Hi, my name is Maddie (she/her). I did mostly PF and a little LD in high school and now I am on the Northeastern University debate team (APDA circuit).

1. I vote most on values and weighing. Collapse your arguments and go for what you think will win you the round best. A dropped argument will NOT lose you the round automatically. Make sure you have strong link chains in your contentions that you choose to expand on.

2. Don’t be rude. I will take off speaks. Assertive not aggressive.

3. Please signpost and go down the flow. I allow off-time roadmaps but keep them short and concise and actually follow it if you give me one.

4. I will not evaluate new args made in final speeches

5. You can speak fast but NO spreading (this isn’t policy). I will yell clear if you are going too fast and I don’t do email chains so, again, do not spread. It is especially hard with internet debate.

6. I really LOVE progressive arguments but I also appreciate a good traditional round. Most of my local circuits during high school were very traditional. I will not give you the win just because you have a progressive arg. Explain why it matters and weigh the same you would a normal round. Clash is most important.

1. Counterplans: good with these

2. K’s: *mostly understood*

3. T shells: I didn’t run these and I know next to nothing about them. If you run them crystallize plz :)). Don’t run them just to scare your opponents. Seriously, I can tell.

4. Joke cases/performance cases: feel free to run anything that will make me laugh.

7. Trigger warnings: Use them, even if you have any doubt that your case might need them. Trigger warn ANYTHING that has to do with COVID-19.

8. I don’t flow cross so if you want me to flow it bring it up again in your next speech.

9. I start at 28 for speaks (bc lets face it that’s the new average) and adjust it as the round goes on. I am not afraid to give away the perfect 30 but your speaking and argumentation should be next to flawless. I really only go below 26 if you were a jerk during the round. I have no problem absolutely tanking your speaks if you’re mean or disrespectful to me or your opponents.

10. If time allows I love giving in-person RFDs but if not feel free to come up and ask me questions after the round. Just don’t try to argue with my decision because I probably won’t change my mind.

11. Finally, I understand what it is like to be a kid from a public school and hit a private school kid whose coach wrote their case for them. For this reason, I can usually see right through people not understanding their own case. It will benefit you if you run your OWN Case that you fully understand.

Elizabeth (she/her), Bergen County Academies '20

Contact: elizabethlee@cmu.edu

See detailed paradigm here.

UPENN UPDATE: I haven't judged VLD or heard spreading in a year. I will probably be fine with most rounds, but if I ask you to slow down, PLEASE DO SO.

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LD TL;DR

Def read the "I won’t vote on:" section.

I enjoy K's. I don't enjoy blippy phil justifications and theory-heavy AC/NCs.

I will vote on (almost) anything. While I won't increase/decrease your speaks just because you read something I like/dislike, my ability to evaluate def varies with args.

Assume I don't know topic lit.

LD Prefs shortcut

1/2- K, Phil

3/4- Non-T, Theory

4/5- LARP

5/strike - tricks/theory heavy strats

I won’t vote on:

• sexist/homophobic/racist argumentation
• theory interp or violation that involves policing the appearance or clothing of an opponent. If you’re unsure about your interp, ask before the round.
• theory args without voter implications (fairness/education/etc.) by the end of the round. I don't have a default for assigning voters.
• "give me X speaker points"= no

I am a parent judge -- I will not evaluate the following arguments

K, Phil, T/Theory, Tricks, Plan Affs,

Dont spread in front of me please I am not accustomed to it.

I am a traditional judge -- focus on framing and how your offense links -- you win the flow based off of the framing

I look for persuasive, evidence-based arguments. For example, if your opponent uses your card against you, beware that might be outcome determinative unless you find a way to rebut.

I think extinction debates are silly -- I will likely err to the side that uses probability rather than defaulting to the biggest impact

Katy Taylor 20'

UC Berkeley 24'

popoviciann4@gmail.com

TLDR: do what you want it’s ur round, framing is important

I did both LD and policy in high school and was a 2N, 2A and double 2 at points throughout (2N for life tho) I was pretty flex In both activities but leaned more toward the K in LD so no matter what strat u go for I generally think I have an alright sense of what you’re doing. The line by line is important. Bad arguments are still arguments, even if it’s stupid, if u drop it I’ll have to defer to the shitty arguments, so just answer stuff

I like a good K debate, that being said, Kritiks need a link and a thesis that actually indicts the assumptions of the aff, just saying state bad is prob not gonna get u anywhere. I feel like most K debaters don’t know what’s going on and the aff can win if they just use their aff to make smart answers rather than reading their schools ten year old backfiles

