Jesuit Novice Scrimmage
2017 — TX/US
Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show Hideemail: eforslund@gmail.com
Copied and Pasted from my judge philosophy wiki page.
Recent Bio:
Director of Debate at Pace Academy
15 years judging and coaching high school debate. First at Damien High School then at Greenhill. Generally only judge a handful of college rounds a year.
Zero rounds on the current college topic in 2020.
Coached at the University of Wyoming 2004-2005.
I have decided to incentivize reading strategies that involve talking about the specifics of the affirmative case. Too many high school teams find a terrible agent or process cp and use politics as a crutch. Too many high school teams pull out their old, generic, k's and read them regardless of the aff. As an incentive to get away from this practice I will give any 2N that goes for a case-only strategy an extra point. If this means someone who would have earned a 29 ends up with a 30, then so be it. I would rather encourage a proliferation of higher speaker points, then a proliferation of bad, generic arguments. If you have to ask what a case strategy involves, then you probably aren't going to read one. I'm not talking about reading some case defense and going for a disad, or a counterplan that solves most of the aff. I'm talking about making a majority of the debate a case debate -- and that case debate continuing into the 2NR.
You'll notice "specificity good" throughout my philosophy. I will give higher points to those teams that engage in more specific strategies, then those that go for more generic ones. This doesnt mean that I hate the k -- on the contrary, I wouldn't mind hearing a debate on a k, but it needs to be ABOUT THE AFF. The genero security k doesnt apply to the South Korean Prostitutes aff, the Cap k doesnt apply to the South Korea Off-Shore Balancing aff - and you arent likely to convince me otherwise. But if you have an argument ABOUT the affirmative --especially a specific k that has yet to be read, then you will be rewarded if I am judging you.
I have judged high-level college and high school debates for the last 14 years. That should answer a few questions that you are thinking about asking: yes, speed is fine, no, lack of clarity is not. Yes, reading the k is ok, no, reading a bunch of junk that doesn't apply to the topic, and failing to explain why it does is not.
The single most important piece of information I can give you about me as a judge is that I cut a lot of cards -- you should ALWAYS appeal to my interest in the literature and to protect the integrity of that literature. Specific is ALWAYS better than generic, and smart strategies that are well researched should ALWAYS win out over generic, lazy arguments. Even if you dont win debates where you execute specifics, you will be rewarded.
Although my tendencies in general are much more to the right than the rest of the community, I have voted on the k many times since I started judging, and am generally willing to listen to whatever argument the debaters want to make. Having said that, there are a few caveats:
1. I don't read a lot of critical literature; so using a lot of terms or references that only someone who reads a lot of critical literature would understand isn’t going to get you very far. If I don’t understand your arguments, chances are pretty good you aren’t going to win the debate, no matter how persuasive you sound. This goes for the aff too explain your argument, don’t assume I know what you are talking about.
2. You are much better off reading critical arguments on the negative then on the affirmative. I tend to believe that the affirmative has to defend a position that is at least somewhat predictable, and relates to the topic in a way that makes sense. If they don’t, I am very sympathetic to topicality and framework-type arguments. This doesn’t mean you can’t win a debate with a non-traditional affirmative in front of me, but it does mean that it is going to be much harder, and that you are going to have to take topicality and framework arguments seriously. To me, predictability and fairness are more important than stretching the boundaries of debate, and the topic. If your affirmative defends a predictable interpretation of the topic, you are welcome to read any critical arguments you want to defend that interpretation, with the above stipulations.
3. I would much rather watch a disad/counterplan/case debate than some other alternative.
In general, I love a good politics debate - but - specific counterplans and case arguments are THE BEST strategies. I like to hear new innovative disads, but I have read enough of the literature on this year’s topic that I would be able to follow any deep debate on any of the big generic disads as well.
As far as theory goes, I probably defer negative a bit more in theory debates than affirmative. That probably has to do with the fact that I like very well thought-out negative strategies that utilize PICS and specific disads and case arguments. As such, I would much rather see an affirmative team impact turn the net benefits to a counterplan then to go for theory (although I realize this is not always possible). I really believe that the boundaries of the topic are formed in T debates at the beginning of the year, therefore I am much less willing to vote on a topicality argument against one of the mainstream affirmatives later on in the year than I am at the first few tournaments. I’m not going to outline all of the affs that I think are mainstream, but chances are pretty good if there are more than a few teams across the country reading the affirmative, I’m probably going to err aff in a close T debate.
One last thing, if you really want to get high points in front of me, a deep warming debate is the way to go. I would be willing to wager that I have dug further into the warming literature than just about anybody in the country, and I love to hear warming debates. I realize by this point most teams have very specific strategies to most of the affirmatives on the topic, but if you are wondering what advantage to read, or whether or not to delve into the warming debate on the negative, it would be very rewarding to do so in front of me -- at the very least you will get some feedback that will help you in future debates.
Ok, I lied, one more thing. Ultimately I believe that debate is a game. I believe that debaters should have fun while debating. I realize that certain debates get heated, however do your best not to be mean to your partner, and to the other team. There are very few things I hate more than judging a debate where the teams are jerks to each other. Finally, although I understand the strategic value to impact turning the alternative to kritiks and disads (and would encourage it in most instances), there are a few arguments I am unwilling to listen to those include: sexism good, racism good, genocide good, and rape good. If you are considering reading one of those arguments, don’t. You are just going to piss me off.
Jack Griffiths (Paradigm Updated Before New Trier 2024)
Add to email chain: jack9riff at gmail dot com
My Debate History:
- Debater at Jesuit College Prep in Dallas (2015-2019)
- Part-time coach, card-cutter, and judge for Jesuit (2020-2021)
- Assistant at the Gonzaga Debate Institute (2021)
- Full-time assistant coach during my Alumni Service Corps year at Jesuit (2023-2024)
Although I'm now attending law school, I occasionally still help out with Jesuit.
Top-Level Things:
- My IPR topic knowledge is okay. I judged at a camp tournament and assisted with pre-season research at Jesuit. But since I'm no longer a regular coach/judge, I won't be up to date on newer topic developments or more niche terms of art.
- I don’t have a preference for certain kinds of arguments over others, so run what you want as long as it’s doesn't stigmatize someone or endorse direct harm/death (either to oneself or to someone else).
- Clash and line-by-line are the most important aspects of debate. Thus, you should keep an accurate flow, do proper signposting (“2AC 1—they say x, we say y”), and use your own voice to initiate comparisons (rather than simply reading walls of cards). The more you do these things, the higher your speaker points will be.
- Comparative framing moments (i.e. “even if the other team wins x, we still win because y”) are compelling to me, especially in the rebuttals.
