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Jack Howe Memorial Tournament

2020 — NSDA Campus, CA/US

Lincoln-Douglas (CA/Nov) Paradigm List

All Paradigms: Show Hide

Farid Adibi Northwood High School None

Isabel Alcazar Jack Howe None

Evan Alexis Polytechnic School

Sasha Anand Northwood High School

Joaquin Arreola Honor Academy

Abigail Barton Redlands High School None

Tiya Basilio Academy of Higher Learning

Brigitte Belmont Jack Howe None

Aditi Bhat James Logan High School 8 rounds None

Varsha Bhat Irvington HS

Hemal Bhaveen Prisha Suresh Debate None

Maia Billings Jack Howe None

Robert Bleker Troy High School None

Ernie Casillas Bakersfield High School None

Nikhil Chakravarty Granada Hills Charter High School 8 rounds

Naveen Chandra Leland High School None

Chanel Chang Jack Howe None

Christopher Chiu Peninsula High School

Bryan Choi The Golden State Academy

Last changed on Tue January 16, 2024 at 10:55 AM PDT

Bryan Choi

Add me on email chains: bryanc0502@gmail.com

General:

Good debating can overturn any preference I explain below. I'll vote for who wins the debate.

It doesn’t matter if an argument was “conceded” or is a “voting issue”. Explain why that matters.

I come into the round with very few rigid preconceptions about how the round should go and I will try to intervene as little as possible.

Experience:

I have debated LD for 5 years, ranging from lay to circuit, so speed shouldn’t be a problem as long as I’m part of the email chain. I have judged public forum and parliamentary from middle school to high school level as well, but at the end of the day I am most comfortable with LD.

Framework:

I like to see clash between frameworks. If there is not a single word in the entire debate that mentions anything about fw, I will default to util. When you're extending your framework in your 1AR or 2NR, don't just say "extend the Pappas card"; you should explain why that card supports the idea of your framework being the more apt one for the round.

DA/CPs:

I like to see all parts of the DA being pretty clear. Make sure you impact out all your arguments and you weigh in the 2NR. I like creative counterplans quite a bit, but don't go too far. Counterplans should solve the case and avoid the link to the DA. Conditionality is usually good, but 3 or more is pushing it, and I’ll be more easily persuaded by theory arguments.

K’s:

I personally didn’t read a lot of K’s as a debater, but I will vote for it regardless. I think that the link should be very clear to the aff, and don’t give me trash alts that just say “reject the aff”. Please make it very clear how the alt actually addresses the problem that you are pointing out with the kritik.

T/Theory:

If you’re one of the debaters who comes into a round knowing you’re going to collapse to theory, please strike me.

If there is abuse in the round, for sure run theory, but that doesn’t warrant running friv theory just to get a ballot. Also, I have been noticing that everyone just defaults to “drop the debater”, but don’t make every single one of theory shells with drop the debater, especially when the abuse doesn’t really warrant it.

Personally believe that when judges have to think for a long time, that just means the debaters did not do good enough jobs. Be sure you give clear judge directions in your later speeches and tell me the really important issues and arguments you are using to win the round.

Won’t vote on tricks.

Jay Choi El Camino Real Charter High School None

Thomas Chon San Marino High School 8 rounds

Carol Chong Academy of Higher Learning

Arhanxa Choquehuanca La Canada High School None

Andrea Chow La Reina

Last changed on Fri February 9, 2024 at 4:25 AM PDT

"Adapt to me or get off my lawn."

- Luis Sandoval (Meadows Debate)

Update for NPDI

It's been a long time since I debated/judged/coached on the circuit. I can't follow spreading like I used to. Please slow down a tad (especially if I look visibly confused) and explain stuff thoroughly.

Prefs cheat sheet:

1: fast, technical debate. good K debate (not pomo).

2: policy/LARP. good T debate.

3: phil. theory. lay/trad debate.

4: K (pomo).

S: tricks.

Background:

Andrea, she/they. La Reina HS & Yale. Earth & Planetary Science major.
Include me on the email chain andrea.nicole.chow@gmail.com
I have debated and coached for 10 years now - 7 of which were circuit LD & policy in SoCal and 3 years of lay parli in New Haven. Also dabbled in speech & slam poetry - so I have a soft spot for performance... take from that what you will...
I was coached by Leo Kim. I understand debate very similarly to him, but not exactly the same. Anything not answered in my paradigm can be answered in his.
I was a K debater and am most familiar with set col & fem. That being said, this is not an invitation to pull out your team's spicy Baudrillard backfile from 2016 and go stupid. I think K's need to have some alt or offense or something or at least have an outstanding defense of why they don't need one. I would rather judge a good LARP round than a bad anything else.

Miscellaneous notes:

Ways to improve your speaks: emailing me a picture of your flow after the round (and it's a good flow) (tell me you are planning I do this so I can look at your flows before submitting my ballot), telling me to read a specific piece of evidence (and it's good evidence), making puns or jokes (and they're funny)
NON-CIRCUIT DEBATERS: I don't care what the CA debate handbook says. If your best/only argument against a counterplan is "the rulebook says that's not allowed," then maybe you should be reading a different aff.
If your opponent asks you not to spread, you better not spread!!!
If your opponent reads tricks, you can respond by saying "silly rabbit, Trix are for kids" and that will be a sufficient response for me.
Include trigger warnings for graphic depictions of identity-based violence and anything to do with sexual assault or suicide. For example, reading set col pain narratives cause you're thirsty for a ballot is kind of hard to listen to. When you read these positions, ask yourself - how are you showing up for these communities outside of the round? Are you kind to other marginalized debaters? Do you donate to mutual aid funds with your resources? What books and sources do you read to learn more about the arguments, even when it doesn't benefit your case? The consequence of ignoring this is an L-25. If you are confused, ask before the round.
If you are a circuit/varsity debater, and you are debating a traditional/novice debater, and you do some ridiculous behavior, act rude and condescending, spread them out, read 6 off, use tons of jargon, push them to disclose, etc., you will also receive an L-25. I have no qualms about judge intervention in this respect. I'm so sick of watching these types of rounds. You probably don't deserve to win anyway if you have to revert to these strategies; it's so embarrassing. Practice kindness.
Please let me know if I can make any accommodations to make the round safer or more accessible for you.
I flow primarily from your mouth and then from the speech doc, so slow down on tags + analytics.
Explain everything to me like I am very, very stupid... because I am

FOR LD:

I'm a good judge for you if:

You want a judge who will attempt to understand the debate to the best of their ability and try to adjudicate fairly.
You read a critical affirmative.
You mostly go for critical arguments.
Your positions are creative and entertaining.
You like fast, technical debate.
You display a ton of personality in your debates.
You are great at the topicality debate.
You read well-researched disadvantage or counterplan strategies.
You have a superior defense of impact turns.

I'm a decent judge for you if:

You read an affirmative.
You negate the affirmative.
You default to generic negative strategies.
You have a decent defense of your affirmative.

I'm not a great judge for you if:

You assume I am following along with the speech doc as you go.
You assume that I know anything about any mumbo-jumbo critique, so you don't have to explain it thoroughly.
You're bad at debating the critique.
You don't warrant your arguments.
You expect high speaker points in every debate unless you radically change my understanding of the debate.
You don't demonstrate a mastery of the arguments you've read.
You like satire.
You go for tricks.
You think of human suffering as a tool to help you win the ballot.

I'm an AWFUL judge for you if:

You unapologetically defend sexist, racist, transphobic, homophobic, etc., arguments.
You think death is good.
You ask your opponent to delete things from the speech doc. The highest speaker points you will receive are 28. I've only ever seen this problem in LD.
Your best strategy against a team is theory. Distinct from topicality. Also have only encountered this in LD.
You like racing through arguments as fast as humanely possible.
You speak unclearly.
Your strategy relies on making your opponents uncomfortable.
You're disrespectful to your opponents.
Your strategy relies on having someone who enjoys LD.

People who were heavily influential in shaping my understanding of debate (and therefore probably have very similar paradigms to me) in order from most to least:

Joey Cockrell Brentwood School 8 rounds None

Jennifer Conway-Vega West High School SLC

Marisa Cordero Granada Hills Charter High School None

David D'Silva Jack Howe None

Andrew Delgado Jack Howe None

Pat Drexler Xaverian High School None

Selena Epley Francis Parker School

Ellie Estrada Honor Academy

Last changed on Tue March 12, 2024 at 1:12 PM MDT

Updated: 03/12/2024

Add me to the chain:cbpelayo94@gmail.com

I go by 'Ellie' (she/her) now, for those of y'all that knew me by a different name.

Experience

Currently doing hired work and doing grad school at the University of Utah; formerly, coached NPDA at UoUtah; policy at CSU Fullerton; & IEs at Honor Academy. Nowadays I mostly judge rounds, do some assistant coaching for my friends, and watch policy streams because no one really leaves debate (lol).

I've been coaching/judging a breadth of speech/debate events since 2017, but my experience leans heavily towards NPDA parli, LD (cali/toc/nfa), policy, & IEs. Started competing in 2012:

- NFA-LD: 1 year (IVC)

- NPDA Parli: 1.5 years (IVC)

- Policy (NDT-CEDA): 1 year (CSUF)

- Individual Events (AFA-NFA): 4 years (CSULB/IVC/CSUF)

I was a 2A/1N & did exclusively kritikal/performative -- we did a lot of fem IR, academy, decolonial brown fem, futurisms, sci-fi, & cyborgs. But debate is what you make it; all I ask for is clear links, FW, and advocacies. How you choose to run it is totally up to y'all!

Truth > Tech

Kritiks

Love Ks. I am still 'traditional' in wanting some kind of FW, links, advocacy/alt, and impacts. But that doesn't mean that it has to be strictly organized in that way (i.e., performance k's). But at the end of the day, I do want to know what your K does: what the intervention is, what the bad words are, etc. I found it helpful once to consider theK alt like a CP: the moment the alt appears, your neg presumption disappears (pls don't make me listen to condo plssss). I also love in-round links -- I think they're excellent offense in the development of theory throughout the round. Links are uniqueness to the K. Performance is always welcome here. Rap, play guitar, break your timers, I ain't stopping you.

Other things:

- I believe that FW, not T, is used to answer K. Running T against the K is just insulting, and I'm not big on the nonengagement w/ advocacies that approach debate non-normatively. Tomato tomato.

- Providing trigger/content warnings to your K is good (when they're needed).

