2020 USC Trojan Invitational
2020 — NSDA Campus, CA/US
NLD Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideI've judged over 100 debate rounds in the last 2 years at this point. I will flow the round. The biggest caveat is that you should not spread. It does not enhance argumentation and just makes the debate less engaging and less educational. I am putting this at the top of my paradigm. If you decide to spread, and as a result get dropped, that is your fault for not reading the paradigm, not a judge screw.
Pref Cheat Sheet
Traditional Debate/Lay- 1
Slow, Policy-Style debate- 4
Complex Phil- 4
Tricks- 4
Ks- Strike
Friv Theory- Strike
Spreading- Strike
I hate Ks, not because I don't understand them, but because I think they are bad for debate education. I have the same stance on spreading, I see no point in cramming as much content as possible into a debate if i can't understand you. It is anti-educational.
I would like there to be an email chain, especially for virtual debates. add me to it- sonalbatra14@gmail.com If you do not make an email chain that indicates you did not read the paradigm and will result in dropped speaks :)
I like a good, reasonable argument
Not a huge fan of theory, don't run a super frivolous shell. If your opponent is running a frivolous shell make a good argument for reasonability & you should be fine. BUT, absolutely use theory to check REAL abuse.
Spreading- Don't like it. I'll say clear twice & then stop flowing & dock your speaks. It is better to err on the side of caution. If it is a big problem you will be dropped.
Kritiks- I don't like them. I would say don't run them.
Flowing- I flow the round, but if you speak too quickly, the quality of this will significantly deteriorate.
Speaks- Speaker points tend to be "low". Being nice = higher speaks, Being mean/rude = lower speaks. I judge speaker points mostly as if you were in a speech event. If you spread, you will have VERY LOW speaks (think 26). I do believe in low point wins if the tournament allows.
Pet Peeves-
- telling me you won the debate (that is my decision)
- "we should just try" (no, if your opponent is proving active harms, we should not just try.)
- being rude to your opponent
- forcing progressive debate on traditional opponents, if your opponent asks for traditional, please do a traditional round.
Overall, you should run what you are comfortable with. It is better to run a case you know & are comfortable with than a case you don't know just to appease a judge. Just make sure everything is well warranted & linked, & we should be good!
**Less than 5 debates judged on this policy topic so no acronyms without explanation first plz**
Policy Paradigm (LD at bottom)
Currently head coach of Whitefish Bay High School in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin since September 2022
Graduated HS in 2014, policy debater from 2010-2014 (2N/1A) with some national circuit outround/bid round experience.
Assistant coached LD and Policy at:
Central Valley HS (Spokane, WA 2014-2016)
Capitol HS (Boise, ID 2016-2017)
Former co-head coach at Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin (2017-2020)
--Yes, I want to be on the email chain. Blerickson95@gmail.com
--Overall, I am not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed, and I vote for the team that quite literally makes the most sense to me. I am not afraid to take the easy way out if I am given warranted reasons why I should. The harder you make it for me, the more work you make me do, the less likely you are to get my ballot, and I think that makes sense and is fair.
--For the love, please time yourselves.
--Your speaks will increase if you don't spend at ton of time at the beginning of cross ex asking what cards were and weren't read :) (I like flowing!)
--Maybe I am just old and grumpy but, do not wear your headphones in round, at any time, once the debate starts. Not in one ear only, not because "you'e just the 1N", not because you are the 2A and don't want to listen to the 1AC. I think it's rude, pompous, and just plain obnoxious. No debater in the world is too important to listen to a full debate. It is so disrespectful to the other team, the judge, and everyone who took time to be at that debate. Ugh. I hate it so much. Headphones on during a debate are an auto 27 or lower. That's all :) *Obviously this does not carry through for online debate!
Quick version
Generally good for:
--DA-case debates
--Cheater counterplan debates
--Politics/elections debates
Not as good for:
--Heavy K debates
--Any type of death good argument (I think death is bad, and we should try to avoid it)
--Baudrillard
--Any strategy that is largely based off of debate being inherently bad/irredeemable
Online debate things:
--I would prefer if the person speaking had their camera on, but I am obviously understanding if that cannot happen.