- Smaller amounts of well-developed arguments >>> Larger amounts of blippy arguments.
- Tag team CX is technically allowed, but I tend to be more impressed by (and thus give more speaker points to) debaters that can participate in CX on their own.
Theory
Although I've generally been unlikely to reject the team, I have pulled the trigger in the past. More often, theory is best used to give yourself more leeway when answering a sketchy argument (e.g. I can probably be convinced that the aff gets some level of perm intrinsicness against a CP with an artificial net benefit). Conditionality is generally good but can become less good with multiple conditional contradictory worlds, an absence of solvency advocates, an abundance of conditional CP planks, etc. SPEC arguments are usually uncompelling to me. News affs are good—I wouldn’t burn 10 seconds in the 1NC by reading your shell.
Be sure to slow down a bit when reading all your compressed analytics. Finding in-round examples of abuse isn't intrinsically necessary but does help you out quite a bit.
Topicality
When deciding these rounds, I first decide whether to evaluate the debate through competing interpretations or reasonability (based on which framework I have been persuaded is best based on the debating) before looking deeper into the flow. I default to competing interpretations if not given an alternative (which generally means I end up deciding the debate based on the comparative risks of the two team's standards). I personally find reasonability at its most compelling/least arbitrary when contextualized to a counter-interpretation (i.e. as long as our counter-interpretation is reasonable enough, you should vote affirmative) rather than when presented in an aff-specific way (i.e. we’re a camp aff so we’re topical). If after the debate I decide to evaluate the round through the lens of reasonability, that usually means I should vote aff unless their interp is evidently bad for debate.
I think debaters tend to spend too much time reading cards in these debates that could instead be spent on giving concrete examples for their standards to help me visualize the limits explosion, loss in ground, etc. Teams also should be doing a better job at explaining the terminal impact to these standards (i.e. what does "precision" actually mean and how much does it matter?). Not articulating your impacts will force me to intervene more than I'm usually comfortable with.
K Aff vs T/Framework
I’ve judged a few of these and have voted for both sides. Negative teams are most compelling when they articulate how iterative debates with a resolutional focus produce research skills, engagement through clashing perspectives, and topic-specific knowledge. Affirmative teams are persuasive when they successfully point out limitations of the negative’s model of debate and/or when they argue that the values the negative espouses will be used for detrimental ends absent the affirmative’s method. “Procedural fairness” could be an impact but most teams that have centralized their strategy around it have sounded too tautological to me, so if going for it is your preference then make sure to articulate why fairness is important beyond just saying “debate is a game so fairness must be important.” A K Aff should still have some connection to the resolution/topic area as well as a clearly-signposted advocacy statement. Affirmatives also need to have robust answers to TVAs and switch side debate.
K vs. K
Although I’ve never judged this form of debate, I had a few rounds like these as a debater from the negative side. I think it’s an open discussion whether the affirmative should be able to have a permutation in these debates—the more vague the affirmative’s method is, the more likely I am to defer negative.
Policy Aff vs K
I have three asks for affirmative teams. First, leverage the 1AC, whether in the form of “case outweighs” argument, a disad to the alt, or as an example of why whatever thing the negative criticizes can be good. Second, choose a strategy that synergizes well with the type of affirmative you’re reading. If your 1AC is 8 minutes of heg good, impact turn. If you’re a soft-left aff, link turn by explaining how the solvency of the aff can challenge structures of oppression. Third, prioritize offensive arguments. I’ve seen too many debates where the 2AR spends almost all their time going for the “perm double bind” and overly defensive strategies. Instead, center the debate about why your method is good and makes things better and why the alternative makes things worse.
Negatives should be able to explain their kritiks without heavily reliance on jargon, especially when reading high theory (given my relative unfamiliarity with it). I like it when negatives present detailed link narratives that are specific to the aff, explain how the alternative addresses the proximate causes of the affirmative impacts, and leverage on-case arguments to supplement the kritiks. I like it less when negatives rely on “tricks” (e.g. framework landmines, ontology without impacting it out) or enthymemes (i.e. establishing only part of an argument/dropping a buzzword while expecting me to fill in the blanks for you simply because prevalent K teams make the same argument).
A note on framework: I am personally uncomfortable voting on overly-exclusionary framework interpretations (e.g. "no Ks allowed" or "aff doesn't get to weigh the plan) unless one team is dropping the ball, and so I'm more compelled by nuanced interpretations that leave some room for the other side (e.g. "the aff can weigh their plan but we should still be able to problematize their assumptions"). For similar reasons, I'm not the biggest fan of pure fiat Ks (but if you win them then you do you, I suppose).
Counterplan Debates
Counterplans should have solvency advocates—and if you manage to find a hyper-specific solvency advocate related to the aff, that can make me more open to counterplans that I might otherwise deem sketchy (process, conditions, etc.). Topic/aff-specific PICs are valuable because they reward targeted research, but word/language-related PICs are likely less legitimate unless you have a very compelling reason why they make sense in a given debate. I’m ambivalent about multiplank counterplans, but if you claim planks are independently conditional and/or you lack a unified solvency advocate for all the planks, I’m more likely to side with the aff. I won’t judge kick unless you tell me in the 2NR.
Disadvantage Debates
Disad debates are fun as long as they’re presented with qualified evidence that can reduce the need for too much “spin.” Controlling uniqueness is important. Turns case is most valuable when contextualized specifically to the aff scenarios and when it isn’t reliant on the negative winning full risk of their terminal impact. Risk can be reduced to zero with smart defensive arguments and if the quality of the disad is just that bad, but generally you’ll be in a better spot if you find a source of offense (which can be even something as simple as “case outweighs”).
Case
Although case answers are (sadly) generally underutilized by the negative, they have influenced quite a few of my decisions, so negative teams should feel compelled to make case debating a more crucial part of their strategy in front of me. Internal link and solvency takeouts (both evidenced and analytical) are much more persuasive to me than reading generic impact defense.
2N @Greenhill, Junior
2A @Greenhill, Senior
debated as 2N for 3 yrs and 2A for 1 yr
***If you have any questions that the philosophy doesnt answer dont be afraid to ask me before the round
K-Affs
High Theory = No, You can read Identity style K-Affs in front of me, but I will warn you that I am pretty predisposed to thinking teams should defend a plan.
T
I can be convinced to vote on almost anything in regards to Topicality in terms of reasonability/competing interpretations, and which impacts matter most. Impact Comparison is super important. Strength of Counter-Interp ev also matters a lot.
CP's
I have gone for process CP's in a majority of my 2NR's. The more topic specific the CP is, the happier I will be. Be creative w/ CP's and don't be constrained by not having a solvency advocate for smart CP's that test the mechanism of the Aff. I usually lean neg on theory, but this year I have become more middle-leaning on theory questions.
