LAMDL Season Opener
2020 — NSDA Campus, CA/US
Volunteer Judge Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideUPDATE: FEBRUARY 2024
Include me on the email chain: Irvinalvarado@outlook.com
It’s been over a decade since I was last active in this activity. To put this into context it means that if you’re currently a high school senior, the last time I judged a debate round you were in second grade (and you weren’t even old enough to enroll in school if you are a freshmen). This has certain implications for you:
First, I am verbally/vocally out of practice – this means i may have trouble with understanding spreading and/or remembering the meaning of certain debatery jargon right off the top of my head,
And Second, technically/tactically—I have not flowed any debates in a very long time and I am old. This means I might not write as fast as you might be able to speak. NOTE: this does *not* mean you need to go slow In front of me or that you can’t spread at all – you can –what it *does* mean is that if you notice my hands are starting to cramp while I am trying to flow your speech, maybe slow it down just a little.
*Background*
I debated for two years in high school and three in college and coached/judged high school (as well as a few rounds of college) debate on and off for three years. I started debating in high school for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League where I learned how to debate and argue “traditionally” or “straight up”. I finished my high school debate career in the Octas of the NAUDL Championship Tournament. Once graduating high school, I began my college debate career debating for CSU, Fullerton where I transitioned into more “critical” modes of debate, mainly focusing on criticisms based on sex/gender, race, as well as performance based arguments. I also debated for Weber State University in Ogden, UT where my research and argumentation interests gravitated towards both high theory post-modern critical analysis as well as stand-point location race and whiteness arguments. I ended my career at Fresno State University where I focused largely on critique largely based on radical queer theory (particularly queer negativity – odds are you’ve probably heard about me if you’ve heard about that one college debater reading the AIDS Good AFF).
NOTE:
While it is no secret the debate community is more polarized now than it has ever been, don’t for one second let my debate careers argumentative evolution trick you into thinking that I am some critical debate hack who you can file away in your “check in” folder – doing so is a disservice to you as a debater and to me as a critic; I don’t think one style of debate is better than the other. You won’t get my ballot just because you read a K in front of me if you debate poorly. Put simply:
· If you’re a project/performance/k debater – I’m with you.
· If you’re a traditional/roleplaying/policy debater – I’m with you.
I’ll enjoy a good politix/xo debate as much as a one-off K debate any day.
What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t feel obligated to change or Taylor your strategy because of me. I loathe the way judges and coaches who’s days as debaters have long since been over continue to try and make the activity continue to revolve around them; debate shouldn’t be about me and what I like but about the current debaters themselves; read what you want, argue how you want – I’ll do my best to judge you to the best of my ability.
*SPECIFICS*
AFFIRMATIVES:
Traditional AFF’s: Run em. Love big economy/hege impacts. Have solid link/internal link chains and come decked out with overviews for each speech that extend/explain your case.
Critical AFF’S: Love em. One thing I will say, though, is I usually prefer a critical affirmative which has at least some relation to the resolution, meaning: if you’re going to run a critical AFF (whatever variation of), try not to just get up and read something completely random. Instead, read critical affirmatives that criticize the topic, have specific topic links, as well as solid reasons which merit justifying a critical affirmative.
FRAMEWORK:
Framework: I’m a little iffy about framework debates. On one hand, I like clash of civ showdowns, on the other, I dislike how dry and boring they can be. If you’re going to go for a framework debate, try not to rely on overused framework backfiles.
OFFCASE:
Disadvantages: Run em. Make sure you have a central overview for each speech and can keep up with the line-by-line. I have a special place in my heart for good politics debates or debates where the DA in question accompanies a good CP.
Counterplans: CP’s are pretty great. I’m down with Agent Cps, Timeframe CPs, Advantage CPs, but love a good word PIC or solvency PIC. As a competitor, I made learning how to debate PIC’s and Text/Funct comp theory a part of my overall staple as a debater.
Kritiks: Make sure you have clear links/impacts and an alt for your K. Overviews can’t hurt you, either. Something I’ve noticed about high school debaters running the K is that they often have a hard time in big k debates like cap k debates where the 2AC pummels the k flow with perms and impact turns. My advice is as follows: if they K is going to be the argument you’re going for in the 2NR (if you’re a one off K team), split the block strategically. That is, the 2N reads an overview and handles the link/impact debate while the 1NR handles the alt/perm debate. My coach always said “the 2NC is the beat down and the 1NR is the kill shot” so make it count and make sure that coming out of the block, you’re winning most of the offense on the flow. (Note: Please see Paragraph 2 of Final Thoughts for specific K information).
Theory: It breaks my heart with the first c-x of the 1N isn’t what the status of 1n off cases are. If you’re gonna debate theory, debate it well. Keep up with the line by line, impact out the theory flow. I tend to err neg on conditionality but should the neg drop theory, don’t be afraid to go all in – I’ll def sign the ballot your way.
PAPERLESS DEBATE:
I transitioned to paperless debate while debating at Fullerton after debating strictly on paper up to that point. While it was hard to transition to at first, I found that I quickly fell in love with the financial benefits and the efficiency in evidence production/sharing/transportation both at and on the way to tournaments. However, I have found that as a judge, I get extremely annoyed with bad paperless debate, and as a result I’ve established a few paperless guidelines:
If you need to flash, then you need prep: Prep time does not stop when you’re ready to start flashing evidence, it stops when the other team has the flash drive in their hands.
Don’t be a jerk, format your evidence with Verbatim: Compatibility issues are annoying for all involved. If you’re paperless, you should be using verbatim anyway.
