Last changed on
Thu January 4, 2024 at 12:59 PM MDT
Argumentation and logic are far more important to me than gamesmanship. I realize that Debate has technique and rules and conventions, but the bill of sale was to teach students how to craft cohesive arguments and deliver them articulately. If your strategy is to exploit rules or score enough cheap points to win I will be unlikely to vote for you. If you spread, be sure you are good at it so that I can hear and understand you— my deep dark secret is that I am not great at hearing spreading, so if it's not coherent, I might miss your points. And I prefer to listen instead of reading your cards. If you run a K, it better be an extremely interesting one, or I will almost certainly vote it down.
I want to see real arguments being made in a passionate, logical, civil, and coherent manner. I will not tolerate ad hominem attacks. You can be fierce and aggressive, but attacking your opponent personally is not aggressive debate. And being passionate doesn't mean shouting (necessarily; I have seen shouting that was effective, but it's a subtle skill!). Arguments before cards, please. If your "case" is just reading a bunch of cards at me, I won't be very impressed.
We aren't here to play games, IMO. I want to see you tackling these issues for reals and using your voice to make good debate.