I can be convinced that Counterplans do not have to be both functionally and textually competitive, however, I think all counterplans should be functionally competitive. This means Word PICs are probably not the best 2NR in front of me.
50 State Fiat is probably good considering how bad the education topic is for the negative, but by no means is 50 State Fiat Bad an unwinnable argument in front of me.
DA's
I like DA's. I have extended politics a lot. PTX Theory = wrong, and I don't like hearing 1ARs on intrinsicness. I am in the camp of Uniqueness controls the link, but can be convinced the other way. For the Aff, most DA's have pretty terrible internal links, so a DA can be heavily mitigated with just smart analytics.
K
I like the K and I like watching good debates on the K, but if you don't know how to explain the K without using buzzwords pls dont go for it. Also, dont go for high theory - i will not be happy. Education Topic = Yes K
Other Stuff
also - don't be scared to be funny - If you do it wrong however, it looks stupid. If you are not a funny person, don't try to be funny. I appreciate jokes about Aden Barton, Ben Jablonski, the Greenhill team, James Steiner, and Nate Glancy.
Impact Turns are pretty sweet, and undervalued on a topic with such bad neg ground.
Affiliation - Dallas Jesuit '19
2A/1N
-Email chains > flash drives - add me - Limkogan@gmail.com
Update Thing
I hate incomplete off case shells. E.g. If your kritik doesn't have a framework argument or a reason to prefer it, it's a non-unique DA. If your DA doesn't have an internal link, uniqueness, link, or impact, it's not a complete argument. Highlighting an argument in a card without a warrant makes it an incomplete argument. A CP without a net benefit is usually not a complete argument unless there's a justification - i.e. delay, consult, etc. In case there is something like this, say something like "this doesn't have ..., we'll answer when they make a complete argument" and move on. At that point, the neg must/should fully explain every part of the argument or else it gets pretty abusive.
General Topics
-If you have questions ask
-I'll prob be keeping track of prep
-Line by line = fun. 6 minutes of an overview and saying "onto the line by line" isn't. I will prob stop flowing an overview after 2 minutes and you will see me doing something else
-Tech>truth unless an arg is dumb
-Turns = good unless morally offensive
-Clipping/cheating = Bad. Don't.
-I'm pretty expressive
-Spin is usually good until someone points out it's not warranted
-Warrants = good. I won't vote for stuff I don't understand/think there's enough explanation even if I have background information (k debates)
-Passionate = fine. Mean = no
-Clarity > Speed. Efficiency = good. I'll say clear until I think you're ignoring me
-Talking to your partner = prep
-Taking out analytics = prep
-Emailing isn't prep unless it gets ridiculous
-If you're reading straight blocks don't expect above a 28.3 w/o line by line
Theory
-Fine
-Generally neg sided on condo except 7 contradictory, conditional worlds or something abusive. Everything else is viable
-Dropped theory usually = ballot
-If an arg doesn't link I'm not gonna vote on it even if it's unanswered
Topicality
-Yes
-Treat it like a DA
-T.VA's and case lists are really cool
-Ev comparison on interpretations is kinda important
-Reasonability - Make it a substance crowdout and a reason why the counter-interpretation is good enough even if it's not as good as the interp
-Limits can be a standalone but should prob just be an internal link
Case
-It's important
-Case in the block for some time is kinda hard to answer in the 1AR and makes life hell
-Do Ross Extensions b/c they sound cool - https://vimeo.com/5464508
-Circumvention = good
-I have a lower threshold for presumption but it should be an emergency scenario
DA
-Dropped DA's are usually true DA's unless they were incomplete in the 1nc
-Incomplete DA's are not worth taking full time to answer in the 2AC(they don't have X, this isn't a complete arg - we get new answers when they make a complete one)
-Defense doesn't usually take out 100% risk of DA
-Specific links are good - generics not so much but tech and spin is good
-Turns case/DA and solves case/DA is really good
-Impact calc isn't time frame is now, probability 100%, and magnitude is extinction - it's comparitive
-Cross applying stuff usually saves time and is cool
-Convoluted internal link chains are not my favorite and probably not true but go ahead
CP
-They're cool
-They usually access a lot of the case
-Sufficiency framing is kinda good except when it is morally bad from the aff
-Should always have a net benefit
-Process CP's are very abusive
-PICs are generally fine when they have a solvency advocate but are kinda abusive
-Block CP's are kinda abusive but you do you
-I'm not gonna judge kick unless you tell me to but even then I'm aff bias esp on perms
K Affs
-I get it's strategic but don't read overviews
-Framework makes the game work
-K v. K debates are fine but clash please for the love of all that is good
-Debate is a game that has pedagogical benefits/disadvantages that can be about
-You need an offensive reason you don't defend the res
-Not reading T-USFG and instead going for T-(the topic) is a good strat most of the time
-Being shifty on permutation debates probably prove loss of ground
-T.VA's are really good and any solvency deficits prove debatability
-The resolution is a stasis point which everyone should probably follow
-Reasonability/we meet generally isn't the A strat
*Special Note for K's of the debate space - I get that it's strategic but I'm prob not your judge. Debate is a voluntary activity that you are willingly go into. If your only reason why the debate space is key is the ballot is an endorsement, that's definitely not enough. The only time I've seen it go well is with North Broward increase participation. I honestly don't see why a book club or creating another debate space like communities of care external to debate doesn't solve all your offensive. Also these usually don't have a tie to the topic and topic education usually outweighs any education in my opinion but that's debatable. I also just don't see why the debate space is uniquely good or is necessary for change.
K
-You'll have to explain well. I don't connect the dots/do fill in the blanks (that means having a terminal impact and/or extending an impact is important)
-Empirics and examples are really good to have in a K debate
-Somehow everything becomes a link without evidence and that's probably not ok
-Alt explanation is really good - think reddit.com/r/ELI5
-I think you kinda need an alt b/c a question of method v. method to solve. I understand the strategic use of if link, vote neg, but it's real abusive especially if the impact is inevitable. I can be persuaded otherwise though.
-Links of omission aren't persuasive
-Re-characterizing the aff is a good idea
-Pointing to specific lines/advantages/instances is really good and serves as evidence
-FIAT isn't real is dumb unless it's impacted
-Specific links are really cool
Josh Leffler
Greenhill '20, Yale '25
Please put me on the email chain (and feel free to email me if you have any questions): jsl.joshleffler@gmail.com
Updated February 2022. I've judged relatively few rounds on the water topic, so please over-explain arguments and don't assume I'm familiar with community consensus.
Top-Level
Tech over truth, except for discriminatory or factually inaccurate arguments.
