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Illinois Debate Coaches Association Novice JV Championship

2019 — Park Ridge, IL/US

Novice Policy Paradigm List

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Jack Altman New Trier High School 2 rounds

Alysa Aralis Glenbrook South HS 4 rounds

Last changed on Sat October 20, 2018 at 3:40 AM CDT

About Me - I have debated policy at Glenbrook South for three years.

**Please put me on the email chain - aaralis27@gmail.com

Top Level - If you don't flow, I will dock speaker points. Be nice to your opponents; debate should be an inclusive activity where everyone feels welcome. I will not vote on any offensive arguments.

Topicality - I think topicality can be a really convincing negative argument if done properly. You need to extend your impacts throughout the debate and explain why the world of debate under your interpretation is better than the aff's counterinterpretation. I think that the best aff arguments are based off aff ground and overlimiting, but I can be convinced otherwise.

Counterplans - I am fine with any type of counterplan as long as there is some sort of solvency advocate. The more specific to the aff the better. I think solvency deficits can be the weakest part of counterplans, especially ones that aren't specific to the aff, so be sure to address them thoroughly.

Theory - Theory debates are not my favorite, but if the negative team is being abusive, then you should go for theory. It is important to extend your impacts throughout the debate and explain how they ruined topic education and decimated ground. I think the limit for condo is three, but I can be convinced three is abusive.

Disadvantages - I'm a big fan of disadvantages. I prefer there to be specific links. I think the aff team should extend some type of offense on the disadvantage because its hard to win there is a low risk of a disadvantage with defense only. That being said, impact calculus is the most important part for both the aff and neg.

Kritiks - These are not the type of debates I like to judge. Other than the Capitalism K, I am not familiar with kritiks. This means if you go for a kritik, you really need to explain to me which part of the aff you disagree with and why that is bad. Specific links are a must and a link of omission is not a link. I tend to lean aff on framework, but I can be persuaded otherwise.

Final Thoughts - With all this being said, you should run whatever you feel comfortable with and whatever your style is. The most important thing is to have fun!

Alex Baime Glenbrook South HS 4 rounds

Isaac Banes Maine East HS 5 rounds None

Charles Bauer Glenbrook North 2 rounds

Eliana Bender Niles West High School 5 rounds

Bennett Blake New Trier High School 5 rounds None

TJ Boland Walter Payton College Prep 2 rounds None

Alice Bowe New Trier High School 5 rounds

Last changed on Tue January 22, 2019 at 8:32 AM CDT

Hi my names Alice, I'm a senior at New Trier High School and this is my 3rd year of debate. my email is abowe2000@gmail.com

Be BOLD, TAKE RISKS, If it's well thought out, you're unlikely to be punished :)

- Ask me questions, do good debate stuff, be polite :)

-No trigger warnings, if you have them, please tell the other team, if you are worried your aff might have some, ask the other team

-If at any point in the round you feel uncomfortable with the content of the debate or someone's action, tell the other team or person to stop, if that would make it worse, then email me and I'll try to make sure we can have a good educational debate where everyone feels comfortable arguing :)

-I need to be able to justify my decision based on what was said in the round. :)

-I will read cards if you ask politely :)

-I'll vote on pretty much anything B)

-Be nice :D

-stand for cross-x, and face me, or I'll ignore it B)

-she/her :)

AFFs-- DO WHAT YOU WANT! I would like to understand your aff so please try to break it down to me in cx if you have the opportunity. I evaluate solvency before the impacts unless you give me a reason to evaluate as try or die. I like having warrants and multiple ways of solving. I think that affs that read a ton of impacts should lose to solvency takeouts. K affs are cool sometimes.

DAs-- i like this argument but you probably shouldn't go for this argument alone unless you're sure it outweighs and turns case. I like politics, you just need to do a good job winning a unique link, I'm down to vote on a thumper. ._.

CPs-- Process CPs are cheating, Consult CPs are cheating, and plan plus are cheating, of course, it's up to you to prove that, but that's not hard. I like to see competition, and I like to see solvency. I need perms explained to me, something beyond we can do both, but how would they interact. I'm pretty much down for any other kind of CP that does something else. >.<

Theory-- It's so much more convincing when you prove in round abuse. I'm still down to vote for potential abuse and what they justify, but less so. I'm also more likely to reject the arg, not the team. B)

T-- yeah, why not, just make sure you compare your education and fairness ._.

K-- I like K's when they're explained thoroughly.

Gabe Burdeen Glenbrook North 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat November 7, 2020 at 4:50 AM CDT

Glenbrook North '19

Indiana University '23 (not debating)

Vrotherhood

*2020-2021 ZOOM UPDATE*

email: plebplebpleb16@gmail.com

Please go extremely slow, like barely any spreading. I have been out of the activity for 2 years or so and audio quality/internet connection lag makes full speed spreading this year not an option. I will ask you to slow down. If I ask you 3 times you're maxed out at <27. If I have to ask both you and your partner more than 5 times you're getting 0 speaks, nonnegotiable.

Please strike me if:

1. You present an affirmative case without a topical plan of action and a rationale justifying that plan (ie. if your plan doesn't start with "The United States federal government should" then you're better off not having me in the back of the r[Z]oom).

2. You present negative arguments which do not justify a rejection of the affirmative's proposed plan of action

3. You debate in ways that show absolute disregard for decorum as defined by the American Debate Association:

Debaters and judges should refrain from the use of profanity during debates. Debaters and judges should treat one another with civility during debates and when debate decisions are revealed and discussed. Debaters and judges should treat one another with generosity, respect and kindness. Debate is an extrascholastic academic forum and debaters and judges should treat it as such.

Thoughts about debate:

Topicality: Legal precision logically trumps all other standards. Your disliking of resolutional wording doesn't give you the right to exclude or include affirmative cases.

Disadvantages: During my tenure in debate, I found most disadvantages to not be intrinsic to the affirmative's plan of action. Not enough 2As exploit this argument in my opinion.

Counterplans: All theoretical objections to counterplans are inherently arbitrary and illegitimate assuming the negative wins that negative fiat is legitimate. Counterplans ought to be tested via competitiveness, not theoretical legitimacy.

Critiques: I'm really not a huge fan and found most of these arguments to be either grossly generic and/or borderline immoral.

In all cases, with the exception of maverick situations, one debater shall give 1 constructive speech and 1 rebuttal speech. The first partner to speak in a speech is the only one whose words count. This is non-negotiable and will be met with punitive speaker point reductions if violated.

Amado Candelario Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Sun February 19, 2023 at 7:40 AM CDT

adcandelario0422@gmail.com

Harvard 24'

6 years of Policy Experience - I know nothing about this years topic, do with that what you will.

I like K v K debates.

I think the most convincing internal links in framework debates is clash and impact is education.

I enjoy impact turns to framework.

All K arguments are fine w me - I am more familiar with identity arguments than the post-modern french existentialist.

I hate voting 1 sentence voting issues/ framing DAs but I will.

Dedev debates are fun!

Warming impact turns are not fun!

kicking the aff in the 1ar and impact turning a K or DA is fun!

I love when debaters can recognize how many arguments are interacting with eachother in a round and make smart cross applications.

Thoughts on the big things.

Feelings----------------------------------------X--Dead inside

Policy-----------------------------------X----------K

Tech------------X----------------------------------Truth

Judge Kick----------X-----------------------------No Judge Kick

Read no cards-----------------X------------------Read all the cards

Conditionality good----------X--------------------Conditionality bad

Politics DA is a thing--------------------X--------Politics DA not a thing

Always VTL---------------------------------X------Sometimes VTL

UQ matters most------------------------------X--Link matters most

Fairness is a thing---------------------X----------You're racist/ The world doesn't actually exist

Not our Baudrillard-------------------------------X Yes your Baudrillard

Limits--------------------X--------------------------Aff ground

Presumption----------------X----------------------Never votes on presumption

Longer ev--------X---------------------------------More ev

CX about impacts----------------------------x----CX about links and solvency

AT: --x------------------------------------------------------ A2:

no alt---------X---------------------------------alt

turns case X---------------------------no turns case

shaking my hand-----------------------------------------X Don't touch me

P.S.

Debater Things -

- Yes Im good with speed.

- I flow you not your speech doc.

- speed is a tool not debate.

- Card Clipping/Stealing Prep - its a no-no. If your caught-I will talk to a coach. For novice debates, I give more lee-way with "end prep-to speech" time because I understand your all new at this but will say something.

- Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, etc. Is a D-Rule. I will legit drop you to 20's, vote you down, and not think twice.

- Death arguments are fine in front of me

-CW/TW is a must

Maggie Cao New Trier High School 3 rounds

Last changed on Sun September 23, 2018 at 7:18 AM CDT

Hi! I'm Maggie, and I debate for New Trier.

Please put me on the email chain: maggiecao.nt@gmail.com Thanks!

Run anything you'd like! Show me you know what you're talking about, make good comparative claims, and engage with the other team's arguments. If you do it well, I'll be happy to vote on it. Do what you do best!

That being said, please also show respect in the round. We're here because we love debate, so please don't be rude or put anyone down. Show respect for the people, and show respect for the activity!

I'm all about creating good habits here, so...

- if you found my paradigm, kudos to you! Show me, and I'll give you +0.1 speaker points.

- at the end of the round, if you show me a good, organized flow, that's +0.2 speaks (but make sure you're not too absorbed in flowing that you lose sight of the round... I have a funny story about that -- ask me about it!)

- shake your opponents' hands at the end of the round and you can get a high five and/or a sticker from me :)

Tips in general...

- make sure you understand your own argument. You're much better off with CP + DA strats that you can explain to me in the context of the AFF than crazy K's or T interps that YOU can't even wrap your head around. I've ran my fair share of those args, but help us all out here -- if you are solely surviving off of pre-made 2nc/1nr blocks I'll be much less inclined to vote for it than things you can explain in your own words. Obviously, if you're a pro at Ks and deep-literature arguments, go for it!

- I default to reasonability. Sorry, I'm a 2A! Unless the AFF is something egregiously untopical, why can't we just let it go and carry on with the debate? Of course, I can be persuaded otherwise... it's up to you!

- the only voters are T and condo. Run as many theory args as you want, but let's be honest, most of them are cheaty anyways. If you can beat the team on the substance of the argument, why waste your time poking at their argumentation? Even though I say condo is a voter, it's honestly not until we get into the 3 or 4+ k/cp range. Again, I can be persuaded otherwise... you tell me!

- "now what?" What does this mean for us after this round ends? We all know that me voting AFF or NEG doesn't really do anything in the real world, but the things we learn are things that follow us beyond the round. So show me what we can all learn from my decision! K-specific: Explain to me how my decision would change how we approach policy-making in the future. T-specific: Explain to me how my decision would impact future debate rounds.

- I <3 clash. No one likes a debate where the two opposing sides never contest to each other's arguments. This is commonly referred to as "two ships passing in the night." That's no bueno! How am I supposed to evaluate your arguments if YOU don't even evaluate them? Good line-by-line, evidence comparison, and impact calc help a lot!

About speaker points...

1. be nice (not just to your opponents, but your partner too!)

2. be clear and/or organized

3. *be fast* (pro tip: speaking drills are your friend!)

4. **be funny** (call me crazy but I love puns!)

These things need to happen in order. I don't care if you can go 500 wpm, if I can't understand you, that means nothing to me. Likewise, you can make jokes, but if it's at the expense of someone in the round, then don't expect anything more than a 25 :/ Do these things well, and I'll be happy to award high 29's or even a 30! :)

Yup, that's all I have to say! Do what you do best and be compassionate and respectful, and we'll have a great time!

Good luck and let's have some fun!!

Kelvin Castro Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Mon March 18, 2024 at 1:38 PM EDT

Kelvin K Castro
He/Him/His
add me: kelvinkennycastr o@gmail.com
Emory University '23
Solorio '19

tl/dr:
- I love to see clash and engagement with evidence, read your blocks but do more than just that.
- I was mainly a policy-orientated judge, not to say I hate critiques and arguments of that genre, just that I'll not be as knowledgable or the best judge to have if that's a centerpiece of your style.
- Be nice to each other.
- I prefer topic-orientated strategies, if you could read your counterplan on any debate topic that should be a sign.
- I like offense-defense where it makes sense.
- Tech almost always beats truth.
- I'll save my feedback for the ballot, but please ask if you have questions or want it after the debate.

This is just a collection of my thoughts on debate, not a strict rule for what I think you should be doing.

Topicality:
- I'll always be less knowledgeable about your topic than you so going for topicality in front of me is probably not the best for any of us but do what you gotta do.
- In past I tended to find topicality hard to win by the negative but right now I'm unsure what the topic has or should be like.

K's (NEG):
- Needs to be explained.
- fw debates should have clash if it's a focus of the debate, stop forgetting it or overspending time on it. If it's a wash I typically default to weighing some of the aff.
- I usually separate the flow by (overview/fw/k-proper) but you don't have to.
- My knowledge of K’s is probably less than ideal if this is a center point of your negative strategy.
- Please don't just say "the overview answered it," to every argument. I think it's best to either directly reference what claim in the overview would respond to what or just do all that work as you go down the line-by-line. Trust me, you don't want me connecting the dots together for you on a ballot (if I try at all).
- Taking it easy on the line-by-line in the block is pretty wild for me and expect the 2nr's claims to be shot down as "too late to respond" in my ballot.
- Don't forget answering typical theory voters (floating piks bad, vague alts, etc.) this should be easy and extremely annoying to resolve in cases when the theory arguments go dropped and clearly not applicable to the neg's version of the K.
- I'd prefer explanation over card-reading in most k debates I'm in.
- I don't think you automatically lose without an alt in the 2nr.
- If your claims revolve around the reps/discourse/assumptions/etc. of the aff, PLEASE tell me what exactly you're referring to, picking out specific lines/choices of the 1AC/qualifications of authors/etc. will increase your speaker points in my book.
- Lastly, I probably won't understand your jargon.

Policy Affs vs K's:
- I don't vote on aff binary 'no k's' fw please stop reading this it isn't the early 2000s.
- Permutations are powerful but literally impossible to understand if you stick to tagline "do both" or "all other instances" jargon, please lay out what's compatible and how it would look like.
- Just as I hold a high burden for the neg to stick to line-by-line/direct references, the aff must equally respond to the neg.
- Even in these debates a conceded argument is a conceded argument.
- Stop calling everything a "link of omission" if it's blatantly not true.
- Any 2AR that overcovers the conceded case is helping no one.

K's (AFF/NEG):
- CX is extremely valuable and I will listen closely, I will pick up references to it if brought into a speech and reward that.
- Not a fan of calling people directly racist/sexist/etc. just for making policy arguments but I will feel no sympathy checking people if they're legitimately acting this way.

Counterplans:
- I tend to prefer the offense defense model. If the aff doesn't have any offense against the net benefit I tend to justify any solvency deficit in the neg's favor.
- I think sufficiency solvency framing should be answered by the aff but it's not a guarantee 100% solves case for the neg, you still got to do the work.
- Condo only theory argument I don't buy "reject arg not team." that's literally what they want... but if no one points that out I won't intervene. I'm generally in favor of condo being good. More than 3 condo positions get into hazy territory.
- Cheap shot theory arguments exist and can be won, but you shouldn't expect better speaker points because of it. RVIs are fake.
- Consult/Agent/PICs/etc. are all theoretically debatable. Do what you want and be good at it. In the case of process counterplans, the theory/perm debates will matter a lot, I'll expect more than just both teams reading your blocks and moving on without clash. Having a card saying "we're the core of the topic" is helpful but don't overassume its importance in contrast to better debating. Honestly reading cards on theory other than definitions is pretty confusing for me I really don't care if a professor thinks fairness is more important than education.
- Adding planks to a counterplan in the block seems fair to me. Block UQ counterplans are meh.
- I believe the aff gets to decide how they articulate the plan, which ultimately ends up being important in my analysis of PDCPs. I'll give leeway for the aff in 1ac cx for questions such as "who implements the plan." That being said, the neg should definitely be asking this regardless of the answer if an agent CP is one of your neg box options. This is a case where I lean towards truth in the case of what your solvency authors say if this becomes a center point for the neg.
- Having a solvency advocate is good, not having one isn't a dealbreaker if you can explain why.
- Presumption flips aff is real.
- PIKs are probably not good.
- FIAT is a funny concept and I'm open to hearing the explanations from both teams on it.
- 2ac theory is generally a non-risk to me but don't overdo it either.

General:
- Tech about always beats truth.I think this is less so the case when we get into topicality and theory debates. I find myself increasingly willing to hear out 'late' arguments if they're blatantly true, but I'll always try to prioritize the better debating and leave myself out of it.
- Generally, have a high bar for voting on presumption.
- I don't think every argument needs to be carded.
- The most important part of any offcase in front of me is generally the link and internal link, large disconnects between evidence are generally the issue and I'll be looking mainly at your explaination to connect the dots, without it I'll likely be highly skeptical of large jumps unless it's conceded. I reward teams that can point those out.
- Politics is on a case-by-case basis. You need the goods; evidence quality is highly emphasized in my decisions now. Additionally, if it's a bad politics DA I'll most likely hold the bar high for the neg if it's a straight case vs DA debate but don't think they're unwinnable especially when with a counterplan. I like to see evidence that postdates the other team's only if it actually says what you claim.
- It's fine to read 1 card DA's or K's but don't massively overhype what the card actually is saying in the tag or explanations. Especially the case for Econ DAs, I'm not an economist but I'm kind of bewildered by how the smallest of internal links suddenly leads to economic disaster and nuclear war.
- I don't envision this being a dealbreaker but cards that have 1-2 lines highlighting are highly suspect to me. I'd prefer better cards than more cards.
- The speed k or a variation of it is extremely non-convincing for me.
- I default to judge kick unless told otherwise.
- Expect me to want a card doc if the debate is close/important (break round) I won't ever ask for it but getting me one will help your speaker pts
- If you try to tell me you read cards you clearly didn't, your speaker pts will drop.
- I will read ev and use your guidance on the flow to decide comparisons but will mainly look at your explanation of it.
- Calling a card “bad” does not warrant me reading it, give me a thing to look for when I’m re-reading and you’ll probably do well when I’m explaining how I evaluated evidence.
- Smart choices and cross-applications will impress me. Bold decisions done with confidence will impress me. Your complicated vocabulary will not impress me. Belittling your opponents or cutting them off every opportunity during cross ex will not impress me.
- 2NR/2AR should be clear on what you want me to vote on. Big picture debate framing is what I like to see, but don't sacrifice what you need to do on the flow for this.
- Please don't bully your partners, debate is meant to be fun and cooperative. If it becomes obnoxious the harasser's speaker points will suffer horrendously.
- No -Ism's, as mentioned earlier I'll give the benefit of the doubt but if it's clearly intentional I'll drop the team.
- I'll trust yall to keep track of your own prep/speech times.
- Speaker Points- clarity is key, don't sacrifice this for speed. Taking forever after prep-time is called to send a document is a bad look.

