LAMDL City Championships Tournament
2024 — Northridge, CA/US
CX Judges Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideFor email chain and questions: jorgeaguilar.4652@gmail.com
About me: Elizabeth LC '22, CSU Northridge '26. Pronouns are He/Him. I debated policy all four years of high school and still debating it in college. It's all I've ever known. With that said, I'm super down and excited to learn about other types of debate and see what I can learn from them.
Now I know you're reading this to see what kind of arguments you can read in front of me, but really you can read whatever you like. Just have fun and please MAKE GOOD ARGUMENTS!
Things you should know:
- Do your thing! This activity should center the stylistic decisions of students, not judges. There are things I like and dislike but please do what you do and I'll do my best to keep up. I also want to throw in the fact that I am very familiar with the tense feeling that comes with debate. I know it's easier said than done but if possible ease up and really try to have fun.
- Getting down to business, an argument consists of a) a claim (what I'm saying) b) a warrant (why it's true) and c) an impact (what it means). Anything less than that isn't a full argument. If you are introducing an argument, it's your responsibility to provide each of these, especially if you want it included in the final reasoning for why you should win the debate.
- Debate is a communications activity - how you're saying it matters just as much as what you're saying. It's not enough to just make an argument once in passing and assume the judge will assign proper weight to it, even if the other team does not explicitly respond to it. If something matters a lot to you, be sure to communicate that.
One last thing, I'm new to judging LD so all that theory stuff is kind of whack to me. Don't expect me to vote on it.
I also like it when people talk about the Lakers or basketball in general. Just wanted to throw that in there.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Affiliations:
I am currently coaching 3 teams at lamdl (POLAHS, BRAVO, LAKE BALBOA) and have picked up an ld student or 2. I am pretty familiar with the fiscal redistribution and WANA topics.
I do have a hearing problem in my right ear. If I've never heard you b4 or it's the first round of the day. PLEASE go about 80% of your normal spread for about 20 seconds so I can get acclimated to your voice. If you don't, I'm going to miss a good chunk of your first minute or so. I know people pref partly through speaker points. My default starts at 28.5 and goes up from there. If i think you get to an elim round, you'll prob get 29.0+
Evid sharing: use speechdrop or something of that nature. If you prefer to use the email chain and need my email, please ask me before the round.
What will I vote for? I'm mostly down for whatever you all wanna run. That being said no person is perfect and we all have our inherent biases. What are mine?
I think teams should be centered around the resolution. While I'll vote on completely non T aff's it's a much easier time for a neg to go for a middle of the road T/framework argument to get my ballot. I lean slightly neg on t/fw debates and that's it's mostly due to having to judge LD recently and the annoying 1ar time skew that makes it difficult to beat out a good t/fw shell. The more I judge debates the less I am convinced that procedural fairness is anything but people whining about why the way they play the game is okay even if there are effects on the people involved within said activity. I'm more inclined to vote for affs and negs that tell me things that debate fairness and education (including access) does for people in the long term and why it's important. Yes, debate is a game. But who, why, and how said game is played is also an important thing to consider.
As for K's you do you. the main one I have difficulty conceptualizing in round are pomo k vs pomo k. No one unpacks these rounds for me so all I usually have at the end of the round is word gibberish from both sides and me totally and utterly confused. If I can't give a team an rfd centered around a literature base I can process, I will likely not vote for it. update: I'm noticing a lack of plan action centric links to critiques. I'm going to be honest, if I can't find a link to the plan and the link is to the general idea of the resolution, I'm probably going to err on the side of the perm especially if the aff has specific method arguments why doing the aff would be able to challenge notions of whatever it is they want to spill over into.
I lean neg on condo. Counterplans are fun. Disads are fun. Perms are fun. clear net benefit story is great.
If you're in LD, don't worry about 1ar theory and no rvis in your 1ac. That is a given for me. If it's in your 1ac, that tops your speaks at 29.2 because it means you didn't read my paradigm.
Now are there any arguments I won't vote for? Sure. I think saying ethically questionable statements that make the debate space unsafe is grounds for me to end a round. I don't see many of these but it has happened and I want students and their coaches to know that the safety of the individuals in my rounds will always be paramount to anything else that goes on. I also won't vote for spark, trix, wipeout, nebel t, and death good stuff. ^_^ good luck and have fun debating
2024 Update: Hello! The below paradigm, which I have left for reference, was written 5 years ago immediately proceeding the end of my high school career when I did some national circuit judging. I am now a graduate with a full-time job and only judge on a volunteer basis for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League. The below paradigm was written by a far more vindictive and knowledgeable version of myself, however the general themes will likely hold true. My speed tolerance will certainly not be what it once was. I encourage very clear sign posting, focused collapsing, and strong argumentative narratives in overviews, now more than ever.
_____________________________________________________________
I debated for 6 years at Harvard-Westlake, graduating in 2019, and am currently a freshman at USC majoring in Business Administration with expected minors in Risk Management and Photography but do not debate. As a result, my influences in debate include Mike Bietz, Scott Phillips and Jasmine Stidham, as well as the teammates I graduated with whom I feel obligated to shout out, being Vishan Chaudhary, Ari Davidson (Warning: Large stylistic differences), Matthew Gross and Spencer Paul. I was also influenced quite a bit by the outstanding lab leaders I had at Debate.LA, including Jenny Achten, Joel Lemuel and Brian McBride (RIP).
I'm well aware that long paradigms are generally useless for before round purposes. I tried to keep it short but debate is complicated and people may want the opportunity to hear more of my thoughts before a tournament. Refer to bolded words for mega abridged, pre-round version.
In-Round:
Put me on the email chain: willberlin0 @ gmail.com
I tend to decide debates very quickly/as quickly as possible. This is not because I don't care enough to give you the time and energy you clearly deserve. This is because I don't believe the judge should be doing too much work so if there's a side I feel I should vote for after the speeches, I'm probably just going to check my flows to make sure I didn't ignore something of glaring importance and then vote. Much like how often after a speech a debater can get a vibe for if they've won or not, I generally can feel this as a judge too. What does this mean for you? Be sure you give clear judge directions in your later speeches and tell me the really important issues and arguments you are using to win the round. The more obscured your NR/2AR strategy is to me, the more likely I am to not comprehend the entirety of its nuance or truth value that you feel warrants the ballot.
I try to intervene as little as possible in my decision making, as good judges should, about will possibly take out my frustration through speaker points if I feel I'm voting on something really lame. Throughout my career, the sheer quantity of 2-1 decisions I saw really put into perspective how this activity is at its core subjective, despite our wishes for it to not be. That being said, everything said in Argument Specific Stuff is ways in which the way you argue may agree or disagree with me personally, which may subconsciously affect my decision making, as I am a human being.
I will call clear on you if I'm not getting it. If I have to do this repeatedly I will grow frustrated. Slow down on your tags and your author names, especially if you're going to be referencing cards by author name in the rebuttals. I like to be able to tell when you're moving from card to card, and this, along with numbering, is the best way to do it. I will not flow off the doc unless I feel I didn't catch you because of something outside of your control.
Prep ends when the doc is compiled or you are done prepping. Sending the email is not on prep but if I feel you are taking too long or stealing prep I will be angry.
I will never give a 30, there is no cap on perfection. A 29.9 is received when a speech is so good I don't know how to suggest to improve it, but it could theoretically be better so it doesn't get a 30.
I am unwilling to accept the liability of minors disclosing any form of assault or abuse to me. If this occurs I will stop the round immediately and inform real adults who are mandatory reporters. Please just don't make this a part of the round, as it puts everyone in the room in an awkward emotional and legal situation. If you need to talk to someone, although I can theoretically assist you, please just turn to any of the real adults at a debate tournament who I would just direct you towards anyways.
Argument Specific Stuff:
I was relatively flex, reading mostly policy stuff with some Ks.
All the policy args are fine. I think its a freezing cold take that a DA with higher truth value is refreshing, but I as a judge will give any DA full credence and vote on it as such until the Aff tells me why I shouldn't. I think Phillips had this on his paradigm at one time, or maybe he just said it to me or maybe I'm just going crazy, but if an argument from one team is short, blippy and bad, then the other team should not feel obligated to, and will likely lose the round if they, give it the same amount of time as a good argument. If you have just a few strong arguments on a dumb one, and you look up and can tell I'm liking what your saying, don't be afraid to move on.
I like a creative counterplan quite a bit, but don't go too far. The Aff team should not be afraid if theory is the A-strat against weird and abusive counterplans. If a counterplan sounds heinous to you and you don't know how to generate responses, it probably sounds heinous to me too, so articulate that.
On T, I like to see good evidence comparison on the definitions, otherwise it becomes very difficult to resolve. Having been the victim of many *creatively* worded topics throughout my career, I am capable of being persuaded that semantics should not come first. In order to do this you must prove why your model is good not only for the education in the specific round but also good for the topic and distribution of affs as a whole. This isn't to say you should go for reasons why your aff specifically gets to break the rules, rather you should propose reasons about why a strict interpretation of the wording of the topic is bad for the health of the topic as a whole, likely because it is excluding your aff which is a core of the discussion. An example of this is how the community majority believed that arm sales were not topical on the 2019 Jan-Feb topic, but the topic was obviously better with their inclusion.
On theory, I default to drop the argument on everything except conditionality and disclosure* and it will be very difficult to convince me to drop the debater on anything else. *Disclosure is obviously a big term and every case is different, so in some instances where I sense limited foul play I may be able to be persuaded to drop the argument, but this is really dependent on what happened in round. Theory on really mall stuff with near no proven in round abuse will likely be written off by me after the slightest of responses, especially if it's drop the debater.
On framework, I'll obviously listen to both sides of the framework debate but I must warn that I tend to believe that Affs should defend the topic. That being said, my job is to vote for the winning debater, which I fully intend to do, but you may be fighting an uphill battle in convincing me you have won as the Aff team on framework. I do believe procedural fairness is a voter. Aff teams choosing to not defend the topic should make arguments about why their chosen subject matter/style of debate is good/important, while also making arguments about why traditional debate/the topic is bad. Since non-T affs disrupt my standard methods of analyzing rounds, I need the 1AC to provide me with some sort of direction on what counts as offense and how I should evaluate it. I find cheeky I meets from the aff team to be annoying and a waste of their time. If you're obviously not defending the topic then puff out your chest about it. I'm also abig fan of PICs against non-T affs. If the aff team gets to choose to debate whatever they want then they should be able to defend the entire content of the aff from pics. Ks are also obviously a valid strategy against non-T affs.
On Ks, I'm not very well versed in post-modernism and will be unlikely to vote on it unless I get a clear story. My main issue with pomo is I often feel the impact never gets articulated as something without jargon that a normal person can understand, which as a result makes it very difficult for me to care enough about the arguments to vote on them. I would also very much appreciate an articulation of the alt in plain English and a good link story, those two things holding true for all k debate. I consider myself a pretty practical guy and am definitely not enamored by critical leftist theory like many, so arguments on Ks which take a step back and call into question the actions of an alternative from a more realistic standpoint are persuasive to me.
I am veryopen to listening to debates about what kind of impacts should be prioritized but will default to epistemic modesty if there is no debate about it.
Tricks are for kids. This at the bottom because tricks are the lowest form of argumentation.
Jared Burke
Bakersfield High School class of 2017
Cal State Fullerton Class of 2021
2x NDT Qualifier
NDT Quarterfinalist - 2021
CEDA Semifinalist - 2021
Cal State Fullerton Assistant Debate Coach Fall 2021-Present
Peninsula Assistant Coach Fall 2023-Present
Previously Coached by: Lee Thach, LaToya Green, Shanara Reid-Brinkley, Max Bugrov, Anthony Joseph, Parker Coon, Joel Salcedo, John Gillespie and Travis Cochran
Other people who have influenced the way I have thought about debate: Vontrez White and Jonathan Meza
If there is an email chain I would like to be on it:
College: jaredburkey99@gmail.com debatecsuf@gmail.com
HS: jaredburkey99@gmail.com
If you have any questions feel free to email me
Dont call me judge I feel weird about it, feel free to call me Jared
I did four years of policy debate in high school mostly debating on a regional circuit and did not compete nationally till my junior and senior year, debated at Cal State Fullerton (2017-2021)
New for 2023-2024:
Fiscal Redistribution: 11
Nukes : 13
LD Total: 89
NDT Update: I have been more involved in coaching Cal State Fullerton toward the second half of the year, this is not to say that I will know every intricacy of every aff, but from research I have done, I think I have a decent grasp on the topic.
If you are a senior,-and this is your last debate, congrats on an amazing career, but if you don't want to hear the RFD please feel free to leave.
Ramblings:
Gotten increasingly frustrated with the lack of explanatory power in K debates where there is not a sufficient link argument. I wouldn't say that I have a high threshold for the link debate but I genuinely think that this is the one part of the K that you cannot screw up. If you do well you will probably lose. If the 2NR is the fiat K I am not the judge for you.
If your 2AC/1AR strategy when you are reading a K aff is to say that only this debate matters then you shouldn't pref me. This is not to say i don't enjoy critical affirmatives but I think that the aff needs to provide a model of debate (Counter interpretation), a role of the negative, and an impact turn to the negatives standards, absent those things in the 1AR/2AR strategy it becomes difficult for the affirmative to win.
Cliff Notes:
1. Clash of Civs are my favorite type of debates.
2. Counterplan should not have conditional planks -theory debates are good when people are not just reading blocks
3. Who controls uniqueness - that come 1st
4. on T most times default to reasonability
5. Clash of Civs - (K vs FW) - I think this is most of the debates I have judged and it's probably my favorite type of debates to be in both as a debater and as a judge. I would like to implore policy teams to invest in substantive strategies this is not to say that T is not an option in these debates, but most of these critical affs defend some things that I know there is a disad to and most times 2AC just is flat-footed on the disad. Frame subtraction bad, one PIC good, 2As fail to answer PICs most times. 2ACs overinvestment on T happens a bunch and the 2NR ends up being T when it should have been the disad or the PIC. All of this is to say that T as your first option in the 2NR is probably the right one, but capitalize on 2AC mistakes. Other T things - fairness is an impact and an internal link - role of the negative has been one of the most persuasive framings to me when comparing aff vs neg model of debate - only this debate matters is not a good argument, these debates should be a question about models of debate - carded TVAs are better than non-carded TVAs - TVA are sure-fire ways to win these debates for the negative.