The two things that matter most to me (and affect my speaker points the most) are good organization and clear judge instruction.
I have much more experience with and am a better judge for policy args than critical args, but I will certainly evaluate and vote for either.
I generally won't read evidence unless I'm instructed to or I'm unable to resolve a question solely based on the debating.
I'm not a big fan of strategies that rely on your opponent missing a blippy argument to win (but like I said, tech over truth).
Online debate note: if you see me constantly looking to the side during your speech, don't worry - I am paying attention! I have a second screen off to the side on which I will be flowing.
Above all else, please be kind and respectful to everyone else in the room.
K Affs and Framework
I’m not great for K affs, though my voting record in these debates is somewhat split. I tend to be more convinced by affs that impact turn framework than those that try to counter-define specific words, etc.
If you’re neg and going for framework, I don’t tend to think of fairness as a terminal impact (which is not to say it can’t be one with some explanation, but in general I think clash-based impacts are a lot more persuasive). I think a well-constructed TVA can go a really long way in these debates.
Policy Affs
I agree with what everyone else says about framing contentions: they should be as specific to the 1AC as possible and are not a substitute for debating the substance of the disads.
I am almost always more persuaded by internal link defense than impact defense.
Topicality
Good T debating is good internal link debating. "Precision/education/predictability/etc. outweighs!" means very little without a robust explanation of why the other team's interpretation is highly imprecise/uneducational/unpredictable/etc.
Like I said above, I haven't judged a lot of debates on the water topic, so I don't really know what the community consensus is or have any preconceived notions about various interps.
Kritiks
In general, you shouldn’t assume that I am familiar with your argument. I need to be able to understand an argument before I can explain to the other team why they lost.
In these debates, I usually end up most confused by the alt, so if you're neg, you should probably do more explanation of the alt than you think is necessary. If you're not going for the alt, you still need to clearly explain what it means to vote neg.
Counterplans and Theory
Having been both a 2A and a 2N, I don't have a lot of strong biases about theory.
Conditionality is probably good, but kicking planks from counterplans that have tons of planks probably isn't. Condo is probably the only reason to reject the team.
I won't judge-kick by default.
Having a specific solvency advocate makes most counterplans legitimate, but not having a solvency advocate doesn't automatically make a counterplan illegitimate.
Disadvantages
Impact calculus (even the simple magnitude/probability/timeframe stuff) plays a role in my decision more often that you might think.
I’m a bit of a politics nerd and I love politics debates. Savvy analysis or explanation of political dynamics will likely impress me.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me (jsl.joshleffler@gmail.com)!
Debated at Mercedes High School for 4 years, and the Uiversity of North Texas for 1. I coach at Coppell now.
Short version: I'll vote for anything if it's impacted well. The below is brief, so ask questions before the round.
Theory - I'll vote on it. I'm not the fastest flow, so don't speed through these arguments please, particularly in the later parts of the debate when your doing impact work.
Topicality - I love a good topicality debate. I usually default to a competing interpretations framework, but there are good reasons to prefer reasonability. I appreciate clever "topical version of the aff" arguments and if you do go for T well, your speaker points will show.
Counterplans - they're cool. Fair warning, I find the aff's cheating counterplan theory arguments persuasive. Don't let this dissuade you from reading them though if that's your game.
Disads - they're fine. Like I said above, I'm not the fastest flow, so when there's a big link/link turn debate happening here, it would benefit you to slow down a bit. This wasn't my game in the years I debated, so being clear about the intricacies would be helpful.
Kritiks - Like em'. These are what I've dedicated most of my debate career to. I understand most of the theory that is popular in debate, but that should not mean you don't have to explain the theory in its application to the aff (i.e. I get what the Lack is, but why does that turn the aff?)
Debated @ UNT 2009-2014
Coach @ St Marks since 2017
Coach @ Kentucky since 2024
If you have questions, feel free to email me at mccullough.hunter@gmail.com
For college rounds, please add ukydebate@gmail.com to the email chain
For me, the idea that the judge should remain impartial is very important. I've had long discussions about the general acceptability/desirability of specific debate arguments and practices (as has everybody, I'm sure), but I've found that those rarely influence my decisions. I've probably voted for teams without plans in framework debates more often than I've voted neg, and I've voted for the worst arguments I can imagine, even in close debates, if I thought framing arguments were won. While nobody can claim to be completely unbiased, I try very hard to let good debating speak for itself. That being said, I do have some general predispositions, which are listed below.
T-Theory
-I tend to err aff on T and neg on most theory arguments. By that, I mean that I think that the neg should win a good standard on T in order to win that the aff should lose, and I also believe that theory is usually a reason to reject the argument and not the team.
- Conditional advocacies are good, but making contradictory truth claims is different. However, I generally think these claims are less damaging to the aff than the "they made us debate against ourselves" claim would make it seem. The best 2ACs will find ways of exploiting bad 1NC strategy, which will undoubtedly yield better speaker points than a theory debate, even if the aff wins.
- I kind of feel like "reasonability" and "competing interpretations" have become meaningless terms that, while everybody knows how they conceptualize it, there are wildly different understandings. In my mind, the negative should have to prove that the affirmative interpretation is bad, not simply that the negative has a superior interpretation. I also don't think that's a very high standard for the negative to be held to, as many interpretations (especially on this space topic) will be hot fiery garbage.
- My view of debates outside of/critical of the resolution is also complicated. While my philosophy has always been very pro-plan reading in the past, I've found that aff teams are often better at explaining their impact turns than the neg is at winning an impact that makes sense. That being said, I think that it's hard for the aff to win these debates if the neg can either win that there is a topical version of the affirmative that minimizes the risk of the aff's impact turns, or a compelling reason why the aff is better read as a kritik on the negative. Obviously there are arguments that are solved by neither, and those are likely the best 2AC impact turns to read in front of me.
- "The aff was unpredictable so we couldn't prepare for it so you should assume it's false" isn't a good argument for framework and I don't think I've ever voted for it.
CPs
- I'm certainly a better judge for CP/DA debates than K v K debates. I particularly like strategic PICs and good 1NC strategies with a lot of options. I'd be willing to vote on consult/conditions, but I find permutation arguments about immediacy/plan-plus persuasive.
- I think the neg gets away with terrible CP solvency all the time. Affs should do a better job establishing what counts as a solvency card, or at least a solvency warrant. This is more difficult, however, when your aff's solvency evidence is really bad. - Absent a debate about what I should do, I will kick a counterplan for the neg and evaluate the aff v. the squo if the CP is bad/not competitive
- I don't think the 2NC needs to explain why severence/intrinsicness are bad, just win a link. They're bad.
- I don't think perms are ever a reason to reject the aff.
