MDTA JVNovice State Championship
2021 — Hybrid, MN/US
Junior Varsity Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show Hideheyo im heden (she/her) -- hedena222@gmail.com add me to the email chain
I debated for eagen all 4 years of high school(2017-2021), I mostly did policy arguments but I'm willing to hear most arguments as long as you aren't intentionally disrespecting someone in the round.
If you know what you are talking about and can explain it well enough, I'm willing to vote on it.
speed is fine as long as you are clear - if you are not clear, I'm not going to flow
I'm chill with whatever, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me via email or before the round.
Background - I was a policy debater at Rosemount high school for four years, including being a policy debate captain my junior and senior years. While at Rosemount, I debated at both local and national circuit tournaments. I am previously worked as a coach at Farmington High School in (you guessed it) Farmington Minnesota. Presently, I'm in Moorhead at MSUM. I have judged high school tournaments before, mostly policy, but also a tiny bit of LD and like two rounds of PF.
To answer this ahead of time---yes, I want to be on your email chain. ericabaumann27@gmail.com
My name is Erica. Please call me Erica.
I use they/them pronouns.
As far as other "pre-round" questions go: Speed is fine. Tag-team CX is fine (so long as you let your partner answer and ask their own questions.) If you are Maverick, please let me know, and we can come up with the appropriate accommodations for you.
General Philosophy: I believe debate is, at core, an intellectual game where nothing "real" happens. However, that game has to have rules in order for us to play the game, and those rules need to be fair. Left to my own devices, I am a liberal policy-maker where I will weigh advantages vs. disadvantages and where I will look at my flow to see which team provided the better REASONS to believe their interpretation of the story of the round. Also, simply because you read a card that is a page long does not mean that you have provided a warrant for your argument. You have simply read me a really long card. Just because you say something doesn't instantly make it true.
I believe it is your job to explain to me what the warrant is in the argument you are making. I am most impressed by debaters who take the time to explain their position, analyze how their position interacts with the other positions in the round, and why their interpretation of this interaction is superior.
I am a fan of debaters being good human beings. I think it should go without saying, but being kind, polite and remembering that we are all people goes a long way in my book. If you are debating a less experienced team, there is no glory in crushing them into the ground. Remember, you were also inexperienced at one point.
In addition, I am telling you now: you need to respect the pronouns of the other people in the round. I will not stand for any racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism, fatphobia or ableism in this space. I do not tolerate arguments that are harmful, disrespectful, malicious or any argument that has a directly adverse effect on your opponents. Period.
I will treat you with respect, and as so, I expect you to treat your opponents, your partner, and your judge (me), with respect.
Also Note:
While I am a policy-maker and they aren't my favorite, I will entertain most Ks. I am good with Cap/Neolib, Security, and the like. High theory K's are more iffy, not because I think they're stupid or invalid, but simply because I have difficulty understanding them. I will listen to them, but you had better do a really really good job of explaining them to me. I never really debated high theory Kritiks, so my knowledge of them is somewhat limited. Do with that information what you will.
Now, if you do run a K, please know what you're talking about. I take issue with debaters who simply read Ks to read Ks and who have zero understanding of the authors intent or ideology. I promise you, I can usually tell. Also, please don't try to guilt me into voting for your K because it is the "right thing to do", I really really don't vibe with that. Another big pet-peeve of mine is Ks that are full of flowery language and complex rhetoric but that do nothing. I believe that, if you do run a K, your alt has to have some kind of actual (tangible?) effect. I do accept mindset shifts (as they can potentially cause an actual change) but they need to have some kind of way to prove to me that said shift will take actually take place.
If you are running any identity-politics arguments, you need to be kind.
I like debaters who give me roadmaps. Please give me a roadmap.
Bonus points if you make me laugh.
If you have other questions, or concerns, please ask. I am always here to help!
Name: Matt Davis
Affiliation: St. Croix Prep, Stillwater, MN
Email: mdavis@stcroixprep.org
Years Coaching: 12
Years Judging: twenty-four
School Strikes: St. Croix Prep
Rounds judged this year (insert any year here): usually between 80-100
***Include me on the email chain (LD, CX)
Background:
I debated for St. Francis High School, in Minnesota, from 1989 to 1993, during which time I debated two years of CX and two years of LD. I also debated four years of CEDA debate, debating for various schools. I have been the Director of Speech and Debate at St. Croix Prep in Stillwater, Minnesota since 2013, and I have coached LD, CX, WSD, PF, BQ and all speech categories. I also teach ninth grade Ancient World Literature at St. Croix Prep.
Overall Philosophy:
I believe that competitive debate is an educational space that should allow students to explore the relationships of different arguments and/or philosophical ideas. I also believe that competitive debate is an exercise in effective rhetoric (ethos, pathos, logos). With all this in mind, I love debates that involve teams that know their position in the debate and are passionate about their arguments. If one team in a debate shows that they care more about their arguments than another team, this definitely can have an impact on how I evaluate the round. I typically evaluate each team’s use of evidence, reasoning, and passion to further their arguments and clash with their opponent’s arguments, hence my previous mention of the role of the effective use of ethos, pathos, and logos. Most importantly: Be consistent, tell a good story, and explain your arguments in the context of what has happened up to that point in the debate. Teams that just read pre-written rebuttal speeches that don't contextualize their arguments don't usually do very well in front of me.