Paperless/Paperless debates: in the event of a paperless team debating a paper team, I defer the responsibility of having a viewing computer to the paper team. If the other team carries around tubs full of tangible paper evidence for you to hold and see, the least you could do is make sure they can see the evidence you use against them.
Failure to adhere to the above paperless debate guidelines will result in the docking of your speaker points beginning from a tenth and increasing after the failure of adhering to the first warning. Nobody wants to sit and waste time they could possibly be judging an amazing and engaging debate round staring at a debater struggle to open a file you didn’t save in the correct format.
SPEAKER POINT SCALE:
I disperse speaker points based on a normative scale and try to shy away from low point wins. The most I can tell you regarding speaker points goes as follows:
Policy teams debating the line by line: The highest speaker points go to the winning team. If you are going too fast or I don’t catch an argument/don’t speak clearly, the burden is not on me to figure it out but rather for you to make sure I am following the debate. I don’t have my laptop open and am online during your speeches for a reason – take advantage of that. I refuse to do work for you. Speaker points will be dispersed anywhere between the scale of 27-28.5. On rare occasions I have been known to give a 29-29.4 but nothing higher than that. Don’t expect higher than that for me.
Critical/Pefromance teams: I’m all about the performance and the critical debate but that does not mean I will inflate your speaker points. Don’t think that just because you rapped a bit or spoke from a personal experience that you deserve the highest speaks – at best I might give you a higher ranking (see “Note” section above).
ETHICS CHALLENGES:
It seems as though ethics challenges are becoming more prevalent now both in the high school and college debate circles. I’m generally not a fan of them and have been taught to debate cheaters and beat them. However, if you feel like the team you are debating has an unfair advantage (such as in round discussions with coaches over an online medium, card clipping, etc) feel free to voice them. The round will stop and I will proceed to go to tab and proceed from whatever directions they give me from there.
Note: Be sure you are making a legitimate ethics claim, there is nothing more annoying than a debater who makes an ethics claim for something silly like “they gave us the cards in the doc out of order” – the purpose of the document is so that you can see the cards. Keeping a proper flow resolves most of the offense of that argument.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Unlike other judges, i'm comfortable with admitting my limitations and embracing my shortcoming. That being said, i should probably mention that while i don't often run into this problem, i have judged rounds where i had a very hard time flowing arguments being delivered at a very high speed. This by no means is me telling you you can't spread; instead, spread but be conscious that if you are going TOO fast, i might not catch some of what your saying (a clear sign of this is when you jump from one flow to another and it takes me a little while to finish writing the argument on the current flow before jumping onto the new flow).
Another thing i should include is that while i love the K and could probably be considered a "critical debater" based on my time at Fullerton, i'm not as well versed on all of the rez-to-rez debate philosophers (aside from Nietzsche, Foucault, Heidegger, Spanos, Said) but that doesn't mean i won't be able to judge them. If you think i'm struggling with your argument, include an overview with a clear summarization of the argument and do extra detailed link and impact work on the line by line.
All in all, Debate and debate well. Have clear and accessible overviews for your central positions. Respect your opponents and their property, make eye contact with me and not your opponents. Impact out your claims, extend your evidence properly (claim/warrant), and give me reasons why you deserve the ballot. At the end we’re all here to have fun and win, let’s make sure its enjoyable for everyone involved.
Affiliations:
I am currently coaching 3 teams at lamdl (POLAHS, BRAVO, LAKE BALBOA) and have picked up an ld student or 2. I am pretty familiar with the fiscal redistribution and WANA topics.
I do have a hearing problem in my right ear. If I've never heard you b4 or it's the first round of the day. PLEASE go about 80% of your normal spread for about 20 seconds so I can get acclimated to your voice. If you don't, I'm going to miss a good chunk of your first minute or so. I know people pref partly through speaker points. My default starts at 28.5 and goes up from there. If i think you get to an elim round, you'll prob get 29.0+
Evid sharing: use speechdrop or something of that nature. If you prefer to use the email chain and need my email, please ask me before the round.
What will I vote for? I'm mostly down for whatever you all wanna run. That being said no person is perfect and we all have our inherent biases. What are mine?
I think teams should be centered around the resolution. While I'll vote on completely non T aff's it's a much easier time for a neg to go for a middle of the road T/framework argument to get my ballot. I lean slightly neg on t/fw debates and that's it's mostly due to having to judge LD recently and the annoying 1ar time skew that makes it difficult to beat out a good t/fw shell. The more I judge debates the less I am convinced that procedural fairness is anything but people whining about why the way they play the game is okay even if there are effects on the people involved within said activity. I'm more inclined to vote for affs and negs that tell me things that debate fairness and education (including access) does for people in the long term and why it's important. Yes, debate is a game. But who, why, and how said game is played is also an important thing to consider.
As for K's you do you. the main one I have difficulty conceptualizing in round are pomo k vs pomo k. No one unpacks these rounds for me so all I usually have at the end of the round is word gibberish from both sides and me totally and utterly confused. If I can't give a team an rfd centered around a literature base I can process, I will likely not vote for it. update: I'm noticing a lack of plan action centric links to critiques. I'm going to be honest, if I can't find a link to the plan and the link is to the general idea of the resolution, I'm probably going to err on the side of the perm especially if the aff has specific method arguments why doing the aff would be able to challenge notions of whatever it is they want to spill over into.
I lean neg on condo. Counterplans are fun. Disads are fun. Perms are fun. clear net benefit story is great.
If you're in LD, don't worry about 1ar theory and no rvis in your 1ac. That is a given for me. If it's in your 1ac, that tops your speaks at 29.2 because it means you didn't read my paradigm.