- I don't think illegitimate CPs are a reason to vote aff.
Disads
- Run them. Win them. There's not a whole lot to say.
- I'd probably vote on some sort of "fiat solves" argument on politics, but only if it was explained well.
- Teams that invest time in good, comparative impact calculus will be rewarded with more speaker points, and likely, will win the debate. "Disad/Case outweighs" isn't a warrant. Talk about your impacts, but also make sure you talk about your opponents impacts. "Economic collapse is real bad" isn't as persuasive as "economic collapse is faster and controls uniqueness for the aff's heg advantage".
Ks
- My general line has always been that "I get the K but am not well read in every literature". I've started to realize that that statement is A) true for just about everybody and B) entirely useless. It turns out that I've read, coached, and voted for Ks too often for me to say that. What I will say, however, is that I certainly focus my research and personal reading more on the policy side, but will generally make it pretty obvious if I have no idea what you're saying.
- Make sure you're doing link analysis to the plan. I find "their ev is about the status quo" arguments pretty persuasive with a permutation.
- Don't think that just because your impacts "occur on a different level" means you don't need to do impact calculus. A good way to get traction here is case defense. Most advantages are pretty silly and false, point that out with specific arguments about their internal links. It will always make the 2NR easier if you win that the aff is lying/wrong.
- I think the alt is the weakest part of the K, so make sure to answer solvency arguments and perms very well.
- If you're aff, and read a policy aff, don't mistake this as a sign that I'm just going to vote for you because I read mostly policy arguments. If you lose on the K, I'll vote neg. Remember, I already said I think your advantage is a lie. Prove me wrong.
Case
-Don't ignore it. Conceding an advantage on the neg is no different than conceding a disad on the aff. You should go to case in the 1NC, even if you just play defense. It will make the rest of the debate so much easier.
- If you plan to extend a K in the 2NR and use that to answer the case, be sure you're winning either a compelling epistemology argument or some sort of different ethical calculus. General indicts will lose to specific explanations of the aff absent either good 2NR analysis or extensions of case defense.
- 2As... I've become increasingly annoyed with 2ACs that pay lip service to the case without responding to specific arguments or extending evidence/warrants. Just reexplaining the advantage and moving on isn't sufficient to answer multiple levels of neg argumentation.
Paperless debate
I don't think you need to take prep time to flash your speech to your opponent, but it's also pretty obvious when you're stealing prep, so don't do it. If you want to use viewing computers, that's fine, but only having one is unacceptable. The neg needs to be able to split up your evidence for the block. It's especially bad if you want to view their speeches on your viewing computer too. Seriously, people need access to your evidence.
Clipping
I've decided enough debates on clipping in the last couple of years that I think it's worth putting a notice in my philosophy. If a tournament has reliable internet, I will insist on an email chain and will want to be on that email chain. I will, at times, follow along with the speech document and, as a result, am likely to catch clipping if it occurs. I'm a pretty non-confrontational person, so I'm unlikely to say anything about a missed short word at some point, but if I am confident that clipping has occurred, I will absolutely stop the debate and decide on it. I'll always give debaters the benefit of the doubt, and provide an opportunity to say where a card was marked, but I'm pretty confident of my ability to distinguish forgetting to say "mark the card" and clipping. I know that there is some difference of opinion on who's responsibility it is to bring about a clipping challenge, but I strongly feel that, if I know for certain that debaters are not reading all of their evidence, I have not only the ability but an obligation to call it out.
Other notes
- Really generic backfile arguments (Ashtar, wipeout, etc) won't lose you the round, but don't expect great speaks. I just think those arguments are really terrible, (I can't describe how much I hate wipeout debates) and bad for debate.
- Impact turn debates are awesome, but can get very messy. If you make the debate impossible to flow, I will not like you. Don't just read cards in the block, make comparisons about evidence quality and uniqueness claims. Impact turn debates are almost always won by the team that controls uniqueness and framing arguments, and that's a debate that should start in the 2AC.
Finally, here is a short list of general biases.
- The status quo should always be an option in the 2NR (Which doesn't necessarily mean that the neg get's infinite flex. If they read 3 contradictory positions, I can be persuaded that it was bad despite my predisposition towards conditionality. It does mean that I will, absent arguments against it, judge kick a counterplan and evaluate the case v the squo if the aff wins the cp is bad/not competitive)
- Warming is real and science is good (same argument, really)
- The aff gets to defend the implementation of the plan as offense against the K, and the neg gets to read the K
- Timeframe and probability are more important than magnitude
- Predictable limits are key to both fairness and education
- Consult counterplans aren't competitive. Conditions is arguable.
- Rider DA links are not intrinsic
- Utilitarianism is a good way to evaluate impacts
- The aff should defend a topical plan
- Death and extinction are bad
- Uncooperative federalism is one of the worst counterplans I've ever seen (update: this whole "we're going to read an impact turn, but also read a counterplan that triggers the impact so we can't lose on it" thing might be worse)
Affiliation: Debated at Jesuit Dallas and Trinity University
I am currently finishing a semester at Trinity while coaching Jesuit and Trinity.
2N Life
Email: mojack221.goo@gmail.com
Updated: 8/31/24
*Things in bold are either huge speaker point opportunities or huge speaker point killers/round losers.
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Round Procedure:
- Send out the 1ac before start time, not after. The debate starts at start time. Absent a technical failure, I’ll start docking speaks for this (.1 for every minute we’re not ready)
- Send cards in a doc - not the body of the email
- Prep stops when docs are saved. Deleting Analytics is Prep. Don't send cards in the body of the email. If you do, I will make you take prep to put it in a document and send it.
- Respect your opponents and be nice to each other.
- Inserting Evidence: I'm conditionally fine with it. If it from a different part of the article that the other team hasn't cut, you must read it. If it's highlighting parts of the card that they just didn't underline or highlight, you don't have to read it IF you paraphrase or do the work to explain why the re-highlighting matters. BUT, if it's so important, you may as well read it because that's powerful
- Disclosure: new affs are good. Disclosure ought to happen, but it does not need to happen. Mis-disclosure is the only type of disclosure theory I will vote on and for that to happen I either need to have seen the mis-disclosure, which I probably won't OR both teams need to agree on what happened during CX or something.
- While I won't punish the lack of disclosure, I think generally keeping an updated wiki is good, so tell me if you have one and if you update it before my decision, I'll add a few points. If the wiki is down or some uncontrollable happens where that's not possible, I'll assume good faith.
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Online Debates:
- if my camera is not on, I'm not ready
- please slow down.
- I'd encourage cameras to be on the whole debate, but obviously understand that's not always possible
- please get confirmation everyone is ready.