6. No plan no perm is not an argument
7. Speaker Points: I try to stay in the 28-29.9 range, better debate obviously better speaker points.
8. Theory debates are boring --- neg condo probably good --- I've been increasingly suspect of counterplans with conditional planks just because of how egregious they are
Ideal 2NR strategies
1. Topic K Generic
2. Politics Process CP
3. Impact Trun all advantages
4. PIC w/ internal net beneift
5. Topic T argument
Specifics
K: Love the K, this is where i spent more of the time in my debate and now coaching career, I think I have an understanding of generally every K, in college, I mostly read Afro-Pessimism/Gillespie, but other areas of literature I am familiar with cap, cybernetics, baudrillard, psychoanalysis, Moten/Afro-Optimism, Afro-Futurism, arguments in queer and gender studies, whatever the K is I should have somewhat a basic understanding of it. I think that to sufficiently win the K, I often think that it is won and lost on the link debate, because smart 2Ns that rehighlight 1AC cards and use their link to impact turn of internal link turn the aff will 9/10 win my ballot. Most def uping your speaker points if you rehighlight the other teams cards.
T-USFG:I think the stuff that I have said on the clash of civs section applies a lot here - fairness is an impact and is an internal link - role of the negative as a frame for your impacts/TVA etc has been pretty persuasive to me - 2ACs that go for only this debate matters doesn't make sense to me
DA:I think in these debates (also almost every debate) I just come through cards --- which is also why my RFDs take forever because I sift through a bunch of cards --- impact turns good --- absurd internal link chains should be questioned
CP: Process CPs good, judge kick is a logical extension of conditionality, multi-plank conditional counterplans I am somewhat suspect of just because they are sometimes are egregious --- permutations are tests of competition not new advocacies
LD Specific:
I expect to be judging LD a lot more this year with working most of the stuff applies above, but quick pref check.
1 - Larp/K
2. K affs
3. Theory
4-5. I do not like tricks or Phil
If you make a joke about Vontrez White +.1 speaker point.
hi! my name is elva chen (she/her)
email: elvachen1234@gmail.com
im a current varsity debater for downtown magnets high school (4 years)
preferences:
my biggest pet peeve is dropped arguments, so please please please try your best to answer everything, even if you don't have prepped answers to it
tag-teaming is okay as long as one teammate is not overpowering the other. please allow both sides to have equal chances at talking
my favorite offcases are DAs and K. if any offcases are going to run, please be knowledgeful about it. i
PLEASE signpost. i get lost in the arguments sometimes so please say "next" or "moving onto"
i LOVE theory, if you ever want to run an argument like condo or vague alts, im all for it.
2017-2019 LAMDL/ Bravo
2019- Present CSU Fullerton
Please add me to the email chain, normadelgado1441@gmail.com
General thoughts
-Disclose as soon as possible :)
- Don't be rude. Don't make the round deliberately confusing or inaccessible. Take time to articulate and explain your best arguments. If I can't make sense of the debate because of messy/ incomplete arguments, that's on you.
-Speed is fine but be loud AND clear. If I can’t understand you, I won’t flow your arguments. Don’t let speed trade-off with the quality of your argumentation. Above all, be persuasive.
-Sending evidence isn't prep, but don't take too long or I’ll resume the timer. (I’ll let you know before I do so).
Things to keep in mind
-Avoid using acronyms or topic-specific terminology without elaborating first.
-The quality of your arguments is more important than quantity of arguments. If your strategy relies on shallow, dropped arguments, I’ll be mildly annoyed.
-Extend your arguments, not authors. I will flow authors sometimes, but if you are referencing a specific card by name, I probably don’t remember what they said. Unless this specific author is being referenced a lot, you’re better off briefly reminding me than relying on me to guess what card you’re talking about.
-I don’t vote for dropped arguments because they’re dropped. I vote on dropped arguments when you make the effort to explain why the concession matters.
- I don’t really care what you read as long as you have good reasoning for reading it. (ie, you’re not spewing nonsense, your logic makes sense, and you’re not crossing ethical boundaries).
Specific stuff
[AFFs] Win the likelihood of solvency + framing. You don't have to convince me you solve the entirety of your impact, but explain why the aff matters, how the aff is necessary to resolve an issue, and what impacts I should prioritize.
[Ks/K-affs] I like listening to kritiks. Not because I’ll instantly understand what you’re talking about, but I do like hearing things that are out of the box.
k on the neg: I love seeing teams go 1-off kritiks and go heavy on the substance for the link and framing arguments. I love seeing offense on case. Please impact your links and generate offense throughout the debate.
k on the aff: I like strategic k affs that make creative solvency arguments. Give me reasons to prefer your framing to evaluate your aff's impacts and solvency mechanism. The 2ar needs to be precise on why voting aff is good and overcomes any of the neg's offense.
[FW] Choose the right framework for the right aff. I am more persuaded by education & skills-based impacts. Justify the model of debate your interpretation advocates for and resolve major points of contestation. I really appreciate when teams introduce and go for the TVA. Talk about the external impacts of the model of debate you propose (impacts that happen outside of round).
[T/Theory] I have a higher threshold for voting on minor T/Theory violations when impacts are not contextualized. I could be persuaded to vote on a rebuttal FULLY committed to T/theory.
I am more persuaded by education and skills-based impacts as opposed to claims to procedural fairness. It’s not that I will never vote for procedural fairness, but I want you to contextualize what procedural fairness in debate would look like and why that’s a preferable world.
[CPs] CPs are cool as long as you have good mutual exclusivity evidence; otherwise, I am likely to be persuaded by a perm + net benefit arg. PICS are also cool if you have good answers to theory.
[DAs] I really like DAs. Opt for specific links. Do evidence comparison for me. Weigh your impacts and challenge the internal link story. Give your framing a net benefit.
I am more persuaded by impacts with good internal link evidence vs a long stretch big stick impact. Numbers are particularly persuasive here. Make me skeptical of your opponent’s impacts.
Hello, hello, and greetings! I hope you're doing well.
As fellow speech and debate enthusiasts, we share a unique connection within a devoted community. I deeply respect the dedication, time, and personal sacrifices you commit to excel in debate. I hold both the Donus D. Roberts Coaching Excellence Award and I am a first time Diamond Award coach. My journey in Policy Debate started in middle school, and today, I coach various debate teams, including the debate squad, moot court team, mock trial teams, and shark tank teams. This commitment has given me valuable insights into the demands of this activity. My background spans the financial world, law, and a strong passion for history. I have been actively involved in debate since 6th grade and coaching since 2012, maintaining my profound love for this distinctive pursuit. I've judge CX, PF, LD, BQ, Moot Court, Mock Trials, and High School Shark Tank Presentations. It's worth acknowledging that you've chosen to embrace a challenging endeavor that many may shy away from.
Nickname: My nickname is Judge Kinshasa, in a round, you can just call me "Judge".
Also, I am not responsible for your feelings. Win graciously, lose graciously. I have no problem giving feedback to ones coach, and my email is in the RFD for your coach to contact me for more information on my RFD. I'll use sharedocs on the NSDA platform so there's no need for any personal email to be exchanged among the rounds participants.
I don't disclose except in elimination rounds.
Let's dive into my judging philosophy by sharing how I look at the components of a debate:
1. Framework (Affirmative and Negative):
- What it is: A set of rules and principles that define the scope of the debate.
- What it is not: A case-specific argument or evidence.
2. Role of the Ballot (ROB):
- What it is: A statement explaining what the judge should prioritize when making their decision.
- What it is not: An argument against the opponent's case.
3. Plan (Affirmative):
- What it is: The proposed policy or action the affirmative team advocates for.
- What it is not: The entirety of the affirmative case; it's just one element.
4. Counterplan (Negative):
- What it is: An alternative proposal presented by the negative team.
- What it is not: A critique or disadvantage argument.
5. Topicality (Negative):
- What it is: An argument challenging the affirmative's compliance with the debate topic.
- What it is not: A critique of the affirmative's content.
6. Disadvantage (Negative):
- What it is: An argument showing the negative consequences of the affirmative's plan.
- What it is not: A counterplan or a critique.
7. Critique/Kritik (Negative):
- What it is: A critical analysis of the assumptions or ideology underlying the affirmative case.
- What it is not: A traditional argument based on evidence and impacts.
8. Cross-Examination (CX):
- What it is: A period during the debate where one team questions the other to gather information and make arguments.
- What it is not: A time for making speeches or presenting new arguments.
9. Rebuttal (Affirmative and Negative):
- What it is: Speeches aimed at refuting the opponent's arguments and reinforcing your own.
- What it is not: A time for introducing entirely new content.
10. Evidence/Contentions (Affirmative and Negative):
- What it is: Factual information and arguments that support your case.
- What it is not: Personal opinions or unsupported assertions.
11. Flowing (Judge's Role):
- What it is: Taking detailed notes of the debate to track arguments and make an informed decision.
- What it is not: Making decisions based on personal biases or emotions.
12. Time Limits:
- What it is: Strictly enforced limits for speeches and cross-examinations.
- What it is not: Flexible or arbitrary timekeeping.
13. Case Overview (Affirmative and Negative):
- What it is: A brief summary of your main arguments at the beginning of your speech.
- What it is not: A replacement for in-depth analysis.
14. Permutation (Affirmative):
- What it is: An argument that combines the affirmative and negative positions to demonstrate compatibility.
- What it is not: A standalone argument; it relies on other contentions.
15. Voting Issues (Judge's Decision):
- What it is: The key points or arguments the judge should consider when rendering a decision.
- What it is not: An exhaustive review of every argument made in the debate.
16. Cap-K (Capitalism Kritik) in Policy Debate:
- What it is: A critical argument challenging the fundamental assumptions and impacts of capitalism as a social and economic system.
- What it is not: A traditional policy argument focused on specific policy proposals or impacts.
17. Settler Colonialism in Policy Debate:
- What it is: An argument that critiques the historical and ongoing processes of colonization and displacement of Indigenous peoples.
- What it is not: A case-specific argument or a traditional policy debate contention.
As your judge, this represents my approach to evaluating debate rounds and how I assess arguments within them. The following offers further insight into my judging philosophy and perspective.
1. Communication Rule:
- Rule: No communication is allowed between teammates or judges during the debate round to maintain fairness and integrity.
- Consequences: Violating this rule results in immediate removal from the room; failure to comply leads to team disqualification.
- Purpose: Strict enforcement deters interference and ensures adherence to fair competition rules and guidelines.
2. Focus During Rounds: I take judging seriously and maintain a laser focus during rounds. No social media or phone distractions for me – I'm all about the debate!
3. Debate Strategy: Also, please look at the judge, not at your opponent. I appreciate well-structured arguments and expect respectful conduct. I don't favor profanity, yelling, or ad hominem attacks. I’ll give one warning, and if the violation continues, I’ll end the round, and have no issue conversing with your coach about the matter. If your strategy relies on divisive or disrespectful arguments, I'm not the right judge for you.
4. Role of the Aff: Remember, the Aff plan isn't the debater; you are. Address your opponents as "Neg" or "Aff" or “Opponent to maintain professionalism.
5. Counterplans and Solvency: I prefer Neg to run a Counterplan (CP) because attacking solvency without addressing the problem isn't convincing, and doesn’t make the CP a better option, and in essence the Neg says that their either isn’t a problem to solve, or the problem isn’t big enough to solve.
6. Flowing: I'm a meticulous judge who highly appreciates well-structured flow sheets as they enhance my ability to assess the round thoroughly. My preference is to manually record my notes on paper because typing on a laptop keyboard can be distracting for debaters. I actively encourage teams to maintain their own flow sheets, not only to enhance their skills but also because I might refer to them to ensure no critical arguments are overlooked.
7. Engagement: Engage with me, the judge, as you present your arguments. Spreading is fine, though I prefer you do not, but clear and effective communication is key. If you’re spreading to get as many arguments as possible in to trick your opponent to drop arguments, you’re just reading, not making an argument in support of your position. I don’t vote based on dropped arguments.
8. Questions in Cross-X: Meaningful questions are more valuable than questions for the sake of it. Avoid open-ended queries and be respectful.
9. Clash:
- Explanation: Clash is the central battleground in policy debate, where debaters engage in direct argumentative confrontation.
- Importance: Effective clash demonstrates your team's skill in challenging your opponent arguments, influencing my decision beyond exploiting dropped points. Please don't debate based on winning by dropped arguments, win the debate utilizing clash.
- Strategy: Strategically use clash by presenting strong arguments, addressing your opponent's contentions, and highlighting weaknesses. It showcases argumentative prowess and critical thinking.
- Outcome: Clash quality significantly impacts my decision, making it a crucial skill for winning policy debates.
10. Defense versus Offence: In policy debate, "defense" challenges the opponent's case, while "offense" advances the negative's position. Winning the debate requires strong defense to undermine the affirmative and effective offense to persuade me. Debaters balance these elements, adapting to my preferences for a strategic advantage.
11. Debating Off-Topic in Policy Debate:
- Warning: Stick to the resolution's scope for meaningful debates. If your strategy is to not debate the topic outside of a K-Aff, I'd advise that you stay on the resolution and or the topic.
- Issue: A problem arises when debaters go off-topic, using unrelated strategies and tactics.
- Concerns: This hinders the educational value of debates, straying from the critical analysis of policy proposals within the resolution.
12. Non-Voting Issues Clarification:
- To provide clarity, my primary focus in evaluating the debate is on the affirmative plan's capacity to effectively address the specific problem outlined in the resolution, rather than on the persuasive aspects of a speech. Therefore, arguments centered on topics such as "the blacks" "white supremacy," "whiteness", "anti-blackness," "anti-women," "anti-white," "anti-religion," "bias arguments," "oppressed communities," "marginalized communities," claims that "America is racist," or assertions that "everything is racist," including the use of racial slurs within a round, are not voting issues to me, essentially, they do not constitute decisive factors in my decision-making process. Racial slurs use din a round will result in a round being ended and a vote against the team that used it.
- For example, when examining the Fracking resolution for the 2022-2023 season, it was common, and understandable for debaters to discuss the impact of fracking on marginalized communities. While the affirmative plan may directly address the issue of fracking, it does not automatically prove how the plan will directly alleviate the marginalization of these communities. Essentially, fracking is banned, yet the marginalized community remained marginalized, and that is a great opportunity to show how the plan could improve the marginalized communities mentioned in the round. Otherwise, such arguments do not significantly influence my judgment in the debate.
It's essential to note that my perspective is not rooted in censorship yet know that what I listed are not voting issues. I vote on what's and desire to maintain relevance to the resolution's specific context. Behind the numbers are real people, treat them as such, not a prop used to win a round. If you require further clarification on this matter, please feel free to ask me before the round.
I don't like theory arguments as it's a theory, not a fact, and facts are what I vote on, not theory.
Essentially, it comes down to which solves the problem that the resolution addresses; the Aff Plan or the Status Quo.
13. Perm Do Both: "Perm Do Both" must be supported by a clear, persuasive explanation of how the affirmative plan and negative counterplan can work together effectively to solve the issue without conflicts. Mere mention of "Perm do both" without a well-reasoned narrative won't be enough. It should demonstrate how these actions complement each other and why this integrated approach is the best way to address the problem in the debate, presenting a compelling case for choosing both proposals over separate considerations.