--I keep my camera on for the debate but I turn it off during prep to go sit on my couch and hold my dog. So, please make sure, before you start your speech, I am back on the camera. If I am not and you start, that would be no good.
Longer version
General
--I, for the most part, love this activity, and respect anyone who takes the time and effort to participate. This activity is rigorous, and good for you for even being here. I welcome questions before and after the round. I realize some people won't agree with my decision, and I welcome questions as to how I came to my conclusion. However, what I don't welcome, is blatant disrespect because you disagree with my decision. Slamming your things, muttering rude things under your breath, or screaming at me, won't make me email tab begging to change my ballot. In fact, it will make me really not like you.
--I flow on paper, so I need pen time. I understand and follow the debate better this way, but that also means I am not writing everything down verbatim, so if you have arguments you think are important, sit on them.
--I am very expressive. I have tried to have a better poker face, but I simply cannot do it. You should be able to tell if I am unhappy or not.
--Don't be racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. You will lose immediately and receive the lowest speaker points I am allowed to give u
--Prep ends when you’re done prepping and begin flashing/emailing (I can tell if you’re flashing/emailing or prepping, if I see you prepping off prep time, I’ll start your speech time)
--If you clip and it's recorded, you lose. It needs to be recorded.
--I will not evaluate things that happened outside of the debate.
Topic Thoughts
Very few judged on this topic. Plz don't use acronyms without explaining them first.
K debate
--The role of the judge is to decide who did the best debating. The role of the ballot is to tell Tabroom who won.
--Fiat isn't real and that's fine.
--This is my area of less familiarity. Although I have fairly frequently found myself in the back of clash of civ debates, I am less familiar with critical arguments. IR K's such as cap, security, gender, etc. I do not have a problem understanding. I have a harder time understanding high theory, philosophy debates. Pleeease do not assume I have read your author. Do not let this dissuade you from reading your bread and butter K arguments in front of me, just know I need more explanation. I think in good debates this can even just be done in a cross ex.
--I need a reason why the aff is bad. I often find myself voting on the perm because I do not know why the aff is specifically bad for causes more bad things to happen. I am not saying this can't be done, it definitely can be done, and should be.
--I am not here to change how you debate, but it would be disingenuous for me to say my experiences in debate have not affected how I am used to and comfortable evaluating debates. That being said, I tend to think speech times are good, and an hour and a half of discussion is not as good. If we are going to throw speech times out the window, I need to know what the structure is for the remainder of the debate. I.e. when we are done, how I should evaluate arguments in this new format, etc. If there is no structure, I need to know why not having a structure for the debate is good. I do my very best to not intervene, and if the debate devolves into a discussion, the only time I will intervene is to say when time is up for the round. It would be GREAT if that was done for me by one of the teams. I try to talk in debate rounds *literally* as little as possible but I also do not want to make the tournament run behind.
--I have evaluated many framework debates, but I think I am about even voting for and against it. That being said, I think predictable limits are my point of most persuasion. But do what u do.
K affs
--I need to know what the aff does. I just do.
--I do not necessarily need you to defend hypothetical USfg action, but I really appreciate topic relevance.
Theory
Anything is legitimate until you prove to me that it’s not. If you drop these things, you lose*: Conditionality, ASPEC. Flow! Don't just follow the speech doc! Ask what reasons are to reject the team in cx!
*I think sometimes cross applications are sufficient. Or aff outweighs arguments for critical affs. It literally just depends how the debate shakes out, but I would just try to answer them explicitly the first time.
I think fairness can be an internal link or an impact depending on how you spin it. Tell me how you want me to view and evaluate fairness.
Topicality
I have recently realized that I take a little more than the average person to vote on T. I default to competing interpretations unless told otherwise. T isn’t an RVI. Slow down on T debates plz.