Now are there any arguments I won't vote for? Sure. I think saying ethically questionable statements that make the debate space unsafe is grounds for me to end a round. I don't see many of these but it has happened and I want students and their coaches to know that the safety of the individuals in my rounds will always be paramount to anything else that goes on. I also won't vote for spark, trix, wipeout, nebel t, and death good stuff. ^_^ good luck and have fun debating
Online Debate: Don’t be classist, I have hardware that can support online debate, but that doesn’t mean everyone else does. Let’s not make online debate more difficult by giving people a hard time for not having the proper equipment in a pandemic that nobody expected. If your audio cuts out, I’ll stop your time so we can resolve connection issues. I’ll either ask you to start from where you first cut out or summarize what you said, depending on the length of the outage. It takes all of us to make this work.
About me:
He/Him/His
Yes, add me to the email chain: s.cardenas00@yahoo.com
Debated policy 2 1/2 yrs for South Gate HS under LAMDL
Debated for 2 years with California State University, Northridge
Coached 2 years with South Gate High School
Here's the TL;DR. There's no argument I wouldn't listen to - run arguments you're comfortable with. That being said, I do have more experience with critical arguments. Lately, I've found myself really enjoying framework debates with clash on education/skills impacts. If you have any questions, please ask me. Argumentation and debate is a fluid activity with ever-changing circumstances; therefore I believe paradigms should be fluid as well. My paradigm will always change depending on debate norms.
I will NEVER vote for a "racism/homophobia/misogyny/etc... good" impact turn. I will instantly downvote you and give zero speaks.
==================================================================
Preferences
Burden of Rejoinder vs. Burden of Persuasion: I feel that both are necessary. Personally, I think our activity has placed so much emphasis on the burden of rejoinder that we have lost almost all emphasis on the burden of persuasion. Teams will string together dozens of internal links to create an astronomically improbable scenario and treat it as truth. Truth be told, the probability of the average “big stick” advantage/disad is less than 1% and that’s just real talk. Fast teams read a disad that was never very probable to begin with and because the 2AC is not fast enough to poke holes in every layer of the disad the judge treats those internal links as conceded (and thus 100% probable). Somehow, through no work of their own the neg’s disad went from being a steaming pile of non-sense to a more or less perfectly reasonable description of reality. The takeaway is… that when i judge, I try (imperfectly to be sure) to balance my expectations that students meet both the burden of rejoinder and the burden of persuasion. Does this require judge intervention? Perhaps, to some degree, but isn't that what it means to “allow ones self to be persuaded?” To be clear, I do not think it is my job to be the sole arbiter of whether a claim was true or false, probable or unlikely, significant or insignificant. I do think about these things constantly though and i think it is both impossible and undesirable for me to ignore those thoughts in the moment of decision. It would behoove anyone I judge to take this into account and actively argue in favor of a particular balance between the burdens or rejoinder and persuasion in a particular round.
Case: Obviously, case is important. I've felt that in recent years case has often been shoved aside and forgotten.
T/FW: Probably the most important flow for me. I really value education/skills impacts.
CP's: I find that cp's are best when they're original and have solid solvency literature.
DA's: Similar to the cp's, I think DA's are best when they're original and have solid link/impact chains. Our interpretation of a solid internal link chain may differ, however. See "Burden of Rejoinder vs Burden of Persuasion" for an explanation.
K's: The takeaway is … I would say I am more friendly to critical arguments than some judges, but that also means I require a higher level of explanation and depth for those arguments. For instance, it is not sufficient to argue that the aff’s reps/epistemology/ontology/whatever is bad and these questions come first. You have to tell me in what way the aff’s methodology is flawed and how exactly would this result in flawed thinking/policy/ect. Unlike disads, individual links to kritiks have to have impacts to be meaningful. In general, I think people read too many cards when running kritiks at the expense of doing a lot textual and comparative work.
K Aff's: Similarly, on what I said about neg k’s, I need you to explain your methods and their material consequences.
*** I've really only written the most essential stuff. Im still working on this***
Four years of national circuit policy debate in high school. I tried to keep this short, so if you have any specific questions please ask.
Some general points:
-Basic principle: Win an argument and a reason why that means I should vote for you
-I try to be as unbiased as possible regarding your selection of argumentative styles and regarding my evaluation of the merit of specific arguments
-You should therefore read whatever arguments you're best at and which give you the best chance of winning
-I probably lean towards the "policy" side of things
-Flashing is not prep but please know how to use a flash drive
-Clarity and good line by line are greatly preferred and appreciated; you should avoid overviews whenever possible
-Explain why your arguments matter in the context of the debate as a whole and why they're voting issues
Aff:
-I tend to lean slightly neg on framework questions; I think that most K affs are not particularly about the topic and I think that it's a huge bonus if your aff actually engages with a topical question
-I think that your aff should have some written statement of advocacy
CP:
-These are great
-I try to be neutral on CP theory but it's going to be an uphill battle to get me to agree that I should exclude from debate some large and common category of counterplans (e.g. Agent CPs bad). Theoretical objections which are more specific in nature are likely to be more persuasive.
