Brent Brossmann                                        

Director of Debate, John Carroll University since 1993

Years in debate: Since 1976

Years Coaching: Since 1985                                                                      

Rounds per year: ~50 per year recently

I am a policy maker.  I believe in the value of policy debate. The organization specifies that it embraces policy debate. I will make my decisions on policy. Thus, there are two ways you can win my ballot:

1. Have the best policy. This is mostly a comparison of plans and counterplans; advantages and disadvantages. However, many kritiks have policy implications and are relevant to policy making. Others are not.  

2. Prove that your opponent’s practice is so egregious that I need to vote against them regardless of the policy. That could be for topicality, a theory violation, or some in-round behavior that was so egregious that it should be the voting issue. Topicality is a voting issue. It is not a reverse voting issue. The negative doesn’t actually win topicality without demonstrating in-round abuse. In-round abuse can be proven by demonstrating that arguments to which you should have access were denied to you by the affirmative’s plan. You don’t actually have to run and lose the arguments, but you do need to win that these were arguments you should have had access to, that they were important and that the plan denied you access.   

Counterplans need to be competitive. The counterplan must be better than the combination of the plan and counterplan (net benefits) or better than the plan alone IF the policies are mutually exclusive.

As a policy maker, risk is important. Please use impact comparisons to weigh rounds for me. Probability, magnitude, risk and time frame are arguments that both debaters should use in rebuttals to weigh the round for me.  Prioritize those that help you win and explain why they are more important.The bottom line is that debaters need to respond to each other’s arguments in meaningful ways. However, there is a strong presumption against any argument which does not directly relate to the policy being discussed in the round, unless it is a compelling argument as to why your opponent is abusive either in theory (not playing fairly) or in discourse (is actually offensive). I will continue to defend the value of policy debate.

 To help the tournament run on time, I’ll submit a ballot before I comment. After that, I’ll be happy to disclose. The best education in debate happens in the post-round discussion and the more quickly that follows the end of the round, the more relevant the information is.

 SPEED

I don’t care about speed, per se. I do care about clarity. I know that some debaters care about speed. My policy is that the person who wants it to be slower “wins” that issue. So, if someone is too fast, simply say “slower please.” If someone says that to you, slow down.

ARGUMENT PREFERENCES

I do not want to hear arguments that don’t have a real impact on policy.  For example, the fact that the USFG may be evil for some (fill in your own) reason, is, by itself, not a reason to reject a particular policy advocated by the affirmative. If you prove that the affirmative’s policy is evil, that is a reason to vote. If you abolish the USFG and prove that such a counterplan is competitive with the plan, that is a reason to vote. However, a general indict of a system which will continue regardless of how I vote is not a reason to reject a particular policy enacted by that system.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Have fun. Be kind. Learn a lot. Don’t forget to smile or laugh. Remember, your opponents are here because they share your love of the event. The same is true of your judges.  I love my wife more than my life, and yet I’ve been willing to come to tournaments without her for the last 30 years. We all dedicate huge amounts of time and passion. Respect that and your colleagues. Finally, my last name is pronounced with a long O, like a bro. But you can call me Brent.  

I competed in debate during high school and college in India. I currently work as a GA and this is my second year coaching/judging. The most important part of the debate for me is clarity and structure. I love a constructive speech that is well organized and everything flows seamlessly. I will only consider your contentions if they're supported by some sort of evidence and/or examples. Time yourself and don't go overtime. I will take most arguments at face value unless reasonably challenged by the opponent during rebuttal. Good luck!

For debate, I like to see well explained impact scenarios. I’m okay with speed, but will say clear once if I do not understand you. It is up to you to adjust. If you are running topicality arguments, make sure it is egregious and not just running them just to run them. Otherwise, I’ll listen to pretty much everything else.

1. General Information.

Thank you for reading this over. Good luck to all of the competitors.

(a) I view the round as a policy maker. Generally, I vote for the debater who defends the better policy option through weighing out the pros and cons of the policy.

(b) Case-specific and generic arguments. I enjoy case-specific direct clash. As for generic arguments, the more they are directly applied to the case at hand, the more weight they will be given.

(c) Procedural arguments. For me, procedural arguments need to be specifically applied to the case at hand.

(d) The role of evidence. I value evidence, but I don’t think evidence alone is always the winner. Explaining the evidence and the issues in the round (which often comes from knowledge gained by reading about the topic), making good analytical arguments, and locating, impacting and interrelating arguments within the larger perspective of the whole round are the skills that usually determine the outcome of the round.

(e) Please include me on the email thread for the exchange of evidence. My email is dtrumble@anselm.edu

(f) Speed and comprehension. Judges should be able to understand what the debaters are saying. I feel that the judge should be able to understand what is being said and not have to read briefs after the round to know what was argued. I will look at evidence after the round, but I will not substitute what I learn there if the delivery is incomprehensible.

(g) My experience. I have been active in policy debate for 49 years - 8 years as a debater and 41 years as a coach. I enjoy seeing the changes in the activity and learn from new perspectives and arguments that are offered.

2. LD Rules.

This is NFA LD debate, so I respect the rules of this league.

Regarding sources, I realize that a name and date is becoming the norm. I won’t vote on that, but I think that providing qualifications and a source increases the credibility of any good evidence.

I will apply NFA theory rules (e.g. counterplans, inherency, solvency and topicality).

As for other rules, such as speed, I will not be able to give your evidence much credit in the round if you read it so fast that I don’t understand it.

3. Critiques.

In regards to critiques, for me, substantive critiques have a few burdens:

(a) be unique,

(b) have a direct link to the AFF plan/case (not generic),

(c) have an impact that outweighs the AFF case, and

(d) have a real-world policy alternative (an actual counter-plan) that has specific solvency for the problems outlined in the AFF case.

Separately, procedural critiques would function more as an apriori issue (e.g. – offensive language or offensive behavior).

4. Perspective. Please be polite and try to be helpful, especially to younger debaters who have less experience than you. If you want the judges to vote for you, try to understand their perspective. They don’t know your arguments as well as you do and therefore don’t know all of the nuances of your points. It is your job to explain your arguments and get the judges to see things from your point of view. Competition is a great experience. At the same time, I hope you enjoy your experience debating, traveling with your team, making friends and learning from the activity.