Dylan Chikko Niles West High School 5 rounds

Last changed on Sun February 18, 2024 at 7:11 AM CDT

2/18/2024 update...please read - i am now several years removed from the point when i was actively involved in debate and kept up with the topic. i judge a combined total of around 20 policy/ld debates per season. my exposure to the topic starts and ends with each debate that i judge. my knowledge of the topic on any given season is essentially nonexistent, and my knowledge of post-2018 debate in general is probably diminishing with time. i wouldn't call myself a lay judge by any means, but a few steps above. the safest way to win a debate in front of me is to slow down (not to the point where you aren’t spreading at all, but still a bit more slow than you’d normally speak), and focus on the quality of arguments over quantity. pick a few arguments to explain in depth as opposed to having lots that aren't explained well. line-by-line in the style of "they say...but we say..." will also get you a long way with me...overviews/"embedded clash"...not so much...you can feel free to scrap your pre-written overviews entirely with me. if you want the decision in a debate to come down to the quality of evidence, please make that clear in your speeches because i won't do that on my own (i don't usually open the speech docs anymore, nor do i flow author names/card dates. keeping that in mind, statements like “extend the chikko evidence” with no elaboration whatsoever are meaningless to me, as i won’t have any idea what that specific evidence says without an explanation). i won't vote on arguments that i don't understand, miss because of speed/lack of clarity, etc. - i have voted against teams in the past because they went for arguments that i either couldn’t flow or couldn’t understand, even if they may have “won” those arguments if i’d had them on my flows. attached below is my old paradigm, last updated around mid-2019. it is all still applicable…

my old paradigm:

Happy new year.

Add me to the email chain: dylanchikko@gmail.com

I don't time anything. Not prep time, not speeches, nothing. If no one is timing your speech and I notice in the middle of it, I'll make you stop whenever I think the right amount of time has passed. The same is true for prep time.

I have no opinions on arguments. I know nothing about the topic whatsoever outside of the rounds I judge. I don't do research and don't cut cards. I'll vote for anything as long as it's grounded in basic reality and not blatantly offensive. Speak slightly less quick with me than you usually would. I'm 60/40 better for policy-oriented debating (just because of my background knowledge, not ideological preference). But I'll vote for anything if it's done well. My biggest pet peeve is inefficiency/wasting time. Please direct all complaints to nathanglancy124@gmail.com. I’m sure he’d love to hear them. Have fun and be nice to your opponents/partner/me.

I'm an Assyrian. A big portion of my life/career as an educator consists of addressing and supporting Assyrian student needs. That influences my thoughts on a lot of real-life topics that regularly end up in debates. That's especially true for debates about foreign policy and equity. So do your research and be mindful of that.

Don't say/do anything in front of me that you wouldn't say/do in front of your teacher.

Feel free to ask me before the round if you have questions about anything.

Ariana Collazo Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 3 rounds

Hayden Covello Jones College Prep 2 rounds

Amelia D'Agaro Glenbrook North 2 rounds

Sarika Doppalapudi Jones College Prep 3 rounds

Maddie Dunne-Murphy Glenbrook South HS 4 rounds

Nadia Firozabadi Niles West High School 5 rounds

Last changed on Wed October 6, 2021 at 7:24 AM EDT

niles west '19

University of Michigan '24

she/her

put me on email chain - nadia.f427@gmail.com

last update: January 2021

if you have any additional questions please email or ask me

background!

I debated competitively at Niles West for 4 years. I was a 2a/1n for most of my career but was a 2n/1a for a couple of months. I was a policy debater in high school, but my partner and I did go for the k often. I received a bid to the toc and have been in many bid rounds. I don't know the topic at all.

aff!

Explain your aff to me with a clear story. Use your impacts and extend them throughout the debate, I love impact debates. I really like it when teams use their aff to answer off case positions and make cross applications in the 2ac.

neg!

My main thing is to have applicable arguments against the aff, I don't like arbitrary off case that are just 1nc fillers. I am fine with reading as many off as you want, but I hate big a 1nc that is just to spread the 2ac thin. If you have a big 1nc at least have a strategy that goes along with it. I don't like huge neg blocks, but I get it sometimes.

cp!

Love love counterplan debates, but I am picky. Advantage counterplans are my favorite and I will be very happy with a smart one, but giant adv multiplank cp without a real solvency advocate are ehhh. Process cp are good IF competitive, so please have a clear cp competition debate if that is your strat. Please don't forget the net benefit debate though! I think net benefits are a huge part of the cp debate. I lean aff on cp theory.

I am not a good judge for the k. Please extra explain things for me, I do not know all of your k jargon. Keep the debate clean and have a real link/impact.

I love a good T debate. I am not super knowledgeable on the arms sales topic so please explain your interps for me. I lean aff on reasonability. I don't like aspec, sorry. Impacts to your standards are super important to me.

da!

DA and case debates are awesome. I am tech over truth, except when it is too true. Love love turns case and case turns da arguments!

k aff!

I don't love k affs. I am better for k affs with some topic relevance and think those are the more strategic. I am neg leaning on fw, but I will vote for aff cause tech over truth. Please explain your aff to me because the chances of me understanding your aff are very low.

theory!

I love condo debates and think 2-3 condo worlds are ok. I am down to hear any theory debates, but they need to be full arguments and not fake small theory arguments. Either go all-in on theory or not at all.

speaks!

Don't clip and be nice and respectful to not only me but especially to your opponents! If you say anything racist, sexist, or hateful I will vote you down and give minimum speaks. Please have a subject line clarifying the tournament and round on your email chains! Other than that, just be clear & smart and you are good. If you know me then you know what jokes to make to help your speaks.

Wes Fowler Jones College Prep 5 rounds

Last changed on Wed April 10, 2024 at 8:34 AM CDT

BACKGROUND- I debated at duPont Manual H.S. (1987-91) and Augustana College (in the NDT) (1991-94). I have been an asst coach at several Chicago high schools: Whitney Young, Lane Tech, Juarez, and Hope. I have been coaching and judging in the Chicago Debate League since 1999.

I am open to any type of argument and style as long as you make compelling justifications for why I should vote for your team. I WILL NOT do the work for you. Make sure that you are extending your impacts at the end of the round and providing some type of comparative impact calculus that frames my ballot.

I appreciate creativity over predictability . I get tired of weighing Nuclear War and a Politics DA.

Overviews are appreciated . Let me know what is most important in the round. If I have a messy rd, I use overviews in rebuttals to help whittle it down. (i.e. "There are 3 reasons why you vote for us this rd...." )

Anything that happens before the rd ( i.e. disclosures) is irrelevant to the rd. I don't consider lack of disclosures "abusive".

ROADMAPS- Give good ones- Tell me the order of the arguments of your speech. Roadmaps are used to help people put their flows in order. Don't just say something like, "I'm just gonna do a general overview of everything." That's not a roadmap. Give the order: "Topicality, DA, then Solvency...".

TIMEKEEPING You are welcome to time your own speeches, but I like to keep prep time , just in case.

TAG TEAM CROSS-EX: I think it is important for novices and jv debaters to learn how to think on their feet and answer questions on their own, so I discourage tag teaming. I allow it, but it may cost you speaker points.

TOPICALITY is a voting issue. it is not a time skew . T is important because it's like a separate arena in the round. There are a lot of ways to argue that aren't necessarily dependent on cards. Debaters need more brain power and have to develop more arguments while in the rd. T is my favorite stock issue. I was a "Topicality Jock" when I debated. LOL.

SPEED is fine if I can understand you. I will let you know if I don't. Be sure the tag lines to your cards are clear, and feel free to spew as much as you want during the text of the cards. Do NOT SKIP ("CARD CLIPPING") the important parts of text while you read it. If you stop reading a card before getting to the tag implications, I won't count it in the round. [Example: If the tag line says "Nukes lead to extinction" and you only read the first sentence of the text: "Certain scientists discussed nuclear power today." . That is not completely read.]

KRITIKS are fine with me. Explain it as though I am hearing it for the first time. Don't skip certain parts of it because it may be a popular K. Feel free to go crazy, as long as the LINK is explained. ! P.S. Personal insults are not arguments. They really aren't.

Know your arguments and evidence ahead of time. I have seen too many rounds where a K is shoved into a debater's hands right before a round, and the debater knows nothing about the K. Evidence isn't the only thing you need to win the round. You need to be able to explain the arguments and implications. I usually consider an "alternative paradigm" observation BEFORE stock issues (like T). I would like to hear in the rd reasons why the paradigm comes first, though.

I can become impatient and start prep time if someone's computer glitches take too long.

DISADS- Please remember to extend all 3 parts of a DA throughout the Neg block and 2NR. I'm not kidding.

COUNTERPLANS - If you go for the CP in the 2NR you must win it to win the round. This means extending all parts of it and explaining the Net Benefit.

END OF ROUND- I don't talk a lot at the end of the round. I write everything on the ballot. I also don't like to read cards at the end of the round. Don't ask me to unless you believe they are being misinterpreted. I have a problem with Huffington Post cites. I may need to see the quals of the author. I also will not argue with anyone about my decision.

Jordan Frese Glenbrook South HS 4 rounds

Last changed on Sat January 6, 2024 at 7:55 AM CDT

she/her

please add jfrese016@gmail.com to the email chain

I am a coach at Washburn Highschool where I have been working since 2021.

I debater for a total of 6 years before I decided to stop debating. 4 were in high school at Glenbrook South and 2 at the University of Minnesota. I have qualified for the TOC once and the NDT twice

updated for Blake

TLDR

I don't really have much to say in this paradigm I have previously had long paradigms that explained my view of each argument, but, I dont think that provided anything useful because the way you debate is a stylistic choice and I don't think judges should have a preference on what styles they vote for. It is my job as a judge to evaluate the flow and vote for which ever team I think wins the round. I will vote for any argument (excluding arguments that make the debate space harmful as I won't ignore my role is as an educator).

Ks--i really like these they are useful education that should be discussed in the debate space. I will vote on framework because I think the debate about framework is a useful conversation to have (how should our engagement with debate operate is a useful question and one that I really like).

Policy--this is the style i debated. i really like these I don't know if there is much more to say. I mean DAs, Ts, CPs, Turns, all are good.

Condo--I think that condo is fine but Ill vote for condo bad even against 1 condo if you win it.

If u want to read my full views of debate they are here

My experience is one mainly as debating policy, however, my more recent experience coaching have left me more focused on critical arguments, mainly the cap k and set col while also adding in a role as an educator inside of the space. I don't think that it should be up to the judges to determine the stylistic decisions they vote on it should be the argumentation. That said I won't vote for arguments that make the debate space harmful.

Kritiks

I typically think of kritiks as coming in a couple forms. One that focuses a criticism on the framework of debate or one that focuses more on an alternative. These are both very strong and I understand the strategic choice of keeping routes open, but, by the end of the debate I think that having the time to spend constructing a specific route is more sucessful than trying to keep all options open. It is much more persuasive if all the arguments you chose to go for use a similar foundation. This is extremely useful because if you spent so much time winning framework it will make certain case arguments, certain links better.

If you are debating against a kritik what helped me was trying to identify the route the neg's k takes and having a plan for each of these avenues. I think it really depends on the aff, but there are a few strategies against Ks. By strategies I mean what is the focus of the 2ar win on, because you should still have everything covered as much as it needs to.

-Perm, no-link--it is important to have a net benefit to the perm which can be alt fails, cede the ptx, the advantage, ect.

-Framework, extinction outweighs, alt fails--it is important to think through the implication of you winning framework. There are some Ks where they will just lose while other Ks have strong alts and impacts.

CPs

I am a fan of CPs. I don’t really have any leaning way I believe. I think theory typically isn’t the best strategy not because I won’t vote on it but unless the CP is really cheating then it typically is just easier for the neg to defend theory.

This is where I spent a lot of my time in debate doing coming up with cps.

DAs

I love DAs. The bad ones the good ones whatever da you want. I feel like this isn’t controversial.

I am a very good judge for T if you are ready on the tech level. I will peetty easially pull the trigger on less viable T violations if you are just ahead. I really like the focus being put on the implications of how debate would work.

This is also where I spent most of my time debating

Victor Garcia Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Sun October 13, 2019 at 4:09 PM CDT

Victor Garcia

Solorio '19
DU '23

add me to the email chain--- victorgarcia657@gmail.com

T- Usually not the best idea, but don't let that discourage you. If you go for T it needs to be all 5 minutes of the 2NR unless the aff mishandles it completely. I usually default to reasonability so the neg needs to do a good job to convince me otherwise. That being said if you're Aff you need to describe reasonability well enough for me to be cool with it. I think T is underused against tiny affs or affs that are clearly untopical and abusive. Paint the picture of what debate looks like under your interp.

Disadvantages- Disads are great. Do updates, the uniqueness debate matters a lot, I will default to the more recent card unless the other team proves that card to be trash. Generic links are okay in the 1NC but the block should have more specific links to the aff otherwise I will be less inclined to believe the DA links or I will default to more specific link turn/no link arguments. Internal links matter a lot! Most DA's have trash internal link evidence, the worse part of a tricky DA with a lot of parts is the internal link. Proving the internal link to be good/bad will do a lot for you in the debate. Impact calc matters, it helps me decide which impact is more important.

Counterplans- Legit unless proven otherwise. There needs to be a net benefit to the CP, please don't just say "it solves better than the aff" I will vote on the perm. Saying perms are severance or intrinsic is good but explain why, don't just say that as your response to every perm. The more specific the CP the more I like it, but if you want to run the generic CP of the year that's cool too. PICs, process, agent, consultation, etc are all fine.

Kritik- Specific links matter a lot. I understand the basic K's more than postmodern and other K's. However, I am open to any kind of Kritik. The alt and the link need to be explained extremely well for me to vote for you. Reading Baudrillard, Bataille, etc need more explanation than reading cap, security, etc. Links of omission suck and don't make the debate a root cause debate. Framework debates are fine, make sure to focus on the impacts, not just the violation or your interp. Fairness is probably more of an internal link to impacts like education. There needs to be clash in this area otherwise it comes down to what I personally believe not what happened in the round and I tend to let teams get their Kritik. Neg fiat on Alts are kind of sketch but if the aff doesn't call the neg out on neg fiat then I will default to the alt happening. Even if the neg is winning parts of the K you need to explain the alternative in depth. If your K doesn't have an alt you need an explanation as why affs make squo worse or why squo solves now.

K Affs- K affs are cool with me, I need the aff team to tell me why their aff should be allowed to be read. I want specific reasons why debate is a place to talk about their topic. Neg teams should not focus on why the state is good but rather why even if the state is bad they are the only ones that can still do good things for what the aff talks about. Aff teams need to tell me what voting aff does and clearly explain their method(if there is one). I love framework but you should try your best to engage with the aff. That was my strat against all K-affs. Topical versions of the aff are great for the neg, if there is a solid TVA then I become more inclined to vote neg. Impacts matter the most here, both teams need to explain the type of education that debaters will garner and why its good. Aff needs to explain the ground that neg teams have against the aff and don't just say "the cap K". Neg teams need some generic case answers against antiblackness affs, queer affs, etc. I don't think that neg teams should have specific case answers against every K- aff but many have similarities where cards can apply while not specific to the method.

CX- Try to be kind, I know things can get heated sometimes but don't be rude.

Random: I'm open to all arguments as long as they are not offensive, some arguments will take more convincing than others. Tech almost always comes over truth. Any more specific questions ask before the debate starts. Good luck and have fun!

Lauren Gaston Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 5 rounds

Amoravy Gaytan Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Wed January 10, 2024 at 2:11 PM CDT

Avy Gaytan-Aranda

Solorio Academy HS '19

UIUC '23

Short Version

-Tech over truth

-No judge kick

-quality over quantity of evidence

-default my paradigm as a policymaker but open to all arguments

-clash is key to any good debate

-Neg gets presumption

-email chain: amoravyg@gmail.com

Long Version

Short background about me: I debated for Solorio academy(Chicago) for four years. I debated in both the UDL and national circuit. I ran mostly policy through the first half of my career, however my junior and senior year my partner and I became more flex. With that being said, I have debated the most sketchy counterplans all the way to postmodern Ks. I am not familiar with the new topic, my knowledge solely comes from judging so you must provide substance in your debates rather than just jargon.

Affs- K affs: Although I always liked and read Ks, I find it really hard to read K Affs. Not about understating, rather how they are used. Hence, when you read a K AFF do not just stand up and explain what is that you are criticizing but also explain the utility of the aff itself. Make sure to implicitly describe the need to not use a plan, and the need to have the discussions that are being had, because otherwise i will likely lean neg on framework. I genuinely don't have a preference for any form of affirmation of the resolution, you can do any form of performance in front of me.

-By any means feel free to run any aff that you want in front of me.

Ks- I want to hear a good explanation of it, defended well, also explain why it matters more than any other arguments in the round. How the alt solves better ..how the K fw suits best for the round...how it outweighs the aff..how it is a issue in the world of the debate round and the real world, etc. Neg, in order to have weight of the K trough the round, articulate a link, wait, articulate MULTIPLE links on the K, without a link you can't win K. Go beyond the techy sutff and K jargin and go further on, expand on the literature authors and their ideas, and connect them to the debate round, to engage not only with the people in the round, but to orient yourself as debater. In other words have a cohesive understanding of the K. Preference wise, even though I have been policy most of my debate career (so far), I do read K literature on my spare time, so with that being said, I am knowledgeable with Stuff like Wilderson, Sexton, Baudrillard, Agamben. The evidence of the kritik should be pretty extensive and well Also, I encourage to defends a solid solvency mechanism aka a strong alt, otherwise, I view myself judging a non-unique disad. Having a solid alternative is literally the most compelling thing when leveraging a framework and the impacts of a link because it makes it easy for me as a judge to prefer it over any fiated plan. With that being said I don't like voting for kritiks with weak alternatives, because I view it as a burden of the neg to prove how the alt overcomes the link story and the premise highlighted in the kritik, well at least explain how they substantially change the sqou described in the world of the K. Overviews are nice when making the extension of the K in the later speeches of the debate, however be aware of how long it's going to be, should be no more than 45 seconds.

- If you go one off K, do your thing, but a major thing! Learn how to split the block please.

- Any death drive, death good stuff is probably not good in front of me (not with that, nor I like that).

- I probably wont vote for you regardless of how well you defend if you read the following: Time Cube, death good, shreck.

Theory, theory is awesome, theory is the most amazing thing in debate. In my opinion theory debate is underrated and underused in modern debate. However if you are reading theory make it interesting. That being that I love theory on CP debates.

