Experience: I've been debating in one form or another since 1999. First in HS, than as a CEDA/NDT debater for 5 years. I've been coaching debate since 2005, mostly policy, though not exclusively. I have ran, coached, and judged every type of argument in that time.

Style: It is possible for you to be correct about the wrongness of your opponents arguments, but still be polite towards them. Don't be a jerk. Nice people get better speaker points than rude people. If you are reading a theory argument slow down a touch to make sure everyone gets all the args.

Arguments: I really do not care what arguments you go for. Read what you are comfortable with and impact your arguments. I will typically revert to an offense/defense/disad/advantage to evaluate arguments (especially with theory args). If you want me to evaluate particular arguments different, just tell me. I much prefer for the debaters to control the parameters by which they would like me to judge them and then fiddle with the knobs and levers at their disposal to get the result they want.

Note: Don't assume that I know everything about the topic. Succinct explanations about content I may need to know to make an informed decision will also be rewarded with good speaks.

Hello,

I've been in debate as a whole for about 8 years. Last debated in '20 (just before rona lol) . I've coached various formats of debate (Policy, LD, Parli, Public Forum) along with being a participant in those formats also. Here's my view: Debate is a space to challenge ideologies and come to the best way of making a change. That may look like a plan text that has an econ and heg or, it's an advocacy that talks about discourse in the debate space. I'm here for you as an educator so tell me where and how to vote. Impact Magnitude in the later speeches will help you and me a lot.

Add me on the Email doc:3offncase@gmail.com

Here's my view on certain arguments:

T and Framework and theory in general: I'll listen and adjudicate the round based on the information that you frame my ballot.

Counterplans: Gotta prove the Mutual Exclusivity of said CP. Not really a preference or style choice on this.

D/A's: Uniqueness has got to be relatively recent or the debate is gonna be a tough one to win. If paired with a C/P you must prove how you avoid said D/A or perm is gonna be super cheezy here. Again don't let that stop you from running it in front of me.

K's: I'm good with whatever you desire to run but if its some super high level (D&G or around that lit base) stuff you gotta explain what that means. Also, please be sure to know your author's lit bases here. Perm debates against K's have to prove the accessibility of the Perm along with the net benefits of the perm. Also, Impact Framing the K is gonna make your job along with mine a lot easier.

K Aff's: You do you. Tell me where to frame the ballot and how to view any performances within the round. You do you. Solvency is gonna be the point of clash along with framing.

Update for '21: My internet at my house is absolute garbage so PLEASE: start at 80% speed, I'm always ready for your speech and I'll give a reaction in zoom if I'm not.

Name: Eric Beane

Affiliation: Langham Creek HS (2018-Present) | University of Houston (2012-2016) | Katy Taylor HS (2009-16)

GO COOOOOOGS!!! (♫Womp Womp♫) C-O-U-G-A-R-S (who we talkin' bout?) Talkin' bout them Cougars!!

*Current for the 2023-24 Season*

Policy Debate Paradigm

I debated for the University of Houston from 2012-2016. I've coached at Katy-Taylor HS from 2011 - 2016 and since 2018 I have been the Director of Debate at Langham Creek High School. I mostly went for the K. I judge a lot of clash of the civs & strange debates. Have fun

Specific Arguments

Critical Affirmatives – I think your aff should be related to the topic; we have one for a reason and I think there is value in doing research and debating on the terms that were set by the topic committee. Your aff doesn’t need to fiat the passage of a plan or have a text, but it should generally affirm the resolution. I think having a text that you will defend helps you out plenty. Framework is definitely a viable strategy in front of me.

Disadvantages – Specific turns case analysis that is contextualized to the affirmative (not blanket, heg solves for war, vote neg analysis) will always be rewarded with high speaker points. Comparative analysis between time frame, magnitude and probability makes my decisions all the easier. I am a believer in quality over quantity, especially when thinking about arguments like the politics and related disadvantages.

Counterplans – PICs bad etc. are not reasons to reject the team but just to reject the argument. I also generally err neg on these questions, but it isn’t impossible to win that argument in front of me. Condo debates are fair game – you’ll need to invest a substantial portion of the 1AR and 2AR on this question though. If your counterplan has several planks, ensure that you include each in your 2NC/1NR overview so that I have enough pen time to get it all down.

Kritik Section Overview - I enjoy a good K debate. When I competed in college I mostly debated critical disability studies and its intersections. I've also read variations of Nietzsche, Psychoanalysis and Marxism throughout my debate career. I would greatly appreciate a 2NC/1NR Overview for your K positions. Do not assume that I am familiar with your favorite flavor of critical theory and take time to explain your thesis (before the 2NR).

Kritik: "Method Debate" - Many debates are unnecessarily complicated because of this phrase. If you are reading an argument that necessitates a change in how a permutation works (or doesn't), then naturally you should set up and explain a new model of competition. Likewise, the affirmative ought to defend their model of competition.

Kritik: Alternative - We all need to be able to understand what the alternative is, what it does in relation to the affirmative and how it resolves the link+impact you have read. I have no shame in not voting for something that I can't explain back to you.This by far is the weakest point of any K debate and I am very skeptical of alternatives that are very vague (unless it is done that way on purpose). I would prefer over-explanation than under-explanation on this portion of the debate.

Vagueness - Strangely enough, we begin the debate with two very different positions, but as the debate goes on the explanation of these positions change, and it all becomes oddly amorphous - whether it be the aff or neg. I feel like "Vagueness" arguments can be tactfully deployed and make a lot of sense in those debates (in the absence of it).

Case Debate – I think that even when reading a 1-off K strategy, case debate can and should be perused. I think this is probably the most undervalued aspect of debate. I can be persuaded to vote on 0% risk of the aff or specific advantages. Likewise, I can be convinced there is 0 risk of a DA being triggered.

Topicality - I'm down to listen to a good T debate. Having a topical version of the aff with an explanation behind it goes a long way in painting the broader picture of debate that you want to create with your interpretation. Likewise being able to produce a reasonable case list is also a great addition to your strategy that I value. You MUST slow down when you are addressing the standards, as I will have a hard time keeping up with your top speed on this portion of the debate. In the block or the 2NR, it will be best if you have a clear overview, easily explaining the violation and why your interp resolves the impacts you have outlined in your standards.

New Affs are good. That's just it. One of the few predispositions I will bring into the debate.

"Strange" Arguments / Backfile Checks - I love it when debate becomes fun. Sometimes we need a break from the monotony of nuclear armageddon. The so-called classics like wipeout, the pic, etc. I think are a viable strategy. I've read guerrilla communication arguments in the past and think it provides some intrigue in policy debate. I also think it is asinine for judges or coaches to get on a moral high horse about "Death Good" arguments and refuse to vote for them. Debate is a game and if you can't beat the other side, regardless of what they are arguing, you should lose.

Other Information

Accessibility - My goal as an educator and judge is to provide the largest and most accessible space of deliberation possible. If there are any access issues that I can assist with, please let me know (privately or in public - whatever you are comfortable with). I struggle with anxiety and understand if you need to take a "time out" or breather before or after a big speech.

Evidence - When you mark cards I usually also write down where they are marked on my flow –also, before CX starts, you need to show your opponents where you marked the cards you read. If you are starting an email chain - prep ends as soon as you open your email to send the document. I would like to be on your email chain too - ericdebate@gmail.com

High Speaks? - The best way to get high speaks in front of me is in-depth comparative analysis. Whether this be on a theory debate or a disad/case debate, in depth comparative analysis between author qualification, warrants and impact comparison will always be rewarded with higher speaker points. The more you contextualize your arguments, the better. If you are negative, don't take prep for the 1NR unless you're cleaning up a 2NC disaster. I'm impressed with stand-up 1ARs, but don't rock the boat if you can't swim. If you have read this far in my ramblings on debate then good on you - If you say "wowzas" in the debate I will reward you with +0.1 speaker points.

Any other questions, please ask in person or email – ericdebate@gmail.com

Feel free to ask questions if this doesn't answer them for you! 

Background:

I debated for Little Rock Central for 4 years, and was a 2A for 3 of those years. (2011-2015)

I'm a student at UC Berkeley pursuing degrees in engineering and computer science

Debate Philosophy:

My job as the judge is to decide who wins based on the information given to me, which means that it is in your best interest to explain your arguments thoroughly and tell me why you should win. In other words, do my work for me because that way, the round has a greater chance of going favorably for you.

I'm okay with any type of argument as long as it is debated smartly and strategically, and you know what you're talking about. I don't have much experience on this topic, so that should motivate you to warrant out each argument even more than you usually do. I started out with a strong policy foundation in high school, so they are a bit more comfortable for me. Additionally, I haven't read that much critical literature recently, so don't make any assumptions when running one. However, don't take that as a sign to avoid kritiks completely because I have encountered a fair share, enjoy them, and learn a lot from them every time. Debate has been moving towards a more critical debate style recently and I'm pretty on board with that. In the end, my decision will come down to what's on my flow paper regardless of what type of argument you run, and I do my best to make as little assumptions about your arguments as possible.

As far as speed, try to enunciate when you say something you really really think I need to write down. Otherwise, I should be able to keep up with you. I won't tell you when you aren't being clear, so that's your burden to make sure that what you're saying is as accessible to me as possible. 

For counterplans, pleeeeeaaaaase make sure it has an external net benefit. Otherwise, it becomes an uphill battle for you as the negative to prove that it competes with the aff. 

Theory debates are pretty great too, they are definitely quite fascinating if done correctly.

Don't steal prep time. I hate that. I don't count flashing evidence as prep time as long as you don't take forever. 

Jake Brugger, debated policy with C.K. Mcclatchy High school 2012 - 2014. Currently a UC Berkeley sophmore.

I am a 2nd year university student who debated policy for two years in high school. It's been a long time since I was a part of the community, but I live with debaters so needless to say I've kept up with it a little. That being said, as long as I have some access to evidence, read at a speed at which you are clear and intelligible. Read your tags and authors at a slower pace and with a sufficiently different inflection.

At the top level, I will vote on the argument that has been developed, defended, and weighted more effectively than opposing arguments. I will not vote on anything on my own accord, you have to package arguments (especially in rebuttals) in a way that gives me a clear path to voting for you. I will give the most weight to extended/ adequately defended arguments. Dropping arguments is a huge problem, and I will weight them greatly if extended by your opponents, but they do not mean an automatic win/loss. Give me a compelling, sound, and clear reason as to why you win the ballot, and make sure to tell that story at the end of the debate. If I don't feel I have this story before me when I make my decision, I cant be blamed for being unpredictable.

As far as the policy realm is concerned, the above applies. Give me the story of your disadvantage: why it is unique, how it is relevant to your opponents argument, and why it matters in the world. Negate these facets of your opponents' arguments. Counter plans must be competitive, ie they must functionally compete, provide a net benefit, or both. Respond to the perm if necessary, these can disable your argument very quickly (this goes for K's as well). That being said, saying 7 unique perms in a row without explaining them will not do you much good. Your argument must imply that your opponents are wrong about their advocacy and that it would be a net harm for the world or some subset of it. The opposite is true for the Affirmative; tell the story as to why your advocacy is sound and a net good. Fiat is not unlimited, explain what your mechanism is and why it is reasonable within the context of the resolution.

Use topicality and other framework arguments to your advantage, but they must also have a link/impact story. Part of debate is elaborating on what the activity itself is, I cannot wholly decide this for you. They, like everything, are not automatically winning arguments, and must be packaged in a clear way in order to win.

