KCKCC Policy Debate TOC Qualifier
2020 — Online, KS/US
Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideTaylor Layman :)
they/she/he
Truman high school class of 2023
Put me on the email chain taylor.laymandebate@gmail.com
Pls TW antisemitism, homophobia, abuse and su!c!de before sending out docs - it's fine to read things with these mentions I would just like a little bit of a warning preferably
Top line/rando quick things
Don't be racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic
You do you, I will flow it
Be nice
I much prefer fast rounds but I need to be able to understand you
If you have written blocks/overviews/arguments for your speech put them into the doc I like to read them and follow along (+.1 speaks if you do this I really enjoy it, it also means when I am making my decision I have written arguments to refer back to along with cards which I like)
Don't shake my hand
Disclosure is good
DA's
do what you like here i really dont care.
CP's
Condo is usually good but I will vote on whatever
I tend to er neg on general counterplan theory but again I can be swayed either way
K's
K's are cool K v K is fun, Framework is believable when you make it so, just saying it's not fair is not that.
T
I love T, I love theory and arguing about debate in general. I think it's fun.
Do what you'd like here
Case
Case debate is great. You should read many many case answers and args as negs
LOVE LOVE LOVE case turns
Things you shouldn't do
Be mean
Clip
Not use all of cross ?? (why do novices do this? It is free prep time just ask what a card means)
Steal prepp
take a significant time to send out docs, it just annoys me
Not have pronouns listed on tabroom or in chat or in zoom
Email: debatecards.charlotte@gmail.com. Please add me to the email chain.
NDT/CEDA Experience: Debated at Weber State for Omar Guevara and Ryan Wash. Graduate Assistant at Kansas State for Alex McVey and James Taylor (JT).
Other Experience: Assistant coach for Manhattan High, Layton, and Lincoln Southeast doing LD and speech. Instructor for Harbinger Debate, Shanghai doing PF.
Current Position: 2L at University of Nebraska-Lincoln law school. Clerkship for the Lancaster County Public Defender.
Judging Thesis: I understand my role to be evaluating the PERSUASIVENESS of the arguments debaters make, in whatever format they choose to present it. Factors which make an argument more persuasive to me include: concessions, examples, correct application of key terms from your scholarship, credibility of source authors, internal consistency of the argument, explanatory power, and how the argument fits into other strategic choices the debater has made. This role may shift if I am given a clear and persuasive argument to do so.
Disability Accommodations: All reasonable requests for accommodation for any disability will be granted, or the team will lose. Debaters do not need evidence to prove that they have a disability. I am seeking to reward alternative speaking styles which are not based on the traditional norm of spreading and technical jargon, although mastery of that style is also very impressive. Please see this article for more discussion of disability access in policy debate: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1281&context=speaker-gavel
Advice for Debaters:
I will only write a ballot for tacky or frivolous arguments if I have no other choice. I want to write ballots which engage with a question of actual SUBSTANCE. Disagreements about rules or procedures CAN have substance and are NOT discouraged, but you must use your judgment to decide whether the argument you are making is worth the air you spend saying it. No category of argument is exempt from this rule.
I think the negative has a burden to ENGAGE WITH THE AFFIRMATIVE in some way. There should be a moment where I am able to see how the strategies interact and where the disagreements are. If the negative approach is never contextualized to some actual dispute occurring in the round, I will be sympathetic to a lot of standard affirmative arguments.
I prefer DEPTH over breadth in almost all cases. In my thesis above I list the kinds of things which constitute depth.
Fairness and education are not real impacts until they are explained. Fairness is only an impact in relation to a particular kind of debate, the value of competition, etc. Education is only an impact in relation to a particular role for debaters, the value of certain literature bases, etc. If you do not ELABORATE ON PROCEDURAL IMPACTS/TURNS THEREOF then don't be surprised if they aren't enough.
Don’t use words you don’t understand. I CANNOT BE RAZZLE-DAZZLED into voting for incoherent nonsense. High theory is cool and good when you are cool and good. I love kritik debating because of the radicalism, not the obscurantism. If you have depth, like the thesis above describes, this will not be a problem for you.
In high school debates, I WILL NOT evaluate an argument which is overly hostile toward another competitor’s identity or presence at the tournament, and I WILL consider dropping the team. Almost everything is permitted, but there are certain lines you cannot cross. In college y’all are mostly adults so go off, but I will probably need some clarification about my role in resolving that dispute, because my default assumption is that I don’t have jurisdiction over the value of a person’s life/presence/identity. I will always have a low bar to defeat hate, because HATE IS NOT PERSUASIVE.
Kayla Benson
Head Coach @ Wichita Southeast High School (Go Buffs!)
Email: kaylab222@gmail.com (Post-Tournament Questions: kbenson@usd259.net – I check this more often during the week…)
Paradigm Last Updated: September 2024 (Pre-Washburn Rural)
General Information:
My philosophy towards debate is that it should be a fun, engaging activity that challenges both you and your competitors in an academic environment. As debaters, your role is to develop and present well-thought-out, strategic arguments that foster healthy and respectful debates between both teams. My role as the judge is to evaluate the arguments you present and determine which team has the better arguments. One important thing I've learned through coaching is that I'd much rather watch a debate where participants are genuinely engaged with the arguments they enjoy than see debaters adjust their strategy based on what they think I want. For me, the ideal debate is fun, educational, and thought-provoking. I have only three expectations for every round: 1. Be respectful 2. Defend strong, well-supported evidence 3. Provide direct clash between opposing arguments. If you can meet these criteria, then I am your judge.
Also, if you are curious… I wrote out my thoughts/views/attitudes to various aspects of debate in relation to Taylor Swift songs… here it is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qiwakMBwhjlniGxY0xe6Y88pko5mXs-KuH-BHhXakXE/edit?usp=sharing
Thoughts on Various Aspects of Debate:
-
Decision-Making Criteria
-
Argumentative Styles – I come from a traditional policy-maker background, often relying on the classic T, CP, and DA structure. However, I’ve coached and judged almost every style, from stock issues to high-flow kritikal debates. The most important aspect of any debate, in my view, is providing clear judge instruction and framing your arguments effectively in the 2NR and 2AR. My ideal RFD should reflect the language and key lines from your team's final rebuttal. Additionally, one common issue I see is debaters failing to explain why the arguments they're extending matter within the broader context of the round. Remember, it’s crucial to make the importance of your arguments in the round clear.
-
Tech vs. Truth – I find myself at a bit of a crossroads. In the competitive context, I generally prioritize Tech over Truth. Dropped arguments are like dropped eggs... or whatever I learned my Novice Year. However, given the rise of misinformation in the real world, I believe there are instances where Truth should take precedence—especially when debaters are presenting blatantly false information that could have broader implications outside the round. That said, 99% of the time, I do default to Tech over Truth in the round.
-
Operational Aspects
-
Spreading – Can you spread? Yes, if you do it properly. There are three components I feel debaters are currently lacking: 1.Clarity – You still need to have clear diction in your words. 2. Volume – Find a balance of being loud enough for me to hear you, but I don’t want to feel like I’m being screamed at. 3. Varying Speed – When spreading, you should have an Analytic Speed (slowest), Tag Speed (middle), Body of Evidence Speed (fastest). Also, if this is my first time listening to you spread (or if I haven’t judged you in a while), start slow and then build, so I can adapt to your speed.
-
CX – I am okay with Open CX if both teams agree to it. However, a debate team has two people, so BOTH debaters need to be asking/answering questions. If I feel like you aren’t answering questions OR if I feel like you won’t let your partner answer questions, I will dock speaker points.
-
Prep Time – Prep time starts as soon as the timer goes off after CX or the speech ends (I usually accept a 10-15 second grace period to set a timer, but no one should be prepping during this time). Prep time ends when you save the speech doc. Prep time does not include deleting analytics or moving evidence. I won’t count sending the doc as part of prep time unless I feel like you are stealing prep or if it is taking an abnormally long time. While teams are sending the speech doc, everyone else should have their hands off their computers. If I have to tell you to stop stealing prep, I will dock points.
-
Sign-Posting – Please indicate when you are switching cards or moving from a card to analytics. There are two things that should indicate to me that you’ve moved on: 1. Having a vocal indication (And, Next, 1, A, etc.) 2. A change in vocal speed (see Spreading).
-
Extending Arguments – Notice, I said extending arguments, not extending authors. If you say the phrase “Extend Benson 24” with no explanation as to what that evidence says and how it applies to the round, I will not flow that extension. I will also probably dock some speaker points because that feels like lazy debating to me.
-
Specific Arguments
-
Case Debate – When debating the case, I appreciate when the negative presents a combination of both offensive and defensive arguments. I feel like on-case arguments are often underutilized in debates and can be used effectively in conjunction with your off-case arguments.
-
Topicality vs. Policy Affs – Need all parts (Interpretation, Violation, Standards, and Voters). Needs to be all five minutes of the 2NR. I prefer if the negative team provides a list of topical affirmatives that solve the advantages. - IPR Specific: I am not a huge fan of Subset T... I have yet to be provided with an instance of Ground Loss or a Case List that is more than 3 Affs.
-
Topicality vs. K Affs – Fairness is an internal link. A strong TVA has evidence – read a TVA.
-
Disadvantages – This is probably my bread and butter. When you are defending a disadvantage, I like when there is a clear explanation of how the DA outweighs and turns the case, and case-specific links (having multiple links is also a good thing for me). When you are arguing against a disadvantage, I like when you explain how the aff outweighs and turns the DA, and provide clear/specific link turns. Both teams need to engage in impact comparisons.
-
Counterplans – I’m going to be honest, I am not a fan of counterplans that have 20 billion planks and should really be three different counterplans but are mashed into one. Also, not a fan of when teams read multiple planks with the strategy of extending the plank/solvency that the affirmative inevitably drops (this is the 2A side of me). To win a CP, you need to explain 1. How the CP solves the aff and 2. The net benefit of the CP – these two aspects need to create a clear story as to how the counterplan functions.
-
Ks on the Negative – Have an alt, explain how it solves. Have a clear link – I am not a fan of links of omission (but can be convinced). Have some framework – how do you want me to evaluate the context of the round? Explain/defend your literature in a way that makes sense to how you want me to evaluate the debate. Also, if you want me to judge-kick the alt, you need to explain the rationale and conditions under which you want me to kick the alt.
-
K Affs – You need two things: 1. An advocacy statement (or something similar) 2. A relation to the topic (part of the K aff needs to be about IPR...).
-
Theory – On theory arguments, I am most persuaded when you can provide a clear example of proven in-round abuse. Also, if you are going to spread through your theory blocks with no clear signpost or speed change AND delete it from the speech doc, don’t be surprised if I don’t evaluate it. Condo: You can read it… I generally think that some conditional advocacies are okay (like three? Each plank on a multi-plank counterplan counts as a conditional advocacy in my eyes). If you want me to vote on it, it must be all five minutes of the 2AR.
4. Speaker Points:
-
Everyone starts at a 28.5.
-
Increase by: Speaking clearly, having strong/complete arguments, engaging in clash, being creative, extending warrants/arguments, talking about Taylor Swift.
-
Decrease by: Not speaking clearly, not completing arguments, ignoring judge instruction, being rude/aggressive, extending authors, stealing prep, making digs at Taylor Swift.
Please include me on the email chain; shane.billig@gmail.com
I'm a fairly adaptable judge; 10+ years of debate experience as a competitor/coach. I default to policymaker framework and I am very familiar with CP/DA theory and am generally okay with any generic arguments, but I'd prefer to have the links analyzed to be as specific as possible. In general analysis and comparison of cards and warrants is the best way to convince me that your evidence is superior, and I find that many 2AC/2NC rely too much on reading more blocks rather than providing unique in round analysis.
I have and will vote on kritiks, and there are many times I think the K is the smartest choice in the round, however the more specific your kritiks get, the less familiar I am with the authors and literature. There are some key exceptions and generally any form of IR kritik or kritik of the general "structure" of society I will understand (Fem IR/Cap/Militarism for example). You must explain the kritik, the role of the ballot, and specifically explain the link and how the alternative functions. Explain the kritik in your own words, don't just read a block at me.
On topicality I default to reasonability, but this doesn't mean that I won't vote on topicality, especially if you give me reasons why I should prefer competing interpretations. In slow/quick rounds I am generally able to get citations on my flow, but in fast rounds you won't be able to extend just by author/year. Talk about the card, its tag, and its role in the round (this is just good extension advice in general). With all arguments if I don't understand your point, it doesn't make it onto my flow because you weren't clear, it got flowed onto the wrong sheet, etc then you didn't say it and I won't evaluate it. This happens most often on theory/T/K where I don't understand the violation or alternative or some other aspect of the argument--and the easiest solution to this problem is again to slow down for a second and use your own words to explain the argument.
If the round is going to have more than 5+ minutes of T/Theory I think everyone is better off if you go at 90% of your speed on those arguments. I am not as fast as you think I am, and while it's rare that I'm sped out of rounds, it does happen, and when it does 90% of the time it's me missing theory analysis because you're blazing through a pre-written block like its a politics card. I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have, and I do my best to adapt my judging style to the round I am in. One thing that I feel many teams do is over-adapt, and it often hurts them. Debate the way you want to debate, and I will evaluate it however you tell me to. I'd much rather judge really good debates over K literature I'm not familiar with prior to the round than bad or bland CP/DA debate.
inactive
Short Version:
-yes email chain: nyu.bs.debate@gmail.com
-if you would like to contact me about something else, the best way to reach me is: bootj093@newschool.edu - please do not use this email for chains I would like to avoid cluttering it every weekend which is why I have a separate one for them
-debated in high school @ Mill Valley (local policy circuit in Kansas) and college @ NYU (CEDA-NDT) for 7 years total - mostly policy arguments in high school, mix of high theory and policy in college
-head LD/policy debate coach at Bronx Science and assistant policy coach at The New School, former assistant for Blue Valley West, Mill Valley, and Mamaroneck
-spin > evidence quality, unless the evidence is completely inconsistent with the spin
-tech > truth as long as the tech has a claim, warrant, and impact
-great for impact turns
-t-framework impacts ranked: topic education > skills > clash/arg refinement > scenario planning > fun > literally any other reason why debate is good > fairness
-I updated the t-fw part of my paradigm recently (under policy, 12/4/23) - if you are anticipating having a framework debate in front of me on either side, I would appreciate it if you skimmed it at least
-don't like to judge kick but if you give me reasons to I might
-personally think condo has gone way too far in recent years and more people should go for it, but I don't presume one way or the other for theory questions
-all kinds of theory, including topicality, framework, and/or "role of the ballot" arguments are about ideal models of debate
-most of the rounds I judge are clash debates, but I've been in policy v policy and k v k both as a debater and judge so I'm down for anything
-for high school policy 23-24: I actually used to work for the Social Security Administration (only for about 7-8 months) and I have two immediate family members who currently work there - so I have a decent amount of prior knowledge about how the agency works internally, processes benefits, the technology it uses, etc. - but not necessarily policy proposals for social security reform
Long Version:
Overview: Debate is for the debaters so do your thing and I'll do my best to provide a fair decision despite any preferences or experiences that I have. I have had the opportunity to judge and participate in debates of several different formats, circuits, and styles in my short career. What I've found is that all forms of debate are valuable in some way, though often for different reasons, whether it be policy, critical, performance, LD, PF, local circuit, national circuit, public debates, etc. Feel free to adapt arguments, but please don't change your style of debate for me. I want to see what you are prepared for, practiced in, and passionate about. Please have fun! Debating is fun for you I hope!
Speaking and Presentation: I don't care about how you look, how you're dressed, how fast or in what manner you speak, where you sit, whether you stand, etc. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable and will help you be the best debater you can be. My one preference for positioning is that you face me during speeches. It makes it easier to hear and also I like to look up a lot while flowing on my laptop. For some panel situations, this can be harder, just try your best and don't worry about it too much.
Speed - I do not like to follow along in the speech doc while you are giving your speech. I like to read cards in prep time, when they are referenced in cx, and while making my decision. I will use it as a backup during a speech if I have to. This is a particular problem in LD, that has been exacerbated by two years of online debate. I expect to be able to hear every word in your speech, yes including the text of cards. I expect to be able to flow tags, analytics, theory interps, or anything else that is not the interior text of a card. This means you can go faster in the text of a card, this does mean you should be unclear while reading the text of a card. This also means you should go slower for things that are not that. This is because even if I can hear and understand something you are saying, that does not necessarily mean that my fingers can move fast enough to get it onto my flow. When you are reading analytics or theory args, you are generally making warranted arguments much faster than if you were reading a card. Therefore, you need to slow down so I can get those warrants on my flow.
Clarity - I'm bad at yelling clear. I try to do it when things are particularly egregious but honestly, I feel bad about throwing a debater off their game in the middle of a speech. I think you can clear or slow your opponent if you are comfortable with it - but not excessively to avoid interruption please - max 2-3 times a speech. If you are unclear with tags or analytics in an earlier speech, I will try to let you know immediately after the speech is over. If you do it in a rebuttal, you are 100% at fault because I know you can do it clearly, but are choosing not to. Focus on efficiency, not speed.
Logistical Stuff: I would like the round to run as on-time as possible. Docs should be ready to be sent when you end prep time. Orders/roadmaps should be given quickly and not changed several times. Marking docs can happen outside of prep time, but it should entail only marking where cards were cut. I would prefer that, at the varsity level, CX or prep time is taken to ask if something was not read or which arguments were read. I think it’s your responsibility to listen to your opponent’s speech to determine what was said and what wasn’t. I don’t take prep or speech time for tech issues - the clock can stop if necessary. Use the bathroom, fill up your water bottle as needed - tournaments generally give plenty of time for a round and so long as the debaters are not taking excessive time to do other things like send docs, I find that these sorts of things aren’t what truly makes the round run behind.
Email chain or speech drop is fine for docs, which should be shared before a speech. I really prefer Word documents if possible, but don't stress about changing your format if you can't figure it out. Unless there is an accommodation request, not officially or anything just an ask before the round, I don't think analytics need to be sent. Advocacy texts, theory interps, and shells should be sent. Cards are sent for the purposes of ethics and examining more closely the research of your opponent. Too many of you have stopped listening to your opponents entirely and I think the rising norm of sending every single word you plan on saying is a big part of it. It also makes you worse debaters because in the instances where your opponent decides to look up from their laptop and make a spontaneous argument, many of you just miss it entirely.
Stop stealing prep time. When prep time is called by either side, you should not be talking to your partner, typing excessively on your computer, or writing things down. My opinion on “flex prep,” or asking questions during prep time, is that you can ask for clarifications, but your opponent doesn’t have to answer more typical cx questions if they don’t want to (it is also time that they are entitled to use to focus on prep), and I don’t consider the answers in prep to have the same weight as in cx. Prep time is not a speech, and I dislike it when a second ultra-pointed cx begins in prep time because you think it makes your opponent look worse. It doesn’t - it makes you look worse.
Speaker Points: I try to adjust based on the strength of the tournament pool/division, but my accuracy can vary depending on how many rounds in the tournament I've already judged.
29.5+ You are one of the top three speakers in the tournament and should be in finals.
29.1-29.4 You are a great speaker who should be in late elims of the tournament.
28.7-29 You are a good speaker who should probably break.
28.4-28.6 You're doing well, but need some more improvement to be prepared for elims.
28-28.3 You need significant improvement before I think you can debate effectively in elims.
<28 You have done something incredibly offensive or committed an ethics violation, which I will detail in written comments and speak with you about in oral feedback.
The three things that affect speaker points the most are speaking clearly/efficiently, cross-x, and making effective choices in the final rebuttals.
If you win the debate without reading from a laptop in the 2NR/2AR your floor for speaks is a 29.
For Policy:
T-Framework: The fw debates I like the most are about the advantages and disadvantages of having debates over a fiated policy implementation of the topic. I would prefer if your interpretation/violation was phrased in terms of what the affirmative should do/have done - I think this trend of crafting an interpretation around negative burdens is silly - i.e. "negatives should not be burdened with the rejoinder of untopical affirmatives." I'm not usually a big fan of neg interpretations that only limit out certain parts of the topic - strategically, they usually seem to just link back to neg offense about limits and predictability absent a more critical strategy. I think of framework through an offense/defense paradigm and in terms of models of debate. My opinion is that you all spend dozens or hundreds of hours doing research, redos, practice, and debates - you should be prepared to defend that the research you do, the debates you have, and how you have those debates are good.
1. Topic-specific arguments are best - i.e. is it a good or bad thing that we are having rounds talking about fiscal redistribution, nuclear weapons, resource extraction, or military presence? How can that prepare people to take what they learn in debate outside of the activity? Why is topic-specific education valuable or harmful in a world of disinformation, an uninformed American public, escalating global crises, climate change, etc.? Don't be silly and read an extinction impact or anything though.
2. Arguments about debate in general are also great - I'm down for a "debate about debate" - the reason that I as a coach and judge invest tons of time into this activity is because I think it is pedagogically valuable - but what that value should look like, what is best to take from it, is in my opinion the crux of framework debates. Should debate be a competitive space or not? What are the implications of imagining a world where government policy gets passed? What should fiat look like or should it be used at all?
I can be convinced that debate should die given better debating from that side. But honestly, this is not my personal belief - the decline of policy debate in terms of participation at the college and high school level makes me very sad actually. I can also be convinced that debate is God's gift to earth and is absolutely perfect, even though I also believe that there are many problems with the activity. There is also a huge sliding scale between these two options.