Regarding T, CPs, DAs, etc make sure no nonsense argument to waste time. By that I refer to, run an argument you are comfortable with and don't run random arguments just to catch the other team off guard ,be very strategic.....

- I am very sympathetic towards condo, because I believe in teams reading plus 6 off just to catch other teams not responding to args. However going for condo just because it was dropped is not enough to win my ballot, there has to be substance regarding as to why condo matters specifically in the context of the round and why it matter overall.

Be strategic...

For example....Don't run Baudrillard and a heg DA with a war impact, c'mon, it's pretty self explanatory why not.

CPs- Big fan of consults CPs, Not voting for a counter plan without a net benefit...Also, a MUST when reading a CP, don't just prove how phenomenal a CP is independently, but prove to why the CP is specifically competitive with the Solvency of the Plan. Consider not getting too caught up in the explanation of how the CP works, but rather include comparative analysis to the 1ac, and distinction to the net benefit. Also, yes counterplans could get messy and stuff but overviews are helpful in later speeches in the debate if you want to make the CP a possible 2NR strategy. For AFF teams, theory is phenomenal against counterplans in front of me, I tend to believe that just like the 1ac, the counterplan should be questioned and attacked as much as possible the 1ac. That being by either perms, CP specific DAs, theory, etc.

Multi-plank counterplans are really tricky and fun, however, they could get sketchy, I don't think plank kicking is a thing, you either defend the full counterplan or none of it.

- Functionally competitive CP's are better in my opinion; easier to defend and to debate thoroughly.

Theory on CP's such as agent, delay, or int. fiat probably have some truth value considering how abusive CP's could get, however I don't think that 5-20 second extensions are enough for me to vote for any of the theory arguments on CPs

DAs- Even if I believe your DA is bad/ or non uq, I will still give your 100% risk until proven otherwise.

-Not a fan of the courts DAs, because most of them a false and exaggerated. If you read these, please give me a good link story that is coherent to the aff, thus multiple links make it strong for not only picking fewer in the debate, but using them as case turns if mishandled by the affirmative. Impact analysis along with a strong internal link story will probably be the most important when trying to get my vote because it is up to the aff or neg to either prove why such impacts matter more or less than the others.

-Politics are nice.

T- if you are going for T in the 2NR, you better go for it all 5 minutes, I expect some serious analysis on T if you end up going for it in the 2NR. Definitely a winnable argument considering it is the negatives job to prove that the aff doesn't work/ is not topical to begin with.

- consider having a debate past the interpretation and the "they say-we say" stuff, but prove your voters as being true.

- By default I think reasonability is good, so it's your job to convince me otherwise.

- Set the bar as to why T is an independent reason to not evaluate anything but the argument in the round.

Framework- Awesome!!When reading/going for framework, please have a solid interpretation. Having a vague interpretation makes it hard for me as the judge to validate arguments you claim to solve for. Moreover, when going to framework please engage into a line by line, nonetheless I won't feel convinced that your idea of what debate should be is true or convincing. Why is voting the other team bad for debate? what are the impacts of not having your framework? what makes your framework best for the debate? Please answer these questions when articulating the argument in your speech. Additionally, I don't really buy the "screw debate", "f debate" "debate is bad" framings of debates and rounds. However I do like when frameworks present a challenging paradigm for the round such as "Debate should be a sight of x or y" or "engaging in this form of debate is key because..."

- I also think fairness is not an impact; coming from a small school, it is pretty evident that there is things outside the round that make debate pretty unfair.

Moreover, I find that now days framework debates are very reciprocal..either "aff should defend a hypothetical USFG plan", or "we should test the aff's orientation before anything". Those debates can get boring, try to expand and have creative interpretations, to have clashful and more concise debates. Which overall are way better than having broad big impact debates.

-impact wise...explain how procedural impacts outweigh pre-fiated impacts

Moreover, clash is always the key to a good debate round, thus making it not just educational to you as a debater but to me as a judge too.

In round stuff/Random

- PICs are fine with me but don't be abusive.

-Jokes are nice

-Never make fun of opponent

-Never card clip (although there is some leeway for novices)

-If I suspect any stealing of prep during flashing or w.e, I will be Conor Cameron with time through the rest of the round.

- Remember that debate is not a reading game, it's a thinking game. Thus, warrants win you debates not cards.

-AFF: always disclose affirmative case before the round if asked by the negative team.

Dylan Goldberg Glenbrook South HS 3 rounds

Alanna Goldstein New Trier High School 1 rounds

Last changed on Tue October 16, 2018 at 5:14 AM CDT

Please put me on the email chain:

alannagoldstein16@gmail.com

Currently New Trier '19

Quick Notes

Debate is supposed to be a fun activity, while ultimately debate is a competition, please recognize the other values of the debate community. Be respectful to your opponents and work as a team in round with your partner.

Case

I think the case debate is heavily underutilized. I'm a fan of a well-developed case strategy. I enjoy hearing impact turns and specific circumvention arguments. While I tend to prefer soft left affs, a well-explained big stick debate will still go well.

I think many of T args are a great strategy given this year's topic. I find T versus affs that adjust status, are temporary, or give nonimmigrant visas persuasive. I can be persuaded for T humanitarian but am more aff-leaning on this question. Some T args like eliminate or USCIS are probably not worth it to run. Don't force me to intervene - have clear explanations in your final rebuttals on how you want me to evaluate the debate.

I am willing to vote on most das, however if the da has poor quality evidence and the aff team is able to point the internal link flaws in the da can be taken down to zero risk. I would avoid running any rider das (I find them questionable) or xenophobic das (terror, opop, etc.) Both teams need to include turns case and strong impact calc.

Be careful with your plan texts - aff teams should take advantage of any solvency deficits here (since neg teams often mess up with cp texts). I'm not a huge fan of theoretically questionable cps like process cps, agent cps, etc, however I can persuaded to vote neg on theory if debated well. I think cps are most legitimate when there are specific solvency advocates.

Don't assume I know the k, the neg has the burden to not just rely upon jargon. Aff teams should pay attention to k tricks (floating piks, fiat illusory, etc.) and use theory to not let the neg team get away with more than they should. I would say I am more of the middle of the road so both sides should prioritize framework. I tend to think neg teams need to defend an alt, but the burden of plan focus/rhetoric/etc. is to be debated.

Speaks

26-26.9 - offensive

27-27.9 - key strategic misunderstanding of the arguments going on in the round

28-28.9 - solid debating

29-30 - probably a top speaker

I tend to find speaks as overvalued by debaters so don't over-stress. It's more important to learn and practice than to get top speaks. I do think speaker points are subject to a lot of bias within debate (sexism, homophobia, racism, etc.) so I tend to give higher speaks.

Aysia Grey Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 3 rounds

David Griffith Oak Park and River Forest 5 rounds

Last changed on Mon June 10, 2024 at 1:15 PM EDT

David Griffith

Coach at the University of Kentucky and New Trier High School

griffithd2002@gmail.com for high school and college email chains as well as any questions you may have.

ukydebate@gmail.com and debatedocs@googlegroups.com for college email chains only.

Hate mail can be sent to jordandi505@gmail.com and/or debateoprf@gmail.com, and you are welcome to add both of those to any email chain if you want.

Two non-negotiables:

The aff must depart from the status quo---winning that the status quo is bad does not mean anything. If the aff does not provide a solution to a harm and instead chooses to simply explain how the world works to me, I will vote neg on presumption.

The neg always gets infinite conditionality---I am completely unwilling to decide a debate on how many positions were read. The neg will never be punished for obeying the pairing by disagreeing with the aff.

Other than those principles, here are some general notes that will help you get the best decision from me:

Organization is significantly more important than substance---I refuse to flow the speech doc. If you don't number your arguments, talk in intricately worded paragraphs, or fly through every argument at the same speed, I will miss arguments and feel that I'm a good enough flow not to feel bad about missing something. Debate is a speech activity.

Tell me what to do in every place possible---robust judge instruction is your only hope of avoiding catastrophic judge intervention in front of any judge. Final rebuttals should clearly explain the implication of winning your most important arguments relative to other arguments in the debate. Doing so will result in a faster, clearer decision and better speaker points.

Explain the importance of technical concessions---the bar I use for this is that I have to be able to explain to the other team what the implication was of them dropping a certain argument. Often, teams assert that things like "turns case" are dropped but won't say what this means. If you truly believe something is conceded and important enough to jump up and down about, don't leave it up to my intuition to figure out if it wins you the debate.

Complain about new arguments---I generally think new 1AR arguments have gotten out of hand. If the block makes deliberate choices informed by 2AC errors/concessions and tells me this, I am highly likely to obey 2NR judge instruction to ignore whatever the 1AR cooked up. For the aff, I am more than willing to entertain the idea that the 1NR does not get new impacts to the DA (or perhaps give the 1AR add-ons in response). For the neg, I am more than willing to strike an unwarranted "perm do both" from my flow of the 2AC if the 1NC explained why the CP avoided the net benefit (emphasis on explained).

Make complete arguments, and refuse to answer incomplete ones---it is not the 12-off 1NC that makes me angry, it is the 2AC that treats each off-case equally. If the 1NC doesn't read a link, the 2AC doesn't need to go to that sheet because fully conceding the other components of the DA doesn't disprove plan desirability. Is there value in hedging your bets? Maybe, but it's not always necessary. Similarly, I consistently see 2ACs that accurately assess that a 1NC position was incomplete and then spend an inordinate amount of time on that sheet. This will make me second-guess whether the 1NC applied because it tells me that you take the argument seriously. Stop doing that.

How should you approach debates involving planless affirmatives?

Shallow debating will favor the neg---I find that teams will often repeat lines of argumentation that they assume to be true without explaining them. For neg teams, this is oftentimes asserting that fairness is an impact without any of the explanation required to prove such a claim, and for aff teams, this usually looks like asserting some structural problem with debate and/or the topic without explaining why that problem exists/why the aff solves it. This is where my bias comes in: because I am more familiar with the neg side of things, when underdeveloped, I am more likely to intervene for the negative.

You don't need to adapt---I'm agnostic towards both the "best impact" to framework and the "best" way to answer it. I don't view framework debates as distinct from anything else and try my best to maintain the same conventions of judging that I do in every other debate.

Focus on internal links---what I mean by this is that teams seldom disagree with one another about whether debate has some value. The question that each team should try to answer in front of me is how we can maximize debate's value wherever it exists. A good portion of the final rebuttal needs to be dedicated to explaining why the model that you have forwarded does that better than the other team's can. This may just boil down to "do impact comparison," but I find that framework debates are more engaging to watch and easier to evaluate when teams explicitly focus on comparison as opposed to making large, structural claims and trying to get me to connect the dots for them.

What should you know in debates where the neg goes for the K against a policy aff?

Tricks are for kids---I'm a terrible judge for teams that rely on dropped tricks in order to win, especially if those tricks are vague assertions of "serial policy failure" or "ontology" or "root cause" without tailored application to the aff. I'm a great judge for nuanced link debating, competing ethical frameworks, and alternatives oriented towards changing the world in some capacity rather than simply explaining it. Remember, I must be able to explain why arguments interact in order for me to weigh one in your favor, so if I can't explain why the link turns case, the link does not turn the case.

Here is a list of thoughts related to counterplans!

Judge kick is my default, I guess?---does this even matter in the year of our lord 2024, where no one goes for "links to the net benefit" and very few teams have full-throated defenses of permutations against anything but the slimiest of process junk? If no one tells me to kick the counterplan, I guess I'll kick it, but I'm a very easy sell on the argument that I shouldn't.

I need to understand CP solvency---I do not presume that a CP solves the case in the same way that I do not presume the 1AC reading a plan text automatically means it solves its advantages. The 2AC cannot drop solvency arguments if the 1NC doesn't make any. The same is true for the 1AR if the 2NC does not explain the CP. The neg burden here is not unreasonable, but I have seen enough decisions hinging on this issue recently that I feel the need to say this explicitly.

Not great in complex competition debates---these tend to be the debates that go over my head the most. I find myself voting neg a lot just because of technical concessions and a lack of 2AR judge instruction inviting intervention based on my general neg bias. Moreover, I am not intimately familiar with the inner workings of functionally and textually non-severance partially-but-sometimes-fully intrinsic permutations, and I require extra hand-holding in the 2NR/2AR on that particular issue.

Impacts matter---solvency deficits need connections to them. "Delay" and "certainty" only matter if the aff has a short-term impact that requires certainty. If I can't explain what impact that is, the deficit doesn't matter.

Regarding topicality against policy affs.

Love it---some of the best debates I've watched, judged, and have participated in involved T. Good T speeches earn very high speaker points. I don't really care what the T argument is as long as you explain it compellingly.

What is plan in a vacuum?---seriously, someone tell me. How do you interpret the plan in a vacuum? The 1AC read evidence that informs what the plan means. This is why the aff can go for solvency deficits against CPs and nuanced no link arguments against DAs. To me, it seems untenable to suggest that the evidence the 1AC used to define plan function should be ignored when deciding topicality. This is not to say that plan in a vacuum is completely unwinnable in front me. Rather, I am not a fan of writing vague plan texts that lack a clear mandate, reading a 1AC that defends potentially untopical action, and then going for plan in a vacuum as if the 1AC deliberately read an advantage/solvency cards about something the plan didn't do.

Predictability matters vastly more than anything else---I think that the more precise or predictable an interpretation is, the less it matters how good its limits are on the topic in a vacuum. If a "bad" definition is more precise or predictable, limits are solely a reason we should've written the resolution better. I am not compelled by neg limits arguments when attached to unpredictable interpretations. I am equally unpersuaded by whining about aff ground when attached to interpretations that barely define words in the resolution.

The aff should go for reasonability---this is the ultimate conclusion to my disdain for limits. Most neg impacts to T can be taken out easily enough that offense about substance crowd-out can outweigh them.

In the event that the neg goes for the status quo...

This is where I am the most neg biased---I am better than average for believing the world is better now than it is post-plan. I'm generally bad for structural uniqueness arguments if there's adequate link debating by the neg, and I am such a sucker for case defense that even weak DAs end up doing enough for me to win.

Evidence quality matters---this is in the DAs section of the paradigm because it is where it matters most. Far too often, teams read lots of bad cards that gesture at vague economic concepts for a few rebuttals, tell me to read the cards, and then don't look alarmed when I conclude that the cards sucked. Debates over bad evidence result in more intervention, particularly when that evidence is under-explained by the 2NR/2AR. This means that if you're going for the status quo with a DA that doesn't have the best evidence, you cannot afford to let your cards do the debating for you.

Thumpers are boring and cowardly---mostly applies to politics on this topic. "There are other bills in Congress" is not a link nor a uniqueness answer to the politics DA. You have to explain why your thumper implicates the DA or is not priced in by the neg reading a uniqueness card.

Be smart---I am not a particularly smart person but know one when I see one. Smart arguments as an alternative to getting lost in the cards will not only increase your chances of winning, but it will also boost your speaker points. Knowing stuff about the world is really cool.

Some more thoughts on impact turns.

Impact framing matters more than impact defense---I am more than willing to pull the trigger on impact framing even with unmitigated impacts from the other side. I am not averse to stomaching a nuclear war if animals come first or risking the heat death of the universe if future generations don't matter. I think people care too much about impact defense in this debates when it rarely matters. Invest more time in explaining how I should decide the debate than assuming I can follow the implication of every technical drop exactly how you envision I shoudl.

I have no thoughts on the substance of impact turns---everything is fair game. It is virtually impossible to get me to toss an impact turn without substantive refutation. If you can't explain why spark or wipeout or warming good is incorrect, you deserve to lose because the majority of impact turns are academically ridiculous and/or philosophically inconsistent.

Steve Guzman Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Alan ivackovic Niles North High School 3 rounds

Noah Jacobs Glenbrook North 5 rounds None

Declan Johnson Oak Park and River Forest 5 rounds

Kyle Joseph Univ Of Chicago Lab School 4 rounds

Last changed on Sat January 27, 2024 at 8:22 PM CDT

1. Conflicts [as of 10/04/2020]

No Univ of Chicago Lab
No Iowa City

2. Short Version

tech over truth
strong analytics/analysis can beat carded evidence
prioritize your impacts
have fun!

3. Pandemic Social Distancing Related Technology Notes

Please slow down 5-10%. Emphasize your warrants. Without a microphone stem, your quality fluctuates. Keep in mind that I still flow on paper.
Please get explicit visual or audio confirmation from everyone in the debate before beginning your speech. I may use a thumbs up to indicate I am ready.
If my camera is off, unless I explicitly have told you otherwise, assume I'm not at the computer.
If the current speaker has significant tech problems, I'll try to interrupt your speech and mark the last argument and timestamp.

4. Some Detail

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but have not really had the time. My hope is that I end up judging better debates as a result of this updated philosophy. I am now changing to a more linear philosophy, it is my hope that you read this in its entirety before choosing where to place me on the pref sheet. I debated for four years at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in the south Chicago suburbs from 2007-2011. During that time I debated, Sub-Saharan Africa, Alternative Energy, Social services and substantial reductions in Military presence.

Nearing a decade ago, during would would have been the h.s. space topic. I started at the University of Northern Iowa, Where I debated NDT/CEDA Middle East/North Africa while judging a few debate rounds across the midwest. After my freshman year I transferred to the University of Iowa, where I started coaching at Iowa City High School. This year, I will continue to coach the City High Debate team.

Framing, Issue choice and impact calculus are in my opinion the most important aspects of argumentation, and you should make sure they are components in your speeches. Late rebuttals that lack this analysis are severely.

I preference tech over truth. Your in round performance is far more important to me, as it is what I hear. I greatly attempt to preference the speaking portion of the debate. Increasingly, I've found that my reading evidence is not necessarily an aspect of close debates, but rather results from poor argument explanation and clarification. The majority of 'close rounds' that I've judged fall into the category of closeness by lack of explanation. In some limited instances, I may call for evidence in order to satisfy my intellectual fascination with the activity. Anything other than that--which I will usually express during the RFD--probably falls upon inadequate explanation and should be treated as such.

I feel my role as a judge is split evenly between policymaker and 'referee' in that when called to resolve an issue of fairness. I will prioritize that first. Addressing inequities in side balance, ability to prepare and generate offense is something may at times find slightly more important than substance. In short, I consider myself a good judge for theory, THAT BEING SAID, rarely do I find theory debates resolved in a manner that satisfies my liking - I feel theoretical arguments should be challenged tantamount to their substance based counterparts. Simply reading the block isn't enough. Though I was a 2A[≈ High power LED current, peak 2.7 A] in high school I have since found myself sliding towards the negative on theoretical questions. I can be convinced, however, to limit the scope of negative offense quite easily, so long as the arguments are well explained and adjudicated.