I will vote on nearly anything as long as you give me a compelling reason to do so, including the kritik. I read the Cap K and the like in high school, so I am somewhat familiar with simpler K's; not so for more complex and heavier Kritiks. I have had little to no interaction with race debate (ie Wilderson and the like), but I am completely comfortable voting on it if you give compelling reasons. If you don't have a plan, you need to give me a clear reason why, one that matters. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience with these arguments (and with advanced policy in general), so don't take anything for granted and don't make the assumption that I'm on the same page from the get go. In general, these types of arguments as well as the more complex kritiks will be hard for me to vote on, but not impossible, due to my unfamiliarity. However, don't hesitate to be creative. Prove your framework if you feel it differs from your opponents; this is a necessity. Debate is about hypothetical scenarios, but if you can prove impacts that are near and present, I will weigh and vote on them.

Be effective but respectful in cross examination. If I think you are sufficiently constraining your opponents ability to speak, I will stop paying attention and your speaks will be docked. I will stop a round in the event I feel a debater is being physically harmed or sufficiently threatened, but I highly doubt it will come to that. As far as ethical violations go, they must be malicious and intentional to be punishable. Understandable mistakes are not violations. If you suspect your opponent of intentionally fabricating or changing their evidence, I advise you to record the round, and speak to me after the debate but before I have made my decision. I will record speeches if I suspect a violation as well. If you are proved to have committed a violation, you will receive zero speaks and lose. Speech times are a rule. Other than that, the game is up to you and your opponents.

Please add me to email chains - thburgess99@gmail.com

I’m fine with you running any and all arguments, including high theory K arguments, as long as you can explain them well.

I’m fine with spreading as long as you can still speak clearly.

I fully subscribe to the idea that debate is a game that should be enjoyed, so have fun! And don’t disrespect your opponents.

I’m not familiar with the debate topic, as this is my first time this year judging, so don’t assume I am.

I debated policy for three years in high school, so I know the ins and outs of debate, but if you do end up running any K arguments that aren’t cap or security, make sure you give a quick overview and explain the links to the aff well.

Please don’t hesitate to email me any questions you have before or after the round!

My highest commitment as a judge is making this activity accessible and inclusive. I am committed to developing novices and want to make varsity debate a welcoming environment for students who are moving from novice/JV to varsity.

I understand and appreciate critical and policy arguments and am fine with you arguing about whatever you wish to make the debate about. I see my role as an educator, however, and so will not allow anti-trans, antiblack, or bigoted language or attitudes that would deny the humanity of any participant in the activity. With those ground rules in place, I try to center my decisions on the arguments made in the debate and bracket my own predilections as much as I can. This is an aspiration but I also recognize and try to be reflective about the way my identity and history shapes my thought. It is important not to bracket these questions, even as I try to evaluate arguments fairly and not intervene to tip the scales.

With that said, here are my thoughts on procedural arguments.

Games have to be fair and simulate something we love about life, or be connected to life or they are not very fun. But what does it mean for a game to be fair? Is that the only value I should care about?

I love debate, so access to it is a terminal impact. It is an educational game (or it has been for me) so education is also a terminal impact. But it's a game. So fairness matters.

I don't think any of these three procedural impacts are more basic or fundamental than the other. I just abide in the tension and allow debaters to frame the impacts.

I believe debate is about open inquiry, and I want to allow debaters to test all kinds of claims. Admittedly, if you choose to examine philosophical questions, I will enjoy the discussion. Please note that explanation will serve you in debates centered around complicated concepts. Although I have a Ph.D. in philosophy, I would rather be treated as an informed layperson than a specialist.

I'm a college debater so you can consider me a tab judge. I'm cool with any arguments and speed is fine as long as you signpost

T- i don’t usually vote on topicality or theory unless it is something obviously something unfair to the debaters. but make sure to somehow impact out your t if you are going to make it a voter

CP- Cp’s are fine. pic cps are cool but not a fan of conditions cp. if you choose to run one make sure you do it right. biggest thing is that people do them wrong.

also you have to win on every part of the counterplan for me to vote on it net benefit’s solvency etc

K- Kritiks are fine but don’t let them distract you from the debate world to where it becomes a theory debate rather than it being a “policy debate” K aff are cool too just make the framework clear

DA/OC- easiest way to get my vote is to prove case outweighs or solvency issues.

dont be afraid to ask any other questions and good luck!

I will judge by the stock issues, as well as speaking skill and communication.

Affirmative team should state the stock issues in terms of topicality, harms, significance, inherency, and solvency, in detail.

Negative team, do not drop the ball. State the uniqueness, link, impact, and disadvantages.

Please do not overly rely on evidence.

Be analytic! Be creative! State your policy and respect your opponents!

Newbie Coach for ADL

I flow.

I give pretty high speaks if you're nice.

Email Chain: Brandonchen.135@gmail.com

Ask in round if you want to know more about me

Novice Parent Judge

Please include me on email chains cromeenes.michelle@gmail.com

A little about me, I've been a part of the college policy debate community since early 2014.

How I judge:

I prefer clear constructed arguments rather than quick unclear ones. I am very open to all arguments so long as they are respectful in delivery and cultural sensitivity.

Don't be afraid to break the norms of debate, just be ready to explain yourself. If you cannot convince me why you should be allowed to break the norms of debate then I will most likely vote against you. Do not drop topicality because I will vote Neg. Go for better developed arguments rather trying to produce as many as you can. A good debater, however, will be able to properly balance both.

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

My email: jeneraidc@berkeley.edu

I'm really new to policy debate. I prefer a slow style of speaking, so please, do not spread. Clash is fun to see!

I competed policy for 5 years, and BP/Worlds Style debate for 4 years. I run workshops with the Denver Urban Debate League, with a focus on JV and Novice debaters and making policy debate accessible to all. Debate is no longer my full-time gig, but I still help out local JV teams with coaching on occasion.

Please include me on email chains: denverUDLSelene@gmail.com

I will vote on anything as long as you tell me why it's important. I think debate is a space for debaters to be able to advocate for what they believe in, so I will do my best to adapt to whatever the teams tell me is important. This means that teams should be clear in what arguments have the most weight and why at the end of the round in their overviews. I value clear clash and comparisons, so please prioritize argument and evidence comparison with warrants to back them up.

Speed

Is fine, so long as you don't sacrifice clarity. I am hard of hearing in one ear, so please be mindful when I say "clear" and make sure that you are adapting, enunciating, and not covering your mouth with your laptop.

Please do not abuse speed against a team that is newer to debate, has difficulty following, etc. This won't lose you the round, but will impact your speaks at the end of the round.

Kritikal Arguments

On aff--I think having a relation to the topic is important for educational and learning purposes. This means I should be able to draw a line from the topic to your advocacy.

On neg-- Same thing, I value your ability to advocate and kritik what you believe in, but urge that you show a clear link between your kritik and the aff.

My literature backround is in power dynamics and race, as well as gender studies.

Topicality/Theory

I love a good T Debate. I've been away from high-level debate theory for a while, though. So please be clear and take time to explain things thoroughly when asking me to vote on it. Also, slow down for analytical arguments and tag lines so I don't miss them.

update: toc 23'

Email chain: chris@alterethosdebate.com

TLDR

Debaters ought to determine the procedural limits and educational value of each topic by defending their interpretations in the round. I ought to vote for the team that does the best job of that in the debate.

I mostly care about warranting arguments and engaging with opponent's through analysis and impact comparison. The team that does the better job justifying my vote at the end of the debate will win.

Debaters should not do any of the following:

Clip cards

Steal prep

Ignore reasonable things like showing up on time and maintaining speech times and speaking order.

Disregard reasonable personal request of their opponents. If you don’t wish to comply with opponent requests, you ought to have a good reason why.

Misgender folks

Say or do racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist things.

Read pessimism args from identities they don't identify as.

Argumentative Preferences

WARRANTS & EXPLANATIONS over blippiness.

Education > Fairness

Breadth = Depth ---> both are important please make warrants here.

K’s don’t need to win an alt to win.

Reasonable disclosure practices should be followed.

Analytic > Low quality evidence

Specific Stuff

Theory

Disclosing before the round is a reasonable thing to do. That being said, I come in with a slight bias against theory arguments in LD. Lots of frivolity in this space right now.

To adapt for this bias teams can read theory that actually has the potential to improve debates or read shells that will have clear and significant violations. Running theory as an exploit of tech judges makes debates less enjoyable for me and I am inclined to vote against them at the smallest of responses. Affirmative teams should feel comfortable reading fewer spikes and more substance.

t/framework

Neg teams ought to engage with plan free or non-topical affirmatives. Affirmative teams should advocate for some departure from the status quo within the context of the topic. The more an aff is steeped in topic literature, the less likely I am to vote against it as a procedural issues, so strong topic links are crucial. I generally think education is a more important element of debate than fairness and that an inability to prepare against an argument doesn't inherently mean that argument is unfair.

Topicality

I default to reasonability because I think it incentivizes innovative research by the aff and expands the limits of the topic in a good way.

Perf Con.

I'm good with multiple worlds but think perf cons make for less enjoyable debates and I am inclined to vote against 1NC's that read cap and the econ da in the same speech.

Counter Plans

If you have a solvency advocate, its legit.

PIC’s are generally good because they force the affirmative to more deeply examine their advocacy, I want them to be excluding something substantial and to have a solvency advocate of some kind.

Conditionality

Neg definitely gets to be conditional. Limited conditionality is the most reasonable interp.

DA's

I like topic DA's, and find most politics and econ based internal links implausible. But, I won't vote against them on face, I let your opponent make those arguments.

Presumption

Neg walks in with presumption. Neg teams should still make presumption analysis in the round though.

*If I haven't mentioned it here, ask me. It has been a minute since I've judged.

Background

First, and most importantly, I am a Black man. I competed in policy for three years in high school at Parkview Arts/Science Magnet High School; I did an additional year at the University of Kentucky. I am now on the coaching staff at Little Rock Central High School. I have a bachelor's and a master's in Communication Studies and a master's in Secondary Education. I said that not to sound pompous but so that you will understand that my lack of exposure to an argument will not preclude me from evaluating it; I know how to analyze argumentation. I have represented Arkansas at the Debate Topic Selection for the past few years (I authored the Middle East paper in 2018 and the Criminal Justice paper in 2019) and that has altered how I view both the topic process and debates, in a good way. I think this makes me a more informed, balanced judge. Summer '22 I chaired the Wording Committee for NFHS Policy Debate Topic Selection; do with this information what you want.

Include me on all email chains, at bothcgdebate1906@gmail.comandlrchdebatedocs@gmail.com,please and thank you

Randoms

I find that many teams are rude and obnoxious in round and don’t see the need to treat their opponents with dignity. I find this mode of thinking offensive and disrespectful to the activity as a whole

I consider myself an open slate person but that doesn’t mean that you can pull the most obscure argument from your backfiles and run it in front of me. Debate is an intellectual game. Because of this I find it offensive when debaters run arguments just run them.

I don’t mind speed and consider myself an exceptional flower. That being said, I think that it helps us judges when debaters slow down on important things like plan/CP texts, perms, theory arguments, and anything else that will require me to get what you said verbatim. I flow on a computer so I need typing time. Your speed will always outpace my ability to type; please be conscious of this.

Intentionally saying anything remotely racist, ableist, transphobic, etc will get you an auto loss in front of me. If that means you need to strike me then do us both a favor and strike me. That being said, I’m sure most people would prefer to win straight up and not because a person was rhetorically problematic, in round.

Update for Online Debate

Asking "is anyone not ready" before an online speech an excise in futility; if someone's computer is glitching they have no way of telling you they aren’t ready. Wait for verbal/nonverbal confirmation that all individuals are ready before beginning your speech, please. If my camera is off, I am not ready for your speech. Online debate makes speed a problem for all of us. Anything above 75% of your top speed ensures I will miss something; govern yourselves accordingly.