14. Evidence and Warrants: In debate, assessing an author's credibility extends beyond qualifications. It's about ensuring their expertise aligns with the specific argument being made, as even experts can make unsupported claims. Debaters must evaluate qualifications, relevance, and argument consistency to ensure evidence is credible and directly supports the warrant. Showing how the author supports your teams position increases your chances of winning a round.
15. Falsifying information: Request: Debaters should refrain from fabricating information during a round, particularly when it involves inventing financial figures, historical facts, law, or other details. I'll know it.
16. Prep Time: I don't allow prep time for cross-X. If an tournament has stated to judges that there is an allotment of time for tech issues, that will be kept to the second.
17. Selling Your Position: Persuasion is key. Convince me; speed isn't everything.
18. Speakers' Points: I base these on coherent arguments, strong rebuttals, good clash, and respectful conduct.
20. A Respectful Environment: I maintain a respectful environment and expect respect from all participants. No profanity, ad hominem attacks, or disrespect is tolerated. I'll give one warning, if it continues, it's an automatic disqualification, and I'll convey the reason in my RFD, and with the disqualified team's coach.
21. No Direct Messaging During Rounds: If I suspect messaging, I'll ask to see your computer screen. Messaging during rounds is grounds for an immediate disqualification.
22. No Bias: I judge impartially.
23. Reason for Decision (RFD): I provide constructive feedback to help debaters improve. I’ll share what debaters did well, and what each debater should work on to improve as debaters. I've seen instances where my feedback was applied in subsequent rounds. Remember, I'm available for questions and discussions during the tournament, and it's a good idea to take notes during feedback sessions to make the most of them.
Thank you for the privilege of judging your round. I want to remind you that as debaters, you are an integral part of a truly exceptional and dedicated community. As we embark on this tournament together, let's keep in mind the essence of our shared purpose: to engage in meaningful and thought-provoking debates. So, let's make this tournament memorable and engaging for all involved because, at the end of the day, we are here to debate and celebrate the art of discourse. And best of luck to you in the future on your journey in speech and debate.
Thank you very kindly,
Mr. Dibinga - Chota
Background Info:
- Debated 4 years in high school for Downtown Magnets High School, currently studying in UCI and use my free time to judge debate tournaments. :(
-Currently a Sophomore at UCI. :(
- I'm experienced in judging in more local tournaments, but it is nice to judge different teams from different places and it's great to see a diversity in arguments.
Debate Arguments:
- You can honestly run anything you want. It can be 8 off or 1 off, as long as your comfortable with your arguments.
- I do like certain arguments such as topicality, critiques, and political affirmatives. However, you don't have to run these arguments if you don't want to evidently.
- I don't have much preferences besides having good line by line arguments(organization), contextualizing arguments(especially if it's a K), and clash in the debate round.
Speaker Points:
-I usually don't give low speaker points to anyone really, the only thing I would encourage is to not rely too much in tag team cross-ex and do not come across as rude.
-Also(VERY IMPORTANT), I do give out bonus speaker points to those who take the challenge to either relate the round to a meme(joke) or philosophical arguement. Anything that makes the round "entertaining" is recommended to get those high speaks.
- That's pretty much it, good luck :)
Hello, my name is Spencer, a junior in high school at Lake Balboa College Prep. I have been going to debate tournaments since I was in sixth grade and debated mostly in seventh and eighth. I did take a break from debating in my freshman and sophomore years until this year so I am a bit out of practice and very new to judging.
Hello! :)
I'm a ipda/parli debater in uni. I primarily do limited prep events (in speech and debate) and coach policy.
I vote based on how well you carry your arguments, if you answer/drop/kick arguments. Did you answer your opponents? Does your arguments outweigh or have stronger points? Do you argue why your side is better? Did you clash with your opponents and show your side to be a better choice for me to vote on? (BTW Creating a narrative/story with your evidence/cards in your rebuttals is also nice cause it strengthens your side. It's more visual and emotional hence more persuasive.)
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Preferences:
- Have a road map and sign post -
clear road maps and sign posting = better understanding of what arguments are being used = clear flow = higher chance of your win
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- Can spread, but emphasis your main points (slow down, deliberately tell me, repeat it a few time, etc.) -
by emphasizing a certain point, you give it value and in turn I give it value and know what you want to argue for. makes your point clear and understandable so I can easily write it down in my flow
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- Tag teaming is fine -
make sure you speak eventually since cx is a part of your speaker points. I can't evaluate speaker points properly if I don't hear you in both speeches and cx. (example: if you mumble a speech and don't really participate in cx, it generates a lower score then mumbling a speech and participate in cx)
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- Convince me as a judge, talk to judge, how do I vote, etc. -
go ahead and use logos, pathos, or ethos to try to convince me. talk to me as a judge on a one on one level, and tell me how to flow, explain important concepts, how to judge the debate, reason to prefer, or if you caught your opponents dropping something, being contradictory, or even rude. ultimately your judge has the final say on if you win or lose, so appeal to your judge
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- Speak loud, audibly, and clearly -
this is such an important preference for me. sometimes i can't hear y'all. its either y'all are too far away, y'all speak to quiet, or there is some chatter/ac/car/general noise that is much louder than yall. i also can be hard of hearing at times and its really important that i can hear your arguments. i will also let you know in round if you need to speak up or move to a better spot
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try not to say "is anyone not ready?" it's a very awkward phrase with bit of a negative connotation, but don't worry if you do say it, it won't really affect your speech score. it's just very weird to hear it and "is everyone ready?" is quicker
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Hi, if you're down here, snack or candy bribes won't give you the W, but it doesn't hurt to try lol
See you in a round! (:
for email chains: nicolettaenciu@gmail.com
2023 Update:
TLDR: Speak clear, if I can't understand you I won't flow. I'll vote on anything as long as you impact why it matters. Have fun!!
Email: chrise505@gmail.com
Paradigm
Affs - For policy, please have a good internal link chain. For critical, explain to me why the ballot is necessary, if not I'll probably vote neg on presumption.
Topicality - Love topicality. That being said, if you're going for it in the 2NR, I need to hear a good explanation to the internal links [i.e. ground, limits, predictability] and your impacts [fairness and education]. I default to competing interpretations, but I find reasonability compelling when the aff explains how they increase the research burden just slightly and that the education is valuable. Effects/Extra T - I treat these as independent voters.
Kritiks - Just have solid links and I'll vote on it. Links of omission or to the state are not going to win my ballot unless the aff just completely drops the K. I like K's with interesting alts but that being said, I've voted just on the Framework debate.
DA - Have good links. I'm fine voting on generic links as long as you contextualize the aff to the warrants of your links.
CP - All counterplans are legitimate as long as you prove it's competitive to the aff. Less likely to vote on a CP with no solvency advocate.
Theory - I'll vote on any theory argument as long as you impact it out and prove the in-round abuse. For general positions on theory arguments:
- Conditionality - 3 condo cp's are good, 4-5 pushing it, 6 or more I'll vote on theory.
- Dispo - I never hear this one anymore so honestly it's up to who impacts it the best.
- Vague Alt - I buy the argument when the alternative doesn't have an advocate
- Process, Agent, PIKs, - all legitimate, but I can vote either way.
Speaker points - Super subjective but I base it off of how organized, structured and passionate you are about the arguments. If I feel like your making the right arguments you need to be winning I'm definitely upping your speaks. That being said, if you have a speech impediment that's fine as long as you are just clear. Generally I prefer people speaking slower than faster, ESPECIALLY in rebuttals.
Judge Intervention - I'll do my best to not involve at all, but if a team calls you out/ vice versa - I'll end the round and evaluate the call out and decide who wins and loses at that moment. Just be respectful to your opponents.
Hai i am aless (she/her) My email is: alessandraescobar113@gmail.com
Currently debating for the CSULB policy team
Graduated in 2023 & was an active varsity lamdl debater for 2 years.
Preferences-
I am tech over truth however in certain circumstances I will vote truth over tech (usually when the debate round is un-technical to begin with)
I don’t tolerate homophobia, sexism, racism, abelism, or any offensive arguements so don’t try it or I will give you a 25 or simply stop the debate round. If you insult me or the other opponents then I will stop the round and report you. This is an educational activity and I prioritize making this a safe space for everyone.
Onto specific arguments
T/ framework- Just give me everything; definitions, interps, clash, blah, blah ect I love when people tell me how I should judge and give me a clear outline of what the debate means.
Kritiks- I love kritiks especially on the negative. Please run them right though. If you have a k aff tell me how to use your method, why it’s good, and a logical explanation as to why you decided to be untopical. Please don’t simply say something like ‘racism is bad’ give me an acual method on how you specifically combat that (and why that’s good). It’s the same ith kritiks on the negative but just ive me clear links and reasons I should prefer.
Policy affs- I love soft left policy affs but I can rock with a hard policy one too. There’s not much for me to say here except be prepared to over explain yourself with me since I usually judge/prefer krtiks.
DA’s- Explain this well and tell me why your impact outweighs.
CP’s- I think cp’s are funny but I still can vote for them. Just be clear and explain why your cp matters/outwieghts. I do think cp’s can be abusive though so if the aff points this out to me I might vote on it.
More- I am pretty much a laid judge I love instructions on how to evaluate the round so I do prefer role of the judge/ ballot. I love when people use their voice to empahsize important things which is one of the things I take into account when assigning speaker points. ALSO if you have some form of feminism in your arguments I absoluley love that!!! (give me some crenshaw evidence).
The best way to contact me is through email. Bug me if you have any concerns/ questions. Even if I cannot answer them I will give you the people/resources you need to get what you are looking for.
That's it for my paradigm,,, byeeeee!
P.s if i give you a 30 you will get a hello kitty sticker (ur welcome)
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About Me:
Bravo '20, CSULB '24, LAMDL 4eva
2024 ADA Champ, CEDA Semis, NDT Quarters, #3 Copeland Panelist
Currently coaching Huntington Park High School
Email: diegojflores02@gmail.com
People I talk about debate with or have influenced me heavily: Deven Cooper, Jaysyn Green, Geordano Liriano, Curtis Ortega, Andres Marquez, Isai Ortega, Toya Green, Azja Butler, Cameron Ward, Jonathan Meza, Jared Burke, Elvis Pineda, Irshad Reza Husain, Tatianna Mckenzie, Khamani Griffin
TOC Update
nothing new, if anybody's interested in debating at csulb lemme know
How I Judge
- Judge instruction above all else. Tell me why your argument comes first (framing, recency, more contextualized, etc.) or why winning x part of the flow wins you the rest, and do the opposite to your opponent's framing. A long 2AR/2NR overview that identifies the 2-3 biggest issues to resolve is much more instructive to me than blasting off a pre-written block. I fully believe that the focus of the debate is completely up to the debaters to determine and will decide it only on what the flow says, not what I think it should say.
- When resolving arguments for either side, I tend to view it kind of like debate math. If one side has a full extension of their argument (claim, warrant, ev) and the other side is incomplete (claim, warrant, no ev), then I default to the side that has a more complete explanation of their argument. In scenarios where debating is equal, I listen to judge instruction and read evidence when necessary, but this a rarity. I hate having to insert my own beliefs about debate in order to decide which argument is better, which is why direct argument comparison and judge instruction are the most important things to do when I'm judging you.
- I flow straight down and heavily decide debates based on technical execution, so responding to the arguments in the order that they come in is preferable to me. However, I am completely fine with you going in your own order as long as you clearly state what argument you're responding to and still directly engage your opponent's arguments.
- I don't have the docs open during the debate and only refer to them during cx to read ev or if the debate is really close. I'm comfortable flowing any speed, but will not hesitate to say in the RFD that I could not catch an argument because the analytics were unflowable or the argument did not make sense. Please do not spread your analytics as if they're cards.
- Capable of writing a clear RFD for any style of debate, but my advice for improvement is better if critical literature is introduced. I only read K-oriented arguments in college, but was a flex/policy-leaning debater in high school.
- Following the above ensures that good, technical debating always overrides my personal beliefs (hate capitalism and psychoanalysis but vote on them all the time its concerning)
- No judge kick make your own decisions, inserting rehighlights is fine with me on the condition that you explain what the rehighlight says using quotes from the ev.
- Speaker points start at a 28.5 and move up and down according to execution: Rebuttals > Organization > Strategic pivots/ concessions > Sounding like you want to be here > Winning Cross-ex moments is probably my list of priorities when thinking about it
- boo being a bad person to your opponents booooo. i'm all for debaters standing on business, petty throwdowns, etc., but i am not for full-on disrespecting your opponents simply for the sake of it. every debate is a performance and you should be aware of how you come off.
- Format stuff -- title ur email chains [Tournament Name - Round x - Team A -Aff- v. Team B -Neg-), pls put ev in a doc before sending it out, etc.
Argument Preferences
I appreciate debaters who stick to their convictions and are confident in their ability to win what they're best at regardless if the judge is predetermined to agree with their set of arguments or not. The following is a list my personal beliefs about debate that only matter if there is a complete absence of judge instruction/technical debating by both sides. Anything that is not addressed just means I'm neutral for both sides about the argument and is overwhelmingly determined by the flow.
K Affs - Affs should be clear about the method/epistemological shift from the status quo they defend and why it challenges the impacts/theory of power outlined in the 1AC. I'm better for method-based K Affs than solely epistemological ones because I think the latter is susceptible to presumption arguments since I'm usually unsure about the scale that is required for the epistemological shift to solve the 1AC's impacts and why the aff is uniquely key. Method-based affs should be prepared to debate impact turns.
K Aff v. Framework - I strongly prefer a counter-interpretation than just a impact turn strategy. What it means to be resolutional must be defined in the 2AC through definitions or a different vision for engagement. I also strongly prefer that the counter-interpretation is in reference to models of debate established by scholars in the activity (DSRB’s Three Tier, Elijah Smith’s KFM, Amber Kelsie’s Blackened Debate, etc.). I think there is enough history of debate established for us to have substantive debates over the pros/cons of traditional/non-traditional models of debate.
Framework v. K Affs - Clash/Skills with Fairness as an internal link instead of as an impact on its own. SSD over TVA unless you have a solvency advocate. A combination of limits arguments and no clash turning the case is needed in order to win these debates in front of me. The only "engage the aff's case" I require is defense agains the aff's theory of power and their "ballot key" arguments since those two are usually cross-applied to become offense against framework.
K v. K - The biggest thing to clarify is how competing visions/demands about society structure your offense against each side of the debate. Each form of offense should have a material example of how your theoretical distinctions manifest into real impacts.
PIKs - Affs should always explain that the component that the negative has PIK'd out of is necessary for aff solvency, and that the PIK is a worse version because of it. Offense by the aff is often underdeveloped and I wish neg teams would be less afraid to go for PIKs since its usually cleaner than other flows.