Please read disads, ngl uniqueness doesn’t really overwhelm the link

Non T affs- there should be some relation to the topic and a method for whatever ur aff is looking to solve. Do the reasonability debate well. if ur going for T against a K aff, education impacts are more persuasive imo

In method debates, you need a very thorough explanation of why the aff shouldn’t get a perm cuz normally it does

Counter plans need competition and condo is normally good unless it’s like super abusive except I think I have more leniency for condo bad in LD, but if ur reading condo bad against like one off then bruh

CX is binding and the most entertaining part of debate for me so be a smart ass if u want, I was a little shit during CX every time so don’t feel bad just don’t be blatantly rude

I prefer fast debate but that shouldn’t sacrifice ur clarity. You’ll get higher speaks if ur slow and concise rather than excessively stammering over ur words cuz ur going too fast to handle.

If ur clipping cards/ lying about what ur evidence says I expect ur opponents to call u out and if u say something fucked up ur taking an L

(For LD) I’m not the judge for you if ur strat is reading tricks bc I generally don’t like it but also don’t really know how it works so u prob won’t want me judging this anyway. I don’t like theory but if you win it I’ll vote on it. I prob won’t vote on an RVI on either theory or T

I debated policy in high school and college (Pitt), and coached college policy for ten years, but haven’t coached college level in a long time. Started coaching again for my kids in middle and high school. I also teach in a comm program (UMW). I have been working with my son's team for the past few years.

Email chain: rhetorrao@gmail.com

Pronouns: he/him

I am most comfortable with a traditional policy-like strategy. The biggest problem I have seen in LD debates is not properly weighing and explaining how positions interact. I am not a fan of most K affs. As long as you are able to explain it with clear links to the resolution then I am open to it. On the neg make it clear.

I really do not like frivolous theory, and never enjoy when a debate ends with messy theory. Definitely not the judge for a tricks debate.

Make sure you are actually flowing, and not just relying on a speech doc. I am fine with speed- just make sure you are clear.

Finally, rude people are not fun to listen to, and I have little tolerance for a more experienced debater bullying or beating up on someone who is learning how to enjoy the activity. Make good arguments, test ideas, and have fun.

About me: I am a parent judge in LD, PF, and Parli. My professional background is in IT.

Basics:

• Tell me why and on what grounds you’re winning -- this matters a lot
• Tell me how I should evaluate the round. Give me the standards
• ALWAYS make comparative claims about the other teams evidence & arguments (in relation to yours). Direct clash is important
• Speed is good, but clarity is far better. Be efficient with your speeches. If you can’t speak quickly without slurring, don’t speak quickly
• LD and Policy Specific -- Favorite strats to least favorite. Respect this order, but avoid if possible.
• Politics/Case
• Impact turning the whole case
• Topic specific T
• Politics/Process CP
• PIC with internal net benefit
• Ks
• Be nice. I will not give good speaks to people who act inappropriately in rounds or to their partners/team. Being offensive is not funny. I refuse to accept abuse in round.

General

Performance/Non-traditional: I default to traditional.

Speaks: 28 is average. I doubt you'll get a 30. Try not to talk into your paper/flows/laptop because I won't say "louder" unless it's really extreme and I might be missing arguments. Speak clearly and persuasively.

Please be on time for check-in. Also if you're interested in college debate, I'd love to talk to you about Samford debate!!

If you have any questions about things not on my paradigm, feel free to ask before the round or email me.

Email: joeytarnowski@gmail.com

he/him

Background

Policy debate at Samford (class of 24), qualified to NDT 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

4 years of LD in high school

Judging

Don't say/run things that are egregiously offensive, i.e. racism/sexism/etc. good, death good, etc.

I would recommend starting off your speech at like 75-80% speed to give me a second to adjust before you build up to full speed. Clear differentiation between tags and the card body is also appreciated.

I do a lot of work on both the policy and critical side of debate in college. I generally am of the predisposition that the aff should defend some implementation of the resolution, the specifics of what that may mean is flexible, but choosing to mostly or entirely jettison the resolution is not the best strategy in front of me. I think Ks on the neg are most successful when forwarding a nuanced indict of some underlying assumptions/mechanisms of the aff, and that affs are typically most successful in reasons why the neg is not able to explain key portions of the aff and leveraging that against the K's explanation of the world.