Please make sure I can see your face/mouth when you are speaking if at all possible. I would really prefer that you kept your camera on. I understand how invasive of an ask this is. If you CANNOT for reasons (tech, personal reasons, etc.) I am completely ok with going on with the camera off. Debate is inherently an exclusive activity, if the camera on is a problem I would rather not even broach the issue.

I would strongly suggest recording your own speeches in case someone's internet cuts out. When this issue arises, a local recording is a life saver. Do not record other people's speeches without their consent; that is a quick way to earn a one-way trip to L town sponsored by my ballot.

Lastly, if the round is scheduled to start at 2, don’t show up to the room asking for my email at 1:58. Be in the room by tech time (it’s there for a reason) so that you can take care of everything in preparation for the round. 2 o’clock start time means the 1ac is being read at 2, not the email chain being set up at 2. Timeliness, or lack thereof, is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. Too often debaters are too cavalier with time. Two things to keep in mind: 1) it shortens my decision time and 2) it’s a quick way to short yourself on speaks (I’m real get-off-my-lawn about this).

Short Version

My previous paradigm had a thorough explanation of how I evaluate most arguments. For the sake of prefs and pre round prep I have decided to amend it. When I debated, I was mostly a T/CP/DA debater. That being said, I am open to just about any form of argumentation you want to make. If it is a high theory argument don’t take for granted that I understand most of the terminology your author(s) use.

I will prioritize my ballot around what the 2NR/2AR highlights as the key issues in the debate. I try to start with the last two speeches and work my way back through the debate evaluating the arguments that the debaters are making. I don’t have to personally agree with an argument to vote for it.

T-USfg

Yes I coach primarily K teams but I have voted for T/framework quite often; win the argument and you have won my ballot. Too often debaters read a lot of blocks and don’t do enough engaging in these kinds of debates. The “Role of the Ballot” needs to be explicit and there needs to be a discussion of how your ROB is accessible by both teams. If you want to skirt the issue of accessibility then you need to articulate why the impact(s) of the aff outweigh whatever arguments the neg is going for.

I am less and less persuaded by fairness arguments; I think fairness is more of an internal link to a more concrete impact (e.g., truth testing, argument refinement). Affs should be able to articulate what the role of the negative is under their model. If the aff is in the direction of the topic, I tend to give them some leeway in responding to a lot of the neg claims. Central to convincing me to vote for a non-resolutionally based affirmative is their ability to describe to me what the role of the negative would be under their model of debate. The aff should spend time on impact turning framework while simultaneously using their aff to short circuit some of the impact claims advanced by the neg.

When aff teams lose my ballot in these debates it’s often because they neglect to articulate why the claims they make in the 1ac implicate/inform the neg’s interp and impacts here. A lot of times they go for a poorly explained, barely extended impact turn without doing the necessary work of using the aff to implicate the neg’s standards.

When neg teams lose my ballot in these debates it’s often because they don’t engage the aff. Often times, I find myself having a low bar for presumption when the aff is poorly explained (both in speeches and CX) yet neg teams rarely use this to their advantage. A good framework-centered 2NR versus most k affs involves some type of engagement on case (solvency deficit, presumption, case turn, etc.) and your framework claims; I think too often the neg gives the aff full risk of their aff and solvency which gives them more weight on impact turns than they should have. If you don’t answer the aff AT ALL in the 2NR I will have a hard time voting for you; 2AR’s would be smart to point this out and leverage this on the impact debate.

If you want toread a kritik of debate,I have no problems with that. While, in a vacuum, I think debate is an intrinsic good, we too often forget we exist in a bubble. We must be introspective (as an activity) about the part(s) we like and the part(s) we don't like; if that starts with this prelim round or elim debate then so be it. As structured, debate is super exclusionary if we don't allow internal criticism, we risk extinction in such a fragile world.

LD

If you don't read a "plan" then all the neg has to do is win a link to the resolution. For instance, if you read an aff that's 6 minutes of “whole rez” but you don't defend a specific action then the neg just needs to win a link based on the resolution OR your impact scenario(s). If you don't like it then write better affs that FORCE the neg to get more creative on the link debate.

If theory is your go-to strategy, on either side, please strike me. I am sick and tired debaters refusing to engage substance and only read frivolous theory arguments you barely understand. If you spend your time in the 1AR going for theory don’t you dare fix your lips to go for substance over theory and expect my ballot in the 2AR. LD, in its current state, is violent, racist, and upholds white supremacy; if you disagree do us both a favor and strike me (see above). Always expecting people to open source disclose is what is driving a lot of non-white people from the activity. I spend most of my time judging policy so an LD round that mimics a policy debate is what I would prefer to hear.

I’m sick of debaters not flowing then thinking they can ask what was read “before” CX starts. Once you start asking questions, THAT IS CX TIME. I have gotten to the point that I WILL DOCK YOUR SPEAKS if you do this; I keep an exceptional flow and you should as well. If you go over time, I will stop you and your opponent will not be required to answer questions. You are eating into decision time but not only that it shows a blatant lack of respect for the "rules" of activity. If this happens and you go for some kind of "fairness good" claim I'm not voting for it; enjoy your Hot L (shoutout to Chris Randall and Shunta Jordan). Lastly, most of these philosophers y’all love quoting were violently racist to minorities. If you want me (a black man) to pick you up while you defend a racist you be better be very compelling and leave no room for misunderstandings.

Parting Thoughts

I came into this activity as a fierce competitor, at this juncture in my life I’m in it solely for the education of the debaters involved; I am less concerned with who I am judging and more concerned with the content of what I debate. I am an educator and a lover of learning things; what I say is how I view debate and not a roadmap to my ballot. Don’t manipulate what you are best at to fit into my paradigm of viewing debate. Do what you do best and I will do what I do best in evaluating the debate.

Stanford 2021

Former college policy debater at UC Berkeley

I mostly did K debate that's definitely my area of expertise but argument flex is fine I can flow and understand just about anything

I would slow down for more complicated theory args and if you don't make them a significant portion of the final speeches I am not likely to vote for them

don't be offensive

ask me specific questions if you have them

don't have a lot of rounds on the topic

2020 update

mggreenbury@gmail.com

Not much experience on this topic

Been away from the scene for the past semester. Don't worry, I can still listen to speed, but you might want to assume I'm not fully aware of all the topic details.

I like K debate. Prefer poststructuralism or whatever you call it - would probably be what I have the most experience in. Performance debate is cool. Policy debate is good too, just not what I did for the most part. Good plans with solid solvency mechanisms vs intriguing CP/DAs are always engaging to judge for me but politics debates are boring so if you come with generics you better do it right. I consider myself open minded but I do find myself unpersuaded by the same generics FW args that teams have been reading since 2015. Try explaining things in new ways, using new words and examples. I will reward that.

almost all ideas are fair game, except those which offend or harm other people. please use common sense in this regard or I'll dock speaks.

2019 update

very few rounds on the policy topic, please explain any acronyms or details that one might assume a judge with experience on the topic would understand

speed is fine

argument flexibility is fine and good

focus on explaining things; less is more

”debate does not necessarily take the form of a disagreement; it can yield a more complex disimplication or displacement”

i don’t vote on things not In the final speeches

2017 for Stanford

Very few (<20) rounds on the topic. Mostly policy, weirdly, but it's been three months. Please explain any terms (locations, documents, events, concepts, etc.) that may require more experience.

Aside: the term high theory now for me demonstrates the general implosion of meaning.

Out of competition since last season. Everything below still true, with the caveat that my appreciation for the the decorum and the ethos of debate has diminished. I think you can interpret that how you want. Creativity and clarity are awarded with speaker points.

Lastly the authors of flavor for the rhetoric department are Schmitt, Heidegger, and Hegel. Please do not read a critique of Bildung.

2016 Update

About two dozen total rounds on the 2015-2016 HS topic. Mostly on the non-topic but plenty of K affs with plans and a few policy debates.

I do and prefer K debate for the most part, but I am still interested in hearing policy arguments. I understand and like them, at times.

I vote on T/FW, but I think most teams would be helped by substantive and explicated impact calc vs the aff, articulating a strong T version solves arg, etc. You can't just extend T like you would in front of a judge who ideologically prefers your args.

If you're too fast I might ask you to slow down. You should do you. Within reason, try to offend me.

Most familiar in high theory arguments: afropessimist, feminist, queer theory, and Marxist-derivative literatures. I sort of major in critical theory at Berkeley so sometimes I just happen to know a lot about Ranciere or Edward Said depending on the semester.

Feel free to ask any other questions.

Do whatever you want, dont be offensive.

NOTRE DAME/USC UPDATE!

For whatever its worth: I determine speaker points throughout the debate in the style of Around the Horn.  Everyone begins with a 28, as debaters say or do things that I deem to be positive or negative debaters will lose/gain .1-.3 points.  Whatever your number is after my decision is done is your final total.

     I start out as a Stock Issue Judge.  The Affirmative must maintain all of the stock issues to win the debate---Topicality , Significance Harms, Inherency Solvency.  If the Affirmative maintains  all of the Stock Issues I then become a comparative advantage judge.  I weigh the advantages of the Affirmative versus the disadvantages, kritiks and counterplans of the negative.   I won't intervene in a debate but I would be receptive of arguments  that 1.  the negative can only have one position in a debate and 2.   that the negative cannot kritik the status quo without offering a counterplan.

Coach for the University of Houston, Langham Creek High School, and Memorial High School

A couple of thoughts before I address specific arguments

for Wake/UT - I haven't judged very much this year and don't know what the norms/args are yet

If it’s important say it more than once, I don’t necessarily mean that you should just repeat yourself, but make the argument in more than one place with more than one application.

Highlighting should be able to be read - I think that your evidence should be highlighted in a way that makes at least some grammatical sense - this is kind of subjective but if its a true abomination of words slapped together I won't read around your highlighting to understand what you're trying to say.

please time yourselves

I would like to be on the email chain, clarkjohnson821@gmail.com

CX

T debates (and theory debates) are already very blippy, if you want me to evaluate it, slow down. I like it when teams use T strategically in other areas of the debate.

DA's: good spin > sepcific ev > generic ev. I like intuitive turns case arguments and I love when you can implicate the aff’s internal links and solvency using other parts of the disad. I think that

CP's: These are fine, if you want to know my thoughts on judge kick see Rob Glass's paradigm.

K’s: As long as you approach the debate assuming I won’t understand your version of baudrillard we’ll probably be fine. 2nr (and 2nc to some extent) explanation of what the alt world would look like, how the alt solves the links to the aff, and how the alt solves the impacts are important to me, I find myself to be much more persuaded by neg teams that can do this well.

K affs v fw: I think your aff should in some way be related to the topic, that's not to say that you have to be, just that it will make it easier for you to win those debates.

K affs v k's: this is by far the debate that I have the least experience with, something that's really important to me in these debates is clarity of how the alt/aff functions and how it interacts with the links to your opponent's argument, I tend to find myself being persuaded by detailed alt analysis.

if you’ve noticed a common theme here, it’s that I think the alt debate is important

Theory: Default neg and reject the argument, you should give me reasons to do otherwise, don't expect me to vote on it if you don't slow down and explain your argument, most debaters spread blippy blocks that make it difficult to flow and evaluate, if the 2nr or 2ar want to go for theory in some form or fashion you're going to have to do a modicum of work, saying severance perms bad for 10 seconds at the top of your 2nr is not enough to get me to vote on it as long as the 2ar makes any sort of response.