K:
-Go for it
-Avoid using an excessive amount of jargon
-The earlier points about avoiding overviews, doing good line by line, and explaining yourself apply especially to this debate
DA:
-Yeah sure whatever
-Politics is fun but be good at it
Theory:
-I'll vote on it
-Try to clearly explain your arguments and slow down a bit to ensure you communicate them clearly
Style:
-Being funny is always a plus
-Be clear
-Do line by line and signpost clearly
Hello, my name is Lesly De Anda She/Her - Add me to the email chain: leslydeanda8@gmail.com
Some things about me: I Graduated from Steam Legacy High School class of 2019’ debated for 4 years for Los Angeles Urban Debate League (LAMDL for short) as a Policy Debater! I attended Fullerton College where I debated for 2 years in JV-Open Policy Debate transferring to UC Riverside. I no longer debate competitively, but I am active in judging and coaching if you ever need any help please go ahead and email me any questions after round I would love to help! I am a Policy Coach - @ STEAM LEGACY HS and affiliated with LAMDL. I judge Policy Debate, LD Debate, and Public Forum. So I am becoming more versatile, I am still a little new to the lingo so please be patient with me.
Receiving High Speaks: I love strong speakers and debaters who asks great CX questions, I love to feel the clash in the room. I tend not to pay attention to CX but when it leads to clash I will take it into consideration. Please address me by my name and talk to me before round, I hate going into round feeling like I don't know anyone lol. Debate is a show, do your BEST and be CHARISMATIC this is your show and we are all just watching.
Receiving Low Speaks: if u create a hostile environment for the other debaters in the room or people in the room i will end the round and vote up the other team immediately.
- If say something racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, any ism's etc. I WILL DROP YOUR SPEAKER POINTS. i get it, debate is a competitive sport that can get very heated, but to me, this is an educational space and should also make you feel safe. be a good person to the people you share this space with and contribute to the great things that this activity contributes in the best way you can do such.
- If you have spectators in your round, please be respectful I will LOWER your speaks and and VOTE YOU DOWN if you are TEXTING and even INTERACTING with them IRKS me and is super DISRESPECTFUL.
Spreading - Is okay with me as long as everyone in the room can fully understand you - remember you can read 8 off but if I didn’t understand you who does it benefit in round ? If you ask me if I can understand spreading then I will tell you no ._. Read my paradigm.
CX - I will NOT vote on anything during CX UNLESS brought up in the constructive or debater asks me too, if you are going to create a strategy ask me to flow, if not I will not pay attention to CX.
Prep - take the time you need before a round, the internet sometimes sucks and computers act up it happens, do not steal prep time while flashing or emailing files. I am very understanding so please do not take advantage or else I will be force to stop the round. If you need to cut a card while you are reading pls send a revise version before the next speech, I find it unjust and unfair.
Flowing - I do flow everything ( not CX unless stated to), but I will not flow if your spreading is illegible, if you know your spreading is not as good as it needs to be do not make me work harder to understand.
Policy/K’ Affs - I ran both myself, but have no biasness towards either both are awesome to run! Just make sure you know how to defend yourself against Topicality. Love the uniqueness of K aff's show me what you created !!!!
Topicality - T is work and you have to put in the work in order to win my vote on T, if you are going for topicality or any theory argument in the 2ar/2nr you need to extend interpretations, violations, and standards. Standards must have impacts fairness and education is not super persuasive and will probably lean to reasonability. Good interps of what a "topical" plan should be --- that being said i will default to the better interp/definition and vote accordingly.
K’s - I LOVE A GOOD K debate and usually do vote on the K if the links/impacts are made clear. Link contextualization is key no matter the kritik. Alternative contextualization is key too if at the end of the round I do not understand what your alternative then I will drop the K and vote on the AFF on this one. PLEASE do your research, and explain what the alternative does, and how the aff links into such.
(Policy debates)Tag team CX- Once you are in Varsity , I don't believe you should be tag teaming.
diegojflores02@gmail.com
Bravo '20, CSULB OF '24, LAMDL 4eva
Coach Huntington Park High School
I prefer the last 2 rebuttals to start with a big-picture overview about the core issues that need to be resolved followed by efficient, technical line-by-line. There should be a blend of tech, persuasiveness, and good ethos moments in order to win the debate. When debates are close and I am comparing arguments, I look at their construction (claim, evidence, warrant, framing/judge instruction). If one side has more components and a more complete argument, it is more likely they win. If both sides are equal, then that is when my understanding of what's true is used to evaluate who has won that specific argument on the flow.
I don't care what you read, only how. I enjoy debate because of the work that is produced from all sides. I almost despise some of the arguments people like to read (ie heg good) but appreciate the work it takes and will evaluate it equally because my flow decides who wins, not my personal beliefs. I was successful in high school as a flex policy-leaning debater and in college as only K-oriented.
These are some of my beliefs about debate that are usually in the back of my head depending on the debate I'm judging:
*Critical affirmatives need a solid counter-model of debate. I believe in the benefits of clash and a stasis point from which all teams can prepare from, but just as much believe that the content that derives from that stasis point matters.
*Policy teams with big stick impacts should stop being weasels about their "reps." Defend them and go rah rah patriot cus you're not foolin me or anybody else, it would make debates more fun than "i need fiat, extinction go brr look at my case"
*Critical debaters should provide more examples of the connections between the impacts to the link / the alternative and real life. I'm not a fan of debates that get real heavy into theory v. theory k's without tying it back.