Policy Affs - 2ACs overviews need to explain what the plan does and why it solves the impacts of the 1AC as opposed to just impact calculus at the top. Negative teams should be more willing to go for analytics that call out wonky internal link chains and solvency claims.
Extinction Affs v. K - Affs should defend the representations of their plan beyond "if we win case then reps true + extinction outweighs" by thoroughly explaining why the impact scenario is true as opposed to the 2AR saying "no case defense, flow our stuff through for us". I truly don't understand the new trend for every debater to rattle off "debate doesnt shape subjectivity + fairness is nice" and think that its sufficient to beat the K without addressing the link or the alt. I'd much rather hear a 2AR that substantively defends the case and impact turns the links. I absolutely hate when heg teams say "china evil cus uyghurs" or "russia evil" and refuse to acknowledge their hypocrisy in defending the United States (enslavement, genocide, current support of Israel, just history and today in general.). If you want to win heg good in front of me, I need a substantive impact turn to the link and an offensive push for why the alternative on the K is worse than the status quo, not just "fwk - weigh the aff".
Soft-Left Affs v. K - These are my favorite debates to judge. Affs should spend more time explaining why the case is a good form of harm reduction as opposed to trying to beat the ontology of the K with "progress possible + pessimism bad" arguments. I usually think that these arguments do nothing for the aff since none of the cards are about the case, and they'd be better off explaining why the aff is better than the status quo even if the neg's ontology is correct, and that a perm would resolve the links enough.
K v. Policy - K teams should have a "link turns case argument" even if the 2NR is a huge framework push, but I prefer the strategy to extend an alt that solves the case and resolves the link debate. Case defense is appreciated. I'm not the best for K 2NR's that invest most of their time into the ontology debate because I think its better for neg teams to go for specific links that turn the case or have an argument that the impacts of the K should come first before the aff, and winning a link means the alt comes first before the aff. At most, I think the ontology of a Kritik should be used to frame which impacts matter most, and it usually does not make-or-break debates for me. I don't require "specific" link evidence versus the aff, but I appreciate link contextualization in the block and I think K's are best when the 2NC/2NR pulls specific lines from the Affs speeches and explain how their method's underlying assumptions turn itself.
Counterplans - Neutral for each side about theory/competition arguments. Counterplans that only rely on internal net benefits are less likely to win in front of me since I think a combination of aff theory + a permutation can beat it.
Disadvantages - PLEASE INTRODUCE IMPACT CALCULUS IN THE 2AC/2NC, I hate when the first time I'm hearing it is in the rebuttal speeches from both sides. Direct evidence comparison above all else, i appreciate an overview of the impact scenario at the top of each speech. I'm a lot more concerned by whose impact scenario has more overall risk of occurring than a "turns the case/DA" argument.
LAMDL/UDL Stuff
- ONLY TO LAMDL/OTHER UDL KIDS - Email me with questions, speech redoes, questions about debate, and I will try my best to get back to you with advice/feedback. Not having coaches and learning debate by yourself is hard and I can’t guarantee responses all the time but I try to respond to mostly everybody that reaches out to me.
- WIKI RANT - have a wiki up by your 2nd tournament or I’m capping speaks at 29. Cites of the arguments/evidence you have read are the only thing needed, not open source. Not disclosing on the wiki diminishes the quality of debates LAMDL produces and exacerbates the gaps we have in resources as UDL schools, and it does nothing to help up and coming varsity debaters who don’t know how to start prep against teams that refuse to disclose. Debate is competitive and we’re all here to win, but it sucks when part of the reason nobody’s prepped to be negative is because nobody knows what anybody is reading.
other thoughts
- Highlight Color Rankings - Yellow > Blue > custom light pastel color > any other color is ew
- Water > Coffee > any energy drink like Red Bull or Monster is disgusting
- Tagline quality. They’re either unflowable (too long/wordy) or way too flowable (no warrant/2 word). The way people feel about highlighting trends is how I feel about tags. I hope for the perfect middle ground.
- If you run critical arguments about an identity you don’t belong to, I need you to explain what my/your role as a judge/competitor is to that literature, even if the other side never brings it up. I think it’s valuable to understand how we position ourselves in relation to literature that isn’t about us and see how it affects our decisions to use it as an argument, as well as develop ethical relationships to it.
- I think variations of the Cap K (escalante, racial cap, abolition democracy, etc.) are great and the majority of Affs mishandle them. Defending it as a methods debate as opposed to a "cap root cause + extinction ow + state engagement good" strategy is better in front of me and the affs common responses of "racist party + accountability DA + aff theory is root cause of cap" can be easily beat assuming the negative has actually read the literature behind the cap k. Despite the fearmongering by framework teams, the Cap K is a great generic and more teams should be willing to go for it.
I'm open to any direction that the competing teams want to go. That said, I prefer policy debates to K debates. If you are going to debate K, totally fine, but be clear on your theory and advocacy.
Speed is fine, but be smart about it. Be clearer and (relatively) slower on theory, T, etc. than when you are reading cards. Slow down for a moment when you are moving from one argument to another (e.g., from K to the DA).
Number your 1NC on case arguments and your 2AC off case responses. Structure is important; it leads to better clash.
Properly kick out of arguments. Ignoring something isn't the same as dropping it.
Finally, you are in charge of the voting issues. You tell me how I should vote and why.
INCLUDE IN EMAIL CHAIN! Ggonzalez0730@gmail.com
Experience:
CSUF policy debate 5yrs (2010-2016)
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League 2yrs (2008-2010)
Currently: Coach and Program Manager for The Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League
I engaged and debated different types of literature: critical theory (anti-blackness and settler colonialism) and policy-oriented arguments during my early years of debate. I am not very particular about any type of argument. I think that in order to have a good debate in front of me you have to engage and understand what the other team is saying.
My experience in college debate and working with UDLs has taught me that any argument has the ability to or Critical arguments. All of them have a pedagogical value. It’s your job as the debater to prove to me why yours is a viable strategy or why your arguments are best. Prove to me why it matters. If you choose to go for framework or the politics DA, then justify that decision. I don’t really care if you go for what you think I like and if you are losing that argument then it would probably annoy me. Just do you.
Framework vs. Plan less or vague affirmatives
As a critical affirmative, please tell me what the affirmative does. What does the affirmative do about its impacts? If you are going for a structural impact, then please tell me how your method will alleviate that either for the world, debate, or something. I don’t want to be left thinking what does that affirmative does at the end of the 2ar because I will more likely than not vote negative.
I don’t mind framework as long as you can prove to me why the method that you offer for the debate, world, policy, etc. is crucial. Please explain how you solve for "x" harm or the squo goes. I promise you this will do wonders for you in front of me. I will not be doing the work for you or any of the internals for you. As long as your argument has a claim, warrant, and evidence that is clear, then what I personally believe is meh. You either win the debate based on the flow or nah.
Seems rudimental but debaters forget to do this during speeches.
Clarity
If I can't understand what you're saying when you are speaking, then I'll yell out "clear" and after the second time I yell out clear then I won't flow what I can't understand. I will also reduce your speaker points. I tend to have facial expressions during rounds. If you catch me squinting, then it is probably because I can’t understand what you are saying. Just slow down if that helps.
DA+ Counter Plans
Cp have to have a net benefit.
I need specific impact scenarios--just saying hegemony, racism, global warming, and nuclear war does not win the ballot please explain how we get to that point. I really like when a 2AR gives a good explanation of how the aff solves or how the affirmative triggers the impact.
Make sure to articulate most parts of the DA. just bc you have a big impact that doesn't mean much for me please explain how it relates to the affirmative especially in the rebuttal. impact comparisons are pretty good too.
Theory debates
Not my strong point, but if you are going for this which I understand the strategic reasoning behind this, then explain the "why its bad that X thing" and how that should outweigh anything else. Also, slow down during these debates especially on the interpretation.
Speaker Quirks to watch out for:
Being too dominant in a partnership. Have faith that your partner is capable of responding and asking questions during CX. If you see them struggling, then I am not opposed to you stepping in but at least give them a chance.
Lincoln Douglas
For the most part, my paradigm applies to much of the args made in this sector of the activity a couple of things that you should mindful of when you have me as a judge:
1) I appreciate disclosure, but any theory args that are made about disclosure I don't appreciate, especially if I wasn't in the room to make sure neg/aff accusation are actually being saiD. If I'm not in the room its just a case of "they said I said." If you have it in writing, then I guess I can appreciate your arg more. I would still vote on it, but its not a decision I am happy about.
2) Time: LD leaves a lot of unresolved problems for me as a judge. Please make sure:
aff with plan text *make sure to not forget about the plan solvency mechanism and how you solve for your harms. this should be throughout the debate but especially in the last speeches. I understand there is an issue of time but at least 30 sec of explaining aff mechanisms.
sympathetic towards time constraints but be strategic and mindful of where to spend the most time in the debate. Ex: if you are too focused on the impact when the impact is already established then this is time badly spent.
Negative:
If you are concerned with the affirmative making new arguments in the 2AR have a blip that asks judges not evaluate. Because of the time (6 vs 3min), I am usually left with lots of unresolved issues so I tend to filter the debate in a way that holistically makes sense to me.
DA (Reify and clarify the LINK debate and not just be impact heavy)
T ( make sure to impact out and warrant education and fairness claims)
I am one of the debate coaches and teacher advisors at Huntington Park High School, since the 2022-2023 school year.
Email: luisgonzalez4ed@gmail.com, pronouns: he/him/his
I have limited experience with debate, other than advising our team over the year and a half. I have background on the topic, given I am a Social Studies teacher who teaches US History and AP Government. I have judged about 10 rookie/novice rounds + 1 Varsity round and would consider myself to be an inexperienced judge, especially at the higher levels of debate.
Given my limited experience with debate and judging, here are my preferences:
- Speak clearly and at a conversational pace (no spreading) and especially emphasize key points and give clear, compelling judge instruction
- I am not into or well-versed in the technical or theoretical parts of debate. I am more appreciative of clash within the debate, especially during CX
- Both partners should participate equally
- Run your own times
- Respect each other and be kind
I'm a coach so I'm looking for a debate that's engaging and shows an understanding of the format as well as the information. I don't care for spreading in Rookie and Novice as I think the focus should be on the material; tag-teaming on cx may reveal an unprepared or uncoordinated team, or it may show one debater over-power its partner. Use your prep time wisely.
UChicago '22
Put me on the email chain: jsiddharth76@gmail.com
I did policy debate for four years at Gunn High School.
My background is in economics/finance/security studies - I usually haven't studied topic lit in depth. I have a bad poker face when judging - you’ll know when I’m convinced
Tech > Truth
Policy
DAs: I love obscure disads that rely on internal mechanisms of the plan. Politics are fine. There is such thing as a risk of a disad low enough for me to disregard the impact.
CPs: More often than not, a solid strategy. I like smart rehighlighting of aff evidence as a solvency advocate for a CP.
Ks: If your only link is "state bad" against an aff that restricts the scope of the state, don't expect a win. I place a very high threshold on the link debate; specific link cards predicated off aff internal link chains will help you go far. High theory is not my jam; if that happens to be a debate I'm judging, entertain me.
Case: It's underutilized. Speaks will reflect solid case debates.
Non-traditional/performance/K affs: Topicality isn't exclusive/racist/genocidal because it excludes your aff. The K must have some relation to the direction of the resolution. More often than not, that isn't the case and I tend to err neg in these types of debates. Put your responses on the line-by-line. I won't line up your arguments for you. Probably not the best judge for these types of affs. K v. K can also work if there's sufficient clash.
Theory: Infinite condo, agent/consult CPs ok (must have clearly articulated net benefits), PICs ok
No clue why it still has my deadname on my judge paradigm, but please refer to me as Andres or just my last name (pronounced Jobe).
Email: jobbravodebate@gmail.com (they/he)
Affiliation: Bravo Medical Magnet '24 / UC Irvine '28
I am happy to answer any questions you have before and after the round.
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TLDR; Run whatever you want as long as you follow the structure of the argument and do not be a menace to people. Please give me judge instruction, tell me why everything you're saying is important. Speak clear and loud and ask me if I'm ready to hear your speech. I only vote based on what I have on my flow paper, which means you MUST let me know what you're saying. Don't cheat and bring in new arguments in later speeches, I will take off speaker points. PLEASE KNOW THAT I AM A JUDGE WHO IS VERY VERY VERY VERY KEEN ON FAIRNESS AND FOLLOWING THE RULES. Your speaker points start at 28.0 and go up or down based on your performance throughout the round. Have fun!!
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Long Paradigm:
Although I enjoy watching specific types of debates, I will still evaluate any arguments that you run; feel free to run CPs, DAs, T, K's, K-Affs, soft left, big stick, etc. However, I will not vote for you if you are racist/ sexist/ homophobic/ transphobic/ ableist, derogatory, or rude. If any of you degrade others or me at any point of the debate(before, during, or after the debate started), I will give you an auto-L, lowest speaker points available, an extremely long lecture, and will contact your coach. I trust you to be good people.
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Speaker Points:
The baseline for speaks is 28.0. It will go up depending on your ability to perfect the Holy Trinity: Format, Performance, and Technicality.
1. Format: follow the format of the arguments I gave you above. Follow the time structure of debate. This should be the easiest points to win and would give you a decent.
2. Performance: have clarity, have a good tempo and speed, BE PASSIONATE WHEN SPEAKING. This also means that when you're speaking you must be confident, and not pause a lot in the middle of your speech because you're not sure what else to say. This also means you MUST use all of your speech time or else it shows unpreparedness. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR TIME.
3. Technicality: The hardest thing in the world for debaters apparently. This means: NOT DROPPING ARGUMENTS, ANSWERING ARGUMENTS EFFECTIVELY, CALLING OUT DROPPED ARUGMENTS, DOING IMPACT CALC, JUDGE INSTRUCTIONS, OVERVIEWS, EFFECTIVE LINE BY LINE, ETC.). I weigh this above the other 2 standards, which means if you do poorly at this you will probably expect your speaker points to NOT be higher than a 28.1 and be around the 27.2-27.8 range.
Things that will drop your speaker points (that don't fall under Holy Trinity):
- Typing when it's NOT prep time (sending docs, bathroom break, etc.)
- Still talking after speech time is over (I will tell you when I permit cross ex after time is over)
- Card clipping (plz highlight your cards)
- Reading new cards in rebuttals (with the exclusion of 1nr)
- New arguments in the neg block and beyond
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Preferences For Rounds (1-10 scale)
Soft-Left Policy vs. K: 3/10 Eh not the best debates I've judged
Soft-Left Policy vs. Policy: 7/10 love it, wish I saw more of these
Big Stick Policy vs. K: 6/10 More interesting clash and the impact debate is most interesting
Big Stick Policy vs. Policy: 7/10 policy v. policy is cool
K-Aff vs. K: 5/10 hit or miss with this ... pls pls pls only run Ks if you know how to run them
K-Aff vs. Policy: 10/10 I love creative debates, they offer refreshment in my judging career
Counterplans:
NEG: I will not vote on or evaluate CPs with no CP text. that being said, feel free to run a CP, BUT you must have a CLAIM and a WARRANT as to why it's better than the aff. You want to prove to me that you have a net benefit the aff can't access and show that you solve better. Often times, debaters either get lost in the permutation debate and ultimately doesn't give the judge a clear story on how the CP works and how it interacts with the aff plan. If the affirmative calls you out on dropping permutations, I will weigh it against you and it will make it very hard for me to vote for you on the CP.