I consider reasonability better than competing interpretations, with the caveat that I will vote on the best interpretation presented. But topicality questions shouldn't be a major concern if the team has answered.

I have a long and complicated relationship with the K. I have a level of familiarity with the mainstream literature, so go ahead and read Capitalism or Neolib. Less familiar arguments will require more depth/better explanation.

Hannah Kadin New Trier High School 1 rounds

Janice Kang New Trier High School 3 rounds

Hajirah Khan Niles North High School 2 rounds

Last changed on Tue September 3, 2019 at 3:50 PM CDT

NN '19

DePaul '23

Quick things:

Please put me on the email chain: hajirahk0914@gmail.com

I'd prefer if you read a plan, I read mostly policy arguments and I'm not well versed in the lit

Tech>truth

I'm also not super familiar with the topic so explaining acronyms and nitty-gritty concepts are probably important.

More stuff:

Kritiks:

I am probably not the best judge for you if you primarily go for kritiks or read a planless affirmative. I will do my best to keep my predispositions out of the round however I am not well versed in the literature. That being said if you do go for a kritik the more specific to the affirmative the better not really a fan of Baudrillard/Bataille or other generic kritiks. You should explain how the alternative functions and how it is able to resolve the link claims. The alternative resulting in the affirmative is probably a reason to reject the alt or the team.

If you're reading a planless affirmative the most important thing is explaining why you don't need to read a plan and how you are able to access your existential impacts through your model of debate. I went for framework most of the time when I hit a planless aff so I am more familiar with the neg side of things. If you are going for framework you need to explain your impact thoroughly and how your model of debate is able to resolve the impacts outlined by the affirmative.

I have never judged a K v K debate and I'm not the best judge for that. I am not well versed on the literature however if you find yourself in this situation the more thoroughly you explain things the better.

CPs:

The more specific to the affirmative the better. I won't kick the cp unless you tell me to or tell me to do otherwise. Your solvency deficits should be impacted out and explained thoroughly. In terms of theory I guess I'm pretty Aff leaning but if your cp is rooted in the lit you should be fine.

Theory:

Most things can be a reason to reject the argument and not the team except for condo obviously.

Topicality:

Again, I don't know much about this topic so making it clear why their aff is a bad image of the topic is important. Impacting things out is good and explaining that in terms of the aff is good as well.

DAs:

The more specific to the aff the better. There can be zero risk of a DA. There should be a coherent link and internal link story and I think impact calc is super important (answering it is too).

Other general stuff:

Be nice and respectful of everyone I won't tolerate any disrespect and if you have any other questions feel free to ask me or email me.

Hannah Kim Niles West High School 5 rounds

Roland Kim New Trier High School 1 rounds

Last changed on Fri March 11, 2022 at 2:02 PM EDT

Updated as of The 2022 IDCA Tournament

Email: rolandhkim@gmail.com

Summary:

Hi! I debated for New Trier, where I went to the TOC thrice and received many speaker awards/bids.

I am majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics and Asian American Studies. This is meant to illustrate that I am down for any argument - from Politics to an Identity K - but greater explanation may be needed for more nuanced and/or topic-specific positions.

Tech>Truth, with an emphasis on implicit argument interaction (i.e., even if a team doesn't explicitly say it, knowing X is true means Y has to also be true). It is your job, in order to minimize "judge intervention," to make these implicit interactions EXPLICITLY stated.

I typically won't read evidence unless you a) tell me and b) give a sufficient explanation of it. However, murkier/closer debates will lead me to do more decision-making based on evidence quality/implicit argument interaction.

Explanation > Outspreading.

I am in no way a perfect adjudicator. Feel free to post-round!

Well-formatted speech docs will steal my heart.

Specific-Issues/HoT TaKeS:

The rest of the paradigm is my opinion on various debate issues. Technical debating, however, can always persuade me in the opposite direction.

Theory --

Presumption = least amount of change.

Yes judge kick.

Vagueness/"_"SPEC are legit arguments if abuse.

Definitions for topicality/perm competition is about what an interpretation ought to be, for competitive debate purposes, rather than a debate about what it literally means. This means that for PDCP, conceding "XYZ counterplan is good" will really hurt your chances of winning. If, for instance, process counterplans are good for neg ground, I'm going to have a tough time justifying why I should vote for an aff interp of "should" that would eliminate such ground. This doesn't mean that predictability/precision arguments aren't valuable, but rather that you need to impact them in a way that is not just "because this definition is true, vote for us" (anyways, this is pretty rare in T/Competition debates).

Impact your standards (e.g. clash and education matter b/c ____).

Compare (e.g. limits > ground, err neg > aff, etc.).

If you're AFF and debating T, please extend reasonability!

If you're NEG, don't be shy to read a ton of planks/fiat through deficits!

Counterplans --

Sufficiency arguments need to be contextualized to the aff's solvency mechanism/arguments.

I am not one of those judges that thinks it is a sin to read Process/"Cheating" counterplans.

Advantage counterplans are low-key OP.

Disadvantage --

Link turns case > internal link turns case > impact turns case

Specific link cards are great. But, having specific link explanation that uses the warrants of a generic link to apply it is also perfectly acceptable.

Kritiks --

Reps K's = <3, ditto for "you link back to your reps so you shouldn't win on FW."

Capitalize on soft-left teams making arguments like "Consequentialism Bad" and "We're a step in the right direction."

I'm more persuaded by FW arguments specific to debate (e.g. debate's justifications for extinction is dehumanizing). This is also true for K AFF v. FW debates, whether it be procedural fairness, debate-based identity arguments, or something else.

Miscellaneous --

Zero-risk is usually tough barring concessions.

More teams should frame their offense as linear if they're worried about losing on "zero-risk".

Smart analytics can destroy most pieces of evidence .

RECUT EVIDENCE!

Extreme impact framing (e.g. "X" FIRST) is sad, but it only matters if you point out why. It would benefit aff/neg teams to defend more "reasonable" framing arguments (e.g., magnitude x probability, contextualized securitization bad) in front of me.

Jaden Kuykendahl Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 3 rounds

Nicole Lach Maine East HS 2 rounds None

Kenny Larson Northside College Preparatory 5 rounds

Last changed on Tue November 28, 2023 at 1:44 PM CDT

Hi! Feel free to add me to the email chain (although I won't be flowing off of the speech doc): chicagokenny@gmail.com

My name is Kenny Larson (he/him/his), I’m a recent graduate of the University of Michigan (Gerald R. Ford School) and am a graduate of Northside College Prep high school where I participated in policy debate for four years. I went to a sizeable number of national circuit tournaments, broke at a fair number of them, and ended my high school career in eliminations of the Illinois State Tournament. I spent an even amount of time as both a 2A and 2N, so I've got experience from both sides of the coin.

When it comes to my overall judging style, here are a couple of generalizations.

-Tech over Truth (as long as you're not making arguments like racism good, etc.)

-I'm into classic policy debate (that is to say, I rarely ran kritiks besides neoliberalism or security in high school, my classic 2N strategy was a DA or DA/CP, and I almost always ran/cut big stick affirmatives)

-Evidence quality is important to me, and I need to be able to articulate a clear warrant for an argument for me to cast my ballot on it.

With that being said, I'll get more specific--

Evidence

Wasim Rahaman and I have a similar philosophy on the role that evidence plays in-round, so I'll briefly paraphrase his paradigm here:

(1) I will not be calling for cards and/or reading evidence from the round unless you have done the work to extend its warrants. The primary function that evidence reading has in my book is if I need to adjudicate actual disputes over the content of the evidence. Whichever claim is best substantiated from the evidence is the argument I will give more weight to, but of course in-round articulation and warranted in-round analysis can make much of this irrelevant anyway.

(2) Qualifications of an author are important for me, but ultimately I don't want to have to do that work myself. Making arguments in-round about why another team's author is uncredentialed/has a bad methodology will be persuasive to me.

(3) Please read new highlightings rather than just inserting into a document.

(4) Clipping (which hopefully nobody does) and its accusations must be supported by a recording. Note that most tournament rules stipulate that when a clipping accusation is made, I must vote either (a) against the team that clips; or (b) against the team that has made a false accusation. Teams that clip will receive zero speaker points and will be reported to tournament officials.

Kritikal Affirmatives

I will vote for kritikal affirmatives (and obviously strive for impartiality in-round), but I have an admittedly higher bar for doing so than some judges. I personally believe that the resolution is extremely important for debate, and in high school, that belief was reflected by my go-to arguments in-round (that is to say, T-USFG was my bread and butter against K affs and certainly my favorite argument to go for against them).

I will be much more convinced to vote for a kritikal affirmative presuming that it is at least tangentially related to the topic (in fact, that is almost a must for me). Obviously impact turning topicality/framework is a fairly popular (and basically necessary) strategy here, and I think that's probably the most compelling in-road to an affirmative ballot for me (I won't vote on defense alone). Since there's some contention on this issue, my predisposition on fairness is that it is both an impact and an intrinsic good, but obviously I can be persuaded otherwise. I also find TVA's particularly compelling, and generally, do not believe that a TVA must solve for the entirety of the affirmative's offense.

Kritiks

Full disclosure: while I've read my fair share of philosophical and kritikal authors while in college, I'm certainly not intimately familiar with every author out there. That's not to say you can't run nuanced kritiks in front of me, but know that I will not be persuaded by buzzwords that are not explained in-round and/or do not have a clear implication for how I ought to decide my ballot. Here are some of my other thoughts on the matter--

(1) I am not compelled by links of omission and have a high-bar for generic "state bad" links or the like. The more specific your link articulation is, the more likely I will be to vote on it. Pulling out specific lines from affirmative evidence, specific in-round analysis, or even just nuance will go a long way in my book. Further, links should be reasons why the affirmative is actively negative, rather than just links to the status quo.

(2) I will vote on subtle kritikal tricks (PIKs, fiat illusory, etc.), but only if they are warranted/articulated. Just because you said the words "fiat illusory" in the block overview does not mean it's game over for the affirmative presuming that I don't know why I should be voting on that argument and/or its implication in the round.

(3) If you do not advocate for an alternative, it will be difficult to receive my ballot.

Counterplans

They should be competitive and have a net benefit. Sufficiency framing is generally a compelling argument for me on the negative, but it needs to be articulated clearly (that is, explain what the implication of me giving you sufficiency framing on the counterplan is, something that I don't think is done often enough). Judge kicking is something I can do, but I will not unless (a) I am told to explicitly in the round; and (b) there is a clear and compelling warrant that you provide for me to do so.

Unlike some judges, I do not really have a problem voting for "cheaty" counterplans like consult, PICs, conditions, etc. That being said, theory is certainly a very viable strategy against these counterplans presuming there is a substantial enough time/argument investment in this strategy (that is to say, you're going to need more than thirty seconds on theory in the 2AR). I will default to rejecting the argument rather than the team on most theoretical issues here.

If the affirmative implicates the counterplan's ability to avoid the net benefit, I will default to viewing the issue of linking on a sliding scale unless told to otherwise. That is to say, if the counterplan has a 60% chance of avoiding the net benefit versus the affirmative's 30%, I will evaluate that accordingly in my risk calculus. That being said, making these risk-analysis arguments in-round will go a long way in helping me adjudicate in your favor.

Disadvantages

Definitely love them, and honestly not much to say here. That being said, risk calculus is a must and turns case arguments will certainly be compelling for me (if not necessary). The bar for an affirmative to answer bad/pre-fiat disadvantages (such as Sacred Cow, tenuous rider DA's, etc.) is a bit lower than on other disadvantages, but obviously I will still vote on these arguments. Coherent story-telling with good evidence and analysis goes a long way with me. I'm not sure if arguments can be reduced to literally zero-risk, but there is a scenario in which I could see myself functionally treating arguments as such.

Topicality

The biggest thing to know here is that I am not well-versed in the nuances of the resolution and/or the resolutional topic for this year. As such, please be clear and explicit in your explanations/interpretations and create a clear picture for me as to why your interpretation of the topic is the best for debate. I appreciate it when teams use their standards to their advantage -- that is to say, weighing them against the other teams, internal link turning standards, etc. Case lists are important to me, affirmatives should definitely have at least a counter-interp and/or we meet argument, and in-depth analysis is a must.

Misc. Other Things

(1) Speed is fine as long as I can understand you. Even if you make an argument, I can only evaluate it if I can hear it. I will yell out clear a few times during a speech if I am having serious difficulties but remember that it is only in your advantage that I understand what you are saying.

(2) An "average speaker" in my book will likely receive anywhere from a 27.5-28. Receiving above a 29 means that I consider you to be a quite exceptional debater, and anything below a 26 means that you have done something quite bad in-round.

(3) Racism, sexism, threats of violence, discrimination, evidence fabrication, etc. will result in an automatic loss and be dealt with accordingly.

(4) I think that most death-good style arguments are in bad taste and I would very much like to avoid evaluating them in rounds if possible.

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list so feel free to reach out to me before the round to ask me any questions. Best of luck to both teams!

Kieran Lawless Walter Payton College Prep 2 rounds

Last changed on Thu April 11, 2024 at 8:57 AM CDT

Debated at Georgetown University (2020-2024 (NDT Quarterfinalist 2023, Octafinalist 2024, First Round 2023, 2024)

Debated at Walter Payton College Prep 2016-2020

Add me to the email chain: klawlessdebate@gmail.com

Top level:

I've judged a single tournament in the past three years, but I've been debating all of college. I research and cut cards constantly, so I'm well equipped to grasp any debate minutia. I have a pretty good understanding of economics, but I have no clue what social security does or the differences between tax schemes. Please err against assuming I know how these mechanisms work.

I want to note that for everything outside the "Non-negotiables" section is up for debate. Given debaters can never resolve every issue in the debate, the following describes how I evaluate rounds when left to my own devices. Any predispositions are easily overcome by judge instruction.

Feel free to ask me any Qs about debating in college/at Georgetown!

Non-Negotiables:

Speech times, speech orders, everyone only speaking for one constructive/rebuttal.

I will not vote on any accusations about what happened outside of the round (that includes disclosure theory).

An argument has a claim and warrant. "Climate change is existential" is not an argument, it is an assertion. "Climate change is existential - higher temperatures destroy food security, cause mass displacement, or conflict" is. Basically, for something to be dropped, I should be able to explain why something is true to the other team in the RFD. Please don't make me intervene to say you didn't make complete arguments.

Any debating that makes your opponents unsafe is an auto L.

Asking for 30s caps speaks at 25.

Ethics violations stop the round. I err against voting on these, so if you're going to say this make sure the violation is really bad and actually modified the nature of the debate. I cannot emphasize enough how much I don't want to vote on this.

Re-highlighted evidence MUST be read. However if both teams decide to just insert things, I will grumpily evaluate it.

Card docs cannot include analytics, unless they are perm/cp texts.

I've noticed a bad trend where judges let debaters get away with murder on clarity because they send analytics. I am not going to have my laptop open during speeches, so make sure you are debating like a human and not a spreading robot.

Evaluating Debates

Assuming no one has made any arguments about how I should evaluate my debates, my default is that I am evaluating whether the actor of the resolution should do the action of the resolution based on the consequences of that action. Affs can absolutely be justified through different ethical frames (deontology, rule utilitarianism, etc), but I default to consequentialism.

Under this frame, I evaluate just magnitude*probability of the positions in the round. My default is that future lives do probably matter, so I think extinction is a very large impact. Timeframe acts a tie breaker if magnitudes/probabilities are similar. The onus is on soft-left affs to propose a different way of evaluating impacts, and I am receptive to those, I just don't default to it.

Case

Please explain acronyms. Fine for whatever. Would prefer if you erred against impacts like "X thing solves numerous existential laundry lists" as I think the other team can just flag there's no warrant any of the things listed are problems.

Soft left affs are fine. Center debating on logical flaws with negative off-case positions and please answer the whole "extinction is infinite" argument. Getting rid of that makes it pretty easy to win the soft left aff outweighs some bad politics DA.

Plans should mean things.

I'm pretty good for the aff against extra-T if you specified a mechanism/process which the plan happened. Obviously the neg can PIC out of that, but I think it's legit for the aff to do.

More on the limits side, as a 2A I think even on the smallest topics there is always new things to be said. Pretty good for the aff on limits debates if they emphasize the danger of PICs.

I know little about any given topic, so examples of what the debates under your model look like, what ground and core generics exist for the neg and how that has built in link uniqueness is huge.

Perfectly debated, reasonability is pretty good, but can easily be persuaded by competing interpretations. Don't explain reasonability as "never vote on T" that's not what it is.

Some judges have a disdain for T as opposed to other types of policy arguments, I do not.

Not a fan of plan text in a vacuum, you should know what your plan does.

Counterplans

Pretty aff leaning on questions of competition. Textual competition is nonsense, text only gets meaning by the function of the counterplan. Theory can be a reason to reject the argument but is almost never a reason to reject a team (except for Condo and even there I think there is a good neg argument for just "stick us with all the CPs").

Counterplans must actually do policies not ideas. Text: "The United States should fund AI innovation" is meaningless and aff teams should point that out (neg teams should do so as well when plan texts are that vague).

Better than most for states/international fiat bad.

Very neg leaning on infinite condo. Neg ground/logic are good in front of me. Idea testing is not. A certain number of condo C/Is don't make much sense, except for maybe one condo. However, 2NC counterplans probably justify 1AR add ons.

If I remember I will judge kick. But please remind me because I might forget.

Critiques

While I am both not well versed in critical literature, and find Ks to be unfair for the affirmative to respond to, I've been voting for critiques pretty frequently. This often stems from the aff dropping neg offense on framework that obviates the plan. Aff teams need to make sure they're actually flowing and not just reading pre-scripted 1AR framework blocks.

Framework can't be a "wash" I will decide for one teams interpretation over the other.

If you're going to ignore the aff, you better spend a lot of time on framework as if you lose that I don't see a good chance you win any other part of the flow.

Perms vs Ks can't be intrinsic or severance. The alt is not a CP. If you want the K to be treated like a CP, you will probably lose to the perm.

Fairness is the best aff impact on framework IMO. I find a lot of Ks of util deployed to be tautological.

Debate does not make people good or bad. Arguments read do not make people good or bad. I am super unpersuaded that if everyone read the cap K every round on the neg we'd all be a bunch of marxists.

K Affs

I'm terrible for K affs, but I do respect the flow.

I find almost every argument K affs make on framework counterintuitive, so if you have me in the back make sure you are explaining your concepts well.

Fairness is the best impact, but I'll vote on any impact. After 8 years of debate, I've found everyone has their own ways of explaining why fairness matters. For me its complaining about the things I do to win, for others its comparing debate to other types of sports, and for others its using big academic words to describe fairness. The point is: I am very very inclined to think fairness is an intrinsic good, but I often see teams lose to K affs because they just never explain an impact to it.

