NSCTA State Debate
2023 — Lincoln, NE/US
Policy Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHe/Him
E-Mail: quinncarlo024@gmail.com
MSHS Asst. Coach 2y, (Policy 3y, PF 1y)
ASL Interpreting major @UNO (1st language: English)
Debate is about the people and the experience, so be kind.
In my days I used to run trad left affs, and Cap Ks. I trust you'll help me understand whatever you run.
LD: LAST EDITED 2/23/2024 LD is about philosophy for me. I suppose that makes me trad now... I feel old.
FW: Winning FW means I will evaluate the round through that lens. FW is not an independent voter.
SPREADING: If you spread use SpeechDrop, AND DON'T SPREAD ANALYTICS.
Ks: I've found that it is more difficult for me to buy a K AFF than anything else. That being said, I would love to engage in a discussion on K subject matters outside of the round.
- ROB: Vote for the better debater- to me means I’m looking at who cross-applied evidence well, who didn’t drop anything, who carried cards through their speeches, and other techy stuff.
THEORY: DON'T use theory as a means to win a ballot. Run theory if there is a genuine equity issue within the round.
- Disclosure Theory: If there is no in-round abuse (de-linking out of args), and/or your opponent gives you their case via SpeechDrop, I'm unlikely to vote for you.
- Spreading Theory: If your opponent asks before the round if they can spread and/or invites you to tell them to slow down, I'm unlikely to vote for you.
T: I am less likely to buy that the AFF needs to defend a specific plan as opposed to the general Value/Ethics of the Topic. Because LD is different from Policy.
→ Don't use other people's disadvantages to win you a ballot. Advocating for the rights of minorities as a majority can be fine if it is done in good faith, and you understand your case. If you are cishet advocating for the rights of queer people without knowing what it means, that's sketch.
Grant McKeever – he/him – ggmdebate@gmail.com (put this on the email chain and feel free to ask questions)
Experience: Current coach for Lincoln Southwest. Current NFA LD debater (1v1 policy) for UNL (elections, nukes) - did DCI/TOC style stuff senior year (water) and was on the trad/KDC circuit in Kansas prior (criminal justice, arms sales, immigration) at Olathe Northwest HS so I’m most likely familiar with whatever style you’re going for
TL;DR: Run what you run best. I’m open to mostly whatever, specifics down below. Default to policymaker. Give me judge instruction, explain arguments, and tell me how to vote because that’s probably how I will. The rest of the paradigm is moreso preferences/defaults/advice than explicit constraints; my job is to flow the round and evaluate what happens in it, and I try to do so as unbiased as possible.
Don’t be disrespectful. Just don’t.
I've noticed a lack of warrants and impacts from claims coming out of debates - an argument has 3 parts; you will get a MUCH more favorable (or, at the least, less intervention-y) RFD if you go beyond the claim and give me comparative reasons why it is true and how it frames my ballot.
ON EVIDENCE CITATIONS -
My patience is growing thin on a lot of these questions - I have watched blatant violations of the NSDA rules on evidence (sources:https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Debate-Evidence-Guide.pdf and https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hq7-DE6ls2ryVtOttxR4BNpRdP7xUbBr0M3SMYefek8/edit#heading=h.nmf14n). I will not hesitate to tank speaks and/or drop the debater for failure to comply with these standards (and it's magnified if your opponent points it out).
What this means:
- You MUST provide cut cards with full citations - this means setting up some form of evidence sharing (speech drop, email, flash drive, paper case, etc.) that I have access to for the ENTIRETY of the debate to check for clipping and evidence standards. THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE SHOULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE CARDS YOU READ IS SILLY AND MAKES FOR BAD DEBATES. (stolen from Zach Thornhill). This includes having access to the original source material the card was cut from, and provide : full name of primary author and/or editor, publication date, source, title of article, date accessed for digital evidence, full URL, author qualifications, and page numbers for all cards. In round, you only have to verbally say the name and date, but I need the rest of this information provided in another format. HYPERLINKS ALONE ARE NOT SUFFICIENT - THEY ARE ONE PART OF THE CITATION, AND FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE REST OF THIS INFORMATION IS SUFFICIENT TO VOTE DOWN.
- I am VERY unlikely to give you much leeway for paraphrased/summarized evidence - this model highly incentivizes debaters misconstruing evidence, and 99% of the time misses out on the warrants as to WHY the claim is true (which means even if it follows evidence rules I am unlikely to give it much weight anyway). In addition, paraphrasing is only used for one small, specific portion of an original source, not summarize pages of information into a sentence to blip out 20 cards. If you are concerned I may misinterpret part of your paraphrased case as violating this and/or are concerned, you should read cut cards that highlight the words from a source read in the debate. If you do paraphrase, you MUST have outlined the specific part of the card paraphrased clearly - failure to do this is an evidence violation.
- Clipping, even if accidental, is enough to be voted against - I don't care who points it out when it gets pointed out or how - I will be following along, and if I find you clipped I will vote against you. This is non-negotiable.
- Distortion, nonexistent evidence (in here, point 1), and clipping (point 3) are the only violations in which the round will be stopped - that doesn't mean any other evidence violations will not negatively impact your speaks and the arguments I have on the flow.
I don't want to do this to be mean, but these are necessary to maintain academic integrity and faithful representation - especially at postseason and national-level tournaments, these violations are inexcusable.