Counterplans bad is probably not a reason to vote aff

LD

I don’t judge this event as often so I may lack a more nuanced understanding of how things function in LD compared to policy, but with that being said I’m open to however you want to do it, be it traditional or progressive. Your phil and theory debates are a little alien to me coming from how we approach similar arguments in policy, so if that’s what you think you’ll be going for in your 2ar or nr be super clear. Most of my thoughts about args in cx will color my analysis of the arguments you make in LD.

PF

I dont consider the time it takes for your opponents to provide you their evidence as prep time, and I don't think you need to take cx time for it either. If you can’t tell, I am primarily a policy judge and as such I probably have a higher standard for evidence quality and access than your average judge.

other than that I don't have strong opinions when it comes to what arguments you want to read as long as you justify them (read: impacts matter!)

im not familiar with pf norms when it comes to whether you should or shouldn’t answer opponents args in summary or 2nd constructive. And sometimes I feel like I’m inconsistent in trying to figure out and apply what they are in my rounds judging it. As such I will treat it as I would a cx round unless you tell me otherwise - new args can be made in first two speeches, summary should not be new args (but can if they are answering a new argument, ie 1st speaking team makes an argument that directly answers a new arg made by 2nd speakers in the last constructive speech) in terms of extensions through to ff I don't think that saying something in grand is enough for me to weigh it at the end of the debate if you dont extend it through your last speech.

I will probably call for evidence. If you paraphrase, expect me to not treat your evidence with the same level of veracity as someone citing specific parts of their cards.

yo

I'm a senior @ stanford double majoring in international relations + anthropology and i did policy in high school

2020 NOTE: I don't know much about this years' resolution-- explain topic-specific acronyms if you use any!

email: edasulj@stanford.edu

POLICY:

tl;dr- i'll listen to literally anything! i love unique arguments but even more importantly i love clash.

kaffs- i love them. i came from the smallest school possible (no coaches, no other policy team) so i find them extremely helpful with specific research focus for small teams/schools. i love them when they are unique and tailored to each individual debater. i think that the best k affs are ones that i can feel the emotion and power in every word you choose to say/sing/rap/dance/draw/perform.

ks- i think ks are extremely productive in debate; prob read some lit on what you are planning on reading. specific links are super awesome and engaging. but if u do k debate pls don't read off your computer the entire time it's sad. i read a lot of postmodern theory (both in hs, but also now in school as a college student), but this may help/hurt you. bad k debates are worse than bad policy debates, so make sure you know what you're talking about. empirical examples for k debates are persuasive. many judges don't feel compelled to vote for postmodern ks because it is hard to tie them to something tangible in the status quo. there are examples-- refer to art, movements, historical events...etc.

framework- framework can be extremely productive, tailor your framework arguments specific to the aff. tva's are good arguments-- make them

das- a really good da debate is exciting to watch. i love it when teams destroy case and do really good anaylsis on the da. pls don't make your 2nc extension of the da just reading more cards, like take the warrants of your 1nc and exacerbate them in the block. good da debates are great.

cps- i mean i'm down for listening to the most abusive cps you have. i think really specific ones are killer. i don't really care about theory unless someone calls you out on it. if you read a delay cp or a plan plus like tell me why that plus/net ben is so important. otherwise i'll vote on like perm: do CP

t- if you can't list a topical caselist with your interpretation why read t. read t when there is an obvious advantage the aff is getting away with. i don't really have a favorite between reasonability vs. competiting interps. like tell me which one to prefer and i'll do whatever.

theory- tbh theory debates are boring i'd still vote on them if i have to

case- case is so underrated especially in kaff debates. if you can destroy case on the kaff i'll be happy to vote on neg presumption or some case turn. if you go destroy case i'll reward you.

truth over tech- i lean more for tech over truth. but i am persuaded by ethos.

do u love the jesus cp?- sure, read whatever weird args you have. if you commit to them i'll give them credit in the round. EDIT: ok but also I strongly dislike the 30-speaks argument!!!!!!!!!!

prep/cross-x- tag team is cool and flashing doesn't count as prep

extras:

debate is an activity that i love and that i invested a lot of time in. please look like you're having fun, at least.

i guess i am a point fairy. debaters work really hard and i think that getting average speaker points like 28.3 is just not exciting nor rewarding. if life is meaningless and debate fills a meaningless void in our lives ill try to give y'all some temporary happiness with higher speaker points.

LD:

pretty much the same as policy; i don't really vibe with debates that are only about the rules of debate

PUBLIC FORUM:

tldr; debate is a game, so use whatever strategies you want. don't care about your speed, but do care if you're using speed as an excuse to not make real arguments. warrant all your arguments! I don't judge PF too often, so assume that I do not know anything about your resolution. Explain acronyms if you use them. HAVE FUN :-)!!

PF & Parli coach for Nueva

- Use your agency to make this safe space and non-hostile to all debaters & judges

- non-interventionist until the point where something aggressively problematic is said (read: problematic: articulating sexist, racist, ableist, classist, queerphobic, anything that is oppressive or entrenches/legitimates structural violence in-round)

- tech over truth

- please time yourselves and your opponent: I don't like numbers and I certainly don't like keeping track of them when y'all use them for prep, if you ask me how much time you have left I most probably won't know

- if you finish your speech and have extra time at the end, please do not take that time to "go over my own case again" - I recommend weighing if you want to finish your speech time, or alternatively, just end your speech early

parli-specific:

- I guess I expect debaters to ask POI's, but I won't punish you for not asking them in your speaker scores

- I give speaker scores based on function, not form (I don't care how fluid you are, I care what it is that you're saying). I think speakers are arbitrary and probably problematic. Tell me to give everyone a 30 and assuming tab allows, I'll do it. That being said, I will never factor in appearance into your speaker points or the ballot. I’m not in the business of policing what debaters wear.

- I do my best to protect the flow, but articulate points of order anyway

- recently I've heard rounds that include two minutes of an "overview/framework" explaining why tech debate/using "technical terms" in debate is bad - I find this irritating, so it would probably be in your best interest to not run that, although it's not an automatic loss for you, it simply irks me

- feel free to ask questions within "protected time" - it's the debater's prerogative whether or not they accept the POI, but I don't mind debaters asking and answering questions within

- I like uniqueness, I like link chains, I like impact scenarios! These things make for substantive, educational debates!

pf-specific:

- I don't call for cards unless you tell me to; telling me "the ev is sketchy" or "i encourage you to call for the card" isn't telling me to call for the card. tell me "call for the card" - picking and choosing cards based on what I believe is credible or not is sus and seems interventionist

- I don't flow cross fire but it works well to serve how much you know the topic. regardless, if you want anything from crossfire on my flow, reference it in-speech.

- I give speaker scores based on function, not form (I don't care how fluid you are, I care what it is that you're saying). I think speaker points are arbitrary and probably problematic. Tell me to give everyone a 30 and assuming tab allows, I'll do it. That being said, I will never factor in appearance into your speaker points or the ballot. I’m not in the business of policing what debaters wear.

- if you want me to evaluate anything in your final focus make sure it's also in your summary, save for of course frontlines by second-speaking teams - continuity is key

- in terms of rebuttal I guess I expect the second speaking team to frontline, but of course this is your debate round and I'm not in charge of any decisions you make

- hello greetings defense is sticky

- please please please please please WEIGH: tell me why the args you win actually matter in terms of scope, prob, mag, strength of link, clarity of impact, yadda yadda

Other than that please ask me questions as you will, I should vote off of whatever you tell me to vote off of given I understand it. If I don't understand it, I'll probably unknowingly furrow my eyebrows as I'm flowing. Blippy extensions may not be enough for me - at the end of the day if you win the round because of x, explain x consistently and cleanly so there's not a chance for me to miss it.

email me at gia.karpouzis@gmail.com with any questions or comments or if you feel otherwise uncomfortable asking in person

Debated 4 years at Cypress Bay High School '18, Washington University in St. Louis '22 (not debating)

Qualled to TOC junior and senior years

Please add me on the email chain: tylerk1004@gmail.com

General Info

Spin/explanation can go a long way against stronger evidence. Analytics are good too, especially when there is an obvious hole in an argument.

Please try to maintain a solid line by line and avoid extremely lengthy overviews. Numbered arguments (esp starting in the 2AC) help too. I flow by lining up arguments, and if things get messy, maintain 2AC order.

Knowing your own evidence well is really important and helps boost speaks when you can explain it well while extending it or answering CX questions about it.

Tech>truth for the most part, but make complete arguments.

I don't have much prior knowledge on the arms sales topic this year, so just make sure more specific things are explained.

Impact turns, re-highlighting evidence, speech efficiency are great.

Evaluating Debates

I'll start by locating the most important parts of the debate. The 2nr/2ar should make it clear what is most important in the debate and why you are ahead in those areas, especially in a debate with a lot of moving parts. This will naturally give me a lens to begin picking out the central questions.

I'll determine who is ahead in these parts of the round based on my flow. If there is a question that is too close to figure out, I will read the evidence relevant to this part of the debate. However, I really want you to guide this part of my decision! - Don't leave it up to me to read all of the relevant evidence and figure out on my own what out of the slew of 1nr/1ar cards will determine the direction of uniqueness on the politics DA - compare your evidence, use the warrants, explain to me why yours are better.

After answering the relevant questions, I'll compare them. Some issues in a debate will matter more, and this is where I'll figure out questions of offense. Framing arguments, turns case, impact comparisons, etc all factor in. Then, whichever team has more offense will win.

K affs:

I didn't read these in high school and didn't go for the K much either. I'm obviously open to them though. This just means that you need to be clear with explanations, as I'm more familiar with the neg's framework arguments. These affs should be in the direction of the resolution and not be negative arguments - advocate for a change from the status quo.

For framework debates, don't expect me to take an argument and cross apply it to other parts of the debate unless I'm told to. I'm not a fan of one side making arguments in long narrative format and the other side extending arguments on the flow. On the other hand, I'm lenient towards the neg if the aff's strategy is to speed through blippy arguments until the 2ar. On the aff, winning/beating back the internal links to the neg's offense plus a strong risk of your own seems most effective.

Ks:

I'm relatively familiar with the basic ones (cap, security, etc) and least familiar with high theory (Lacan, Baudrillard, etc), so I definitely require greater explanation for these.

Unless the negative is significantly ahead on framework, I tend to side with the aff being able to weigh the case, and I feel like the aff can often collapse into the middle ground (IE: rhetoric matters, but shouldn't exclude the process of weighing impacts) - fairness, policy education, and cost benefit analysis arguments make a lot of sense here. 1ar's are often blippy on framework, though, and the neg can definitely capitalize in the 2nr on this.

Please do not disguise tricky K arguments until the 2nr, make them blips in a long 2nc overview, etc - be clear with them. The "alt solves the case" shouldn't suddenly materialize in the 2nr, and I'll be lenient towards 2ar explanations against it if that's the case. Spend the time in the block to unpack these arguments. Examples are also great, especially when extending the impact/alt.

Perms on the aff can be explained to mitigate links, so I think the neg should have specific links to the aff and the perm. Explain how framework implicates the perm - IE: winning rhetoric first means the perm severs the aff's reps and isn't legitimate.

CPs:

Love a nice CP/DA strat. I'm neg leaning on most CP theory. However, that should not dissuade you from going for theory, and there are definitely some process CPs that are pretty illegitimate. Whichever side you are on, it's most important to avoid shotgunning subpoints and moving on. Be efficient in theory debates, but slow down, focus on your best offense, maintain a line by line.

On the aff, especially vs process CPs, don't just say perm do both, perm do the CP and move on. Setting up smart permutations and defending them can sometimes solve the net benefit, and the aff should set up a standard for competition in these debates (textual, functional, etc).

