He/Him

Rowland Hall '20, Georgetown '24

Add me to the email chain: bamiel01@gmail.com

Debate is a competitive activity where the ballot grants a win or a loss based on the quality of debating rather than the truth of the arguments presented

I'll vote for anything if you win it

I default to no judge kick sans any instruction

I am primarily a policymaker judge, with a stock issues influence. If you have no idea what this means, you need to ask your coach. Whether you know what it means or not, everyone needs to learn how to adapt to judges.

While I am an experienced policy debater, after my debate career, I experienced a traumatic brain injury. This makes some things harder, but in all reality, I think you should debate this way anyway. EXPLAIN your knowledge of every piece of evidence or analytic that you bring to the table. ARTICULATE/EMPHASIZE the taglines and analytics, because if I can't flow it, you don't get credit for it. What's more, part of my brain trauma was to the right hemisphere which impacts my understanding of most Kritiks, so it's safer not to run Ks in front of me, sorry! I thoroughly understand UTIL.

I'm mean with speaker points. I feel that 30 speaks should be triumphant, not expected. HUGE bonus points if you can make me laugh, if you make fun of someone, if you reference Psych, quote Brian Regan, and if you keep speech times short. You absolutely should not feel like you need to ever fill up all of the speech time, say what you need to say; if it takes all 8/5 minutes, great, if not, perfect, sit down. Ask questions. If you don't know if something is allowed, try it anyway.

P.S. Speechdrop.net is my favorite way of sharing evidence.

I am a debater for Weber State University and I have done debate for Four years and counting.

Historically I have voted tech over truth, and good T and Politics DA's are my guilty pleasure. However, that was only because either the Framework team was really good or the K team was really bad. I have always been under the presumption of judge instruction over strict morals, so if you tell me how and why I should vote a certain way in a round I'll buy that more that education claims to the academia.

I'm OK with tag team cross-ex and I don't care about heated debates. it's a moot point to try and police those who have historically struggled in obtaining and securing their voices in this space because: A. they will always say want they are gonna say, and B. doing so creates more harm then good. it's a debate, not a dialogue, I don't care that their interrupting you just like I won't care when you call them out for their own agreeegisnes.

I don't consider sending files as part of prep, just don't be egregious. I doubt that will be a problem sense most tournaments including this one is online. but, I digress.

I dictate points on speaker presentation, argumentation, and not everything has a third point. so IF you loose the round but get a thirty. reevaluate your strategy.

Fiat/Presumption: All my understanding of debate comes from the core concept that the AFF has the burden of proof and the NEG has the burden of rejoinder. I believe that presumption comes from the burden of rejoinder and is not an inherent fact of the negatives tool belt. thats why AFF teams can win on a "try or die" claims or turns to T or Framework. this also extends to Fiat, as if the NEG team goes for a CP or an Alternative, switch side arguments dictate that presumption flips AFF, because the negative team has encroached of the burden of proof (Specifically solvency). but negative teams don't get fiat, that just doesn't make sense. so instead they get alt benefit claims like education, structural fairness, and so on. So to counteract this, AFF teams should in theory get both Fiat and Presumption. This Checks and abuse claims to perms from the negative team because AFF teams don't need to go for it to win, it's merely to test the legitimacy of the CP or alterative to just as if the NEG team would run T or Case turns to test the legitimacy of the AFF. thats why you hear the phrase, the perm is a test of mutual exclusivity. it's this understanding that I believe AFF teams inherently start the round with Fiat, as an extension of the burden of proof. the same as I view presumption as an extension of the burden of rejoinder. However, sense I understand this framing to be just that, a theory. I highly prefer that in round you tell me exactly what I just said, the opposite, or something entirely different depending on your strategy. remember, judge instruction above all else.

AFF: Don't drop case, it's literally your only weapon in this debate that you have, it should be at the top of your speech dock before anything else and you should use in to frame the rest of your arguments on any other flow.