- Answering a T run against the K with more theory is so, so wonderful. Almost as wonderful as "mini" DAs to oppressive theory. I've noticed the rise of some pretty trash theory as of late, and I wish there was more metacommentary that claps back against that.

- If I hear Fruit theory I swear...pls just don't okay? :') same with tricks, sorry, don't like em.

- Don't like condo. I'll listen to it if I have to, sorry abt my faces.

- In terms of performance, definitely just be on the same page as everyone else. I won't stop a round, but I do reserve rights to respect, say, a point of personal privilege if the round is getting a kind of way.

Case Debate (Plans/CPs/Adv/DAs)

This is prob where all your "who is this judge" paradigm questions will be answered:

- Plans/CPs/Perms: Love em. Do more perms. I also love multiple perms, if you can provide at least some explanation beyond "perm do both...anyway." Solvency burdens shift throughout the debate, and that's good. Theory against plan-plus, plan-minus, etc. are all great.

- PICs/PIKs: I will not do the footwork to determine whether or not the PIC/PIK is unfair. Y'all do this please. Get them "PICs Bad" blocks out.

- Impact Calc: While I vibe with the traditional voters of magnitude, likelihood, timeframe, solvency, I also like voters w/ specific phrasing that conjures up what your world looks like, esp if you're proposing alternative ways of and futures for doing debate. Terminal impacts are big for me both in the traditional magnitude sense of "X impact outweighs X," but also in that I want to hear why a conceded argument/refutation matters in the grand scheme of the round. Ctrl-F impacts alone have no power here. Good round vision is good.

- Refutations: This especially applies to HS/MS debaters, my decisions are very heavily determined by your level of engagement with your opponent's case. Yes, extend & defend your own case, but please cross-apply your subpoints/evidence as answers to your opponent. If you use refutation language that's recognizable (e.g., non-unique, turns, impacts outweighs, solvency take-out, etc.), I will be so happy. Active language and verbs are good. Offense over defense, sure, but terminal defense is underappreciated. This applies to procedural fairness/education & counter-standards too.

- TVAs are just Plans without solvency (sorrynotsorry), but again, I will not do the footwork to say this for you.

- [Parli/CA LD Specific] Contentions: These should be terminally impacted; additionally, I like to see clash on the framework level with regards to your value/value criterion. Hearing how you meet your opponent's criterion better than they do & going so far as to make the meeting of values a voting issue is the easiest way to my heart & my ballot.

Procedurals (FW/T)

Good FW/Topicality debates are great, but I wanna hear clearly articulated in-round abuse (i.e. violations). I've been jaded with the habit of dismissing kritikal arguments under the presumption of topicality, but I still think there's hope for procedurals! I still expect Aff to do more than just make a generic "we meet argument" in response to the interpretation, and at least some engagement with the arguments you label non-topical.

- I respect X-T and FX-T. I find that there is great offensive in doing counter-interpretations, counter-standards, & the aforementioned DAs against T

- RVAs make me so sad :( please no RVIs, they're never as good as you think

- Founders intent is so mid

- [Parli Specific] I love theory sheets, but I love creative uses for T/FW beyond just stacking them & kicking 3/4 of your T shells in the LOR.

- Trichot exists! And I love it. Also monochot <3

Speed

My stance on this has changed over the years & will continue to change as I continue hearing emerging perspectives on the matter. Spreading is only effective if it is equitable; otherwise, spreading can quickly become an exclusionary & ableist practice. The question of whether or not I can comprehend your spread is not the question you should be asking yourself. Instead, you should ask your opponent "are you okay with spreading?"

This position is a general one. Practices of spreading are specific to the format of debate that I am judging:

[Policy/TOC LD] Sure go fast brrrr. Just remember that the debate will immediately shift upon the introduction of a Speed K or ableism arguments that center spreading as a bad practice.

[CA LD/PF] Spreading is generally disallowed on the grounds of maintaining this format equitable for all participants. I intend to abide by these guidelines - don't spread.

[Parli] Spreading in Parli can quickly get messy because a) there are no cards & b) your opponent cannot follow along with your evidence. So, I'd rather not hear an attempt to spread for a half written-out DA with blank IL subpoints where your inner extemper can truly shine. Signpost clearly, be considerate of your opponent's calls to 'clear,' & I'll follow as fast as you speak. There's absolutely a difference between fast speaking & spreading: find it, navigate it.

Alysson Elizabeth Farris Redwood MS 8 rounds

John Ferris Nova 42 Academy

Levon Ghanimian Granada Hills Charter High School

Last changed on Sun October 1, 2023 at 4:37 AM PDT

Yes, I would like to be included in the email chain: ghanimian.levon.98@gmail.com

Educational background:

- BA in History from California State University, Northridge. My focus was on the Medieval and Early Modern Middle East.

- MA in Community-Engaged Education and Social Change from Claremont Graduate University. My research mainly focused on Settler Colonialism in education and how to use Critical Pedagogy to develop praxis.

Debating and Coaching background:

High School: Traditional LD with Granada Hills Charter

College: Policy with California State University, Northridge

Coaching: Traditional and Circuit LD at Granada Hills Charter (2016-2021), Public Forum at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy (2017-2020). I mainly coached Traditional LD at Granada Hills Charter.

Debate Style: Since I did traditional LD in high school, almost all of my circuit knowledge comes from policy debate. I mostly read K's in Policy.

It's been a minute that I've judged TOC debate, so you might wanna limit how much jargon you use. Please take time to explain things clearly to me. I appreciate debaters who do this a lot!

General:

- LARP > Plan v. K > K v. K > Phil/Theory > Tricks

- Please slow down for analytics. I can't follow your arguments if I can't understand them.

- Don't be rude.

- Don't be someone who advocates for discriminatory or harmful positions.

- I'm not omniscient. I greatly value quality over quantity. Take time to explain things to me, especially terms or concepts that would generally be considered inaccessible.

- Clarity is one of the most important things for me in a round.

- I used to be completely tech>truth, but tricks and friv theory are pushing me to a more techy truth approach.

- I usually see myself giving 28.5 on average. I tend to give one 30 out per year.

- I'm pessimistic about the future of debate mainly because competitors do not bother to explain anything to the judge and they treat the judge as if they're an idiot for not knowing something. Taking the time to break away from your script to explain something to me is something I look forward to.

FW:

- I'm generally fine with any T/FW arguments you decide to run as long as they're ethical. Warrant your interps and counterinterps well. I like to see good clash with T/FW. In other words, actually interact with your opponent's claims.

- Please articulate your links clearly.

- I'm not the most familiar with RVI args, so reading it in front of me might leave me wondering how to evaluate the argument.

Kritik:

- Theories I'm fairly familiar with: Critical Pedagogy, Settler Colonialism, Cap, Foucault.

- I like performance debate a lot, but sometimes it's hard for me to follow along with the link, so I'd appreciate it if the links are clearly articulated.

- I am really interested in identity K's, but I don't feel comfortable voting for debaters that don't identify with their K and simply use it as a tool to win. Otherwise, I'm all for hearing identity politics and performance.

- Please clearly establish your alt.

- I'm down for PIKs

- I believe TVA is a strong argument against K Aff's.

- If you are going to run something that is high theory: Zizek, Delueze & Guattari, Derrida, Baudrillard, Agamben, etc., please explain it to me like it's not high theory. In other words, explain it to me like I'm five.

DA:

- My only request here is that YOU do all of the link work for me. I will not fill in gaps for you.

- A conceded DA will usually never look good for you.

CP:

- Net Benefit, net benefit, net benefit

- Don't drop the perm. I would like to see actual interaction with the perm.

- I think condo, generally, is good, but I'm willing to evaluate a condo bad arg.

- I don't mind PICs

Theory:

- I'm not a fan of frivolous theory by any means. (Highlighter, Brackets, Shoes, etc.)

- I believe that theory should be used as an actual check against abuse in round.

- I don't mind "X" argument bad arguments.

- Otherwise, explain theory clearly and simply to me.

Tricks:

-No, just no.

Case:

- Both sides, DO NOT drop the case.

- Aff, I think it's super important to hammer down on the fact that the case stands through. Too many debaters spend too much time on off cases and leave their case in a very vulnerable position.

- Responding to the case is a MUST. If you're a K debater, it's not mandatory for me but it will convince me to vote for you even more if you are able to pull direct rhetorical links from the AC.

Postrounding:

- Please feel free to ask me any questions after I give my RFD.

- It's very possible that you do not agree with my, or any other judges', interpretations in a round you lost. This DOES NOT give you the right to yell at your judge or the competitor.

- If you have any other questions after the round, please feel free to email me.

Speed:

- I'm generally okay with spreading, but I'd appreciate if slow down for analytics.

- Slow down for tags and authors.

- DO NOT spread if your opponent is not okay with spreading.

Public Forum:

- I vote off of a general offense/defense paradigm and use cost/benefit framework. However, I am MORE THAN HAPPY to have another FW in round.

-I expect arguments to be extended through summary to final focus if you intend on winning off of them. I don't have specific preferences for PF besides these, so if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Tony Ghecea Granada Hills Charter High School 8 rounds

Isaak Gibson San Mateo High 8 rounds

Last changed on Sun December 6, 2020 at 9:34 AM PDT

add me to your chains, email: isaakgibson@gmail.com

i go by isaak or shinnosuke, he/him/his

note for policy & TOC LD: especially in the era of online debate, i ask you to please SEND ALL YOUR BLOCKS. no matter how amazing me or anyone else in the room may be at flowing, i can guarantee you whether it's audio problems or bad headphones or any other issues i and many other judges will be missing a lot of the stuff on the flow, so if you want detailed decisions and comments and speaks send everything you read.

about me:

debated for 3 years in high school with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League, currently debating at Fullerton College.

i'm a k debater with a background primarily in anti-capitalism, afropess (and related), set col, queer/quare theory, model minority and orientalism. that being said, i am plenty familiar with policy stuff having read a decent amount of policy stuff in high school early on.

general notes:

do not be offensive/violent to anyone in the room. i know sometimes people make mistakes, but please try your best to not be an asshole. this means things blatantly racist, queerphobic, sexist, etc can result in significantly lower speaks and possibly me voting you down or stopping the round.

be very careful with spreading especially with analytics and rebuttals, make sure you are clear and heard. you never know who in the room it will benefit.

judging stuff:

there are a few big things that i think about debate that have a big effect on how i make decisions and think about the round as a whole. here they are in no particular order:

1. competitively, i should vote for whoever did the better debating (duh). this means that winning on a technical level is important: strong analysis of the technical aspects of the debate (meaning things like dropped arguments and points of direct clash) you are having is a great way of getting a ballot.