A lot of neg debaters I've come across are confused on the CP structure, so I'll give it here. I will NOT give you good speaker points if you can't abide by basic debate structure.
AFF: I want to see a permutation at the top of my CP flow in the 2ac. Extend it until the end. I enjoy it when an aff team runs multiple permutations and only go for 1 perm in the 1ar. If you drop the permutation and don't have any good defense against the CP and the neg team calls you out for it, I will most likely vote neg (given that they've explained what it means to drop the perm)
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Disads:
For the sake of my sanity PLEASE have IMPACT CALC. This goes for both aff and neg.
NEG: Follow the structure of a DA: uniqueness, link, internal link, impact. If I don't see this structure on my flow, it will be hard to want to vote for you. If you're using the DA as a net benefit to the CP, I want to hear the distinction or I will not put it on my flow. If the affirmative calls you out on not including all the components of the DA/drop your arguments, I will ultimately believe that the affirmative does not trigger the impacts of the DA.
AFF: please respond to all components of the DA and do impact calc. PLEASE HAVE OFFENSE AGAINST THE DA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Theory/Topcality:
I love theory and topicality, IF done right. If you're running T when the other side clearly doesn't violate, I will not appreciate it. Even if you're using T as a time skew make it somewhat relevant and interesting. I don't vote on Disclosure Theory unless I see valid proof / the tournament rules say so.
NEG: If you're going to go for theory please extend all your points and belabor the reason why it's a voter for education and fairness. I need a card provided to support your interpretation for whichever word you're defining.
AFF: Counter-interpretation need a card. RVI get out of here
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Kritiks/K-Affs:
NGL getting kind of boring here, I'm very tired of debaters running Ks without knowing the literature and the structure of the K. I would prefer if the neg team sticks to policy negs if you're certain you can't make a K interesting to me in this debate round.
NEG:
- I don't like Cap K but I'll still vote on it!
- As a native/indigenous debater who ran a bunch of set col performance k's and k-affs... pls try not to read set col unless one of yall identify as indigenous, especially if the alternative is to embrace some sort of indigenous praxis.... I get really uncomfortable hearing people read over experiences of indigenous folk for the sake of having an argument
- I don't like Postmodernism...........
- Every other K is good as long as you have proper framework and have specific links, I don't think the alternative has to be valid for the neg to win on K-- just need to prove aff links and make squo uniquely worse
AFF:K-Affs w/ no plan text or advocacy statement pls no...... must have some form of advocacy or clear goal thank youuu. What I said for the neg applies here!
Currently debating as a Varsity, and national circuits.
Truth over tech, pretend like I do not know anything about the evidence so please convince me
I appreciate good eye contact with the judges. I also do not mind fast reading just please be clear. Make sure to slow down on the taglines
Good evidence comparison of both and good cx clash.
Im not really picky on too many things though I prefer no tag teaming as it makes it difficult to flow at times and who said what.
Experience: 2 years of policy debate in high school. 2 years in varsity, 2 Tournaments JV/Novice.
VHTPA: 2021-Present
Contact: Ultranick10@gmail.com
I am new to judging but have a good amount of debate experience to know whatever y’all say.
Prefs:
If you spread, please send out a doc, also try not to spread analytics that you don’t send out, I can only write so fast.
Good with all arguments, just make sure to take your time and go everything and explain what you’re doing and why you are winning.
Tag teaming is fine, just make sure it’s not just one person for every cross X.
Properly sign post, tell me which argument y’all are on.
Have fun!
Hello beautiful people!
I am AJ Lozano and I'm thankful and ecstatic to be your judge today. Thank you so much for engaging and participating!
PLEASE INCLUDE ME IN THE E-MAIL CHAIN
jaydelozano14@gmail.com
A Little Bit About Me:
I am a go-with-the flow kind of person, so my actions will reflect the vibe I am getting from you guys, as the debaters.
However, don't get me wrong. I am very easy to talk to and please do not hesitate to ask me any questions.
I've debated for five years and now happy with my work with different debate leagues on the West Coast. I am cool with any argument- Ks, Theories, etc.
Rules/Requests
With that being said, I am a rather strict judge and I have rules/requests while I am in this round with you all.
1) Please be kind to one another! I understand in the heat of the moment, everything can be frustrating and sometimes, you just want to yell. However, kindness is my philosophy and goal in life! Friendship does not matter in your joking/fooling around, I do not want it to occur within the supposed 64-80 minutes of the round. Although, pre- and post- round, go ahead and joke around and hug each other.
2) I will always be the official timer! You may keep time for yourself as a reference, but once my timer goes off- TIME IS DONE! ***IF THE TEAM SAYS THEY'RE OPEN/READY FOR CX OR PREP TIME, TIME WILL START. No need to say "starting time in..." It's already going :)
3) SIGNPOSTING- Please do it. I want for your words to be properly understood and interpreted so let me know whether you're on-case and specify your off-case. Ideas will come back to you so let me know if you are moving back to something different.
3)SPREADING- is always allowed. However, I do request slowing down when reading the tag. If I do not understand what you are saying, I am not going to flow it.
4) Cross-Examination: I ask you to please use this time wisely and strategically. Please note that I will flow CX. It will be considered as an argument. I generally do not mind tag-teaming, but ensure your opponents are comfortable too- they have the final say.
5) REMEMBER: You are talking to me- not the other team. I am in the conversation- NOT listening to one.
6) PROFANITY: You can curse in a GENERAL sense! PLEASE, do not curse at another debater! This will result in an automatic low speaker rating, despite amazingness of speech content. Stay kind, but feel free to use words to emphasize!
DISCLOSURE
I will always give feedback on anything from speaking to arguments that were run. However, the disclosure of speakers points and who won is based on how I saw the round-depending on how the debaters make me feel. It's hard to piss me off, so please don't :) I've almost always disclose. If it takes me a long time, I'm sorry :P
Entering each round, I have no bias or preference. I am evaluating what I see and hear within the round. Convince me, persuade me. All in all, enjoy, have fun, and good luck!
My name is Desma. I was a varsity debater with CCHS for about 2 years. I now coach the team and am in my 2nd almost 3rd year of coaching. I am a current History major. I love this year's topic, I believe that it makes for a very fun year. I am very familiar with a lot of the cases on the wiki.
I am a fairly easy judge. My prefrences are: Self-time. Tag teaming is OK but try not to do it so much, I do disclose if the tournament allows. I believe that this should be a safe space so please refrain from excessive remarks towards your opponets.
T - I do need counter-interprations otherwise I am more likely to vote on T. I believe that there needs to be proper FW to support it otherwise it cancels itself out. I do like Theory debates I think that they can be very fun to judge just ensure that you have the proper backing otherwise it does count against you. When it comes to disclosure unless you are breaking new there is no real reason why you shouldn't disclose, if you don't I am likely to give that to the team.
K- I love krtiks, but please read the FW and links otherwise it's not worth it to read. I think that K's can make a very compelling NEG argument. I am not a fan of K Aff's therefore if you do run with me please make sure that you go heavy on the FW.
CP & Da's - I love love a good CP and DA. I believe they are absolutely neccessaryfor this year's topic. Please as the NEG run this to ensure you have the most on the other teams.
NEG- I think that clash is so important for the educational value of debate. I believe that there is always a case that you can run. I don't like when teams run over 7+ off's, if that's your strat then strike me. I think that a sweet spot is 3-5 OFF.
AFF- You have to have strong FW and solvency otherwise I am inclined to vote neg. The idea is that you must show me what is wrong with the SQUO in order for me to believe that I should pass your plan.
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Friendly reminder:
READ THE COMPLETE TAG INCLUDING THE AUTHOR( This causes -0.5 onto your speaker points)
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You can send any files to my email: dmarquezdebate87@gmail.com
Please feel free to contact me via email with any questions/comments/concerns.
If you would like more feedback please email me.
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Thank you and best of luck!
Desma or Des
SHE/HER/HERS
Debated for Downtown Magnets High School 2019-2023
Currently debate for Cal State Fullerton
LAMDL 2022-23 National Qualifier
NAUDL Quarters
LAMDL 2022-23 City Champion
Add to email chain: Davidm57358@gmail.com
Coached by: Jared Burke, DSRB, Toya, Anthony Joseph, Travis, Yardley Rosas, Elvis Pineda, Chris Enriquez, Vontrez White
Tech > Truth
For the larger part of high school I strictly ran big stick affs and strict policy strategies basically the usual things you would see in a policy debate.
Read whatever you feel most comfortable with
Specifics:
Case:
Case debates are truly a treasure when done right. rehighlights/recutting evidence WILL get you extra speaks.
T:
Really a hit or miss. Reasonability O/W. Wouldn't really go for these types of debates unless it's clear the aff is very untopical. I also just dont enjoy these type of debates. That being said, feel free to run T if that's your strategy.
CP:
Love a good CP. That being said I greatly dislike teams that will read 3 CP in the 1nc with just the plan text or a vague card. I'm all for a good clash debate and really reading CPs in that way just kills a majority of the clash the 2ac can have. I'll be more sympathetic to condo arguments in that case. Plank CPs are fine, explain the progression of the CP and you should be good. Have a good NB or internal NB I think this is where most debates are lost especially when teams just cannot explain what the NB is.
DA:
Pretty ok with these types of debates. Be creative with your DA's will definitely give great speaker points for a unique DA.
K:
go for it. I can understand and flow it. I think a lot of K debates become washed from either the alt debate or the fw debate.
K affs: To be honest I find myself voting a lot more on T FW/USFG and I dont think its necessarily because K affs are bad or anything but because I think teams need to really push on the idea that debate changes subjectivities a lot of y'all are letting these policy teams push you around. Theres some good cards out there and I fundamentally do think debate changes subjectivities but it doesnt mean i'll buy it if you do minimal work on it. Also a link to the topic gives you a higher chance at winning in front of me.
Speaker Points begin at 28.5 I do not disclose speaker points.
additionally will give extra speaker points if you can add some humor to your speeches!
overall, justhave fun. Debate is a space that we all engage in to learn and enjoy. That being said be respectful of the other team and be mindful of the language that you use. Any inappropriate language or behavior will not be tolerated and will be reported instantly to Tabroom and Coaches.
Add me to the chain: speechdrop[at]gmail.com
tldr: My name is Jonathan Meza and I believe that at the end of the day the debate space is yours and you should debate however you want this paradigm is just for you to get an insight on how I view debate. One thing is I won't allow any defense of offensive -isms, if you have to ask yourself "is this okay to run in front of them ?" the answer is probably no. I reserve the right to end the debate where I see fit, also don't call me judge I feel weird about it, feel free to call me Meza or Jonathan.
debate style tier list:
S Tier - Policy v k, Policy v Policy, Debates about Debate
A tier - K aff v Policy, K aff v Framework, Performance debate (either side)
B tier - K v K, Theory,
C tier - Phil
D tier - Trix
F tier - Meme/troll
about me: Assistant debate coach for Harvard Westlake (2022-). Debated policy since 2018 that is my main background even tho I almost only judge/coach LD now. Always reppin LAMDL. I don't like calling myself a "K debater" but I stopped reading plan affs since 2019 I still coach them tho and low key (policy v k > K v K). went 7 off with Qi bin my senior year of high school but not gonna lie 1-5 quality off case positions better than 7+ random shells.
inspirations: DSRB, LaToya,Travis, CSUF debate, Jared, Vontrez, Curtis, Diego, lamdl homies, Scott Philips.
theory: Theory page is the highest layer unless explained otherwise. Aff probably gets 1ar theory. Rvis are "real" arguments I guess. Warrant out reasonability. I am a good judge for theory, I am a bad judge for silly theory. Explain norm setting how it happens, why your norms create a net better model of debate. explain impacts, don't just be like "they didn't do XYZ voter for fairness because not doing XYZ is unfair." Why is it unfair, why does fairness matter I view theory a lot like framework, each theory shell is a model of debate you are defending why is not orientating towards your model a bad thing. Oh and if you go for theory, actually go for it do not just be like "they dropped xyz gg lol" and go on substance extend warrants and the story of abuse.
Topicality: The vibes are the same as above in the theory section. I think T is a good strategy, especially if the aff is blatantly not topical. If the aff seems topical, I will probably err aff on reasonability. Both sides should explain and compare interpretations and standards. Standards should be impacted out, basically explain why it's important that they aren't topical. The Aff needs a counter interpretation, without one I vote neg on T (unless it's kicked).
Larp: I appreciate creative internal link chains but prefer solid ones. Default util, I usually don't buy zero risk. For plan affirmative some of you are not reading a different affs against K teams and I think you should, it puts you in a good place to beat the K. as per disads specific disads are better than generics ones but poltics disads are lowkey broken if you can provide a good analysis of the scenario within the context of the affirmative. Uniqueness controls the link but I also believe that uniqueness can overwhelm the link. straight turning disads are a vibe especially when they read multiple offs.
K affirmatives: I appreciate affirmatives that are in the direction of the topic but feel free to do what you want with your 1ac speech, This does mean that their should be defense and/or offense on why you chose to engage in debate the way that you did. I think that at a minimum affirmatives must do something, "move from the status quo" (unless warranted for otherwise). Affirmatives must be written with purpose if you have music, pictures, poem, etc. in your 1ac use them as offense, what do they get you ? why are they there ? if not you are just opening yourself to a bunch of random piks. If you do have an audio performance I would appreciate captions/subtitles/transcript but it is at your discretion (won't frame my ballot unless warranted for otherwise). In Kvk debates I need clear judge instruction and link explanation perm debate I lean aff.
Framework: I lean framework in K aff v framework debates. These debate become about debate and models defend your models accordingly. I think that the aff in these debates always needs to have a role of the negative, because a lot of you K affs out their solve all of these things and its written really well but you say something most times that is non-controversal and that gets you in trouble which means its tough for you to win a fw debate when there is no role for the negative. In terms of like counter interp vs impact turn style of 2AC vs fw I dont really have a preference but i think you at some point need to have a decent counter interp to solve your impact turns to fw. If you go for the like w/m kind of business i think you can def win this but i think fw teams are prepared for this debate more than the impact turn debate. I think fairness is not an impact but you can go for it as one. Fairness is an internal link to bigger impacts to debate.