3. Major defensive arguments and turns are good - technical stuff about framework like ssd, tvas, relative solvency of counter-interps, turns case and turns the disad arguments, uniqueness claims about the current trends of debate, claims about the history of debate, does it shape subjectivity or not - are all things that I think are worth talking about and can be used to make "try or die" or presumption arguments - though they should not be the focal point of your offense. I like when tvas are carded solvency advocates and/or full plan texts.
4. I do not like judging debates about procedural fairness:
A) They are usually very boring. On every topic, the same pre-written blocks, read at each other without any original thought over and over. I dislike other arguments for this reason too - ultra-generic kritiks and process cps - but even with those, they often get topic or aff-specific contextualizations in the block. This does not usually happen with fairness.
B) I often find fairness very unimportant on its own relative to the other key issues of framework - meaning I don't usually think it is offense. I find a lot of these debates to end up pretty tautological - "fairness is an impact because debate is a game and games should have rules or else they'd be unfair," etc. Many teams in front of me will win that fairness is necessary to preserve the game, but never take the next step of explaining to me why preserving the game is good. In that scenario, what "impact" am I really voting on? Even if the other team agrees that the game of debate is good (which a lot of k affs contest anyway), you still have to quantify or qualify how important that is for me to reasonably compare it to the aff's offense - saying "well we all must care about fairness because we're here, they make strategic arguments, etc." - is not sufficient to do that. I usually agree that competitive incentives mean people care about fairness somewhat. But how much and why is that important? I get an answer with nearly every other argument in debate, but hardly ever with fairness. I think a threshold for if something is an impact is that it's weighable.
C) Despite this, fairness can be impacted out into something tangible or I can be convinced that "tangibility" and consequences are not how I should make my decision. My hints are Nebel and Glówczewski.
5. Everyone needs to compare their impacts alongside other defensive claims in the debate and tell me why I should vote for them. Like traditional T, it's an offense/defense, disad/counterplan, model of debate thing for me. For some reason, impact comparison just seems to disappear from debaters' repertoire when debating framework, which is really frustrating for me.
Kritiks: Both sides of these debates often involve a lot of people reading overviews at each other, especially in high school, which can make it hard to evaluate at the end of the round. Have a clear link story and a reason why the alternative resolves those links. Absent an alt, have a framework as to why your impacts matter/why you still win the round. Impacts are negative effects of the status quo, the alternative resolves the status quo, and the links are reasons why the aff prevents the alternative from happening. Perms are a test of the strength of the link. Framework, ROB, and ROJ arguments operate on the same level to me and I think they are responsive to each other. My feelings on impacts here are similar to t-fw.
I still study some French high theory authors in grad school, but from a historical perspective. In my last couple years of college debate I read Baudrillard and DnG-style arguments a lot, some psychoanalysis as well - earlier than that my tastes were a little more questionable and I liked Foucault, Zizek, and Nietzsche a lot, though I more often went for policy arguments - I gave a lot of fw+extinction outweighs 2ARs. A lot of the debates I find most interesting include critical ir or critical security studies arguments. I have also coached many other kinds of kritiks, including all of the above sans Zizek as well as a lot of debaters going for arguments about anti-blackness or feminism. Set col stuff I don't know the theory as well tbh.
Affirmatives: I think all affs should have a clear impact story with a good solvency advocate explaining why the aff resolves the links to those impacts. I really enjoy affs that are creative and outside of what a lot of people are reading, but are still grounded in the resolution. If you can find a clever interpretation of the topic or policy idea that the community hasn't thought of yet, I'll probably bump your speaks a bit.
Disads: Love 'em. Impact framing is very important in debates without a neg advocacy. Turns cases/turns the da is usually much better than timeframe/probability/magnitude. Between two improbable extinction impacts, I default to using timeframe a lot of the time. A lot of disads (especially politics) have pretty bad ev/internal link chains, so try to wow me with 1 good card that you explain well in rebuttals rather than spitting out 10 bad ones. 0 risk of a disad is absolutely a thing, but hard to prove, like presumption.
Counterplans: They should have solvency advocates and a clear story for competition. Exploit generic link chains in affs. My favorites are advantage cps, specific pics, and recuttings of 1AC solvency ev. I like process cps when they are specific to the topic or have good solvency advocates. I will vote on other ones still, but theory and perm do the cp debates may be harder for you. I think some process cps are even very pedagogically valuable and can be highly persuasive with up-to-date, well-cut evidence - consult Japan on relevant topics for instance. But these arguments can potentially be turned by clash and depth over breadth. And neg flex in general can be a very strong argument in policy. I won't judge kick unless you tell me to in the 2NR, and preferably it should have some kind of justification.
Topicality: I default to competing interps and thinking of interps as models of debate. Be clear about what your interp includes and excludes and why that is a good thing. I view topicality like a disad most of the time, and vote for whoever's vision of the topic is best. I find arguments about limits and the effect that interpretations have on research to be the most convincing. I like topicality debates quite a bit.
Theory: Slow down, slow down, slow down. Like T, I think of theory through models of debate and default to competing interps- you should have an interpretation to make your life a little easier if you want to extend it - if you don't, I will assume the most extreme one (i.e. no pics, no condo, etc.). If you don't have a counter-interp in response to a theory argument, you are in a bad position. If your interpretation uses debate jargon like pics, "process" cps, and the like - you should tell me what you mean by those terms at least in rebuttal. Can pics be out of any word said, anything in the plan, anything defended in the solvency advocate or in cx, any concept advocated for, etc.? I think there is often too much confusion over what is meant to be a process cp. The interpretation I like best for "process" is "counterplans that result in the entirety of the plan." I like condo bad arguments, especially against super abusive 1ncs, but the neg gets a ton of time in the block to answer it, so it can be really hard to give a good enough 1ar on it without devoting a lot of time as well - so if you are going to go for it in the 2ar, you need to expand on it and cover block responses in the 1ar. Warrant out reject the argument vs. reject the team.
For LD:
Prefs Shortcut:
1 - LARP, High Theory Ks
2 - Other Ks, Topicality
3 - Phil, Theory that isn't condo or pics bad
4/5/strike - Trad, Tricks
My disclaimer is I try to keep an open mind for any debate - you should always use the arguments/style that you are most prepared with and practiced in. You all seem to really like these shortcuts, so I caved and made one - but these are not necessarily reflective of my like or dislike for any particular argument, instead more of my experience with different kinds, meaning some probably require more explanation for me to "get it." I love when I do though - I'm always happy to learn new things in debate!
Phil Debates: Something I am fairly unfamiliar with, but I've been learning more about over the past 6 months (02/23). I have read, voted for, and coached many things to the contrary, but if you want to know what I truly believe, I basically think most things collapse into some version of consequentialist utilitarianism. If you are to convince me that I should not be a consequentialist, then I need clear instructions for how I should evaluate offense. Utilitarianism I'm used to being a little more skeptical of from k debates, but other criticisms of util from say analytic philosophy I will probably be unfamiliar with.
Trad Debate: By far what I am least familiar with. I don't coach this style and never competed in anything like LD trad debate - I did traditional/lay policy debate a bit in high school - but that is based on something called "stock issues" which is a completely different set of standards than LD's value/value criterion. I struggle in these debates because for me, like "stock issues" do in policy, these terms seem to restrictively categorize arguments and actually do more to obscure their meaning than reveal it. In the trad debates I've seen (not many, to be fair), tons of time was dedicated to clarifying minutiae and defining words that either everyone ended up agreeing on or that didn't factor into the way that I would make my decision. I don't inherently dislike LD trad debate at all, it honestly just makes things more difficult for me to understand because of how I've been trained in policy debate for 11 years. I try my best, but I feel that I have to sort through trad "jargon" to really get at what you all think is important. I would prefer if you compared relative impacts directly rather than told me one is better than the other 100% of the time.
Plans/DAs/CPs: See the part in my policy paradigm. Plans/CP texts should be clearly written and are generally better when in the language of a specific solvency advocate. I think the NC should be a little more developed for DAs than in policy - policy can have some missing internal links because they get the block to make new arguments, but you do not get new args in the NR that are unresponsive to the 1AR - make sure you are making complete arguments that you can extend.
Kritiks: Some stuff in my policy paradigm is probably useful. Look there for K-affs vs. T-fw. I'm most familiar with so-called "high theory" but I have also debated against, judged, and coached many other kinds of kritiks. Like with DAs/CPs, stuff that would generally be later in the debate for policy should be included in the NC, like ROBs/fw args. Kritiks to me are usually consequentialist, they just care about different kinds of consequences - i.e. the consequences of discourse, research practices, and other impacts more proximate than extinction.
ROB/ROJs: In my mind, this is a kind of theory debate. The way I see this deployed in LD most of the time is as a combination of two arguments. First, what we would call in policy "framework" (not what you call fw in LD) - an argument about which "level" I should evaluate the debate on. "Pre-fiat" and "post-fiat" are the terms that you all like to use a lot, but it doesn't necessarily have to be confined to this. I could be convinced for instance that research practices should come before discourse or something else. The second part is generally an impact framing argument - not only that reps should come first, but that a certain kind of reps should be prioritized - i.e. ROB is to vote for whoever best centers a certain kind of knowledge. These are related, but also have separate warrants and implications for the round, so I consider them separately most of the time. I very often can in fact conclude that reps must come first, but that your opponent’s reps are better because of some impact framing argument that they are making elsewhere. Also, ROB and ROJ are indistinct from one another to me, and I don’t see the point in reading both of them in the same debate.
Topicality: You can see some thoughts in the policy sections as well if you're having that kind of T debate about a plan. I personally think some resolutions in LD justify plans and some don't. But I can be convinced that having plans or not having plans is good for debate, which is what is important for me in deciding these debates. The things I care about here are education and fairness, generally more education stuff than fairness. Topicality interpretations are models of the topic that affirmatives should follow to produce the best debates possible. I view T like a DA and vote for whichever model produces the best theoretical version of debate. I care about "pragmatics" - "semantics" matter to me only insofar as they have a pragmatic impact - i.e. topic/definitional precision is important because it means our research is closer to real-world scholarship on the topic. Jurisdiction is a vacuous non-starter. Nebel stuff is kind of interesting, but I generally find it easier just to make an argument about limits. Reasonability is something I almost never vote on - to be “reasonable” I think you have to either meet your opponent’s interp or have a better one.
RVIs: The vast majority of the time these are unnecessary when you all go for them. If you win your theory or topicality interp is better than your opponent's, then you will most likely win the debate, because the opposing team will not have enough offense on substance. I'm less inclined to believe topicality is an RVI. I think it’s an aff burden to prove they are topical and the neg getting to test that is generally a good thing. Other theory makes more sense as an RVI. Sometimes when a negative debater is going for both theory and substance in the NR, the RVI can be more justifiable to go for in the 2AR because of the unique time differences of LD. If they make the decision to fully commit to theory in the NR, however, the RVI is unnecessary - not that I'm ideologically opposed to it, it just doesn't get you anything extra for winning the debate - 5 seconds of "they dropped substance" is easier and the warrants for your c/i's standards are generally much better than the ones for the RVI.
Disclosure Theory: This is not a section that I would ever have to write for policy. I find it unfortunate that I have to write it for LD. Disclosure is good because it allows schools access to knowledge of what their opponents are reading, which in pre-disclosure days was restricted to larger programs that could afford to send scouts to rounds. It also leads to better debates where the participants are more well-prepared. What I would like to happen for disclosure in general is this:
1) previously read arguments on the topic are disclosed to at least the level of cites on the opencaselist wiki,
2) a good faith effort is made by the aff to disclose any arguments including the advocacy/plan, fw, and cards that they plan on reading in the AC that they've read before once the pairing comes out,
3) a good faith effort is made by the neg to disclose any previously read positions, tied to NC arguments on their wiki, that they've gone for in the NR on the current topic (and previous if asked) once they receive disclosure from the aff,
4) all the cites disclosed are accurate and not misrepresentations of what is read,
5) nobody reads disclosure theory!!
This is basically the situation in college policy, but it seems we still have a ways to go for LD. In a few rare instances I've encountered misdisclosure, even teams saying things like "well it doesn't matter that we didn't read the scenario we said we were going to read because they're a k team and it wasn't really going to change their argument anyways." More intentional things like this, or bad disclosure from debaters and programs that really should know better, I don't mind voting on. I really don't like however when disclosure is used to punish debaters for a lack of knowledge or because it is a norm they are not used to. You have to understand, my roots are as a lay debater who didn't know what the wiki was and didn't disclose for a single round in high school. For my first two years, I debated exclusively on paper and physically handed pages to my opponent while debating after reading them to share evidence. For a couple years after that, we "flashed" evidence to each other by tossing around a usb drive - tournaments didn't provide public wifi. I've been in way more non-lay debates since then and have spent much more time doing "progressive" debate than I ever did lay debate, but I'm very sympathetic still to these kinds of debaters.
Especially if a good-faith attempt is made, interps that are excluding debaters based on a few minutes of a violation, a round report from several tournaments ago, or other petty things make me sad to judge. My threshold for reasonability in these debates will be much lower. Having some empathy and clearly communicating with your opponent what you want from them is a much better strategy for achieving better disclosure practices in the community than reading theory as a punitive measure. If you want something for disclosure, ask for it, or you have no standing. Also, if you read a disclosure interp that you yourself do not meet, you have no standing. Open source theory and disclosure of new affs are more debatable than other kinds of disclosure arguments, and like with T and other theory I will vote for whichever interp I determine is better for debate.
Other Theory: I really liked theory when I did policy debate, but that theory is also different from a lot of LD theory. What that means is I mainly know cp theory - condo, pics, process cps, perm competition (i.e. textual vs. functional, perm do the cp), severance/intrinsicness, and other things of that nature. You can see some of my thoughts on these arguments in the policy section. I've also had some experience with spec arguments. Like T, I view theory similarly to a da debate. Interpretations are models of debate that I endorse which describe ideally what all other debates should look like. I almost always view things through competing interps. Like with T, in order to win reasonability I think you need to have a pretty solid I/meet argument. Not having a counter-interp the speech after the interp is introduced is a major mistake that can cost you the round. I decide theory debates by determining which interp produces a model of debate that is "best." I default to primarily caring about education - i.e. depth vs. breadth, argument quality, research quality, etc. but I can be convinced that fairness is a controlling factor for some of these things or should come first. I find myself pretty unconvinced by arguments that I should care about things like NSDA rules, jurisdiction, some quirk of the tournament invitation language, etc.
Tricks: I think I've officially judged one "tricks" round now, and I've been trying to learn as much as I can while coaching my squad. I enjoyed it, though I can't say I understood everything that was happening. I engaged in some amount of trickery in policy debate - paradoxes, wipeout, process cps, kicking out of the aff, obscure theory args, etc. However, what was always key to winning these kinds of debates was having invested time in research, blocks, a2s - the same as I would for any other argument. I need to be able to understand what your reason is for obtaining my ballot. If you want to spread out arguments in the NC, that's fine and expected, but I still expect you to collapse in the NR and explain in depth why I should vote for you. I won't evaluate new arguments in the NR that are not directly responsive to the 1AR. The reason one-line voting issues in the NC don't generally work with me in the back is that they do not have enough warrants to make a convincing NR speech.
I am the debate coach at Blue Valley North HS. I was an NDT/CEDA debater at Wichita State University (2012) and a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas. I have taught camp at Michigan or Kansas every year since I graduated. I typically judge 50-80 policy rounds per year, plus some pf/ld/speech.
email: brianbox4@gmail.com
I really, really enjoy judging good debates. I really, really dislike judging debates that take two hours, lack clash and mostly involve unclearly reading a document into the screen. I care far more about your ability to speak clearly and refute arguments than the type of arguments you read. Good debate good, bad debate bad. I will vote for any argument you win.
Ultimately, the debate is not about me, and I will do my best to evaluate whichever strategy you pursue, but I am very bored by negative strategies that do not demonstrate an undesirable effect of the affirmative. There is a time and a place for most strategies, and I firmly believe there is no one right way to debate, but I wish more of the debates I judged were about core topic arguments and less about non-competitive counterplans (obviously debatable), generic critiques of fiat, poorly supported politics disads, ridiculous impact turns, etc.
I have found that 99% of high school debates are such clear technical victories that my argument specific thoughts aren't terribly relevant. As such, I want to emphasize a few points that are important for debating in front of me.
Use your flow to answer the other teams arguments. Don't read into your computer screen from start to finish.
Evidence matters a lot. I read lots of evidence and it heavily factors into my decision. Cross-ex is important and the best ones focus on the evidence. Highlighting is important. Definitely willing to lower the prioritization of an argument or ignore it entirely if it's highlighted nonsensically. Author qualifications, histories, intentions, purpose, funding, etc. matter. The application of meaningful author indicts/epistemic arguments about evidence mean more to me than many judges. I find myself more than willing to ignore poorly supported arguments.
I cannot emphasize enough how important clarity is. I can't believe how often I see judges transcribing the speech document. If you have dramatic tone changes between tag and card, where you can barely be heard when reading the text of evidence, you will get lower points from me. If I can't understand the argument, it doesn't count. There is no difference between being incoherent and clipping. Reading directly into the screen at top speed - no matter how clear you are - is nearly impossible for me to understand.
Go for theory? I will never be the judge who views all sides of any theory debate to be equal, but am far more likely than I once was to vote for an argument about the scope of negative fiat. Affirmatives should be extending theory arguments that say a type of counterplan or category of fiat is bad more often.
The link matters the most.The first thing I look at is the link. When in conflict, it is more important to contest the link than the impact.
CX is huge. This is where you separate debaters who have researched their argument and can intentionally execute a strategy from debaters who have practiced reading unclearly as fast as possible. I don't flow CX, but I am very attentive and you should treat me like a lay judge because these moments will be impactful.
email chain -- ramyachilappa19@gmail.com
I debated at Blue Valley North for four years, and am currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College.
Here are a few predispositions I have about debate –
1). Affirmatives should be topical – I generally believe that means they defend the implementation of hypothetical government action in the instance of the resolution. If this is not your vision of what it means to be topical, you must provide a counter interpretation of the topic with offensive justifications for why it should be preferred.
2). Arguments need to have warrants. I am hesitant to say tech over truth is absolutely true, even if applicable most of the time, because if you cannot explain why a dropped argument is true then there is no reason for me to believe it is.
3). Evidence is important – quality shapes the truth of your arguments, and quality is determined by author qualifications, the source, bias, date, etc., as much as it is by the content. A few good cards will always be infinitely more valuable than a ton of terrible ones.
4). Reading straight into your computer for 5-8 minutes at a time is not debating – you should be flowing, responding to the other teams arguments, doing evidence and argument comparison, and not just repeating the same thing 50 times as fast as possible (which almost always makes you impossible to understand).
A few things you should know –
-I’m not going to be the greatest at following you if you go top speed without stopping, especially on analytics and in the rebuttals – I need time to flow and process arguments.
-I am tired of terrible two card arguments in the 1NC that don’t say anything but then blow up into real arguments in the block. I obviously can’t force you not to do this, but keep in mind that I will be significantly more sympathetic to new affirmative answers if the 1NC was a piece of trash that the 2AC (rightfully) dismissed.
-Judge kick is a logical extension of conditionality – there’s no reason I wouldn’t default to it unless explicitly told otherwise.
Please be kind – debate is an educational activity that is infinitely more valuable if we are all engaged and having fun.
Danniel Christensen
dannielchristensen1@gmail.com
Currently an assistant coach @ Lansing High School
1.5 years College Debate @ K-State
4 years HS debate @ Shawnee Mission West
Policy Debate:
Tech over truth
I have no knowledge of the current topic
Tl;dr: I will evaluate everything in the round. At the end of the day, this is a debate, so do what you are good at and have fun.
Affs: Anything. I read planless affirmatives all the time, but at the same time, I also read topical affirmatives.
Impact turns: They are fun.
Topicality: I vote on T. Even if it doesn't make sense. I do not like RVI's, but I will vote on them if they are conceded.
Disadvantages: Impact framing is important. Give me some way to weigh the impact of the DA in relation to the aff.
Counterplans: Default condo, CP's are great, cheating CP's aren't cheating until it has been proven that they are cheating. I will vote on theory but make sure you slow down on your theory shells so that I can catch all of your arguments. Debaters have a fun habit of just spreading everything, and that can make it difficult to catch blippy arguments that are often embedded in theory arguments.
Kritiks: FW is a way to win my ballot. Explain the alt in a way that resolves a link (usually isn't an instantaneous action). You don't have to go for the alt, just make sure you explain how the link/impact alone should win the debate. The role of the Ballot is a great way to explain how I evaluate the round. I know most K lit, but buzzwords don't explain anything to me.
I flow every speech straight down, so the presence of an overview is meaningless to me.
Notes for LD:
I have done both the classic value-criterion style and the new policy style. Either is fine with me. Just make sure it all flows and give me a lens to evaluate the round. Why am I voting for you (offense)? Why am I not voting for the other debater (defense)?