K AFF: Same as above, don't forget to extend your ROB in the 1AC on Framework, pro tip.

T: the interpretation is (at least as I feel) one of the strongest arguments on the T flow, it's essentially the uniqueness to any other argument. it's the inherent truth to the round. if you don't have a counter interp or maintain the one you already placed by dumb shadow extension, it's going to be nigh impossible to win the round.

K: if your going to run a K of any kind, make sure it has an alternative, if not, it's just a case turn and a reason to not vote AFF over a reason to vote NEG.

CP: Look above, only this time, if you don't have a DA or case turn attached to it, I might as well vote AFF because "solving Better" doesn't make sense to me because the AFF is the one with the burden of proof, not the negative.

DA: Link, Impact, Implication. The core to any argument, focus on fundamentals over high theory that half of all debaters, including those at the NDT or CEDA couldn't even articulate well.

REMEMBER - JUDGE INSTRUCTION ABOVE ALL ELSE, HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO VOTE FOR YOU IF YOU DON'T TELL ME HOW!!!!

Rowland Hall 20 ---> BC 24

Yes I want to be on the email chain: retepchase1234@gmail.com

People I enjoyed having in the back: Chris Paredes(all-time ordinal 1), Whitt Whitmore, Kyle Joseph, Jasmine Stidham, Michael Obuchi, Graysen Stille, Grace Kuang, Christina Phillips.

General thoughts:

-Tech>Truth (obviously no racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism good in front of me or in general).

- Debate is a competitive activity where the ballot grants a win or loss based on the quality of debating instead of the arguments or debaters presented.

-I think fairness is an impact but I do not think it is the best nor a good impact in every scenario.

Quick and dirty:

not your Baudrillard -----------------------x---your Baudrillard

fw -----x------------------------k/other strat v k aff

DaCP ---x----------------------k

policy aff-----x--------------------k aff

condo good-----x--------------------condo bad

tech---------x--------------------truth

quality ev-----------x------------------quantity ev

fairness -----------------x---------------education

ptx good---------x----------------------ptx bad

generics-------------------------x-------case specifc strat

process CPs good---------x-----------------process CPs bad

reasonability ------------x-------------------competing interps

reject the arg -----------x------------------reject the team

Ks: I did not read Ks in high school. I like to think I hold aff teams to a high standard against the k. Fw is super important, don't just read a generic shell. I have the least amount of practice with anti-blackness arguments and I am probably not the best judge for these rounds. It's definitely your Baudrillard. One note, please don't read satire in front of me, nobody but you will have fun and your speaks will reflect it.

Planless Affs/FW: As I said above I think debate is a competitive activity and I think that fairness is an impact but I do think we can gain something meaningful from debate whether that's portable skills or something else. Planless affs are strategic and if they are what you usually read then you should read them in front of me. I will hold negative teams to a high standard on FW and I would happily vote for a k aff. However, when left to my own devices, I lean neg on the majority of FW questions. I think both teams need to slow down substantially in FW debates, especially 2as (don't just throw out a bunch of DAs and expect me to know what they mean).

Planless Affs v Ks: If this is what you do best then do it, and I will do my best to adjudicate the round. That being said, I don’t think this is the best strategy. In general, I think planless affs don't get perms but you have to make and defend that argument.

Planless Affs v DAs: I like these strats. These aren't strategic but don't think you have to read a K against a planless aff because you have nothing else to read. I am willing and ready to pull the trigger on a mishandled CP and/or DA. They are also fun to watch.

DAs: I like DAs. I think negative teams need to do more than just card dump in the block, and they must have a big case push in both the block and the 2nr. I think defensive arguments are undervalued. Smart affirmative teams will have a specific strat against each DA with offense and defense. I think LTs are especially convincing against most DAs. I am a big fan of politics DAs.