For me to vote on topicality, I need: a topical version of the aff (doesn't need to solve the aff, it just needs to show an alternate, topical version of the discussion), a list of topical aff's under your interpretation, a list of what you were deprived of in the debate because of the aff's untopicality OR a reason why I should vote on potential abuse.
Counterplans
I’m a big fan. Counterplans should be competitive and have a solvency advocate, in my perfect world. But hey, I am becoming more and more okay with counterplans that do not have a solvency advocate for some reason.
The more specific, the better. Sufficiency arguments are persuasive to me. I need to know HOW the counterplan solves every portion of the aff, don’t just assert that it does. Process, conditions, delay, consult, advantage etc. I’m fine with; like I said, anything is legitimate unless proved otherwise. I really like smart pics/word pics.
My mantra has always been, if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin'. Cheating counterplans can get the job done and if there is no theoretical objection to reject the argument, you may be in trouble. That being said, compelling reasons why that specific cheating counterplan is bad can sometimes convince me to reject the argument. Again, it's ~debatable~
*The only counterplan I think is silly and likely won't vote for is a PIC out of the ballot. Never got it, never will, likely will always think it's silly.
Aff: Solvency deficits need to be impacted. But WHY is the federal government key? Also, I would really like if permutations were more than just "Do both" at the end of the debate, but if the neg never presses you on what this means, I will likely give the aff a lot of leeway throughout the debate on what that means/how it functions. This is important--negative teams are deciding what the permutation is and how it functions for the aff and it is just destroying the aff. Tell me what your perm means and how it functions, if you let the neg do it for you I can bet it won't turn out well for you.
I am hearing a lot of "perm shields the link to the net benefit so it solves". WHY. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHY. HOW. WHY AND HOW. I am begging you to give me some sort of permutation explanation.
That being said, “Protect the 2nr” is a persuasive phrase to me in situations that call for it. I will kick the counterplan for the negative, if it's conditional, unless I am given a reason not to by the aff.
Disadvantages
A disadvantage has: uniqueness, a link, an internal link, and an impact. 2 card disads make me sad and I am immediately skeptical of them.
Disad-case debates are my favorite. What I was told as a novice still applies today: tell me the story of your disad. How does the link/internal link chain work to achieve the impact, etc. Disad overviews are important (cards in overviews are cool too); turns case arguments are basically necessary to my ballot. Tell me how your impact relates to the aff.
Case
Engage the case! Do case debate!
LD Paradigm
I debated at two LD tournaments in high school: Nat quals and NFL (now NSDA?) nationals my junior year. I coached LD for 3 years before coming to Homestead. I have coached/judged very traditional, value-criterion LD debate, and I have also coached/judged progressive LD debate. I am truly fine with either. For more progressive LD debate, my policy paradigm applies. A couple caveats:
--T or theory is not an RVI. I realize the time skew in LD debate. T or theory is not an RVI. I will vote on theory, just not silly ones.
--Shorter speeches than in policy, so I think a bunch of short off-case positions are less preferable than less, more in-depth off-case positions. But do what u need to do.
--Tricks? nah
--Meta-theory? nah
--Cutting evidence from debate blogs? nah
--In-depth, educational debates about the topic? Yeah!!!
Have fun!! :)
Please feel free to ask me questions about my paradigm before the round starts. For email chains: anguse@live.unc.edu. I did LD for four years with North Meck HS and NCSSM. Currently double majoring in Philosophy and Math at UNC.
General
- Speed is fine up to the point where you have to resort to breathing techniques. This does not mean go the same speed you would and cause yourself to pass out.
- Especially in circuit debate – post rounding is a-ok by me. I know I don’t have as much experience with circuit LD, and so the more feedback I get and engagement on my judging, the better I think I am going to be in the future for it.
- I know this makes me sound super lay, but like, PLZ do not read me whatever boring stock util. case you have prepped for lay judges, I hear about enough of this on the local circuit – I want to see something exciting.
-Your job is to write my ballot for me.
Authors I am very comfortable with: DnG, Heidegger, Baudrillard, Foucault, Kant, Adorno.
