the circuit for the tournament so know the differences between UIL, TFA, and NSDA.

2nd Priority---Quality of Speeches

3rd Priority--- Activity in the chamber (total) This covers # of speeches, questions, and general participation for me in the chamber

I have found that most PO in my balloting history will start in the 3 positions, and your effectiveness in this position will dictate if you move up or down from this position. I do place a premium on speeches, as I still think this is the most important piece to the event, so it will be common for my ballot that the speakers are ranked higher than POs, but if this is done well can push them to the top of a chamber but it is harder for these characters in the chamber to get my 1s.

Extemp

The core question for extemp is how to get my 1. Or what is the difference between my 1 & 2?

My 1's are nearly perfect speakers, the fillers are minimal and you are doing all the extemp nuances that we are looking for in these speeches. Sources are incredibly important and more does not always equal 1 but it can be the difference. I am also looking for you to analyze and give me your insight into the topic. Working that in could be the difference between 1 & 2. Time could also be a factor in judgment. Know the rules between different circuits!

Interp

These are my weakest events to judge...That doesn't mean that I can't, just that I believe my qualifications are less in this event. I do place a premium on some of the speaking tactics over the theatrical elements (blocking). Not that I won't appreciate your movements and evaluate them throughout the performance, but it's not unheard of that someone who can tell an effective story and take me through their performance allowing me to feel what their performance is asking, will have better success with me over someone who uses blocking to communicate these moments throughout your performance. I would encourage you to utilize both throughout the performance as that is ideally what I am looking for in this performance. My best encouragement to you if I am judging your interp round, is to probably block less and what you do block, make sure that it has a purpose other than the "over-top" movements won't be as effective with me at the back of the room. I will evaluate and enjoy your performance, giving you feedback on things that I really enjoyed, and areas that I think you might want to consider growing the performance!

Policy/CX Debate:

I am a stock issues judge, I prefer the affirmative to defend all 5 stock issues. The affirmative and the negative should both create direct clash by responding to ALL of their opponents' arguments. To me, an argument that does not have a response is an argument that is won by the team that made the argument. I do not like kritiks. Topicalities are great, but I don't like time being wasted on endless topicality arguments. Disadvantages are also a good argument, but should be formatted correctly and have all four necessary parts. CPs should have a net benefit, or they are not better than the affirmative case. On case arguments are the most effective arguments in my opinion, as long as they relate directly to the opponent's case. I will also listen to reasonable theory arguments. The following is personal preference, but one thing that irks me as a judge is teams that kick arguments that they are winning or that there is good debate on, only kick arguments if you're absolutely sure the argument will have no impact on the round at all. Also, when you kick an argument, please be explicit about kicking the argument and don't "silent kick" an argument.

Style and Delivery Preferences:

I want to be able to understand every word you say. I will award higher speaker points to debaters that speak the most fluently, with the fewest mistakes, as long as I understand them.

(whitehouse'22; UTT'26 - debate/IEs 4yrs - collegiate debater)

she/her ; (lay-lah-knee)

leilani.celeste03@gmail.com

pref speech drop.

policy

policy debate was my main event in high school, i've been in your shoes before! trust me, i will try my best not to screw you over.

i would describe myself as a true tab judge. this means, run whatever you'd like! the room is yours !! DO NOT BE AFRAID OF CLASH. above all, be polite to your opponents. (more on this at the bottom.)

speech- first and foremost, debate is a communication event. i can usually keep up with spreading, however, if it becomes unintelligible i will put my pen down (and you will notice it). speaks will be awarded to those who enunciate, have little verbal clutter, and demonstrate professionalism. organization is key. i will be very strict on this.

t- i love a good T debate! great opportunity to demonstrate strategic skills and utilize theory args. articulate violation/standards/voters clearly. do not expect me to flow for arbitrary and/or overlimiting interps. i default predictability.

k/fw- i am a huge fan of theory args. i believe they make debate extremely interesting and will listen intently. that being said, BE FAMILIAR WITH THE K LITERATURE. if you decide to run a cap/psychoanalysis/[insert niche critical theorist here] k, understand what you are reading and be able to coherently articulate the reason to vote on it. if you're going to use buzzwords - define them & tell me how they relate to your alt, to the link debate, and to the aff. a good generic link to the topic, state, or debate will suffice without aff contest. if you run a k aff, good luck.

disads/cp's- these are fine, however if you choose to run 3+ and then claim to "lose neg ground" in the debate, it will affect my RFD and i will call it out. da's (and k's) should serve as obvious net benefits to your cp. PLEASE IMPACT CALC. impact framing is key. structural violence v. nuclear war doesn't matter if i am not told which is worse. i will default to my own interp if this is not done (it should be).

theory- i feel very comfortable with theory args, just make sure you warrant out why it should be evaluated in the debate. this means clear interps, violations, voters, etc etc. i am not going to do the work for you on why education and fairness is important- that's your job.

misc- hate redundancy, do not repeat yourself over and over. signpost clearly. open cx is fine if the host allows it. don't care where you sit. i will call it out in my RFD. last speeches >>>. these will make or break the round for me. do NOT allow your energy to drop, even if you feel as though you're losing! keep me interested! debate is supposed to be "fun". allow your passion to spill over in your speeches. GET ON THAT SOAP BOX!! (this applies to all events.)

ld

i debated ld a few times (and won each time). however, i am in no way familiar with all of the ld jargon. remember, i am first and foremost a policy debater / interp'r.

okay with whatever. love clash! don't be rude. keep me interested.

thoroughly explain your values and criterion. it will take a lot to persuade me on broad values (such as life or justice) without just and clearly articulated criterion/warrants.

IE's

three things: passion. energy. clarity.

this is your chance to express yourself! show me who you are, why you're here! do not just read the script, give me emotion! pazazz! dramatics! & being louder does not mean better.

extemp- try your hardest to reduce verbal clutter. this is a communication event, just talk to me! each move you physically make should have a purpose; no swaying! breathe, you got this!

general judging

i will not tolerate any racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. be respectful? not that difficult. we are here to offer a safe and diverse place for intellectual discourse and healthy conversation. i truly admire the culture speech and debate has fostered, so uphold that. be open minded and considerate of those around you. any disrespect or unnecessary aggression will automatically lose you the round.

any further questions/clarification, feel free to contact me anytime! :)

CX/Policy:

Games Judge

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Debate is a game; use whatever ON OR OFF positions that allow you and your opponents to LEARN and have *FUN*.

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No one is tab but I truly do try and keep my personal biases out of my vote ---- Tech>Truth

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If all else fails and at the end of the debate everything cancels out I vote on presumption - presumption falls neg but if the negative runs a CP --- presumption flips (keep that in mind negative teams)

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when in K debates depending on the literature we are discussing let's try and be truthful(for proper education on important structural topics) but I'm still tech when it comes to judging the round.

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Speed = ????, just make sure you're intelligible, Also make sure if I'm on a panel to check the other judges' prefs on speed if other judges don't like it, it's probably in your best interest to talk slow, you'll get my vote if your argumentation is superior.

In CX debate I'm as basic as a stock issues judge can get, not much to it. In LD I wouldn't say I necessarily have an exact paradigm, so surprise me. One thing I always look for though is clash; clash I what makes a debate entertaining in my eyes, and as such carries huge weight. You win the clash debate, you just might win the whole round.