LD/CX Evidence:
First of all, evidence is only one part of a debate. Debaters should remember that there are other aspects of debate as well, such as claims and impact analysis. If you are simply extending an author’s name in order to extend an argument, you still need to extend the claim and warrant, or I am not voting on it. I will look at evidence after the round if the evidence becomes a controversial issue in the debate, or if one team is leaning heavily on a piece of evidence for their win. With this in mind, I don’t think that enough debaters go after their opponents’ sources. However, if it is clear that the source is biased or should clearly not be considered a reliable source, I would encourage debaters to make this an issue. Also, I am not a big fan of reading more evidence in the rebuttals. Sure, there may be a necessary card or two that can be effective in the first rebuttal for each team, but I would suggest using what you already have read in constructed speeches to respond as often as possible. I often find that a 1AR that can use the evidence from the two affirmative constructive speeches should have done enough to "find a way out" of the negative block (if it wasn't in the AC speeches, then its probably too late in CX debate).
Speed:
Short Version: Be clear and intentional on your tags and author names; you can go faster on your evidence, but I should still be able to understand you. I prefer passion and intensity to speed. Most of my debaters are traditional LD debaters, so I'm not a big fan of circuit speed. Will I flow it if you are slowing for tags and authors? Sure. Will I like it, probably not s'much. In this regard, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SIGNPOST. If you just go on-case and dump a bunch of stuff on the flow, I won't do your work for you.
Long Version: Many of today’s debaters (at least circuit debaters) are not doing much that is different than what has been done in the speed category over the last twenty years. However, I do have some preferences in this regard. When you are speaking at 250+ wpm, I have difficulty distinguishing what you want me to flow versus extraneous evidence text or extemporized explanations, which invariably leads to miscommunications later on in the extension debate. One request that I have to resolve this issue is that debaters speak more articulate and “slower” in their presentation of their signposting, their claims, and their citations. This really shouldn't slow down the overall presentation of the speech by much, but it should make the presentation of those “flow-able” points more intentional. Additionally, I will not shout "clear" or "slower" if you aren't articulating your signposts, tags, and cites. An optimal speed is probably around 200-250 on average for me if you at least slow down for these three areas.
Persuasion:
As previously mentioned, evidence is only one aspect of rhetoric, and the best debaters know how to balance ethos (evidence), pathos (passion/emotion), and logos (logic/reasoning). Additionally, I feel that the most persuasive debaters are those that can do the line-by-line debating but also move the debate to the bigger picture as well.
Preferences:
While I believe, as previously stated, that competitive debate is an educational space that should allow students to explore the relationships between different arguments and/or philosophical ideas, I do feel that there should be some topical awareness in a debate. With that in mind, I would suggest that any critical affirmative arguments should be accompanied with a thoughtful explanation of why I should entertain a debate that is not related to the topic as worded in the resolution, or explain why their critical affirmative should be considered in the context of the resolution; otherwise, I feel like this is a tough area for me to validate. I would say that my favorite debates are debates that are actually directly tied to the topic and manage to address the underlying issues inherent in the topic through a strong philosophical or political debate (I do enjoy critical affs that are actually topical). However, this doesn't mean that I am partial to these arguments. I will entertain any argument, as long as the debater provides solid and supported rationale for its use in the round and its connection to the topic or the opponent’s arguments.
Cross-Examination:
I really enjoy a great cross examination, especially because it allows debaters to really show their skills when it comes to the interactive part of debate. I think that cross examination is a place that really allows the most prepared debaters to shine. Because of this, I usually determine how I am going to assign speaker points based on a debater's performance in cross-ex. So, please don't ask if you can use the rest of CX as prep. That will always be a big "No."
I am okay with tag-team cross-examination in policy debate to a degree, but I hate it when one debater is clearly the puppet and their partner is the puppet master. This becomes obvious if one debater has no clue how to answer questions posed about what they just read in the speech. That being said, I would encourage you to use tag-team cross-ex as an emergency cord, not as something that should be used frequently.
The Ballot:
Just because a debater says that an argument is a voting issue does not make it so. To make an argument into a voting issue, a debater needs to provide warrant for its impact as a voting issue. Each debater should be able to provide decision calculus that makes my job very easy for me (which, ironically, if done well by both sides, may make my job even harder). I am someone who typically votes with their flow, which makes a debater’s speed adaptability and articulation key components in my ability to make a decision in their favor. Additionally, as previously mentioned, I will take a debater’s persuasive style and passion for their arguments into account. I would say that these areas help make my decisions when the debate is very close. Lastly, as far as the “role of the ballot” is concerned, I will leave that up to the debaters to decide. If there is no “role of the ballot” argument made in the debate, I will do my best to intuit this role from your arguments and voting issues.
Policy Notes:
As has been mentioned previously, I am accepting of most arguments, as long as the debaters are able to explain the rationale behind running such an argument and the impact that the argument has on the debate. I love direct clash, since I believe that this shows a team’s level of preparedness, especially in policy debate, but I also love good critical discussions as well. Overall, I would say that the biggest issue for me is speed. Please, please, please, at the very least, make your signposting, claims, and cites audibly clear and slower than the rest of your speech. I believe this also offers you the opportunity to add emphasis to these points as well, and in so doing show the passion you have for your arguments.