If you're aff in these debates, I'm best if you actually counter-define words and defend that read of the topic. Often times that means you have to actually answer DAs, so most teams don't do that. I don't care that you conceded the link to the heg DA if you didn't defend the resolution. Impact calc is your best way out in front of me.

I have never judged a KvK debate. I don't know why the aff gets perms.

DAs

More open to well debated intrinsicness than most judges. Politics/Riders are fine, the aff should have to defend their process.

Please if you are defending politics DAs tell me a story. Who does Biden have to convince with his PC? Why are they persuadable? Why does the plan make that impossible?

Every time I judge the econ DA, I've seen teams basically talk past each other. Both have args why the aff would be good/bad for the economy but they never interact with their opponents. To win these debates in front of me, its really important to have evidence or at least a story, on why your link/link turn is more true. Maybe its because wage-price spirals can theoretically go on forever, where an increase in aggregate supply from a jobs guarantee is finite. I don't know, so you have to tell me.

Speaks

Top 1-10 speaker at the tournament: 29.4-30

Top 11-20 speaker: 29.4-29.1

Clearing but no speaker award: 29.1-28.7

Not clearing, but positive or even record: 28.7-28.5

Below positive record: 28.5-27.5

Other

I care about evidence often more than other judges. If I feel like many issues have become unresolved, I often times use team's evidence as a way to help guide my decision. This may make my RFDs somewhat less based on the debating done, but I only resort to this if the 2NR/2AR did not give me enough to render a competent decision for them.

Good for impact turns. I think those are some of the most fun debates I've been a part of. That includes Spark/Wipeout. Not good for these turns if they turn interpersonal, which they really shouldn't do.

Pretty bad for 1NC CPs without solvency advocates. "CP: The 50 states should do the plan," is not a complete argument. The 1AR basically gets all new answers if you extend it. If you explain, even analytically, why the CP competes/solves the 1AR gets much less leeway for new args.

99% of the time 2NRs/2ARs should chose one line of offense. This isn't a preference. I don't care if there are 7 DAs in the 2NR, your speech will probably just be worse than if you chose one.

Cards written by debaters either about debate or while they were debaters are no better than you making the argument yourself.

I really don't mind being asked questions about my decisions, especially at the TOC. Everyone has worked hard to get here and deserve a thoroughly defended decision. Feel free to follow up after as well.

I am so bad for cheap shots like sneaking ASPEC or new affs bad somewhere in the doc. If its well warranted when said yeah I'll grumpily vote on it, but if its a blip I have such a low bar for aff cross applications and answers.

Daniel Levin Glenbrook North 5 rounds

Last changed on Fri February 10, 2023 at 5:24 PM CDT

GBN '19

Tulane '23

Add me: danlevindebate@gmail.com

Top Level

Although I am very familiar with NATO, Isidore Newman will be the first time I judge this topic. That being said, if there is anything that I should know (acronyms, programs, important concepts, etc.), use your speeches to explain it.

I'm fine with almost any argument, so long as it is explained coherently and has a claim, evidence, and warrant behind it. Ultimately, just be nice, be prepared, and have fun.

Topicality

Not sure how big it is on this topic, but I am a big fan of T debates. I think legal precision is probably the best way to win T debates (regardless if you're aff or neg)- I'm persuaded by the argument that legal precision controls the internal link to whatever other impacts there are (fairness, education, etc.). Also, intent to define is key. Don't hesitate to call out your opponent's evidence if it is taken out of context.

CP's

Great argument. Agent, conditions, process, etc. are all fine with me as long as it's tied to the rest of the debate. That means that at some point a card needs to be read by the neg that ties the CP to the aff, or at the very least the resolution. Solvency deficits can be devastating if they're explained well, and certainly should be part of your aff strategy. Likewise, having quality evidence on the neg that establishes solvency makes your CP much more viable. Advantage CP's are underused and can be super effective when coupled with a DA. In terms of theory, I am generally neg leaning, but can be convinced otherwise. The only argument I may be aff leaning on, depending on the situation, is condo. Aff, if you're going to go for it, don't make it a generic, theoretical debate over the merits of conditionality. The best way to execute condo is to make it as specific to the round as possible, and provide concrete examples of how the neg's use of condo was abusive.

DA's

Any and all disads are fine. I frequently went for DA and case as a 2n and I think it's a strategy that's not used enough. Obviously impact calc is super important, not just fleshing out your own impact but also comparing it to theirs. I can be persuaded to vote aff on defense alone, especially if the case debate is executed well, but you'll probably be more successful if you go for a link or impact turn.

Kritiks

The K can be an extremely effective strategy, and I will definitely listen. While I am familiar with most K literature, the more high theory it gets, the larger the burden is on the neg to explain it. At the end of the day, if I can't comprehend your argument, I'm not going to vote for it. My favorite K to read was set col, but I'm fine with anything. For both sides, be respectful to your opponents and do not personally attack them. Also, be direct about what your argument is and don't be shifty. I'm not going to vote on K results in the aff post-alt or fiat double bind, so your path to victory is much more clear if you focus on the actual substance of the kritik. For most kritiks, I think the neg has a pretty high threshold to establish a link, so make sure you read evidence that puts your K in the context of the aff, and have specific examples of what the aff does that links to your argument. If you're aff, use your c-x and speech time to point out the lack of a link and also attack the alt. A lot of alts are simply buzzwords that can't be explained, or, if they are comprehensible, have clear, significant DA's to them. If you're neg, take the time in your speeches to explain what the alt does, how it solves your impacts, and why it's preferable. I'm ok with K affs, but I think it's definitely an uphill battle for the aff if the neg has a solid framework argument. If you plan on reading a K aff, tie it to the topic, have a good defense of why it should be a part of the debate, and explain why the impacts of your aff matter, both in terms of the "real-world" impacts as well as the impacts that your aff has on debate as an activity.

Elena Liao Univ Of Chicago Lab School 3 rounds

Maggie Lin New Trier High School 2 rounds

Last changed on Mon October 14, 2019 at 10:22 AM CDT

Fourth year debater at New Trier. Feel free to refer to me as judge, Maggie, whatever.

My email is margklindebate@gmail.com. Please add me to the email chain.

Feel free to ask me any questions before round or in email form about this paradigm and I will try to respond to you as quickly as possible. If you have a question about a technicality (i.e., what is judge-kick?)— you may also ask me those questions before round or through email.

bold = tl;dr most important things

General Things:

Before anything else, run what you like. I would like to see good debating. If you’re reading some K your varsity gave you that you have no idea what you’re doing with because you think it fits my paradigm, stop.

This is a very long and specific paradigm. That is for the sake of debaters who want to supplement/tailor arguments to the round. These are NOT standards by which I toss or pick winning arguments, they’re insubstantial biases that come into play when I thought both sides debated too equally to otherwise decide.

If you are offensive in any way to any person w/i or outside the debate, I will dock your speaker points massively.

Please do not attempt to get an advantage in any questionable ways, including: being a suck-up to the judge, deliberately making speech docs confusing, etc. It’s not cute

Also, new thought: if you are a male-female partnership and you decide to constantly speak over your female partner even when she's doing okay explaining things I will tell you to screw off in the middle of round, give you a 25, and will not be inclined to vote in your favor in the case of close debating. K thx

Good luck!

General Argumentation:

I won't cross-apply/judge-kick, etc for you unless you tell me to. If you make an argument on the DA that’s an obvious reason why the perm can’t happen, you’re still going to have to go to the perm and say “cross apply — from the DA.”
If your cards don’t say what you say they say, I generally disregard your argument.
My facial expressions are fairly readable. If I look like I’m confused, I probably am. More explanation please.
Open CX is fine. But please try to keep it to a minimum.
If you happen to be crazy fast for a novice, slow down on the analytics/space them out.
If any novice actually says in the 2NR that they’ll tell me what my ballot will look like and proceeds to ACTUALLY CLEARLY TELL ME WHY THEY WON MY BALLOT, automatic 30 points.

I’m not a huge fan of T but will absolutely vote on it.
My usual problem with T lies within really cheaty and unreasonable interpretations; if you read the interpretation that arms sales is only Ukraine, I’m going to be really skeptical and you’re going to have to do some pretty good “prefer it” work to get me to vote on it.
Please give me a stasis point. Otherwise I probably default that you’re shifting the goalposts. If you give me a caselist I will give you speaker points.
Given equal debating, I tend aff on T.

Theory:

I’m pretty good for framework against a planless aff (because apparently novices are reading those?); the aff should not just win that their k is NOT abusive, but also that there’s some offensive reason why it is good. Aff’s likelihood to win T also increases if they are tied to the topic of the year instead of just some generic Baudrillard crap.
I tend to buy that debate is a game. But I believe that argument can be counteracted by well-explained and reasonable in-round impacts, i.e. the ballot is a tool to get us to more debates to spread our education.
No one has good blocks for ASPEC, OSPEC, ZSPEC, etc. If I ever see a good debate on random-letter-SPEC, I… don’t know what to say. I don’t think I’m qualified to judge that kind of debater.
I think condo is a little unnecessary if the Neg is reading like three off but will vote on it.
Given equal debating, I tend neutral on theory.

If it’s top ten hits of policy oriented teams trying to garner kritikal offense (Security! Setcol!) I probably know what it is. If not, please explain it.
Explain your alt to me and why it solves!! If I don’t know what we’re doing to solve capitalism, I’m much less likely to vote neg. I also tend to go aff on the likelihood that just pedagogy doesn’t work. With me, you’re probably better off reading a “grassroots movements” alt than “we create a pedagogy against capitalism.” Pedagogy is fine too if well-argued.
LINK WORK. If you do not prove to me that the aff will lead to some perpetuation of what you critique, I tend to think the perm probably solves. If not properly addressed by the aff, I will vote on omission/our-epistemology-is-an-independent-voter links but I think a good K should always have a better link than “you didn’t talk about capitalism lol.”
Aff-wise I, again, love good perm debates! I think if the aff team addresses the links well and also extends their perm then they're already pretty set to win.
If you lose framework, I don’t think it’s the end of the world. Yes I will weigh the aff, but I will also weigh the K. UNLESS the aff wins role of the judge, ballot, etc— I default to who tells me clearly how to place my ballot.
Given equal debating, I tend neutral on the K.

DA:

Almost as good as counterplan debates.
Obviously the more specific the link is, the better— having a good specific link is a great way to also get ahead on uniqueness from the very beginning of the debate (i.e., no thumpers)
I like “turns the aff” debates where the aff turns the DA back— these are particularly interesting and convincing to me if either team does some real work!!
Given equal debating, I tend neg on DAs.

CP:

I LOVE a good CP. However, super generic, copy-and-paste the plan text CPs bore me. I’ll vote on them, but I much prefer a counterplan that references a specific alternate process through which the aff can be enacted without much solvency deficit/even better.
I think if the aff wins on the net benefit they usually automatically win, but I also think if the neg wins on the net benefit they can generally outweigh a little solvency deficit.
I tend aff on PIC or other “cheaty” CP theory unless the actor you’re consulting/process you’re adding is well contextualized and specific to the aff.
Aff-wise, I’m most impressed by specific, well-explained, and card-supported perms.
Given equal debating, I tend neg on CPs.

Case:

The aff should know their case inside and out and properly contextualize it in every debate. Case on top ALWAYS. I want to hear about why I should vote for the one advocacy that this whole round should revolve around.
The less the neg answers case, the less likely I am to vote for them. If you don't have a case neg, please contextualize your offcase to the aff.
Given equal debating, I tend aff on case.

Speaker Points Disclaimer:

28-30 unless you're blatantly problematic (you don't care and your partner writes all your speeches, you're racist/homophobic/sexist, you treat the other team like crap and laugh or something during their speeches, etc.)

If you read this far and you’re a novice, I’m impressed. Some stuff for speaker points:

Show me your GOOD flow and I will give you +0.2.
If you make a FUNNY joke about a debater or coach from New Trier/that I know, I will add +0.1 to your speaker points.

Liam Lorenz Niles North High School 2 rounds

Isabelle Madorsky Jones College Prep 5 rounds

Isaac Manesis Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 5 rounds

Divya Mani Maine East HS 5 rounds

Joe McCoy Oak Park and River Forest 5 rounds None

Isaiah Meadows Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 3 rounds None

Daniel Melero Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Jasmine Mendez Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Sat April 6, 2024 at 5:21 AM EDT

Jasmine K. Mendez

Jkmendez2401@gmail.com

Former Solorio Debater (Solorio '19)

Current Sarah E. Goode Debate Coach

@RCC/NatCir:I will not vote on something I do not understand by the end of the round. If you are going for an argument, you should be able to explain it adequetly. This goes for K's, CP's, Da's, and Affirmatives.Tell the story.

@k-aff teams:I have a very low threshold for the negative framework debate against a K-Aff. It is your responsibility as the team that chose to read a K-Aff to prove why this round is key, what my role as the judge is in your literature, and (especially) what your mechanism is. If you do not do that work and expect me to do it for you then I will err the side of the neg on framework.

** Forewarning: RUN K'S AT YOUR OWN RISK* My understanding of K's isn't the best and my understanding of framework is just as great which means that you need to be able to make a lot of things both clear for me and structured--> being able to have great clash on specific arguments in the K and being able to explain why it means that I prefer your arguments or vote for you or evaluate your arguments first is much appreciated.

Generally: Truth over tech. I am good with speed but prefer articulation and analysis of arguments more than I prefer a card dump in speeches. In terms of arguments, DA's and CP are probably the best things in front of me; however, I was once a Fem debater for 2 years and dabble in the Cap K. That said, make sure that you are able to explain the link and alternative to me! T should be 5 minutes in the last rebuttal if you're going for it and must be articulated well, give me a clear reason as to why allowing this specific aff is dangerous to debate as a whole.

Affirmatives: Saying that I am not great with planless affirmatives would be an understatement. I usually will vote for topicality against such affirmatives than I would vote against it.

Disadvantages: I tend to understand politics DA's well. DA's with weak or ridiculous I/L can be hard for me to evaluate but I will tend to gravitate more towards the link debate. It is your burden to prove the magnitude and likeliness of the DA, "I will not assign zero OR 100% weight to an advantage or a disadvantage" (CBC, 19)

CP: It is your burden to prove that a CP is theoretically illegitimate. When debating counterplan theory, both sides must have an interpretation of what a negative can and can't do. Conditionality is also difficult to win unless in round abuse can be proven.

Topicality: If the negative is able to effectively construct a strong limits story with a specific caselist and terminal impact work. I'm less inclined to vote on aff "education" standards because I do believe that simply reading the aff as a counterplan or some topical version of the aff can resolve that. In the final rebuttals (specifically the 2AR) I will never be persuaded by the "come on judge" but rather prefer a substantiated explanation as to why their counter-interp is good for debate.

Kritiks: I will vote on the K when the neg wins that the impact to the k outweighs and/or turns the case or when the neg wins some framework interp that mitigates aff offense. I will lean towards the aff on framework unless a neg framework standard that isn't solved by weighing the impacts to the links vs. plan.

Jackson Miller New Trier High School 5 rounds

Last changed on Sun May 19, 2024 at 4:29 AM CDT

[Names of schools, years of graduation]

I debated for [number] years and made it to [a hotel ballroom nobody cares about].

Have fun always, try your best always. Like really I put it at the top for a reason. Don't insult your opponents. Don't be mean to your partner. The more you think you're better than them the more I'm gonna want you to be wrong.

Put me on the email chain please: jacksonemdebate@gmail.com

I wanted to try and come up with a good song for you to listen to as you read my paradigm like I do with every topic. It's kinda hard to hit all three areas of the topic at once, maybe try like this (although it's definitely not long enough). I feel like this might be the closest I can get since it involves like resurrection which I guess is like biotechnology.

General

(Disclaimer: I like to think I judged decently actively on arms sales and cjr (a combined 75 rounds if I'm counting correctly), but the only judging I did on water was a single season opener. On top of that, I've gotten a lot further into my computer science education since the last time I judged - I'm now officially an incoming software engineer - which I'm sure has radically altered the way I think about things, and probably mostly in ways I'm yet to realize. I wrote this paradigm like 3 years ago and it hasn't changed at all (beyond me removing cynical comments about the debate community that I'm no longer qualified to make 3 yrs out of debate), whereas I myself probably have changed somewhat.)

I know jack-squat about [topic], both in terms of the actual issue as well as how people have been debating it this year. So, I can’t wait for you to teach me! What I can assure you of though is that I’ll never go on facebook or anything during either speeches or cross-ex, and frankly that’s more than some judges can say.

Short version: Tech over truth. Long version: Remember that I am mortal. I would say evaluate my argument preferences under the assumption that those arguments have not been dropped/critically under-covered. Everybody says and understands that the judge votes for whoever best persuaded them, and that's true. But, I think what people often miss is that the judge isn't being persuaded in terms of which team they think is "right," but rather which team they think won the round.

Debaters have been telling me that the K has become more popular as judges and debaters have become more familiar with it. I have like, not judged enough at a high enough level to be part of that shift.

[Statements that amount to "Make good arguments"]

Getting the sense defense has become severely underrated.

I get annoyed when judge paradigms tell you to "act like you care," because I think what they're really saying is "act like you care about winning." In reality, all you should be caring about is just debate itself - and that's distinct. So, I'll tell you to care about debate. I'd maintain that policy debate is a very, uh...heuristic environment, and I stuck with it (kinda?) and am better off for it. But if you still don't care, just stop going to debate tournaments if you can. There's nothing wrong with not liking debate or not caring about it, and you don't owe it to anybody to participate if you really just don't wanna. But on a intra-tournament, round-to-round basis, not putting in full effort is probably bad.

Don'ts

Don't read suicide good. Don't read extinction good. Don't read warming good. Don't read racism good. Don't read sexism good. etc.

Boo to the Schlaang super seat and AntoniNO. I'm gonna suggest you don't read Baudrillard (I hope I spelled that incorrectly), both in front of me and in front of all your other judges.

Don't say "no neg fiat." If you read troll arguments like consult asgard or like time triangular pyramid I'll dock the 2N's speaks.

S e n d a n a l y t i c s.

K Affs

I'm not calling them "planless affs" or "performance affs" or wutevr so that might already give you some indication.

The point of debate is to gain critical thinking skills by repeatedly practicing the comparative analysis of theoretical worlds (counting the squo as one) by framing facts and deductions as uniqueness, links, impacts, etc as a means of trying to understand the implication of those facts upon the imagined theoretical worlds. Critical thinking skills =/= the skill of criticizing things - that's just a coincidence in their spelling. Though, it also isn't at all as though those two concepts are just completely decoupled.