Courts affs that say USFG in the plan text have been sneaky this year and last. I can be convinced that the aff's solvency/advantages talk about using the courts and creating CP competition based on this.

DAs:

Turns case and impact calc are key, just don't neglect the the rest of the DA.

Create a coherent story of the DA and win the framing - explain why uniqueness controls the link or vice versa if relevant to the DA debate.

I don't think the 2ar must have offense against the DA to win the debate - a no link press with some impact D, for example, plus winning an impact on case with impact calc can be very effective.

T:

Often love T debates too. I default to competing interpretations, offense/defense paradigm unless told otherwise. I'll vote on reasonability, but I see winning your CI with a stronger piece of offense than the neg's offense as a better 2ar if you have the option. I see T debates kind of like DA debates, which means you should mitigate the internal links of their standards.

Limits often seems to be the best neg piece of offense, and you should impact it out and explain why it outweighs/IL turns aff ground, predictability, etc - same thing on the aff against limits or ground or whatever other standard the neg goes for.

This is my first year judging debate. I judged a couple times on debate but only for novice debaters.

You can run anything during your debate but you will have to have good analysis. If I do not understand the argument, then it means that the argument will not be taken into consideration.

I prefer that you speak at a understandable rate, but not too fast.

Hello Everyone!

As stated above my name is Maria Jose, you can also call me MJ. I am originally from Bogota, Colombia and moved to the U.S at the beginning of high school. I debated for St. Vincent De Paul and have been judging at high school debate tournaments over the last couple of years. I am currently the assistant coach for Lowell High School.

Please include me on the email chain mjlozano96@gmail.com

(Avoid flashing, it takes too much time)

I am open to any arguments but please do not be offensive or disrespectful. I am familiar with both policy and K styles, however, I am not very familiar with high theory or obscure K’s.

I expect you to be well versed on whatever arguments you choose to run. It is your role to write the ballot for me. You should tell me how to evaluate the debate. I think framing is really important in any debate.

Preferences:

1. Do not heavily rely on your evidence. Reading cards is important but there is way more to a debate than that. Whenever you extend a card, remind me why it is important for the purpose of the debate.

2. I love good overviews and analytics.

3. Discourse is important.

4. I will not vote on T, unless you substantially explain to me why it is a voting issue. Similarly, if you run a CP you must convince me that it is competitive and has a net benefit.

5. Line by line debate is a must along with good sign posting.

6. K aff’s: I like them. You do not have to read a plan text, however, I do prefer if the AFF is related in some way to the resolution.

7.K’s: You must be well versed on the lit.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

I was a LD and CX debater and judge while in high school several years ago. I've always enjoyed debate and look forward to judging.

My Policy Debate Paradigms fall in the Traditional Debate category. I look for quality of arguments over quantity. I am not a fan of theory based affirmatives or alternate worlds and really hate performance debate. Spreading will cost you speaker points if not the round if I can not understand your case. No Open CX for me. No Prompting of Partners written or verbal. Make arguments clear. Evidence and cards should be followed by analytics but analytics without evidence is of little value in my book. Show me that you understand what you are reading and not just reading cards.

I am a 21 year old college student who hasn't competed at the collegiate level but debated on the national circuit in highschool. If you don't want to read the rest of my paradigm just know the following: I haven't yet judged a debate on this year's topic, please don't read at full speed I can handle some but my lack of steady exposure means I'm not where I used to be with comprehension and flowing. That being said please run the arguments that best suit you because I will vote for any argument. Please don't rattle off acronyms like I'm supposed to know them I'm not deep into the literature like y'all.

***UPDATE*** I just judged two varsity rounds at the Stanford Invitational during one round I suspected someone of clipping but I was not recording so i let the round continue. That being said I will be recording rounds from now on, and if you have unhighlighted evidence read ALL of the underlined portions.

I was a 2a that mostly defended the resolution and took politics in the 1nr quite often so that is what I know best. Just because I wasn't comfortable running certain arguments does not mean I dodn't understand them.

T/theory: please slow down, I don't like when you just race through blocks and rely on implicit clash. You don't have to defend the resolution in front of me. As i Mentioned above I haven't judge this topic so I don't know what traditional aff and neg ground are, make a good argument and I'll vote for it.

DA: please have good up to date uniqueness and some good internal links. If you wanna claim extinction you better have evidence for why.

CP: Do what you will, just don't have a CP with multiple conditional planks. Perms are a test of competition in my eyes.

K's: Cap, security, colonialism, and settler colonialism are what I'm most familiar with. With all other Ks I know enough to be dangerous so make sure I'm following where your going. I don't like floating pics but if the other team will let you get away with it I'll look the other way. Extra note on settler colonialism, when I've seen it run it mostly focus on theoretical arguments. While this is fine, after reading native American literature both fiction and non fiction I find narratives in tandem with the theoretical arguments more compelling, especially when it comes to the current topic. AFF: if you're gonna make vague alts arguments you better do better than just saying the alt is vague give me HOW and IN WHAT WAYS. Be specific about no link arguments, and defend the scholarship of the 1AC. Make link arguments and conversely no link arguments as specific as possible this will get you very far with me.

Don't clip cards and please be respectful to one another in round, debates can get nasty and I want to see it get beyond that. Please be as inclusive as possible. Don't steal prep, and please take care of yourself and your partner. Stay hydrated and use the restroom in round as needed. Feel free to ask me questions before rounds start.

Rachel Mauchline

Durham Academy, Assistant Director of Speech and Debate

Previously the Director of Forensics and Debate for Cabot

she/her pronouns

TL;DR

Put me on the email chain @ rachelmauchline@gmail.com

speed is fine (but online lag is a thing)

tech over truth

Policy

I typically get preferred for more policy-oriented debate. I gravitated to more plan focused affirmatives and t/cp/da debate. I would consider myself overall to be a more technically driven and line by line organized debater. My ideal round would be a policy affirmative with a plan text and three-seven off. Take that as you wish though.

Lincoln Douglas

I've judged a variety of traditional and progressive debates. I prefer more progressive debate. But you do you... I am happy to judge anything as long as you defend the position well. Refer to my specific preferences below about progressive arguments. In regards to traditional debates, it's important to clearly articulate framework.

Public Forum

weighing.... weighing.... weighing.

I like rebuttals to have clear line by line with numbered responses. 2nd rebuttal should frontline responses in rebuttal. Summary should extend terminal defense and offense OR really anything that you want in final focus. Final focus should have substantial weighing and a clear way for me to write my ballot. It's important to have legitimate evidence... don't completely skew the evidence.

Here are my specific preferences on specific arguments if you have more than 5 mins to read this paradigm...

Topicality

I enjoy a well-articulated t debate. In fact, a good t debate is my favorite type of debate to judge. Both sides need to have a clear interpretation. Make sure it’s clearly impacted out. Be clear to how you want me to evaluate and consider arguments like the tva, switch side debate, procedural fairness, limits, etc.

Disadvantages/Counterplans

This was my fav strat in high school. I’m a big fan of case-specific disadvantages but also absolutely love judging politics debates- be sure to have up to date uniqueness evidence in these debates though. It’s critical that the disad have some form of weighing by either the affirmative or negative in the context of the affirmative. Counterplans need to be functionally or textually competitive and also should have a net benefit. Slow down for CP texts and permutations- y’all be racing thru six technical perms in 10 seconds. Affirmative teams need to utilize the permutation more in order to test the competition of the counterplan. I don’t have any bias against any specific type of counterplans like consult or delay, but also I’m just waiting for that theory debate to happen.

Case

I believe that case debate is under-covered in many debates by both teams. I love watching a case debate with turns and defense instead of the aff being untouched for the entire debate until last ditch move by the 2AR. The affirmative needs to continue to weigh the aff against the negative strat. Don't assume the 1AC will be carried across for you throughout the round. You need to be doing that work on the o/v and the line by line. It confuses me when the negative strat is a CP and then there are no arguments on the case; that guarantees aff 100% chance of solvency which makes the negative take the path of most resistance to prove the CP solves best.

Kritiks

I’ll vote for the k. From my observations, I think teams end up just reading their prewritten blocks instead of directly engaging with the k specific to the affirmative. Be sure you understand what you are reading and not just read a backfile or an argument that you don’t understand. The negative needs to be sure to explain what the alt actually is and more importantly how the alt engages with the affirmative. I judge more K rounds than I expect to, but if you are reading a specific author that isn’t super well known in the community, but sure to do a little more work on the analysis

Theory

I’ll vote for whatever theory; I don’t usually intervene much in theory debates but I do think it’s important to flesh out clear impacts instead of reading short blips in order to get a ballot. Saying “pics bad” and then moving on without any articulation of in round/post fiat impacts isn’t going to give you much leverage on the impact level. You can c/a a lot of the analysis above on T to this section. It’s important that you have a clear interp/counter interp- that you meet- on a theory debate.

Experience:

Circuit PF for 2 years in high school. Went 4-3 at TOC (the real one—gold). 2 bids, 6 bid rounds. Also did lay LD for 2 years and Parli for 4, but not sure if I would even count that as experience.

Now I compete for Cal Parli, which is NPDA if you're familiar with that. It's pretty flow; we run theory and Ks and all the shit. My go-to Ks right now are queer pess, anthro, and set col.

Speed:

I'm fine with any speed you want, just flash/email me the speech doc if it's over like 350 wpm. Honestly maybe even if it's over 300. You should pretty much always send me the doc if there's a chance it's gonna be too fast for me. We spread in parli at a rate that's def faster than high school PF, but def slower than high school LD, if you know what I mean.

PF:

Literally run whatever you want. Overviews are probably abusive af but I love them so please run them. I'll even evaluate theory. Also for the love of god please do impact calc in final focus. Also if you jettison case and go only for turns in the rebuttal/sum/ff, AND win off those turns, I'll give you both 30 speaks. I love that strat so much

(assume everything below this point applies mostly to LD/CX)

Kritiks:

Here's the thing. I know Ks very well, structurally, and I run them and hit them all the time on the college parli circuit. But it's parli, and we don't read cards. So, unless it's a K I've run (see above), I haven't read the lit, I don't know the authors' last names, and I probably don't have more than a thesis-level understanding of it, if that. So just explain the fuck out of your Ks. Unless it's like,,,generic cap. Don't explain generic cap to me. I'm not a child.

Theory:

I literally have the lowest threshold for theory. Debate is a game, and theory is strategic, and I'll evaluate it based on in-round offense, regardless of how dumb it is. I also will evaluate theory as an RVI if you give me sufficient warrants as to why I should do that.

Feel free to ask me whatever questions.

Lay parent; but former high school debater and current professional lobbyist. If I had a general approach, it would be tech over truth. It's not about my ideology . . . And please don't try to tailor your approach to what you assume my background and leanings are. (I didn't always drive a minivan). It's about your ability to make an argument with links, analysis and evidence. Please don't read me a bunch of cards and expect me to work out the arguments for you. I am not a believer in judge intervention. I'm high on organization, so give me the line by line. It also probably benefits you to slow down for high theory argumentation -- I don't live and breathe it like you do. No major preferences on argument or framework (i.e., don't steer away from K's or speed because I'm someone's mom . . . I actually enjoy a good K). Having a said all of that, I'm not a fan of RVI's, which I find to be counter-logical. If you go that route, it will cost you more time in analysis and persuasive argumentation than you were striving to save. On disads and CP's: make some effort to get beyond a generic disad shell or boilerplate CP and tailor your arguments and analysis to the specific aff presented. On K's: I have and will vote on these. I enjoy a good K, but -- again -- I don't live and breathe this. I am relatively unfamiliar with the literature base, so be sure to articulate your arguments well and do not assume I know any of the terms you are using. Identity politics arguments are a much more familiar cell (and a more natural orientation) for me than postmodernism. I don't preclude these arguments, but work overtime to make sure you have a deeper more thorough explanation and analysis if you choose to run them in front of me. Niemela@npalobby.com

About me:

Email chain: cameronnilles@gmail.com

NEW EDIT: I have taken ~1 year off from debate and will be fresh to the topic as well, everything else below is still valid. Prior to the 2019/2020 school year though I was judging 50+ rounds a year w/ TOC & National qualifying teams on my squad.