CPs: I like CPs. If you go for a solvency deficit against the CP and the neg goes for a solvency deficit against the aff, weigh their relative impacts against each other. I think the literature around the cp determines its fairness. I will always default to judge kick unless instructed otherwise.<3

Topicality: I have little topic knowledge. I think limits are really convincing on the negative and I think reasonability is very convincing on the aff. I default to competing interpretations.

Theory/Process CPs: Dropped theory is a voter. I lean negative on condo. I generally think negative teams get infinite condo, but I can be persuaded otherwise. I don't like aspec but if they drop it I'll vote on it. However, I think a 1ar answer, even when dropped in the 2ac, is usually enough to convince me to not vote neg on a theory violation. I tend to lean more towards reject the argument not the team in most actual theory debates and I don't ever think it should be your main strategy. No RVIs should go without saying.

If you shout out Alexa Tsai in any capacity in any speech you will get +0.1 speaks

+.1 speaks if you open source

don't be a dick

Hello! My name is Maximus, call me Max for short please.

I graduated from Sky View High School this year where I competed in Debate for 1.5 years doing PF.

I'm fine with spreading, just slow down for taglines and other important information.

I really like impact calc.

Steven Doctorman

Rowland Hall '20

JHU '24

Put me on the chain: stevendoctorman1@gmail.com

Do what you do best. I will try to avoid letting my predispositions influence my decision.

My paradigm should be pretty similar to: Mike Shackelford, David Bernstein, John Shackelford, Emily Gordon, Ian Beier, Chris Parades, Sydney Young, Adrian Gushin, and Ben Amiel.

Top Level

Debate is a game.

Tech>Truth, but it's easier to debate with true arguments and well-warranted cards.

Literature determines fairness.

The more specific, the better.

Debate should be more off the flow than computers.

Turn on your cameras! I will give lower speaks to grey squares.

Policy Affs:

I reward innovative plans - the smartest affs are predicated on mechanism, not impact.

For soft left, specific impact Ks or framing arguments (ie based in unique literature like a policy setcol aff) are great.

T

Limits should be based in a concrete caselist of legitimate potential cases.

Creative aff mechanisms should be rewarded, not excluded arbitrarily.

Predictable limits matter more than limits solely for the sake of limits.

No Plan/K Affs

AFF:

Affirmatives should try to be related to the resolution in some way. Teams should articulate and defend specific reasons why they can't/shouldn't defend the resolution. "The USFG's bad" or "the system sucks" is not a compelling warrant. You should win your model of debate is superior.

I prefer debates about the structures of debate, not the individual identities within debate.

I love K Affs that lean on reasonable counterinterps couched in nuanced DA analysis opposed to affs that impact turn everything. Redefining the words in the resolution to contextualize your counterinterp certainly helps to mitigate limits or predictability offense on framework.

Please don't read generic 2AR blocks.

No plantext, no perm vs Ks.

NEG:

Fairness is not automatically an impact. I'm always willing to vote for fairness, but you have to actually win it beyond asserting "debate is good."

Clash impacts are great; specific examples for why the skills we inculcate matter for the outside world are even better.

Movements DA is slept on.

A well debated Cap or Setcol K is sometimes better than framework, especially if the 2AC blows it off. Don't be afraid to dust off your backfiles and read that one weird yet specific K you have.

I tend to lean neg on PICs v K affs.

CPs

CP legitimacy is determined on a case-by-case basis. Specific theory interps are substantially better than a generic block.

Start tech-y perms earlier rather than later. Flash perm texts.

Literature determines predictability.

Competition debate should be more than just certainty or immediacy.

Judge kick by default unless told otherwise.

DAs

No strong opinion for uniqueness or link first.

0 risk is possible.

Ks

TL;DR: If you have sufficiently researched the literature behind the critique seriously and have a good contextualized argument for why that lens pertains to the aff, then I am a good judge for you. If you want to be lazy and avoid specific case research so you can brute force ballots with links to fiat/the state or general K chicanery, I'm not the best.