Kritiks: I am a big fan of one off K especially in a format such as LD that does not give you much time to explain things already reading other off case positions with the kritik is a disservice to yourself. I like seeing reps kritiks but you need to go hard on framing and explain why reps come first or else the match up becomes borderline unwinnable when policy teams can go for extinction outweighs reps in the late game speeches. Generic links are fine but you need to contextualize in the NR/block. Lowkey in LD it is a waste of time to go for State links, the ontology debate is already making state bad claims and the affirmative is already ahead on a reason why their specific use of the state is good. Link contextualization is not just about explaining how the affirmatives use of the state is bad but how the underlining assumptions of the affirmative uniquely make the world worst this paired up with case take outs make for a real good NR Strategy.
speaker points: some judges have really weird standards of giving them out. if I you are clear enough for me to understand and show that you care you will get high speaks from me. I do reward strategic spins tho. I will do my best to be equitable with my speak distribution. at the end of the day im a speaker point fairy.
quotes from GOATs:
- " you miss 100% of the links you dont make" --- Wayne Gretzky -- Michael Scott - Barlos
- "debate is a game" - Vontrez
- "ew Debate" - Isaak
- "voted for heg good" - Jared
She/her
3 years experience as a policy debater
Judging/Coaching & Teaching debate since 2017
Big fan of radical reform arguments and analytic heavy argumentation.
Totally open to weighing T and Framework as voters in the round, but if they are THE voter give it it's due diligence. As far as K's and DA's go, you need to sell me on your link story so your impacts and alts are logical next steps and not reaches or jumps. At the end of the day, if you can sell the argument to me I'm likely to buy it. Do your thing!
Beyond clarity, technicality, and presenting ability; the better you are at demonstrating content knowledge, developing arguments beyond just reading evidence, and weaponizing in round happenings for offense: the higher the speaker points distributed will be. The only individual action that will negatively affect my ballot is if discourse gets too catty/heated between debaters and if after being warned said verbal aggression/rudeness/etc. continues then speaks will be docked.
Email chain: I.claud33@gmail.com
They/ Them
Policy debate for three years in high school at regional circuit.
No oppressive language. No card cutting/ clipping. No hateful language. No more than 6 off.
These will result in low speaks or a losing ballot, probably both. None of that “X causes extinction” with no warrant/ highlighted word salad.
Tag team Cx is fine
Keep ur own time, keep each other accountable.
If it’s not in the flow, it didn’t happen
If I can’t hear/ understand you- I will let u know “clear”
I flow on paper so if u make a qwk analytic I’m so sorry to tell u, but I probably didn’t get it
General:
Pretend I am a big illiterate baby.
I have never seen a news outlet. I don't scroll social media. I don't look out windows. I have never ever existed before this debate round, explain everything to me.
Specifics:
K
Love the k. I am sick of Ks with no specific link to the affirmative. That should be made very clear in the CX or the 1N. Highlight 1AC cards, pleassee
I’m familiar with: Set Col, Cap and Chicano
But I'm always willing to become familiar with more :)
I flow k and fw separately. Pls make them separate args.
Aff
Good with any impact. Just pay attention to the framing.
Love the K Aff. Clarify neg ballot.
DA/CP
Internal link. Internal link. Internal link. If you don't make the storyline straight, I will not buy your impact. Ideally should be a net benefit to a cp.
Cp: Net benefit. Net benefit. Net benefit. I will one hunddo vote on tva or perm on presumption.
Debate is first and foremost a research game.
CSULB OF
HArts OP
1] General:
Thoughts: Debate is game. I vote for the team that did the better debating based on an offense/defense paradigm. Technical concessions outweigh and come first before any evaluation of truth claims. Flow, make good arguments, respect your opponents (with a hint of petty), and have fun. I'm sure I will be known as primarily a "K-Debater" which is proven by the amount of clash- debates I judge. Regardless, do not change your style for me, and do what is most comfortable to you. Start the round on time, add me to the chain as soon as disclosure is sent, and prevent as much downtime as possible before speeches. Asking questions about what was read is prep.
2] Misc:
Debate Shoutouts: Deven Cooper, Dayvon Love, Diego "Jay-Z" Flores, Erika Linares, Rickelle Basillo, Geo Liriano, Jaysyn Green, Destiny Popoca, Lauren Willard, Cameron Ward, Gabriela Gonzalez, Isai Ortega, Andres Marquez, Elvis Pineda, J-Beatz, J-Burke, Von, Cameron Ward, Toya, Jorge Aguilar, Ryan Upston, Y'Mahnie Harvey, Max Wiessner, Sofia Gurrola, Jean and Gavie, Clare Bradley, and all of #LAMDLGANG.
"IR topics are cool bc we learn abt the world and stuff" - E.C. Powers, Wyoming Debate 5/22/23.
Song Challenge: I usually start speaks at 28.5 and move up/down depending on performance. On a softer note, I usually will listen to music while I write my RFD. Most times, I already have decided a winner after the 2AR has ended, but I always go over my flow/notes one last time before I write or submit my ballot. I love listening to new music, and I listen to every genre imaginable. That being said, I love to hear the tunes y'all have been jamming to recently. To encourage such behavior, debaters have an opportunity to garner extra speaks based on their music suggestions. Each team is allowed to give me one song to listen to while I write my RFD. It cannot be a song I've heard before. If I like the song, you will receive a +.1 to your speaker points. If I don't like it, you won't receive any extra, but I also won't redact any from your original score.
Here are teams I love debating against:
Wake RL/RT
Kentucky DG
Wyoming LP
Wayne State RM
My list of favorite white people in debate is coming soon.
my info:
erin.panguito@gmail.com
My name is Erin and I use she/her pronouns.
I did policy at Downtown Magnets High School in LAMDL for a little over 3 years.
Not super familiar with this resolution, tech over truth, I was mostly a K debater if that means anything. Have fun!
Hi!
Lamdl alumni,
Debated for bravo medical magnet high school.
The first few years I ran mainly policy affs and negs, then my last year I ran a k aff on chicana feminism, and set col/cap ks on the neg.
Disclose as soon as possible pls.
Debate should be fun so run what you like (however any hurtful arguments will not be tolerated).
i think i hate spreading now?
recently debaters have been unflowable through the analytics/blocks/standards, make sure youre very clear because if I dont hear it I cant flow it
Be respectful, nice and have fun!
add me to the email chain please: pantojaasenat@gmail.com.
Policy affs
I ran policy affs my first few years of debate. Make sure you’re winning your solvency and preferably a framing argument as to why the aff is important within this space.
For the neg, case turns ! also solvency deficits.
Ks & k affs
I like them. This however doesn’t mean I know all about them so make sure you really explain your theory of power and really flesh out your links. If you want to win the alt, make sure everyone knows what your alt actually does. Specific aff links> generic links, 1 off K with a lot of substance are probably some of the best debates. In terms of framework make sure its clear why your interp should be preferred,
CP/DA
Make sure your CP is competitive with the aff and you have a good net benefit.
I get easily persuaded by good permutations, so make them and also don't drop them (both sides).
Make sure to explain that your disads ow the aff. impact calc! On the aff, link turns!
T/Theory
education>fairness. Make sure you’re contextualizing your impacts to the round and the space.
I was a debater in high school and college. Currently I coach policy debate.
I am okay with any level of speed in a debate round as long as you are clear, and I have no issue with tag-team CX.
I think that the students should debate what paradigm I should adopt when judging a round. I think meta-level debates are important. I do vote on framework, theory, and topicality when it is well-argued.
Remember to have fun, and don't let the competitive nature of the activity get in the way of making friends and contributing to the community as a whole.
Evidence share email: justin.parco@lausd.net
Experience: Policy Debate (2 Years, But I still made it all the way to Urban Nationals Gurl)
Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School: 2016-18
Cal State Long Beach: 2018-19
Contact Info: elvispinedaten@gmail.com
In a nutshell: I'm a pretty open debater and I love hearing all types of arguments. Policy Arguments... love them, Critical Arguments... love them, just make sure to articulate your arguments because even something as simple as a Cap K are run differently from round to round. Uniqueness questions are good, Links need to be there, Impacts are vital (You don't know how many people forget to impact out their stuff... make sure you do because I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IM VOTING FOR, I will not feel bad voting you down if you have a great link story but no impacts) and I appreciate intellectual debate jargon. All in all I will vote on anything, it just has to make sense and you have to convince me why I should vote for you and not the opposing team (Cross-Analysis). I love debate; I believe its a form of academic expression and just remember to have fun and pour your hearts out on the battlefield. I'm not a point fairy but passion, effort and craft are highly rewarded as I highly value (as we all should) seeing students actively pushing themselves for both an academic and interpersonal growth!
K's: Know the literature, it'll make your clap-backs that much stronger and makes it easier to contextualize. Throughly explain the alt, I noticed that the alternative debate is always the least covered and if I don't throughly understand what I'm voting for... then the permutation becomes an easy option for me as long as I believe it is possible. LINK ANALYSIS WILL GO A LONG WAY... Just saying. I ran Queer, Ableism, Witchcraft and several CRT K's but I understand the post-modern ones as well (please don’t run baudrillard, I’ve already had to vote it up once --> Update: Twice).
K' Affs: I ran Critical affirmatives the majority of my debate career so I might already understand or be lenient towards some of the reasons why non-traditional affirmation might be good. HOWEVER!!! This doesn't mean that if you run a K Aff I'll automatically vote for you, I find myself voting on presumption arguments or framework a lot because sometimes the literature of the affirmative is so dense and either: A) I feel like there is an articulation issue (and thus disorder on the flow) because of the density of the material or B) The internal link chain which leads me to believe that the affirmative is a good idea might be fundamentally under developed.
Da's: Uniqueness... Link.... Internal Links.... Impacts. I like disads, make sure to be strategic, make them net-benefits to the Cp otherwise I do believe that the Squo is always a viable option.
Cp's: Remember that not all Cp's are plan-inclusive and to me at least all you have to prove is that your method solves better than the aff. Have Net-benefits and show me solvency deficits (It'll make your life easier trust). No I won't judge kick the CP for you unless you explicitly tell me, i feel like it gives judge intervention way to much power.
T: Topicality is more than "aff is not topical". Tell me why that is bad? What do you lose access to? Prove to me why the aff's interpretation of debate is bad or abusive. If I can make those connections and you persuade me to prefer your model of debate, then its looking good for you and I'm very inclined to vote on it.
Framework: A lot of T applies here too, make sure to win why we need procedural fairness, why is the aff's model of debate bad for the debate community in general, Internal and External impacts are convincing, and also make sure to make those common FW arguments that prove you don't limit the aff. Framework to me also doesn't necessarily mean that "USFG means the 3 Branches of Government", even though its common and I don't mind seeing it, I feel like you can tailor so many framework arguments to work around the rhetorical offense affirmatives get with that interpretation.
Aff's: PROVE TO ME WHY WE NEED THE AFF! I need to know that there is a reason why you have to affirm what you are affirming and thats why you're doing it in a nontraditional way. Also prove to me why your model of debate is preferable to the neg's arguments. Just persuade me (Make me feel like I HAVE TO DO IT). In addition, anything performative should always be used... and offensively too. Don't waste precious 1AC time without utilizing it to the best of your advantage.
Case: I LOVE CASE DEBATE <3!!! I appreciate a good neg team that directly challenges the aff's warrants and their claims. So that being said... good case debate is appreciated and will be rewarded with higher speaks. Flush out them case turns (I'll gasp if its good)
Advise for the aff: Don't forget your 1AC, YOU SPEND 8/9 Minutes on it, please utilize it and utilize it as offensively as you can!
HAVE FUN! I love debate and I'm always happy and excited to watch y'alls debates!
GOOD LUCK!
Currently debating national circuit as Varsity
Truth over Tech, pretend like I don't know anything so please convince me
Time your speeches. I'll take prep time for you.
Make sure to flow
Please be respectful
Give a roadmap
If you don't read solvency or clarify that you read solvency I'll just assume you dropped case
My name is Alexander Ramirez. I was a part of LAMDL debate for about 2 and half years when I was in high school. I competed in varsity, but did not continue debating into university. For a couple of instances during university and consistently after graduating with a BA, I continue to judge for LAMDL and spend time with my former high school team.
I do not prioritize certain arguments over others, but instead place a bigger emphasis on extending files; both on and off cases. DA, K, T, CP, and Case are all file types I am familiar with, but each file type has a way to win off of. Theory arguments are fine, but please make sure you explain your arguments well if you're planning on winning with a theory argument.
Let's have a good debate!
pronouns: she/her/they/them
contact information:lizethguadalupedebate@gmail.com
about me: i am a lamdl alumni! i debated for champs for about 3 1/2 years, 1 1/2 in varsity. i am a cal poly slo alum, and i am currently doing some preliminary courses for an education major at los angeles mission college. i work with middle schoolers at the moment, and I hope to become either a middle or high school spanish teacher. in terms of debate experience, i've mostly done policy, though i have dabbled in poetry and prose a bit.
tldr/5 minutes before round: i vote based on which side presents the clearest and comprehensive argument. i am not familiar with this topic, so making me understand the argument is key to making me understand what i am voting on. if an argument is dropped, i will not vote on it unless brought up in the 1nr/1ar. i allow tag-teaming, but if i notice that one speaker is taking over, i will knock down speaker points from both. i will time the debates and my timer will be the "official" time, but i would also appreciate if you kept track of time as well. i allow spreading as long as i can understand what you are saying, otherwise i will take of speaker points. jv/varsity: please send me your 1ac before the round starts, i would really appreciate it, rookie/novices: you don't have to send me the 1ac but it would be very helpful. other constructives (1nc, 2ac, 2nc) should be sent before that speech. for any other preference/questions, feel free to ask before the round official starts. ultimately, just have fun with it! :)
longer version:
general judging: i am somewhat of a picky and strict judge. don't get me wrong, i am nice and easy to talk to, but i definetly know how i like to judge. once again, as soon as the round begins, all of my biases are out the window and i will vote for the team with the clearest and most convincing argument. your job is to explain your arguments to me and to convince me, not the other team. I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY RACIST, XENOPHOBIC, HOMOPHOBIC, CLASSIST, ABELIST COMMENTS, ESPECIALLY IF DIRECTED TO THE OTHER TEAM. first offense will result in low speaker points. second offence will result in automatic loss. third offense will result in me calling abuse on the round. In all three cases, i will intervine and i will speak with your coach post round. basically don't be mean and treat your opponents with kindness. yes, i love teams who are assertive but there is a fine line between assertiveness and agressiveness. other than that: tag-teaming is okay as long as no one is dominating the round, spreading is okay as long as i can clearly understand what you are saying, my timer is the official time, please remember to give me a roadmap, and arguments that are dropped won't be considered in the round.
case:case is the most important argument of the debate; it is essentially the core of the debate. if you drop case, that is an automatic win for the other team. it is totally okay to prioritize other arguments but do not drop case please. also remember to read a plan text or i will not vote on case.
disads and counterplans:i love a good counterplan paired with a disad. disads on their own are very iffy for me. counterplans on their own are pretty solid. ultimately, i am a big fan of cps paired with das. if you chose to run a counterplan, your job is to tell me why the counterplan is a better plan than the aff's plan. if you chose to run a da, your job is to tell me why the aff plan will do more harm than good and how the aff causes the disad. if running both, do as mentioned and tell me how the cp solves for the da.
t and other theory:t and other theory is fine for me, the line is drawn when you're are running it for an easy win. t and theory is a great argument when you know how to run it and defend it.
kritiks:i love kritiks, i'm a k debater. that being said, as long as you explain and defend the k well, you should be fine.