----

I have competed and judged for a combined +14 years (averaging 40+ rounds a year) at the varsity-national circuit level.

If I debated in this current era I would be a framework debater. Tech > Truth, up until the point where I need to evaluate directly two objective claims (this happens less than you would think).

I have not read every piece of critical literature that you have read to write your arguments.

I will vote on 0% risk if there is dropped defense or even much better warranted argumentation, but I default to a 1% risk calculus most of the time.

Communicating:

I am OK with any level of speed. I think it is worth reminding most debaters that I am (oftentimes) not looking directly at your evidence as you read it which means that varying tone/speed on tags is necessary. Only be rude if you can back it up.

What I aim for:

I believe that the debaters frame the debate round. Any RoB or Framework lens will stand and will guide my ballot unless contested. I will default to a policy maker/utilitarian if no one tells me otherwise. Overall, I aim to leave my biases towards positions out of an objective evaluation of the arguments as they are flowed.

Biases:

Debate is a game; create your own rules. However, ensure that they provide competitive fairness to both teams (I think fairness is intrinsic to debate/a competitive activity). I firmly believe that the K needs to provide a fair division of ground for the opposing team to argue - you need to explain what your alternative is doing well enough that I know what I am voting for, not simply that the plan is what I shouldn't.

If Framework wasn't applicable to a round I would be reading mostly a CP/DA combo. But that doesn't mean I won't hear your Kritik, just please make sure it follows the above two criteria (provides fairness, has an explainable alternative).

Things I like:

Make signing my ballot very clear and easy; take the easy way out. Creative topicality violations and well thought out theory debates. Uphold competitive equity. Don't use every second of your prep time if you are clearly ahead and don't need it. I believe some T debates can be resolved with only a bold "we meet (+ explanation)."

Pet Peeves:

Stealing prep and not realizing it. If no one is taking prep in the room do not be typing on your computer, flash/email time is not a free-for-all. Telling me a team dropped an argument when they didn't. The sudden shift of teams seemingly not flowing arguments makes for very poor line-by-line and that makes for worse quality debates. Card clipping will get you in a lot of trouble on my ballots; have integrity. If you say "cut the card there" I will ask to see your evidence (if not already on an email chain) and I will expect you to mark your evidence accordingly. I actively monitor for card clipping if your behavior makes me suspicious and I will drop teams that do any degree of clipping.

2022 update

Prob not an ideal judge for you if you will go for

a. high theory

b. theory debates

Background:

Currently a graduate student at USC

I will be able to adjudicate any type of round, as I've run all from an Ocean Energy aff/politics to a Lacan aff/anti-blackness; I know you've done the work to refine whatever argument you want to read, so I will respect that - just tell me what to do with my pen. Admittedly, I’m no longer debating. I’m still confident in my ability to make a coherent decision, but probably won’t know the topic literature. Ask me anything here before the round or if I can do anything to make the round/tournament better for you :) christopherp1322@gmail.com.

TLDR: Debate whatever arg you want, don't be mean, put me on the email chain

LD Update: Everything below applies - a few comments specific to the format

1. Do I vote for RVIS? Yes and no? Yes, as in I'm open to voting for any argument. No, as in I've never voted for the argument because

a. teams don't give me reasons why I should vote for it.

b. The only justification is that "they dropped it!"; just because they don't specifically answer the RVI doesn't mean that the rest of the speech is probably a response already

c. given the nature of the argument, its probably difficult to win. Though I'd be conducive to hear a "drop the debater because they're ableist; here's why" - though that's probably theory

d. (UPDATE) Voted a team down because the other team clearly pointed out ways the other team made fun of black female scholarship and told me why that mattered.

2. Since AC's are short in time teams often have terrible internal link chains. Negs should point this out

3. I don't think I'll vote on a completely new AR argument (unless maybe hinted before or actually super abusive?).

General comments about me:

• Put me on the email chain
• I often close my eyes, put my head down, etc. Many people think that this is because I'm sleeping; nah, that's just my preference to avoid having my facial expressions influence the round. If that's something you're not comfortable with, just let me know
• I dislike the phrase "is anyone not ready". In the wise words of Richie Garner, "it is a linguistic abomination (see: bit.ly/yea-nay)."
• Please don’t read at a million wpm at the top of your rebuttals/theory args - its not very fun to flow in this situation.
• I guess I like the K? But please - read whatever argument you want to. I do my best to not let my biases affect my decision in relation to being more or less receptive to certain arguments. Rather, the only extent to which I let my kritikal background affect my process of adjudication is that I can provide more comments/feedback post-decision with kritikal arguments because of my background, rather than with arguments involving specific legal/political intricacies. In summation, the burden is on you - k or policy - to lead me through the ballot, but I'm more productive in discussions of k's after the round. Trust me, I probably won't be able to answer your super-specific resolutional question.
• I read mainly psycho, anti-blackness, Marx, and ableism in college debate.

Everything else is alphabetical:

CP: The following statement is probably my default lens for judging any argument: if the counterplan is your go-to I’m all for it. I expect the CP to solve the case or at least a portion of it, and is competitive to the plan. I’ve read a lot of abusive counterplans in the past like Consultation/Agent CP’s/PICs and don’t mind them. Obviously if the aff can effectively debate theories against these CP’s that’d be great.

DA: Contextualize the link. If the link’s warrants are in the context of the travel ban and the aff is entirely different and the aff points this out, I’ll probably err aff (unless the negative can effectively articulate that the aff is similar to what the link story says). I don’t find politics arguments too interesting, but if that’s your go-to let’s do it.

K-affs: I’ve run these affirmatives before. I’ll vote on your advocacy if you can explain to me why your model is valuable. I'll flow your performance or anything you do in your speech (make sure to extend them). Although I like critical arguments, be careful about tangential relationships to the topic because it makes me more sympathetic of TVA's, as I think that k-affs should still probably be topical. It doesn't need to include a hypothetical implementation of a policy, but you should still somehow reduce restrictions on immigration/affirm the resolution. Be creative with the definitions and explain why I should value your definition of immigration vs a legal one. Just criticizing and discussing the resolution will probably make you lose vs T a lot. If you don't affirm the resolution I'm still down for that, but be ready to impact turn everything and defend your model of debate.

- PS: If you know you’re hitting a school with historically less resources and you’re running some high theory Baudrillard aff, come on. Obviously I won’t vote you down based on your argument choice, but endorse an accessible reputation for debate. You can try to flash your blocks/analytics/full 1AC, don’t sidestep in CX, or maybe run a more intellectually accessible aff. If not, I can’t stop you but it’d be a really nice gesture - might help your speaks.

Kritiks: I’ve mainly been a kritik debater throughout my four years of debating. With that being said, don’t assume I’ll be hip with your postmodern theory and/or be more sympathetic of your psychoanalysis/antiblackness k. Just follow the same advice above and explain your k, tell me what to focus on, etc. Explain how the aff entrenches x and how that leads to a bad implication, how the link turns the aff or outweighs it, the productiveness of my ballot if I vote negative, how the alternative resolves something that outweighs the aff, and how the alt overcomes the UX of the link (although if worded correctly, I’ll vote for an alternative that is a leap of faith.) A good k debate to me will help your speaks! Also if there's a long OV or FW block let me know to put it on another flow.

T - USFG/FW: You shouldn't exclude their 1AC based on the premise that its "non-traditional"; you aren't reduced to just being able to say racism is good. Likewise, you shouldn’t read the same definition requiring the same USFG action. I say this not because I hate T (which is the contrary), but because your performance/substance probably won't be great with that strat. Be creative! My favorite FW debater is radical and explains why there is intrinsic value in having discussions rooted in the legal realm/reducing restrictions on immigration within the context of the aff’s impacts. If you can contextualize your education/fairness impacts against the 2AC and/or explain how you turn the aff, I’ll be loving your debate. I will be less sympathetic to generic FW blocks that just articulate fairness and education without reference to the aff.

Theory/Topicality: This is the area where I'm the least literate on, so please keep that in mind if your strategy involves a legitimate interest in theory. Just do meaningful comparison and tell me why I should be erring towards your model of debate over theirs. Obviously if theory is dropped by the opponents and that becomes what you go for, I’ll (probably?) vote for it. However, if the theory is otherwise read for just time skew and the other team sufficiently answers the argument I’ll generally disregard it. If you can articulate a substantive impact then it probably has a purpose and I’ll be more sympathetic – I’ll be less sympathetic to 20 second blippy blocks meant to outspread the 2AC. To be transparent, I haven’t judged many non-T theory debates. I’d be extremely interested if you can perform a well-articulated theory debate.

Otherwise, please have fun! This round is for you.

Howard Ritz

I have been Judge, Debate Coach for 26 twenty six years now in Texas circuits both UIL, TFA, and NSDA. I did not debate in college but have taught, coached, judged Debate for Rio Vista HS, Burleson High School, Wichita Falls HS, Northwest HS, and Now Mansfield Legacy High School, all in the DFW area of Texas. Have judged outside the area at Harvard U. , Berkley U, and Stanford, as well as colleges in Texas. Taught Policy and LD debate at Cameron University Summer Debate work shop for several years.

My Policy Debate Paradigms fall in the Traditional Debate category. I look for quality of arguments over quantity. Although I classify myself as a Stock Issue judge, I am open to some Negative Kritiks and conterplans but Kritiks and counterplans must be directly linked to the Aff Case. I am not a fan of theory based affirmatives or alternate worlds and really hate performance debate. Spreading will cost you speaker points if not the round if I can not understand your case. No Open CX for me. No Prompting of Partners written or verbal. Make arguments clear. Evidence and cards should be followed by analytics but analytics without evidence is of little value in my book. Show me that you understand what you are reading and not just reading cards.

I don't profess to be a professional debate judge or coach. Unlikely do I understand many of the specific arguments (K or "kritik", for example). Please don't assume I understand any of your abbreviations or shortcuts. If you speak like an auctioneer, you will not help with my understanding - in real life, getting one or two points across is much more persuasive than exhaling 25 points which are incomprehensible.

There are no incompetent judges, only misinformed debate students who presume that the judges are unimportant to their success. I can only suggest that if you are pompous and humiliate your opponent, you will not go far in your round. Charm and intelligence are rewarded much more handsomely in this world than condescension towards others, especially judges. Please address your debate opponents, judges don't like being told how to vote as this is a sign of an attempt to break the fourth wall and shows weakness in the round, in my humble opinion. Attacking your opponent (ad hominem) is also a losing strategy. Judges are asked not to discuss winners or losers in the round directly with the students - if you wish to learn how you fared, read about it in the results as described by the judge.

If you hyperventilate, yell or scream, I may have to presume you need medical attention and will be tempted to dial 911. Please don't waste my time. I am volunteering my time to help your education and am typically not paid to be at your tournament. My child, probably like you, is a rising star 🌟 debate student in Northern California. Please be respectful of these things (as explained) and you will go far in the tournament and in your life. I do not need to be added to the chain of emails, as this is confusing to me and I want to be available to listen more to your presentation that get caught up in the details of the arguments. Last but not least, I prefer teams to time one another and agree upon using tag in cross-x before the debate has begun.