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How I Go About Judging Debates:
- I take judging very seriously and recognize the hard work you all put into it. Debate is not easy and sometimes it is very difficult to even show up to a tournament, much less debate your best every round. I do my best to keep a positive attitude and facilitate learning. You get my full attention during the debate and in the post round. I appreciated the judges and coaches who helped me grow as a debater by not just deciding the round, but also giving extensive feedback on how to improve. I strive to do the same.
- I'm not very expressive unless you say something absurd. I'm not really grumpy, that's just my face.
- I’m not a blank slate. Nobody is. If someone says they can evaluate the debate only from a technical point of view, they are lying to you and themselves. To some degree, the arguments we read or don’t engage, shape our beliefs and the way we go about our lives. The good thing about me, is I’ll be very honest in this philosophy on what I will not vote on and what I’m generally not persuaded by. While I believe in the technical evaluation of the debate, this activity is also about persuading people who might disagree with you. If both teams seem to agree on larger value claims within a debate, I have an easier time setting aside some of my biases, but they are never truly gone.
- I’m deeply concerned by members of this community who refuse to think about critical literature because they just like the DA thing better. I think it is a political and unfortunate choice to say you are not good for the K because you are unwilling to learn about K debate. Isn’t the whole point of this activity that you’re forced to engage with content you might not understand?
- It is my personal belief that the United States represents the greatest threat to the world. I will not take descriptions of other parts of the world or the benevolence of US imperialism lightly. There’s a tendency to read the Heg DA against K aff. What are we doing here? Yes it might link sometimes, but when an aff is discussing complex issues of Antiblackness or disability, you kind of look like a jerk when you respond with "but the military is really cool." If you don’t see the problem with saying alternate perspectives are an existential threat to the world, I’m not the judge for you. I’m not saying I will stop the debate, butyour speaks will probably be capped pretty low. I've judged a debate where the neg read the red spread DA against an aff about queer poetry and prisons. This is one of those contexts where I'm nearly completely unwilling to evaluate that debate in favor of the Neg.
- Can you still read your heg or tech dominance adv? Of course! I still believe it’s valuable to evaluate debates that happen and not every performance against those arguments will be victorious. But context matters. My suggestions if you read these types of arguments in front of me: 1) Read qualified and peer-reviewed people, not the garbage that comes out of the National Interest, the Breakthrough Institute, or other propaganda websites; 2) I'm less persuaded by hot takes about other countries being revisionist because a) that's not an impact or a predictor of all behavior, and b) the US has revised the "international order' more comprehensively and violently than any other force in history. The super ideological defenses of heg are simply ignorant. Focus on the particulars of your case and keep the bashing of other countries to a minimum.
- Flowing:
- a) medium: I flow on paper 99% of the time. For me, that means I flow the debate and track it by the line by line. Even if you just speak "straight down" in overview fashion, I will still try to line things up to where I think that goes on the flow. It would benefit you to tell me either directly where you are going on the line by line OR tell me a different way to flow and give me plenty of pen/organization time.
- b) instrument: I prefer pen. G2 .38 or .5. I write a lot so slowing down is good
- Reading Evidence: I don’t read along with you in the docs because that would compromise my flowing. I do not fill in my flow using the doc. It’s your job to communicate the argument, not the speech doc. I do read cards during prep time and after the debate. I will ask for a card doc if needed, but if the debate involves lots of cards (upwards of 25 per side for a given page), I’d just start making the card doc.
- Speed: Go for it. Clarity, Organization, and Pen Time are all essential to effective speed.
- Evidence quality > quantity. Part of this includes highlighting sentences/making your cards comprehensible. If I look at cards, I only look at the highlighting you read.
- Decisions: I start with important frames and judge instructions given by the 2nr/ar. I think through different ballots that could be given, exploring all possible victories for each team. I pick the one I think is most supported by the round.
- Trolls: If you've done the work to cut a lot of cards that at least have the illusion of quality and demonstrate how your argument interacts with the other teams in significant ways, I'm fine for you. If it's a terrible back file check or something that anyone could prep in 30 minutes, I'm not your judge and your points will suffer. It also helps if your argument has an impact instead of only trying to trigger presumption.
- I'm not interested in evaluating a round about things that occurred out of round.
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Intellectual Property Rights Topic:
-I think this topic is great because there’s a lot of specific literature and IMO the aff has a harder job on this topic. Long Live the 2Ns.
- I’ve spent most of the preseason cutting K cards and a few very targeted patents searches. I’m quite excited to see how y’all develop your arguments. Try something new
- I think the case debate here is very interesting and has opportunities for very specific debates with lots of offense for both aff and neg.
- T is questionable on this topic
- When all things lead to innovation, differentiation and comparison of the internal links are super helpful. “Our internal link o/w theirs because XYZ warrants”
- In terms of argument and evidence quality, the capitalism good-bad debate is one sided. I simply think most people writing in defense of capitalism don’t understand the arguments they are responding to or are incapable because reality is nowhere close to on their side. It’s not an auto W, because I’m very particular about cap K things. I'm much more persuaded by aff specific presses against the K than a 6-minute ode to capitalism that doesn't answer particular neg link, impact, alt arguments.
- FW and perm double bind vs the cap k is cowardice. Defend your stuff
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College Climate Topic
- This topic is so cool. I wish I could have had this topic. I’m beyond excited to see the creative affs and neg strats. Y'all are super smart and I can't wait to here all the arguments. I'm super into all facets of the climate debate from understanding core market positions to the weirdest sections of the critical environmental literature.
- I suspect a certain critique of capitalism will be featured a lot this year. Teams going for the K should have specific links to the aff because they exist to everything on this topic. Same old 1 or 2 meh link cards + warrant spam on the sustainability debate is less appreciated by someone who has spent so much time with the cap k. Everything from the link, impact, and alt to the sustainability and fw cards can all be about market mechanisms to solve climate change. Have some cap k cohesion for God’s (Karl’s) sake.
- Similarly, I think the aff needs an aff specific approach to the K that prioritizes defending their market mechanism before they start the impact turn spam. It will be hard to win without substantive answers to the links. Case specific alt presses are underutilized and get you a lot more than reading some staff writer at Forbes who thinks they know what degrowth or socialism is because they lived during the cold war. Red-baiting is not a good look.
- I haven’t done any T research on this topic, so I’m not sure if the words have exclusive meanings. But I’m open to the debate.
- If you read warming good, I’ll presume you think I’m immoral or incapable of knowing the truth. Your speaks will suffer for this insult. There's a tendency to say "if it's such a bad argument, just beat it." No. We're willing to turn away from other arguments we find morally repugnant. I think this is one of them. As a person in the Global North, it comes across badly when you say we can benefit from warming while people have been dying because of those lies.