You can win without reading a plan, but you're going to have a rough time unless you have some reason why reading your aff and receiving a ballot improves the status quo. There are many ways to accomplish this and I really want you do at least one of them.

I'd say I find many of the framework arguments both neg and aff teams make to be pretty unconvincing and unoriginal. Neg teams, I'd love for you to think about why k affs would be hard to debate against even if they were predictable. Aff teams, I'd love to hear about why an inability to engage institutions irl means it's bad to debate [topic] in theory/as an educational exercise to practice critical thinking. I could write a million of those requests.

This is gonna sound silly, but I honestly don't find fairness or predictability to be that convincing, at least not in the way I often saw them deployed. Like personally, never once have I heard of a high school debater or coach putting in the time to cut a case neg to an aff unless they already knew for a fact that that aff was being read by a team they were particularly afraid of. Yet at the same time, I do not at all think "predictability" is pointless to talk about. For fairness, I guess I'll just say "fairness is an internal link". I encourage you to really think about what people can get out of debate and what things like fairness and predictability really look like and what their implications are.

*Run framework*. Otherwise, I will be sad and not like the round very much so like just please do. If you think running framework is unethical or wutevr please strike me. Lol I had to have at least one of those in here.

Get creative with your 1NCs. Think about what new opportunities unconventional affs might afford you, both in terms of positions and args within flows. If a center-left layperson wouldn't think it's "unethical" to read, I probably won't either.

I feel like a lot of times when aff teams say "debate isn't a game," they still treat it like it is one.

Neg Kritiks

I'll definitely vote for some Ks, but if your link is only "you use the state" or "you use the [topic]” you're gonna have a tough time getting me to vote for the K.

I didn't even actually debate the [topic] topic I'm sorry I was just trying to look edgy.

But seriously, links are the most important part of K debates and DA debates alike because they, and they alone, are the root for any comparative analysis you can do. They are the only direct way for *you* to illustrate a distinction between the world you're advocating for and the world your opponents are advocating. All of your internal links and impacts are just arguments for why that discrepancy matters. (Okay yeah if they're running a CP differences between worlds are more obvious.)

Number one tip I would say - both to the aff and the neg - is just impact out your args. Never assume I know why you auto-win if you "win the ontology debate." Similarly, you need to explain, impact and probably persuade me of things like "fiat isn't real" and "social death." It is likely that your "tricks" are - in my eyes - actually just bad arguments. Don't get me wrong: a dropped arg is a dropped arg, but a prerequisite to something being a dropped arg is it *being an arg*.

****

Also just like generally about "dropped arguments" - an argument being dropped means that it is substantially easier to extend, not that you no longer have to extend it. If you wanna go for a "dropped argument" in front of me then you should make sure to mention that argument's claim and warrant (and, in rebuttals, its implications for how the round should be decided) in every speech from when you first read it until the debate ends.

****

I default to assuming that the K has to have an alt that solves impacts and is mutually exclusive with the aff. If the impacts the k solves aren't as important as the one the aff solves, I'll vote aff.

"Extinction already 'happens, happened, or will have had happened' for x ppl bc social death" is a hard sell for me, especially if you're trying to argue that it means nuclear war isn't bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iPH-br_eJQ

Go to case. Like with *defense*.

Go to case. Seriously.

CPs

Have as many planks as you want. You can read new planks. You can probably amend existing planks, too.

Having a good solvency advocate (so like one from a source actually written in the context of [topic]) usually makes me think a counter-plan is more theoretically legit.

Love an intelligent counter-plan. I don't like process CPs but they definitely are a thing people read.

Theory and T

Honestly, refer to K aff section.

Probably won't win on T unless the aff really isn't T and there's some concrete, specific abuse. The abuse is less of an internal link to a fairness based-RoB and more just really strong evidence for why their model of debate is bad.

I'm much more likely to vote on theory and T when I'm convinced there was in-round abuse. I lean neg on condo but definitely do not think infinite condo is okay.

Everything Else

[Irrelevant opinions] (I mean to be fair that's like most of this paradigm but)

[Relevant opinions immediately made irrelevant by a barrage of qualifiers]

Other

[Encouraging you to make jokes even though in reality that always plays out really awkwardly in round]

Henry Mitchell Walter Payton College Prep 4 rounds

Alyssa Nekritz Glenbrook North 2 rounds

Jasmine Ng Jones College Prep 5 rounds

Hannah niederman Niles North High School 2 rounds

Last changed on Mon December 2, 2019 at 11:35 AM EDT

Some things about me:

I debated for Niles North from 2015-2019. I'm attending St. Olaf with a double major in Political Science and Women and Gender Studies on a Pre-Law track.

I went to NDI two years in the Sophomore and top policy lab and UMmich 7 week K lab my senior year.

My email is hgniederman@gmail.com.

Please add me to any email chain and email me after round if you have questions.

If you are unclear on any of this paradigm's contents feel free to ask for clarification before round if there is time.

Overall things:

1. If there is any rudeness in the round that makes the debaters or myself uncomfortable I will either dock the speaks of the person or team participating in rudeness or even stop the round/issue a warning.

2. There's a difference between being competitive and cheating. Things like messing with the format of your speech docs to make them difficult to understand, being distracting during the other team's prep or speeches, or cutting people off unnecessarily will make me most likely dock your speaks or just be annoyed.

3. Please don't call me judge, call me Hannah.

4. Please don't shake my hand after round.

5. Making jokes, having strong ethos, being confident, being interesting to listen to and easy to flow will make me impressed and more likely to swing your way when I'm deciding speaks or the round overall. Also please speak loudly.

6. Racism, sexism, misogyny, or another unacceptable language is not tolerated.

7. Please try to refrain from using language that includes slurs, descriptions of sexual assault, or descriptions of suicide. Use warnings/ask for permission before doing this if you think your arguments fall into this category.

8. Flow!!! The only time you don't have to flow is if you are the 1n and it's during the 2nc.

9. Please keep time for your speeches and prep. If you want me to time prep for you I can, but you have to ask.

10. ** For novices ** Debate, especially in novice, is about fun and learning, not about being ruthless. Remember that!!!

How I debated:

In my four years as a debater, I solidly considered myself a flex debater. My range of argumentation went from the topic CP's and DA's of the year to reading an Autoethnography Settler Colonialism aff for part of my senior year. Take all this with a grain of salt however.

Argument Specific Things:

T- I will vote on T if you extend it properly with a good interpretation and a reasonable view of the topic. However, if an aff is clearly topical then don't try to make more work for yourself by going for T. You must define your scope of the topic and impact out your limits arguments in order to have the easiest time winning on T. T is not my favorite thing to watch a round on however. Also if you are incredibly fast, please don't read T args at full speed.

DA- Impact calc and explanations of the world of the DA are incredibly important. I cannot evaluate a DA that is not extended in its entirety (UQ, L, IL, !) and properly weighed against the aff.

Case- I love a solid case debate, especially one that incorporates good line by line. I am a 2A, so I always think aff teams should treat case like their baby and spend a reasonable amount of time extending all necessary parts of their aff in all of their speeches. I cannot vote on impacts that do not have an explanation attached to them (ie. if you say warming is the biggest impact in the round but don't explain how your aff is connected to this, you cannot win that you reasonably solve it). Please put both cards and line by line on case in any 2AC's and 2NC's.

CP's- I'm not a huge fan of PIC's or cheaty counterplans. I'm definitely here for a good CP debate if the neg puts in work. For the aff, focus on explaining the world of the perm and any solvency deficits, plus anything else you deem important.

K's- I love K's and watching/judging/debating in K rounds. I'm open to basically any K if you explain it well enough (especially if it uses lots of not common jargon). Please have a reasonable alt and a good link to the aff. HOWEVER I would warn that I don't vote for death good. I do love identity args and solid topic K's, so keep that in mind if that's your jam.

Magi Ortiz Northside College Preparatory 5 rounds

Last changed on Fri January 13, 2023 at 11:46 AM EDT

mx.ortiz.m@gmail.com

Assistant Coach @ Mamaroneck, 2020-2021

Assistant Coach @ Lexington, 2019-20

Debated @ Northside College Prep, 2015-19

TL;DR

The sections below this are a set of my opinions on debate, not a stringent set of guidelines that I always adhere to when making decisions. I encourage you to go for the arguments that you enjoy instead of overcorrecting to my paradigm. I tend to like most arguments - my only distinction between good and bad debates is whether or not your argumentation is strategic and nuanced.

I think CX is heavily underutilized by most debaters. Organized debates make my job easier and are more enjoyable.

Non-negotiables:

I won’t vote on things that have happened outside of the round.

There is a fine line between being assertive and being rude in CX - please be aware of it.

Don’t threaten others or make harmful comments about someone or a group of people - you will lose the round and I will talk with your coaches.

Non-Traditional Affs/Clash Debates

It’s hard for me to be convinced that policy debate actively creates bad people OR perfect policymakers; I think there’s value in challenging our understanding of the resolution and debate itself, but I also don’t think T is inherently violent.

In clash debates, I tend to vote negative when the affirmative fails to parse out the unique benefits of their model of debate, and tend to vote affirmative when the negative fails to grapple with the applicable offense of case. Organization often falls by the wayside in these debates, so I would encourage you to identify the nexus questions of the debate early and compartmentalize them to one area of the flow.

Fairness can be an impact, but it is not one by default - that requires explanation. I’ll vote for any impact on FW if effectively argued, but I personally like strategies centered around truth-testing/dogmatism. I think skepticism is healthy and that breaking out of our preferred ideological bubbles results in more ethical and pragmatic decision-making over time, but I can also be persuaded that the method the aff defends can also be consistently ethical/beneficial.

Aff teams are overly reliant on exclusion/policing arguments but almost never actually impact out the tangible consequences of the negative model as a result, or provide a reason why the ballot would resolve this. If arguments like these are what you like going for, I suggest you codify them within a reasonability paradigm that criticizes the usefulness of the competing interpretations model when it comes to K Affs.

I will say that I am quite partial to teams that go for the K against non-traditional affs (I judge FW debates frequently, and they get repetitive). Most K affs nowadays are specifically tailored to beat FW and generally rely on generic permutations to beat back K’s. I can be easily convinced that permutations exist to compare the opportunity cost of combining specific policies, and that in debates of competing methodologies the evaluating point of the debate should be reliant on who had broader explanatory power and a more effective orientation. How I decide that is up to what parameters you establish within the debate.

Kritiks

I’m not opposed to any of them. However, I do prefer techy K debaters - overviews should be short and the substantive parts of the debate should be done on the respective parts of the line by line.

Specificity goes beyond good links - nuanced impact and turns case explanations make it easier to vote on something tangible as opposed to nebulous platitudes. It’s easy to tell when you have a generic link wall with fill-in-the-blanks like “insert aff impact” “aff mechanism” etc.

For both teams - know the broader theories that your arguments function within (i.e. understanding what theory of IR your authors defend, or actually knowing a decent amount about the author your K is named after). Understanding these concepts outside of the context of debate will give you the tools to be more specific in round, and will often give you additional ways to leverage offense.

Aff teams with extinction impacts - stop overcorrecting to the negative team's strategy. Extinction is extinction, which is easily defensible as bad - if you're not link turning the K/going for the perm, I find it strange when the 1AR/2AR try to subsume the K's impacts/offense by describing how the inroads to extinction would be bad for X group the K is worried about ("nUcLeAr StRiKeS tArGeT uRbAn CeNtErS") ... because extinction, in the end, kills everyone. Also, K teams often capitalize on this arbitrary framing and make it a new link. Don't waste your time - win that you get to weigh your impacts and then win that your impacts outweigh.

CP’s

The more specific, the better.

Yes judge kick. “Status quo is always an option,” once said, is sufficient enough for me to be willing to kick the CP unless the aff explicitly challenges it in both aff rebuttals.

Condo is good. If the 2AR is condo, it's either been dropped or you think it is your only road to victory.

I lean neg on most theory issues, but can be convinced that process CPs and 50 state/NGA fiat are bad for debate.

Invest time and organization into the competition debate - meta definitions matter just as much as word definitions in these debates because they are about competing models.

Severance perms are probably always bad, but intrinsic perms can be very useful if you know how to defend them well.

DA’s/Case turns

Love them, even the crappy ones - there's nothing more fun than watching someone very effectively debate in favor of something everyone in the round knows is ridiculously unlikely.

Winning framing does not mean you win terminal defense to the DA. Winning that a DA is low risk comes from substantive arguments, and then how the framing debate is resolved dictates whether or not risk probability matters. Seriously. Nebulous arguments about the conjunctive fallacy or the general low risk of existential impacts mean nothing if the 2NR can just get up and point to a unique internal link chain on their DA that has not been contested.

Impact turn debates are some of my favorite rounds to judge, but unfortunately I am often left to resolve stalemates within a debate by reading a bulk of the cards in the round and then determining on my own which ones are better, which I think functions as a disservice to everyone in the round. I don’t think that having less/worse ev necessarily means you’ll lose the debate, but you must have constant and effective comparison in-round.

Topicality+

Evidence comparison matters. Terminal impacts are important - so many 2NRs don't do this work (why, I don't know). Not enough teams are going for T against the egregious number of bad affs on this topic.

I don't like arguments like Embody PTX because I don't think there is a way to enforce them as a model and thus lend themselves to problematic enforcement, and it frustrates me when affirmative teams don't make the obvious case for this being true.

Aff teams should be going for reasonability more often against nitpicky T violations - not as a vague appeal, but as a better heuristic than competing interps.

Roshni Padhi Univ Of Chicago Lab School 3 rounds None

Rujuta Pandit Glenbrook North 2 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 24, 2024 at 9:34 AM CDT

rujuta.debate@gmail.com

BACKGROUND:

gbn '20 & dartmouth '24

rounds judged on the 23-24 fiscal redistribution topic - 3. be SO clear when using acronyms or explaining concepts to me because I do not know this topic.

TOP LEVEL:

- tech over truth/personal opinion unless your argument is egregiously offensive - an argument is a claim, warrant, and an impact

- not good for k affs, ok for ks with das inside of them, good for almost everything else

- condo is probably the only reason to reject the team

- i won't vote on things that happened outside of the round. i won't assign speaker points based on in-round deals.

- i believe that my role as a judge includes the responsibility to maintain debate as a safe space for participants (especially given that most high schools are minors) and i will act accordingly in response to sexism/homophobia/racism etc.

- everything below is a personal opinion that i will contradict in my ballot if you win the flow

POLICY AFFS: framing pages have never had any relevance in any debate ive judged

T: i care a lot about evidence quality and comparison in these debates

DAs: do whatever

CPs: good for adv cps and legitimate, well-researched pics, meh for cheaty cps. i won't judge kick unless i'm told to

IMPACT TURNS: love them except for wipeout and spark - more ridiculous impact scenarios are entertaining but not compelling

K AFFS: for me to vote for your k aff you should at minimum have a connection to the topic. i refuse to adjudicate a decision in which my ballot is a referendum on identity or a survival strategy. EVERYONE IN THESE DEBATES NEEDS TO SLOW DOWN - if you choose to spam analytics without sending them I can’t catch your 20 counter interps or your 20 DAs to those counter interps.

FOR THE NEG:

- @ t/fw teams: fairness is probably an internal link not an impact but i can be convinced otherwise. i prefer limits and clash as impacts.

- neg teams that execute a well-prepared, aff-specific strategy (a pic with a small net benefit, an aff specific k...) against a k aff will get 29.5+ in speaks. i find these debates far more interesting than framework debates BUT i've found that im more likely to vote neg on fw (this information is probably not helpful sorry)

Ks: the closer your k is to a da or impact turn with a cp THAT ACTUALLY SOLVES the better it will go for you. dont read high theory.

THEORY: personally not a fan of cheaty cps but i'll listen to them. new affs warrant neg terrorism.

David Peng New Trier High School 5 rounds

Lara Pick Glenbrook North 5 rounds

Alex Pinheiro Northside College Preparatory 5 rounds None

Dimarvin Puerto Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 5 rounds

Last changed on Wed April 10, 2024 at 7:56 PM EDT

Dimarvin (Dah-MAR-Vin)

Email Chain: puerd20@wfu.edu

Nobel '16, Lane Tech '20, Wake Forest '24, Wake Forest M.A '26, Patterns of Movement '∞∞

Forever indebted to Black and Native Debate

The Goats; Amber Kelsie, Daryl Burch, Ignacio Evans, Taylor Brough, Kenny Delph, Ari Collazo, Aysia Grey, those unnamed...and Nate Nys (honorary white man).

TLDR; Since high school, I have been a "K debater". I focus on arguments such as Afropessimism, Black Performance, Black Baudrillard, and other forms of black studies. I think debate should be a space for critical thinking skills and the production of strategies/performances. This mostly implies K v policy debates or KvK debates. You should win that your model of debate over the other team.

K aff vs K:

Prove to me why your model is better, whether that means framework (either), the perm (aff), or the link story and alt (Neg), etc.

Soft-Left Affs/Policy Affs vs K Aff's:

FRAMING IS KEY (judge framing, impact framing, link story, etc.)!!! You should prioritize the offensive you want to go for and make sure you are implicating the other side's arguments. For example, framework and the impact debate, disproving ontology and saying progress is possible, or proving why antiblackness is the paradigm that determines everything and proves why the aff reproduces cruel optimism and how it makes your impact.

FW vs K Affs:

Honestly, this can go either side. It depends on what happens in the debate. But I think the question both sides need to engage with, is how your model of debate produces the best form of education/critical thinking skills, or what (un)limitations there should be to make the best engagements in debate.

Policy:

I didn't do policy land, but I have judged them. Take that whatever way you want for prefs.

Speaker points:

I prefer clarity over speed. Ethos moments are fire too.

Theory:

I haven't been in the back for a lot of these debates.

LD:

Every argument needs a claim, warrant, and impact. "Vote Neg after the 1nc because it's reciprocal, we both have one speech" is not a complete argument.
Not a good judge for Phil and/or Trix - Don't pref me
I am new to LD; however, I have extensive experience in the highest levels of high school and collegiate debate.

Even though I'm debate partners with Sebastian Cho and close with Raunak Dua, I do not believe in the same argumentations that they do, but hopefully, I'll be a new judge for you. Thank you!

Misc:

Even if I have a certain style of debating, if the flow differential is mad different, then GG.

Don't be anti-black, say racism good, etc.

If you make an anime reference like One Piece, DBZ, JoJo's, Blue Lock, JJK, My Hero, Attack on Titan, HXH, Tokyo Ghoul, 7DS, etc; (Mainstream) expect a speaker point boost (.1-.3). Don't overuse them unless they fire.

Just have fun.