Competed: University of Minnesota
Coach (Present): Emporia State University; College Prep
Coached (Past): Augsburg College; Highland Park Senior High (MN)

PUBLIC FORUM

Although my primary background is in policy, I am familiar with the procedures of public forum and spent a season of my high school career competing in the format. Below are my answers to the suggested PF philosophy questions provided by the TOC.

Please share your opinions or beliefs about how the following play into a debate round: Speed of Delivery: Speed is fine so long as clarify doesn't suffer.

Format of Summary Speeches (line by line? big picture?):Both effective line by line and big picture storytelling are important to my ballot.

Role of the Final Focus: Providing a rubric/judge instruction for my ballot

Topicality: Generally these debates are done poorly, it's important to have a comparative metric for evaluating interpretations and a robust discussion of the various impacts to the violation. I do not view topicality in a purely "jurisdictional" way - offense/defense is important.

Plans: Not needed but not automatically disallowed.

Kritiks: Sure although just like any argument, it must be explained, applied, and impacted thoroughly.

Flowing/note-taking: I will flow the entirety of the debate.

Do you value argument over style? Style over argument? Argument and style equally? Quality and depth of argument is the primary thing I will evaluate, but style is not unimportant by any means.

If a team plans to win the debate on an argument, in your opinion does that argument have to be extended in the rebuttal or summary speeches? Yes.

POLICY

"I view my role in the debate not as arbiter of truth, but critic of argument, as such I attempt to divorce myself from relative "truth" values of arguments." - Chris Loghry

I like to see debaters deploying arguments that motivate and interest them.

I don’t call for many cards. This does not mean evidence quality does not matter, or that I don’t call cards often. What it does mean is: the debaters make the arguments, not the cards. I will not view them as placeholders for warranted explanation. Not every argument requires a card to answer.

Framing matters: provide me a macro-level filter through which to view the micro-components of the debate. The debates I find myself most frustrated with are the ones in which the 2NR and the 2AR have respectively delivered me 2NC #2 and 2AC #2 and left me to sort through the pieces. Rebuttalists that present a clear story while closing the right doors will be rewarded.

The more explicit you are with me in terms of my ballot, the better. This mostly goes for presumption and judge conditionality, but also for competing Frameworks/Role of the Ballots. If debaters are not explicit, there becomes no objective standard for me to use as a reference for when and where I infer these arguments.

Have a plan for Cross-X.

Things I like to see in cross-x: Asking precise, critical questions. Giving succinct, impactful answers. Writing down all concessions for utilization in the next speech.

Things I hate to see in cross-x: Ad-homs. Open-ended softballs. Questions that blatantly indicate a lack of flowing. Refusal to answer reasonable questions. Repetition of questions to avoid giving answers. Poorly-timed invocations of false ethos. 4-person shouting matches.

If you are reading critical literature, whether on the Affirmative or Negative, please explain and utilize your method. Make the links turn the case. Have a robust explanation of the alternative. Strive for internal, philosophical consistency. Your authors have particular theories of subjectivity, violence, etc., and I want to thear them; just remember that they all can and SHOULD be ACTIVELY applied broadly to frame many portions of the technical debate.

A speech doc is not a flow substitute.

Debate matters just as much to your opponents as it does to you, even if for different reasons. Be mindful of this and respect your competitors.

John Shackelford

Policy Coach: Park City, UT

***ONLINE DEBATE***

I keep my camera on as often as I can. I still try to look at faces during CX and rebuttals. Extra decimals if you try to put analytics in doc.

I end prep once the doc has been sent.

GO SLOWER

****TLDR IN BOLD****

Please include me in email chains during the debate (johnshackelf[at]gmail). I do not follow along with the speech doc during a speech, but sometimes I will follow along to check clipping and cross-ex questions about specific pieces of evidence.

Here is what an ideal debate looks like. (Heads up! I can be a silly goose, so the more you do this, the better I can judge you)

- Line by Line (Do it in order)

- Extending > reading a new card (Your better cards are in your first speech anyway. Tell me how the card is and how it frames the debate in your future analysis)

- More content >Less Jargon (avoid talking about the judge, another team, flows, yourselves. Focus on the substance. Avoid saying: special metaphors, Turns back, check back, the link check, Pulling or extending across, Voting up or down. They don’t exist.)

- Great Cross-examination (I am okay with tag team, I just find it unstrategic)

- Compare > description (Compare more, describe less)

- Overviews/Impact Calc (Focus on the core controversy of the debate. Offense wins)

- Engage > Exclude

- Clarity > Speed

- Making generics specific to the round

- Researched T Shells (Do work before reading T. I love T, but I have a standard on what is a good T debate)

- Arguments you can only read on this topic!!

Popular Q&A

- K/FW: More sympathetic to Ks that are unique to the topic. But I dig the 1 off FW strat or 9 off vs a K.

- Theory: Perfcon theory is a thing, condo theory is not a thing. I like cheating strats. I like it when people read theory against cheating strats too.

- Prep time: I stop prep time when you eject your jump drive or when you hit send for the email. I am probably the most annoying judge about this, but I am tired of teams stealing prep and I want to keep this round moving

- I flow on my computer

Want extra decimals?

Do what I say above, and have fun with it. I reward self-awareness, clash, sound research, humor, and bold decisions. It is all about how you play the game.

Cite like Michigan State and open source like Kentucky

Speaker Points-Scale - I'll do my best to adhere to the following unless otherwise instructed by a tournament's invite:

30-99%perfect

29.5-This is the best speech I will hear at this tournament, and probably at the following one as well.

29-I expect you to get a speaker award.

28.5-You're clearly in the top third of the speakers at the tournament.

28-You're around the upper middle (ish area)

27.5-You need some work, but generally, you're doing pretty well

27-You need some work

26.5-You don't know what you're doing at all

26 and lower-you've done something ethically wrong or obscenely offensive that is explained on the ballot.

All in all, debate in front of me if your panel was Mike Bausch, Mike Shackelford, Hannah Shoell, Catherine Shackelford, and Ian Beier

If you have any questions, then I would be more than happy to answer them

Mike Shackelford
Head Coach of Rowland Hall. I debated in college and have been a lab leader at CNDI, Michigan, and other camps. I've judged about 20 rounds the first semester.

Do what you do best. I’m comfortable with all arguments. Practice what you preach and debate how you would teach. Strive to make it the best debate possible.

Key Preferences & Beliefs
Debate is a game.
Literature determines fairness.
It’s better to engage than exclude.
Critique is a verb.
Defense is undervalued.

Judging Style
I flow on my computer. If you want a copy of my flow, just ask.
I think CX is very important.
I reward self-awareness, clash, good research, humor, and bold decisions.
Add me to the email chain: mikeshackelford(at)rowlandhall(dot)org

Feel free to ask.

Want something more specific? More absurd?

Debate in front of me as if this was your 9 judge panel:

Andre Washington, Ian Beier, Shunta Jordan, Maggie Berthiaume, Daryl Burch, Yao Yao Chen, Nicholas Miller, Christina Philips, jon sharp

If both teams agree, I will adopt the philosophy and personally impersonate any of my former students:

Ben Amiel, Andrew Arsht, David Bernstein, Madeline Brague, Julia Goldman, Emily Gordon, Adrian Gushin, Layla Hijjawi, Elliot Kovnick, Will Matheson, Ben McGraw, Corinne Sugino, Caitlin Walrath, Sydney Young (these are the former debaters with paradigms... you can also throw it back to any of my old school students).

LD Paradigm

Most of what is above will apply here below in terms of my expectations and preferences. I spend most of my time at tournaments judging policy debate rounds, however I do teach LD and judge practice debates in class. I try to keep on top of the arguments and developments in LD and likely am familiar with your arguments to some extent.

Theory: I'm unlikely to vote here. Most theory debates aren't impacted well and often put out on the silliest of points and used as a way to avoid substantive discussion of the topic. It has a time and a place. That time and place is the rare instance where your opponent has done something that makes it literally impossible for you to win. I would strongly prefer you go for substance over theory. Speaker points will reflect this preference.

Speed: Clarity > Speed. That should be a no-brainer. That being said, I'm sure I can flow you at whatever speed you feel is appropriate to convey your arguments.

Disclosure: I think it's uniformly good for large and small schools. I think it makes debate better. If you feel you have done a particularly good job disclosing arguments (for example, full case citations, tags, parameters, changes) and you point that out during the round I will likely give you an extra half of a point if I agree.

I debated in policy back in high school 30 years ago but I have not done it even since then. I will not comprehend if you spread and the points will not be taken.

My preference for a debate is Tabula Rasa with no pre-dispositions.

Debate it out within the realms of debate.

background:

--->brophy '18 (policy), cal '22, double 2'ed so no aff/neg sympathy, toc qual/coaches poll/tournament wins and all that stuff. i coach LD now so this is customized for that.

general:

---[1] ssrivastava@berkeley.edu - put me on the email chain

---[2] good debating outweighs any of my following argumentative preferences, my leanings are only relevant in borderline decisions where poor debating has left too many arguments unresolved and there's no other way to arbitrate other than defaulting to what i'm more convinced by.

---[3] always tech>truth as long as there are arguments

---[4] an argument has a claim and a warrant, a good one has an impact (some ev doesn't even meet this standard) - calling out 'non-arguments' is a sufficient answer until it becomes an argument (pls do this more? it's strategic and helpful for norm-setting - a lot of ev i'm reading is abysmal)

---[5] don't just tell me to read ev - do the actual debating and use good ev comparison in conjunction with that

---[6] slow down on theory. spreading your blocks ≠ debating. and if your opponent is incoherent spreading theory, don't ask them to say it slowly during cross ex - i only evaluate/flow what i can actually hear so you're only doing yourself a disadvantage

---[7] 'which cards did u skip' / 'can you send with analytics' / etc auto-caps speaks at 28.6 nonnegotiable

by argument:

k affs:

---> neg: k affs are cheating. fairness is an impact, but not always the most strategic one. debate is a game, answering args ≠ racist, the [insert fake word here] disad is probably stupid, TVA + SSD are super compelling to me, etc. I'm increasingly willing to vote on presumption vs affs that do/solve nothing and you will be heavily rewarded with speaks if you go for it. k v k can be fun or painful, just have actual answers to the perm.

---> aff: clever/creative t interps with strong defense, strong answers to SSD/TVA, and coherent offense is the best route in front of me. or, just impact turn everything with your thesis and win on the flow. please have real topic-specific AND lit-specific answers to SSD + TVA - i weigh those much higher than most judges, but am also down to discount them on stupid but poorly answered args like "micropolitics is a pre-requisite". vs the k, go for the perm it probably solves.

kritik:

--->aff vs k: most convincing args = particularity, falsifiability, impact turns, alt solvency attacks, and fw. pet peeve is people just saying 'weigh the case' when other interps have more strategic value. also i'm very down for fw no alts with good reasoning. a lot of k teams (not just psycho) make nonfalsifiable broad-sweeping claims so call that out (please do this more i am so ridiculously persuaded by it).