Intervention
I take as minimal an approach to judge intervention as possible. However, there are certain standards for what I just will not accept:
-New in the 2; I won’t drop you but I don’t flow new arguments in the 2. Not flowing it means it didn’t happen.
-Blatantly false claims: racism good, climate change not real, etc.
Plans and CPs: I’m not the biggest fan of these sorts of debates but I’ll certainly put up with it. Just make sure you execute well.
Policy vs Policy: Compare evidence quality (authors, methodology, sample size, etc.). I could not possible care less about the number of cards you have compared to your opponent.
Topicality: CPs must be competitive. There are a few ways I have seen this violated:
- CP: do the AFF except some absurdly minimal aspect;
- CP not mutually exclusive with the AC
- Resolution doesn’t spec. an actor, but the CP only changes the actor. This is especially relevant to ACs which don’t provide a plan. This is just a more specific case of the first example and – I think – a more egregious violation.
Additionally, please give cards for T; I won’t drop you if you don’t, but your speaks will probably suffer. The more absurdly technical the T debate, the better. Conditional CPs are immensely cringe. I’m also fine with Nebel T, watching people cry about how they might not be able to read an absurdly specific plan is hilarious.
K Debate
I’m most comfortable with Cap Ks, but if you read me cards from Tankies, Maoists, or the like… RIP your speaks. An important note in K debate is please do not try to obfuscate your way to victory.
- Signpost and go line-by-line.
- The more explicit the link the better.
- What does the K do or accomplish concretely? (K-Affs especially)
- Unless it makes sense in lieu of your FW, I’ll prolyl dock your speaks for reading me HuffPo, etc.
- Give a framework for the K!
- If you struggle with providing examples when asked in CX, it probably tells me you have no idea what you’re talking about.
I’ll give you 30 speaks if you read some Neg-Dialectics K about how you should always negate because affirming always traps concepts in a fashion which runs opposite to the dialectical Idea of truth. It would be really funny and would make my day.
FW Debate
I’m probably most comfortable with this. I did a lot of Kant FWs in my time, so I’ll be very comfortable with those. Consequently, I am fine with the idea of not having impact calculus – but only in rounds where you have demonstrated that consequences need not be considered; the default in debate seems to be some sort of util.
I am not a fan of testing the plausibility of a theory based on how a majority of people feel about it (something about Ideology and so on and so forth *sniff*).
Meta-ethics are dope and cool.
I will not penalize you on neg. for just going insane on reading turns and conceding FW, unless you do something insanely stupid like concede a Kant FW and then read impact turns (which I have seen people do). Like???
LOCAL TOURNAMENTS: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WARRANT YOUR FW IN A SUBSTANTIVE MANNER. If you don’t, do not expect to get above a 28.
Theory Debates
Go ahead, but I don’t have a lot of experience here so don’t be surprised if it goes bad for you (I mean it will still be my fault, but just know it’s likely to happen). If you do read theory: PLEASE stay away from jargon! I am putting in the work to better understand the evaluation of theory debates, but I’m not quite there.
Spikes: fine. A prirois: cringe. NIBs: cringe. Burdens: fine. Triggers: cringe. I’m not chill with RVIs just yet until I feel I have a better handle on them. Sorry .
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.
LAMDL Program Director (2015 - Present)
UC Berkeley Undergrad (non-debating) & BAUDL Policy Debate Coach (2011-2015)
LAMDL Policy Debater (2008 - 2011)
Speech Docs: Include me on the email chain: jfloresdebate@gmail.com*
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*I only check the above email during tournaments, if you're trying to get in touch with me for anything outside of speech doc email chains, my main work email is joseph@lamdl.org.
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TL;DR Do what you do best. I evaluate you on how well you execute your arguments, not on your choice of argument.
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I believe debate is a space that is shaped and defined by the debaters, and as a judge my only role to evaluate what you put in front of me. There is generally no argument I won't consider, with the exception of arguments that are intentionally educationally bankrupt. I generally lean in favor of more inclusive frameworks, but do still believe the debate should be focused on debatable issues. Regardless of the framework you provide, I need offensive reasons to vote for you.