2. educationally, i should consider what the debaters are actually getting out of the debate. are the debaters learning new things about the topic or about debate itself? are there skills of some kind being developed? are there things being talked about that can be applied outside of debate when y'all leave? these things are important to me as someone that has had the privilege of learning through debate, and it often means that teams who can prove to me they learn and teach things better than the other team are more persuasive to me.

3. ethically, i have an obligation to evaluate the knowledge being produced in the round. i have to consider if that knowledge is violent, if it is liberatory, and what those things mean for me as a judge. what that does not mean is that i will necessarily let my truths dictate what i vote for (unless you do some really bad shit like i said above), but rather that you all as debaters have the burden of proving that your knowledge is not violent and/or that it is liberatory when that is questioned. proving those kinds of things can win you the ballot.

if you have any questions that weren't answered by the stuff above feel free to email me or to ask me before round, i'll do my best to answer them

Jessa Glassman Harvard-Westlake School

Last changed on Sun September 6, 2020 at 11:48 AM EDT

Hi! I’m Jessa Glassman and I debated for Harvard-Westlake and am now a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. I didn’t debate much last year, but I bid at 3/3 tournaments I went to giving me 2 quals and 6 career bids. Please put me on the email chain: jessaglassman@gmail.com

My opinions on debate are very heavily influenced by my coaches Jasmine Stidham and Scott Phillips, as well as many of my old teammates. Spencer Klink and I share a brain so please reference his paradigm if you want a more complete picture of how I’ll judge the round because this probably isn't the most comprehensive.

(If you’re going to take one thing away from this, please remember that an argument is a claim, warrant, and an impact. That is truly the formula to success!)

- Debate is about discourse, argumentation, and thought, not people. Please be respectful so you and your opponent can have an educational and valuable experience. At the same time remember it really isn’t that deep.

- Aim for 80ish% speed. Both because of any potential technical issues that come with virtual rounds and because my brain has not been in debate mode for a while.

- I’ll only vote for arguments that I understand based on how you explain them in the round- this applies to both literature terminology AND debate jargon. Relying solely on vacuous phrases like ‘switch side debate’, ‘fiat is illusory’, or ‘information is dissuasive’ to do the work for you defeats the purpose of the activity. Do yourself a favor and explain/impact things further to make sure you’re making a complete argument.

- I read a soft left aff almost every round and went for the K a lot (typically some iteration of Fem IR for both), so I am best to evaluate these rounds. I’ll still be a pretty good judge for you if you read policy arguments, and while I am not well versed in phil affs/NCs, I’ll do my best to keep up and am open to evaluating them given your explanation meets my threshold. I believe the aff should at the very least be in the direction of the topic so I’m pretty sympathetic to T-Framework, but I am open to entertaining these debates and could see myself voting either way. I tossed T in the 1NC pretty frequently and collapsed to it relatively often too, so I'll also be good for topicality rounds.

- None of the preferences in the bullet point above matter more than execution. I am more impressed by clear, in-depth, logical arguments, solid weighing, strategic choices, and efficiency than the positions you choose to read. While K rounds can be my favorite, they can very quickly turn into my worst nightmare. Do what you want and what you’re good at…. these are only guidelines. Except for my hard and fast rules below :)

· Always read frivolous theory (a shell without a legitimate abuse story) and tricks (a prioris, skep triggers, nibs, the usual cast of characters) in front of me! These debates foster so much clash and discussion and I’d absolutely love to spend my weekend watching you justify illogical arguments so I can joyfully tank your speaks and give you a loss! Do it I dare you <3

· No RVIs on T… and probably not worth your time to justify them for most theory too. A quick reasonability argument coupled with an explanation of why their argument is silly is sufficient for me to dismiss the shell.

· Disclosure is good.

· ROB/ROJ/etc. are unnecessary. Just weigh arguments and read framing cards.

· Please collapse.

· Please have fun and be yourself! It’s a requirement!

Efi Gluskin Prestige Debate None

Xin Guo Cerritos High School

Daniella Hanna Granada Hills Charter High School

Hugh Holbrook Palo Alto High School

Chanyoung Hong Jack Howe None

Salwa Hossain Granada Hills Charter High School 8 rounds

Crystal Huddleston Stockdale High School

Last changed on Wed January 3, 2024 at 2:31 AM PDT

General Notes

Don't be a bigot. This includes misgendering competitors. You will lose the ballot.

I generally give relatively high speaks due to the subjective nature of speaker points and the issues therein.

Remember to time yourselves and your opponents.

At invitationals, add me to the email chain using crystal.debate.speech@gmail.com .

In all forms of debate, I value logical argumentation and strong analytics supported by credible evidence. Speed, if clear, is fine, as long as it remains at a level that works for all debaters in the round. Out-spreading an opponent kills education.

Policy (and Policy-Style Parli)

I am open to theory arguments and will rarely vote on T , but you need to explain them clearly and thoroughly in the round. I studied critical theory as applied to literature in both undergraduate and graduate school, so I have a strong background in feminist, Marxist, deconstructionist, queer, and psychoanalytic theory. I enjoy a well-executed K, but only run kritiks you know well -- not something you grabbed off the wiki/open ev.

I strive to evaluate the round using the framework agreed upon by the debaters and do not have a particular preference regarding stock issues, policy maker, etc.

Support and bring everything back to your V/VC -- even if you're running a plan (for non-CA LD). Evidence certainly matters but evidence without analytics will do very little for you.

I'll accept theory arguments when necessary to address in-round abuse, but please proceed with caution. I still value Public Forum as a form of debate that can be understood by lay judges, so please don't spread or run a K, and keep the jargon to a minimum.

Speech

In extemp, I want to see your introduction connect clearly with the topic and the rest of the speech (bring it back briefly at the end). Please clearly sign-post your main points and cite your evidence (ideally with more than just "According to the New York Times this year..."). Don't be afraid to use humor -- even if it's a little dark. Most of all, be authentic, engaging, and keep things flowing.

I will give time signals in extemp and impromptu.

In original oratory, original advocacy, & informative speaking, I look for well-crafted speeches delivered with fluency and appropriately varied tones.

If you're competing in an interp event, your intro should make me care about the topic at hand and should, of course, be your original words. Also, if you're competing in oratorical interpretation and the original speech includes cursing, please say the actual words or select a different speech (e.g., AOC's 2020 address to Rep. Yoho in which she quotes his profanity).

Nadia Hussein Hire

Last changed on Fri April 12, 2019 at 12:38 PM EDT

About Me:

I have debated for three years at Georgia State and did a mixture of debate in high school. Now I’m a graduate coach at Wake Forest

I want to be on the email chain; use gsupanther84@gmail.com

General:

Slow down when reading your tag and author, or I won't be able to catch it.

If GSU debate has taught me anything, it's to be extremely open minded to a variety of arguments. If you want to run death good, afropessimism, deterrence das, no period plan flaw, K affs, traditional affs, feminist killjoy etc, go for it. Just be sure to explain why you should win with this argument. ROB will be who debated the best unless I'm given another ROB with reason to perfer it. I'm against judge fill in but will vote down oppressive/offensive language/arguments especially if the other team points it out.

Aff

Do whatever you're best at, stay topical (or be ready to explain why topicality doesn't matter), be organized, and extend your case and why it outweighs throughout. I tend to err aff on framework if they have and defend a plan text, but you have to lock in if you decide to do that, otherwise I'll be persuaded to neg's abuse claims.

I love a good k with a clear link and impact. Your alts have to be clearly explained. I'll buy links of omission but the neg has to defend why the aff can't simply perm. Negs really have to take time in the block to explain why the aff can't perm and why it's net better to do the alt alone. Affs have to explain why they can perm and why the perm is net better than aff alone or why the alt can't solve the case. Don't drop theory args, or I will have to vote the other way.

DAs

I’m good with das but there has to be work done on how it links to the aff, or I will agree with the aff on no link args. If you have a solid Nonunique arg and extend it and I will vote on that. Solid impact calc will seal the deal for me, but if the aff successfully turns the DA or explains why the case outweighs the DA, I will vote on that as well. Long story short the more clash on the DA the better.

CPs

Love a creative CP, but it needs to solve/have a net benefit (DA or a K) along with stealing aff ground; otherwise I will agree with aff's perm and theory args. Aff needs to clearly explain why CP can't solve case, beat the net benefit, and articulate why the perm is best. Don't drop theory or you lose my ballot.

I will vote neg on a T arg if you convince me the violation is clear, the aff's counter interpretation is unreasonable, and the impact is big. I will vote aff if they convince me that their aff is reasonable, counter interpretation is better or equal to the negs, and a benefit to their definition, but aff can chuck topicality and still win if they articulate why being topical doesn't matter or is worse for debate. If the aff locks in and says they're T however, they cannot shift or it's an auto win for the neg.

I lean aff in most cases unless the neg provides me with a clear violation, story, and impact. 2acs have to clearly explain why the aff is fair and/or better. Tech is important when arguing FW but explanation is key when you arguing framework. Truth always better than tech.

cross ex is binding, answer the questions honestly, don't ask why the aff should win during 1ac cross ex or generic questions like that.

Claudia Hyun Nova 42 Academy

Phillip Irving Advanced Technologies

Last changed on Sat January 27, 2024 at 2:17 AM PDT

Hi, I'm Phillip. I’d like to be on the email chain. phlublub@gmail.com

Background
He/Him/His
I competed 4 years at A-Tech in Las Vegas

Speech (Also applies to all debate)

For exempt:
+ Its usually best to follow the usual format. Intro, body paragraphs, conclusion.
+ I expect at least one piece of evidence for each point, and it should be cited with an author, date, and source.
+ Make sure to clearly define each point, letting me know when you are transitioning ideas.

Please do your best to speak loudly, steadily, and fluently. I am sympathetic to fluency breaks caused by stress or general nervousness, so if you need a second to collect your thoughts I will understand. Besides that, I value organization and conciseness--I wanna feel like you've put thought into what you're saying, why you're saying it, and even how you say it.

Public Forum Paradigm

+ Unless I indicate otherwise, assume I'm always ready.