LD Notes:
For me, everything in Lincoln-Douglas debate should come back to the framework debate (value/criteria). However, if a debater decides to run a policy affirmative (or counterplans, disadvantages, and kritiks on the negative), then I will decide the debate accordingly. However, just because you have a plan doesn't mean that the framework debate is automatically a Utilitarianism debate. If the opposing side reads a value and criteria and makes the debate about how we are to evaluate arguments (value/criteria), then you need to be ready for this debate, since (as previously stated) this is my predisposition in LD debate. A debater could win all of their contention level arguments and still lose a debate if they cannot prove that their method for evaluating the arguments should be preferred over their opponent's method. I think that some of the best LD debaters are those that can attack criteria with supporting evidence, or they can prove how they can perm their opponent’s criteria. Ultimately, I will vote on the voting issues presented in the debate (or impact calculus if the debate becomes a Util debate), but I will consider the criteria debate first and last when making any decision. That being said, I will entertain "nontraditional" affirmatives and negative positions in a debate (Topicality, Kritiks, Theory, etc), but you need to explain its relevance to the topic and/or arguments that have already been presented in the debate.
How I vote: I want debaters to tell me why I should vote for their position over their opponent's position. If you just barf a bunch of arguments onto the flow and don't explain how I should evaluate them against what your opponents have said, then I probably won't be too keen on buying in to your "story." I'm not a fan of judge intervention, so don't leave me too much room to make my own decision.
NEW STUFF***Kritikal Arguments Continued(CX/LD):
As mentioned before, I enjoy a well-run kritikal argument on either side of a topic; however, with this in mind, I have a few significant points I would like to discuss.
First, I believe that a kritik only holds its value when maintaining all primary parts as a cohesive whole (link, impact, alternative, and alternative solvency). That being said, if you try to extend the front half of a kritik as a non-unique disad, I will be unlikely to vote for it. There is some room for methodology to become a singular issue, especially in KvK debates, but I haven't seen those as often.
Second, I dislike impact turns on kritiks, and these usually come across to me as supercharged links to the kritik. That being said, I would strongly suggest you avoid trying to impact turn a kritik. Link debates and alternative debates are much more persuasive.
Third, a good alternative is a necessary part of the debate, but it can hinge on what you are trying to accomplish in the debate. If you are trying to affect change in the debate space with the hope of spillover, then your alternative should reflect this specifically. If you are trying to play the hypothetical game that the policymaking affirmative is playing, then play that game but be prepared to explain specific steps to the world of the alternative and what that world will look like.
Fourth, I am most familiar with the following Ks: Cap, SetCol, Biopower, Ableism, Death Cult, Anthro, MIC, PIC, IR, Borders. However, if you can explain the kritik to me in more cogent terms, I am willing to entertain other kritiks.
Fifth, if you are running a kritik, try to slow down a little. I don't like to feel like my brain is melting.
Prep Time:Please don't steal prep by taking extra time to assemble the doc, attach the doc, and send the doc. I will run prep until the speech doc is received by me.
ONLINE: To keep these things running smoothly, I won't disclose at the end of the round.
THEORY: DIsclosure theory in LD is a non-starter for me. Be better. I am a small school coach, so I know the argument. I just don't like it. I firmly believe that disclosure norms are net worse for small schools.
He/Him
Minneapolis South
My email is izakgm [at] gmail.com, add me to the email chain before the round, please and thank you.
Significant rework: summer 2024. I’m old now. I've judged policy debate at the middle school and high school levels, and a few college rounds.
General Debate Philosophy:
Debate is for the debaters. Do what you are best at. You have worked hard on your arguments – don’t over adapt to me, just execute as well as you can. You could skip the rest of the paradigm and go back to cutting updates.
Ideological flexibility. No argument is presumptively out of bounds. If you said something is good, the other team can say it's bad. If the argument is horrible, it should be easy to answer. I have coached and judged teams that made a wide variety of arguments and voted for many arguments I disagree with. I refuse to draw lines like “I won’t vote on death good or racism good, but I will vote on first strike China”.
Make choices. Time limits mean that adding one argument means you spend less time on developing others. Sometimes I have under 15 minutes to decide your round. Instruct and simplify whenever possible. If an argument is incomplete when it is introduced and the other team flags it as such, I struggle to imagine a situation where I will limit new responses after the argument is completed.
Holistic evaluation. Where you start your final rebuttal is very important to me – more than other judges. I am less likely to decide a round on standalone issues and more likely to look at how those smaller issues spill up to create an overall vision of the debate. This doesn't mean you have to list 4 reasons you win at the beginning of the debate and then list them again later.
Pure technical evaluation of debates is impossible. Style and presentation are relevant. Conduct in round is relevant. Cross-x is relevant. The flow does not exist in a vacuum - I am a human being. Those factors affect what I write down, what I’m thinking about/how I feel when I write it down, and how I understand what I wrote down when I look at it later. You as a debater are relying on my knowledge of debate concepts when you communicate your speech, and in close rounds you don't have time to reinvent the wheel.
Topic research defines arguments. Any argument is fair game – but debate is a research game so arguments about the topic that are backed by timely, qualified, and innovative research are more likely to succeed. Analytic arguments can take out poorly constructed arguments or egregiously highlighted evidence. Arguments that are entirely recycled from previous years are boring. Critical knowledge is a part of the topic, if you were wondering.