Most of my work nowadays is in the back end of tournaments, and this implicates how I judge somewhat. I might not be privy to your trickier strategies. Feel free to use them, but know if I do not catch it on my flow, it will not count.
I'm a better judge for rounds with fewer and more in-depth arguments compared to rounds where you throw out a lot of small blippy arguments that you blow up late in the debate. My issue with the latter isn't the speed (speed is fine), rather I'm less likely to vote for underdeveloped arguments. Generally, the team that takes the time to provide better explanations, applications, and warrants will win the debate for me. The team with more complete arguments (claim, warrant, evidence) will will get ahead for me more often than not as long as you also instruct me on the significance of those arguments to the round.
This includes dropped arguments. I still need these to be explained, applied, and weighed for you to get anything out of it - I won't do the work for you when it comes to weighing anything.
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Feel free to read your non traditional Aff, but be prepared to defend why it is relevant to the topic (either in the direction of it or in response/criticism of it), and why it is a debatable issue. Feel free to read your procedurals, but be prepared to weigh and sequence your standards against the specifics of the case in the round. Either way, I'll evaluate it and whether or not I vote in your direction will come down to execution in the round. I've voted for and against both K Affs and Framework. Articulate the internal links to your impacts for them to be weighed as heavily as you want.
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Speaker Points: I don't disclose speaker points. I don't give 30s because you tell me to for an argument.
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Engage your opponents. Avoid being rude and/or disrespectful.
If you have specific questions about specific arguments let me know.
2016-2018 Los Angeles Metropolitan Debate League
2018- present CSU Fullerton
email chain- javierh319@gmail.com
Frame the ballot by the 2AR/2NR and don't leave me shooting darts please.
Overviews really help me/you out unless they're longer than the debate proper-be concise.
Prep- Prep ends when doc is sent out or the equivalent of that. Let me know if there are any technical difficulties.
Spreading- speed is fine-go at it if thats ur thing. this shouldn't be exchanged for clarity/emphasis, and ultimately, persuasion. My face tends to be pretty expressive so use that to ur advantage.
Cross Ex- Humor is much appreciated so long as it doesn't offend ur opponent. Attack the argument not the debater.
I generally err on the side of tech over truth. However, too many buzzwords are kinda annoying and don't mean anything if you dont impact/flesh them out. I won't evaluate concessions for you unless you do it first.
Policy Affs- Spent most of hs reading these- read them at will. Internal link work and framing is crucial.
Performance/K Affs- Have a clear explanation of what the advocacy does and why it should precede a traditional endorsement of the resolution (vs framework). Presumption arguments are some of my favorite arguments. Being untopical for the sake of being untopical is sooooo not the move. Even if i think that ur aff is the most interesting/entertaining thing in the world, I can resolve that with speaker points. Offense. Offense. Offense.
Framework- Go for it. Slow down just a tad. Procedural fairness and education are impacts, I'm usually more persuaded by education but fairness is fine too.While I'm usually more persuaded by fairness as an internal link to something else, enough impact comparison can resolve that if ur not down with the former.
Theory/Procedurals- Go for it. I'm not one to love hearing theory debates but will vote on it if you do the work. These can get really petty. Usually not in a good way. Condo is probably good PICs probably aren't. Don't let that dissuade you from saying otherwise because I also love hearing pics and multiple advocacies. I'm a 2N if that is relevant for you.
DAs- Make sure to flesh out the internal links. Winning uniqueness wins direction of link debate. I prefer hearing isolated impact scenario(s) rather than a generic nuclear war/extinction claim although u can totally claim that as ur terminal one. The more specific the link the less spinning the aff can do, the less intervention I have to do, the higher ur chances of winning are. I find it hard to believe that there can ever be 100% risk probability but if the CP solves 100% of the aff you're in a much better spot.
CPs-Resolve questions like how does this solve the case and is this theoretically legitimate if it becomes about that. If you wanna be noncompetitive, you do you but be ready to justify that.