+ Truth > Tech. I weigh on a framework of benefits and harms

+ Clearly warrant, cite, and explain evidence--no shallow appeals to common sense please

+ SIGNPOST. If you could signpost where you are in your rebuttal (E.g., "Starting with my case", "Moving onto my opponent's case", etc.), that would be great

+ Please don't unnecessarily interrupt during cross-ex. I want to see even engagement across the board, but don't give shallow or overly long answers

Lincoln Douglas Paradigm

+ Unless I indicate otherwise, assume I'm always ready.

+ I competed in LD for 3/4 years, and this is the event I have the most love for. I performed well in my traditional circuit, and that's the form of debate I'm most comfortable with, and I feel my ballots in traditional rounds are best

+ My paradigm for PF carries over to LD, ESPECIALLY truth > tech. Instead of benefits and harms, however, I expect you to take a step back and focus on the moral admissibility (or the lack thereof, if you're on neg) of the resolution under your framework. Unless if the affirmative puts forward a plantext I'm less inclined to go for policy or post-fiat negs

+ Value/Value criterion debate all the way. Standards are fine as long as the presumptive value is morality. If you and your opponent have similar criterions, you should just cut to the chase and explain why your case works better under that framework

+ I already said my PF paradigm carries over, but please, I BEG you: clearly cite, warrant, and explain evidence in your speeches, and do not rely on appeals to common sense in your arguments.

Congress Paradigm

+ Unless I indicate otherwise, assume I'm always ready.

+ Roleplaying GOOD. Refer to your opponents as Representatives/Senators. I'm not one of those judges, however, who ranks competitors if they "act like legislators" by helping set the docket or resolve procedural conflicts. Just don't speak out of order and don't attempt to step over the PO or Parli. Do not handcuff yourself to anything in the debate room, especially as a form of protest.

+ RHETORIC. I enjoy unique rhetoric and purposeful speaking, so please go beyond the forensic grain when delivering your speeches. If you REALLY want to rock my ballot, a strong hook or extended metaphor in your speech and altogether sturdy rhetoric will expedite your path to a higher rank. Hearing debate jargon in this event (e.g., "contention", "block", etc.) tends to break away from what seems best for congress, so best rely on standard words and phrases.

+ STRUCTURE. If you warrant your claims and support them with reliable evidence, and on top of that impact your arguments to a broader context, and do all of this without filler or awkward digressions that interrupt the focus of your speech, I will rank you. Plus I want to hear your speech provide at least two distinct contentions (I said no debate jargon but whatever im the judge) so that your arguments don't blend into one-another

+ CLASH ON REBUTTAL SPEECHES. After the second or third cycle of speeches I expect that you spend your time speaking off the cuff and refuting/crystalizing the speakers before you. If you're called up late to deliver a speech and decide to NOT adapt to the situation and instead read off a constructive speech, you will fall in ranks. Even if you're not the best extemporaneous speaker, it still shows that you're engaged with the debate and want to make an impression

+ INTERNALIZE YOUR IMPACTS. I listen to impacts above all else, and to that end I expect your arguments will always point directly to a basis in reality. If you can make the room understand what it's like to be part of the population this legislation impacts most, you're not just giving a good argument, you're giving a great speech

+ For the Presiding Officer (PO): I will always rank the PO unless if they do something contemptible that specifically urges that I do otherwise (e.g., flagrantly violating procedural rules, favoring some competitors over others, unwarranted or nasty remarks towards others, etc.). Besides that, if you go fast, make little to no mistakes, and treat your fellow competitors equally and impartially, I will guaranteed rank you in the top 3

General things for y'all

+ For prefs: The more trad you are, the higher you should pref me

+ I prefer the competitors keep track of time, but I will keep time if that is either teams preference

+ Regardless of events, I will feel more compelled to vote for you if you demonstrate effective extemporaneous speaking in your speeches. Just have fun!

+ It should go without saying that being rude is different than being competitive or being strong, and fun. we aren't here to hurt each other and create hostility, but instead to progress all our education and have fun.

+ I'm still learning how to be a judge, and competing is far different from judging, so please go easy on me and lets all get better together!

+ Ask questions before the round if there's something you want me to answer that I didn't cover here.

+ Tournaments can be rough, and sometimes its hard to get lunch, so I understand if you want to have a snack in the round. With that being said, don't have any snacks that are loud, like opening chip bags, granola bars, or a full course meal, which I've seen happen as a competitor.

tldr: dont be mean and im a trad judge.

Anitha Johny Prestige Debate None

Yunji Jong Cypress High School

Anisha Joshipura Riverside STEM Academy None

Harut Kejejyan Hire 8 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 24, 2024 at 2:30 AM PDT

Harut Kejejyan ( kejejyanharut@gmail.com) - add me to the email chain.

Highschool Debate - Bravo Medical Magnet High School for 2 years: LAMDL Alumni

College Debate - Fullerton College - 2 Years

Currently Debating for CAL State Fullerton

HealthCare Topic - Bernie Sanders Counterfactual

Executive Power - D&G

Space - Techno-Ableism Aff

I am currently majoring in Communication Studies and Sociology.

Speaker Scale

29.5 - 30 - One of the best speakers at the Tournament. Most likely going to be in Elims.

29 - 29.4 - Very good speaker, clear, and easy to flow. Unique arguments.

28- 29 - Good Speaker, Needs Improvement on Tech Debate, I will highlight what I believe you need to do Improve on during RFD

< 28 - I usually refrain from giving anything below a 28 unless you have done/said something problematic (ie. Card Clipping,

Paradigm Last Updated 9/19/2020 - Jack Howe

Prefer Spreading to be clear and understandable, I will tell you to slow down if you become unclear (Clarity First)

If you have any problems during the debate PLEASE! Notify Me so we can resolve the issue. If at any point in the debate you feel uncomfortable once again bring it to my attention, Debate rounds should be a safe space where ideas can be discussed openly without judgment. Respect! Comes first, if you are rude or inconsiderate on more than one occasion I will deduct speaker points, you don't have to be rude to get your point across.

Evidence Matters!!! God please use and extend your evidence, arguments that are just read and never talked about are really confusing, and frankly, you wasted your time if you're reading evidence you're not using.

I love a good CX, even if it gets a little heated but DONT attack your opponent during CX

Overall: I love a good debate! The round should be a place where you give everything you got because if you don't your arguments will suffer. I want to see you express everything you been prepping for. Don't panic just breathe and you'll be fine the worst that can happen is you lose, even you win in some sense. Can't wait to see everyone debate.

P.S: Have some emotion when you're reading the evidence, makes a big difference.

Agnieszka Kozikowska West Ranch High School None

Tanay Krishna Palo Alto High School None

Dhanashri Kulkarni Redwood MS

Shalu Kumar Leland High School

Valorie Lam Marlborough School

Andrew Lee Carmel Valley Independent

Lancy Li Concordia International School None

Lyvia Li Exeter Independent None

Ruijuan Li Prestige Debate None

Alex Martin La Reina

Kristen Mayol Granada Hills Charter High School

William McGregor Mission Vista High School

Scott McKeever ModernBrain

Last changed on Fri February 9, 2024 at 8:29 AM PDT

I've been in the forensics world as a coach, and competitor for about 15 years. I started in Policy Debate, so I am familiar with most debate jargon, but have coached competitive Public Forum for about 8 years now. I have also taught LD, Parli, and Most speech events way way back when.

Overall:

1. Do you clash with the opposing positions?

2. Do you test/provide links and scenarios for your positions? Weighing on the links, the uniqueness, having strong topical internal links for your impacts will take you far with me. Don't lose the links in the mess of the Rebuttal/Summary.

3. Do you guide the flow and focus of the round and provide Extensions & impact calculus accordingly?

4. The Affirmative has the Burden to Prove. The Negative has the Burden to Disprove. If the Negative provides as much ground as the Affirmative zeroing out the Affirmative proofs of the resolution, the Negative wins the round. Remember the Affirmative Burden to prove the resolution. Of course the Affirmative also gets the first crack at interpreting what "defending the Resolution" means.

5. Topicality: Is an important procedural. It is not bad for PF for people to stay on Topic, it is not a policy debate only structure. That said, if you are going to argue T, do it right please. I need to have a clear interpretation, violation, and standard for the procedural.

6. Dropped / Kicked positions & arguments are conceded only in so far the links are concerned. Unless the impact is also conceded/kicked then the implications of a scenario can still be evaluated.

Some other Notes:

A. Tech over Truth: I don't care if what your saying is true in my book, I care if it is substantiated and structurally sound.

B. Delivery wins you Speaks, Not Rounds. I will not give the ballot to the better speaker, but to what I perceived to be the better proven/substantiated positions.

C. Offensive beats defense any day of the week. Very few rounds are won on terminal defense.

D. Don't be rude or combative when unnecessary. I won't make you lose because of it, but accessibility in debate is a high value. Let's not make this activity harder for those less aggressively inclined.

E. Link Debate > Impact Debate: Scenarios & Causality beats out "Nuclear War" any day. That said, have big impacts, and be able to playtest/provide analytics as well as evidence for them.

Kritiks:

I feel that most Ks are there to avoid clash in the debate. This does not mean I don't love a GOOD K, but I would argue they are few and far between. PF especially seems an odd place for most K debate, except at perhaps the highest levels of PF debate, primarily HS. As far as answering Kritiks, in PF if you can provide an interpretation that just says "TVA/N" then I will probably accept it unless well contested. Arguing that depth of topic analysis is better than randomized exposure to new ideas without disclosure also would work as an analytic (since many teams don't disclose in PF). In any case, K debate can be warranted, and should not be avoided IF NECESSARY or if it would actually make for the best CLASH and best EDUCATION in the round. In most debates this is not the case for PF.

A. Kritiks are improved by a direct link to the Affirmative Truth/position. The Kritik should directly indict the truth of the Aff case, positions, or advocacy. I like Kritiks less when the discussion starts to get into the "Role of the Ballot" but there are exceptions to this. Some issues are worth talking about over any topic links/case connections. That said, it is not my go to, so you have been warned. I am not against Affirmative Framework answers, but prefer direct CLASH between the initial case and the Negative Kritik. Neg teams should argue that Aff impacts are caused by the issues weighed in the Kritik, and that the Aff should defend those assumptions. If the K Aff is being discussed, things get a little messier for me, but most of the above discourse flips. That said, a K Aff does intrinsically fail to link to the Neg case in most PF rounds (unless run against a Neg Case that presented first, in that very niche scenario).