Debate is an educational activity. Try your best and give your full effort towards winning. Be scrappy and creative. Every loss is an opportunity to learn and improve. “if you cannot make peace with results in a subjective activity, you are simply not an elite debater, imho” – Martin Osborn
Judging Process:
During the debate:
I will attempt to flow your speech, even if you ask me not to. On a computer if I have one, because my handwriting is poor. During your roadmap, please let me know if there’s an overview so I can insert cells. If you do not declare your overview and make more than 3 arguments, I will miss something while I make more space.
I am not the best flow on the circuit. This often stems from attempting to write too much of what you say or not knowing what I can skip. Having good labels at the beginning of your argument stem will ensure I am able to identify arguments later.
I will not open the speech doc during the debate unless I think you are clipping or cross-reading. The burden of communication is on you.
If I can understand what you are saying while you read card text, I will try to write down warrants or words you emphasize in the card, especially for longer cards. If I cannot understand what you are saying while you read card text, I will not look at the text of that evidence during the round or decision time, until I’ve submitted my RFD.
I give strong non-verbal feedback when I can’t understand you. I will verbally clear you twice if needed, even on a panel in egregious instances.
I regularly look at the speaker and each team during speeches. Speakers that connect with the judge and teams that observe how I am reacting will benefit from this.
I often take notes on Cross-x. I will verbally intervene in cross-x if there is a miscommunication that is easily resolved, or if there is excessive filibustering/question dodging.
If the debate is online, I would prefer your camera to be on, if possible. Also, please slow down a bit more. I will be more lenient about checking the doc if arguments are missed due to internet quality.
How I decide the debate:
My role is to decide who won (within time constraints given by the tournament), so I will try to follow a team down their shortest path to victory. Your shortest path to victory will include “even if” statements, which is an acknowledgement that you don’t need to win every argument to win the debate.
During the final rebuttals, I am considering the round framing given to me by each team and how much it reflects my flow of the debate. By the time most rounds (90%) end I have an initial idea of who won. I will double check that the core arguments are consistently extended and explained across speeches and cross-x.
If a round ends and is very close (maybe 10%), I will quickly write a ballot for each side to help organize the key issues, attempt to resolve those issues until one of the ballots separates itself from the other.
The rest of my decision time will be spent running through the arguments and evidence for the team I provisionally believe is losing to see if I’ve missed anything. If I find something interesting that could change the decision, I'll look at both sides in more depth. This means most of the time my feedback about evidence and strategy will be targeted towards the team that lost.
I strive to only intervene (insert my own thinking) in a few situations (don't make me do these):
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New 2ar arguments: since there is no 3nr, I will be careful that 2ar arguments can be traced backwards in the debate and strike them if necessary. I will strictly follow 2nr instruction, but I’ll try my best to protect the 2nr regardless. New arguments in earlier speeches need to be identified as new for me to strike them.
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Ships passing in the night: If both teams have plausible frames for understanding the debate, but do not make explicit arguments comparing those ideas, I will have to decide where to start. I will dig through my flows to find implicit framing questions.
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Both teams missed something big: the only way in my mind for something to become 100% true in a debate is a strategic concession – taking an argument presented by the other team and agreeing with it. If this happens early in the debate and implicates what you are talking about later and neither team talks about it, it's up to me to figure out what to do with it.
If you want me to read evidence during the part of the decision time where it's still up in the air which team won the debate:
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Please read in a way where I could understand it
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Please highlight what is good about the evidence, compare it to the other teams, etc.
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If there is a lot of evidence that you think qualifies for me to read, and it was referenced in the final rebuttal, you can send a card doc.
I will not reconstruct the round based on the docs if I’m confused. If the above standards aren’t met, I’ll stumble my way to a decision based on the explanations I was given, then look back through the evidence afterwards to see what SHOULD have been said by the debaters.
The rest of it:
Ask me about my judging record:
Debate rounds can’t be summarized by the round report. Style and execution matter more. If both teams are in the room, feel free to ask me about what happened in or how I decided any round I judged, my abstract thoughts about topic arguments, how I would have voted in nearly any debate that is on youtube (I’ve watched many – nerd alert).
I am not a member of any of the following cults (you will have to convince me to join over the course of the debate):
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Offense/Defense (I am certainly a top percentile judge for zero risk strategies, whether its presumption, links to the net benefit, zero risk of net benefit, etc)
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Debate is only a game because it’s a game
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Procedural arguments are exclusion
What are your argument preferences?
I like openness/honesty, respect for opponent and inclusivity. In my professional life I must "meet people where they are at". I believe that would be a healthy approach to debate and accordingly I am interested most in "middle ground" approaches in situations where teams fundamentally disagree about what the debate should be about. For example, k affs that have an interesting spin on what it means to be topical, or a critique that is primarily about the core assumptions of the aff. However, I am not naïve and understand that this style is rarely considered the most strategic, so I will not punish you for doing what you believe will "win" you the debate.
Feel free to post round or email me for feedback:
But if your approach in the post round is "what about this argument, what about this argument?" and you are listing one liners from the last minute of the speech, consider spending the time on a rebuttal redo where you make those arguments matter more, rather than convincing yourself that you've never lost a debate.