I will not intervene and explain the K to myself if not done in the round.

I shouldn't need a new flow for the overview.

1 card Ks are silly. Invest the time to read a full 1NC shell or don't read it.

Quoting or recutting 1AC evidence when doing link analysis is top-tier.

Your alt should have a specific mechanism and clear explanation throughout the debate.

I'll have a high threshold for K tricks being "dropped" in the 1AR.

Progress possible / perms are defense. Progress good / case outweighs are offense. Offense wins debates, not defense.

Procedurals/Theory

Condo is good but I will vote otherwise. Most other theory arguments are a reason to reject the argument, not the team.

Spec/vagueness is awful. Hide ASPEC on a T-shell and don't flash it at the risk of your speaks.

Slow down for long, multi-point theory debates.

Misc

Bonus speaker points for strong CX presence or well contextualized humor. Jokes about former RoHo debaters will be rewarded.

+0.3 speaks for having a fully open-sourced wiki and telling me you uploaded the round's docs pre-rfd. Disclosure is good.

Speed should be limited by clarity. This should be a given. If I clear you twice and still don't understand you, you're capped at a 28.

I will be extremely hesitant to vote on arguments like death good, Spark, Wipeout, etc. Read them at your own risk.

No inserting re-highlightings. You gotta read it.

I won't vote on arguments based on events outside of the debate.

Speech docs are not an excuse not to flow - asking what cards were read in CX will lose you speaks.

I am more traditional. I enjoy statistics from reputable sources that support your case. I judge based on who persuades me to their side. I prefer you not to spread. I can follow most of your case if you spread, but i have had people go to fast and they only way I understood their case was on cross ex. If i cannot understand you it will be hard for you to win. I have been judging speech and debate events for 7-8 years and have judged most events.

It's your round.

Updated 10/1/20 for UK

nicholasjlassen@gmail.com please include me on the email chain- you're also welcome to email me for any other questions as well

I debated in high school and college and I am the current head coach at Bingham HS in South Jordan, UT.

College Topic: I am well versed in debate but relatively new to this topic. Please explain important acronyms the first time you use them.

High School Topic: I have several tournaments on this topic already and I am pretty familiar with the literature base.

Theory - I really enjoy a good topicality debate. However, my expectation for the negative to win is that they can clearly define the impacts of the argument i.e. how has the aff been unfair to you directly, what grounds have been lost, why is your model for education better? I dislike time suck theory that you are never going to go for-i.e. things like incredibly thin pics such as capitalize the L in the word lands and disclosure theory. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you want me to vote on theory, you have to be good at articulating the impacts.

CP's - I believe that counter plans really need to be mutually exclusive either through actor or avoidance of a DA or something or else, otherwise it's really easy to buy the affirmatives claims of the perm. The permutation should be a test of competition towards the counterplan. In the plan v counterplan debate it is important to prove why your side is net beneficial either through some DA story or winning some solvency mitigation towards the aff or the CP.

DA's - My expectation on the DA debate is really articulate the link story. I think a lot of generic da's are easy to non/unique out of. As far as the link story goes, I need a good internal link chain. Please make sure that I can see how we get from the aff to point b and then point c.

Politics - I have a strong tendency to default to more recent evidence on politics disads. This can definitely create a research burden but if you want to run politics then you should know that this means that a lot of the time, it boils down to a recency/card quality debate.

K's

Aff - I want to know that your K aff means something. I am much more likely to buy into your criticism if there is some sort of personal connection. Make sure you are ready for the framework debate. I need to know why your framework is better for education than the negative or why I should choose to recognize your role of the ballot versus theirs.

Neg - I am open to most K's on the neg. I know it practically impossible to have hyper specific link cards for every aff. But with that in mind, please articulate how the aff links through a thorough analysis. Please make sure that you articulate the alternative well if you want to go for it -I want to know what the world of the alternative looks like and what happens when I sign my ballot neg. If I am left confused about what the world of the alt looks like, it will be hard for you to win the debate.