To win an LD debate you can employ any of these strategies:
1. My value is better than yours
2. My criterion can lead to your value, but your criterion cannot obtain my value
3. your criterion cannot solve your value, but mine can solve my value
4. Offense/Defense (policy style that has grown in LD)
Speaks:
30: Fantastic -- one of the best rounds I've seen
29: Some things to work on -- but overall you did pretty good (above average)
27-28: This is average -- some mistakes, but you recovered
26: You executed something wrong
My email is carolynsearscook@gmail.com carolyncook@smsd.org and I think it would be awesome for you all to start the email chain before I get to the debate so that we don't have to waste time doing it once I arrive:)
I debated in high school in Kansas from 1999-2003 (SME). I coached high school debate throughout college but did not debate in college. I was the director of debate at Lansing High School where I coached and taught from 2009-2018. This (23-24) is my 6th year directing and teaching speech & debate at Shawnee Mission South.
I dislike when debaters are mean. This activity is awesome--I believe that it pushes us and makes us better thinkers and people--and debaters cheapen that opportunity when we choose not to respect one another. Please just be kind humans.
I learned to debate and evaluate debates as a policy maker but also find that I much prefer seeing you do what you do best in rounds. That being said, you know your lit and arguments better than I do (at least you should). So:
- If you don't think the aff should get to weigh their 1AC against the criticism, you have to tell me why--same if you think that we should abandon the topic as the aff.
- If you want me to evaluate an argument and your 'warrant' is described as a specific term: that one word is not a warrant. . . you should include a description of WHY your claim is true/accurate/means you win. Debates that are heavily reliant on jargon that I am unfamiliar with will result in me being confused.
- If you do little work on literature (especially lit I am not familiar with), please don't then expect me to do a bunch of work for you in the decision.
You should clearly articulate the arguments you want to forward in the debate--I value persuasion as an important part of this activity.
Please be organized--doing so allows me to focus on the quality of argumentation in the round. Debates are so much more fun to watch when you have a strategic approach that you execute with care. Talk about your evidence. Warranted and strategic analysis that demonstrates your understanding of your own arguments, and their interactions with your opponent's, make debates better.
I default competing interpretations on Topicality and think T debates should include case lists and topical version of the aff. I think that weighing impacts is important. I also just enjoy good case debate. I tend to find consult and and condition CPs to be cheating...but you still have to answer them. You should always answer conditionality.
I really prefer that you are as explicit about HOW you would like for me to evaluate the debate and WHY this approach is best.
Please speak clearly... if you are incomprehensible my flow will not be great and the quality of my evaluation of the round will likely decrease.
NDT debater @ University of Wyoming – 2013-2018. 2x NDT qualifier.
yes email chain - spencerculver1@gmail.com
Short:
Make strong arguments, compare them with other arguments and assess their relative importance in the debate.
Debate how you’d like.
Make complete arguments.
Links are highly important to me, but good impact calculus wins debates.
Top level considerations:
- The winner of a debate is usually the team who has the strongest arguments (duh…). I am more interested in listening to a debate with strongly supported arguments and specific clash than any particular type/category of content in a debate (i.e. I prefer hearing a good debate over hearing one particular style or approach to debate).
- Identifying the important questions / winning the key arguments in a debate is under-done imo. Erring on the side of winning one, two, or three arguments and explaining why those win you the debate is far better than trying to win most of the arguments without explaining how they interact or weighing their importance. Good debaters make choices.
- Not a fan of the offense/defense paradigm. Willing to vote on ‘no risk of a link, impact, etc.’
- “The affirmative has the Burden of Proof to overcome presumption. The team advancing an individual argument has the burden of proof to advance a complete argument. If the significance of that distinction is unclear to you, ask and I can happily explain.” stolen from Travis Cram
- Keys to good speaks: organization/line-by-line proficiency, demonstrating deep knowledge on something relevant to the debate, excelling at cross-ex, humor.
Specific thoughts:
T / Framework: I like T debates. I think that there are ways to affirm the topic that don’t necessitate a traditional plan being read. I’d prefer an affirmative that has content connected with the topic, the more specific the better. I have no presuppositions against either. I spent more time going for T against critical affirmatives than defending critical affirmatives than T, but I think I’m pretty close to the middle on the issue. I tend to prefer clear interpretations with an outlined idea of how debates on the topic would go over vague ‘reasonable’ ones.
DAs: I like ‘em. Link and internal link specificity matters most to me. Warrant and evidence comparison is next in the line of importance. Impact calc wins debates though.
CPs: Having these things is best: a clear-solvency advocate and a world that doesn’t result in the entire aff. Competition is important. Specificity here is important. If it’s a highly nuanced CP, take some time in the 2NC overview to give me some bearings and explain the context.
Critiques: Link and internal link specificity matters to me here, too. Example-driven argument and comparison are very valuable. If the subject matter of the debate is complex, do what you can to make the content more concrete and clear for me.
Case debates: underloved, in my opinion. I like really in-depth case debates. It makes winning on the neg far easier.
Other notes: I have a lot of facial expressions. Paying attention to that could be advantageous. Being courteous is valuable. I don't like prep stealing.
I am as fluid as the room needs me to be.
I'll gladly accept Impact Calc, Logic, Ks, Spreading, CEDA-style, Theory, FIAT, DAs, Ts, and just about everything else.
I look for the quality of the debate, and mark high in forms of forcing clash and counterattacks.
Understand that I am an expert on this content, so I do not need filler or backstory.
I want to see teams take calculated risks and show backbone.
I WILL VOTE AGAINST ABUSIVE MANIPULATION OF TEXT/CARDS/INFORMATION
Best of luck to all!
Email: shawn.daugherty@nkcschools.org (prefer SpeechDrop to email chain due to school computer 'firewall' from overpaid IT staff...)
debated 3 years at Lansing and graduated in 2020
I've been out of debate completely for 2ish years now - this tournament is the first I've judged in a long time so you might want to treat me as a flay judge
yes add me to the chain
email: amberdawsondebate@gmail.com
general
****please don't go card speed in rebuttals
-condo is usually the only reason to reject the team
-judge kick is fine unless otherwise contested
-dont waste cx, have some sort of plan
-more than 6 off starts to get excessive
-for speed, go just a bit slower for online tournaments then you would at a normal one
T
-please slow down on analytics especially in the 1ar and beyond
-I really enjoy t debates and I think sometimes it under utilized as a strategy
-I generally default to competing interps
-2ar/2nr should do a really good job comparing models and case lists are always good, as well as specific examples on the grounds debate on what you lose/gain
-if you're going for reasonability in the 2ar do a good job of explaining what the reasonable interp of your model looks like contextual to competing interps - most important time to do model debate
cp
-process cp's are fine but I don't think 2a's go for theory enough against explicitly cheating cp's - utilize theory if you can
-functional and textual competition is pretty important
-please say counterplan instead of ceepee, it pains me deeply
k
not my specialty especially high theory but,
-specific links are always good
-links of omission probably aren't links - you'd have to do a lot of work to convince me otherwise
-do a lot of work on alt explanation, please don't leave it up to me to make a guess as to what it does
-if you're aff dont forget you have an aff - weigh your impacts
-explain the perm in some capacity in the 2ac - dont shotgun 14 perms in a row - explaining them gives me ink time and means the neg doesnt just have to group them
k aff
-not much to say here, read whatever you're comfortable with but be prepared to do a lot of explaining
-being in the direction of the topic is probably best
v k aff
-i think a lot of the time teams read a k in the 1nc as a throw away arg which is not a good strat - either put a lot more on case or utilize the k you read
-fairness being an impact is a toss up - this one's up to debaters
-have a terminal impact in the 2nr!!
-even if you dont have a lot of cards on the alt, some good analytics will go a long way
Tim Ellis
Head Coach - Washburn Rural High School, Topeka, KS
Email chain - ellistim@usd437.net,
I am the head debate coach at Washburn Rural High School. I dedicate a large portion of my free time to coaching and teaching debate. I will work very hard during debates to keep an accurate flow of what is being said and to provide the best feedback possible to the debaters that are participating. I cannot promise to be perfect, but I will do my best to listen to your arguments and help you grow as a debater, just like I do with the students that I coach at Washburn Rural.
Because I care about debate and enjoy watching people argue and learn, I prefer debates where people respond to the arguments forwarded by their opponents. I prefer that they do so in a respectful manner that makes debate fun. Tournaments are long and stressful, so being able to enjoy a debate round is of paramount importance to me. Not being able to have fun in a debate is not a reason I will ever vote against a team, but you will see your speaker points rise if you seem to be enjoying the activity and make it a more enjoyable place for those you are competing against.
I will do my best to adjudicate whatever argument you decide to read in the debate. However, I would say that I generally prefer that the affirmative defend a topical change from the status quo and that the negative team says that change from the status quo is a bad idea. I am not the best judge on the planet for affs without a plan (see the first part of the previous statement), but I am far from the worst. I am not the best judge on the planet for process counterplans (see the second part of the previous statement), but I am far from the worst. Much like having fun, the above things are preferences, not requirements for winning a debate.
Topic specific things about intellectual property rights:
I will add these later but I thought this shouldn't be written by AI anymore.
I debated for 4 years at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School and 2 years for K-State.
Email: benlengle@gmail.com
For LD thoughts look to the bottom of the paradigm.
Speed is fine, but clarity is more important. If I say "clear" and you don't become more clear I will put my pen down and stop flowing until you do so.
In the era of online debate I ask that you go 70-75% of your max speed.
Clipping is cheating. If a warranted ethics challenge is made, it will be an auto-loss. If not argument is made I will scratch any evidence that was clipped in a speech.
TLDR
Most of my argumentative style deals with the kritik. Policy is great but much like with the k, explain stuff and don't assume I know anything.
Theory
Don't waste your time reading theory arguments that intuitively don't make sense, you aren't prepared to go for, and/or are just a time suck. If you read conditionality you should explain what particular abuse they lead to or what they force you to choose between that results in strat skew. Bad theory arguments can only hurt your speaks. I need pen time or I won't flow your argument. I default to judge kick but making the argument as early as the block makes sleeping at night easier. "New affs bad" prolly isn't a voter.
DAs
They're great. Evidence comparison is important.
CPs
Your CP needs an internal or external net benefit that outweighs a solvency deficit if you want me to vote on it. "Solving the aff better" is not an offensive net benefit. People seem to make competition a very complicated issue. I don't think that textual competition matters that much. "Positional" competition does matter to me. I don't think there is such thing as a "cheating" CP as long as it has a solvency advocate and the affirmative gets to make solvency deficits.
Case
Case debates are good, woefully lacking right now, and can make other arguments easier to go for. I also think that people need to debate the case for K affs in most cases. Even if it's as basic as saying "ontology wrong" or "psychoanalysis bad", say something to mitigate their ability to weigh case against your off case arguments. If there is literally nothing you can say on case without being problematic, point that out on your framework page. I love analytics on case.
T
Your T argument needs to make sense in my mind if you want me to pull the trigger on it. If you see me looking confused in the back, make sure you explain your violation. I default to competing interps unless told otherwise. Aff teams need to explain what they mean by reasonability and how it implicates the rest of the neg's offense.
Ks vs Policy Affs
Don't assume I know the complex theory behind your criticism. I am most familiar with queer theory and settler colonial critiques, but do not assume that I am an expert on either. Your K needs uniqueness, or more specifically how the aff makes things worse than the direction the squo is going or the alt will go. I think the aff, in most instances, gets to weigh the aff. What that means (fiated implementation, research practices, etc.) is up to the debaters.
Additionally, since I primarily read the critique, I will hold debaters to a higher standard in terms of explaining alternative solvency and link stories. Don't think that just because your judge was a K debater that you can get away with just reading the K and winning.
T vs Non-traditional Affs
"The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom" -a fortune cookie
I tend to believe that fairness is not a terminal impact. I have a hard time quantifying it in relation to affirmative turns and disads to framework. You would need some concrete, aggregate data that showed people quitting or however you explain why it matters and exclude any variables that don't deal with critical affirmatives. Clash and iterative education are much easier to win in front of me.
If you are not reading a plan text that says "USfg should" I generally think you are wasting your time trying to meet the neg's interps. You are much better off just impact turning their standards and telling me "maybe our interp is flawed but theirs sucks so much more". Not to say that you can't read redefine "USfg", "restrict", etc. but if you do you need to be ready to debate DAs and mechanism CPs. I do think a counter interp is necessary to win these debates, but I can be convinced otherwise.
I think a lot of policy teams tend to look at a k aff, see it doesn't say "USfg should" and determine framework is the only answer. I implore you to go to the other side of the library and find some good critique of their theory. That could be the cap k or any number of criticisms that impact turn the aff (queer optimism against queer pessimism), but just relying on FW only plays into the hands of these k aff 2As.
While my track record in college is only reading non-traditional affs, don't assume that I won't vote on framework. While I had my reasons for reading a critical affirmative, I probably think that policy affs have some educational value so just be real and tell me why you think your legal education/fairness arguments matter.
Method vs Method
The only question I think teams care about for rev v rev debates concerning judges is whether the aff get's a perm. While I can be persuaded by the argument "no plan = no perm", I generally think that permutations are logical in method debates. That being said if the aff is shifting their advocacy every speech, the argument "no perms in method debates" makes a whole lot more sense.
Here are some miscellaneous tips:
I'm displeased by the way cards are read these days. If you have fortune cookie highlighting and 3 word tags, expect lower speaks. Your tags should make a strong claim with a hint of the warrants in the card, which should be highlighted to include sentences that make sense. When highlighting is like, "heg...key...stop...isis...get...nuc", it shows how little you've invested into your evidence quality.
I generally prefer tech over truth when it comes to competing claims, but my ballot will never say I vote aff/neg because any form of bigotry is good.
Reading structural pessimism arguments (Edelman, Wilderson, etc.) when you not of the structural group your evidence talks about (queer, black, etc.) against someone of that subject position is risky in front of me and kind of uncomfortable. The threshold for commodification or paternalism arguments is really low in these debates.
If you disagree with my decision feel free to ask away after the round. Just be aware that if it isn't on my flow, I don't evaluate it. If I can't explain your arguments back to you/the other team, that's usually your fault and not mine.
LD Paradigm
Value/Criterion Debate- I prefer a simpler debate here and am not a fan of vacuous v/c's. In my experience judging these rounds, they tend to devolve into debates of semantics where people are saying the same things in different ways, or people are making assertions concerning the opponent's v/c without any logic or evidentiary proof. The v/c debate, much like the case debate needs to be warranted, impacted out, and comparative to your opponent's. Refrain from clear hyperbole (e.x. "They justify the Holocaust/slavery").
Case- Aside from problematic arguments (racism, homophobia, sexism good, etc.), I am fine with you reading whatever you please. Do comparative impact work across the AC and NC flows and connect your arguments with the v/c debate and you'll be fine.
Please add me to the email chain: JuTheWho@gmail.com
T-USFG
Impact weighing and comparisons are very important to how I decide these debates. If I think that both teams have some point of offense they are both winning, it makes it difficult to decide these debates if there isn’t any discussion of the other teams impact. If you solve their impacts, your impact turns them, or anything else related to that then please point that out. However, less is more when it comes to the number of impacts you are extending throughout the debate. One really well developed impact or impact turn is much better than three or four less well developed ones.
I also think it’s important for affirmative teams to have a clear tie or relationship with the topic. I find it harder to be persuaded to vote for affirmatives that I don’t think have a lot to do with the topic in some way. How you do this is up to you, but just make it clear to me.
In the past, I have voted on various impacts from and on framework. Personally I have been more of a fan of clash impacts than fairness, but I don’t think that should discourage you from going for whatever impact you feel most comfortable with.
Topicality
More explanation needed if you go for reasonability. Most of the debates I have judged where the aff goes for reasonability are very surface level extensions from the one sentence you said in the 2AC.
DA’s
Not much to say here. Read them and go for them when you can/want to. Where I start evaluating the debate for disad vs. case debates is very dependent on the disad and what arguments you are making a bigger deal about. If there is a lot of push back from the aff on the link and this is where you spend most of your time in the 2nr/2ar, I will probably start by evaluating the debate there. If impacts/their comparisons seem to be where a lot of time is spent, then I will start thinking about that first.
K’s
Debating case is very important. Having arguments that you think not only implicate the aff but also help your links are nice. Sometimes I feel like whenever a team goes for case arguments it feels detached from the rest of the debate on the K. IF you can make them connected somehow that would be good.
Have a reason for going for whatever framework arguments you are going for in the last speeches. This goes for the aff and the neg. So many times I have felt like people are just extending framework because their coaches told them to and not because they think there is reason why it is important for how the judge evaluates arguments at the end of the debate.
If you have a bunch of what seems to be conflicting theories in the cards you are going for and extending on the neg, please make it clear why what you are doing is okay. Alternatively, affirmative teams should be pointing out when they think the things the negative has said don’t make much sense.
CP’s
Again, read them and go for them when you can/want to. I don’t think I have very many predispositions about certain counterplans at this point in time. I think this just means that if you think a certain counterplan automatically beats an affirmative, I would prefer it if you showed it in the arguments you are making and the evidence you are reading. A counterplan that seems to be very solvent when explained, but lacking in evidence or that just generally has under highlighted cards will be harder to win in front of me.
A really good solvency deficit that aligns with whatever advantage you are going for in the 2ar is more important to me than you going for a bunch of different arguments that are less well developed.
Email: ahinecker1@gmail.com
There is no magic way to win a debate, nor a "correct," way of debating. Be persuasive and make arguments that you see as strategic and communicate them effectively. Debate in the end is a communication and research activity - show those elements in the debate and use them to frame and forecast how I will make my decision. Defend what you will defend, just make sure that it is articulated in a manner that can justify a ballot. I enjoy debates that show a lot of ingenuity and predictions in your arguments relative to your opponents. That being said, I love impact turn throw-downs and risky strategies. In the end, you should default to a strategy that you are comfortable with. The only specific I care about is counterplans - I have become increasing persuaded by theory arguments because I think counterplans are getting absolutely out of hand with what they can do. That's all, just remember, this activity is only what you make of it, and it is about more than just winning.
they/them
please add me to chain - jamdebate@gmail.com
important stuff not directly related to my opinions about debate:
climate topic update - i have done no research for it and don’t plan to
ceda 2024 update:
this is my first year judging college debate and kentucky is the only tournament i've judged at. i have not done any topic research for nukes. i've been out of college debate for a few years, but have been consistently coaching and judging high school debate. i am pretty experienced coaching/judging most different types of arguments, but for the past three years have mostly coached teams going for critical arguments. i used to primarily judge policy debates, but now primarily judge clash and kvk debates
please be honest with yourself about how fast you are going. i need pen time! i don't need you to go dramatically slower than you normally would, but please do not drone monotonously through your blocks as if they are card text or i will likely miss some arguments.
if debating online: go slower than usual, especially on theory
how i decide stuff:
i try my best to decide debates strictly based on what is on my flow. i generally try to intervene as little as possible, but i am not a judge that thinks that any argument is true until disproven in the debate. as much as some consider themselves "flow purists," i think every judge agrees with this to a degree. for example, "genocide good" or "transphobia good" etc. are obviously reprehensible arguments that are harmful to include in debate and i won't entertain. that being the case, i have kind of a hard time distinguishing those "obvious" examples from more commonly accepted ones that are, to me, just as harmful and can even be outright genocidal, like first strike counterplans, interventions good, arms sales to israel are good, increasing police funding is good, etc. please ask my questions before the round starts if you have any about this. but the below paragraphs might answer some of them.
despite how the above paragraph might be interpreted, i frequently vote for arguments i don't like, including arguments i think are harmful for debate. at the end of the day, unless something i think drastically requires my intervention, i will try to judge the debate as objectively as i can based on my flow
by default i will vote for the team with the most resolved offense. a complete argument is required to generate offense, so i won't vote for an incomplete argument (e.g. "they dropped x" still needs a proper extension of x with a warrant for why it's true). judge instruction is very important for me. if there is an issue in the debate with little guidance from the debaters on how to resolve it, don't be surprised if there is some degree of intervention so i can resolve it. i will also not vote for an argument that i cannot explain
opinions on specific things:
i am willing to vote on arguments about something that happened outside of the debate, but need those arguments to be backed up with evidence/receipts. this is not because i don't/won't believe you otherwise, but because i don't want to be in the position of having to resolve a debate over something impossible for me to substantiate. i know it’s somewhat arbitrary, but it seems like the least arbitrary way for me to approach these debates without writing them off entirely, which is an approach i strongly disagree with. however, if someone i trust tells me that you are a predator or that you knowingly associate with one, i will not vote for you under any circumstances.
plan texts: if yours is written poorly or intentionally vaguely, i will likely be sympathetic to neg arguments about how to interpret what it means/does. neg teams should press this issue more often
planless affs: i enjoy judging debates where the aff does not read a plan. idc if the aff does not "fiat" something as long as it is made clear to me how to resolve the aff's offense. i am very willing to vote on presumption in these debates and i yearn for more case debating
t-usfg/fw: not my favorite debates. voting record in these debates is starting to lean more and more aff, often because the neg does a poor job of convincing me that my ballot cannot resolve the aff's offense and aff teams are getting better at generating uniqueness. i am less interested in descriptive arguments about what debateis (for example, "debate is a game") and more interested in arguments about what debate ought to be. the answer to that can still be "a game" but can just as likely be something else.
k thoughts: not very good for euro pomo stuff (deleuze, bataille, etc) but good for anything else. big fan of the cap k when it's done well (extremely rare), even bigger hater of the cap k when it's done poorly (almost every cap k ever). if reading args about queerness or transness, avoid racism. i don't mind link ev being somewhat generic if it's applied well. obviously the more specific the better, but don't be that worried if you don't have something crazy specific. i think "links of omission" can be persuasive sources of offense. for the aff, saying the text of a perm without explaining how it ameliorates links does not an argument make
theory: please make sure you're giving me pen time here. i am probably more likely than most to vote on theory arguments, but they are almost always a reason to reject the arg and not the team (obvi does not apply to condo). that being said, you need a warrant for "reject the arg not the team" rather than just saying that statement. not weirdly ideological about condo (i will vote on it)
counterplans/competition: a perm text without an explanation of how it disproves the competitiveness of the counterplan is not a complete argument. by default, i will judge kick the cp if the neg loses it and evaluate the squo as well. aff, if you don't want me to do that, tell me not to
lastly, i try to watch for clipping. if you clip, it's an auto-loss. the other team does not have to call you out on it, but i am much more comfortable voting against a team for clipping if the issue is raised by the other team with evidence provided. if i clear you multiple times and the card text you're reading is still incomprehensible, that's clipping. ethics challenges should be avoided at all costs, but if genuine academic misconduct occurs in a debate i will approach the issue seriously and carefully
avoid saying slurs you shouldn't be saying or you'll automatically lose
Overview: I was a policy debater from KCMO circuit with Pembroke (class of '19). Qualified to NSDA Nats in policy.
