Updated 11/11/2022

Email: nrantilla@gmail.com

Hello, my name is Noah Rantilla, nice to meet you! I'm a second-year college student at the University of Iowa, studying psychology and philosophy. During my high school debate career, I mainly focused on LD debate, though I greatly enjoyed Congress as well.

DEBATE:

I have the most experience with judging LD debate; PF and Policy aren't really something I know much about. To put it simply, I'm a traditional judge who prefers depth>breadth, logic>evidence, and truth>tech. Do I know about tricks, T, K, PICs, CPs, and other things? Yes. Do I want to see them in the round? No. Will I vote on them? Probably not. Are there some topics that clearly invite one of the above? Yes. Does that make it more acceptable? Yes. Does that mean I like hearing it? No.

How do I feel about speed? I prefer slow debate but I recognize debaters like to go quickly and that's fine. Spreading is a big no however, if I can't understand you I won't flow it and I am willing to drop a debater for that. I will not yell clear unless there is some technical problem or ambient noise, if you are just going too fast, that's the risk you assume. I'm 19 years old and was a VLD debater, so I would say I can handle any speed you wouldn't call spreading, but still.

What are my thoughts on evidence and logic? I value good logic and evidence > good logic with no evidence > bad logic with good evidence > bad logic with bad evidence. I am a truth over tech judge, meaning just because you said it in the round DOES NOT mean it is true, and just because your opponent did not respond to something DOES NOT make it true. I recognize the huge strategic implications of that, but just to be clear, if you say "a job's guarantee will cost us millions, plunging the economy into a recession and possibly sparking nuclear war," I will still give you full weight for that argument, especially if your opponent doesn't respond, because it is at least theoretically possible and makes sense logically. All I'm saying here is running "20 off" with 18 aprioris that don't make any sense, then claiming "I auto-win because they dropped apriori 11 and 13" will not win my ballot.

SPEECH:

I have very little experience with speech, both as a competitor and as a judge. I look for eye contact, appropriate tone of voice/emotion to what you're saying, not using a script, appropriate amounts of body language, etc. I recognize all of those come off as extremely subjective standards, but I really don't have any better way to put it. I will keep time, my clock overrules yours, but I will give hand signals if requested.

CONGRESS:

I only did a little Congress in high school, but I greatly enjoyed it. I judge Congress much like I judge speech, focusing on the performative aspect, though I am very interested in what is being said as well. Apparently it is normal to bring a notepad or computer up when speaking, and this is fine, but I still will judge people's eye contact. I enjoy "soft questions," though I find it funny when the speaker doesn't realize what's happening and gets defensive. PO will automatically get 4th place unless they or other competitors perform incredibly (good or bad).

Hi, I'm Quincy. I’m an assistant coach at Iowa City West, I am in college at the University of Iowa, I debated for 2 years and I have been judging LD for 4 years, PF for 3 years and speech events for 2 years. For the sake of transparency, I’ve only judged 4-5 bid tournaments, but again, I’ve been around the block.

Email Chain Format:

Tournament Name: School Name (Aff) vs. School Name (Neg)

My email: qat1@rice.edu.
Share a couple of minutes before round. My email has a spam blocker, so it WILL take at least 3 minutes before I receive any email you send.

1. Spreading: If I cannot understand you, I will say 'clear'. I expect to be on the e-mail chain. If I have to say ‘clear’ more than twice, I will stop flowing until your you achieve clarity again.

2. Speaks:

a) Strategy: Debate is an intellectual battle. Strategy shows that you are a good debater. Creativity in your arguments shows ingenuity, which will be rewarded. Unorthodox standards or contentions are encouraged.

b) Common Courtesy: Some simple things affect this, like whether or not you ask to see if your opponent is ready before a speech or before CX. Signposting is always good. Off-time road map, etc. DBAA- don’t be a jerk.

c) Presentation: This has everything to do with how you carry yourself. Wealth can’t buy class. You can look more presentable with a $3 t-shirt than in a rumpled $500 suit.

I will award speaker points based on these factors, and debaters that exhibit a good combination of both of these will be the only ones whom I will award 30 speaks. I will typically award 27-29 or so.

3. Norms Setting: I will harshly punish prejudice (ableism, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc.), evidence ethics violations, and other tomfoolery. I reserve the right to unilaterally drop you from the round if the violation is egregious enough. On the flip side, frivolous IVIs will not convince me.

Don't steal prep time, don't stall, and have your evidence and sources on hand in case your opponent asks about them.

4. Ks: I will give VERY low speaks if you run an identity K(e.g, afropess, queerpess, etc.) that doesn’t apply to you (e.g. afropess but you aren’t black).

5. tech > truth. Obviously. If you win K > theory, I’ll vote on that. If you do the opposite, I’ll vote on that too.

Lastly, if you have questions, or if anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask. However, you should wait until your opponent is present to ask questions.

Good luck, and may the best debater win!

P.S. +0.1 speaks if you tastefully roast any (current) IC West Debater.

Badgerland Only: online tournaments often have audio issues. Please ensure your environment is clear of ambient noise. I’d hate to vote incorrectly because of audio interruptions.

Speech must be clear and understandable if reading quickly. I appreciate when rounds stay topical however I am open to theory as well as other types of arguments.