Minnesota Teams/regional teams without much national circuit exposure:
Use the wiki! (https://opencaselist.com/). I will boost your points (you might have to remind me but I'll try to remember). If everyone posts on the wiki, we can all save a lot of time tracking down what arguments everyone reads and spend more time preparing for better debates. If you need help setting up a wiki or navigating it, send me an email or catch me at a tournament and I’ll be happy to help. This is important for local tournaments because you get so little time to prep before the round.
Good disclosure at the tournament is also helpful. If you have a wiki that is updated, it’s easier during the preround to let folks know that your past 2nrs are on the wiki, but that only works if that is up to date. Honest and quick disclosure = more time to prep = better debates!
Think through your theory arguments if you are going for them. Not every bad or unfamiliar argument is unfair. Reading theory is also part of a broader strategy to constrain the other team's options and force responses. It still requires you to respond to opposing counter arguments – there is no one set agreed upon list of rules, so you’ll need to debate it out!
Experience:
High School- Hutchinson High School, 3 years Policy Debate, 4 years Congress and Speech
College- Wiley College, 3 years speech and debate. National Runner Up in IPDA Debate, multiple national out-rounds in platform events.
Overall:
I believe debate is a game- and an exclusionary one at that. That being said, I go into all formats of debate looking for the same things: logos, ethos, and pathos. While I understand the "rules" of debate, for me, preference will be given to sound logic and communication skills over other things that may have been acquired through resources unavailable to others.
This is my attempt to do my part in making debate more inclusive.
Policy Specific Philosophy:
1. I don't value speed. You don't have to put on your lay voice, but no spreading
2. Signposting and organization. If I don't know what's happening or where something goes, I'll stop writing.
3. Impact calc and solvency tend to be my biggest voters.
4. But I'm willing to listen and vote on anything as long as you convince me I should.
5. If you run a K, just make sure it applies.
6. Any comments that are oppressive in any nature will get you knocked down, and get an email sent to your coach. ;)
Happy debating!
yes email chain cliverseed@wisc.edu
read whatever arguments you want, don't sacrifice clarity for speed, and do your best to ensure the debate is educational, inclusive, and accessible for all
if you have questions before or after the round let me know or send me an email
Hi! I'm Kate and my pronouns are she/her. You can contact me or add me to the email chain at knozal@macalester.edu
Some background info for you:
I debated for Rosemount 2017-2021 and I have coached at Highland Park (St. Paul) since 2021. I am currently studying sociology and data science at Macalester College. I mostly judge on the local Minnesota circuit.
If I'm your judge:
First, I want you to enjoy debating and feel comfortable. If there is a way I can support you please don't hesitate to reach out beforehand or whenever a concern arises. I also really value education and I hope you do too. It will make me happy to see you doing your best to learn for yourself, and with your partner and opponents.
Second, I am looking for you to write the ballot for me in your last rebuttal. I don't want to have to do any work for debaters when writing my rfd so if you provide me with a clear way to evaluate impacts and how to resolve the round you will be in a great spot. With that being said, I vote off my flow but I'm not perfect, so it's your job to tell me where and what you want on my flow (aka signposting and clarity of speech are important). Tbh, I don't enjoy tricks or out spreading your opponent. I think the best rounds are when debaters are making smart and competitive choices but also considering others in the round and how you conduct yourself affects the community.
Other info about me as a judge:
As far as argument-specific questions go please feel free to reach out to me by email and I'll respond as soon as I can. My best advice to you is to read what you want to! Debates are way more fun when debaters care about and write their own arguments. When I was in high school I went for Ks on the aff and neg.
My name is Lena Pak (she/her) and I'm a student at Macalester College. My background is in LD debate and I am now helping coach policy. I generally tend to judge rounds from a more big picture stance (what are the main args and who won) vs nitpicky parts of cards, what's extended or not, ect.
Likes:
- signposting
-impact weighing/worlds comparison
-K's if they are done well
-clear speaking
-that fine balance of respectful and assertive
Dislikes:
-theory and tricks
-spreading without flashing case first
- spreading without intonation
- reading cards that you can't explain in your own words (make sure you understand your own arguments)
Good luck!
Head / JV-Varsity Coach for St. Paul Central(MN) from 2021(water topic)->present
Pronouns are they/she
I would like to be on the email chain @ stpaulcentralcxdebate@gmail.com
Email for questions / contact @ marshall.d.steele@gmail.com
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Quick and easy for prefs/strikes
I appreciate good judge instruction and am neutral on most arguments(prob not the best for wipeout/death good, i've voted on it but do have strong cognitive bias against it). Good judge for k/fw debates and probably not the best for lots of pics without solvency advocates. If you just wanna know my K aff thoughts I will happily vote on em. Be nice and run arguments you like and we'll get along fine. I don't check speech docs until the end of the round but I would like a card doc please and thank you. I am mostly a clash judge but will still consider/would like to see good 2R top level conceptualization of the round. I still value technical drops and all that fun clash debate stuff, it's just to say that actual persuasive argumentation and analysis is also important.
Used to have a long conduct thing, best summed up as going out of your way to disrespect your opponents in front of me is a really efficient way to get sub 26 speaks.
I don't really care what you call me in round as long as its consistent and appropriate. Marsh/Marshall is fine. Only one i'll veto is your honor except in context of a courts aff.