*****
The rest of the philosophy is mostly me rambling and heavily influenced by the explanation in any given round.
Case:
- It's underutilized - specific internal link and solvency arguments go a long way in front of me. Strategically, a good case press in the block and 2nr makes all substantive arguments better
- Impact turns are fantastic. The better the literature, the better the impact turn.
Topicality:
- It's only a serious threat when the words of the rez have a specific meaning.
- Plan text in a vacuum is ridiculous and not a helpful way to evaluate a T debate, especially when plans are incredibly vague and the solvency evidence describing it is right there. If you do the topic mechanism by doing something that's not the topic, I can't comprehend why you think you would meet.
- We meet is a yes/no thing. I never understood attempts to evaluate this in terms of risk.
- Case lists please. Be realistic about what is included/excluded and explain why debates over those affs =good/bad/too burdensome to prepare for/whatever.
- I'm more persuaded by standards like limits, predictability, and literature consensus are more important than ground.
- T Should = predictive will always have a place in my heart. The haters were really wrong about this one.
DA:
- I will vote on defense against a DA. There's probably always a risk, but that doesn't mean I care about such risk
- ev comparison or judge instruction about micro-moments in the debate goes a long way for winning individual parts of a DA.
- Neg teams defending the status quo should make a comprehensive case press. Even if your DA isn't the best, it may very well be more important than the advantages.
- I like good evidence that contains arguments. You should keep that in mind before going for politics.
- Most politics DAs end up sounding more like the political capital K to me, meaning they lack any specific internal link from an unpopular plan to an agenda item. I'm better for arguments like horse-trading or riders because I think the cards are usually a bit more there for those internal links than political capital. That being said, politics DAs that are a bit more fiat-based are either pretty good or garbage, all depending on the link card.
- I think the elections DA has a bit more to it, particularly on the climate topic where quality links exist.
- Trump Good Elections DA = L. No exceptions. Even if you don’t go for it, you will lose for defending fascism. Even if the other team doesn't say anything, you will lose.
CP:
- For questionably competitive CPs, clarity on the difference between the aff and the cp, what words if any are being defined, and an organized presentation of why your standard is better are crucial. It would also be helpful to slow down on texts, perms, theory, the usual stuff. Blippy cards and analytics mixed with speed are the enemy of the flow.
- Solvency advocates that compare the CP to topic or plan mechanisms greatly help in winning competition and theory
- I don't judge kick unless instructed to in the 2nr. Debate to me is about choices and persuasion. Unless your choice in the 2nr explicitly includes the failsafe of judge kick, I'm not going to do it for you.
Theory:
- I don't think I lean heavily aff or neg.
- Conditionality is debatable. Quantitative interps don’t make sense to me. Condo is good or bad. Fun fact, dispositionality was originally used because it was in a thesaurus under the word conditionality. This is to say, if your interp is anything under than condo bad, I'm going to need you to unpack the terms for me. 40 second condo in the 1ar is usually insufficient to justify the new 2ar absent the 2nr dropping condo.
- My default is to reject the argument for all things except conditionality. This shouldn't deter you from going for theory because rejecting a CP usually means the neg has little defense left in a debate.
K on the Negative:
- Good K debating is good case debating. A good critique would explain why a core component of the 1ac is wrong or bad.
- The link is the most important part of the debate. Be specific, pull 1AC lines, say what you are disagreeing with, give examples, etc. Explain why winning the thesis takes out specific parts of the solvency or internal link chain. More link debating is my number one comment to teams going for the K.
- I really really really do not understand most Aff FW args vs the K. They claim to be some sort of “middle ground,” but that middle ground requires the neg to present their K like a DA and a CP. That’s not a K. That’s not a middle ground. That’s no Ks in disguise. The idea that assumptions, discourse, or general political orientation have no bearings on policy is absolutely lost on me. I also don’t believe most Ks that engage the aff or the topic moot the aff. Simply put, I think questions of fairness are rarely relevant to the debate. Aff teams are in an infinitely better position if they are making substantive arguments about how I should make a decision, i.e. impact calc. When the K is in floaty land, I’m much more persuaded by defenses of pragmatism or incrementalism than I am by “you’re breaking our activity.” An exception is something like a word PIK. Other PIKs I don't find too persuasive because the links are usually to strong to justify inclusion of the aff's policy or the neg's alt card is not written in aff specific pik language.
- That might seem difficult for the Aff, but the other side is I don’t really think many K strats that exclusively rely on FW or Ks of debate get very far for me. Particularly with topics that either demand an expansion of the intellectual property regime or use of a market mechanism to solve climate change, we can do a little better than a glorified FYI about fiat. Win a link, win an impact, do impact calc. I think K tricks don't make sense if the neg isn't winning core portions of the K already.
- Defend things. The neg should have a clear disagreement with the aff. The aff should defend the core assumptions of the aff. If you're reading an aff that defends US hegemony, going for super specific internal literature indicts against a settler colonialism K won't help you. A defense of IR scholarship, realism, impact prioritization, and alt indicts might. Given I'm not persuaded by FW args, that's a lot of time you could get back to defend things
- Interventions good = L. I’m disgusted by judges who have let this slide.
- Recycling the Escalante dual power organizing alt is a thumbs down.
- Perms against pessimism Ks, absent some super specific perm card, have generally been unpersuasive to me.
- While my critical vocabulary is fine, I find some of it difficult to flow paragraph style tags that drop a bunch of important sounding words/concepts with no definitions. I suggest you slow down a bit on the most important things you want on my flow.
K on the Aff:
- Go for it. They should have some connection to the topic and some statement of advocacy. If you can read your aff on every topic without changing cards or tags, I’ll enjoy the debate less, but it's your debate, not mine.
- Role of the ballot means nothing to me and is often a substitute for judge instruction
- Presumption questions are usually just questions of framework and the value the aff's model provides. Neg teams spend way too much time asking questions about ballot spill up or the debate round changing the world. We all agree fiat illusory is a bad argument in a policy prescription model of debate. Why is it all of the sudden good now? Your time is much better served explaining how the aff's model of debate is counterproductive to its benefits. In other words, answer the should not would question.
- Aff teams should critique presumption as a conservative bias.
K vs a K
- I think these debates are super valuable and when done well reflect some of the most specific research and argumentative skills this activity offers.
- I don't evaluate these debates too differently. Tell me what the major issues and disagreements are, win an impact,
- "No perms in a method debate" has never really made sense to me. Justifications for this argument tend to rely on quasi FW arguments that have likely been thoroughly critiqued or don't live up to the aff argument of "but are they mutually exclusive." If you have something more specific to your strategy that has substantive warrants to it, I'm definitely willing to listen. Otherwise, your time is better spent making link arguments that demonstrate mutual exclusivity between the aff and the neg.