*no judge kick do it yourself, pls more overview / storytelling on the da, down for t debates but go slower
*silly theory like multiple perms bad floating piks good mwah ha ha ha
LAMDL Debaters
disclose on the wiki (unless its new) or im capping speaks <28.7. it deprives both sides of better debates, widens the gap between debaters who go to camp and those who don't, and disincentivizes new varsity teams from trying to be better.
add me to your chains, email: isaakgibson@gmail.com
i go by isaak or shinnosuke, he/him/his
note for policy & TOC LD: especially in the era of online debate, i ask you to please SEND ALL YOUR BLOCKS. no matter how amazing me or anyone else in the room may be at flowing, i can guarantee you whether it's audio problems or bad headphones or any other issues i and many other judges will be missing a lot of the stuff on the flow, so if you want detailed decisions and comments and speaks send everything you read.
about me:
debated for 3 years in high school with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League, currently debating at Fullerton College.
i'm a k debater with a background primarily in anti-capitalism, afropess (and related), set col, queer/quare theory, model minority and orientalism. that being said, i am plenty familiar with policy stuff having read a decent amount of policy stuff in high school early on.
general notes:
do not be offensive/violent to anyone in the room. i know sometimes people make mistakes, but please try your best to not be an asshole. this means things blatantly racist, queerphobic, sexist, etc can result in significantly lower speaks and possibly me voting you down or stopping the round.
be very careful with spreading especially with analytics and rebuttals, make sure you are clear and heard. you never know who in the room it will benefit.
judging stuff:
there are a few big things that i think about debate that have a big effect on how i make decisions and think about the round as a whole. here they are in no particular order:
1. competitively, i should vote for whoever did the better debating (duh). this means that winning on a technical level is important: strong analysis of the technical aspects of the debate (meaning things like dropped arguments and points of direct clash) you are having is a great way of getting a ballot.
2. educationally, i should consider what the debaters are actually getting out of the debate. are the debaters learning new things about the topic or about debate itself? are there skills of some kind being developed? are there things being talked about that can be applied outside of debate when y'all leave? these things are important to me as someone that has had the privilege of learning through debate, and it often means that teams who can prove to me they learn and teach things better than the other team are more persuasive to me.
3. ethically, i have an obligation to evaluate the knowledge being produced in the round. i have to consider if that knowledge is violent, if it is liberatory, and what those things mean for me as a judge. what that does not mean is that i will necessarily let my truths dictate what i vote for (unless you do some really bad shit like i said above), but rather that you all as debaters have the burden of proving that your knowledge is not violent and/or that it is liberatory when that is questioned. proving those kinds of things can win you the ballot.
if you have any questions that weren't answered by the stuff above feel free to email me or to ask me before round, i'll do my best to answer them
Especially for online debate, slow down a little, particularly from the 2NC on.
Please include Ryanpmorgan1@gmail.com and interlakescouting@googlegroups.com for the email chain. Please use subject lines that make clear what round it is.
I wrote a veritable novel below. I think its mostly useless. I'm largely fine with whatever you want to do.
Top level:
- I am older (36) and this definitely influences how I judge debates.
- Yes, I did policy debate in high school and college. I was mediocre at it.
- Normal nat circuit norms apply to me. Speed is fine, offense/defense calc reigns, some condo is probably good but infinite condo is probably bad, etc.
- I have a harder time keeping up with very dense/confusing debates than a lot of judges. Simplifying things with me is always your best bet.
Areas where I diverge from some nat circuit judges:
- I am more likely to call "nonsense" on your bewildering process CP or Franken K. If the arg doesn't make any sense, you should just tell me that.
- Aff vagueness (and in effect, conditionality) is out of control in modern debate. I will vote on procedural arguments to rectify this trend.
- Bad process CPs are bad and shouldn't be a substitute for cutting cards or developing a real strategy. Obviously, I'll vote on them, but the 2AR that marries perm + theory into a comprehensive model for debate is usually a winner.
- I'm less likely to "rep" out teams or schools. I don't keep track of bid leaders and what not. Related: I forget about most rounds 20 minutes after I turn in my ballot.
Stats:
- Overall Aff win rate: 48.7%
- Elim aff win rate: 42.3%
- I have sat 6 times in 53 elims
Core controversies - I'm pretty open so take these with a grain of salt.
- Unlimited condo | -----X-------- | 2-worlds, maybe
- Affs should be T | ---X----------- | T isn't a voter
- Judge kick | ----X--------- | No judge kick
- "Meme" arguments | --------X- | You better be amazing at "meme" debate
- Research = better speaks | --X--------- | Tech = better speaks
- Speed | -------X---- | Slow down a little
- Inherency is case D | -X--------- | Inherency is a DA thumper
My Knowledge:
- I went for politics DA a lot. Its the only debate thing I'm a genuine expert in, at least in debate terms.
- I do not "get" the topic (inequality) yet. I did not go to camp. Debate like this is Mich finals at your own peril.
- I have some familiarity with the following K lit - cap, Foucault/Agamben, Lacan/psychoanalysis, security, nuclear rhetoric, nihilism, non-violence, and gendered language.
- I'm basically clueless RE: set col / Afropess / Baudrillard / Bataille. I have voted on all of them, though, in the past..
K affs
I prefer topical affs, and I like plan-focused debates. I'm neg-leaning on T-framework in the sense that I think reality leans neg if you actually play out the rationale behind most K affs that are being run in modern debate. But I vote aff about 50% of the time in those debates, so if that's your thing, go for it.
T/cap K/ ballot PIK and the like are boring to me, though. I think that unless the K aff is pure intellectual cowardice, and refuses to take a stand on anything debatable, there are usually better approaches for the neg to take.
I'm a great judge for impact turning K affs - e.g., cap good, state reform good.
Word PIKs are a good way to turn the aff's rejection of T/theory against them.
Or, you could simply, you know, engage the aff's lit base and cut some solvency turns / make a strong presumption argument that engages with the aff's method.
Some other advice:
- "Bad things are bad" is not a very interesting argument. You should have a solvency mechanism.