--->neg going for k: can be the worst debates, can be the best - up to you to decide. i'll have a hard time thinking a generic baudrillard debate is good, but neolib/security i'm very open to. surprisingly literate in a wide range of literature, but i'm not granting you the thesis of an entire book without you explaining it sufficiently (which, in ld, is almost impossible because of time constraints). utilize framework cleverly PLEASE

cp/da: my personal favorite strat. vs soft left affs sufficiency framing makes sense (especially if you bait 'step in the right direction'). smart adv cp's make me happy and will reward you with speaks. think about competition theory more - pdcp is very sloppily debated out. i'm very anti pics that are textually uncompetitive.

t: good for nit picky violations with good impact stories, undecided on reasonability (but more down to vote on it than the avg judge if well explained - esp if the only response is a 2 second 'causes intervention' arg - but tbf it's never well explained)

tricks/phil/friv: hate this but also if you can't answer this nonsense you probably deserve to lose

theory: in theory inf condo good, but i could be persuaded that the structure of LD makes this untrue. no 1ar theory makes a weird amount of sense to me. slow down and actually debate theory pls. pics are fun but theoretically more justifiable with solvency advocates.

decision time:

decision making: i first resolve quick arguments (technical drops or one side being clearly ahead) then I compare how much work I have to do for each side to grant the key argument pathways for their victory and vote for the team that requires the least work. there's almost always some work required - if there's not, then a) you're getting good speaks b) comes down to persuasive argument framing / judge instruction (i.e. which way to err on key args, how losing one key arg might implicate some other arg's probability, etc - basically closing doors).

tech>truth: the implication to this being true is limited by the debating done/argument presented, and everything is a sliding scale. dropping a solvency deficit doesn't mean the aff doesn't solve, it probably just means the aff only solves some percent of its advantages depending on the ev (unless it's articulated to implicate 100% of solvency or the argument lends itself towards a large solvency take out via evidence or warrants).

ev evaluation: good research sets you up to win debates. that being said, a clever 2ac analytic is the same in my mind to a card from a random blog with no author quals. just because you have evidence, does not make it a better argument. good ev + explanation > bad ev + good explanation > good ev + no explanation > bad ev + no explanation. resist debate's recent tendency towards awful evidence, but don't be scared to rely heavily on smart analytics.

misc: default to judge kick and sufficiency framing, long overviews are never helpful. the brightline on 2ar leeway is whether enough of the argument was in the 1ar to reasonably expect the 2nr to have predicted it. if i'm not flowing, you're not making arguments.

speaks: being a clear, loud, and snarky/clever presenter with judge instruction in final speeches is the most important for me. closing doors makes my decision easier (god please do this more i dont think ld'ers know how to close doors) and will be generously rewarded. research quality/innovative strategies would be the next most important. speaks inflation is probably inevitable and hurting certain debaters doesn't solve, so i'll default to the rough average at that tournament to form my scale.

Just explain your arguments well. don't speed talk, dont spread. I strongly believe that the ultimate objective of debate is lost if the listeners do not understand what you are trying to say. Inorder for me to judge effectively, I must understand what you say, your arguments and your supporting evidence. I will give you my rapt attention and commitment that I will listen to you very carefully, that I will flow and make every attempt to understand what you are saying. You inturn have to make a commitment that you will speak clearly and make better argumentation.

Hi,

I'm a parent judge who hasn't judged many rounds. Please don't spread because I won't be able to hear what you are saying. Make sure you explain things well, and be clear. Don't be disrespectful.

Thank you.

our team email is lowelldebatedocs@gmail.com

https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml

TLDR

Condo is probably bad. I don't like tricks and rude stuff. I don't like people beating their opponents down in a disrespectful manner. True champions find a way to win with style, finesse, and some measure of grace. Basically, "say what you mean, and mean what you say" in front of me. Kick outs and shifts are not received well. If you shift your position and the other team catches you, calls you on it, labels it a voter, impacts it, and you do not give that response serious consideration, you will have missed the opportunity to respond to something likely important in the decision. I prefer that debaters determine the issues in the round. My job is to evaluate how well, how clearly, how expertly, and how meaningfully the debaters present, refute, and summarize versus each other.

I like and am comfortable with crystal clear debaters and crystal-clear rebuttals. I am open to a lot of different types of discussions, and I'm excited to listen to what you bring to the debate space.

NO MATTER WHAT YOUR ARGUMENT, In a nutshell:

Tell Me What Your Argument Is

Tell Me Why I Should Prefer It

Tell Me Why If I Do Prefer Your Argument Why You Should Then Win The Debate---Some form of Impact Calculus/Weighting Magnitude, Probability and Time Frame-ish args are goods.

If you think you are really winning something, "sit on it" and explain why you win.

Updated 1/05/2024

Overview: I firmly believe that policy debate is first and foremost a communication activity. Consequently, oral presentation plays a large factor in my adjudication process. I focus on the “story” of the debate, but line-byline refutation can be a component of that. Know your order before you announce it. Don't change the order after you announce it. Clearly articulated arguments at any speed can be evaluated. Inarticulate utterings that cannot be understood cannot be evaluated. Especially in online debates. Slow down and be really clear on why you are winning. Be quick, but don't hurry. I will not tolerate rudeness. Cross X is binding. I don’t like “camp games” that steal time. I see you. Keep it to a minimum. If there is a mistake or misunderstanding just apologize. Saying you are sorry is often overlooked. You might clean it up well and still be in the debate. At the very least, you will save yourself low speaks if you make an honest effort to play it smart and on the level.

My paradigm biggies are as follows:

1. I agree that conditionality is "probably" bad. So, its "probably" not a bad idea to speak to this and support reasons why I might or might not vote on this---if it becomes an issue. Don’t just wait to see what I’ll do. In a vacuum of no direction on a debate argument, I am left to ignore the argument or evaluate by my own standards. I prefer to not do this. Its your debate. Clean it up. As far as just throwing out a bunch of stuff and then dropping it as a strategy---it does not usually go very well. I do not automatically judge kick. If you run 10 off, then win 10 off that do not contradict each other. Most importantly, be sure that you are clear as crystal even attempting it. When you time skew and then kick out, I am predisposed to vote for the other team if they argue time shew is a reason to reject the side that initiates such practices in the debate space. Absent compelling reasons why I should not do this--that's my predisposition. Again, its your debate so remember to tell me as the judge why I should prefer you style or point of view. Say what you mean and mean what you say is always best---as long as you are not being rude to your opponents. Practice civility always in debate rounds.

2. Topical Counterplans are probably not OK. If at the end of the round I have been effectively persuaded that there are two Affirmative teams, I'll probably vote Affirmative. Give me reasons to not do so, if this is part of your normal strategy. Explain why in a manner that includes what the AFF is doing and WHY even a topical CPLAN is preferred.

3. I prefer not to judge topicality debates. If you're ahead on it, explain to me why it’s important to care about this, or I might not understand why to vote on it. Again, compare your position to your opponents and why your side should win.

4. I enjoy case debates. Solidly clear, irrefutably presented and reasonably current inherency evidence could really win a debate. Really. Postdating sources is good. Supported evidence indicts are good. If you introduce an ethics challenge into a debate round, be prepared to win it. The penalty for challenging someone in such a manner seems to be leading toward the initiator losing the round if they lose their challenge.

5. Kritikal arguments on both AFF and NEG are fine, but pay close attention to the way you communicate your positions (clear and concise!).

6. The topic should be debated, but how you approach the resolution, and how you approach debate generally (content, style, etc.), is left up to the debaters.

7. If you're Negative, show me how your approach is specific to this Affirmative. Be thoughtful in explaining what a vote for your side means and why I should endorse it. Ask me to vote for your side. Don't completely on-face grant the 1AC in favor of pre-set tangentially related points and expect me to get why that means the Negative wins the debate. Be particularly clear on fairness and why ground is or isn't lost and warrants a decision. These are usually not presented clearly and powerfully. And without why they should matter, I tend to be persuaded by other issues

8. I appreciate when the AFF and NEG teams sit on the correct sides of the room with respect to the judge. Otherwise, I might want to vote for someone but accidentally vote for the wrong team. If you're not on the proper side of the room, at least say in your speech which side of the debate you represent and why you think your side should win the debate. That is taken for granted a lot. :)

Best,

Marna Weston

Put <lowelldebatedocs[at]gmail.com> on the email chain. My personal email is <etothemw[at]gmail.com>

I'm a high school English teacher in SF who coached a Policy Debate team for ten years in the Bay Area Urban Debate League (BAUDL). I understand Policy Debate, but prefer speakers don't spread.

I'm looking to vote for a good Affirmative case on Criminal Justice Reform, but the analysis and connecting of dots is on you, Affirmative. I appreciate Kritiks but, again, the burden is on the Negative to show serious ideological flaws in the case. I care less about the evidence you have, and more about how you use it. You must explain to me why your evidence is superior and why you arguments are more important.

Email me if you have questions and please put me on the chain: dylan.willett8 at gmail dot com as well as taiwanheg@gmail.com. I coach for the Asian Debate League. I debated for UMKC. In college, I mostly went for framework, topic DAs, and an assortment of topic critiques. As a coach I mostly have spent the last year working on random policy stuff, but have spent a lot of time working with critical approaches to the topic as well.

Be bold, read something new, it will be rewarded if you do it well. Analysis of evidence is important. I have found that over the past few years I have grown my appreciation for more of the policy side of research not in an ideological lean, but rather I am not starting from negative with process counterplans, I appreciate clever disadvantages, etc. If you have good cards, I am more willing to reward that research and if you do something new, I will definitely be happy.

I begin my decisions by attempting to identify what the most important arguments are, who won them, and how they implicate the rest of the debate. The more judge instruction, including dictating where I should begin my decision by showing me what is most important will help determine the lens of how I read the rest of the arguments

I find that I am really annoyed by how frequently teams are asking major flow clarifications like sending a new file that removes the evidence that was skipped. Please just flow, if there is an actual issue that warrants a question its obviously ok, but in most situations it comes across as not paying attention to the speeches which is a bit frustrating.

I like good, strategic cross-ex. If you pay attention and prepare for your cx, it pays dividens in points and ballots. Have a plan. Separate yourself and your arguments here!

I am a big fan of case debates that consist of a lot of offense – impact turns or link turns are always better than just pulling from an impact d file.

I think that I mostly lean negative on theory arguments – I would be really sad if I had to parse through a huge theory debate like condo, but am willing. I think I start from a predisposition that condo, PICs, etc are okay, and change based off the theory debate as it develops. I think theory is an important part of an affirmative strategy versus good, and especially cheaty, counterplans. I don't think education is a super persuasive argument in theory debates I have found. Way easier to go for some type of fairness argument and compare internal links versus going for some abstract notion about how conditionality benefits or hurts "advocacy skills".

In framework debates, the best teams spend a lot of their speeches on these flows answering the nuanced developments of their opponents. AFF or NEG teams that just say a different wording of their original offense in each speech are setting themselves up to lose. I am interested in hearing what debates would look like under each model. I like education arguments that are contextual to the topic and clever TVAs and impact turns are good ways to get my ballot while making the debate less stale. I find the framework teams that lose my ballot most are those that refuse to turn (on the link level or impact level, in appropriate manner) AFF offense. I find the K AFF teams that lose my ballot most are those that don't double down on their offense and explain how the NEGs impacts fit in your depiction of how debate operates.

Ks, DAs, CPs, T, FW, etc are all fine to read and impact turn – as long as I am judging a round where there is some attention to strategy and arguments are being developed, I will be happy. Definitely willing to vote on zero risk of a link.

If you keep up with news you will probably receive a winning ballot from me. Please don’t run a case without knowing the most current info on your topic.

I am a new parent judge. I am not very experienced at judging policy debate and I would prefer that you speak slow enough for me to understand.

Dislike fast speak. If I cannot understand, then the point is lost.

I am a parent judge who has judged parliamentary and policy debate before for 1 year.

I have judged 2 rounds on the arms sales topic this year.

I prefer slow speaking and explaining. I prefer a stock issue debate.

I am a parent judge with 2 years of experience judging policy.

l understand basic policy arguments, but you need to explain things really well.

I understand stock issues.

Please speak slowly and do a lot of explaining about each arguments.

I usually evaluate rounds based on key arguments. One strong argument is better than a lot of weak argument.