Hello, I'm Daniel Romo (He/Him/His).
Relevant Debate and Life Experience:
-I was a policy debater for 4 years at STEAM Legacy High School. I debated Varsity for 3 years and was captain for two.
-I am a service member with the California Army National Guard
-College Student at the University of California - Davis working towards my bachelors in Materials Science and Engineering
-Judging for 4 years
Judging:
It's been a minute since I've debated so please be clearer when spreading. As long as I can follow your words you can go as fast as you can read. Slow down on your tags, analytics, and whenever you switch off cases. I will stop flowing if I can't understand you, but I will ask you to be clearer.
I'm a stock issues judge. If the aff goes uncontested on their stock issues or proves that they are a good idea by their stock issues, the aff will probably win the round.
That being said, I will weigh the aff against the off cases, you just have to make the arguments.
I don't really tie myself down to a specific viewpoint, so you can run any off case, theory, T. As with any debate, just make sure you tell me the story and explain why it matters and why I should vote on it.
I mostly debated Ts, DAs, and Case in high school, I might need a bit more sell/explanation on the K but I won't just flat out ignore it.
As for biases or life experience you might think is relevant, I'm a heterosexual first-gen chicano male, youngest of 3, I joined the military out of high school, I'm the only one of those three to go to college, and you could call me a political moderate. Make of that what you will. You can say whatever you want in my rounds, so can your opponents (this includes arguments that some things shouldn't be said).
Please add me to the chain, my email is rosasyardley.a@gmail.com
Policy from 2014-2021 for Downtown Magnets High School/LAMDL and Cal State Fullerton.
thoughts
general: I will listen to anything you have to say. I need you to control how I think about what is going on in the round. Framing weighing and comparing impacts is important. Extending and debating warrants as thoroughly as the debate allows is so important to me especially in the rebuttals . Also because I feel like tech and truth determine each other. You should be able to do a lot more with less. I flow on paper so I will miss quick, short, and intricate arguments. Tell me what it is I need to be voting on and why I should vote on that thing. I am very receptive to an rfd that is straight up given to me. My rfds are broad and I don't ever really get into specifics unless asked and rarely vote on a single argument.
specifics: I like k v k and k v policy debates the most. I have the most experience with arguments about the state, racial capitalism, and the intersection of race/gender/queerness/class. I need to feel like you are politically and/or socially motivated by the world to run the k you are running for me to really be persuaded by it. I need Ks to have a strong explanation of either the world or debate. Ks on the aff need a clear method and solvency. I don't mind if this isn't as strong on the neg unless the aff makes it a thing. In k v fw rounds I need both sides to have models of debate and comparison work being done on the offense. I lean towards skills, clash, tva for the neg. Generally I need links to be as specific as possible for any kind of offense or argument. I will consider any theory argument. But if you are going for them, be as contextual to the round as possible. Frankly, 4+ off is irritating to me no shade but I live for drama so go ahead but that raises the bar for you and lowers it for the aff.
other: sorry if I get sleepy, it's probably not because of the round
Don't be mean. I have a processing disability so please don't spread too quickly. I'll announce this before each before round starts.
Lilly Stobo - HW '26
add me to the email chain: lillystobo04@gmail.com or speech drop
I currently debate for harvard-westlake high school in LD, but I did a few years of policy before that. I will likely be familiar with most literature you choose to read, but if you are reading obscure phil, take the time to explain.
1--policy/k
2-- t
3--phil
4--tricks
tech>truth but true arguments have lower thresholds to win
usually err neg on condo
countdown before speech = -.3 speaks. this includes "i will begin..now". conversely, you can gain +.3 for not docbotting. i start ur speaks at a 28.9 and go up or down from there.
Please, please dont steal prep, its always obvious. you can stop prep just before the doc is sent.
if your opponent reads something you dont understand, don't give up in round. try your best, and we can go over it after.
don't be afraid to experiment with unfamiliar arguments
email me if you have any questions before/after the round
debate is an activity; be nice to each other
My paradigm is not a series of uncompromisable rules. At the end of the day, debaters control the debate space.
On Kritiks
I love critical literature, 4 notes:
1. I do not believe in the idea that the author is irrelevant after publishing.
2. K-debater ought to produce a convincing link, and alternative. The K is likely a voter if those two arguments are articulated well.
3. Debate does not occur in a vacuum; I am open to structural fairness arguments.
4. For K-Aff's it's an uphill battle if you run a "reject the resolution" argument, I prefer reinterpretations of the resolution; this demonstrates, to me, a creative reimagination of the resolution that allows for diversified literature bases, but failure to do so would make me weigh framework arguments more favorably.
On Topicality
Topicality is standard strategy, definitely open to Topicality debate with one exception. If certain plans are core affirmatives to the topic, and the affirmative runs a truth over tech argument, then I will consider T a non-voter in those cases. Core, to me, means that the affirmative plan is standardized (many schools run that affirmative).
On CPs
I do not have strong opinions on CP Theory. I can be persuaded to multiple CPs, PICs, et cetera. Completely up to the debaters.
On Disadvantages
Disadvantages should not have a generic link, they should have a persuasive story for how it ties to the affirmative case, a specific link, or both.
On Case
I love case debate. If negative can compete on the case level - even if they lose - high speaker points are guaranteed. Shows good research, and a genuine attempt to understand the other team's arguments. Two aspects that I see as core to debate.
Personal history if you care about stuff like that:
- Debated for 4 years at a small school called HTPA as a part of the Los Angels Metropolitian debate league.
- Qualified to the TOC my senior year
- qualified to the NDT for northwestern my freshman year
-Top-level
I think Judge adaptation creates worse debates. Everybody has biases and preferences no matter what they say but I think over adapting to judges often causes students to do things they are less comfortable with and execute starts they wouldn't normally. That being said DO YOU. You came here with an idea of the kinds of arguments you want to execute so don't change them for me. I will always evaluate debates with the maximum level of objectivity and will intervene as little as possible. This means the 2nr/2ar should do a lot of judge instruction and write my ballot for me.
All that being said we all have our preferences so here are mine
Disads
Not the most experienced here so I don't have any groundbreaking opinions. I always think impact calc is what makes or breaks these debates. Tell me why your stuff outweighs/ is more important than their thing and you'll probably get the ballot. There is such a thing as 0% risk.
Cps
During my senior year, about 40% of my 2nrs were PICs. That being said I absolutely love them. The only thing I do have to say is that I have a higher propensity to side with the aff on cp theory whether that be piks bad or process cp bad.. Condo is probably good, however.
Kritiks
The other 60% of my 2nrs was the K. I Absolutely love these arguments and I often think they are extremely strategic. I am most familiar with Set col, Antiblackness, Cap, and Security type arguments. Pomo teams will need to over-explain concepts to me. I have no issue telling you I voted for the other team because I didn't understand what you were talking about, It is your job to explain your arguments to me. I don't think links have to be exactly specific to the aff so long as the block does a good job contextualizing the evidence to the aff, but more specific ev is always better. I don't think you need to win the alt if you win the framing for the debate but I won't kick the alt for you, you have to tell me to do that.
For the affirmative, I think the most convincing argument is the permutation. Of course case outweighs can win you the debate but I think any good 2n will be able to beat you to the punch there. The perm seems like the best start to get the case back and be able to implicate the impacts of the aff without having to full-fledge win the framework debate. That being said do what your best at cuz tech/truth always
T
Nothing too controversial here. I am more persuaded by Topic education arguments.
FW
A lot of my high school debates (and most of my college ones) were framework debates so I am pretty familiar here. I don't have a preference for whether affs go for counter interps or just impact turning T. I think that the most convincing argument for negatives to go for are education-based ones. I am sympathetic to arguments about predictability and engagement with the aff. I also think that "we couldn't test the aff thus presumption" is a tricky argument that is convincing. Fairness is an impact but it begs the question of affirmative offense that often implicates/turns/precede fairness.
KvK
These are my favorite type of debates. I think they usually come down to the links and the perms. More specific evidence usually is better for the negative in terms of selling a convincing link story. I will vote on presumption if it is explained well enough.
Explicitly Racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist rhetoric will lose you the debate and I will nuke your speaks. Be respectful to the other team and try to have as much fun as you can!
GENERAL
1. Clarity > Loudness > Speed.
2. Framing > Impact > Solvency. Framing is a prior question. Don’t let me interpret the debate, interpret the debate for me.
3. Truth IS Tech. Warranting, comparative analysis, and clash structure the debate.
4. Offense vs Defense: Defense supports offense, though it's possible to win on pure defense.
5. Try or Die vs Neg on Presumption: I vote on case turns & solvency takeouts. AFF needs sufficient offense and defense for me to vote on Try or Die.
6. Theory: Inround abuse > potential abuse.
7. Debate is a simulation inside a bigger simulation.
NEGATIVE
TOPICALITY: As far as I am concerned, there is no resolution until the negative teams reads Topicality. The negative must win that their interpretation resolves their voters, while also proving abuse. The affirmative either has to win a no link we meet, a counterinterp followed up with a we meet, or just straight offense against the negative interpretation. I am more likely to vote on inround abuse over potential abuse. If you go for inround abuse, list out the lost potential for neg ground and why that resolves the voters. If you go for potential abuse, explain what precedents they set.
FRAMEWORK: When the negative runs framework, specify how you orient Fairness & Education. If your FW is about education, then explain why the affirmative is unable to access their own pedagogy, and why your framework resolves their pedagogy better and/or presents a better alternative pedagogy. If your FW is about fairness, explain why the affirmative method is unable to solve their own impacts absent a fair debate, and why your framework precedes Aff impacts and/or is an external impact.
DISADVANTAGES: Start with impact calculation by either outweighing and/or turning the case. Uniqueness sets up the timeframe, links set up probability, and the impact sets up the magnitude.
COUNTERPLANS: Specify how the CP solves the case, a DA, an independent net benefit, or just plain theory. Any net benefit to the CP can constitute as offense against the Permutation.
CASE: Case debate works best when there is comparative analysis of the evidence and a thorough dissection of the aff evidence. Sign post whether you are making terminal defense arguments or case turns.
KRITIKS: Framing is key since a Kritik is basically a Linear Disad with an Alt. When creating links, specify whether they are links to the Aff form and/or content. Links to the form should argue why inround discourse matters more than fiat education, and how the alternative provides a competing pedagogy. Links to the content should argue how the alternative provides the necessary material solutions to resolving the neg and aff impacts. If you’re a nihilist and Neg on Presumption is your game, then like, sure.
AFFIRMATIVES
TRADITIONAL AFFIRMATIVES
PLANS WITH EXTINCTION IMPACTS: If you successfully win your internal link story for your impact, then prioritize solvency so that you can weigh your impacts against any external impacts. Against other extinction level impacts, make sure to either win your probability and timeframe, or win sufficient amount of defense against the negs extinction level offense. Against structural violence impacts, explain why proximate cause is preferable over root cause, why extinction comes before value to life, and defend the epistemological, pedagogical, and ethical foundations of your affirmative. i might be an "extinction good" hack.
PLANS WITH STRUCTURAL IMPACTS: If you are facing extinction level disadvantages, then it is key that you win your value to life framing, probability/timeframe, and no link & impact defense to help substantiate why you outweigh. If you are facing a kritik, this will likely turn into a method debate about the ethics of engaging with dominant institutions, and why your method best pedagogically and materially effectuates social change.
KRITIKAL AFFIRMATIVES
As a 2A that ran K Affs, the main focus of my research was answering T/FW, and cutting answers to Ks. I have run Intersectionality, Postmodernism, Decolonization, & Afropessimism. Having fallen down that rabbit hole, I have become generally versed in (policy debate's version of) philosophy.
K AFF WITH A PLAN TEXT: Make sure to explain why the rhetoric of the plan is necessary to solve the impacts of the aff. Either the plan is fiated, leading a consequence that is philosophically consistent with the advantage, or the plan is only rhetorical, leading to an effective use of inround discourse (such as satire). The key question is, why was saying “United States Federal Government,” necessary, because it is likely that most kritikal teams will hone their energy into getting state links.
K BEING AFFS: Everything is bad. These affs incorporate structural analysis to diagnosis how oppression manifests metaphysically, materially, ideologically, and/or discursively, "We know the problem, and we have a solution." This includes Marxism, Settler Colonialism, & Afropessimism affs. Frame how the aff impact is a root cause to the negative impacts, generate offense against the alternative, and show how the perm necessitates the aff as a prior question.
K BECOMING AFFS: Truth is bad. These affs point to complex differences that destabilize the underlying metanarratives of truth and power, "We problematize the way we think about problems." This includes Postmodern, Intersectionality, & Performance affs. Adapt to turning the negative links into offense for the aff. Short story being, if you're just here to say truth is bad, then you're relying on your opponent to make truth claims before you can start generating offense.
Email: khristyantrejo@gmail.com
I debated in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League (LAMDL) in high school, made the Urban Debate National Championship twice, competed in Parliamentary (NPDA) for Tulane University and made it to Quarters at the NDPA National Championships. I've coached for Isidore Newman School (LA) and Stern MASS, currently coaching Elizabeth Learning Center. I've been active in debate for about 12 years.
You can't argue racism / homophobia / sexism / transphobia / ableism good arguments in front of me. Ever.
As a competitor I started with plan texts, Econ advantages, and running 7 offcase. I finished with a poetry aff, PICs, and committed to Foucault. I know what’s going on and want to offer a safe space for you to read your arguments.
Debate is a game, but the game can be changed.
Kritiks need to have links and some type of explanation of the alternative. Please don’t assume I know which privileged and old philosopher your K is based on—explanations are key!
Disadvantages need to have specific internal links and impact scenarios.
As long as you are contextualizing your scenarios, and the functionality of your scenarios compared to the other team, we should be good to go. You are entitled to read 1 off, or 2, or 3, or even 7, but I hope you’re ready to defend your model of debate and why the education you are advocating for is a good one.
I love a good T debate; and have voted aff on Condo before. Theory/T arguments should be well contextualized. As long as your providing specific reasons why procedural issues take precedent in the debate, we should be good to go.