General: Feel free to run any args you want, as long as it's clear you understand what you're saying. I'll be able to handle it as long as you provide overviews and explanations. I won't vote for an arg without a warrant/impact. Proper impact calc and framing are a must. Quality > quantity. Don't think sending me a speech doc is a reason to stop enunciating. Tech > truth. You should be writing my ballot for me. CLASH IS KEY.
Speed: Speed is fine. I won't bother flowing if you aren't clear. Keep it simple and go down the flow. Pay attention to what I’m doing (having a computer doesn’t mean you can’t make eye contact) eg if I stop flowing.
Affs: I don't have much experience with K affs, but I don't have anything against them. I've always preferred policy affs.
Disads/CPs: Love them. Down for anything (e.g. topical CPs) but be ready to debate theory on it.
T: Spicy stuff. Love a good T debate, as long as args are well warranted. Don't just yell "reasonability" at me.
Theory: Even spicier stuff. But don't just spread blocks to overload your speech.
*Ask if you want to know anything else*
IMPORTANT: I will automatically vote you down if you are rude, disrespectful, yell over your opponents, or act sexist/racist/discriminatory in any sort of way. I believe in morality in debate. Don’t be a horrible person just to win, because you won’t win my ballot.
Updated pre-greenhill on IPR
Yes email chain-- willkatzemailchain@gmail.com
I am currently a coach at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart full time and very part time at the University of Kansas. I debated in high school at Washburn Rural and in college at the University of Kansas.
I have been actively involved in research for the high school IPR topic and lightly involved in research about college energy topic.
Short Version
I will flow debates on paper and decide debates from my flow. Evidence quality matters a lot to me, as does execution. Debaters that use their paper flows to deliver speeches often impress me a lot.
I prefer debates with a lot of clash over well-researched issues that are germane to the topic. I often vote for arguments that I don't prefer. I do so less often in close debates.
No ad homs/screen shots. Things that happen outside of the debate are not within my jurisdiction. Contact the tournament director or have your coach do it if you aren't comfortable doing so.
Slightly longer version
Everyone must treat all participants in the debate with respect. Speeches are something that I, a high school teacher, should be able to enthusiastically show my administration.
I prefer debates with a lot of clash over well-researched issues that are germane to the topic. I would love to see your core topic da vs case throwdown, your topic-specific mechanism counterplan, or (most of all) your case turn strategy. I might even enjoy your core-of-topic k provided you make link arguments about the aff and have an alternative that actually disagrees with the aff.
Affs:I love big, core of the topic affs. I can even like smaller affs sometimes too. Your aff needs to defend things. Vagueness is not the path to victory with me.
Topicality:I have far fewer pre-dispositions about what is and isn't topical going into the season than usual. I will be interested to see how debates play out over what it means to protect IPR.
Counterplans: I am increasingly opposed to process counterplans. I have historically had an okay record for them, but in close debates, I have voted aff far more than neg. I am equally convinced by "permutation: do the counterplan" and permutations that exercise "limited intrinsicness". Often, teams rush to the latter, but the former is almost always a simpler and clearer path to victory.
Conditionality: I am dangerous to negative teams that flagrantly abuse conditionality. CP'ing out of straight turns, multiple conditional planks, and fiated double turns/contradictions that the aff can't exploit make debate bad. I don't have a hard and fast rule about the number that you can read, but if you have more than 2 or 3 conditional arguments, you would be best served having a robust defense of conditionality.
By default, I care more about the quality of debates than "logic" or "arbitrariness." That doesn't mean I will never care about those things, just that it requires you to robustly develop your impact.
Non-conditionality theory:It can definitely be boring when it is just whining, but I do think there are some things that negative teams fiat that are hard to defend when put under scrutiny. I am not the worst judge in the country to go for a theory argument in front of.
Kritiks: There are K debates on this topic that I am excited to watch. Those K debates will focus on the link and actually talk about what the affirmative does that is wrong. It will focus a lot less on abstract frameworks, theories of power, or generic structures. A few more notes on kritiks:
1. Links aren't alt causes, they are things that the aff does that are bad
2. K's need alts. Framework CAN function as an alt, but then the affirmative obviously gets to permute it and any other deviation from the status quo that the neg defends. To convince me the aff perm doesn't apply, you would need to defend the status quo.
3. Bring back the ethics impact! I am rarely persuaded by a k with an extinction impact because those are usually very easily solved by a permutation. You need an impact to your link, not an impact to your overall structure.
Email: Harunage@gmail.com
I debated 4 years at Washburn Rural. 3 years in DCI. I am okay with moderate speed and okay with any form of argument.
I would like you to let your knowledge derive your logic rather than vice versa. I will vote for the team with the most compelling story. While judging I have noticed debaters tend to give me high-level descriptions of arguments. This is fine when the argument is dropped. If contested I would like you to dive into the details and fish out a logical explanation that makes your argument > other argument.
I do not judge coach or think about debate. your arguments should be communicated clearly. I should believe that you know what you are talking about. If I am confused or unclear on an argument I will not evaluate it. The time to explain a problem depends on the education of the audience, the knowledge and clarity of the speaker, and the complexity of the issue. Your argument may be too complex to provide a satisfactory explanation, your knowledge of the subject may be subpar, you could be very knowledgeable but a poor communicator, or maybe I do not know enough about your argument to understand your argument in 8 minutes. Use your time to synthesize your position not expand it. Debate arguments are simple premises made complex by debaters who do not know what they are talking about.
Arguments based on data are the most compelling.
I will never read evidence unless told to do so.
Clarity in your understanding and clarity in your communication is key :)
The only things you really need to know:
1. If you berate, threaten, verbally or physically attack your opponents, I will end the debate and you'll receive a loss along with the lowest points Tabroom will allow me to assign.
2. Don't endorse self-harm.
3. Arguments admissible for adjudication include everything said from when the 1AC timer starts until the 2AR timer ends. Anything else is irrelevant.
4. I'm unlikely to vote for hidden dropped one line theory arguments. Hidden ASPEC, new affs bad, severance in a voting issue, X random CP type is bad etc. I accept that my commitment to the idea judges should assess debates as technically as possible and this notion might seem contradictory but big debates coming down to these types of arguments makes the activity worse and detracts from my belief that hard work is what should be rewarded.
Other than that, do what you do best. Technical debating is more likely to result in you winning than anything else.
I am a coach at The Harker School. Other conflicts: Texas, Emory, Liberal Arts and Science Academy, St Vincent de Paul, Bakersfield High School.
Email Chain: yes, cardstealing@gmail.com
You will receive a speaker point bump if you give your final rebuttal without the use of a laptop. I will give higher points to speeches with errors/pauses/inconsistencies etc. where the speaker debates off their flows than speeches that sound crystal clear and perfect but are delivered without the speaker looking up from their computer screen. If you flow off your laptop I will use my best judgement to assess the extent to which you're delivering arguments in such a way that demonstrates you have flowed the debate.
Ultimately, do what you do best. Giving speeches you're comfortable with is almost certainly a better path to victory than attempting to adapt to any of this stuff below. Debate is extremely hard and requires immense amounts of works. I will try to give you the same level of effort that I know you've put in.
Debate is an activity about persuasion and communication. If I can't understand your argument because what you are saying because you are unclear, haven't explained it, or developed it into a full argument-claim, warrant, impact, it likely won't factor in my decision.
The winner will nearly always be the team able to identify the central question of the debate first and most clearly trace how the development of their argument means they're ahead on that central question.
Virtually nothing you can possibly say or do will offend me [with the new above caveat] if you can't beat a terrible argument you probably deserve to lose.
Framework- Fairness is both an internal link and an impact. Debate is a game but its also so much more. Go for T/answer T the way that makes most sense to you, I'll do my best to evaluate the debate technically.
Counter-plans-
-spamming permutations, particular ones that are intrinsic, without a text and with no explanation isn't a complete argument. [insert perm text fine, insert counter plan text is not fine].
-pretty neg on "if it competes, its legitimate." Aff can win these debates by explaining why theory and competition should be separated and then going for just one in the 2ar. the more muddled you make this, the better it usually is for the neg.
-non-resolutional theory is rarely if ever a reason to reject the team. Generally don't think its a reason to reject the argument either.
-I'm becoming increasingly poor for conditionality bad as a reason to reject the team. This doesn't mean you shouldn't say in the 2ac why its bad but I've yet to see a speech where the 2AR convinced me the debate has been made irredeemably unfair or un-educational due to the status of counter plans. I think its possible I'd be more convinced by the argument that winning condo is bad means that the neg is stuck with all their counter plans and therefore responsible for answering any aff offense to those positions. This can be difficult to execute/annoying to do, but do with that what you will.
Kritiks
-affs usually lose these by forgetting about the case, negs usually lose these when they don't contextualize links to the 1ac. If you're reading a policy aff that clearly links, I'll be pretty confused if you don't go impact turns/case outweighs.
-link specificity is important - I don't think this is necessarily an evidence thing, but an explanation thing - lines from 1AC, examples, specific scenarios are all things that will go a long way
-these are almost always just framework debates these days but debaters often forget to explain the implications winning their interpretation has on the scope of competition. framework is an attempt to assign roles for proof/rejoinder and while many of you implicitly make arguments about this, the more clear you can be about those roles, the better.
-i'm less likely to think "extinction outweighs, 1% risk" is as good as you think it is, most of the time the team reading the K gives up on this because they for some reason think this argument is unbeatable, so it ends up mattering in more rfds than it should
LD -
I have been judging LD for a year now. The policy section all applies here.
Tech over truth but, there's a limit - likely quite bad for tricks - arguments need a claim, warrant and impact to be complete. Dropped arguments are important if you explain how they implicate my decision. Dropped arguments are much less important when you fail to explain the impact/relevance of said argument.
RVIs - no, never, literally don't. 27 ceiling. Scenario: 1ar is 4 minutes of an RVI, nr drops the rvi, I will vote negative within seconds of the timer ending.
Policy/K - both great - see above for details.
Phil - haven't judged much of this yet, this seems interesting and fine, but again, arguments need a claim, warrant and impact to be complete arguments.
Arguments communicated and understood by the judge per minute>>>>words mumbled nearly incomprehensibly per minute.
Unlikely you'll convince me the aff doesn't get to read a plan for topicality reasons. K framework is a separate from this and open to debate, see policy section for details.
PF -
If you read cards they must be sent out via email chain with me attached or through file share prior to the speech. If you reference a piece of evidence that you haven't sent out prior to your speech, fine, but I won't count it as being evidence. You should never take time outside of your prep time to exchange evidence - it should already have been done.
"Paraphrasing" as a substitute for quotation or reading evidence is a bad norm. I won't vote on it as an ethics violation, but I will cap your speaker points at a 27.5.
I realize some of you have started going fast now, if everyone is doing that, fine. However, adapting to the norms of your opponents circuit - i.e. if they're debating slowly and traditionally and you do so as well, will be rewarded with much higher points then if you spread somebody out of the room, which will be awarded with very low points even if you win.
BVNW '20
GWU '24
*currently helping out BVNW children
she/her
add me to the chain please: emmakingston12@gmail.com
I spent way too long trying to think of things for this and if it makes no sense to you please ask me questions before rounds and I'll answer.
Random Thoughts:
I won't vote on shit out of round.
Please do evidence comparison of some sort.
Spend the 20 secs to read the rehighlightings.
No risk is a thing.
Good analytics can beat trash evidence if you point it out.
Don't speak so fast you become mush mouth- I will clear you like 2-3 times before I just stop flowing.
T:
I default to competing interpretations. I flow on paper, so your gonna have to slow these debates down a lil bit so I can write things down.
Please do impact calc in T debates!!!
Reasonability checks abuse is gonna need some explaining other than those three words coming out of your mouth for me to give it any weight.
T is not an RVI nor is it genocide.
People spread through T blocks like its a 1nr on a ptx da with 50 cards, if you do that, you will get lower speaks and I won't get all the words out of your mouth on the flow. Slow it down please.
Case:
Do what you do. I always tended to read affs in the middle of the topic- so this is probably where I'm most comfortable.
Call out bs internal link chains that 2as tend to get away with.
Please put something other than generic impact d on the case page.
Case turns can be fun and I've had my fair share of spark, dedev, and wipeout debates.
K Affs:
please no
I get prefs don't always get you your favorite judge in the back of the room and I won't drop you just because y'all aren't reading a plan, but if you have me in the back I will need more judge instruction on how to evaluate arguments.
The aff def needs to have some sort of tangible link to the topic for me to vote for it. A good counterinterp + turning neg offense can make a persuasive ballot.
I think I've realized that I have less trouble understanding high theory arguments and more get lost in how they interact in the debate space. Just take the extra step to explain things please.
Explain how the aff actually does something to move away in the squo in some way so I don't have to vote for presumption.
Please do not make your fairness arguments about another team's school, social location, or personal background.
I tend to lean on the side that fairness is an impact, granted I don't think its the strongest one but do with that what you will.
I will reward cool strats against planless affs- that being said I was def a FW/cap debater except for one time where Zaki gave me like 40 cps to read and that was p fun.
Go for a terminal impact in the 2nr against a k aff please- a lot of people forget to do this and make the 2ar a lot easier than it should.
Good case debate in the 2nr vs a K aff can mitigate a lot of offense in my brain, especially if the 2nr is fw.
Debate is probs a game, but whether or not that game spills up is a debate to be had.
Also arguments like debate bad are just not smart and there is better offense in fw debates to use.
rev v rev debates will confuse my tiny brain and I tend to think that there are better strats if you have me in the back.
Ks:
I'm not the best for these debates, I will get basic Ks like security, cap, abolition, etc. but anything high theory and your gonna start to lose me.
The aff almost always gets to weigh the case- so winning a clear link to the plan and indicting their model of FW is probs a good idea if you want my ballot.
Not the biggest fan of large overviews that are longer than like 1-1.5 minutes, try to go in 2ac line-by-line order.
Also, k tricks/k buzzwords will basically get you nowhere unless it goes dropped.
CPs:
fun
I am all for "cheating" CPs. Process, conditions, consult. I love them all. Hot take?: states and parole cps were legit.
I don't really love 2nc cp amendments- I tend to think that 10 secs before a round thinking about wording would solve a lot of this.
CPs in the 1nc where you kick like 20 planks in the block aren't my favorite- but you do you.
DAs:
also fun
I love a good ptx da- especially well-developed ones.
Teams tend to do a lot of turns case analysis for like 10 secs at the top of the flow and then never specify how it implicates the debate in any way, if your gonna turn the case- explain it!! Good turns case analysis, however, can make a close debate turn in your favor.
Offense on DAs makes things fun.
Please kick out of things cleanly so you don't lose yourself a debate on a dropped/poorly answered turn.
I stg all of soph and junior year I went for tax reform and farm bill- so clear internal link chains and nuanced link args will get you far.
Theory:
Condo is probably good- although I do tend to think there is a distinction to be made between like 1 and 9 worlds- however where that brightline is, I'm not quite sure.
^I'm 1-1 in how I vote in condo debates as of now. So I guess if going for condo is the only way out you have in the 2ar go for it.
I'm probably unlikely to reject a team for a lot of theory args other than condo- but I will reject a CP/DA if you debate it well.
Closing Thoughts:
Debate is a pretty damn cool place. That being said please don't say toxic shit in round, I will probably drop you and definitely drop your speaks. ie being racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, etc. ain't cool and I will call you out on it. Also please don't be an ass in cross-ex, that's also not cool. Some people that have influenced my debate career include TEllis, David Kingston, Arvind Shankar, and most of the bvnw squad in general- so if that tells you anything there it is. Also thanks to Lex Barrett, Zaki Mansoor, and Will Soper for making senior year p cool (they probs have influenced my debate thoughts in more ways than id care to admit tbh). Also, Shaurir wanted to be in this for giving me answers to Ks during the season, so thanks ig.
Put me on the email chain brett.krambeer@gmail.com
four years in high school at Hutchinson High School (KS)
two years in college at The University of North Texas
Currently debating at Emporia Sate University (Stingers Down!)
Assistant coach for Lawrence High School (KS) for two years
Current assistant coach for Emporia High School (KS)
This happens more often than anyone wants to admit: If anyone in the room has made an offensive comment of a severe degree I will automatically vote against you. If an argument is not made in the debate about the comment, I will still vote against you if I subjectively decide it warrants that response. Your speaks will suffer regardless. I will only stop the debate if I am asked to by a debater, if I am I will.
Other than that, have fun and be nice to each other. You should do what you do, I'll adapt to you. I am comfortable with most everything. With that being said, I wish people did a better job of starting off slower, give me a sec to adjust to your voice by starting off at like 85% speed or so.. Especially if you're starting off with a theory or T argument.
An argument is a claim and a warrant. You need to win an argument AND a reason why that argument means I should vote for you. Don't just throw a bunch of cards at me, it makes me sad. I think the most important speeches are the rebuttals, write my ballot for me.. I like to be lazy, tell me what I'm voting on and why. I don't like reading evidence after a debate, I won't unless I have to or am told to.
I tend to be swayed by well-explained turns case arguments. Tell me how different flows and arguments interact with each other. I wish more people read impact turns.
Making choices is good.. I wont judge kick an alt or CP unless I am told to.
Specific arguments
Kritiks: I am most likely to vote for a K with a specific link and a well explained alternative (Do not assume I understand your alternative) and how it solves the aff/affs impacts. Furthermore, I think impact framing arguments are also very important and needs to be clearly extrapolated because I will use that to frame the rest of the debate.
Planless Aff’s: You do you, I have less experience with this style of affirmative. Yes, I will vote on impact turns to T.
Paradigm
Email: Krousekevin1@gmail.com
Background:
Coaching:
Olathe North Assistant Debate Coach (2024-present) - Policy Debate
Simpson College Assistant Debate Coach (2024-present) - LD focus
Olathe East Assistant Debate and Forensics Coach (2017-2024) - Policy and LD focus
Debate experience:
4 years competing in Policy and LD in High School
3 years competing in College Parli debate (NPTE/NPDA circuit)
If you only read one thing on this paradigm, it should be my thoughts below on extending arguments:
Extend your arguments. Extend your arguments. EXTEND YOUR ARGUMENTS! (THIS IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME THAN WHAT TYPE OF ARGUMENT YOU READ) Some of the debates I've watched this year have me so frustrated cuz you'll just be absolutely crushing in parts of the debate but just not extend other parts needed to make it relevant. For example, I've seen so many teams going for framework this year where the last rebuttals are 5 minutes of standards and voters and just no extension of an interp that resolves them. Or 2ARs that do so much impact calc and impact-turns-the-DA stuff that they never explain how their aff resolves these impacts so I'm left intervening and extending key warrants for you that OR intervening and voting on a presumption argument that the other team doesn't necessarily make. So err on the side of over extending arguments and take advantage of my high threshold and call out other teams bad argument extension to make me feel less interventionist pulling the trigger on it. What does this mean? Arguments extended should have a claim and a warrant that supports that claim. If your argument extension is just name dropping a lot of authors sited in previous speeches, you're gonna have a bad time during my RFD. The key parts of the "story" of the argument need to be explicitly extended in each speech. For example, if you're going for T in the 2NR then the interp, violation, the standard you're going for, and why it's a voter should be present in every neg speech. Whatever advantage the 2AR is going for should include each part of of the 'story' of aff advantage (uniqueness, solvency, internal link, impact) and I should be able to follow that back on my flow from the 1AR and 2AC. If the 2AR is only impact outweighs and doesn't say anything about how the aff solves it, I'm partial to voting neg on a presumption ballot
Ways to get good speaks in front of me:
-Extend your arguments adequately (see above paragraph) and callout other teams for insufficient extensions
-Framing the round correctly (identifying the most relevant nexus point of the debate, explain why you're winning it, explain why it wins you the round)
-Doc is sent by the time prep ends
-One partner doesn't dominate every CX
-Send pre-written analytics in your doc
-At least pretend to be having fun lol
-Clash! Your blocks are fine but debates are SOOO much more enjoyable to watch when you get off your blocks and contextualize links/args to the round
-Flow. If you respond to args that were in a doc but weren't actually read, it will hurt your speaks
-Utilize powerful CX moments later in the debate
-If you have a performative component to your kritital argument, explain it's function and utilize it as offense. So many times I see some really cool poetry or something in 1ACs but never get told why poetry is cool/offense and it feels like the aff forgets about it after the 2AC. If it's just in the 1AC to look cool, you were probably better off reading ev or making arguments. If it's there for more than that, USE IT!