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Specific Judging Takes:
IPR Topic note: This topic involves a lot of legal nuance and I am neither a lawyer nor law student. I'll do my best to keep up with topic literature but if you're relying on me understanding an obscure legal doctrine probably include an explanation of that.
General Opinions:
Label your docs properly: I don't flow off the docs during the round but I think it's a bad trend that teams label their docs as 1-Off, 2-Off, 3-Off, etc. Just label the actual arguments your making or expect a minor speaker point drop at the end of the round when I go back to look at cards.
Tech V Truth:Tech over truth but making overtly illogical arguments at high speed to get the other side to drop them is gonna be worse for your speaks than well thought out positions.
Speed- I don't think judge lines on speed effect much. Just here to say I don't mind speed and can flow very fast rounds. Speed is a choice, one that comes with the responsibility to still communicate your ideas. Especially in dense analytical / theory blocks you should slow down to enunciate points or expect that I may miss some points/nuance. Most important when first introducing theory positions but overall you'll get points with me by being extra clear when reading dense text blocks.
Kritikal Affs- go for it. I like them. Don't assume I'll automatically understand your lit or import my analysis - same standard as any policy arg. Probably a better than average judge for you if you're running queer theory. I think most K-Aff rounds where I vote neg it's on some variation of "the aff doesn't provide a role of the neg" i.e your aff should probably be something it's possible and reasonable to negate in a world where you are rejecting policy framework.
Topicality - I'm pretty neutral on T. just please don't forget to at minimum say "voter for xyz" and I'm open to hear your interp of the topic.
Counterplans - I think a lot of counterplans really test the limits of tech>truth with the actual text / claimed solvency mechanism. that said if the 2ac doesn't say anything I'll buy it. I don't have many strong opinions on counterplans. default to perms as a test of competition. Am generally not a fan of counterplans with 5+ (functionally contradictory) planks. Judge kick as a default
Kritiks - I like kritiks. The specificity of your arguments and how much you contextualize them to the round is gonna be big in front of me. Consistent conceptualization of how your arguments interact with the topic is probably a good idea. It's probably worth making sure all of your authors/cards are actually in agreement about what you want them to say and are talking about issues in similar contexts (hint to policy aff teams, inconsistencies/misrepresentations in the kritk are probably a good reason to reject its theory of power)
Theory:I probably won't love watching a debate where both 2Rs are theory but am still down for those debates. Will likely just default to the tech to determine most in round opinion on theory. Condo vs 1 off is probably the exception in that unless the neg literally forgets to answer im gonna have a hard time writing that ballot.
Disclosure theory:it sure exists and i will vote on it. Good faith disclosure done wrong probably isn't enough to justify a ballot(i.e your opponents missed one card on the wiki) but other than that I'm willing to vote on it.
Feel free to ask questions on anything listed or not listed above, always happy to yap about my debate opinions though open that pandoras box at your own risk.
Things that will bump up your speaks in front of me:
TKOs (ending the 2r early if you know you've won)
K teams winning the alt in the 2nr
effective use of strategic concessions
ballot writing in the 2rs
use of CX in speeches
re-highlighting of evidence when it is *actually* good for you
Kritikal affs with an articulated solvency advocate
Using a flash drive for evidence lol
Updated - 1/4/24
Background: I debated in high school at Minneapolis South and in college at the University of Minnesota '17. I've coached policy debate for 10 years, and am currently the Head Coach of Minneapolis South high school.
If you have any questions about my paradigm/rfd/comments, feel free to email me at: tauringtraxler@gmail.com & also use this to put me on email chains, please and thank you.
I will enforce the tournament rules (speech times/prep/winner and loser, etc.), but the content of the round as well as how I evaluate the content is up to the debaters. Judge instruction is important -- my role is to decide who did the better debating, what determines that is up to you.
I'm comfortable with anything you want to do in debate as long as you're respectful of others. I give a lot of nonverbal feedback.
Rosemount High School (MN)
Debate Experience: 4 years HS policy (Rosemount HS, 1987-1991), 2 years CEDA (Truman State - formerly NE Missouri St 1991-1993)
Coaching/Judging Experience: 32 years judging, 18 of these actively coaching
Rosemount 2013-present
Farmington 2018-2020
St. Thomas Academy 1993-2001
Last update: 2022-11-19
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New 2022-11-19 / Clarified 2023-12-2
Building on evidence highlighting argued below. If the highlighted portion of your evidence is word salad and/or changes the author's intent when read in isolation, I will stop the round and immediately vote on an ethical violation. This means a loss and minimum allowable points to the offending team. National circuit evidence standards are atrocious and need to be changed. This may be quixotic, but so be it.
The note about stopping the round will be only when evidence is taken out of context. In other circumstances, particularly (but not limited to) where cards are formed by taking one to four words from each of ten or more sentences, I will treat the argument as an analytic with no evidence support.
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Yes, email chain.
I have changed the email address I use for email chains. The old one will still work, but please use wodarz.debate@gmail.com going forward
New 2021-10-02: Your evidence highlighting should read in grammatically correct sentences when read in isolation. I will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis (generally, there should be a legitimate argumentative purpose for doing otherwise).
None of the older profile information below is out-of-date, feel free to refer to it for additional information.
I'm definitely an older coach but I like a lot of what K debate has brought to the community. I'm unique among the Rosemount coaching staff in that respect.