- Affs should have a "debate key" warrant. That warrant can involve changing the nature of debate, but you should have some reason you are presenting your argument in the context of a debate round.
- I think fairness matters, but its obviously possible to win that other things matter more depending on the circumstances.
- Traditional approaches to T-FW is best with me - very complicated 5th-level args on T are less persuasive to me than a simple and unabashed defense of topicality + switch-side debate = fairness + education. "We can't debate you, and that makes this activity pointless" is usually a win condition for the neg, in my book. St. Marks teams always do a really good job on this in front of me, so idk, emulate them I guess, or steal their blocks.
Topicality against policy affs
I have not read enough into this topic's literature to have a strong opinion on the core controversies.
I think I tend to lean into bigger topics than most modern judges do. That a topic might have dozens of viable affs is not a sign of a bad topic, so long as it incents good scholarship and the neg has ways to win debates if they put in the work.
Speaker points
When deciding speaks, I tend to reward research over technical prowess.
If you are clobbering the other team, slow down and make the debate accessible to them. Running up the score will run down your speaks.
I frequently check my speaker points post-tournament to make sure I'm not an outlier. I am not, as near as I can tell. I probably have a smaller range than average. It takes a LOT to get a 29.3 or above from me, but it also takes a lot for me to go below 28.2 or so.
Ethical violations
I am pretty hands off and usually not paying close enough attention to catch clipping unless it is blatant.
Prep stealing largely comes out of your speaks, unless the other team makes an appeal.
Affiliations:
SVUDL 2018 to present
LAMDL 2020 to present
Yerba Buena High School 2018 to 2022
Stanford 2022 to present
Pref Recommendations (For LD):
1 - Policy, Ks
2 - T
3 - K Affs, theory
5 - Phil
Strike - Tricks
About me:
Hi, my name is Kastella/Kas. You can call me either of those. I debated at Yerba Buena High School in CX (2 years) then switched to LD (2 years). I mainly debated on the circuit and read soft left affs, ks (mainly cap k), das, and t. If it matters, I did not bid but broke multiple times at tournaments such as Berkeley, Nano Nagle, Loyola, Jack Howe, etc.
My pronouns are she/they. I will use they for anyone I am not familiar with, please let me know if you would prefer otherwise.
Add me to the email chain -
Tech > Truth
Clarity > Speed
I LOVEDspreading when I debated. It was my favorite part of debate, so feel free to do your thing. However, be clear. I'll say clear once or twice but after that, it's up to you to continue. Your speaks will suffer if I can't understand you.
Everything in this paradigm is simply preference. I have been removed from debate for a while, so while I am not as familiar as I used to be, one thing stays true: debate is what you make of it. Do what makes you comfortable and I will try my best to evaluate the debate fairly. However, I will not vote on any arguments or behaviors that makes the debate unsafe (racism, sexism, etc).
Stuff to know:
Sept/Oct Topic: I don't know anything about this topic, so beware!
Kritiks: This was my main strat when I debated. I think that ks are good and strategic. While I am most familiar with the cap k and its variations, feel free to run any k. However, I need a good link story, which can be developed in cx and in the 2nr. Without it, I have a hard time voting for you if I don't see how the aff links. I don't have as strong of an opinion on the alt or framework but if you are going one off, those matter a lot more. If you plan to run this on the aff, I have a similar opinion. You should be able to defend your model of debate and have a clear link to the topic. If you don't have a link, give me good reasons on why that is/why that's a good thing.
DAs: Love these! I appreciate specific links and good link chains. Basically, I like a good story. Each part of the DA needs work to be done to have a solid link chain: how does the link lead to the impact? Is your impact bigger than the aff? Is this DA likely? All things to consider. If the internal link doesn't make sense, there is a smaller threshold for the aff to answer the DA in my opinion.
CPs: Should be competitive with the aff. PICs are questionable. I dislike multi-plank CPs. Don't have a huge opinion on CPs. If you decide to read multiple, theory is not your friend, especially if the abuse is clear. If not, then you're good.
T: While I try to be fair, I err on competing interps. Interps should also be carded. Reasonability is something I would be willing to vote on but I probably need more than that to safely vote aff. As for the neg, your responsibility is convincing me that the aff is untopical, which means I need clear standards to your interp.
Theory: I'm fine with theory. I have a higher threshold for voting on it but if there is a clear violation to a reasonable interp you set out, chances are I'll be voting on it if you do the work. However, I need it to be more than just a blip. Simply saying condo bad with no clear interp or standards is not enough. Reasonability means a lot to me and is underutilized. Also, if you plan to run RVIs, that will be an uphill battle but not impossible. As a disclaimer, I care a lot about disclosure as a former small school debater. I read disclosure theory a lot as well. That being said, there has to be a reasonable violation for me to vote on that as well.
Framework: Feel free to run it. Similar to T, I need a clear interp, violation, etc. The aff should have to defend their model of debate and you should be able to defend yours. Definitely have a TVA. I enjoy tricky arguments on framework and creativity.
Trad: I debated in trad, so I have a decent understanding. As long as you are able to defend your case versus an NC or a circuit debater's strategy, then feel free to run your strat.
Phil: I don't have much experience in phil nor did I debate it much. I will evaluate it as long as you are able to explain it to me. Treat me as a parent judge in this regard.
Tricks: Not viable. I will not vote for it, so would not recommend trying.
Overall, these are just my opinions. You do you. Be nice. Have fun.