Speed:
I can keep up for the most part. Some teams in the national circuit are too fast for me but doesn't happen often. If you think you're one of those teams, go like an 8/10. Slow down for interps and nuanced theory blocks (ESPEICALLY IF THEY ARENT IN THE DOC). 10 off rounds are not fun to watch but you do you.
Argument preferences:
In high school, I preferred traditional policy debate. In college I read mostly Ks. I studied philosophy but don't assume I know everything about your author or their argument. Something that annoys me in these debates is when teams so caught up in buzzwords that they forget to extend warrants. EXTEND YOUR ARGUMENTS. Not just author names, but extend the actual argument. Often teams get so caught up in line by line or responding to the other team that they don't extend their aff or interp or something else necessary for you to win. This will make me sad and you disappointed in the RFD.
I'd rather you debate arguments you enjoy and are comfortable with as opposed to adapting to my preferences. A good debate on my least favorite argument is far more preferable than a bad debate on my favorite argument. I'm open to however you'd like to debate, but you must tell me how to evaluate the round and justify it. Justify your methodology and isolate your offense.
I don't judge kick CPs or Alts, the 2NR should either kick it or go for it. I'm probably not understanding something, but I don't know what "judge kick is the logical extension of condo" means. Condo means you can either go for the advocacy in the 2nr or not. Condo does not mean that the judge will make argumentative selection on your behalf, like judge kicking entails.
K affs- I don't think an affirmative needs to defend the resolution if they can justify their advocacy/methodology appropriately and generate offense against the resolution. I wish negs going for framework did more work explaining how the TVA articulated is sufficient instead of just reading their blocks with random TVAs v K aff, these debates are often shallow and too generic. I think being in the direction of the resolution makes the debate considerably easier for the aff as opposed to a full rejection of the topic, but I've voted for both a decent amount. I wish more negs would engage with the substance of the aff or innovated beyond the basic cap/fw/presumption 1nc but I've vote for this plenty too. I have recently been convinced that fairness can be impacted out well, but most time this isn't done so it usually functions as an internal link to education.
Document sharing:
I have no preference on email chain or speechdrop, but it does irritate me when debaters wait until the round is supposed to be started before trying to figure this stuff out.
Ev Quality:
I'm of the opinion that one good card can be more effective if utilized and analyzed well than 10 bad/mediocre cards that are just read. At the same time, I think a mediocre card utilized strategically can be more useful than a good card under-analyzed. I don't go back and thoroughly re-read every piece of evidence after the round unless it is a card that has become a key point of contestation.
Any other questions, feel free to ask before the round.
LD Paradigm:
I've coached progressive and traditional LD teams and am happy to judge either. You do you. I don't think these debates need a value/criterion, but the debates I watch that do have them usually don't utilize them well. I'm of the opinion that High School LD time structure is busted. The 1AR is simply not enough time. The NFA-LD circuit in college fixed this with an extra 2 minutes in the 1AR but I haven't judged a ton on this circuit so how that implicates when arguments get deployed or interacts with nuanced theory arguments isn't something I've spent much time thinking about. To make up for this bad time structure in High School LD, smart affs should have prempts in their 1AC to try and avoid reading new cards in the 1AR. Smart negs will diversify neg offense to be able to collapse and exploit 1AR mistakes. Pretty much everything applies from my policy paradigm but Imma say it in bold again because most people ignore it anyways: EXTEND YOUR ARGUMENTS. Not just author names, but extend the actual claim and warrant. Often teams get so caught up in line by line or responding to the other team that they don't extend their aff or interp or something else necessary for you to win. This will make me sad and you disappointed in the RFD.
-top-
tldr: read whatever you want but policy is my forte - feel free to email me if you have questions
put me on the email chain: d3lett@gmail.com
call me dom and use they/them pronouns
wichita state university: 2018-now
coach at maize high school
-o/v-
certain issues can and should supersede tech such as clipping cards or egregious ethics violations - however, most debates i judge don't involve those issues - i default to tech over truth - initially evaluating presented arguments at equal merit is the most consistent, impartial mechanism i've found to provide competitive equity - evidence matters a lot to me - i tend to think specificity and author qualification should act as a filter for claims/warrants
clash is crucial - how you prioritize arguments alters how i connect the dots to determine a decision - provide judge instruction and organization - the more you focus on explicitly characterizing the direction of the debate, the more my rfd will sound like your 2nr/2ar
i reward nuance and depth - more pages covered tends to mean less time developing substance/structure - narrowing the debate allows for greater engagement - impacting out warrants makes comparison for me much easier
insert graph joke here
-fw-
i tend to think resolutional action is good but i can be convinced otherwise - capacity to debate matters to me - it's why clash is possible - limits and grounds are good - they provide the foundation for clash - portable skills/subject formation are important, but i'm not sure i understand why it's unique to debate - the interp is your model of debate - defend it - definitions are vital in helping me understand your model's mandates/effects
for the aff: explaining how your counterinterp uniquely generates offense (e.g. explaining why affs under your interp are important) and generates defense (e.g. quantifying affs under your interp) help me conceptualize weighing clash vs your model - i appreciate the "no perms and you get links to your disads" strategy - it seems to resolve a substantive portion of clash offense but becomes less convincing the more generic neg ground is eliminated
for the neg: explaining internal link turns are important - quantifying limits/grounds to demonstrate loss of clash is helpful - procedural fairness/switch side is often a compelling way to frame decision-making, but i'm not opposed to the mechanism education style fw if that's your expertise - the tva is a useful defensive resource but requires development and evidence
-t-
many of my preferences for fw apply here
reasonability makes little sense as an argument in and of itself - read it as a limits bad arg (argument diversity, topic development, research innovation, etc) - arguments for interp precision are often pretty compelling
-disad/case-
i like detailed link/impact explanations - focus on evidence comparison will be rewarded
-cp-
i like solvency advocates (someone who proposes a process of achieving an action to fix a problem) - read them - the more specific, the more legitimate and likely to solve
-k-
it's probably safe to assume i lack familiarity with the nuances of your chosen field of critical theory - do not read suffering/death good - specific link application (e.g. circumvention/internal link turns) and alt explanation will help guide my decision calculus - the aff should get to weigh the plan
-soft left affs-
the cohn card alone will likely never convince me disads should go away - it makes a lot of sense to me to go for critiques of da's/cp's - critical strategies (e.g. technocracy bad) and scenario planning indicts (e.g. tetlock and bernstein) are applicable - i have more experience with the latter
-theory-
actually engaging in their theory block results in better args, lends credibility, and will be rewarded - most theory doesn't justify rejecting the team - whatever your proposed remedy is, providing a justification for it will be appreciated
condo is maybe good - i like the idea of reciprocity, but aff variety makes being neg tough - if you're aff, i find substance args more compelling than advocacy stuff - if you're neg, i find strategic flex args more compelling than critical thinking stuff
-other thoughts-
misc - don't worry about visual feedback - i'm always tired - i will clear you however many times i feel necessary - please try to increase volume/clarity in front of me as much as you can - feel free to alert me of any concerns about structural impediments you experience that could implicate how i evaluate the round so i can accommodate accordingly
cross-ex - i think anything goes in cross-ex as long as it's the 'asking team' - reading cards, taking prep, bathroom break, whatever - i think the 'responding team' is generally obligated to answer questions if asked - if you ignore and it's not reasonable, you will lose speaks
inserting arguments - generally fine as long as you explain thoroughly - graphs/diagrams/screenshots are cool - i'm far more skeptical of rehighlighted evidence
new arguments - they're almost always justified in response to new args - i grant more leeway to 2nc shenanigans than the 1nr - i think that 1ar's get the most leeway bc of structural time disadvantages and inevitable block creativity
--CX/LD--
-Email me your speeches at lin.andy@berkeley.edu
-Prep ends when the speeches are sent, and talking outside of it will lose you speaker points.
-Spreading is fine, but if you're incoherent I'll let you know only after your speech ends so watch yourself.
-I'm fine with any argument, and I'll almost always weigh tech>>truth, but you'll have a harder time convincing me of the solvency of your kritik alt than with a well-argued disad. If you lose the solvency debate on the kritik, I'm going to treat it like a very weak disad.
-If you read a k-aff, I will default debate is a game unless you convince me otherwise.
-If the flow is unreadable and there isn't enough clash on either side, I will default neg - the 2AR has a chance to clean up while the neg doesn't.
-If you clip cards, that's an immediate loss and zero speaker points.
I'm extremely flow-oriented. Good clash and line-by-line will make your rounds 10x more winnable with me. If there's clash, good weighing will also be necessary to win debates, you'll make me very happy if you do good impact calc on every flow.
Theory- I'll judge theory debates based on the flow, but will ignore it altogether if an in-round impact isn't substantiated. (I always enjoy a well-argued Topicality argument, however.) Don't flood the debate with a laundry list of theory offense though because it will immediately lose you speaks and potentially the round because I'm much less inclined to weigh any of it.
History- I debated for 3 years in Highschool and am starting debate in college as a 2N. I am, however, currently unfamiliar with the literature in this year's topic so I will be judging your evidence on substance rather than otherwise staple tagline arguments.
--Parliamentary/Congress--
-please don't read topicality unless you think it's a very convincing and easy sell. Specifically for parliamentary, I think it's almost always a waste of time.
-Points of privilege and points of order are unlikely voting points for me
-Spreading is fine, but clarity should be prioritized
-If you have time, answer POI's or I'll probably dock points.
-One well-supported link chain is better than several convoluted ones.
Debated four years at Maize High School '20
Former assistant coach at Wichita East High School '20-'21
Duke 2024 (not debating)
Add me to the chain: jason.g.lin20@gmail.com
NCFL - PFD
There are 2 rules in PFD
-No Ks
-No Spreading
Overall
*I'm 2 years out from thinking about policy debate, so I will struggle some to keep up with national circuit speed. I will try my best. Decisions will also likely take longer. I can still watch lectures on 1.75x at least, #PortableSkills.
Tech > Truth, and evidence quality matters to me. I find a lot of cards are atrociously highlighted. That said, I don't wish to read through all your cards; Make arguments about them, so I don't need to default to ev.
Clarity > Speed - note, this is even more true for online debate. Speed = # of ideas effectively communicated to the judge.
Don't clip/steal prep. Let me emphasize again -- DON'T CLIP, actually physically mark cards when you say to mark cards. Stealing prep after a warning has great speaker point consequences.
Evidence comparison/argument resolution good. Shadow extension/no clash bad.
I would rather listen to a politics+CP debate than a kritik debate, but I would also rather listen to you debating your strongest argument than you adapting to my preferences. Ks must pass the make sense test
A well explained, logical, argument trumps an unexplained argument merely extended by its "card name"
Cross x is a speech-I figure it in as a substantial factor in speaker points
DA
- Disads are about story telling - If I can't explain the story of the DA back to you then I won't vote on it.
- I think link debates require the most skill, and I will focus on it heavily. Many internal links also are often sus but overlooked.
- Do turns case and comparative impact calc. Canned overviews without any change round-to-round are bad. Judge instruction is good. Impact calc about risk is also pretty convincing since I'm often left with two existential impacts
CP
- Great, but like most judges, I prefer case-specific over generic counterplans, but we can’t always get what we want.
- CP's like consult or conditions that compete off certainty aren't great, but the aff can't blow it completely off either
- Floating PICs/Word PICs are pretty iffy for the neg--reading it as a K should solve most of the education impact, but I have yet to see many of these debates
T/Theory
- Blocks are good but no substitute for the line-by-line.
- I find a bunch of T-interps are arbitrary. Precision/predictability should prolly outweigh a marginal limits impact. However, negs that coherently connect their interpretation, violation, and standards with tangible impacts will be rewarded
- Default condo good. Somewhat high threshold, but I do recognize how forcing the aff to double turn themselves can (debatably) be problematic
- Perf Con is better utilized as a solvency takeout rather than a theoretical issue
FW
- Impact calc matters a bunch here; offense is key.
- I read both fairness and education impacts, and I don't have a strong preference for either against K affs.
- K affs in the direction of the topic are better for me
- new-ish to these debates
K
- I most likely only have a surface level understanding of your Kritik. Even less for postmodernist theories. More common K's like Cap and Security make more sense to me.
- Impact turning is often underutilized. Extinction first/heg good can be persuasive if done right
- Go more in-depth with each aff argument rather than shotgunning a billion perms. That increases my burden on the negative to disprove your arguments
Been involved with the game in some way since 2008, do as you wish and I shall evaluate it in the way that I feel requires the least interference from myself.
Put me on the chain please: debate.emails@gmail.com, for the most part I do not look at the documents other than some cursory glances during prep time if a card intrigues me. I still may ask for specific cards at the end of the debate so I do not need to sort through each document, I appreciate it in advance.
I believe that debate is a communication activity with an emphasis on persuasion. If you are not clear or have not extended all components of an argument (claim/warrant/implication) it will not factor into my decision.
I flow on paper, it is how I was taught and I think it helps me retain more information and be more present in debates. Given that I would appreciate yall slowing down and giving me pen time on counterplan texts and theory arguments (as well as permutations).
The most important thing in debates for me is to establish a framework for how (and why) I should evaluate impacts. I am often left with two distinct impacts/scenarios at the end of the debate without any instruction on how to assess their validity vis-à-vis one another or which one to prioritize. The team that sets this up early in the debate and filtering the rebuttals through it often gets my ballot. I believe that this is not just true of “clash” debates but is (if not even more) an important component of debates where terminal impacts are the same but their scenarios are not (ie two different pathways to nuclear war/extinction).
While I think that debate is best when the affirmative is interacting with the resolution in some way I have no sentiment about how this interaction need to happen nor a dogmatic stance that 1AC’s have a relation to the resolution. I have voted for procedural fairness and have also voted for the impact turns. Despite finding myself voting more and more for procedural fairness I am much more persuaded by fairness as an internal link rather than terminal impact. Affirmative’s often beat around the bush and have trouble deciding if they want to go for the impact turn or the middle ground, I think picking a strategy and going for it will serve you best. A lot of 2NRs squander very good block arguments by not spending enough time (or any) at the terminal impact level, please don’t be those people. I also feel as if most negative teams spend much time reading definitions in the 1NC and do not utilize them later in the debate even absent aff counter definitions which seems like wasted 1NC time. While it does not impact how I evaluate the flow I do reward teams with better speaker points when they have unique and substantive framework takes beyond the prewritten impact turn or clash good blocks that have proliferated the game (this is also something you should be doing to counter the blocktastic nature of modern framework debates).
It would behove many teams and debaters to extend their evidence by author name in the 2NR/2AR. I tend to not read a large amount of evidence and think the trend of sending out half the 1AC/1NC in the card document is robbing teams of a fair decision, so narrowing in and extending the truly relevant pieces of evidence by author name increases both my willingness to read those cards and my confidence that you have a solid piece of evidence for a claim rather than me being asked to piece together an argument from a multitude of different cards.
Prep time ends when the email has been sent (if for some reason you still use flash drives then when the drive leaves the computer). In the past few years so much time is being spent saving documents, gathering flows, setting up a stand etc. that it has become egregious and ultimately feel limits both decision time and my ability to deliver criticism after the round. Limited prep is a huge part of what makes the activity both enjoyable and competitive. I said in my old philosophy that policing this is difficult and I would not go out of my way to do it, however I will now take the extra time beyond roadmaps/speech time into account when I determine speaker points.
I find myself frustrated in debates where the final rebuttals are only about theory. I do not judge many of these debates and the ones I have feel like there is an inevitable modicum of judge intervention. While I have voted for conditonality bad several times, personally my thought on condo is "don't care get better."
Plan-text writing has become a lost art and should invite negative advocacy attrition and/or substantive topicality debates.
Feel free to email or ask any questions before or after the debate. Above all else enjoy the game you get to play and have fun.
-------------------
Experience:
Competitor-- Winston Churchill (2008-2012)
Assistant Coaching--
Past: Jenks (2012-2015) Reagan (2015-2017) Winston Churchill (2018-2023)
Currently: Texas (2017-present)
Blue Valley Northwest '20
KU '24
Coached @ Blue Valley Northwest
Debated @ KU
alot of my debate opinions come from my friends arvind shankar, william soper, lex barrett, and zakariya ahmed
I care a lot more about the flow and technical execution than whatever style of arguments you make. You should read what you feel most comfortable with rather than catering your debating to me. I read primarly K arguments in highschool and read policy arguments in college. I lean alot more policy nowadays. I don’t know anything about the topic so I’ll spend time reading through the cards a bit longer.
The name of this activity is policy debate. As such to win you must debate about policies. I think DA's and CP's can debate about policies just as much as a good K with specific links can, so dont be deterred from reading what you are good at. However, arguments that are completely extraneous to the topic should not be read, whether thats the aff or the neg. I prefer in-depth case debates, with author indicts, and good evidence comparision rather than long drawn out overviews that avoid clash.
Heres some old stuff from when I was judging more often that might help but its been a pretty long time lol:
Policy v Policy: 4(Aff) - 3(Neg) - I enjoy these debates the most. I have voted on T a couple of times and am persuaded by limits arguments even if the interp was somewhat arbitrary. I have never voted on presumption or considered risk to be zero absent arguments resolved by fiat. I have voted on theory but absolutely did not enjoy it, and solely did it because it was not responded to. Framing contentions are best when they are not just dumped with random cards, rather ones that are specficic to the aff. Big stick affs are substantially better than soft left in these debates. It would be beneficial for you to read complete arguments. I am sympathetic to 2A's shrugging off incomplete 2 card DA's and 1 card K's. If the DA is bad it prob needs a CP. Nonetheless, I see the strategic benefit of trying to flood the 2AC. Teams need to read more adv CP’s to test internals. Process CP debates are fun if both teams understand what’s going on. Most high schoolers don’t so it’s not fun.
Policy v K: 1 (Aff) - 2 (Neg) - When I voted aff it was because the permutation solved the links and had multiple net benefits. Not saying multiple net benefits are necessary however they help outweigh any residual links of the K. When I voted neg, the neg had won a larger theory of power to explain how the world operated, and won framework offense. That being said I was very persuaded by aff arguments defending their specific method of discourse through carded evidence. Teams that read specific K's to the actual componenets of the 1AC will be rewarded, and in those debates Aff's doubling down and defending their reps as good with external impacts instead of wasting time with fwk will also be rewarded. In scenarios where it’s a fiat K, aff teams should not have trouble winning framework. A lot of teams end up having trouble answering fwk because the neg throws around complicated words and then the block and 2NR say aff dropped “offense”. Most of the time it is not actual offense but recognizing this is the tough part. When in doubt frame it through fairness, plan focus good, clash, education etc. That encompasses a lot.
Planless v K: 0 (Aff) - 1 (Neg) - The negative won by creating clear competition and having a broader explanation of how the aff's violence operates with a clear external impact and materially explained alternative. Aff's should be able to sidestep alot of links with strong explanations of the permutation and their theory of power in general in order to win.
Planless v T: 4 (Aff) - 3 (Neg) - The affirmative won by generating impact turns based off the 1AC but also playing defense to alot of the negatives topicality claims. Another round the affirmative counter defined the words of the rez and had sufficient offense based around thier defs. I told the negative that they failed to explain why the affirmative's interpreation specifically is unlimting and lacked offense intrinsic to thier model of debate. It is tough for me to see a legitimate aff interp that solves the negs offense but its not impossible. Good responses to "debate has competitve incentives" and real answers to fairness should be priortized sufficiently by the aff because those on face value are very convincing to me. The more I watch and judge these debates the more I realize the strategic utility of fairness a lot more than clash. And the impact turns to fairness are substantially worse than the impact turns to clash so going for fairness in front of me is most likely better.
Speaker Points
-i decide speaker points
-be funny and youll get extra points
-be cringey and youll lose extra points
Max McCarty
---updated before BVSW 2024---
Put me on the email chain maxwell[dot]mccarty[at]gmail[dot]com
Debate Experience
I debated at BVSW in high school, focusing on the TOC circuit during my senior year, where we consistently cleared. In college, I competed for a year at UTD, attending all major tournaments as well as some local D3 events. From 2018-2019, I worked at the SDI as a debate judge and speech reviewer. Over the past 6+ years, I’ve been actively coaching high school debate, first at LFS until the 2022-2023 season and now at BVN. Throughout my coaching journey, I’ve worked with students at all levels, from novices to some of the top competitors in the country.
--Top level things --
At the end of the day, this is a communication activity!
- Reading paragraphs of analytics at full speed will get you no where. I think that students find that if "they put them in the doc" all is forgiven. I could care less, I am flowing your speech, not the doc.
- Means that cards should be highlighted appropriately - I grow increasingly frustrated when reading cards that are incoherent because they consist of a bunch highlighted sentence fragments.