I most enjoy judging rounds where the aff and the neg have an underlying agreement on how the round should look. I prefer to judge either policy v policy debates or K v K debates.
Some details:
* I prefer that the negative engage with the affirmative. The better the specificity of link arguments, the more likely the negative is to win their chosen arguments.
* I roughly think of my judging philosophy as "least intervention". My hope is to try to not do any work for debaters, but this is the ideal and rarely occurs in practice. So I generally look at what I would need to do to vote for either team and choose the outcome that requires the least work on my part. I do my best to not interject personal beliefs into the debate, but realize this isn't always possible.
* I don't like most process or actor CPs, but often vote for them. When neg CP lit says a topic should be left to the states, that lit never means "all 50 states act in concert" but instead usually means "states should be free to not do anything". Affs could do a lot with this, but never do.
* I despise politics DAs, but again find myself voting for them. In 30+ years of debating and judging these, I think I've heard one scenario that had any semblance of truth to it. I think negative over-simplification of the political process and the horse-race mentality engendered by these DAs has been bad for debate and bad for society as a whole. But again, I rarely see Affs making the arguments necessary to win these sort of claims.
* I have a debate-level knowledge of most Kritiks. My knowledge of the literature is about 20 years old at this point and I rarely cut cards for my teams. What this means if you're running a K (either aff or neg): assume that I'm a judge who is willing to listen to (and often vote for) what you say, but don't assume any specific knowledge. This is particularly important at the impact level. If I have a warranted and detailed explanation as to why your model of debate is essential,
* In debates between similarly skilled teams, Framework debates usually come down to "is the aff in the direction of the resolution?". If so, I usually vote aff. Otherwise, neg. If you're a policy team, you're probably better off going for even a Cap K in front of me than for Framework.
* Even in person, you're not as clear as you think you are. This is doubly so in online debates. Slow down a little and you'll likely be happier with my decision.
* It's come to my attention that some teams have shied away from going for theory because of what I've written below. If you believe your violation is true, go ahead and go for it. My preference is to decide debates on the issues, but if I can get good clash on a theory or T flow, that's OK too.
* Disclosure theory is exempt from the preceding bullet. If you can win the debate on disclosure theory, there are better arguments you can make that you can also win on.
* If you're a big school on the circuit where I'm judging you, running a "small schools DA" will likely see speaker points reduced.
* I don't like a 6+ off neg strategy. If you're obviously far more skilled than your opponents and still do this, speaker points will suffer. Regardless, I'm probably more likely to vote on condo bad or perf con than most judges (but see everything else I've written on theory)
* I love good topicality debates. I also love creative (but defensible) affirmative interpretations of the topic. I default to "good is good enough"/reasonability for the aff on topicality, but can be persuaded to vote for the competing interps model. Just saying "reasonability invites judge intervention" isn't enough though. Believe it or not, so does competing interps.
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Older Profile:
I actively coached from 1993 until 2001 before largely leaving the activity for a dozen years. I got back into coaching in 2013 and have been in the activity since then. My time away from the activity proved to profoundly affect the way I view debates.
I view debate as an educational activity and my primary responsibility as a judge as facilitating that education. It is important to note what this means and what it does not mean. What it does not mean is that I like arguments that impact in "voting issue for reasons of education." Leaving aside the irony of the lack of educational value in those sorts of arguments, I am not saying that I will vote for the "more educational" team, whatever that means. What I do mean is that the round can be a very educational environment and my position is to assist that as best as I can. Argumentatively, I am looking for well-reasoned logical arguments, preferentially with strong evidential support. Counterplans which are contingent on successful consultation of any sort are almost always lacking here. Almost all politics DAs that I've ever heard have this problem as well. You're going to have a much easier time if you run a DA, CP, or a K with a solid literature-based link story.
Theory and Analytics: In-round abuse is more persuasive than potential abuse. I have a large presumption against voting on theory, although I have voted on it. To win on theory, you'll probably need to spend substantial time in the last rebuttal and offer a persuasive story. SLOW DOWN when arguing theory. Give me a tag that I can get on my flow and then explain it. Five consecutive four word responses will likely get the first one or two responses flowed, and the rest missed. If it's not on my flow, I can't vote on it. The explanation is the most important part of the argument.
Topicality: Topicality stems from plan action. Placing the resolution in plan text or looking to solvency do not prove topicality. My default view is that if the affirmative interpretation provides an equitable division of ground and plan meets their interpretation, they will win the argument. Generally speaking, if the negative wins topicality, they win the debate. I have been persuaded to vote contrary to my default views in the past. The negative need not win that their interpretation is best for debate, but it helps.
Non-traditional Affirmatives: I don't insist that the affirmative run a plan but any planless aff better be prepared to explain how they engage the resolution. I'm much more willing to accept a non-traditional interpretation of the terms of the resolution than I am to accept an aff that completely ignores the resolution or runs counter to the direction of the resolution.
Evidence sharing/email chains: As of 2017, I have updated my philosophy on these. I would now like to get all speech docs that are shared. Please add me to any email chain using wodarz.debate@gmail.com. Please note that I will not use the speech doc to help flow your speech.
One notable change for the worse over the last decade is the terrible practices that paperless debating has fostered. I approve of paperless debating in the abstract and in a good deal of its implementation, but teams have taken to receiving a speech doc before the speech as a crutch and flowing and line by line debate have suffered as a result. I'm not happy with the blatant prep time theft that pervades the activity, but I recognize that any gesture that I make will be futile. I will take action in particularly egregious cases by deducting from prep time (or speech time, if no prep remains).