Wasim Rahaman Northside College Preparatory 5 rounds

Last changed on Fri October 22, 2021 at 1:46 PM CDT

Northside College Prep '19 (debated surveillance through immigration, 2N)

Northwestern '23 (debated 2019-20 space topic, 2A)

Assistant coach @ Edgemont, 2019-20

Yes email chain --- wasim.i.rahaman@gmail.com

Compile and send a doc of cards referenced in your side's final rebuttal as soon as possible after the 2NR/2AR

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

Novice: don't worry too much about anything below. Do your best and have fun.

AFF should read a plan. NEG should prove implementation of plan is a bad idea.

Tech > truth

Evidence quality > evidence quantity.

Util is true. Risk = magnitude x probability.

Will judge-kick a conditional CP unless told not to. 2AR is too late for the AFF to object for the first time.

Not a fan of theory cheap shots. "Reject the argument, not the team" is a sufficient response to theory that only applies to a CP being kicked.

Not a fan of CPs that compete for stupid reasons (e.g., "should," "resolved," etc.).

Only one debater gives each speech. I won't evaluate anything outside of the round or flow anything said after your speech time is up. You cannot argue for your speaks. Don't threaten people. My identity will not be a factor in my decision.

I don't think it's legitimate to read cards about debate written by people associated with debate (debaters/coaches), though the other team would obviously have to point this out. (Cards from debate alums about things outside of debate are obviously fine.) For that matter, even if they were legitimate, I can't imagine why reading a debater's/coach's card about debate would result in a stronger argument than if you just made the argument analytically.

If you care, I debated primarily on the national circuit and went to the TOC in high school.

Online debate note: If my camera is off, assume I'm AFK until I confirm that I'm present.

Pet peeves:

---Reading "war good" is no longer funny or original. Treat it like any other argument---read it if and only if you think it is the most likely path to victory. I'll vote for it if answered poorly, but I'll be annoyed if it's evident that your strategy is a joke (e.g., vs a new AFF = understandable, vs a core topic DA/AFF = infuriating).

---There is no such thing as asking questions "before cross-ex." Asking what cards someone read is CX.

---If you are just making things up about economics, I will probably know.

Caelan Reeves Jones College Prep 2 rounds

Ashna Rimal Maine East HS 4 rounds

Last changed on Tue January 16, 2024 at 6:23 AM CDT

Ashna Rimal

Assistant Coach for Maine East

Add me on the email chain - ashnarimal.debate@gmail.com

Please make sure the tournament name, round number, and both team codes are in the subject of the email chain.

TLDR - You can run any non-offensive arg in front of me, if you run it well I'll probably vote you up. I like judging more technical debates (Theory/T/K) over the same old ptx scenario because I find it more interesting. You will probably get higher speaker points from me if your arguments are original, trust me judges do not want to see the exact same debate happen for 5 rounds in a row. Also, send analytics. if you're good, you don't have to win because they drop things.

K Affs

I like K Affs when they are well explained.

A few things I should not be wondering about when writing my ballot:

Why is the ballot key?

Why is this round specifically key for your offense?

Do you solve for anything and how (spill up, fiat, etc.)

Neg Stuff

Counterplans

I enjoy CPs, but you have to have all the key parts (Net Benefit, Perm Answers, Solvency, etc.)

Disads

Disads are fine - I'm not particularly opinionated about them.

I think DA and Case debates are good as long as the DA scenario makes sense and the line by line is properly executed.

Please don't go for a bad ptx scenario that has no internal link.

Kritiks

If you run a K make sure you really explain it to me.

If you wanna go for the K in the 2NR you must have a strong link to the specific aff, or an alt that solves for the K and/or the impacts of the Plan.

Focus on the link debate - winning the link helps you win FW, prove why the perm won't solve, as well as support the impact.

If I don't understand your K I won't vote for it, especially if it's less commonly run. I'm familiar with most of the more generic Ks, but if you pull out a more complex K, you need to understand it and explain it well. I will hold those types of Ks to a higher standard when writing my ballot.

Topicality

To win on T you have to prove that the Aff is not topical and explain why being topical matters.

Don't only say "Fairness and Education" those are just words, you need to explain what that means and why it's important to debate.

TOPICALITY IS A VOTER!

Theory

I'm from Maine East, I like Theory debates and I'll vote on them - but I probably have higher standards for 'good theory debating'.

PICs are probably fine.

Severance Perms are probably bad, but usually not bad enough for me to write my ballot on it.

Condo is good to an extent. I probably won't vote on Condo if they run like 1-2 off, but if they run 3 or more conditional advocacies I will lean Aff.

Perf Con is bad if you can prove specific instances of in-round abuse.

Don't expect me to vote on the arg that 1-2 CPs/Ks will Time Skew the 2AC, time skew is inevitable.

Don't expect me to vote on the "Err Neg" arg, yes Aff speaks 1st and last but y'all have the 13 min block.

Potential Abuse is not a voter. (Unless you prove to me otherwise)

In Round Abuse is a voter - If you can prove that they were somehow totally abusive I will vote them down.

THEORY IS A VOTER!

In the end what really matters is how you extend and frame the theory debate. I will most likely vote for the team that better contextualizes their theory arg.

I'll vote on a dropped theory arg as long as it's properly extended.

Speaker Points

Under 26: you did something offensive/cheaty

26-26.9: Below Avg

27-27.5: Avg

27.6-28.5: Above Avg

28.5-29.5: Very Good

Above 29.5: Excellent - I was impressed

If you do something interesting, funny, or out of the box in the round, and I enjoy it, I'll boost your speaks.

General Comments

I will not vote on an argument I don't understand - It's your job in the round to explain your arguments to me.

Don't be a jerk in round - Respect your partner, your opponents, and the judge(s).
Do not clip cards or cheat in any way
I am fine with tag team CX, but don't take over you partners CX, I will dock speaks for that.
Clarity is more important than speed - If you are spreading a huge analytics-heavy block at full speed I will not catch more than 60% of what you are saying
Send analytics. if you're good, you don't have to win because they drop things. Plus I will be able to make sure I get al your args when you decide to spread through that 8 min K block
Time your own Prep/CX/Speeches.

If the other team doesn't make an argument for why I should not Judge Kick, I will most likely roll with it.
I do not like judge intervention, I will try to avoid, or at least minimize judge intervention as much as possible. I'd much rather vote based on what you all say in the round.
I am willing to vote for any argument as long as it is not offensive - but you have to win the argument.

Maggie Rivera Walter Payton College Prep 2 rounds

Last changed on Mon September 14, 2020 at 4:32 AM CDT

Updated September 2020:

Payton ‘20//UChicago ‘24

Email: magpierivera@gmail.com [email chain plzzz]

She/Her

________________________________________

Background -- I was a 2N/1A for four years in high school, debated on the local (CDL) and national circuit, qualified to the TOC my senior year. I defended a climate change aff my freshman year, soft left ableism affs my sophomore/junior years, and a big-stick Japan aff my senior year (with a k aff in the mix at a local tournament). I went for primarily policy arguments my Freshman year, topicality and cap/security/biopolitics ks my sophomore/junior years, and multi-plank cps and topic DAs my senior year. Almost every time I went against a k aff, I went for framework.

TLDR -- I think there’s a general assumption that if a debater didn’t debate a certain argument, they are somehow incompetent at evaluating it. This is complete bullsh*t. I had to learn the ins and outs of a huge range of arguments, debate them, beat them, and be crushed embarrassingly by them. Even if I didn’t read any of Baudrillard’s books, I still know what a winning Baudrillard debate looks like from either side. Even though I didn’t ever go for a politics DA in my 2NRs, I knew when someone was being horribly out teched by DAs as terrible as USMCA. I evaluate tech over truth and will make a decision based on what I have on my flows. You do you because I’d rather see a good debate that shows off the best version of your skills than a watered-down adaption of your abilities.

Several caveats,

-- I don’t tolerate ableist, sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic language or behavior (obviously).

-- I tend to be biased against assholes or assholy behavior, regardless of the argument run

-- In terms of k v k debates, I’ve only been a part of cap k debates and am less equipped to understand a fast-paced and highly complex k v k debate that involves something other than cap. Doesn’t mean I’m not open to them, just that I’m not as familiar with them.

Otherwise, everything below is just how I think of certain arguments on a technical level. It’s to inform your in-round presentation of arguments, not to discourage you from reading certain arguments altogether:

________________________________________

T - Underutilized strategy. Competing interps makes more sense to me intuitively than reasonability. One of my favorite arguments as a 2N. Because my senior year was the arms sales topic, I have a special place in my heart for T-Subs (don't know if it's making as big a comeback for CJR though).

Theory - @2As if you plan on going for this, don’t spread theory blocks a mile a minute throughout the entire debate and go for it as a last-minute cheap shot. If there’s obvious in-round abuse, feel free to go for theory for 5 minutes in the 2AR, but don’t spend 5 minutes on something barely developed in previous speeches. I can be persuaded by condo bad, but I think theory on cps and ks (e.g. 50 state FIAT bad, process cps bad, PIKs) are used best as justification for the perm debate. You do you though, and I'll evaluate tech>truth.

CPs -

Adv CPs -- Adv CPs that rehighlight aff ev are great against big-stick affs. Stack on as many planks as you want, but if you really need all fifteen planks to “sufficiently” solve, the counterplan probably overwhelms the risk of the link/links to the net ben.

Process CPs -- If you can be creative with your tricky process cp and justify perm competition, go right ahead. That being said, if the aff has a tricky way of articulating a perm that you don’t catch, you’re in big trouble. I personally find it compelling if you read ev that justifies your cp as being a unique part of the lit base. Go further than definitional debates or I’ll probably err aff.

DAs - Please try a little harder with your turns case “analysis.” Smart Analytics >>> Crappy 10-card generic link walls.

Ks -- Case-specific ks that were researched by the debater will receive ridiculously high speaker points. Creative and offensive link analysis that rehighlights aff evidence is pretty damning and can win debates if mishandled. I think the neg’s burden is to prove the aff is a bad idea, so you don’t technically need an alt to win.

That being said, most k debates end up coming off really defensively, making it pretty easy for the aff to win. I think both perm/link turn and extinction outweighs strategies are perfectly viable strategies against ks. Cross ex against ks can be the most damning parts of a debate.

K Affs --

@2As -- Don’t go for a crap-ton of one-line DAs from the 2AC in your 2AR or you’re going to lose. Part of being skilled in debate is being able to select and capitalize on offensive winning arguments. Be creative with your counter interps and what they allow.

@2Ns -- Don’t just read the same script of framework blocks in your 2NC and then cross your fingers and pray things’ll work out come rebuttal time. Contextualize your speech to the debate and answer the aff as it evolves. Point out in-round abuses, quote their ev, hold them to the explanations of their aff. Be a little more creative with your framework interpretations. **Run a non-state framework or a framework that includes some k affs. It can absorb a lot of their state-based offense if you’re tricky enough (Seriously, I did this senior year, and it can really be damning; I will give you ridiculously high speaks if you execute this strategy well or at least attempt it, regardless of if you win or lose the debate).

**K v K debates above^ -- Whether the aff gets a perm is up for debate

Framing -- It was suggested to me by a certain unnamed Payton debater to update my paradigm clarifying my stance on soft left affs/framing. I'm definitely NOT in the camp of "I don't reallyyy evaluate the framing page" or "I'm not a fan of X type of aff." As said above, I defended affs across the spectrum in high school and debated both sides of the util good/bad, predictability/magnitude first, and conjunctive fallacy debates. Personally, I enjoyed defending a soft left aff more bc I think they generally have the advantage of being truthier than affs with five different shoddy internal links and outdated impact scenarios (especially on a topic like CJR). That being said, my "stance" is just as stated: tech>truth. If you win the framing page and give me a filter through which to view two competing impacts, I will use that filter. Ofc affirmative teams need to contextualize their framing to the negative's offense (i.e. 2AR on framing that barely touches the DA flow isn't a winning 2AR). However, a neg team shouldn't just read their pre-scripted util good/magnitude first block every round and just expect framing to not be an issue. Like you would any argument, answer the specific warrants extended from the aff's framing cards.

________________________________________

Speaks: They’re arbitrary. If I’m impressed with your debating and creativity in that given round and expect you to break, you’ll most likely be getting above a 28.8. I feel like 28-28.7 is a point range for debaters that I think have a solid skill set, but may need more practice as a debater getting to know their evidence better, adding more warrants and/or ethos to speeches, or may have some organizational hiccups. Below a 28 is reserved for debaters who still are developing foundational debate skills. If you make me laugh and/or take creative and smart argument risks, I’ll boost your speaks.

After Round: Don’t be afraid to nag me with questions after round, but there’s a distinction between asking questions with the intent of improving in future debates and passive aggressively postrounding with the intent of undermining a decision you’re super pouty about

Good Luck!

ALSO be clear. Efficiency is the number of arguments you can communicate TO ME during your speech.

________________________________________

Post-Niles Updates:

-- I will start prep time if you're taking extra time deleting analytics before sending out your doc. While I think it's preferable to just send analytics (what's the worst that could happen honestly?), especially in a somewhat unreliable digital environment, if you do delete them you have to take prep time (not tech time or non-prep before-speech time) to do it.

-- If possible, please turn on your camera. I won't penalize anyone for not doing this during round (especially if your circumstances restrict you from doing so), but it is helpful (and more transparent) to see everyone's faces during the round.

-- If it seems I'm not paying attention during cross-ex, I'm most likely just taking notes on the cross-ex on a different tab while listening.

-- I'm interested in seeing a 2NR on T-subsets. I saw a couple of speeches where this was extended into the block, but it never reached the 2NR. Obviously don't extend this if it's not your winning strat, but just saying.

-- I've noticed a lot of aff teams seem to forget their aff exists in kritik debates. @2As your aff is your strongest weapon against a k! Extend it, defend its internal links, its solvency, weigh it against the k!

-- I need a clear extension of the 1AC's impacts and internal links in every aff speech. I'm not just going to grant you everything in the 1AC because you read it at the beginning of the debate. Like any argument, you have to explicitly and consistently extend it at the top of the 2AC, 1AR, and 2AR

Sabina Roberts Glenbrook South HS 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat February 2, 2019 at 7:50 AM CDT

--Senior at Glenbrook South HS -- my email is sabinaroberts481 [at] gmail [dot] com

*** Everything below is meant to provide you with an idea of how I view debate, but I would much rather listen to you execute a strategy you are familiar with well than you over-adapt to some of my predispositions. I tend to be a very expressive judge - take that as you will. I will dock speaker points to rude debaters. ***

Kritiks: Sure. I like explanations of your k on a thesis level as well as how it interacts with the aff. K affs are not my favorite, but judge intervention frustrates me as a debater, so I am wary of it while judging. Procedural fairness is True, but I do have a high threshold for voting on it. I also think topic education is dope and underutilized. I think there should be a role of the negative in every debate--depending on the aff, that might mean a counterinterp might be a better 2ar strategy than solely an impact turn to T. Tell me what my ballot does/doesn't do.

Theory: <3. I randomly enjoy theory debates if well executed. I've been both a 2A and 2N so I'm totally down to vote on theory on the aff or let the neg do whatever they want. It just depends on how it's debated.

Topicality: See the 2N/2A thing above--I've defended barely topical affs and my favorite 2NRs were also T. I love a good T debate either way. Reasonability is just true but no one explains it well or goes for it enough.

Speaker Points: I believe I am someone who gives generally higher speaks. I reward debaters who are kind, funny, and smart. CLARITY is super important to me! I literally cannot emphasize that enough. Remember that speed doesn't matter a ton if you are clear and efficient. (I feel you, slow debaters.)

If you add me to the email chain without asking, I'll give you extra .3 speaks.

*** Quotes from coaches that I vibe with ***

"Fairness is the only thing I care about. It's both the single strongest internal link to every other thing debate can do for you and a standalone impact. It isn't that I don't think debating government policy is not useful for other reasons, but you only have 5 minutes in the 2nr to prove that your model of debate is a valuable one." -- Jon Voss

"In my experience as a debater and judge, ignorance of tech resulted in a callous dismissal of arguments as “bad” and increased judge intervention to determine what is “correct” instead of what was debated in-round and executed more effectively. That said, truth is a huge bonus, and being on the right side makes your task of being technically proficient easier because you can let logic/evidence speak a little for you." -- Tyler Thur

"Is Fem IR beatable? no" -- Scott Phillips

"Flow." -- Michael Greenstein

Erna Roth Jones College Prep 5 rounds None

Suzy Schlosberg Oak Park and River Forest 5 rounds

Freskida Sejdiu Niles West High School 5 rounds

Parth Shah Maine East HS 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat April 6, 2024 at 5:57 AM CDT

pasdebate@gmail.com

Subject the email chain - Tournament Name Round # - Aff Team AFF vs Neg Team NEG

Debated at Maine East (2016-2020, TOC Circuit) and the University of Pittsburgh (2020-2023, NDT Qual)

I will boost speaker points if you follow @careerparth on tiktok, bring (vegetarian) food/snacks, and end the debate as fast as possible.

I took most of this paradigm from Reed Van Schenck:

Career wise, my arguments of preference were more critical (Afropessimism, Settler Colonialism, Capitalism, and the likes). I enjoy judging clash debates, policy vs critical. Traditional policy debaters should take note of my lack of experience in policy v policy debates and rank me very low on their judging preferences.

The one thing you should know if you want my ballot is this: If you say something, defend it. I mean this in the fullest sense: Do not disavow arguments that you or your partner make in binding speeches and cross-examination periods, but rather defend them passionately and holistically. If you endorse any strategy, you should not just acknowledge but maintain its implications in all relevant realms of the debate. The quickest way to lose in front of me is to be apprehensive about your own claims.

When in doubt, referring to the judging philosophies of the following folks will do you well: Micah Weese, Reed Van Schenck, Calum Matheson, Alex Holguin, & Alex Reznik

Everything below this line is a proclivity of mine that can be negotiated through debate:

I think that debate is a game with pedagogical and political implications. As such, I see my role as a judge as primarily to determine who won the debate but also to facilitate the debaters' learning. Everything can be an impact if you find a way to weigh it against other impacts, this includes procedural fairness. When my ballot is decided on the impact debate, I tend to vote for whoever better explains the material consequence of their impact. Use examples. Examples can help to elucidate (the lack of) solvency, establish link stories, make comparative arguments, and so many more useful things. They are also helpful for establishing your expertise on the topic. All thing said, at the end of the day, I will adapt to your argument style.

I dislike judges who exclude debaters because of what they decide to read in a debate round, I will NOT do that as long as you don't say anything racist, sexist, etc.

Speaker points are arbitrary. I tend to give higher speaker points to debaters who show a thorough understanding of the arguments they present. I am especially impressed by debaters who efficiently collapse in the final rebuttals. I will boost speaker points if rebuttals are given successfully with prep time remaining and/or off the flow!