Let me know if you have any questions or clarifications though. See you soon! :)
Donny Peters
20 years coaching. I have coached at Damien High School, Cal State Fullerton, Illinois State University, Ball State University, Wayne State University and West Virginia University. Most of my experience is in policy but I have also coached successful LD and PF teams.
After reading over paradigms for my entire adult life, I am not sure how helpful they really are. They seem to be mostly a chance to rant, a coping mechanism, a way to get debaters not to pref them and some who generally try but usually fail to explain how they judge debates. Regardless, my preferences are below, but feel free to ask me before the round if you have any questions.
Short paradigm. I am familiar with most arguments in debate. I am willing to listen to your argument. If it an argument that challenges the parameters and scope of debate, I am open to the argument. Just be sure to justify it. Other than that, try to be friendly and don't cheat.
Policy
For Water Protection: I am no longer coaching policy full time so I haven't done the type of topic research that I have in the past. I have worked on a few files and have judges a few debates but I do not have the kind of topic knowledge something engaged in coaching typically does.
For CJR: New Trier is my first official tournament judging this season, but I have done a ton of work on the topic, judged practice debates etc.
Evidence: This is an evidence based activity. I put great effort to listening, reading and understanding your evidence. If you have poor evidence, under highlight or misrepresent your evidence (intentional or unintentional) it makes it difficult for me to evaluate your arguments. Those who have solid evidence, are able to explain their evidence in a persuasive matter tend to get higher speaker points, win more rounds etc.
Overall: Debate how you like (with some constraints below). I will work hard to make the best decision I am capable of. Make debates clear for me, put significant effort in the final 2 rebuttals on the arguments you want me to evaluate and give me an approach to how I should evaluate the round.
Nontraditional Affs : I tend to enjoy reading the literature base for most nontraditional affirmatives. I'm not completely sold on the pedagogical value of these arguments at the high school level. I do believe that aff should have a stable stasis point in the direction of the resolution. The more persuasive affs tend to have a personal relationship with the arguments in the round and have an ability to apply their method and theory to personal experience.
Framework: I do appreciate the necessity of this argument. I am more persuaded by topical version arguments than the aff has no place in the debate. If there is no TVA then the aff need to win a strong justification for why their aff is necessary for the debate community. The affirmative cannot simply say that the TVA doesn't solve. Rather there can be no debate to be had with the TVA. Fairness in the abstract is an impact but not a persuasive one. The neg need to win specific reasons how the aff is unfair and and how that impacts the competitiveness and pedagogical value of debate. Agonism, decision making and education may be persuasive impacts if correctly done.
Counter plans: I attempt to be as impartial as I can concerning counterplan theory. I don’t exclude any CP’s on face. I do understand the necessity for affirmatives to go for theory on abusive counterplans or strategically when they do not have any other offense. Don’t hesitate to go for consult cp’s bad, process cps bad, condo, etc. For theory, in particular conditionality, the aff should provide an interpretation that protects the aff without over limiting the neg.
DA's : who doesn't love a good DA? I do not automatically give the neg a risk of the DA. Not really sure there is much else to say.
Kritiks- Although I enjoy a good K debate, good K debates at the high school level are hard to come by. Make sure you know your argument and have specific applications to the affirmative. My academic interests involve studying Foucault Lacan, Derrida, Deleuze, , etc. So I am rather familiar with the literature. Just because I know the literature does not mean I am going to interpret your argument for you.
Overall, The key to get my ballot is to make sure its clear in the 2NR/2AR the arguments you want me to vote for and impact them out. That may seem simple, but many teams leave it up to the judge to determine how to prioritize and evaluate arguments.
For LD
Loyola: I have done significant research on the topic and I have judged a number of rounds for camps.
Debate how your choose. I have judged plenty of LD debates over the years and I am familiar with contemporary practices. I am open to the version of debate you choose to engage, but you should justify it, especially if your opponent provides a competing view of debate. For argument specifics please read the Policy info. anything else, I am happy to answer before your debate.
email chain - nicole.rosas12345@gmail.com
Zoom - Don't hesitate to mention any issues you are having, i'll do the same. Remember to be patient we never know what people might be experiencing. I would recommend sending analytics def not required (unless that's argued.)
In general if you can debate it, I can vote on it. I'm fine with everything (I am not against voting on a troll.) I highly value good impact analysis. A good rule of thumb is to debate your opponents as if any argument they make is the best form of the argument. Debate is supposed to be fun!
Spread to your hearts content.
Frame the ballot ASAP. Overviews are great.
Don't talk out loud during your partners speech.
Tag-teaming is fine
Aff's - You do you. I'm fine with anything policy. Its the 1AC what are you gonna do. I am definitely kinder to soft-left AFF'S. Have proper framing
Non- traditional aff's- I've ran them. I am a little familiar with the language. I think they are great especially if they have a performance, that's a lot of fun. However, make sure to extend it, the argument is not "I danced, I win" rather what value did this performance add to this debate. Have a clear explanation of what the advocacy does. I think these debates, for me, come down to f/w, as in whose model of debate I've been made to believe is best. Some of my K philosophy works here.
Topicality/theory- I would recommend running it if the Aff is actually not topical otherwise I probably won't vote on it. I don't love hearing theory debates but I can vote on it.
Da's - Need to have good internal link work. I would love to see some "non-normative" DA's
CP's - Make sure its good, perms are the easiest way to vote here. I don't love specific CP's like Agent, consult, Delacy CPs, but I will vote on them. Have a net benefit.
K's- I would say the I am more friendly to these arguments. Know some lit, but don't throw jargon. I think that K teams can have an issue with throwing around arguments that they think have more weight than they actually do to judges. Explain your arguments. Links of omission are a no-go. Have a really good link story and alt explanation. Frame debates through the K.