Please ask before rounds for clarification.
Lincoln Douglas Philosophy:
I judge far more policy than LD, but I'm not a stranger to judging or coaching LD. I have no predispositions toward any particular style, so largely you should feel free to do what you're most comfortable with. I will not vote for a policy argument just because I'm predominantly a policy judge, although I will listen to them. Be sure to offer full explanations. LD time formats can be challenging, prioritize explanations over evidence. Anything above that isn't specific to policy will apply in LD as well. Your explanations are the most important part of the debate.
Updated 1/9/2019 to add LD
Personal Information:
probably will not be judging anytime soon, and i'm updating this paradigm simply because tabroom made me. and if i am it's prob gonna be novices (if in policy) bc i'm very out of practice.
i debated in high school policy.
Email: awyang2951@gmail.com
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POLICY
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TL/DR
I'm mostly tabula rasa (I try my best); just don't make any offensive arguments. I am probably (unintentionally, I'm sorry!) predisposed to policy-like arguments, such as framework against the kritik. BTW I have VERY limited topic knowledge, so be aware of acronyms or anything hyper-specific to the topic, especially T definitions.
I've also very unfortunately had to judge more PF tournaments than policy ones, so be patient with me about this topic.
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Specific stuff:
Aff: By the 2AR, you better have a cohesive, comprehensible story of what your affirmative does and what it is. Including K affs. However, if your entire story was explained in the 2AR and not before that, and it's difficult for me and/or the other team to understand you, the threshold for winning is very high.
DAs: I like disads, and most of my neg rounds I've gone for one with a CP. Ptx and specific topic disads are probably very good ways to gain education about intricacies of the topic and nuances of policy. The neg should also have a cohesive story on what causes the disad to happen and what impact this leads to.
CPs: CPs are pretty cool. I like them. Even some of the trashiest disads become viable 2NRs combined with a good CP that solves. They obviously need to be competitive and NOT link to the net benefit. Also, theory can be a reason to reject the CP. Agent, Process, States etc. can be reasons to reject the CP. Judge kick? Meh. I'll decide depending on the round. Condo is usually the only reason to reject the team even if the CP is kicked.
Ks: I'm probably unfamiliar with most of the literature so you'll have to explain it thoroughly. Framework is very important and I'm most likely subconsciously aff-biased on the issue. Otherwise, really weigh the impact of the kritik against the impact of the affirmative. You also don't necessarily need an alternative to win, case turns and/or root cause arguments might be sufficient to win my ballot.
T: T is about two competing models of what debate for the year should look like. That being said, I have no idea of anything on this topic, so please explain your stuff. Talk about whose model is better for the year, (limits and ground, education and fairness, etc.) and whether the affirmative meets either interpretation. T is a gateway issue and I won't be persuaded to weigh the aff's impact before it.
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Speaker Points (this stuff is basically all for novices. for jv and varsity, i'm same as p much everyone else):
A 28.4 should be average. If you're good, I'll make them higher, obviously.
A 26 is if you are mean. Like, substantially mean. Yelling at the other team. Or stealing prep. Or saying something offensive.
A 30 if you would have been able to beat my partner and me our senior year.
For novices, a 28.8 or above is only possible:
1. If you are actually a novice that DOES A LINE-BY-LINE. please. do a line-by-line. it makes my flow prettier.
2. If you are a novice team that ACTUALLY SPLITS THE BLOCK. I HATE when the 2NC just takes everything and the 1NR just repeats it. It just ruins my otherwise really pretty flow.
3. If you are nice to the other team and have tag team be REASONABLE.
4. If you FLOW IN PEN - flowing in pencils or worse, COLORED PENCILS, should literally be BANNED from debate
5. If you don't extend 5 off in the 2NR - please just go for one thing... for your own benefit?
A 29 if I feel like you are REALLY REALLY good.
A 29.5 if I feel like you should be in JV.
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PF
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TL/DR
I'm a policy judge so I may weigh things a bit differently compared to a typical PF judge. Weigh your impacts and actually answer the opponents' arguments; don't just use broad, sweeping claims with nothing to back it up.
Long Version
Again, I was in policy, so I will probably judge your round with a policy perspective (whether subconsciously or not), in that:
1. I don't really accept impacts that are not really impacts. I am not convinced econ growth in and of itself is a good thing, for example (the exception is climate change. I think that you can just say "climate change" without listing potential disasters, as the negative effects of climate change are implicitly obvious). However, I will be very easy to convince that this impact leads to some terminal impact: increasing the job market as a result of econ growth can inherently be a good thing (unless the other side convinces me that the jobs are exploitative or something).
2. I'll, in a round, consider nuke war and other extinction impacts likelier than they actually are (in reality). As long as you win an internal link chain, you're good.
I have judged too many rounds in which PF debaters just read and say things at each other instead of actually clashing. It makes my job incredibly difficult because I might as well flip a coin at the end of the round to determine who wins, as I have two (or worse, >2) completely competing versions of what reality is/should be and no reason to prefer either of them. Do impact calculus and ENGAGE with the other team's arguments, PLEASE.
Speaks
I've heard that a 27.5 is average. So that is your baseline.