- Line by Line and direct clash has to happen! The more the better! Large overviews are often confusing and messy. As they are arguments that could be contextually explained far better doing line by line and comparative analysis than the same overview every speech.
- Specificity matters, I see this in both "ideological types" of debate. For policy teams an example is: reading 10 cards to prove a link to a bad PTX da in the block is fine, but at some point quality analytical spin that tells me why they matter or interact with specific portions, mechanisms, results, etc of the aff is equally as valuable. For K teams, an example is impact explanations, how they interact with the specifics of the aff, round, what it means for the specific debate are important as I often find these explanations to be vague.
- not great/terrible for K v K debates, would rather be upfront for you. Doesn’t mean that I won't try my hardest for you all but it has never been in my realm of expertise, link/perm work is a must, with more explanation than you usually might do
- I will not evaluate arguments about an individual's character or behavior that occurred outside of the debate. Serious, good faith concerns should be brought to the tournament administration, not to the judge of a debate, if you have issue before the round, tournament, etc.
Tech > Truth
T: As mentioned I have little to no experience with this topic, for T debates that means I need more explanation of what what they competing versions of the topic look like. I think the internal link and impact level of these debates often gets lost, and because of that I found reasonability to be more compelling than I used to in some debates.
Theory: I would certainly prefer to judge debates about the substance of the aff vs the neg, however theory debates are inevitable and here are some quick thoughts:
- I think more teams should go for it, but it should be unique to the debate. I find general arguments of copy and pasted blocks through each speech rather boring and repetitive, and will often conclude there is little offense to reject another team or argument on this. Ways you can fix this, make it unique to the debate ie: "it is not just that they read 4 condo, but the nature of all 4 "doing the whole aff", in tandem with how "CP competition works on this topic makes it uniquely bad..."
- I do generally find condo to be good, doesn’t mean I wont vote for it but it should have nuance to it vs passed down blocks.
FW:
I generally think affs should be about hypothetical government action on the topic. However that is my opinion and I will do my best to leave it at the door. I tend to vote 50/50 in these debates here are something that may be helpful for you.
- I generally find arguments about fairness compelling vs arguments about truth testing etc.
- I think clash in these debates are good. Teams need to apply their arguments to what has happened in round. This means you probably shouldn't be reading the same blocks every debate. If your aff this means a 1ar that is contextual to the block. If your neg this means actually answering the DAs the 2ac read etc.
- round vision and the ballot: I should know what voting aff or neg does. A lot of the time this is likely done via impact calc but can often be lost and makes it much harder. By the end of the 2ar I shouldn’t have to re read the 1ac to determine that or by the end of the 2nr I should have to re read the 1nc to determine that etc.
DAS:
They are great, Impact calc is great it should be done! Link arguments are only as specific or generic as you make them. If you read a generic one that is fine, but spin can make it more specific etc. Same is true with link and internal link defense.
CP:
I love them, they should probably compete with the aff. That can certainly be a debate to be had, but generally I find that in debates where teams are technically equal the truth of the argument typically shapes that tech.
Ks:
I think of Ks as a cp with a net benefit, the more specific it is to the aff the more likely I am to vote on it. In general, I am probably not the best for these debates outside of more "basic" ones (Cap, Security, Set-Col). This is because I’m not well read in lit at all. Does not mean I have not judged many debates outside of that, but with me being so much less involved than I used to and never reading that type of literature I would rather be upfront. If your argument falls outside of the above, ways you can help me are context, specificity, and direct clash and line by line. First and foremost I have to have an understanding by the end of the round what the specific link to the aff is, and how the alternative resolves it. Second, direct clash and line by line works in your favor as it helps me more clearly see where you are winning offense and adds to your explanations.
More general comments here - I think you should have a somewhat specific link to the aff. I do feel like at the end of the debate the aff should get to weigh the 1ac, in what context is up for debate but im very hard to convince otherwise. Link of omissions are nonstarters. the My advice is go for what you are most comfortable with and I will do my best as a judge to leave my biases at the door and evaluate the debate.
Case debate:
This is is a lost art. I think more teams need to be willing to engage with the aff. This can be done on a substance level, impact turns, smart analytical arguments, theory, etc. I have no issue with the neg reading as many offcase args as you want, but if you are doing so at the expense of a well developed case debate than don’t be surprised if I conclude a high risk of the aff, when there is little engagement with it.
Other things/pet peeves
-I think there is a fine line between being an ass and being competitive. If done well your speaks will be rewarded but if done wrong you will not be happy with them rule of thumb don’t be an ass, be respectful and have fun.
-physically mark your cards. if you do not and another team asks for a marked copy I will make you take prep within my arbitrary judgement of what that is.
- you must physically read the rehighlighting of the other teams cards simply saying “I have inserted a rehighlighting here” is not an argument in any sense please read the card. The only exception to this is if it is a small part of a card and you have explained the argument it makes in your speech.
-Clipping will result with a loss with 0 speaks. I do follow along in speech docs so if I see you doing it I won’t hesitate. If you call someone out for it you must have audio evidence of it.
Ryan McFarland
Debated at KCKCC and Wichita State
Two years of coaching at Wichita State, 3 years at Hutchinson High School in Kansas, two years at Kapaun Mt. Carmel, now at Blue Valley Southwest.
email chain: remcfarland043@gmail.com, bvswdebatedocs@gmail.com
Stop reading; debate. Reading blocks is not debating. You will not get higher than a 28.3 from me if you cant look away from your computer and make an argument.
I've seen deeper debates in slow rounds than I've seen in "fast" rounds the last couple years. "Deep" does not mean quantity of arguments, but quality and explanation of arguments.
Talk about the affirmative. I've judged so many debates the last couple years where the affirmative is not considered after the 1AC. Impact defense doesn’t count. I don't remember the last time my decision included anything about impact defense that wasn't dropped.
2024-2025 things ----
I haven't done as much topic reading at this point in the year as I have in the past. I think the topic is incredibly boring and neg args are pretty bad. I think the K links are much more persuasive this year than previously. I'm not sure how I feel about being very anti-process/ridiculous advantage counterplans in a world where the best DA is court clog, but I could see myself being much more sympathetic to negative teams in this regard. That said, I still think affirmative teams should get good at theory against these arguments.
I've left my paradigm from last year below. That should still filter how you pref me, but I will likely find the K much more strategic and persuasive, which is probably the most significant change.
Old ----
I am not a fan of process counterplans. I’m not auto-vote against them, but I think they’ve produced a lazy style of debating. I don’t understand why we keep coming up with more convoluted ways to make non-competitive counterplans competitive instead of just admitting they aren’t competitive and moving on with our lives.
I'm not good for the K. I spent most of my time debating going for these arguments, have coached multiple teams to go for them, so I think I understand them well. I've been trying to decide if it's about the quality of the debating, or just the argument, but I think I just find these arguments less and less persuasive. Maybe its just the links made on this topic, but it's hard for me to believe that giving people money, or a job, doesn't materially make peoples lives better which outweighs whatever the impact to the link you're going for. I don't think I'm an auto-vote aff, but I haven't voted for a K on this topic yet.
If you decide to go for the K, I care about link contextualization much more than most judges. The more you talk about the aff, the better your chances of winning. I dislike the move to never extend an alternative, but I understand the strategic choice to go for framework + link you lose type strategies.
An affirmative winning capitalism, hegemony, revisionism true/good, etc. is a defense of the affirmatives research and negative teams will have a hard time convincing me otherwise.
I think K affirmatives, most times, don't make complete arguments. They often sacrifice solvency for framework preempts. I understand the decision, but I would probably feel better about voting for an affirmative that doesn't defend the topic if it did something.
Zero risk is real. Read things other than impact defense. Cross-ex is important for creating your strategy and should be utilized in speeches. Don’t be scared to go for theory.I will not vote on something that happened outside of a debate, or an argument that requires me to make a judgement about a high school kid's character.
Don't clip. Clarity issues that make it impossible to follow in the doc is considered clipping.
Email: mjmcmahon3739@gmail.com
Assistant coach for Blue Valley North
Debated 4 years at Blue Valley North, currently in 4th year at Kansas
One thing that may be instructive for having me as a judge is my speaker points are equally likely to reflect how much I enjoyed judging a debate as the skill of each debater. Debate is a fun activity. The most fun debates are ones where debaters are engaged, impassioned, and noticeably enjoying what they’re doing. I love seeing debaters smile and give speeches like they have a personal investment in what they’re saying. I know debate is hard and tiring and takes a lot of work and detracts from school. But you’re here for a reason, and if I can infer that reason during the debate, I’ll reward you for it and everyone will have a better time!
Here are some opinions I have about arguments and the state of debate. None of these opinions are fixed obviously, I just think it’s important you all know.
Conditionality is getting a bit out of hand these days… the 1NC with a 20 plank advantage counterplan and uniqueness counterplans atop every DA will frustrate even the most poised 2A. I am probably a better judge for condo bad than others. I think debate might actually be better if the 2AC could punish the NEG for a sloppy 1NC. It’d be interesting to see how dispositionality would actually play out
I don’t think 2NC counterplans out of 2AC straight turns are legitimate if they disagree with a core premise of the 1NC. For example, if the 1NC says “X bill rides the plan, that’s bad”, and the 2AC impact turns the bill, I can be easily persuaded the 2NC doesn’t get to counterplan “pass X bill”, because they already said that bill was bad and the 2AC made a strategic choice to develop offense there instead of elsewhere
Small(er) 1NC’s that disagree with the core premises of the AFF will always be better than giant 1NC’s whose only goal is make the 2A suffer and extend what’s undercovered. I get it, I know why it’s strategic, but well-developed offense intrinsic to the AFF is so much more fun to judge and educational for the debaters. If you have the goods to spend an entire 1NR link turning an advantage, that would be infinitely better than a process counterplan that needs 4 minutes of AT: Perm do the counterplan just to appear competitive
Evidence quality and highlighting matters so much. I cannot stand evidence with highlighting being scattered and not forming coherent sentences. I swear some cards these days don’t make a comprehensible argument, and I will not fill in the holes in your highlighting for you
Probably better for reasonability than most. I find the argument “precise evidence shapes the predictability of a limited topic” persuasive.
K’s can be incredibly potent, and I love them when deployed correctly, but too often I judge debates where the K is just one big solvency push. “Reform bad because it makes the state look good” and “AFF fails because nebulous theory of power true, vote NEG” are too defensive. Get specific, tell me why the AFF is bad, not imperfect
Not good at all for any genre of K that says death is good or we should accept unnecessary suffering
The less jargon you need to explain your K’s theory the better for me personally. I need to understand your argument before I can decide if you won it
Really really love impact turns
I think there are only a handful of debaters and coaches in the country who actually understand counterplan competition. I’m in my 8th year and Bricker is still coddling me through this aspect of debate. It’s very fun and interesting, but confusing, so if you can debate that theory well, I will have the utmost respect for you
Regarding framework, fairness can be an impact. It can also be an internal link to a host of other impacts. I think non-topical AFFs should choose whether they want to impact turn framework or read counterinterps to play some defense. I've found attempting both rarely helps the AFF.
Some of the things I wrote above might lead some to conclude I only ever vote AFF lol (you can tell I’m a 2A), that’s false. You can make the block only an impossibly limiting T arg, psychoanalysis, and con con with an internal net benefit and I’ll vote on any and all of them if you debate them well. The opinions above are only there to say it might not be my favorite debate.
JUDGE PHILOSOPHY FORM:
Rakesh Mehta
Carmel High School Affiliation
Regular HS debate judge
What paradigm best describes your approach to debate?
_____Policy Maker _____Stock Issues ___X__Tabula Rasa
_____Games Player _____Hypothesis Tester _____Other (Explain)
How I feel about delivery (slow vs. fast)?
I can understand fast speaking as long as there is good articulation. Please do not spread to the point where you cannot understand what is being said. If you even want me to consider arguments I have to be able to understand what you are saying, do not really on a speech doc for me to know the points. I cannot hear you I am going to assume nothing you is of value.
I am open to all arguments, but you need to explain what you are saying and prove why I should care about it. I am not familiar with most Kritik literature, if you are going to run a kritik you need to explain the literature to me in depth for me to vote off of it. Go slower at this section, walk me through it, if you spread through a k I will likely not consider it very highly in the debate.
With counter plans, you need evidence and a solvency advocate for predictability. Also, I will not drop counterplans for you, you need to only be running one at the end of the round if you want me to vote off of it.
If aff’s argument is not topical and neg explains that to me I will vote off of topicality. Don’t run topicality if it’s blatantly topical.
Please do not be rude to your opponents in round.
Background: I did (NFL/ NDSA) policy debate in high school and (NDT/ CEDA) in college but have been away from the activity since the 2014 War Powers Topic.
Overall I will vote on any argument (short of being blatantly offensive or intentionally harmful to other people in the room-) and I do not have a strict framework to evaluate the round. Policy arguments, K's, Framework and Topicality, all are fine if you think it is your winning argument-
Some more detailed thoughts:
I will not vote on an argument that I don't understand-
For K's and K affs- Do not assume I know your author or their arguments in depth- You need to explain the theory/ idea and why it clearly LINKS to the opponent's argument. If you are just reading blocks at me, not ideal. The more clash and direct analysis you can do of your opponent's arguments, the better. Why does your theory or idea make the opponent's impacts inevitable? How does your theory or idea function as a link turn to your opponent's argument? If you leave me to fill in the blanks for you on those questions, you will probably not like the results.
Disad's - my favorite kind of debate when I debated- Affirmatives will do well focusing on the link and internal link debate to reduce the risk of an impact - generic link cards from the negative team and a wall of impacts are not how these debates should be done in my opinion. If you are just blasting a stream of impacts at me in the block while the 1AR articulates the weaknesses of the internal link story, I think that's a debate the affirmative is often going to win. "Zero risk of a link" is an argument I will vote on.
Case debate- not sure if this is very big anymore, but it is definitely important in my mind- Negative teams should spend time telling me why the internal links and impacts of the affirmative are not true or are not likely etc. If there is a lack of case debate by the negative team, I feel the negative is always fighting an uphill battle without some sort of CP or Alt.
Theory arguments are creative ways to win debates in my opinion. If you want me to vote on a theory argument by itself, it should generally be the only argument that you go for in the 2NR/ 2AR. If not, I will have a pretty good reason for treating your theory argument as a reason to reject the opponent's argument, not the team. I will not kick a CP or K for the negative unless the negative explicitly tells me I should do so.
Speed: please be clear and slow down a tad- its been 5 years for me since I debated and judged
Please ask questions if you have them, I do not mind clarifying.
I've made this paradigm short, in hopes you read it, if you don't plan to, I recommend to AT LEAST look at the section for the event I'll be judging you in.
I've been in speech and debate for nearly a decade (and yes that is a really good line to put on my resume). I have done NFA-LD for 4ish years and that's where I've developed a lot as a technical debater. That meaning I am really good with the content of policy debate and the strategies of LD (the 1AR in NFA is 6 minutes instead of 4 though).
I use speechdrop, I absolutely hate email chain. Couple reasons:
- If you're worried about not having the files later, then save them to a folder when the round is over/write down the code for the round.
- I don't believe that your coach "doesn't allow you to use speechdrop"
This the only strong opinion I have about debate from a procedure sense. I try to be an impartial judge, but inherent bias is impossible to ignore. That being said I wasn't born yesterday so when kids lie to my face about using speechdrop I find it very hard to not let that influence speaker points.
GENERAL CONTENT -
K - I love the criticism but I am not a K hack. There are definitely critiques that I haven't read/heard seeing as I am not an omnipotent being. I am exceptionally fluent in cap/imperial critiques. I used to read anthro a lot... Worst case scenario just ask and I'll tell you, that or you could just make sure to be explanatory in your tags and I should be able to follow. If I can't explain what voting for you on the critique means, then I probably wont... I love well-articulated links, and insert some other buzzword thing that all judges like to see. Generally speaking, if you run and explain the criticism well you should win.
DA/CP - Like this strategy too even though it's not my forte. Not much more to say here other than don't be racist. Also, I don't have any strong opinions either way about any type of CP.
T/Procedurals - I should be able to explain how I get to an interp through one or more standards into one or more voters and why that actually justifies a ballot without adding too many words for you. I don't think any procedural arguments are off limits, but I am not a fan of tricks, like if you want to win on theory I want it to be due to the quality of your argument and not because you snuck a hidden argument into like point 6/23 of a theory sheet and suddenly the debate is over.
High School LD-
I did value debate in high school. It's been a while, but I still remember everything as much as I don't think it's as educational as policy debate. You can read your value and criterion; however, I am looking for a few things.
- I want the value to be thoroughly explained whether it's as a broad principle or as it pertains to the rez. I also need you to explain why your value is superior.
- I want you to explain how your criterion reaches your value or is the best path to achieve a shared value. That being said this is where I'll evaluate case arguments.
- The way I interpret value debate is that case debate that doesn't connect to the value or criterion doesn't really matter so make sure you don't focus on micro arguments and lose sight of the big picture.
This all being said I don't think you have to do value debate in LD, but if one person tries to do value debate and the other doesn't, I expect an argument as to why value debate is good/bad. I'll probably default to policy good and not expect a value unless it is clear that most debaters in the pool are running values.
Put me on the email chain please: lexi.ellis227@gmail.com
General Stuff:
-I will not evaluate arguments that are about something that happened outside of the debate round.
-unless otherwise argued, I default to judge kick is okay. If you want to get into specifics like cp planks, then I would prefer you make an argument about why judge kicking one part is okay.
-I believe that affs should be in the direction of the topic
-Impact out theory debates
~More specific arguments~
Kritiks:
-I don't think that a link of omission is a link. My threshold is pretty high for this so if you do so feel compelled to go for this argument, just know you will need to dedicate a lot of time to it.
-I like to see a lot of work done on the alt debate in the block. I need to see clear arguments as to what the world of the alt looks like and why the alt solves better than the aff.
Framework:
-I think fairness is more an internal link than it is an impact. (i.e. fairness is an internal link to topic education, clash, etc)
-In addition to framework there needs to be some sort of argument to indict the aff's methods. In rounds where this doesn't happen by the neg, I find the aff's argument to weigh the impacts more compelling. Read arguments as to why their theory is wrong.
Topicality:
-Limits are universally good.
-You should slow down
-T-USFG is more persuasive to me than a framework arg.
lakshethapremanand@gmail.com (add me to the email chain please :) )
prounouns: she/her
tl/dr: read whatever u want i don't care, warrant it out please, and do impact calc/impact comparison. if you make the round fun for me, i would appreciate that. think about your args and how they interact with ur opponent's args, don't just read blocks. have fun :)
Background:
- Policy debater for 4 years at Blue Valley North, graduated 2020
- Debating at Purdue University
- I'm a 1a/2n if that matters at all. I read K's in college but wasn't a huge fan of them in highschool. That being said, I'm a decent judge for high theory K's, and as long as you explain it well, I'll vote on it.
Okay now generally.
1. If you are making analytics, do not spread through them. If I don't get them on the flow, I don't evaluate them as an argument. Also, in general, just slow down 2 notches. Online debate makes spreading so much worse.
2. Conceded arg is not necessarily auto-winners, you have to explain the warrants, extend the card/analytic. explain to me why this is an independent reason that you should win the debate.
3. WRITE MY BALLOT FOR ME IN YOUR LAST SPEECH, I literally will vote on anything, if you feel like you're losing the debate, try your best to salvage it. Spend 2 minutes on an argument they dropped, go for another impact scenario, go for condo, theory, i don't care. I will not make my decision before the 2ar, so you are likely not losing the debate in my eyes until the last second of the 2ar.
4. Don't cheat, don't steal prep. be a decent human being :)
5. Don't be an jerk, if you make racist/sexist/homophobic/ableist comments during round, or in your speech, you're losing the debate.
6. Don't talk over each other during cx, and don't take over your partners' cx.
7. If you want me to read a card after the round to help me make my decision, email me the card(s) in a separate document, and I'll do it.
8. Have fun! I literally vote on anything, if you want to go for death good, go for death good, warrant it out, and I'll vote on it. If you want to go for theory, go for theory. If you give me a warranted explanation as to why you win the debate on one card, I might just vote on that one card.
9. Make the debate enjoyable for me, go for weird arguments, or just make it a super easy ballot. I will listen to whatever you have to say. My ballot starts in the 1ac, and ends in the 2ar. Nothing before or after the round will count. I will not vote early, so if you feel like you're losing by the block, or by the 2ac, go crazy and just go for weird things. I'll definitely evaluate it.
Okay now on specific arguments.
Counterplans: Love to see it, generally. However, if it's a one line counterplan with no evidence, I'm going to hold it to a pretty high threshold.
Neg: Read a card on your counterplan, it doesn't have to be super long, but don't just skew the 2ac. If you read a piece of their ev to support your cp, i'm so down.
Aff: Don't just perm it, think about how the cp interacts with your aff. Warrant out an explanation for why the perm would work, not just saying "Perm do both", and moving on. Idc if you read perm do cp, or whatever other weird perms you want to do, just warrant it out and we're good to go.
Kritiks: I would love to see a good k debate but I don't want two people just yelling blocks at each other. If you can explain it well, I'll vote on it.
Neg: know how to explain your alt, and know how to answer framework. how does your k interact with the plan? why does it matter in the context of debate as a whole? if you're reading set col, and going for a decolonial pedagogy, why does that solve aff impacts? etc etc. idc if you have an in round impact, just explain why that either 1) outweighs the aff, or 2) solves the impacts of the aff.