Method v Method

The one point I want to make here is that I have a higher threshold for voting on the permutation then i do in a plan v cp debate. I hold the aff to a similar burden as the negative, I would not let them just stand up and coopt your advocacy so I most likely wont let you stand up and just say perm do both and gain 100% access to their advocacy. I want the competing ideologies weighed against each other and to know why your world is "better" then the opposing teams.

Please don't be rude, disrespectful, racist, sexist, transphobic, etc. I will doc your speaks and most likely drop you. It's not welcome in debate or in society overall.

Well, I had a much more detailed paradigm here but it has somehow disappeared.

I´m tabula rosa and a policy maker. Competed in policy in HS and coach now. Make sure you have clear impact calc. and clash. I don't like tag teaming during cross. Some speed is ok but don´t try to spread the other team out of the round you will likely lose clarity in the process and some arguments may be missed on my flow. Remember to persuade me, analyze your evidence and explain its meaning within the round clearly do not assume your evidence speaks for itself.

Andres Torres (he/him)

Rowland Hall '20, Pomona '24.

email: attorres02@gmail.com

General/Topic Notes: Debated policy for 4 years at roho and now study Politics, philosophy, and economics at Pomona. I haven't judged much if at all on the CJR topic so please explain technical acronyms and the like as much as necessary. Also, I understand tech issues might be rampant during the online process, and while I'd like to think my connection is quite good, I'd still respect it if you all could respect and extend the community expectations of dealing with tech issues to everyone involved in the round.

Generally: Offense is good. Debate is a game. Tech mostly better than truth. Ev quality >>>> quantity.

Ks/K affs.

Simply put, if you run them, run them well. I have some background in the literature but not a ton, so please don't expect me to instantly understand the super-specific thesis of an offshoot of a niche philosophical theory. That said though, Ks should ideally have well-articulated links contextualized to the aff otherwise it'll just be really boring--engagement is good. And while I might still vote for a generic K shell with hyperbroad links if you debate it well enough, I won't be the happiest about it.

Neg Framework should be very clearly articulated and be well contextualized to the K in order to justify why the aff can't weigh their impacts. I generally think spending a decent amount of time on FW is good especially if your alt is weak.

Make sure you talk about your impact. Turns case or root cause can be convincing.

For the affs -- I'm cool with them as long as you convey a good reason for why you do not defend the topic. I'll say that I was generally a very policy person for the entirety of my high school career, but I can respect and understand the pedagogical value of K affs if done well (and I think they can be done very well) but my threshold might be somewhat high. Also/subsequently, please engage Framework in an in-depth manner honestly that's probably the thing I wish for most out of these debates.

Theory

Somewhat neg leaning. Initial predispositions are condo good, judge kick default, reject the arg, not the team typically true. All of these can change depending on the round.

T

Given that I am not versed well in this topic, T might not be the best strat in front of me. Although, I can be convinced by a direct interpretation/violation with offense for why the aff's model is bad. For affs, I think we meets and reasonability can be quite convincing, but please defend your model as well.

Please no ASPEC.

CPs

Go for it. Always love a good adv counterplan + da combo, but sometimes process/somewhat cheaty counterplans with internal net benefits get the job done. Still, solid ev and solvency advocates are greatly appreciated and will put you far ahead in my books. Just prove the aff's not the best possible idea and establish competition and you're set. Affs, prove the opposite.

DAs

Love 'em, most of my debates in high school centered on them. Neg teams should tell a concrete story with your DAs. It's more than likely you might not have the most specific links or contextualization to a specific aff, but I always appreciate some solid spin on a generic DA as long as it's argued well. Impact calc is necessary. Turns are good for both teams. Just have a solid back and forth debate on both sides that tells a coherent narrative. Zero risk probably a thing, just rare.

TLDR: You do you just do it well. Be nice AND competitive. Also, open source is cool.