I'm generally more neg leaning on CP theory debates and typically default heavily to reasonability and rejecting the argument, but I think especially egregious practices can make me swing more toward the middle on issues like condo (i.e. 2NC CPs out of straight turns or kicking planks on CPs with a ton of planks that do a ton of different things). Love a good impact turn debate, hate a stale impact turn debate. Otherwise I don't have any especially notable preferences when it comes to policy arguments, impact calc at the top is always good, evidence comparison is great, etc.

I'm an ok judge for T but am not the biggest fan of it as a throwaway strategy that only occupies a small portion of the neg block. Significant time investment in evidence comparison is much more important to me here and often is a make-or-break.

Note for LD: I would not consider myself a good judge for "tricks". If you regularly do things like hide blippy theory arguments or rely on obfuscating tactics to win debates, I am probably not the best judge for you.

Local/Lay Debate

First and most importantly, I am excited to be judging you and glad you are a part of this activity!

I will disclose my decision and give any feedback I can as long as it is not explicitly prohibited by the tournament, and strongly believe the process of disclosure/feedback/asking questions is one of the most important parts of debate. You are always welcome to ask questions about my decision, ask for advice, clarification, etc. or email me and I will always be happy to help in whatever ways I can (assuming you aren't blatantly rude).

I did a lot of lay debate in high school, it was probably 80% or more of what I did, so I can really appreciate a slower debate. My advice for you is to do what you do best and are most comfortable with, don't feel like you have to spread or read positions you are unfamiliar with because of my policy background, as I started out and have spent almost half of my debate career doing slow, traditional debate. Some other things you should know:

1] One of the most important aspects of my judging is that I think the bar for explanation is generally too low for most debates. If you want to win an argument, you shouldn't just explain what your argument is, but the reasoning behind WHY it's true, as well as what the implication is for that argument being true.

2] Please make sure you have and can show me the full text of any evidence you read. I may not need to reference any evidence after the round, but if I do I would prefer you have it readily available. I would heavily prefer this is made easier by setting up an email chain with me and your opponent where all evidence read in-round is exchanged, both for the purposes of transparency and quality of things like evidence comparison.

3] I often find framework debates in lay LD have little direction or warrants. This is especially true when both sides have a similar or identical framework, and I think those debates would often be drastically improved by the neg just conceding framework and the rest of the debate focusing just on substance.

I also really appreciate folks who have a clear understanding of things like evidence comparison and strategy, I feel most people overlook the ability to make smart strategic decisions and leverage evidence comparison in lay debate. Knowing your evidence and author qualifications and effectively utilizing them are powerful strategic tools, as well as making smart strategic concessions in other parts of the debate to get things like a strong time tradeoff on other important parts of the debate.

I was a performance debater so I enjoy performance/critical debates -- but with everything going on in the world I find myself enjoying a good traditional policy debate. Bottomline -- do you! I am here to listen, help, and encourage.

Things I love: overviews, ALT's, framework/framing, ROJ.

Mark my ballot: You do this by telling the best cohesive story of what the world looks like post AFF/NEG.

Also, I enjoy historical examples.

Don't be mean!

HAVE FUN :)

read whatever you are most comfortable with I will adapt. I graduated from George Mason University as a qualifier of the 73rd NDT and a double octo-finalist at CEDA. I am most familiar with critical arguments specifically debility, setcol, cap (as everyone should be), and any PoMo stuff.

Also if I spell things wrong in this paradigm, if its disorganized, or if in the RFD/comments I make grammatical/spelling mistakes, I am sorry but I am dyslexic so just ask me to clarify if you are confused by me. I will not take offense to this, I understand that the way I think can be hard to follow. But also remember that this means I will require a high level of clarity in the speeches that are harder to follow/less formula based, most prominently 1AR/2NR/2AR. Really this just means slow down and explain your arguments.

UPDATE: Your 2NR/2AR should be how I write my RFD if I vote for you. Take me doing work out of the decision as much as possible, to me that is the best way to win a debate.

I know I say that I will judge anything and that is true...... but think about me like this, I am a former K debater that currently works in international human rights specifically with populations who are recovering from genocides and mass atrocities so when looking at a debate, yes nuclear war is scary but I think that the cyclical suffering of billions due to preventable structural factors is scarier... Anyone who says they arent bias are lying so i mention all of this to make it clear what my bias's are.

I have been out of debate for almost 3 year at this point. I have no knowledge of this topic and I am assuming that at CEDA I will not need any. With that being said, I debated on exec authority so I know NFU like the back of my hand lol.

Also please put me on the email chain: xmacknationx@gmail.com