B. I think I'm less technical than some judges in evaluating K debates. Something another judge might care about, like dropping "fiat is illusory," probably matters less to me (fiat is illusory specifically matters 0%). I also won't be as technical in evaluating theory on the perm as I would be in a counterplan debate (e.g. perm do both isn't severance just because the alt said "rejection" somewhere--the perm still includes the aff). The perm debate for me is really just the link turn debate. Generally, unless the aff impact turns the K, the link debate is everything.

Abel Medina Zambrano Honor Academy

Last changed on Fri November 12, 2021 at 2:54 PM PDT

email chain —-> amedinazambrano@gmail.com

** Head speech and debate coach at Torrey Pines HS, I am currently competing in CEDA for Southwestern and I have 3 years of parli/LD experience prior. If you have specific questions about literature bases I’ve read or are familiar with; just send me an email and I’ll get back to you. If not, ask before the round or just read it and explain it to me. Read my entire paradigm if you can, otherwise scan for the bold text for the “Reading My Paradigm during Prep Time,” version.

1. I'll vote on anything (so long as it's not morally abhorrent). I am not going to create an exhaustive list of every morally abhorrent position but trust me, if your arg falls under this category you will be able to tell via my facial expressions in round.

2. I have a lower than average threshold on Theory. I’m biased towards potential abuse being enough but a case can definitely be made for a proven abuse burden. With a few exceptions I typically defer to a framework of competing interpretations unless told otherwise so tell me otherwise. If you’re deliberately spreading someone out of a round, I am likely to pick up their speed procedural regardless of who is winning the standards debate. Inclusivity and access are important. If it’s egregious, I’ll drop you on sight.

3. K debates are cool coming from either side. FW is a valid strat v Kaffs.

4. I don't have strong feelings for or against any specific type of counterplan. Just shoot your shot and be ready for the theory debate.

5. I think turns are very underused, while also being very under-explained, "straight" turns probably need to be paired with an argument on the uniqueness level otherwise they are functionally defence but with that being said, the opposing team needs to do that work in round.

6. There’s a really good chance I may have to intervene if you don’t tell me what I’m voting for in rebuttals (you probably dont want this) so git gud and do the explaining. Your rebuttal should write my RFD. Tell me about what impact scenario beats the other team’s. Give me framing and calculus. PLEASE. Whether it be the theory level or the link level or thesis level or alt solvency, whatever. Why are you winning this round? If you’re right, you’ll know it.

7. Pls remember that your framework can determine how (if at all) your arguments are received and interpreted.

8. Collapse.

9. I’m super down to have a faster than normal debate. You probably won't be able to lose me from speed alone but pls be as Clear as you can. If I am judging you in an ev. based format I care much less but I’m gonna ask that you slow for tags or send me a copy of the speech doc. (amedinazambrano@gmail.com)

10. Pls don’t make me judgekick a plan or theory shell. Tell me what to do with it, Bc you’ll be mad when I vote on the perm or rvi that was left unresolved. If you make shadow extensions from something said earlier that’s chill.

11. Abusing Power Dynamics will not win you this round. I like a sassy debate, I love seeing two close friends hash out a tough round but both opponents must be on the same page. If you’re a guy shouting down a girl in cross ex Bc you think it’s “dominating” or any other form of “machismo,” to put someone else down, I will tank your speaks and have a hard time voting for you and I will probably drop you. Ask for pronouns, names, etc. Also time yourself. I should be able to trust y'all.

12. Partner to Partner comm is fine but make sure your partner wants the help. Pls don’t control your partners speech time, I will not flow what the partner says, you gotta say it.

13. Have fun and feel free to ask me any questions about things I should be comfortable with in your round, Bc remember, it’s your round. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥ðŸ”¥

PS: Shouts to Khamani Griffin from whom I stole the format for this paradigm.

Kavan Nakai Claremont

Grace Nelson Marlborough School

Mira Ogawa Sage Hill School

Last changed on Fri January 26, 2024 at 11:18 PM PDT

Hi, nice to meet you!

In short, I've been debating for a while so I will understand most jargon and stuff. Therefore, feel free to run most types of arguments, don't be mean or use harmful rhetoric in round, do do impact calculus, make sound and logical arguments, and tell me what to look for and vote for. Off time road-maps are a good idea.

I'm sure all you are amazing, but I study public health and am deathly afraid of germs, so please don't shake my hand!

If you would like more information about me or about how I process debate, continue reading here:

General/Important Things on How I Judge:

-Call all Points of Order(POOs)in the last speeches. I will protect the flow as much as I can but calling them is best.

-Content warnings are generally appreciated because we do not know the background of all the people in the room.

-I'm ok with counter-plans (CPs), theory, and kritiks (Ks) and whatever arguments you can make against them

-I am not an expert on theory or kritiks, but generally, I can keep up. Make sure that you are thoroughly explaining your theory and your kritiks regardless because debate is educational at its core.

-Speed is ok, but let everyone in the room know if you are going to spread. If your opponent is talking too quickly, please call CLEAR (this means to say clear in an assertive tone and is a signal for the other team to slow down). If you are talking too quickly and not enunciating to the point that I cannot understand, I will stop flowing.

-Tag-teaming is ok, but be respectful. If you are puppeting your partner to the point of it being obnoxious and rude, I will drop your speaker points.

-Point of Informations(POIs): I think that it is polite to take at least one if not two.

Background on Me:

-I debated through college. I was not super-competitive in high school, but I have won tournaments and medals in NPDA, IPDA, and speech during my gap year (taking classes at a local CC).

Case Debate:

-I will try to be as much of a blank slate as possible (tabula rasa). Meaning that I will not intervene with any of my knowledge to the best of my ability. That being said, if you are saying lots of untrue things it might affect your speaks.

-Please have a clean debate. The messier the round becomes the more I have to go through and pick over information which increases the likelihood of some judge intervention.

-A few isolated quips will not win you the round. Make the debate clean and make it tell a story.

-Again debate is about creating a narrative, so collapse down and create the most compelling narrative you can make.

-Make your arguments logical and make sure they work together (ie. Advantages or Disads that contradict each other really grind my gears and happen more often than you would think)

Theory:

-It should make sense and be specific to the round.

-Throwaway theory is fine as long as you are specifically connecting it to what is happening in the round. (ie. don't run vagueness just to run vagueness, show me where the opponent is vague)

-Make your standards clear and explain it well. (Note: If you get a POI, I would suggest taking it.)

Kritiks: I think they are important to debate and I will listen to them, but because I am less familiar with them than some judges you might have, make sure you both thoroughly understand and can thoroughly explain your K.

-Do not make assumptions about others and do not run anything you already know is offensive and/or hurtful.

-People and emotions are more valuable than a win...and being offensive/causing emotional-damage probably won't get you a win.

-Like theory, make it specific to the round...please don't run something just to run it and not link it to the res.

-Please repeat the alt and take POIs. Ks can be hard and it is exclusionary not to make sure that your opponent understands what you are saying.

-Don't spread your opponents out of the round. If you are not clear or organized, it will be reflected in speaks or (depending on the severity) the way I vote.

-I will flow through what you tell me to and will vote on my flow. This means that you should emphasize arguments or links that you think are key to your Kritik.

Speaker Points: Generally, these are subjective...but I base them on a mix of strategy and style.

25: Please be more considerate with your words. You were offensive during round and I will not tolerate that because debate is about learning and it becomes very hard to learn if someone is not putting thought into their words (ie. please stop being racist, sexist, homophobic, etc).

26-26.9: Below average. Most likely there were strategic errors in round. Arguments were probably missing sections and did not have a ton of structure.

27-27.9: Average. General structure is down, but most likely the arguments were not flushed out and were loosely constructed with hard to follow logic.

28-28.5: Above Average. All the parts of debate are there and the manipulation of the arguments is there but unpolished. The basics are done well.

28.5-28.9: Superior. Very clear and very well done debate. However, most likely some strategic errors were made.

29-29.9: Excellent. Wow, you can debate really well. Good strategy and good analysis.

30: You were godly.

This paradigm was done really late, so it will be edited as I judge more.

Sagar Pyreddy Granite Bay Independent 8 rounds

Victor Qin North Hollywood High School None

Mary Raeburn Francis Parker School

Akash Rathod The Harker School

Last changed on Mon July 29, 2019 at 1:35 PM PDT

UC Berkeley '23

Okemos High School '19

My name is Akash Rathod and I am a freshman at UC Berkeley. I did four years of Policy Debate at Okemos High School (Okemos, MI). I qualified to the TOC with 3 bids reading mostly kritikal arguments on both the Aff and Neg (Settler Colonialism, Afropess, Psychoanalysis, Deleuze, Baudrillard). However, don’t let that influence your thoughts on me as a judge. I have found many “policy” debates much more interesting/enjoyable than many “k v k” debates. Go for whatever you think is the best strategy to win the debate and execute it to the best of your ability – I will be happy regardless of the specific content.

There is no argument I am not willing to listen to. Debate is a space to explore your intellectual interests and be creative, so you should take advantage of that. So, if you like going for the politics DA, go for it. However, you should refrain from arguments that directly attack a person’s identity (such as racism good, sexism good, etc.). I am perfectly ok with listening to extinction good.

Tech > truth – as long as an argument has some warrant attached to it, it is true until addressed by the other team. I will do my best to protect the 2NR.

Topic Knowledge – I have some familiarity with the topic, however, it will benefit you to explain complicated nuances and to spell out acronyms (only once).

I flow on my computer and like being able to line arguments up.

My email is akashrathod2019 (at) gmail (dot) com. I would like to be added to the email chain. You can also email me if you have any questions about my paradigm or want additional feedback about the round.

Speaks

I will try to keep speaks in the range of 28 – 29.5.

Speaker points will be determined by your persuasiveness, clarity, and strategic mindset. Smart debaters will always outspeak debaters who are just really clear.

Kritiks

Neg

I won’t hack for your K – you must do the work of explaining your argument.

I don’t mind a long overview, but I would prefer it if all relevant parts could be moved to the line-by-line. I would prefer it if links were done somewhere on the line-by-line (I don’t care where just don’t put them in the overview). Also, labeling links with cool names is good.

Specificity is key – if you aren’t doing the work to show why the 1AC specifically is bad (by pulling lines from their evidence and contextualizing your 1NC cards to the action of the plan), I am likely going to buy the perm solves. You don’t need links to the plan, but you should try to contextualize your generic links to the 1AC as much as possible.

You don’t need an alt, but you should spend time framing what my ballot means in a world where there is no alt to resolve the K’s impacts.

“K tricks” are fine but be smart with them – don’t just throw stuff at the wall and see if something sticks.