Public Forum Debate

The faster you end the debate, the higher your speaks.

I am a flow-centric judge on the condition your arguments are backed with evidence and are logical. My background is in policy debate, but regardless of style, and especially important in PF, I think it's necessary to craft a broad story that connects what the issue is, what your solution is, and why you think you should win the debate.

I like evidence qualification comparisons and "if this, then that" statements when tied together with logical assumptions that can be made. Demonstrating ethos, confidence, and good command of your and your opponent's arguments is also very important in getting my ballot.

I will like listening to you more if you read smart, innovative arguments. Don't be rude, cocky, and/or overly aggressive especially if your debating and arguments can't back up that "talk." Not a good look.

Give an order before your speech

Soundjata Sharod Univ Of Chicago Lab School 5 rounds

Last changed on Thu November 5, 2020 at 6:25 AM EDT

Soundjata Sharod

Email: soundjatasharod@gmail.com

I competed in the National Circuit and sometimes in the Chicago Urban Debate League for 4 years at UC Laboratory Schools.

For my sophomore, junior, and senior years, I utilized mostly Kirtikal arguments like Afropessimism, Neolib Ks, Pan K, and Baudrillard Ks. However, im incredibly receptive to all argument types. I appreciate passion and creativity in whatever type of arguing is going on. I have a special place in my heart for performance debate.

My mother is African, and my father is African American. I personally identify as black, but these days I’m not sure. I don't care what pronouns you refer to me by, but I identify as a man.

The Rundown

1. Truth v.s. Tech

Leading towards tech. I don’t automatically presume that dropped arguments are 100% true, but I’m still a lot more likely to vote for dropped arguments. I do take technical leads very seriously. Dropped arguments are an easy way to decide debates, and I’m generally looking for an easy way to resolve debates.

If you kinda drop an argument and if you can make cross-application in speech, I’ll cut you some slack. Emphasis on some.

2. Is debate a game?

Its a slippery slope arguing that debate is just a game, because my ultimate goal in these types of debates is to decide what it should be. Because a lot of Krtikal affs are positioned to frame debate as some sort of revolutionary space or radical potentiality, it hard to win that a mere intellectual game only about policy is important in this world.

Please win a TVA.

- Winning a TVA for me pretty much is an automatic win for framework. But now in days, its hard to do it. Most of them strip the aff of their theory and education, which tends to be what the aff’s interp is about. If your going for the TVA, then you have to really sell your version of education and have compelling disads on the affs theory.

- You may have to win that debate should keep existing. Now in days, teams shrug at the possibility that their theory is activity destroying and world shattering, because that tends to be the goal.

3. Policy specific topicality

I love topicality. It’s definitely a voting issue. At the most, there should be 3 violations. If you spread through the block, put the analytics in the doc!

4. Ks

Framework and impact framing is the most important argument in this debate. That being said, I expect to hear a role of the judge or role of the debate argument in the negative block. Line by line refutation of the affs standards is also expected.

I wish i didnt have to say this but links need to be specific to the aff— decently specific. It has to be contextualized to a specific mechanism of the aff. Debates about risks of links are quite weird to me especially when we are talking about broad socio-political problems that are in some way already happening. You cant kinda be capitalist, antiblack, or facist. It’s either they are that thing you say or or they’re not.

Alternatives can be optional, but not having them in the 2nr makes it a lot harder for me to hang my ballot on something. Be clear upfront on the alternative. I’f your not, then i will pull the trigger and vote on a permutation even if the disads are extends.

Floating pics are bad.

5. Case turns/ Disads/ Counterplans

I need a coherent story. Overviews with impact analysis are important. Perms are a thing that I’m fine with. Perm theory— not so much.

Kelly Skoulikaris Glenbrook South HS 4 rounds

Last changed on Mon March 11, 2024 at 7:01 PM EDT

Glenbrook South '19 | University of Michigan '23

kellymskoulikaris@gmail.com

General

Be organized. Do line-by-line, impact calc, judge instruction, and evidence comparison. Do not just read evidence in the 2AC/2NC/1NR. Smart analytics can overcome bad evidence.

Inserting rehighlightings is okay as long as the rehighlightings are short and the implication is explained in the speeches.

For everything below, I can be convinced otherwise through good debating. Feel free to ask clarification questions pre-round!

Case/DAs

I love good case debating. No, this does not just mean yes/no impact. Yes, this means debating the internal link to advantages (and disadvantages). Debates can easily be won or lost here, and internal link comparison in the final rebuttals is underutilized.

Case-specific DAs are preferable, but politics can be good with decent evidence and persuasive spin.

Rider DAs are not DAs.

CPs

Advantage CPs are preferable to Agent CPs/Process CPs. PDCP definitions (from both sides) should have specific standards/theoretical justifications.

Condo is (probably) good, kicking planks is (probably) good, and judge kick is the default unless debated otherwise.

2NC CPs are good against new affirmatives, but against non-new affirmatives, the 2NC should justify their new planks. The 1AR can convince me this is abusive (especially if the 2NC is adding new planks to get out of a straight-turned DA).

Most theory arguments are reasons to reject the argument, not the team unless debated otherwise.

It is important for both sides to map out what topics look like under their interpretations, especially at the beginning of the season. What affirmatives are included? What negative argument are guaranteed? What does each interpretation exclude? Examples help frame the round!

Evidence quality matters much more in these rounds!

T vs K Affs

Debate is a game, and competition/winning drives our participation in debate. The strongest impacts to T are fairness and clash (iterative testing, testing etc). Negative teams have had success in front of me when they utilize clash to link turn affirmative offense.

Specific TVAs are good. You do not need evidence as long as you have a plan text and explain what debate rounds would look like under the TVAs.

I am most familiar with Anti-Blackness, Capitalism, and Settler Colonialism literature, and not as familiar with Baudrillard, Bataille etc.

Please do not give extremely long overviews. Root cause claims, impact comparisons at the top are smart and strategic, but the rest of the "overview" can be incorporated into the line-by-line later on the flow.

Impact out each link!

Aster Smith Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 3 rounds

Last changed on Sat October 3, 2020 at 12:24 PM CDT

10/02/20 - PANDEMIC UPDATE

Alright so we're debating over the internet, no need to freak out, nobody freak out...

Haha! It's all good vibes over here! Don't stress over anything! If you scroll down you'll get my paradigm from when I was a senior in high school, but it's been a while so don't expect me to be as strict. Honestly, not really sure what I'll expect in these debates, but just use those (v) as a guideline but expect everything to be a lot chiller!

I'm hoping that we have no issues but I understand--just communicate with me if something comes up.

Stay safe!

10/03/20

if you're gonna go for presumption make sure its explained well.

3/9/19

Alright, I feel like updating this in the middle of a debate:

I give low speaks. The only time (and I mean, the only time) I've given anyone above a 27.9 in speaks is during a meme round. Unless you knock my socks clean off my feet (which has unfortunately never happened,) I will not be giving you above this number. Sometimes I play a game and if you do a lot of good things, I add speaks incrementally. If you do a lot of bad things, I dock you down. The first time I was going to give out a 28, the kid was really good. Then he said something rude/offensive and he ended up with the lowest speaks in the debate.

If you're going to run an extinction impact, you won't win. I will not vote on them, nor will I vote on any generic global warming impacts. I like debates with substance. If both teams lack this, I'll give low speakers and I'll find a way to vote both of you down, and I might just leave the room out of boredom. I hate boring rounds. Give me something fun.

I love K's with meaning. Identity K's more than anything. I can sniff out commodification like a blood hound though. So don't run the K unless you care. I don't care much about this debate mentality of "Whatever makes the most sense." I'm a very moralistic person. Even IF you make more sense, if you step on the backs of marginalized people to win, I will drag you and you will lose my round. And I'll give you the lowest speaks I can.

Uhh. Fiat sucks. Get over it. I probably won't vote with fiat in mind.

They/Them pronouns please.

Kyle Subade Glenbrook South HS 4 rounds

Ashley Thurber Glenbrook North 5 rounds

Nico Tobon New Trier High School 5 rounds

Johnathan Trinh Lane Tech College Prep H.S. 5 rounds

Last changed on Fri April 5, 2024 at 11:16 AM EDT

Johnathan Trinh (He/Him/His) Update 4/3/2024 trinhjohnathan@gmail.com

I debated 3 years at Ogden 2 for the highschool team and then 3 years at Lane at the varsity level. When I debated i primarily ran Identity Based Affirmatives such as model minority,latinx body politics,queer theory, and fem. As Neg I ran either an identity K such as the ones listed above or cap plus policy.

Important to note this is my first tournament on this topic furthermore i was primarily a K debater in highschool meaning I would appreciate in policy heavy rounds for you to spend more time explaining how your evidence,plan,da’s etc plays out in the round and interacts with each other. This also mean if there is assumed knowledge from this topic that you think that i would know assume that I do not know it and spell it out for me. I would like to be in the email chain i’ll read the evidence to brush up on my knowledge but i will not weigh any information not said in the speech in my calculus.

Furthermore, just because i was a k debater does not mean i do not know how policy debates play out i employed a variety of strategies in my debate career and understand the intricacies of a strictly policy debate. Do not read a K infront of me simply because I am a K judge I will be judging you stricter because I was a K debater and I understand these arguments better.

Voting wise I have a large threshold for T/Framework arguments I believe it is on the negative team to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the affirmative plan is untopical/unfair meaning if you are going for T do alot of work in explaining why the Aff is untopical and it’s impacts on the round/debate as a whole. This doesn’t mean i will not vote on it but if you are going for T in the 2NR I expect the entire or at least a vast majority of the 2NR doing work on T again this is my first tournament on the topic so you would have to do more work on then usual in front of me. I have spent most of my debate career doing framework debates and it’s were much of my debate experience is in so do your work on both sides if that’s what the debate boils down too.

I’m sure there is something i’ve missed but I’ve been out of the game for a bit so please feel free to ask if you have any other questions!

Will Vote On

Everything as long as its impacted out.

K Affs as long as you prove what the aff does.

Will Not Vote On

Anything that is Racist, Sexist, and or makes anybody in the round noticeably uncomfortable.

Experiment with your args as a debater and a judge the same old same old args get boring if you bring something new you will be complimented with speaks.

LINE BY LINE I love line by line.

Warrant out your arguments.

Connect your cross-ex to your speech if you pressure them hold them to it.

Don't

Yell at each other.

Expect me to read your cards.

Be rude to me or any other debaters.

Read a K infornt of me to win with no experience with it while it doesn't mean you can't break new args but please be practiced or knowledgeable.

MOST IMPORTANT

HAVE FUN AND BE NICE.

Joel Uribe Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Carlos Urquizo Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Wed November 8, 2023 at 10:47 AM CDT

Carlos Urquizo

UIUC'23

Solorio Academy HS'19

curquizo99@gmail.com

About Me: I debated for four years on the national circuit and in the Chicago Debate League. I used to be pure policy but I integrated the K into my negative strategies later in high school. I am open to most types of arguments and will vote for a variety of arguments. I will vote for critical arguments just as much as policy stuff.

T: Don't go for it.

Disadvantages: Disadvantages are good but I like to see a link specific to the aff if its possible. The internal link debate will matter a lot to me, if I dont understand the DA, then it doesnt matter if the 1AC links or if the impact to the DA outweighs.

Counterplans: I think most counterplans are legit, but they always need a net benefit and internal net benefits are not enough for me. I need you to win the net benefit for me to vote on the counterplan. Prove to me why the CP is clearly a reason to reject the Plan. Textual competition is not persuasive to me.

K: do good analysis and tell me what the K is, I also need specific links to the affs. This generally much easier for things like the cap K. Root cause debates are not good. Framework matters and I will not vote for the aff if you dont read it. Fairness is not an impact, but use things like that as an argument to support the impact. For the aff, tell me why the negatives kritik is bad for you and bad for debate and what that does for debate overall and why its bad for future debates not just what is happening in your round. there needs to be an intepretation from both sides - I think this debate requires proper clash or else i think it just proves the affirmatives claims. I also need to hear reasons why debate is good.

K AFFs: I like K affs, I dont like hearing arguments like the state is good but rather tell me reasons why the state is redeemable if this debate does happen to occur. I think its valuable to prove why your respective model of debate is best. For the AFF, i think its extremely important for you to be ready for things outside of framework or T. For the negative, read Topical versions of the affirmative. The best way to debate K affs is to beat the substance of the argument, and i would suggest not to go for framework because the aff will have way more offense on that debate. The K aff will usually not be bad for debate in my opinion.

Misc: I try to be a nice judge and I'll be extremely respectful to both teams. My goal during the rounds is to make sure everything goes right, while making it as fun as possible; furthermore, my goal at the end of the round is to give as much feedback and constructive criticism as I can.

Zachary Vanderslice Walter Payton College Prep 2 rounds

Last changed on Sat October 10, 2020 at 9:43 AM CDT

Top Level

zacharyvdebate at gmail dot com

Walter Payton '20

Columbia '25

I am a 2A and qualified to the TOC my senior year. I evaluate most parts of debate as DAs with arguments needing both a link and an impact. I will attempt to make my decision by assigning relative risk to the different portions of the debate. T and theory are obviously not probabilistic so I do not evaluate them as DAs.

I'm new to judging online, so for now try and go a little slower than you might in person. Clarity is often more of an issue when spreading over zoom.

If there are re-highlights in the doc please let me know. I normally standardize everything to green because it is easier to read and don't want to accidentally erase your re-highlight.

I don't like reading through a ton of evidence at the end of around. Thus, I'll only read if I feel a debate (over a specific issue) is close enough that quality will be the deciding issue, or when at least one of the teams is doing comparative evidence analysis. If you identify specific cards that I need to read I will read them and reward you in points. However, if you ask me to read a card that is either bad or not important I will be annoyed and hurt speaks as necessary. This is to encourage you to find the two-four cards on both sides that are the most important and are really worth a read-through.

DAs – I have no weird opinions here. Clean DA execution is awesome and fun to watch and will be rewarded. I think that framing pages are often poorly executed. They can be really helpful tools, but don't mean a lot if you use them as an excuse to not interact with the DA. I also think that people tend to spend much more time on them necessary especially when coupled with aff o/v's that are already too long. Unless the framing page is going to decide my ballot its unlikely you need to spend a ton of time on it.

CPs – Agent CPs are boring but I understand their necessity on the topic. I will reward well-researched cps especially if they're tricky. I think that creative CPs designed to deal with evidence failures identified in 1AC CX are often highly persuasive. Condo means I can kick the CP.

Ks – I am likely to let the aff weigh the adv, if things are a wash or especially close. I also think its probable that util is in fact trutil. I think most perms and link turns are bad and it'd be easier for a k team to beat them than beat an adv. However, simply providing links to the aff is insufficient to prove links to the perm. Most teams are bad at beating the perm, and they shouldn't be. If the aff wins f/w I think the k must not only win that the impact to links o/w the adv but also that those links are uq or that the alt provides sufficient uq. I think that when properly explained the perm double bind is a good argument.

In terms of specific Ks, I'm very solid for cap and security. If you are reading cap like its dedev just read dedev because it will make everything cleaner. I am ok for pomo ks, but don't think novices should read them. I am bad for ontology claims. I'll vote on them but I think they're fatalist, reductionist, and ignore the lived experience of many black folks. As a mixed person, I also find them incredibly confusing. Am I socially dead? Socially some zombie?

K affs - Maybe good for debate - definitely bad for novice debate. For novices, I'll vote for you if you're just destroying them, but I have a low burden for a neg ballot and am likely to give you low speaks. This is an area of debate that I've spent the least amount of time thinking about (thanks maggie for carrying me vs the k aff!) so I don't have strong specific opinions yet.

T - I'm not yet familiar with this topic, and so my ideas about T are far from set in stone. I have a tendency to believe that predictable limits are the best offense but can be persuaded otherwise. Arbitrary limits claims (like subs) are much weaker. Reasonability is an argument about the C/I not about whether or not the aff is reasonably topical. Good T debates should deal with the interaction of competing standards, and not just a comparison of standard. This is similar to the way in which a good DA/Case debate should deal with the ways the DA turns the aff and the ADV solves the DA.

Theory – I'm predisposed to think that condo is good. I'm open to the debate but will find it boring, and won't likely be giving high speaks. I think that silly theory arguments should be dealt with quickly and will find it annoying if you fall into their time trap. When debating tricky adv cps (process cps are what most ppl who lose to them call them) I think that the perm is normally more compelling than reject the CP theory. Tricky Perms coupled with theoretical reasons for why they are good to beat tricky cps are awesome.

Jenny Vazquez Solorio Academy HS 5 rounds

Last changed on Mon July 15, 2024 at 10:45 AM CDT

jvt.debate@gmail.com

---

I did Policy Debate for 8 years at Solorio HS in Chicago (2016-2020) and at Dartmouth College (2020-2024).

Debate is a research-based communicative activity. Arguments that are divorced from external scholarship are not persuasive to me.

Answer arguments in the order presented.

I am at my best in debates where the Affirmative has presented a topical plan and the Negative strategy involves a counterplan and/or disadvantage.

I tend to evaluate impacts based on the relative probability of the internal link chain more than magnitude.

Criticisms are great, but I generally think Links should be about the plan and/or its justifications. If your speeches sound like they could be about any affirmative, I am unlikely to vote for you.

In Topicality debates (against policy or planless affirmatives) I am more persuaded by arguments about limits than ground. With planless affirmatives, the biggest issue/concern that I have is about what the desired role of the negative is and what kind of debates would be had under an alternative vision of the topic. I generally believe that this explanation should go beyond "the neg gets the Cap K" or generic criticism of your choosing.

Basically no patience for debate shenanigans. This is especially true of egregious Negative practices of conditionality.

Please don't make a card doc for me after the debate, I will ask each team after the 2AR to send me the set of cards I need to decide the debate. (ex: "Neg can you send me the internal link for X").

Random: Most people like to engage in small talk with their judges. I am very awkward with people I don't know, so this is actually my nightmare. I will not ignore you out of politeness, but if my responses are not the friendliest that is why.

I miss One Direction, they broke up right when they found their style and were finally starting to mature as a band #Zouis best ship.

Unironically have read Tuck & Yang 2012 one centillion times.

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ONLINE DEBATE:

If my camera is off, please assume that I am not at my computer and do not start speaking.

Mason Wicklander Walter Payton College Prep 2 rounds None

Chloe Williams Walter Payton College Prep 4 rounds None

Lauren Wittenmyer New Trier High School 1 rounds None

irene xu New Trier High School 2 rounds

Jiyoon Yang Walter Payton College Prep 3 rounds None

Dominik Zielinski Northside College Preparatory 5 rounds

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Illinois Debate Coaches Association Novice JV Championship

2019 — Park Ridge, IL/US

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