Aff: Read framework, read a perm, I really don't care how you answer this. I believe that answering a K is easier than answering a good disad. I would also love to see the aff be really good at a framework debate. Honestly, go for whatever you want against a K, and I got you. If you don't understand the K, ask during cx. I will never think less of you for asking a question.
T: I LOVE a good T debate, but not many debaters are good at it, including myself. I will evaluate it, but I hold the neg to a high standard to explain why the limits/grounds are an independent voter, bc usually I will default to reasonability if not told otherwise.
Neg: If you make T a voter in the 2nr, I don't really care if you don't spend all 5 minutes on it. You can feasibly go for T, disad, case, or T, K, case. Just make sure you explain why T is an independent voter, and why your standards are the best for debate. Do evidence comparison. If you explain it well in the 2nr, it is an independent reason for me to vote neg.
Aff: Don't just read blocks. Tell me why your aff turns their standards, and how you cause more education/fairness, etc. I really don't mind if you pull up with a definition from Merriam Webster, but tell me why it's good for debate. However, if you don't do a good enough job turning it in the 2ar, I will vote neg.
K affs: kinda same as my kritik section, i read a k aff in college, i've been against k affs, i'll evaluate it as long as you give me a good reason to/not to.
Neg: if you make this a framework debate, I tend to vote pretty heavily on that. If you just go for fw in the 2nr, i don't mind. i treat this more like a T debate than anything, so go for it. tell me why i should reject the team and I will!
Aff: If you're reading a k aff, I hold you to a higher standard to answer why you're not going for the resolution, and why it's bad. don't just yell blocks at me, explain ur impacts in the world of the aff. Have fun with it, i particularly enjoy identity k's/k aff's, so if you do that, i will love it.
Disad: obviously, i will vote on a disad. i think disad/case 2nrs are underrated, and if you do that in the 2nr, i usually see some pretty good impact calc and impact comparisons, which makes my ballot super easy.
Neg: if you go for disad/case in the 2nr, go hard on impacts. impacts are the main voter for me, do impact comparison, impact calc, etc. i won't really vote on a 1/1000000 chance of your impact happening unless you tell me why i should. i'm not going to do your impact work for you. if the aff team doesn't answer one section of the disad, though, i will understand why you're going to spend a bulk of your time on that, but make sure to tie it back to the impact debate.
Aff: also go for the impacts, and the link debate. explain to me why your case outweighs and turns the disad. i will not vote on a 1% risk of your impacts happening either, so go for impact calc here. i tend to vote neg more on disads, but it's totally possible to win on a disad. read their ev, make analytics, go off.
Theory: I love love love theory debates, if you get into one, make it an independent voter.
I tend to not evaluate condo, only because I've never heard a good condo debate. If you want to make it a condo debate, go for it, but do a good job on it, don't just read blocks. I want to see it like a T debate, why is condo bad/good? Tell me.
if you have any questions, let me know! have fun y'all, debate is supposed to be a fun activity, don't put too much pressure on it.
gwrevaredebate@gmail.com
Put me on the chain.
He/them.
KU debate.
My job is to adjudicate the debate with minimal intervention. Optimal debate involves organization, impact calc, judge instruction, line-by-line, and evidence comparison. Few things that I've listed below are immutable, and my attitude towards most positions can be reversed by persuasive debating. Do your thing.
10 minutes before start time:
---Please label offcase in the 1NC.
---Send me a card doc. I care about evidence quality and will assign much more weight to cards highlighted to form sentences.
---I am a clarity hawk and will verbally clear you if your words turn into mush.
---Generally, neg-ish on theory.
---I don't think inserting rehighlightings is legitimate, but I'll evaluate them if no one says anything about it.
---I flow CX. "What cards did you read?" is a CX question. "Where did you mark this card?" is not.
---Don't cut undergrads or high schoolers. I'll evaluate these cards as analytics.
---Lenient with new 1AR arguments if and only if the 1NC is big or a position changes substantially in the block.
---I don't want to hear my name in speeches.
---I will not vote on things that happened outside of the debate.
Please do not:
---re-read constructive blocks in rebuttals
---spread your blocks at full speed
---demand a 30
Longer version:
Here are my general leanings:
1---Tech over truth. Impartiality is a virtue. My role is to adjudicate the debate with minimal intervention. I am flow-centric and will vote for arguments I think are bad.
2---DAs: The more they clash with the affirmative, the better.
You don't NEED to read a uniqueness card in the 1NC, but the 2A can simply observe that your DA has no uniqueness claim and card dump in the 1AR after you read the cards needed to form a complete argument.
3---Kritiks.
I am good for technical K debaters.
You are most likely to be successful if you develop 2-4 diverse links rather than overwhelming them with slop. Reading links to the plan, drawing lines from the 1AC, and articulating turns case analysis will substantially increase your speaks and likelihood of winning.
Please do not use rhetoric in your tags or blocks that isn't in your literature base.
I am least experienced with method debates. My only requirement is that you negate the desirability of something in the 1AC---I am extremely skeptical of negative strategies that generate offense off of omission.
4---Topicality: My thoughts here are mostly conventional, except:
---A little more aff-leaning than most. T is not like any other argument because it crowds out substance.
---I probably value ground over limits. Bounded topics are only good if they give the neg something to say (it is very possible to have a tightly limited topic that impoverishes the neg of meaningful offense). Strong generics also help functionally narrow the scope of viable affirmatives.
---Reasonability is often misconstrued as "vote aff if the judge personally determines our plan is reasonable" (to be clear, I do this on purpose when I'm neg). Reasonability is: "vote aff is our interp allows a year of sustainable debates" (Soper 24).
It requires you have a C/I that you meet.
5---Counterplans:
Comparative solvency advocates are the gold standard.
Your process counterplan should compete off at least one thing that isn't certainty, immediacy, or "normal means."
I am highly inclined to judge competition by mandate. Spill-up or spillover arguments do not render a CP non-competitive.
PICing out of something in the plantext is good.
6---Case: No aff solves. The fact neg teams are often reluctant to prove that is a critical mistake.
Soft-left affs: Framing debates are frequently superficial. Good framing debates (oxymoron) involve comparison of your model of ethics---the advantages and disadvantages to each.
7---Planless or kritikal affirmatives:
I'll vote for you. Your best angle against topicality involves a C/I, a defense of a clearly-articulated model of debate, and one to three central points of well-impacted offense.
I consider K affs that defend impact-turnable positions more persuasive on T.
Topicality is not a "reverse-voting issue" if the neg kicks it.
8---Framework: Go for whichever impact you prefer, though my personal take is that skills impacts are inferior to fairness standards. I find presumption compelling.
T could be different from framework, but any conceptual distinction between the two seems difficult to maintain given their colloquial interchangeability.
9---CX: I flow it. Weaponize CX to lower the threshold for CP solvency, stick the aff to debating impact turns, etc.
10---I will reward speaker points for evidence and warrant comparison, ethos, not lying, and being funny.
11---Clipping, claiming to have read cards you didn't, etc---will guarantee a loss. I'm not a stickler about certain things; accidentally skipping a word or two happens sometimes. That is distinct from bypassing entire lines or passages. That is premeditated cheating, which will not be tolerated.
Have fun. Judging is a privilege.
BACKGROUND:
Please include the following emails in email chains: ccroberds@spsmail.org and khsemailchain@gmail.com - sometimes my spsmail account is really slow in receiving emails. I honestly prefer speechdrop, but email is ok if that's your norm or what your coach prefers. My least favorite option is the file share.
I am the debate coach at Kickapoo High School in Missouri. I have been involved in policy debate since 1994 as a student and/ or coach. The 2022-23 topic marks my 27th. I have coached in very critical circuits (one round with a plan read by any team in an entire year), very community judge oriented circuits (that don't allow CPs or Ks), TOC qualifying circuit, ELL circuits, and combinations of all circuits. If you have questions, please email ccroberds@spsmail.org
Update - 1/20 - a note about prepping your speech before you speak
My expectation is that you send out a doc BEFORE you speak that includes the evidence AND analytics that you intend to read in the speech if they are typed up. They should also be in the order that you are going to speak them. It is an accessibility issue. If you type them up in the round, that's one thing - but if they are your blocks (or your team blocks) they should be sent. This includes AT A MINIMUM the text of perms, the texts of counterplans, the text of interpretations of why you reject a team, etc. Also, if you choose to just randomly jump around in a document please know that it will dramatically impact your speaks. Nobody is as good at flowing in online debates as we are in person, having the doc and reading it in order helps improve the activity.
Important norms to keep tournaments running on time
Please show up to the room to establish email chains/ speechdrop, disclose the 1ac/ past 2nrs, do tech checks, etc. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after pairings have been released (read at least 20 minutes prior assuming pairings come out 30 minutes prior to round). The 1ac should start when the pairing says unless there is a tournament related reason. Once you get to the room and do tech check, feel free to use the rest of the time to prep, etc. If it's an in person tournament, please show up when the pairings get released, set up an email chain or speechdrop, disclose the 1ac/ past 2nrs, and then go prep - just come back to the room before the round is supposed to start. If you can't get to the room for some reason, it is your responsibility to email me and the other team to let us know.
Please know that if you don't do this, it will negatively effect your speaker points by .5. Choosing to show up late makes tournaments run behind and gives unfair advantages to teams with multiple coaches (I have to be here to judge and coach my team - if you choose to be late, I assume it's because you're getting extra coaching which gives you an unfair advantage over teams whose coaches are judging).
Cliff's Notes Version (things to do in the 10 minutes before the round):
- As long as we are online, please make sure you are adding intentional breaks between arguments. These can be verbal or non-verbal but they are necessary to make sure flowing is happening from the oral arguments instead of just from the speech doc. As an example, clearly say the word "next" or "and" after each card/ subpoint/ etc. or slow down for the tags to where there is a noticeable difference between the card or warrants and the next tag. This is one of those things that the technology just isn't as good as being face-to-face, but it may make debate better down the line.
- Disclose on the wiki pre-round unless you are breaking a new case. I can be persuaded, relatively easily, that this is a voting issue (this is not about small details in the case, but overall picture). Once a case is broken, please put it up as soon as possible. If you read it at last tournament and haven't found time to put it up, that's a problem. Also, at a minimum, the negative should be posting their main off case positions. Before the round, the aff and neg should both know what the opponent is reading as a case and what positions they have gone for at the end of debates on the negative. Having coached at a small and economically disprivileged school most of my life, the arguments against disclosure literally make no sense to me.
- I like politics a lot more than Ks - My perfect generic 2NR is politics and an agent CP. The best way to win a K in front of me is to argue that it turns case and makes case impossible to solve.
- I don't like cheap shots - I think plan flaws are a reason to ask questions in the CX or pre-round. Make debate better.
- K Framework - I prefer to do policy making. However, you need to answer the project if they run it.
- Cheating CPs - I don't like backfile check type CPs (veto cheato) or "I wrote this for fun" CPs (consult Harry Potter/ Jesus). I do like topic agent CPs (like have China do the plan, have the private sector do the plan).
- Link vs Uniqueness - Uniqueness determines the direction of the link - if it is not gonna pass now, there is no way the link can make it pass less.
- Cross-ex is always open unless another judge objects.
- Be Nice and FLOW!
High School Policy Specifics:
- I know that the last couple of topics don't have core stable offense for the neg. This definitely makes the neg more intuitively persuasive to me on questions of topicality and on the threshold that I need for the negative to win some kind of a link. I don't like CPs that aren't tied to topic specific literature. This includes, but is not limited to, contrived fiat tricks designed to garner net-benefits. This includes NGA, ConCon, etc. It doesn't mean I won't vote for it, it just means my threshold for aff theory, etc. is really low. If you are choosing between a CP that I have listed above and a disad with a less than ideal link (not no link, just less than ideal), it would be more persuasive to me to read the disad.
Here is a crystalized version of this stolen from Will Katz but it explains what I think about contrived CPs - "I am over contrived process cp's. If you don't have aff/topic specific evidence for your cp, I probably won't care if the aff's perm is intrinsic. If you don't have evidence about the plan, why does the aff's perm only have to be about the plan?"
I am a high school coach who tends to be at TOC tournaments about 3/4 of the time and local tournaments (with community judges) the other 1/4. However, I do cut a lot of cards, coach at camps, and think about the topic a lot which means that I have a pretty good grip on the topic. This means I may not know the intricacies of how your particular argument may functions in the high school environment you are competing in right now.
High School LD Specifics:
My default is that I don't need a value and value crit. in order to vote for you. However, I can be persuaded that it is needed. If the affirmative reads a particular interpretation of the topic (i.e. they read a plan) then, absent theory arguments about why that's bad, that becomes the focus of the debate. If the affirmative does not read a plan then the negative can still read disadvantages and PICs against the entirety of the topic. I don't terribly love NRs and 2ARs that end with a series of voting issues. Most of the time you are better off using that time to explain why the impacts to your case outweigh your opponent's case as opposed to describing them as voting issues. If you are going to make an argument in the NC that there is a different framework for the debate than what the affirmative explains in the AC, you need to make sure you fully develop that position. Framework functions very differently in LD compared to policy so make sure your blocks are written out for that reason.
I'm not a big fan of a big theory pre-empt at the end of the 1ac. I think the aff case is the time when you should be making most of your offensive arguments and most of the time theory is set up to be defensive. This is particularly silly to me when the aff has more time in rebuttals than the neg does anyway.
NFA LD Specifics:
I am relatively new to this format of debate but I like it a lot. I think debate should be viewed through a policy framework in this style of debate, but I can be persuaded out of this belief. However, if your main strategy is to say that the rules of NFA are problematic or that you shouldn't have to weigh the case and the DA, then I think you fighting an uphill battle.
Also, given the limited number of speeches, I tend to err on the side of starting aff framework as early as possible (probably the AC). This is mostly to protect the aff since if it's not brought up until the 2ac/ 1ar it is possible for the NR to straight turn it and leave the 2ar in an unwinnable position.
In Depth Stuff:
GENERAL-
I tend to prefer policy oriented discussions over kritikal debates but I will be happy to evaluate whatever you want to run. My favorite debates come down to a clash between specific arguments on the flow of the advantages and disadvantages. On theory you should number or slow down your tags so that I get the clash. I can flow your speed if it is clear, but if you want me to get the 19 reasons why conditionality is a bad practice you should slow down to a speed I can flow the blips. That said, I tend to prefer fast debate to slow debates that ultimately don't point to the resolution of the topic.
Read warrants in your evidence. Full sentences are how people speak. They have things like nouns, verbs, and prepositions. Please make sure that your evidence would make sense if you were reading it slowly.
If the round is close, I tend to read a decent amount of evidence after the round if there is a reason to do so. If you want me to call for a specific card please remind me in the 2nr/ 2ar.
Also please give reasons why your offense turns their offense besides "war causes x."
SPECIFICS-
Disclosure theory note:
I have a VERY low threshold on this argument. Having schools disclose their arguments pre-round is important if the activity is going to grow / sustain itself. Having coached almost exclusively at small, underfunded, new, or international schools, I can say that disclosure (specifically disclosure on the wiki if you are a paperless debater) is a game changer. It allows small schools to compete and makes the activity more inclusive. There are three specific ways that this influences how ballots will be given from me:
1) I will err negative on the impact level of "disclosure theory" arguments in the debate. If you're reading an aff that was broken at a previous tournament or on a previous day and is not on the wiki (assuming you have access to a laptop and the tournament provides wifi), you will likely lose if this theory is read. There are two ways for the aff to "we meet" this in the 2ac - either disclose on the wiki ahead of time or post the full copy of the 1ac in the wiki as a part of your speech. Obviously, some grace will be extended when wifi isn't available or due to other extenuating circumstances. However, arguments like "it's just too much work," "I don't like disclosure," etc. won't get you a ballot.
2) The neg still needs to engage in the rest of the debate. Read other off case positions and use their "no link" argument as a reason that disclosure is important. Read case cards and when they say they don't apply or they aren't specific enough, use that as a reason for me to see in round problems. This is not a "cheap shot" win. You are not going to "out-tech" your opponent on disclosure theory. To me, this is a question of truth. Along that line, I probably won't vote on this argument in novice, especially if the aff is reading something that a varsity debater also reads.
3) If you realize your opponent's aff is not on the wiki, you should make every possible attempt before the round to ask them about the aff, see if they will put it on the wiki, etc. I understand that, sometimes, one teammate puts all the cases for a squad on the wiki and they may have just put it under a different name. To me, that's a sufficient example of transparency (at least the first time it happens). If the aff says it's a new aff, that means (to me) that the plan text and/ or advantages are different enough that a previous strategy cut against the aff would be irrelevant. This would mean that if you completely change the agent of the plan text or have them do a different action it is new; adding a word like "substantially" or "enforcement through normal means" is not. Likewise, adding a new "econ collapse causes war" card is not different enough; changing from a Russia advantage to a China, kritikal, climate change, etc. type of advantage is. Even if it is new, if you are still reading some of the same solvency cards, I think it is better to disclose your previous versions of the aff at a minimum.
4) At tournaments that don't have wifi, this should be handled by the affirmative handing over a copy of their plan text before the round.
5) If you or your opponent honestly comes from a circuit that does not use the wiki (e.g. some UDLs, some local circuits, etc.), I will likely give some leeway. However, a great use of post-round time while I am making a decision is to talk to the opponent about how to upload on the wiki. If the argument is in the round due to a lack of disclosure and the teams make honest efforts to get things on the wiki while I'm finishing up my decision, I'm likely to bump speaks for all 4 speakers by .2 or .5 depending on how the tournament speaks go.
Topicality- I believe the affirmative should affirm the topic and the negative should negate the plan. It is fairly difficult to convince me that this is not the appropriate paradigm for the affirmative to operate under. The best way to think about topicality in front of me is to think about it as drawing lines or a fence. What does debate look like for a season when the negative wins the topicality argument vs. what does it look like when the affirmative wins. Affirmatives that push the bounds of the topic tend to be run more as the season progresses so the negative should be thinking through what the affirmative justifies if their interpretation because the standard for the community. This also means that there is no real need to prove real or potential *problems in the debate.
If the affirmative wants to win reasonability then they should be articulating how I determine what is reasonable. Is it that they meet at least one of the standards of the neg's T shell? Is it that there is a qualified source with an intent to define that thinks they are reasonable? Is it that there is a key part of the topic literature that won't get talked about for the season unless they are a topical affirmative?
If you want me to vote on Topicality the 2nr (or NR in LD) should be that. Spending less than the entire 2nr on a theoretical issue and expecting me to vote on it is absurd. I would only vote neg in that world if the affirmative is also badly handling it.
Counterplans- I love counterplans. I typically believe the negative should be able to have conditional, non-contradicting advocacies but I can be persuaded as to why this is bad. Typically this will need to be proven through some type of specific in round problem besides time skew. I think that the permutations should be more than "perm: do both, perm: do the plan, perm: do the CP."
Kritiks- I am not as deep on some of this literature as you are. You should take the time in CX or a block overview to explain the story of the K. Performance style debate is interesting to me but you will have to explain your framework from the beginning. I probably tend to be more easily swayed by the framework arguments about clash compared to exclusion. I will tend to default to preferring traditional types of debate.
Politics- I like good politics debates better than probably any other argument. I like interesting stories about specific senators, specific demographics for elections d/as, etc. With this being said, I would rather see a fully developed debate about the issue. I tend to evaluate this debate as a debate about uniqueness. Teams that do the work tend to get rewarded.
My perfect debate- Without a doubt the perfect round is a 2nr that goes for a pic (or advantage cp with case neg) and a politics d/a as a net benefit.
*Questions of "abuse" - This is a soapbox issue for me. In a world of significant actual abuse (domestic abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, bullying, etc.), the use of the word to describe something as trivial as reading a topical counterplan, going over cross-x time by 3 seconds, or even not disclosing seems incredibly problematic. There are alternative words like problematic, anti-educational, etc. that can adequately describe what you perceive to be the issue with the argument. Part of this frustration is also due to the number of times I have heard debaters frustrate community judges by saying they were abused when the other team read an argument they didn't like. Please don't use this phrase. You can help make debate better.
Paperless and speaker point stuff-
I used to debate in a world where most people had their evidence on paper and the one thing that I believe has been lost through that is that people tend to look more at the speech doc than listening to the debate. I love paperless debate, just make sure that you are focusing on the speech itself and not relying exclusively on the document that the other team has sent you. Flowing well will often result in improved speaker points.
If you are using an online format to share evidence (e.g. speechdrop or an email chain), please include me in the loop. If you are using a flashdrive, I don't need to see it.
I don't expect teams to have analytics on the speech document (but if you are asked by your opponent for equity or accessibility reasons to have them there, please do so). I do expect teams to have every card, in order, on the speech document. If you need to add an additional card (because you've been doing speed drills), that's fine - just do it at the end of the speech.
If you let me know that your wiki is up to date including this round (both aff and neg) and send me the link, I'll also bump speaker points by .2.
Masks stuff for in person (last updated 4/7/23)
COVID and other diseases are still real. If I'm feeling at all under the weather, I will wear a mask. I ask you to do the same. All other things being equal, you are free to debate with or without a mask. However, if you are asked to wear a mask by an opponent or judge who is also wearing a mask, and you choose not to, it is an auto-loss with the lowest speaker points that I am allowed to give. This is a safety issue.