At the end of the day, I need you to explain what my role in the debate is, why I should vote for you, and why the arguments your opponents made are insufficient for the ballot. Please make sure you are explaining/extending the actual warrants of the evidence you’re reading.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me or ask in person before the round.
PS, you matter.
Note: this is my first year involved in policy debate and have minimal knowledge on everything. If it helps, I majored in Feminist Studies and Politics. Please explain everything like you would to an incoming debater.
Top Level Things:
-include me on the email chain: steve.valenzuela1@lausd.net
-go at a significantly slower speed than usual
-i have more implicit bias towards K Affs in terms of the orientation towards the state. Although that's the case, that doesn't mean I admire arguments that say the state can be a progressive actor. I, however, do prioritize fairness and competition as an internal link to education, so Kaffs should have a good counter-interpretation that resolves procedural standards. Please still link all your offense back to arms sales and not just your ontology of the world writ-large when going up against neg arguments.
Argument Specifics:
-I go into the round highly skeptical of each side, i vote for the most logical arguments. Truth>Tech
Case
-nuclear war affs are hyperbolic, you'll probably lose to a security K
-soft left affs with credibility advantages are just not true and built on false premises, you'll probably lose to a K
-I prefer human rights affs
-these debate usually come down to logical arguments---claim, warrants, reasonings.
DA
-case turns are infinitely better than nuclear war impacts against soft left affs
-affs should have sufficient defense against each scenario for nuclear war
-please have an internal link explanation, I can't do the work for you
CP
-have net benefits
-perms are viable, don't know about the DA being resolved through them though, you should have defense
K
-nuclear war affs are scare tactics
-soft left affs with credibility advantages are not true
-please explain how the alternative resolves the links and how it gets implemented materially
-assume I don't know your material, explain everything like you would to someone that doesn't know debate at all
T
-t debates are boring
-unless your aff is ridiculously small, please don't run topicality
Theory
-please don't, I won't evaluate it
My email is tjdebate08@gmail.com
please label the email chain like tournament name + round #
Due to personal reasons I am not the judge to read anything relating with the Israel/Palestinian crisis please refrain from doing so when I judge so if that's your strategy please strike me.
General Judging
I'm cool with tag teaming, though I think both speakers should do their best to answer.
Spreading- I'm good with it tho I would appreciate it if there was an emphasis on taglines/main arguments (like slowing down during certain stuff, raising voice etc). Keep in mind I flow on paper
I will reference evidence documents for throughout the speech, but i will not be looking in depth at it unless im told to by debaters
Run what you like, I am familiar with the types of arguments you make however, I am not familiar with this topic specifics so if it's a niche argument don't assume I know it.
I will not do any work for you, make my life easy, simplify and tell me what im voting on.
I do consider cross ex as a type of speech in the way i am viewing and framing your arguments
(I will give higher speaks if you can provide clear judge instruction.)
Specific Policy Arguments
On Condo bad: I'm more willing to vote, for it if the negative runs more than 5 or more off. I just prefer having in depth debates.
T: Not the best judge for policy t vs policy t however I do think that limits is a key component in debate because it does result in the type of education we recieve in round and certain arguments can affect a teams ground
Tech over truth but keep in mind I'm more lenient toward the truth than most.
Counterplan- I like these most when the net benefits are weighed in the round, so not so much a one sentence counterplan with no evidence. A personal pet peeve is when that one sentence counter plan ends up dropped by the block
DA- impact calc pls make my decision easy also the LINKKK explain it
K/K Affs
Generally Im good with most k literature i've run racial cap k, set col, epistemic abolition/ anarchism . Though while I am familiar with most literature, high theory ks can still be really tricky to follow through so just try to explain please
For Negative Ks : Try to be familiar with your literature, and try to articulate how the aff links, not just generically. If you can label your links and impact them throughout the speech your chances of winning are higher. Also answer why the aff doesnt get a perm? Why is the aff a bad idea? Impact it out
For K affs specifically: I'm cool with you but please be ready to defend framework well because I want to understand why you think this approach is more beneficial to the debate space and why your education matters.
For both k/ k affs: Explain your alternative. Do not dodge around the question its okay not to be material and focus on education but explain the WHY and defend. Or if you are a material alt explain.
Fw= I value education and portable skills. I think for fw though, we need to be having some type of counter interp with an actual card
LD
No tricks, please.
LAMDL
Ya'll gotta stop being scared of disclosure, in the end it will help you improve as debaters when you can practice facing arguments that are specific. I believe you all are capable of becoming amazing debaters but we have to move outside of our comfort zone. This helps escpecially when yall attend invitationals!
Overall
Take a breath before you debate and do your best! you got this!
LD:
The most important thing to me is framework in LD rounds. Unless I have a foundation that allows me to vote for you, I simply cannot justify it. The most frustrating rounds to me are the ones that have two very different, very interesting V/VCs and someone just drops theirs. That doesn't mean that 1) you can't win without winning your framework, you just have to make the other person's framework fit your case or 2) that if you two have the same framework to keep arguing because you agree. There's no reason for it.
After I determine who wins framework, I weigh the KVIs off of that framework. Again, it would take a lot for me to vote for you if you don't have any KVIs in your last speech. Those are the main points you're trying to share, and they're an easy way to narrow down the debate in your favor. If I haven't determined a winner from just framework and the KVI points, then I'll go through and look at every argument throughout the debate and determine who wins each one. From there, I usually have a winner.
I was an LD debater in high school for four years, so I'm fine with a lot of the terminology. As for the philosophies you might be running, I'm aware of a lot of possibilities, but I'm only really well versed in a few, so please take time to explain exactly what you mean (especially if it's a lesser used philosopher or a lesser known theory). I did four years of policy at USC, and am now a policy coach, so don't feel like you need to slow down for me, but I do not think LD is a place for spreading. I understand being a naturally faster speaker (I lost my own fair share of rounds because I didn't realize I was speaking too fast), but you shouldn't try to win solely on outspeaking your opponent.
Otherwise, just ask me any questions before the round that you may have.
Policy:
Hey, so I'm much different than I was in the past for Policy. I competed at the college level in Policy for USC for four years, and I am now coaching my own team, and it's been a learning experience. Here are my thoughts on things generally:
Framework/Topicality - I'm a sucker for a good T debate. It has to be good, and it has to be true, because if I'm not buying that the Aff isn't topical then you aren't going to win. But I think that FW and T args have a solid and underappreciated place in policy debate, so if you can do it well then go for it.
KAffs - I will never come into a round with a pre-conceived notion of what you should do with your debate round; however, considering how I feel about Topicality, if you're hitting a good T/FW team, then it's probably going to be somewhat of an uphill battle. I will obviously be as neutral as I can be, but we're all human and we all have biases.
K - I'm much more lenient in my feelings on the K on Neg than on Aff just because of how I believe ground works in debate. One of my partners only went for the K, so I got pretty used to how those worked. If you're running some high-theory K, then you're going to have to really explain it to me. I didn't do policy in high school, so all of those highly-circulated backfiles never got to me. Otherwise, if done well, I can be convinced of most arguments.
CPs - I almost never run these, I don't think they're the most effective argument, but I won't never vote on them. To be honest, I think they make the Neg's job significantly harder, but also, like I said before, this is your debate round. If you do a lot more work, and you end up being really good at it, then obviously you get the win.
DAs - This is usually the first half to my policy strat, so I do have somewhat of a preference for it. Make sure the link story is there and make sure you explain your impacts. I want to know that you know what you're saying.
Case Negs - This is usually the second half to my policy strat, so I also do have somewhat of a preference for this. Same as above, make sure you explain exactly why something won't solve, isn't inherent, isn't significant, etc. I think Case Negs are also under-utilized and underappreciated by debaters.
I believe that's it. Honestly, if you run anything else, that means I have no idea what you're talking about, so like explain it to me.
I'm really big into impact calc too. Extra points to whoever to fully explain to me the impact scenarios of the round and who is winning and why. It makes my job easier if I can just write down your impacts and vote from there, and that usually means it's your ballot.
Yes, I do want to be on the email chain. This email is different than before: taliamariewalters@gmail.com
Otherwise, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me in person. I'm really not that intimidating, and I LOVE talking about myself, so questions are welcome!
2 quick caveats about how I time debates before I get to my paradigm.
1. I try to keep a running clock. The moment your speech ends cross ex begins. The moment cross ex ends, either your prep begins or the roadmap for the following speech begins.
2. If you are paperless, your prep times ends as soon as you send or share your speech doc.
With that said...
I believe that debate is an activity where the boundaries are defined its participants. This means that I am open to hear whatever kind of debate you want. If you wish to innovate new radical approaches to debate, I am open to hear them. If you wish to have a more traditional debate I am open to hear that as well. It is important for me that you situate my space in the debate. This means that if you want me to decide the debate by comparing the size of your impacts you should say it, and if you wish for me to take a different approach you should make that explicit. Despite my attempt to allow the debaters to control the direction of the debate no one is a truly blank slate, I do have some debate dogmas. I will try hard to make them obvious here, and if there is any confusion feel free to ask me.
You only get credit for arguments that I have on my flow. If you are difficult to understand because you are too fast or unclear, and as a result I miss something, that is YOUR fault. I will try to let you know (with both verbal and non-verbal cues) if I'm missing what you're saying, but its on you to adapt.
I prefer debates where there are a smaller number of well developed arguments as opposed to debates with 10 off. This does not mean that you have to read slowly, it just means develop your arguments, and in general the team with the better explained, better developed arguments will win the debate.
While I encourage debaters to find new, innovative ways to affirm the topic, this is not carte blanche to say anything you want. The topic is important, and as intellectuals, competitors, and activists we have an obligation to find something related to it to affirm. This does not mean that I am excited about hearing T debates. In general I lean aff on T and will let the Aff do their thing as long as it is germane to the topic, and debatable. In sum, feel free to read your non traditional Aff, but be prepared to explain why it is relevant to the topic, and why it is a debatable issue.
Also related to this discussion- I believe that voting Aff is an affirmation of the resolution. You can affirm the resolution in any way that you choose (as long as you can defend it, and it is debateable), but in the end of the day, voting Aff means that I am saying yes to some version/interpretation of the resolution. While I am open to all sorts of Affs, the one kind of Aff that will make me lean Neg on Framework/T questions is an Aff that says that the resolution is bad, or totally eschews any semblance of a connection to the resolution. This doesn’t mean that you have to fiat anything, or pretend to be the federal government, but if you don’t want to defend those things you should explain what you think the resolution means, and defend it. Be prepared to debate the framework. I generally don’t like debates that are entirely about this, but in debates with countervailing approaches to form and content, framework is an unquestionably important element of a debate. It’s alright to kritik someone’s approach to the debate, but be prepared to describe what your alternative approach is and why it is better.
Slow down on theory. If I miss something because you are blazing through a block with reckless abandon, you won't get credit for it. I tend to lean negative on CP theory, and if a theory issue can be resolved by rejecting the argument instead of deciding the entire debate on it, I will generally try to do so.
Don’t just assume that I have read the critical theory that you are debating. YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO EXPLAIN YOUR ARGUMENTS! This applies to kritiks as well as other policy based arguments. I won’t vote on an argument that you win but I don’t understand, and I won't be embarrassed or feel any regret about telling you that I don't understand your argument, as this is evidence of your failure to clearly explain your argument, and not evidence of my inability to comprehend sensible arguments.
I love a healthy dose of competition as much as the next person, but don’t be a jerk. Humor is good and will be rewarded, emotion and power are great as well, just don’t let the debate turn into a pissing contest over something not at all important to the debate.
With that said, Have fun, respect each other, and good luck!
he/him/they/them
For college debate, use this email: debatecsuf@gmail.com
CSUF 22
Coach @ Harvard Westlake
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S Tier - LARP, Plan v K
A tier - Clash of Civs
B tier - K v K, Phil
C tier - Theory debates, Trix
D/F tier - memes
I did policy debate for 4 years at Downtown Magnets (shout out LAMDL) and 4 years at Cal State Fullerton. I debated mostly truthy performance debates and one-off K strats in high school and debated the K in a very technical way in college. Currently coach flex teams in LD.
I would say my debate influences are Jared Burke, Shanara Reid-Brinkley, Jonathan Meza, Anthony Joseph, Travis Cochran, Toya Green, and Scotty P.
TLDR: I will vote for anything, as long as it's impacted out. The list of preferences is based on my comfort with the argument. Fine with speech drop or email chain.
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General
I think debate is a game that can have heavy implications on life and influence a lot of things
Tech > Truth, unless the Tech is violent (racism good, sexism good, etc.)
Good for all speeds, but clarity is a must
I default my prioritization to theory, T, and then substance. This can be changed if argued
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Theory
Disclosure is probably good, can vote on the impact turn though
Yes competing interps, lean no RVIs, DTD
Shells need an interp, violation, standards, voter
Reasonability OK but explain why you are reasonable
Need a good abuse story/how does my ballot set norms? Why does my ballot matter? How does this implicate future debates?
I think condo is good
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LARP
Absurd internal link chains should be questioned
Default util
No zero-risk
Uniqueness controls the link
Impact turns are good
Perms are tests of competition, not new advocacies
Yes judge kick
New evidence in NR as long as it's a logical extension of the NC. I'm okay with the 2AR doing this as well to check back, but it may not be strategic.
Will read evidence if told to do so
Quality ev > Card dump of bad ev
CPs need to compete on a functional and textual level
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K
I have a reading background in several critical literature bases. I am most read in anti-capitalist theory, afro pessimism, fugitive black studies, settler colonialism, and Baudrillard. For the sake of the debate, assume I know nothing and explain your K.
Winning theory of power important
Perm solves the link of omission
Specific link > state bad link
Contextualized link > state bad link
Affs should weigh the aff vs. the K, negs should tell me why this isn't possible OR deal with affs impacts.
Extinction outweighs debate probably good here
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K Affs
I appreciate affirmatives that are in the direction of the topic. Affs that don't defend any portion of the resolution need a heavy defense of doing so
I try not to have a leaning into T-FW debates, but I find myself often voting negative. Similar to Theory/T, I would love to hear about the affirmative's model of debate compared to the negative's. Impact turns to their model are awesome but there is a higher bar if I don't know what your model is.
Read a TVA -- Answer the TVA
Fairness is an impact. Clash is important. Education matters
KvK debates are super interesting, but I hate when they become the Oppression Olympics. Perms are encouraged. Links of omission are not. Contextualize links to the affirmative and clearly tell me how to evaluate the round.
Presumption isn't gone for enough in these debates
Lean yes on perms in KvK/method debates
Performances should be used offensively. I will flow your poems/videos/whatever, just have a defense of it and utilize it to win
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Phil
I think phil AC/NCs are interesting
Explain it well and you will be fine
Default epistemic confidence if the AC is phil
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Tricks
Do not hide tricks
Answer them
Preferably not extempted
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Speaker Points
Pretty much summed up here
If you make a joke about Jared Burke, +.1 speaker point