FW is important – you should very clear offense here as well as defensive arguments. Having good framing cards in the 1NC (especially if you are going one-off) is important. I can be persuaded that I shouldn’t evaluate the plan.

Demonstrating robust knowledge of your theory, as opposed to constantly reading blocks off your computer, will likely boost your speaks.

Aff

FW should never be “Ks bad.” Winning the FW debate for the Aff requires having a clear reason why your model of debate is good (e.g. fairness, political deliberation, etc) and making sure you answer all the neg’s tricks (e.g. Antonio 95, fiat is illusory, etc.). Being technical here is very key and I can be convinced to weigh only the consequences of plan action.

Perms should be thoroughly explained by the 1AR.

I think a lot of the common “policy tricks” (pragmatism, extinction first, etc.) make a lot of intuitive sense, but you still need to do a good job establishing them.

Coming into the debate with a strong understanding of the neg’s position will help you immensely, so you should be reading their cards and making sure you use cross-x to really understand their argument. It will make it easier to find their weak spot.

K v K Debates

I can be convinced not to give the Aff a perm, but a lot of the neg’s arguments for why I shouldn’t are usually quite silly, but must be answered by the Aff.

Both teams need to have a robust number of historical examples.

Links and net-benefits to the perm should be clearly labeled.

FW (T-USFG)

Neg

While I read a K-Aff in high-school, I am very persuaded by a lot of the arguments by FW teams. You can definitely go for procedural fairness as an impact. I also like arguments about truth-testing/argumentative refinement and research. Explaining the importance of each these in the context of predictable limits can make a very easy neg ballot.

I am not very persuaded by impacts like dogmatism or state good. While I think there is some merit to the dogmatism impact, I haven’t heard a very strong argument about why that would outweigh any offense the Aff generally goes for. I think truth-testing functions as a much more persuasive defensive argument to mitigate a lot of the Aff offense. State good is more convincing to me as a K of the aff’s refusal of certain forms of political engagement.

TVAs don’t need to solve the Aff but should somehow align with the Aff’s criticism of the status quo. Having a card isn’t necessary but would be cool.

I am perfectly fine with a short 1NC shell with no cards other than definitions.

Aff

Impact turn stuff and you will probably be fine.

You don’t need a W/M.

You don’t even necessarily need a C/I – but it will make it harder for you to win unless you go for debate bad, which is perfectly fine.

Slow down when explaining your DAs – teams often breeze through several 1 or 2 sentences DAs that I can’t follow. Your 2AC analysis should have a clear warrant as to why the neg’s interpretation is bad, what the impact to that is, and how your interpretation solves. Examples here are key.

Defense is important, don’t forget it.

You should be very clear and upfront about why the TVA or reading it on the neg doesn’t solve.

DAs

Not much to say here. Impact calc is good and should be done sooner rather than later.

CPs

I don’t have many thoughts about CP theory – so do whatever you like. Words pics are probably not cool, but if you want to go for it.

You should probably have a solvency advocate. Using 1AC lines to justify a cp will boost your speaks.

I enjoy a really good T debate. Both teams should be doing a good job explaining what debate looks like under different interpretations of the topic.

Impact Turns

I love a good impact turn debate. DeDev, Heg Good, Heg Bad, Warming Good, Extinction Good, etc. I love them all. Especially, against K-Affs or new Affs they can be very strategic and should be heavily utilized.

Theory

I will vote on new affs bad – given the neg can explain a coherent impact.

Clipping

Don't clip. I will keep my eye out for it. If I catch it, I will warn you (unless it was egregious). If I catch you doing it again, I will give you 0 speaks and the loss. I will also allow the round to continue to the end.

If you believe the other team is clipping, start recording them and present the recording to me after the speech. I will listen and decide. You won't be penalized for calling out another team for clipping, as long as you do so in a manner that allows the round to continue smoothly.

If you are reading unhighlighted cards, I will expect you to read the whole thing, unless you clarify before your speech. If you don't, I will consider that as clipping.

Manav Rathod The Harker School

Last changed on Sat January 16, 2021 at 6:42 AM EDT

UC Berkeley ‘21

Okemos High School ‘18

General Stuff

My name is Manav Rathod and I am a student at UC Berkeley. I did 4 years of policy debate at Okemos High School (Okemos, MI). Senior year I qualified to the TOC with 3 bids. In high school, I mainly read Kritikal arguments (Afropessimism, Cap, Psychoanalysis, Deleuze, Baudrillard, Queer Theory) on both the aff and neg, however, don’t let that influence your thoughts on me as a judge. I have found many “policy” debates much more interesting/enjoyable than many “k v k” debates. Go for whatever you think is the best strategy to win the debate and execute it to the best of your ability – I will be happy regardless of the specific content.

Tech > truth – as long as an argument has some warrant attached to it, it is true until addressed by the other team. I will do my best to protect the 2NR.

Topic Knowledge – I have some familiarity with the topic, however, it will benefit you to explain complicated nuances and to spell out acronyms (only once).

I flow on my computer and like being able to line arguments up.

My email is manav (dot) rathod (at) gmail (dot) com. I would like to be added to the email chain. You can also email me if you have any questions about my paradigm or want additional feedback about the round.

Speaks

I will try to keep speaks in the range of 28 – 29.5.

Speaker points will be determined by your persuasiveness, clarity, and strategic mindset. Smart debaters will always outspeak debaters who are just really clear.

Being funny, referencing TV shows, using easy to understand examples (especially in K debates), etc. will boost your speaks.

Kritiks

Neg

I won’t hack for your K – you must do the work of explaining your argument.

You don’t need an alt, but you should spend time framing what my ballot means in a world where there is no alt to resolve the K’s impacts.

“K tricks” are fine but be smart with them – don’t just throw stuff at the wall and see if something sticks.

Demonstrating robust knowledge of your theory, as opposed to constantly reading blocks off your computer, will likely boost your speaks.

Aff

Perms should be thoroughly explained by the 1AR.

I think a lot of the common “policy tricks” (pragmatism, extinction first, etc.) make a lot of intuitive sense, but you still need to do a good job establishing them.

K v K Debates

I can be convinced not to give the Aff a perm, but a lot of the neg’s arguments for why I shouldn’t are usually quite silly, but must be answered by the Aff.

Both teams need to have a robust number of historical examples.

Links and net-benefits to the perm should be clearly labeled.

FW (T-USFG)

Neg

TVAs don’t need to solve the Aff but should somehow align with the Aff’s criticism of the status quo. Having a card isn’t necessary but would be cool.

I am perfectly fine with a short 1NC shell with no cards other than definitions.

Aff

Impact turn stuff and you will probably be fine.

You don’t need a w/m.

You don’t even necessarily need a c/I – but it will make it harder for you to win unless you go for debate bad, which is perfectly fine.

Defense is important, don’t forget it.

You should be very clear and upfront about why the TVA or reading it on the neg doesn’t solve.

DAs

Not much to say here. Impact calc is good and should be done sooner rather than later.

CPs

I don’t have many thoughts about CP theory – so do whatever you like. Words pics are probably not cool, but if you want to go for it.

You should probably have a solvency advocate. Using 1AC lines to justify a cp will boost your speaks.

I enjoy a really good T debate. Both teams should be doing a good job explaining what debate looks like under different interpretations of the topic.

Impact Turns

Theory

I will vote on new affs bad – given the neg can explain a coherent impact.

Clipping

If you are reading unhighlighted cards, I will expect you to read the whole thing, unless you clarify before your speech. If you don't, I will consider that as clipping.

Agam Reddy Riverside STEM Academy

Jerome Robinson Granada Hills Charter High School

Jocelyn Rodriguez Jack Howe None

Edward Rumbos-Perez Claremont

Last changed on Fri April 12, 2024 at 9:20 AM PDT

Hi o/

I'm currently an undergrad at UC Berkeley and an assistant Speech and Debate coach. I'm a former debater who mainly competed in Parliamentary debate for Claremont High School. Alongside that, I've competed in and/or judged LD, PF, Worlds, BQ, Congress, and several speech events (mainly Impromptu/Extemp). I always appreciate a competitive and respectful round so I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

General Debate Notes

Please focus on your links! I believe they are just as/more important than your cards/impacts. Arguments that depend on well-thought out logic are always more interesting to listen to than a random card without much analysis from the debater. I weigh magnitude and probability heavily, meaning I will not vote for your nuclear holocaust argument just because you tell me to based on a 0.0000000001% chance. Please provide a roadmap and signpost in each speech! I want to be able to flow your case/refutations as accurately as possible and it's difficult when you spew random facts at me for 7 minutes. Remember, you could have the most beautiful argument to ever be conceived of in human history, but if I don't know where/how to flow it I can't give you credit. Lastly, be respectful! Especially during POIs and cross. That also means avoid making faces or facepalming while your camera is on, I'll probably tank speaks if a debater is being disrespectful throughout the round.

Kritiks & Theory

I'm open to hearing these arguments as long as you can justify them. There are definitely rounds where these arguments are necessary and will impact my decision. I'm not the most familiar with K's so please explain each component to me! If there's one thing I hate more than spreading, it's frivolous theory/k's that you wrote at camp 5 months ago and decided to shoe into your case. Make sure the K actually makes sense for the specific round, not one that you already decided to run before the topic is even announced. (It's an exclusionary tactic against new debaters and makes me sad ). Don't feel pressured to run these arguments either, you don't need to use jargon or this structure to explain why a definition or argument is abusive!

Speaking

I'm pretty generous when it comes to speaks. If you make me laugh I'm probably going to boost your speaks too. Be respectful to your opponents, being rude is an easy way for me to dock your speaks without feeling very bad. Don't Spread, Don't Spread, Don't Spread.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask them in round! :)

glhf

Ayush Saha Independence High School

Last changed on Fri June 9, 2023 at 11:35 AM PDT

What's up guys. I'm Ayush. I'm out of the loop for debate in general. I debated 3 years for Granada Hills Charter which I'm sure none of you heard about. I did Trad for 2 years and circuit LD senior year. I mainly debated tricks and Phil.

email chain: ayushsaha4k@gmail.com

i disclose every single round unless the tournament specifically says I can’t- I’ll also disclose speaks if you ask. I generally give high speaks

For Trad Rounds- Clear communication- you can go fast but this side of debate is about being able to communicate. Go hard on the VC clash- if you guys have the same type of VC please do not waste your time extending it and spending 40 seconds justifying it. Just literally say "Vote for whoever upholds util the best" Simple as that. Besides that just debate how you normally do. Focus on word economy since it's trad.