Ks- Tbh I would much rather judge a robust debate about the intricacies/consequences of a traditionally political action vs a less-than fleshed out k debate. Links to the status quo and not the aff are awkward. Generally speaking, im probably down for ur thing. Regardless of me being familiar with ur authors or not-do the work. Framing is super important. Does the alt solve the aff? let me know. You don't need to go for the alt to win
Random/Misc
-a claim with no warrant is a pen with no ink
-know where u are losing but make it fashion
-dont be a jerk
I have completed the cultural competency credential and I am ready to deploy the skills in debate rounds. Remember, your words have power.
Please uphold positivity in the round. I give speaks from 20-30 but I will almost never give 30 speaks. If you are perfect you deserve a 30 but I have almost never seen anyone deserving of a 30.
I think that the best debaters are those who effectively utilize ethos, pathos, and logos in their speeches.
Good luck!
progressive arguments - read at your own risk
Email: bloayza2019@gmail.com
Experience: 3 years of high school debate for DMHS in LAMDL, now doing my 4th year of college debate at CSUF
I ain't asking for much, just don't be racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, ableist, and basically, anything that might make a competitor uncomfortable or might make ME uncomfortable.
I'm comfortable with spreading but if you spread through crucial arguments I may not catch it at times so if you want me to flow your most important arguments then slow down a bit. In the realm of online debate sometimes I might not catch arguments if they're not given in conversational speed.
IF you are reading this as an LD debater you will get more info reading the policy page to get a better idea
==LD==
Don't run tricks in front of me. I will not get them, which means I won't vote on them. This also goes for theory debates theory has to be very good at explaining violations and why this is a voting issue or else leave me out of it.
Nebel T isn't a real argument, I do not care who Nebel is.
I probably won't vote on Reverse Voting Issues, they don't make a lot of sense to me as a policy debater (but can possibly be persuaded)
==Policy Debate==
Framing: Framing arguments are a very easy way for me to vote for you, I find it something easy to vote on when teams tell me how I should evaluate the round and why evaluating the round that way is good. This also means that having the role of the ballot/judge argument would be very effective in persuading my decision but these arguments need warrants to them.
K: I'm comfortable judging K's. I'm very comfortable with set col literature and I am familiar with afropess, ableism, and cap literature. Don't worry if I'm not familiar with your K literature all I ask for is a more thorough explanation of your literature and your theory of power. In order to win the K for me, you need to have a link, and if the link is vaguely explained/generic then I really won't buy that you link. If you do link what does that mean and why is that an indictment of the aff (what's the impact).
Kaffs: I'm cool with people running Kaffs and I won't immediately vote them down but I do have to require a good explanation of the aff.
DA: you can win a DA by itself if you have impact framing and how that impact outweighs the affs impacts and part of that impact framing you need to win uniqueness. You also need to win a link on how the aff causes the impacts of the DA. DA must have all its parts in order for me to evaluate it, it must have uniqueness, a link, an internal link, and more importantly an impact.
CP: I also vote for CPs with or without a DA, the DA in my mind is not necessary for a CP but that means proving the competitiveness of the CP and why the CP is preferable over that aff and that means why it solves better for the impacts of the aff or if you're running this with a DA why the CP solves and doesn't link to the DA.
T/FW: In order for me to vote for T you need to win a few questions, why you're model of debate is good, you also need to win how they violate and why that's bad for the round. You need to extend your standards/reasons to prefer your model of debate over theirs.
Hey, I’m Jack and I debated for St. Petersburg High School graduating in 2020.
2024 Update:2023 update still applies but worse. Signpost well, 70% speed or slower, and we'll be good. I've also noticed over the years that I'm WAY underqualified to judge certain arguments. I have no ideological preference against intense LARP v LARP or KvK debates, but I simply feel like I don't have the knowledge or experience to adequately judge them. If these are your go-to strats, pref me low for your own sake. If this is what you want to read in front of me I will evaluate them to the best of my ability.