Framework/T USFG:
- Framework debates are important because they force us to question fundamental assumptions and norms of the activity. It's about models of debate. Convince me yours is good and theirs is bad.
- These debates are really good and specific or extremely repetitive and shallow. Strive for the former and actually do the clash thing that everyone says is so good.
- I'm open to most impacts to framework. I judge them like most debates where I compare the aff's offense to the neg's offense, defense, and framing arguments from 2nr and 2ar. I have voted for and against all the common impacts for T-USFG/traditional FW (procedural fairness, clash, topic mechanism education, agonistic democracy, advocacy skills, etc).
- I'm not the biggest fan of aff strategy's vs T that exclusively rely on the impact turn. It's a really hard sell that the idea of a topic for debate shouldn't be a thing. I think the impact turns are more persuasive if the neg is exclusively going for fairness or it's a game with no other value. However, if the neg has a coherent defense of clash, negation, or research over a limited topic plus defense against the impact turn, I'm likely to be persuaded by the impact turn strategy.
- The inverse of this is that when the aff has a counter interpretation that defines resolution words in creative ways, I find it very hard for the negative to win much offense. I'm much more persuaded by an argument that says singular interpretation of the topic as mandating simulated federal government policy are unpredictable and bad than I am by the argument we should throw away the topic because it can be read in a singular way.
- I'd rather the impact turn cards to fairness be from the academic journals or publications about debate. The cards and literature exists because of decades of academics in this activity who have put the care into writing about it. I think the K of fairness or what not is much more persuasive when specific to debate and not trial proceedings for example.
- Hypotesting is better than T USFG. Change my mind.
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Speaker Points:
- a bit arbitrary, but I'll start at 28.5 and go up and down based on the round
- If all your cards on the arg you are going for are super-specific and good, I will probably start at 28.8 and go up. If I see your initials next to a bunch of cards you’re reading, that’s an extra speaker point boost.
- I have trouble being able to evaluate you as speakers and then compare that to some arbitrary standard based on where I think you'll be in the tournament. Factors I do consider include: smart arguments, strategic choice, organization and good evidence.
- No 30s unless rd. 8 of the NDT. Don't ask for speaker points. Even if you think your arg is persuasive, I'm not flowing it and am much more concerned with the actual debate. Sorry high schoolers, no 30s for you.
TL;DR
Specific>Generic, Tech>Truth, Make me interested in the debate
Please put me on the email chain at >rothsteine123@gmail.com<
Do what you want to do, I would rather watch a good debate than a bad one due to my preferences.
I am a non-debating college Senior who did policy debate for 4 years as primarily a 2A for Greenhill.
Thinks I won't listen to:
Racism Good/Suffering Good
Pref Arguments
Arguments about things outside the debate round
General:
I don't know much about the current high school topic, you need to explain your acronyms and terms.
I don't think I went for a K in any of my rounds. You are much better off going for a K like Security or Neolib, rather than others.
I lean neg in all theory questions except for conditions, consult, and delay.
I will vote on "Bad arguments", it's your job to prove they are bad and then disprove the argument.
I like CP+DA debates, I went for politics a lot.
For FW debates, fairness makes sense to me but do what you are comfortable with.
Tim Wegener
Debated for 8 years at Greenhill '19 and Northwestern '23.
Emails for the chain:
And if college: debatedocs@googlegroups.com
Assistant coach for Northwestern
I feel strongly that affirmatives should be topical. I am significantly better for a counterinterp + their model bad than impact turns to limits/predictability. I think I am equally good for procedural fairness and clash based offense, but the sooner the neg picks a route and sets up the associated framing questions (ballot solvency, SSD, etc.), the better.
I do not think I am very good for the K as it is generally debated. I think I am fine for more specific Ks that turn/solve the case or utilize more traditional case defense. I am much worse for Ks that rely on framework or ontology arguments to come before the case.
I'm likely to be an okay judge for theoretical objections like conditionality bad, 2NC cps bad, and arguments regarding the legitimacy of fiating certain actors (intl. actor fiat, private actor fiat, 50 state fiat, etc.). I am generally less persuaded by theory arguments that attempt to exclude a particular type of counterplan (process cps, PICs, agent cps, etc.) but I am extremely good for the aff in competition debates against these types of counterplans. Judge kick is up for debate, but it must be set up in the 2NR for me to consider it.
Inserted rehighlightings are fine if they come from your opponents’ cards. If they come from elsewhere in the articles, you should read them.
If you ask for a 30 I will give you a 27. If you go for death good you will lose. If you threaten other debaters you will lose and get the lowest possible speaks.
I try to adjust speaker points relative to the quality of the tournament/division. A 29 at a major is different than a 29 at a regional tournament or a 29 in the JV division.
Argument quality matters deeply, probably more to me than others. The idea that technical execution is the only thing that matters in debate, at the expense of research and strategy, is absurd. It shouldn't take much to defeat the argument that particle accelerators are inevitable so it's try or die to kill billions or global warming is good. This doesn't mean I won't vote on bad arguments. But the worse the argument the less it takes for the other team to win.
Relatedly, I will reward with speaker points and you are much more likely to win if you demonstrate actual knowledge about the topic and the world through research and strategy. Technical execution is important, but the best debates accurately reflect real world discussions at the highest levels.
Fundamentally I see debate as a game. I think it is a valuable and potentially transformative game that can have real world implications, but a game none the less that requires me to choose a winner. Under that umbrella here are some specifics.
1. Comparative analysis is critical for me. You are responsible for it. I will refrain from reading every piece of evidence and reconstructing the round, but I will read relevant cards and expect the highlighting to construct actual sentences. Your words and spin matters, but this does not make your evidence immune to criticism.
2. The affirmative needs to engage the resolution.
3. Theory debates need to be clear. Might require you to down shift some on those flows. Any new, exciting theory args might need to be explained a bit for me. Impact your theory args.
4. I am not well versed in your lit. Just assume I am not a "____________" scholar. You don't need to treat me like a dullard, but you need to be prepared to explain your arg minus jargon. See comparative analysis requirement above.
Side notes:
Not answering questions in CX is not a sound strategy. I will give leeway to teams facing non responsive debaters.
Debaters should mention their opponents arguments in their speeches. Contextualize your arguments to your opponent. I am not persuaded by those reading a final rebuttal document that "answers everything" while not mentioning the aff / neg.
Civility and professionalism are expected and will be reciprocated.
Speech events. I am looking for quality sources and logic in OO and Inf. I have been teaching speech for 18 years and will evaluate fundamentals as well.