Quick Prefs

1- Tricks

1- Phil (Kant, Hobbes, etc.)

5- LARP

5- Theory (like full out theory debate throwing shells at each other)

Strike- Kritik (especially if you are running something super foreign I probs am too stupid to understand

TLDR: Good for Phil/Trix rounds. Can evaluate LARP- but probably not to the level that you would want. Not good for the K especially if you read something like afro-pess or some weird baudy. I'm good for the cap-k or biopower tho.Tech>Truth no exceptions(I mean no exceptions at all)- I will evaluate whatever in front of me. If you tell me some messed up stuff I will not put my personal beliefs into the round. It's the most fair. These preferences are just what I'm good and better at evaluating.

Tricks- Love these but be clear about them. I would also prefer you do something innovative and not the Resolved Apriori (I'll vote for it tho cause it is pretty funny). I would prefer tricks mixed with Phil- tricky Phil type stuff rather than a bunch of stupid theory spikes. But ya I'm down to evaluate- but format nicely. If you don't I won't do anything but it makes evaluating harder for me and I might miss something. also skep is probably true.

Phil- Love these. I read a bunch of Kant and am familiar with Hobbes. I would really love to see somebody do a new take on Kant or make some weird interpretation of the Phil I think that would be cool but idk up to you. I liked reading weirder stuff so if you have anything wacky pls read it.LARP debate is getting stale.

Some NC's I've read

Finlay, GCB, Gettier, Lib, Logcon, Machiavelli, Monism, Solipsism, Subjective Idealism(my fav nc),Unger.

LARP- If you LARP put me at the bottom of your prefs.I will evaluate the round but this isn't my strong point. If you larp don't pref me lol. If you get me cause you got judge screwed, just be super clear and draw out the scenario clearly. the 2AR should be a clear story of what happens if you vote aff/neg. Or just collapse to condo idc.I'm just tired of the same big school aff every round.

Theory-I mainly read shells for time sucks and had no intention of going for them. I'm good for theory spikes in an under view lmao. I buy Topicality (Nebel etc.). I will evaluate like everything but theory is so technical that it will be hard to catch up on a zoom for me. just proceed with caution.

K-I understand Cap, biopower, fem, some basic baudy pretty well but everything else is sorta difficult (especially POMO). If you really wanna read a K in front of me it would be nice if you made your taglines understandable and not purposely intimidating/confusing. Up to you tho if you wanna read something like afro-pess in front of me. Also since I'm tech>truth I will not buy your ethos 2NR over some technical concession. You drop something it's GG.

Defaults- used if nothing is provided you can change any of these

Truth Testing

presumption flows neg because the aff has to prove a proactive action

permissibility flows either way- I will never vote on it till you make a case for it. you have to go for a permissibility trigger or something explicitly for me to vote on it.

Also don't be mean it's is annoying. I won't dock speaks cause some people say it's a performance but it will leave a sour taste in my mouth. Treat your opponents nicely. I don't mind sarcasm or sassy humor ig. just don't uneccesarily call people sexist/racist/paternalistic etc. to make them look bad when they're clearly not and we all know it. C'mon you're better than that. Gotta stop trivializing these words lol.

Also it makes it easier when you explain the round in conditional statements (e.g. if they concede x, it's game over because abc). Layer super well and explain what comes first and how you win. Do this and you will become a better debater. Simple as that bro

Maximilien Seiersen Jack Howe 8 rounds None

Ye Shen Westlake High School

Rekha Shenoy OES None

Danica Sheres Francis Parker School

Douglas Sheres Francis Parker School None

Prasana Silva La Canada High School

Shantanu Sinha Redlands High School

Ashley Soong Nova 42 Academy None

Michelle Soto La Canada High School

Jennifer A. Stevenson West Ranch High School

Jack Strachan Jack Howe None

Santhoshi Sunkam Earth Debate None

Elleora Svoboda La Reina

Amir Tadros Los Altos High School

Conal Thomas-McGinnis West Des Moines Valley High School

Last changed on Fri January 5, 2024 at 12:57 PM EDT

Old paradigm, I will no longer give extra speaks for anything listed as extra speaks, but I think this paradigm is a classic: https://tinyurl.com/yyhknlsn

[Updated 3/3/2021] In fact, here is a list of things I dislike that I will probably not be giving good speaks for: https://tinyurl.com/55u4juwp

Email: conal.t.mcginnis@gmail.com

Tricks: 1*

Framework: 1

Theory: 1

K: 6

LARP: Strike

To clarify: I like K's and LARP the LEAST (as in, you should rate me a 6 if you like Ks and strike me if you LARP a lot) and I like Tricks, Framework, and Theory the MOST (you should rate me a 1 if you like Tricks, Framework, and Theory a lot).

Util is bad enough to be beaten by sneezing on it

Overall I am willing to vote on anything that isn't an instance of explicit isms (racism, sexism, etc.).

Other than that, here's a bunch of small things in a list. I add to this list as I encounter new stuff that warrants being added to the list based on having difficulty of decision in a particular round:

1. Part in parcel of me not being a great judge for LARP due to my low understanding of complex util scenarios is that I am not going to be doing a lot of work for y'all. I also will NOT be reading through a ton of cards for you after the round unless you specifically point out to me cards that I should be reading to evaluate the round properly.

2. I know it's nice to get to hide tricks in the walls of text but if you want to maximize the chances that I notice something extra special you should like slightly change the tone or speed of delivery on it or something.

3. If you have something extremely important for me to pay attention to in CX please say "Yo judge this is important" or something because I'm probably prepping or playing some dumbass game.

4. I will evaluate all speeches in a debate round.

"Evaluate after" arguments: If there are arguments that in order for me to evaluate after a certain speech I must intervene, I will do so. For example, if there is a 1N shell and a 1AR I-meet, I will have to intervene to see if the I-meet actually meets the shell.

Update: In order for me to evaluate "evaluate after" arguments, I will have to take the round at face value at the point that the speeches have stopped. However, as an extension of the paradigm item above, the issue is that many times in order for me to determine who has won at a particular point of speeches being over, I need to have some explanation of how the debaters thing those speeches play out. If either debater makes an argument for why, if the round were to stop at X speech, they would win the round (even if this argument is after X speech) I will treat it as a valid argument for clarifying how I make my decision. Assuming that the "evaluate after" argument is conceded/true, I won't allow debaters to insert arguments back in time but if they point out something like "judge, if you look at your flow for the round, if you only evaluate (for example) the AC and the NC, then the aff would win because X," then I will treat it as an argument.

Update P.S.: "Evaluate after" arguments are silly. I ~~of course~~ won't ~~on face not~~ vote on them~~, but please reconsider reading them~~.

Update P.S. 2: "Evaluate after" causes a grandfather paradox. Example: If "Evaluate after the 1NC" is read in the 1NC, it must be extended in the 2NR in order for me as the judge to recognize it as a won argument that changes the paradigmatic evaluation of the round. However, the moment that paradigmatic shift occurs, I no longer consider the 2NR to have happened or been evaluated for the purposes of the round, and thus the "Evaluate after the 1NC" argument was never extended and the paradigmatic evaluation shift never occurred.

5. "Independent voters" are not independent - they are dependent entirely on what is almost always a new framework that involves some impact that is presumed to be preclusive. I expect independent voter arguments to have strong warrants as to why their micro-frameworks actually come first. Just saying "this is morally repugnant so it's an independent voter" is not a sufficient warrant.

Also - independent voters that come in the form of construing a framework to an implication requires that you actually demonstrate that it is correct that that implication is true. For example, if you say "Kant justifies racism" and your opponent warrants why their reading of the Kantian ethical theory doesn't justify racism, then you can't win the independent voter just because it is independent.

6. I will no longer field arguments that attempt to increase speaker points. I think they are enjoyable and fun but they likely are not good long term for the activity, given that when taken to their logical conclusion, each debater could allocate a small amount of time to a warranted argument for giving them a 30, and then simply concede each others argument to guarantee they both get maximal speaks (and at that point speaker points no longer serve a purpose).

7. My understanding of unconditional advocacies is that once you claim to defend an advocacy unconditionally you are bound to defending any disadvantages or turns to that advocacy. It does not mean you are bound to spend time extending the advocacy in the 2NR, but if the aff goes for offense in the 2AR that links to this unconditional advocacy and the neg never went for that advocacy, the aff's offense on that flow still stands.

Update: Role of the Ballots are frameworks and do not have a conditionality.

8. Don't like new 2AR theory arguments.

9. I don't time! Please time yourselves and time each other. I highly recommend that you personally use a TIMER as opposed to a STOPWATCH. This will prevent you from accidentally going over time! If your opponent is going over time, interrupt them! If your opponent goes over time and you don't interrupt them, then there's not much I can do. If you are certain they went over time and your opponent agrees to some other way to reconcile the fact that they went over time, like giving you more time as well, then go ahead. I do not have a pre-determined solution to this possibility. I only have this blurb here because it just happened in a round so this is for all of the future rounds where this may happen again.

10. If you do something really inventive and interesting and I find it genuinely funny or enjoyable to listen to and give good speaks for it, don't run around and tell any teammate or friend who has me as a judge to make the same arguments. If I see the exact same arguments I will probably consider the joke to be stale or re-used. Particularly funny things MIGHT fly but like, if I can tell it's just a ploy for speaks I will be sadge.

11. In general, for online events, say "Is anyone not ready" instead of "Is everyone ready" solely because my speaking is gated by pressing unmute, which is annoying when I have my excel sheet pulled up. I'll stop you if I'm not ready, and you can assume I'm ready otherwise. (However, for in person events, say "Is everyone ready" because I'm right there!)

12. I will not vote for you if you read "The neg may not make arguments" and the neg so much as sneezes a theory shell at you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For traditional rounds: speak and argue however you want (bar racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other ism or phobia)

*WHEN YOU READ TRICKS: I PREFER BEING UP FRONT ABOUT THEM. Pretending you don't know what an a priori is is annoying. Honestly, just highlight every a priori and tell your opponent: "here are all the a prioris"**.

**Seriously, I have yet to see anyone do this. Do it, it would be funny, I think.

Hunter Toews Bullard HS

Kate Totz Brentwood School

Last changed on Fri March 8, 2024 at 5:15 AM CDT

—Updated for Glenbrooks 2022—

Background - current assistant PF coach at Blake, former LD coach at Brentwood (CA). Most familiar w/ progressive, policy-esque arguments, style, and norms, but won’t dock you for wanting a more traditional PF round.