2023 BF update: I haven’t judged for over a year and haven’t debated for two. This means I’m nowhere near up to date on new lingo/tricks, so err on the side of over explanation. Keep it 80% speed or less.
Update for Blake 21: Haven’t thought about debate in a year or so. That means you should definitely slow down to 75-80% speed and try not to extemp tricks Bc I’ll probably miss something. Also, I realized I’m even worse for performance K’s than I thought. If this is what you do best, I’d recommend you strike or at the very least pref me at the bottom of your list. While I think these arguments are really interesting and have their place in debate, I’m just not great at evaluating them.
Note for Lex RR: Please go at like 80% of your normal constructive speed. The audio might be kinda shaky on messenger and I don’t wanna miss an arg bc of it, so just slow down and it’ll be better for all parties.
Top level: Debate is fundamentally a game. Thus, when you’re in front of me your best strategy is to go for whatever you’re most comfortable with and gives you the best chance to win (barring anything that makes the round unsafe). I also believe that the role of the judge isn’t to inject my ideological biases into the round but rather to adapt to the debaters’ in order to create the most objective decision. I really don’t care what you read and I have appreciation for every style in the activity, whether that’s performance, LARP, trix, or anything else in between. That being said, I do have some preferences, and I don’t know how they will affect me since I haven’t judged yet, so those are posted below.
Theory
All good here. Read this in a lot of rounds so this is probably what I'm the most comfortable evaluating. Don’t care how frivolous or wacky the shell is as long as you win it. And no, responses like “this shell is stupid” isn’t gonna cut it.
Also, flashing analytics would be much appreciated bc I'm not the best flower.
Defaults:
- Competing interps. I’ll vote on reasonability but I need a brightline to be able to evaluate it. To clarify, a brightline isn’t a defensive counter-interp but rather a threshold of offense you need to mitigate in order to beat back the shell. For example, if your opponent reads disclosure, an acceptable brightline would be something like “in-round abuse”, not “it’s ok if they didn’t ask pre-round”
- No RVI’s
- Truth testing > comp worlds
- Metatheory > T > theory > K > substance
- I don’t default fairness and education as voters. If it goes unwarranted through the debate, the shell has no impact and I’ll vote off substance. Same with drop the debater/drop the argument
- Converse of the interp probably doesn’t make grammatical sense as a counter-interp but I’ll evaluate it as the opposite of the interp if your opponent doesn’t call you out. “I’ll defend the violation” probably makes more sense
- Presumption flows aff, permissibility flows neg
These are all defaults and I really don’t wanna have to remember them to make decisions so just take a stance and we’ll be good.
Phil
Good here as well. Read this a lot I think I’ll be decent at evaluating these debates. These rounds can get hard to resolve, but it helps if the 2N/2A cleanly wins their syllogism and why it comes first. The strategy of extending independent justifications to hijack the NC/AC is cool too just make sure to weigh. I default confidence, but I’m willing to vote on modesty if won.
Trix
Yep, coming from Florida I understand these fairly well. I have more experience going for theory tricks than substantive tricks, but I’m down to vote for both if explained. The only exception to this is evaluate the debater after the AC/NC. This is because in order to evaluate the argument I need to hear it in the last speech, but that would mean evaluating after the first or second speech would require me evaluating all speeches.
Please at least separate the arguments into numbers and subpoints so I can get everything down.
I’m cool if you read these against K affs, but try being a little more sensitive than “oppression doesn’t exist lmao gotem”. I think the inclusion hijack under TT can be really strategic here.
If you read these against novices or trad debaters your speaks are capped at 26
LARP
Didn’t debate this a ton in high school, but it's what I've exclusively done in college so I’m confident I’ll be able to evaluate these debates. Might not know topic-specific acronyms all the time, but I’ll be fine for jf20 at least. I think layered util frameworks with extinction first, EM, TJFs, reject calc indicts etc. can be really strategic.
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Speaks
I’ll probably average around a 28.7, but I may inflate, who knows. I’m willing to disclose speaks if asked, if not then I’ll probably forget.
Good luck!