Along those lines, with the experiences that many have gone through in the last year, please don't make arguments like "death good," "disease good," etc. While there may be cards on those things, they very violent for many people right now. Please help make debate a safe space for people who are coming out of a very difficult time.
I debated at Lawrence High School for 4 years and debated in college at the University of Kansas. I have been an assistant debate coach for Shawnee Mission South High School for 4 years.
** Please add me to the email chain rose.haylee2000@gmail.com
About Me:
-Hello! Please add rnivium@gmail.com to the email chain.
-Debated at: University of Kansas '18-'22. Arapahoe HS '14-'18.
-Coached for: Asian Debate League '22-'23, Arapahoe HS '22-'23, Lawrence Free State HS '20-'22.
Paradigm:
-I don't think arguments start at 100% weight/risk. I believe it is my responsibility to assess the extent to which your warrant supports your claim.
-I encourage you to have a coherent overall narrative/strategy, to provide argument comparison/interaction, and to emphasize clarity/organization.
-I would definitely prefer to judge the "best possible argument" as opposed to the "most possible arguments."
-I'm apprehensive about "insert this re-highlighting." If you do this, please make the tagline very clear and don't highlight more than the key part. The trend of "insert this section of a card we read earlier for reference; its warrant is applicable here" seems fine.
Email Chain: brandons3333@outlook.com
Please add me to any email chain made in round because that will ultimately help me dissect your argumentation and relay that importance to round.
I am the South High School assistant debate coach and I did policy debate for 4 years at Salina High School South. I did KDC and DCI circuits in high school so I'm well versed in most styles of debate. In regards to round etiquette , first rule is to make a safe environment for every debater in the room. No one wants to walk into a round that is filled with hostility. Use the correct pronouns for people...point blank, please be respectful to others. When it comes to argumentation I am open to listen to anything. I flow the round and will be in tune with everyone debating so please make sure to extend and have a clear direction of where you want to take your argumentation in the round. When it comes to my judging style I tend to vote on stock issues, but again I am completely open to anyway the round goes so be critical but also make sense. When it comes to speed I can handle spreading as long as you are clear with your taglines and please make sure to signpost. On a line by line basis slow down to articulate your argumentation. I'm not a fan of time sucks, if you're reading an argument tell my why it's important in the round or I won't vote on it. I love theory and K's as long as they clearly relate to the debate. I read Fem and Queer theory in high school but am willing to listen to anything. If there are any other questions please feel free to ask before round.
I debated for 3 years @ Washburn Rural
I debated for 4 years @ Emporia State (NDT '08)
I am the Director of Debate at Lawrence Free State HS (7th year at FS, 15th year as a head coach, 23rd year in Policy Debate)
*Please add me to the email chain if one exists: kmikethompson@gmail.com
tl;dr
I will do my best to answer any questions that you have before the debate.
-I don't care how fast you talk, but I do care how clear you talk. I'm unlikely to clear you but it will be obvious if I can't understand you because I won't be flowing and I communicate non-verbally probably more than most other judges. This is particularly relevant in online debate.
-I don't care what arguments you read, but I do care whether you are making arguments, responding to opposition arguments, and engaging in impact calculus (your arg v their arg, not just your arg) throughout the debate.
-I don't care what aff you read, if you defend a plan, or if you debate on the margins of the topic, but I do care if you have offensive justifications for your decisions, and if you solve.
-If you're reading generic link arguments or CP solvency cards - it will matter a great deal how well you can contextual that generic evidence to the specific affirmative plan.
-I think teams should be willing to go for theory more.
Some top level thoughts:
1) "New in the 2" is bad for debate. Barring an affirmative theoretical objection - I'll evaluate you arguments and not intervene despite my bias. But, if the other team makes an argument about it - I will disregard all new positions read in the negative block.
2) Neg ground on this topic is not very good. I'm sympathetic to the negative on theoretical objections of counterplans as a result.
3) If you're flowing the speech doc and not the speech itself you deserve to be conned in to answering arguments that were never made in the debate, and to lose to analytic arguments (theory and otherwise) that were made while you were busy staring at your screen.
4) People should assume their opponent's are winning some arguments in the last rebuttals. A decision to assume you're winning everything nearly guarantees that you are incorrect and minimizes the likelihood that you're doing relevant impact calculus. I really think "even-if" statements are valuable for final rebutalists.
-My speaker point scale has tended to be:
29+ - you should be in elimination debates at this tournament, and probably win one or more of those rounds
28.5 - you are competing for a spot to clear but still making errors that may prevent you from doing so. Average for the division/tournament.
28 - you are slightly below average for the division/tournament and need to spend some time on the fundamentals. Hopefully, I've outlined in my notes what those are.
27.5 - there were serious fundamental errors that need to be corrected.
Topicality- I really enjoy T debates, I think competing interpretations is probably true and find reasonability arguments to be uncompelling almost always. That said, this topic is kinda awful for T debates. If you're not topical you should have an offensive reason that you're not. If you are topical then you should win why your vision of the resolution is superior to the negatives.
Critiques- K debaters tend to spend an extraordinary amount of time on their link arguments, but no time on explaining how the alternative resolves them. Affirmatives tend to concede K tricks too often.
Counterplans - I like smart, aff specific counter plans more than generic, topic type counter plans.
Critical affs - I'm fine with K affs and deployed them often as a debater. I find it difficult to evaluate k affs with poorly developed "role of the ballot" args. I find "topical version of the aff" to be compelling regularly, because affs concede this argument. I have been more on the "defend topical action" side of the framework debate in the last two years or so. I'm not sure why, but poorly executed affirmative offense seems to be the primary cause.
she/her
Does moderate judging
From a circuit where lay judges are the norm
Ks and high critical theories are out of my scope so if you run them explain the heck out of it
prefer standard on case, I am much more accustomed to PFD
2023 NDT Champion; 2023 CEDA Champion - Wake Forest 24' - Georgia State 26'
Iyanarobyndebate@gmail.com (Add me to the email chain)
AND SO THE CHORUS SINGS.
I believe that all debates are performances and you are responsible for what you say and do in round. Because that is true, you should be prepared to debate the justifications and epistemologies of your arguments as well as the way you have performed in this debate.
In the words of Rashad Evans, “eat, pray, love, and cut some better cards”. GET GOOD! Happy Debating!
I answer respectful questions, do not post round me rudely or I will respond accordingly.
I do not flow docs - I flow what you are saying in the speech. Be clear.
Do what you want! I've done Black Feminism, Afro-Pessimism, Afro-Futurism, Framework, Racial Capitalism, Eroticism, RSPEC, Counter Performances, Body Politics, Critical IR Theory, Academy K etc.
Mitch Wagenheim
4 years debated in HS, assistant coaching since 2015. Last updated September 2022
Overview:
My basic paradigm is that I will vote on almost anything so long as you win the argument and demonstrate that argument is sufficient to win the round. I used to be more of a policymaker judge but have become less attached to that framing. I firmly believe in tech over truth within the scope of the round. The only exceptions to this are arguments or types of discourse that seek to exclude people from the activity (racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.) If your arguments fall into the above categories, you will lose my ballot regardless of anything else on the flow. I am wiling to vote on almost anything. What follows are my general views on arguments and I can be convinced otherwise on any of them.
Specifics:
- For theory arguments, you need to specify a compelling reason to reject the team. Saying “reject the team, not the argument” is not actually an argument.
- Topicality is often an underdeveloped argument in rounds I’ve seen.
- If you are running a K aff, it should have something to do with the resolution. It doesn’t need to be topical in the same way a policy aff does, but there should be a clear reason why it’s directly relevant to the topic. If you don’t want to engage the topic for whatever reason, you’ll need some strong framing why.
- I can generally follow the theory of your K, but make sure to clearly articulate your arguments and don’t just read blocks. Your alt needs to be supported by the literature base and somehow mutually exclusive with the affirmative. ROB/ROJ arguments are extremely helpful.
- In terms of familiarity with critical arguments/authors I’m pretty conversant in Fem/Fem IR/Security/Foucault/Heidegger as well as the basic Cap/Imperialism/etc. arguments. Topics like Afropessimism/Queer IR or less common authors (Baudrillard for example) I can generally follow, but am less knowledgable about.
- DAs should have a clear link story and generic disads generally don’t hold much strategic value.
- Smart analytics are just as valuable as cards.
- Clarity is substantially more important than speed. If you are unclear, I’ll give you a warning if you’re unclear but it’s up to you to make sure you are communicating. If I miss something because you’re unclear, that argument won’t be considered.
Overall, do what you are comfortable with as best as you can. Don’t let my preferences discourage you from running your strategy.
I am now the head coach for Lansing HS in Kansas. Previously, I was the head coach and director of debate and forensics at Truman High School in Missouri. I was a policy debater in high school. I have taught at debate and speech camps and I frequently judge policy debate, LD, PF, and speech.
EMAIL CHAIN: willarddebate@gmail
Things I like for you to do: send an email effectively and efficiently, speak clearly, and respond to arguments. Communicate TO THE judge.
GIVE THE ORDER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SPEECH.
I flow on paper. Be clear when you are switching args.
The aff should be topical. The aff needs an offensive justification for their vision of the topic. I find the arguments for why the aff should be topical to be better than the arguments against it. (Read: I rarely vote on T. Running T? Go all in.) If you are reading an aff that is not topical, you are much more likely to win my ballot on arguments about why your model of debate is good than you are on random impact turns to T.
Evidence matters. I read evidence and it factors into my decision.
Clarity matters. If you have dramatic tone changes between tag and card, where you can barely be heard when reading the text of evidence, you will get lower points from me and you should stop doing that. If I can't understand the argument, it doesn't count. There is no difference between being incoherent and clipping.
The link matters. I typically care a great deal about the link. When in competition, you should spend more time answering the link than reading impact defense.
I am fine with K debate on either side of the the resolution, although I prefer the K debate to be rooted in the substance of the resolution.; however, I will listen to why non-topical versions of the aff are justified. Methodology should inform FW and give substance to FW args beyond excluding only other positions. Links should clearly identify how the other team's mindset/position/advocacy perpetuates the squo. An alternative that could solve the issues identified in the K should be included with solvency that identifies and explains pragmatic change. K debaters must demonstrate their understanding and purpose of their K lit. Moreover, if you would like for me to vote for the K, it should be the main argument in the round.
I'd like to be added to the email chain mwoodcock692@gmail.com
(he/him)
email chain >> speech drop
Experience:
Debating:
I debated at Lansing High School for 4 years
Debated two years at KU (alliances and antitrust)
Coaching:
Lansing (2020-2022)
Shawnee Mission South (current) :)
Top Level -
1. Tech over truth, the only scenario in which I may look towards truth rather than tech is as a means to break a tie in portions of debates that are extremely difficult to resolve (i.e. lack of clash)
2. Don’t let anything said in this paradigm discourage you from reading/going for any argument, the best debates are ones where people have devoted ample time in researching the argumentative positions they read. I enjoy debate and will put my best effort into my decision because of the ample work that debaters put into the activity should be seen and rewarded as such, which I believe requires judges to do the same.
3. If any arguments that are homophobic, racist, and etc. are presented you will lose the debate and be rewarded the least amount of speaks as possible. This also includes any other way that you may make the debate space less safe for people.
4. Taking CX as prep will be rewarded with lower speaks.
5. JUDGE INSTRUCTION! If you think that a portion of the debate should be the deciding factor, then tell me why that is and how I should evaluate it. The more judge instruction that you do, then the more happy you are to be with the decision I give.
Topicality -
I default to competing interpretations, if you believe I should evaluate this differently, then tell me to do so. Some big things that matter to me here is that I think both teams should have a robust explanation of what they think the topic should look like. I find limits to be more compelling than a loss of ground as internal links to the impacts that you are going for.
Impact comparison is still important here, like why does fairness outweigh education or the impacts that your opponents are going for. If the debate takes the course where both teams are going for fairness, then this should be done at the internal link level, but regardless there needs to be more impact comparison in topicality.
I think that I am pretty relaxed with my biases as to what aff's are topical and I like to think that I reward teams who invest research into these arguments and think that teams who read aff's that are perceived to be regarded as topical to the community should be punished for lazy debating on whether their aff is topical or not.
Critical Affs –
I prefer aff's have some relationship with the topic, I also want you to tell me what and how this relationship is established. I feel pretty comfortable adjudicating these debates but also believe that the more judge instruction you give me, the happier you will be. I also think that the more offense that you generate on the fw page, then the better position you put yourself in. I think if you are reading a version of an anti-cap lit based aff, then generating this offense can be more difficult, but not impossible. The ones that I have seen on this topic feel pretty defensive on fw and I think you should invest time into creating this offense.
For the neg --- I believe there is a trend where teams are choosing to read definitions that stop at Ericson, and/or some sort of evidence that is similar to it. I don't think this puts you in a position to win your limits offense and my threshold for aff defense and offense is increasingly more compelling. So, if this is your strategy, then you need to invest time into creating a vision of the topic that is actually limiting.
The 2nr should have some discussion of case, or tell me how fw interacts with the case page and give me ample judge instruction on why it should come first. Reading positions other than just framework are more enjoyable debate to watch, but fw debates can be equally as interesting as long as there is time devoted to it and your strategy.
Disads -
Not much to say here...
I think there has been a trend towards reading the least number of cards as possible, while there may be SOME cases where those cards make all the arguments needed, I will be sympathetic to new 1ar arguments should they be extended into the block.
Link specificity and spin are what I look for and reward if it is being done. Obviously, the more specific the link the better, but good spin can go a long way.
I like and reward aff strategies that straight turn disads and/or other offense generating strategies.
Counterplans –
Counterplans can make for interesting debates. I tend to side with the neg on pics and agent counterplans. I think other competition questions are typically decided on whichever team has invested more time in their strategy revolving around competition. Furthermore, I am more than happy and comfortable in adjudicating these debates, again judge instruction is important here.
With theory debates I think I am most compelled to reject the team only in context with condo but can be persuaded with other theory arguments if you are able to impact them out well enough. I enjoy watching aff teams double-down on condo and I don’t think there is a certain number of off that makes me more/less likely to vote on the argument, just win your interpretation if this is what the debate boils down to.
Kritiks –
The more specific of a link I think the better (this goes very any argument though) whether or not this is a link to the plan or the aff's performance, link spin can also go a long way. Pulling lines from evidence and contextualizing them to your link analysis is good. I do not think there must be an alternative in order to win the debate, just make sure you are wining other arguments that justify you doing this (i.e. framework). With these debates telling me what and why x matters are very important in framing my ballot.
With permutations I think the neg has to do more than just say, “all links are disads to the perm,” make sure to explain how they operate as such, and if you are going for the perm being intrinsic and/or severance make sure to explain why and tie an impact to it. On the flip side, I think that aff teams need to do a better job at answering each individual piece of offense to win a permutation (i.e. each link, disad, or solvency question) with a net benefit.
Case -
Don’t neglect case, it never hurts to extend some sort of defense or offense no matter how miniscule it may be. I think neg teams going for k’s sometimes get away with not going to the case page, if this happens make sure to use your aff.
I don’t understand the use of framing pages. They are often things that don’t matter if the neg just wins the disad or kritik that they are going for. I think the best examples of framing pages were affs written on the immigration topic and have since not seen one that was inherently offensive rather than defensive. The same goes for pre-empts. This is not to say don’t have a fed key warrant, but rather don’t just read a bunch of thumper cards or random pieces of impact defense. In this instance you should just read another advantage.
Pronouns: She/her
Lansing '22
4 Years Lansing HS Debate & Forensics
Lansing HS Assistant Coach
KU '
i don't really care what you run as long as you are clear about it, if i don't know what you're saying then i probably won't vote for you. i have a pretty good understanding of debate and basic arguments, if you run something confusing then EXPLAIN IT, jargon should also be explained if it's not a fairly common term just in case i don't know what you're getting at. i would rather you focus on fewer good arguments than try to run 9 off and not know how to explain any of it. if you wanna run a k or anything like that i don't care but i would prefer for it to be something you can clearly convince me of, your k should basically be an alternate reality and if i'm not convinced it can exist then i won't vote for it. win me on basic stock issues before you try to win me on some off the wall argument that is only vaguely relevant to the current debate. as for speed i'm not a huge stickler about speed but i do ask that whatever speed you go that you are clear. if i am left in the dust, cannot understand you, or it's unclear of what's going on i'll probably just stop listening and i'm guess you probably don't want that. if i am judging you then i definitely want to be a part of the document sharing however that may be done, if there's an email chain that's cool: alexa.ymker@gmail.com. i also believe that the 1AC should be able to send the speech out as soon as the round starts so please make sure you are able to do that
Lawrence Free State ‘19
University of Iowa ‘23
TL:DR--you do you, just tell me what to care about and why
You can refer to me w any pronouns
Largest influence is Sean Kennedy if you care about that
Put me on the email chain: spenceryostwolff@gmail.com
Please trigger warn and don't be condescending to your opponents
- Flex 2N--went about 50/50 for critical and policy based arguments (familiar with all the basic k stuff, settler colonialism, queer pessimism/futurity arguments, assemblage identity stuff, afro-pessimism, haptic touch, necropolitics, and virilio). I enjoy all kinds of arguments delivered in all styles and will listen to anything. I also rlly like hearing things I haven't heard before!
- Evidence quality > quantity. Please do evidence comparison. Coherent highlighting is good.
A handful of argument specific thoughts and subtle biases I have--
T/FW/Theory
- FW debates--why does your offense matter more than theirs? tell me :)) I see too many of these debates that lack impact comparison. I tend to view fairness as an internal link to better research/argument refinement rather than its own impact, but that shifts based on the debate/explanation of the terminal impact.
- Like FW, T debates need, and often lack, comparison between impacts or top level framing arguments. Do limits outweigh precision? Do limits turn ground? Is aff or neg flexibility more important given the research burdens on this topic? Idk unless you tell me.
- I default to competing interps--theory debates need a clear interpretation, not just "x thing is bad" or "x thing is good." Reasonability is usually deployed as defense to limits arguments, not a model for how I should evaluate the round
- Condo can be a winning 2AR--I default to viewing it through an offense-defense lens like everything else--it is possible to win that even one conditional advocacy is a reason to reject the team--I'll vote on it. When evaluating other theory arguments I will lean heavily toward rejecting the argument not the team (exception is disclosure/mis-disclosure).
Policy Stuff
- I often find that the difference in comparative risk of internal link chains between an advantage and a dissad is larger/more important than the difference in the size of the terminal impact (unless its an existential dissad versus a structural violence advantage). This is because most impacts people read are very large and universally bad, but I often find one internal link chain may carry significantly more risk of happening than the other due to evidence quality, defensive arguments, etc.
- Turns case arguments tend to be more persuasive the earlier in the internal link chain they are triggered--"link alone turns the aff" is much better than "nuke war causes aff impact to happen for obvious reason." Turns case args are more effective when paired with a timeframe distinction (dissad makes aff impact inevitable before aff can access it).
- I default to thinking judge kick is fine unless the aff tells me I shouldn't. Those arguments should start before the 2AR
- Not a fan of new 2NC counterplans/amended counterplan texts/new planks. I kind of think this is cheating and lazy. The 1AR is hard enough and the negative team should have some obligation to stick to the strategy they laid out in the 1NC to avoid shallow debates.
K debates
- I am unlikely to adopt totalizing frames for framework--"only plan focus matters" or "no evaluating the aff" will probably not be persuasive unless one team is v far ahead
- HOWEVER, with Ks which dispute the reading/performance of the aff it does not make sense to try to weigh those discursive ramifications against some hypothetical government policy. The aff probably has to first justify why the introduction of the 1AC was good. Winning that I shouldn't care about what you said/did in the 1AC will be an uphill battle for me. In a discursive activity I think it makes sense to care about what people say.
- The more specific the links are to the aff's mechanism or performance, the more compelling they are against the permutation. The links should function as specific reasons why inclusion of the aff in the world of the alternative is bad or impossible, which in my view requires some dispute with the aff in particular rather than the state in general.
- In KvK rounds, link/impact framing often ends up centering my decision. I think affs should probably get a permutation, but I need a concrete idea of what the aff is/does in order to understand how it is not mutually exclusive with the negative's strategy.
- I also think presumption is viable against many planless affs. The question of "what do you do though?" is kind of a cliche at this point, but something that matters a lot for the round. I prefer affs to have a method or advocacy that I can explain in a substantive way in the RFD, especially if the debate comes down to a permutation or link question. If your aff does nothing, I would suggest that you pretend like it does something.
Some aesthetic preferences
- Don't do long overviews--I prefer overviews to consist of impact framing and turns case arguments, everything else can happen during line by line.
- Read re-highlightings, don't just insert them
- Less reliance on blocks usually means higher speaks
- Counterplans with lit not grounded in the topic area are :((
- Like p much everyone else, I prefer fewer, more well developed arguments than the 11-off-cannon-of-garbage. I also enjoy strategies being effectively tailored to the aff you're debating--1NCs that are designed with 1) arguments specific to the aff and 2) particular block strategies based on arguments you pigeon hole the 2AC into making will be rewarded with higher speaks. I like that a lot more than reading the same 3 process counterplans and 4 dissads in every round and then going for whatever they undercover.