Non-negotiables - be kind to those you are debating and to me (this looks a lot of ways: respectful cross, being nice to novices, not outspreading a local team at a circuit tournament, not stealing prep, etc.) and treat the round and arguments read with respect. Debate may be a game, but the implications of that game manifest in the real world.

I am indifferent to having an email chain, and will call for ev as needed to make my decision.
If we are going to have an email chain, THE TEAM SPEAKING FIRST should set it up before the round, and all docs should be sent immediately prior to the start of each speech.
if we are going to do ev sharing on an email, put me on the chain: ktotz001@gmail.com

My internal speaks scale:

Below 25 - something offensive or very very bad happened (please do not make me do this!)
25-27.5 - didn’t use all time strategically (varsity only), distracted from important parts of the debate, didn’t add anything new or relevant
27.5-29 - v good, some strategic comments, very few presentational issues, decent structuring
29-30 - wouldn’t be shocked to see you in outrounds, very few strategic notes, amazing structure, gives me distinct weighing and routes to the ballot.

Mostly, I feel that a debate is a debate is a debate and will evaluate any args presented to me on the flow. The rest are varying degrees of preferences I’ve developed, most are negotiable.

Speed - completely fine w/ most top speeds in PF, will clear for clarity and slow for speed TWICE before it impacts speaks.

I do ask that you DON’T completely spread out your opponents and that you make speech docs available if going significantly faster than your opponents.

Summary split - I STRONGLY prefer that anything in final is included in summary. I give a little more lenience in PF than in other events on pulling from rebuttal, but ABSOLUTELY no brand new arguments in final focuses please!

Case turns - yes good! The more specific/contextualized to the opp’s case the better!

I very strongly believe that advocating for inexcusable things (oppression of any form, extinction, dehumanization, etc.) is grounds to completely tank speaks (and possibly auto-loss). You shouldn’t advocate for bad things just bc you think you are a good enough debater to defend them.
There’s a gray area of turns that I consider permissible, but as a test of competition. For example, climate change good is permissible as a way to make an opp going all in on climate change impacts sweat, but I would prefer very much to not vote exclusively on cc good bc I don’t believe it’s a valid claim supported by the bulk of the literature. While I typically vote tech over truth, voting for arguments I know aren’t true (but aren’t explicitly morally abhorrent) will always leave a bad taste in my mouth.

T/Theory - I have voted on theory in PF in the past and am likely to in the future. I need distinct paradigm issues/voters and a super compelling violation story to vote solely on theory.

*** I have a higher threshold for voting on t/theory than most PF judges - I think this is because I tend to prefer reasonability to competing interpretations sans in-round argumentation for competing interps and a very material way that one team has made this round irreparably unfair/uneducational/inaccessible.***

norms I think are good - disclosure (prefer open source, but all kinds are good), ev ethics consistent w/ the NSDA event rules (means cut cards for paraphrased cases in PF), nearly anything related to accessibility and representation in debate
gray-area norms - tw/cw (very good norm and should be provided before speech time with a way to opt out (especially for graphic descriptions of violence), but there is a difference between being genuinely triggered and unable to debate specific topics and just being uncomfortable. It's not my job to discern what is 'genuinely' triggering to you specifically, but it is your job as a debater to be respectful to your opponents at all times); IVIs/RVIs (probably needed to check friv theory, but will only vote on them very contextually)
norms I think are bad - paraphrasing!! (especially without complete citations), running theory on a violation that doesn’t substantively impact the round, weaponization of theory to exclude teams/discussions from debate

K’s - good for debate and some of the best rounds I’ve had the honor to see in the past. Very hard to do well in LD, exceptionally hard to do well in PF due to time constraints, unfortunately. But, if you want to have a K debate, I am happy to judge it!!

A prerequisite to advocating for any one critical theory of power is to understand and internalize that theory of power to the best of your ability - this means please don’t try to argue a K haphazardly just for laughs - doing so is a particularly gross form of privilege.
most key part of the k is either the theory of power discussion or the ballot key discussion - both need to be very well developed throughout the debate.
in all events but PF, the solvency of the alt is key. In PF, bc of the lack of plans, the framing/ballot key discourse replaces, but functions similarly to, the solvency of the alt.
Most familiar with - various ontological theories (pessimistic, optimistic, nihilistic, etc.), most iterations of cap and neolib
Somewhat familiar with - securitization, settler-colonialism, and IR K’s
Least familiar with - higher-level, post-modern theories (looking specifically at Lacan here)

Shalini Tyagi Milpitas High School

Pancheng Wang Prestige Debate

Zoe Wasserman Marlborough School

David Wells Bakersfield High School

Last changed on Wed September 20, 2017 at 4:16 AM PDT

David Wells

Head Coach Bakersfield High School

dmwells101@yahoo.com

Policy Debate Experience

4 years HS policy debate 1992-1996

3 time College NDT qualifier 2000-2002 CSU, Bakersfield

Policy and LD Judging Philosophies below

Policy Judging Philosophy

Tech vs. Truth

Truth is often determined in round by the argumetns presented so I guess I lean toward technique that has well explained arguments. Blippy arguments are rarely persuasive and often easily grouped and defeated.

Prep Time

Please don't use the restroom right before your speech and expect it not to take your preptime.

Prep time can be used before or after CX.

Flashing docs is not considered prep time, unless you "realize" you need something that requires prep.

Evidence vs Analysis (The lost Art of Argumentation)

Good analysis beats bad evidence most of the time. My HS Coach was fond of saying, "Debate with your brains not with your briefs." That being said, good evidence with good analysis is best.

AFF

I prefer Affirmatives that defend a topical policy action, preferably with a plan. The topical case can be big impact, systemic impact or critical in nature. I can be persuaded that other ways of debating are worthwhile, but the burden of proof falls heavily on the AFF without a plan as to how they actually affirm the resolution, not just an identity or issue unrelated to the Nationally chosen topic.

I have no problem voting for performance AFFs that are well debated. I do not care at all for Adhom. attacks.

I dislike blip theory debates. I do like theory debates that are developed, well articulated, and impacted. I have no problem voting on theory. Just make it good theory.

NEG

Counterplans, DAs, Kritiks, Case Debates, and Topicality are all fine. The more specific the evidence/links the more likely you will get weight for your arguments.

Be ready and able to defend your Neg Strategy. 2NR should make strategic decisions and no go for everything.

LD Judging Philosophy

Speed/Clarity: I debated Policy at the national level in college so speed is fine. Let me clarify, clear speed is fine. I determine your clarity. So I will say clearer twice, then slower, then stop flowing if you fail to adjust. If you do "speed" drills but not "clarity" drills, you probably should speak slower.

Strategies: I really just want to see a clash of ideas. Arguments that avoid a directly clash can be persuasive but rarely get high speaker points. Preferably, an actual debate about values and value criterions is preferred. The move toward LD becoming individual policy debate is interesting...not decided if it is beneficial. If you debate policy style, you need to be clear why that is to be preferred and how it stays germane to the Resolution.

The Topic: I like LD cases that embrace the value question of the resolution head on and develop their position. If you run a policy it should be germane to the topic and ought to be a reasonably predictable case for competitive equity. This can be debated out in the round.

If you have questions of me, just ask. I'm not perfect. I'm getting older. You know the topic better than me. So, teach me your position and you have a better chance of winning. If you just read a lot without analysis, you let me be the learner with a poor teacher and who knows what I may think...?

Be Polite and enjoy the debate.

Julie Wilke Prestige Debate None

Ruby Won Brentwood School None

Shari Wong West Career And Technical Academy

Maggie Woodward Flintridge Preparatory

Last changed on Wed January 3, 2024 at 3:30 AM PDT

I have been either competing, coaching, & judging for 20 years. My coaching expertise is primarily in Congress, Original Oratory, & Informative Speaking, though I have experience with any/all events. I am a coach at Flintridge Preparatory & The Westridge School, and Curriculum Director of OO/Info at the Institute for Speech & Debate (ISD). I believe that the Speech & Debate events are far more complementary than we acknowledge, & that they’re all working toward the same pedagogical goals. Because debate is constantly changing, I value versatility & a willingness to adapt.

PF: I'd rather not need to read any docs/evidence in order to decide how I'm voting, but if it comes down to that, I will (begrudgingly) scrutinize your evidence. Feel free to run any experimental/non-traditional arguments you want, but please make these decisions IN GOOD FAITH. Don't shoehorn theory in where it doesn't apply & don't run it manipulatively. I am admittedly not techy-tech girl, but I am always listening comprehensively & flowing.

In Congress rounds, I judge based on a competitor’s skill in the following areas: argumentation, ethicality, presentation, & participation.

Argumentation: Your line of reasoning should be clear & concise; in your speeches & your CX, you should answer the questions at hand. Don’t sacrifice clarity for extra content – there should be no confusion regarding why the bill / resolution results in what you’re saying. You can make links without evidence, but they must be logically or empirically sound.

Ethicality: Evidence is borrowed credibility; borrow honestly. A source should necessarily include its date & the publication in which it appeared, & should not be fabricated. No evidence is better than falsified evidence. Additionally, competitors should remember that although you may not be debating real legislation, the issues at hand are very real, as are the people they affect. An ethical debater does not exploit real world tragedy, death, or disaster in order to “win” rounds.

Presentation: Congressional Debate is the best blend of speech skills & debate ability; what you say is just as important as how you say it. The best speakers will maintain a balance of pathos, ethos, & logos in both their content & delivery style. Rhetoric is useful, but only if its delivery feels authentic & purposeful.

Participation: Tracking precedence & recency is a good way to participate – it helps keep the PO accountable, & demonstrates your knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure. Questioning is an integral part of Congress; I like thoughtful, incisive questioning that doesn’t become adversarial or malicious. Both your questions & your answers should be pertinent & succinct. Above all, I am a big fan of competitors who are as invested in making the chamber better as they are in bettering their own ranks. The round can only be as engaging, lively, and competitive as you make it - pettiness brings everyone down.

Jean Wu Westlake High School

Sam Yacoub Gabrielino Club None

Ju Yang Palo Alto High School

Chris Yau San Marino High School None

Bingsheng Yi Prestige Debate

Quinton Yuan Irvington HS

Adiela Zadouri Granada Hills Charter High School None

Serena Zheng Jack Howe None

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