Cards VS. Analytics
I value both. I think cards are great but the personal aspect that an analytic brings, which could never be explained through an author writing about what they have never experienced, is inherently very valuable in debates.
Always include me in the email chain'
Email: israel.debate.email@gmail.com
Affiliations: LAMDL - CSUN
Speaker Points:
I do not disclose speaker points. Overall your speaks will be determined on the quality of speech.
Spreading:
I am okay with spreading, clarity/speed.
Basics rundown for Policy
Every argument/off case will be flowed the same way. What I mean by that the way that you will win a flow is the consistency of your argument and the persuasion of your speech. I have no "bias" or preference of arguments or type of Affs. For the record CP's and Theory arguments are going to be evaluated the same way. I separated them for the sake of alphabetization.
Case: Traditional Affs; I am very familiar with many kinds of Affs (i.e. Hard right and soft left Affs.) You should know the content of your Aff. I have no preference on the type of Aff or content itself. If you persuade me enough to vote for you through out the round then the ballot will ultimately go to the Aff. I run "traditional affs" in LD and have been a USFG centered in high school - still need why youre net better.
CP- Remember that not all Cp's are plan-inclusive and to me at least all you have to prove is that your method solves better than the aff. Its more credible with Net-benefits and show me solvency deficit.
DA- Uniqueness... Link.... Internal Links.... Impacts. Best way and easier for me to flow as a judge. If you don't use the DA as a net-benefit for the CP then I will always think the sqou. is being advocated as well besides the CP.
Kritiks: In this flow I really need to see how your alt and how the Aff links. I'm fine with performance, narrative, etc. If the K is ultimately not ran properly as in the explanation of Links, Impacts, Alt, Alt solves, etc. I will not vote for the K.
Topicality For Traditional Affs: On this flow there should be the most clash on. I need to know why and how the aff is not topical and why it matters to me as a judge.
You decide your fate of the ballot. Tell me why I should vote your way and I feel that you did a good job on executing that then I'll sign the ballot to you.
he/him/they/them
For college debate, use this email: debatecsuf@gmail.com
CSUF 22
Coach @ Harvard Westlake
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S Tier - LARP, Plan v K
A tier - Clash of Civs
B tier - K v K, Phil
C tier - Theory debates, Trix
D/F tier - memes
I did policy debate for 4 years at Downtown Magnets (shout out LAMDL) and 4 years at Cal State Fullerton. I debated mostly truthy performance debates and one-off K strats in high school and debated the K in a very technical way in college. Currently coach flex teams in LD.
I would say my debate influences are Jared Burke, Shanara Reid-Brinkley, Jonathan Meza, Anthony Joseph, Travis Cochran, Toya Green, and Scotty P.
TLDR: I will vote for anything, as long as it's impacted out. The list of preferences is based on my comfort with the argument. Fine with speech drop or email chain.
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General
I think debate is a game that can have heavy implications on life and influence a lot of things
Tech > Truth, unless the Tech is violent (racism good, sexism good, etc.)
Good for all speeds, but clarity is a must
I default my prioritization to theory, T, and then substance. This can be changed if argued
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Theory
Disclosure is probably good, can vote on the impact turn though
Yes competing interps, lean no RVIs, DTD
Shells need an interp, violation, standards, voter
Reasonability OK but explain why you are reasonable
Need a good abuse story/how does my ballot set norms? Why does my ballot matter? How does this implicate future debates?
I think condo is good
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LARP
Absurd internal link chains should be questioned
Default util
No zero-risk
Uniqueness controls the link
Impact turns are good
Perms are tests of competition, not new advocacies
Yes judge kick
New evidence in NR as long as it's a logical extension of the NC. I'm okay with the 2AR doing this as well to check back, but it may not be strategic.
Will read evidence if told to do so
Quality ev > Card dump of bad ev
CPs need to compete on a functional and textual level
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K
I have a reading background in several critical literature bases. I am most read in anti-capitalist theory, afro pessimism, fugitive black studies, settler colonialism, and Baudrillard. For the sake of the debate, assume I know nothing and explain your K.
Winning theory of power important
Perm solves the link of omission
Specific link > state bad link
Contextualized link > state bad link
Affs should weigh the aff vs. the K, negs should tell me why this isn't possible OR deal with affs impacts.
Extinction outweighs debate probably good here
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K Affs
I appreciate affirmatives that are in the direction of the topic. Affs that don't defend any portion of the resolution need a heavy defense of doing so
I try not to have a leaning into T-FW debates, but I find myself often voting negative. Similar to Theory/T, I would love to hear about the affirmative's model of debate compared to the negative's. Impact turns to their model are awesome but there is a higher bar if I don't know what your model is.
Read a TVA -- Answer the TVA
Fairness is an impact. Clash is important. Education matters
KvK debates are super interesting, but I hate when they become the Oppression Olympics. Perms are encouraged. Links of omission are not. Contextualize links to the affirmative and clearly tell me how to evaluate the round.
Presumption isn't gone for enough in these debates
Lean yes on perms in KvK/method debates
Performances should be used offensively. I will flow your poems/videos/whatever, just have a defense of it and utilize it to win
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Phil
I think phil AC/NCs are interesting
Explain it well and you will be fine
Default epistemic confidence if the AC is phil
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Tricks
Do not hide tricks
Answer them
Preferably not extempted
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Speaker Points
Pretty much summed up here
If you make a joke about Jared Burke, +.1 speaker point