Pref Sheet (mainly for LD, but works for policy too)
LARP/Policy - 1
K - 1/2
Theory*** - 1/2
Phil - 3/4
Tricks - 5
Other: probably somewhere throughout the paradigm - or just ask
General
Debate is a competitive game, and it is my job as a judge to evaluate who wins the game. As competitors, you get to tell me how to evaluate the game outside my defaults and why I should evaluate this way - this takes a lot of different forms with many different reasons, criteria, benefits, and more, but my job is to evaluate this clash to decide a winner (which becomes much easier with judge instruction). However, debate as a game is unique with the educational benefits it provides and have real impacts in the way we think about and view the world - I think debate about what debate should look like are important to framing the game, and can easily be persuaded to find extraneous benefits to the "game" to evaluate/vote on.
Tech>truth, though sticking with the truth usually makes the tech easier. I've especially noticed the more pedantic impact/internal links/interps/etc. the less likely I am to give it a bunch of weight.
Prep Time - not a big fan of people stealing prep. If it gets bad enough I will start to just dock prep time as you're stealing prep so steal at your own risk. I also give verbal warnings, if I tell you to stop please just stop I don't want to be grumpy. TIMES TO NOT TAKE PREP: while someone is uploading a speech doc, as someone is going up for cross, after your prep time has expired, etc.
Speed – Spreading is fine. Make sure everyone in the round is okay with it though before you do. If you spread make sure it’s clear. If you’re super fast I probably can't understand your top speed, and appreciate going a slower on tags/analytics. I'll yell a few times, but if the keyboard ain't clacking/I'm frantically trying to keep up I'm not recording your arguments.
-Within that, I'm probably not going to verbally call on a panel; I'm going to assume the speed you're going at is to best adapt to the other judges; a lot of the same signals tho will still apply, I just won't be as verbal ab it
Framing – it’s good. Please use it, especially if there’s different impacts in the debate. Impact calc is very good, use it to the best of your ability. I'm a policymaker after all you’ll win the round here.
I've increasingly noticed that heavily posturing is becoming less persuasive to me; it looks much better to frame the debate through you being ahead on specific arguments (ie evidence/warrant quality, impact weighing, etc.) then posturing about the round writ large. Especially with the way I evaluate debates, the last minute ethos/pathos push is by and far less important than writ large "I'm soooooo far ahead" that can get articulated on the flow to shape my ballot.
Neg
Ks – I probably don’t know all of your lit. As long as you explain I should be fine and am more than willing to vote on them. I'm once again reminding that you should either send your analytics or slow down otherwise else my flow WILL be a mess. Judge instruction is key here - give me ROB and impact stuff out.
Topicality – I love a good T debate. Not a fan of T as a time suck; it's legitimately so good. If the aff is untopical/topical/exists go for it. That being said, I need good violations on T. Slow down a bit on the standards/voters piece of things. I default to competing interps, but can evaluate on reasonability if it's won.
CPs – Swag. Theory is highly underused here, so as long as I can flow them (slow down on them) I'll vote on them. Condo is usually good but I default a bit to reasonability here - especially if the aff points out specific abuse stories. I default to framing this debate as a scale of "if the CP solves ___ much of the aff, what does the risk of the net benefit need to be to outweigh" - so pairing good case defense and net benefit debate is crucial.
DAs – Good. Please just have at least a somewhat reasonable link chain.
Theory – I'm fine with it. I heavily lean towards drop the argument and not the team unless it's egregious/about in-round discriminatory behavior. Still will default to competing interps but would be happy to go for good C/Is under reasonability. Disclosure (for an example): I think disclosure is good and you should disclose, but I am much less likely (not opposed) to reject the team and instead default more towards leaning neg on generic links/args. Condo/Topicality are probably the only ones that I reject the team on. Generally frown on RVIs, the better out is making those articulations under reasonability.
Case – I feel that case debate is highly under-utilized. A strong case debate is just as, if not a slightly more, viable way to my ballot. However, please pair it with some sort of offense; case defense is good but if there's no offense against the aff then I vote aff. Especially with a CP that avoids the deficits heck yeah.
Aff
K Affs – Refer to the K section. Fairness and education are impacts, but the more they are terminalized/specified (to things like participation) the more persuasive your arguments become. Haven't been in enough FW debates to know how I truly lean on that, I'll evaluate it like everything else - impacts are key.
-TVA is better defense than SSD imo but both are defense; they take out aff impacts on the flow, but if you go for these (which u should) pair it with other offense on the page
Extinction Impacts – have a probable link chain and make sure aff is substantial - that's much easier to win and helps u later on.
LD
I'm a policy kid, LD circuit norms and evaluations can fly over my head. I did a couple years on the trad circuit so I know some things but it's not my forte - refer to the policy stuff and ask questions before round. Judge instruction is still CRUCIAL.
I don't know philosophy and I won't pretend to know it. You can run it but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE explain it and how I evaluate it - odds are LD time constraints make it an uphill battle.
Not a fan of tricks. I have low threshold for responses to it and actually considering it in the round. Couple this with the theory section above.
I think LD uses the word "ought" for a reason, and that it's to make it an uphill battle to win PTX/Elections DA/Process CPs/any argument that the link relies on certainty/immediacy of the resolution being bad and not the actual implementation (read all your other DAs/CPs to the rez/their plan/whatev)
-this isn't to say you can't just that it's a bit more uphill - win the definition debate to win these are legitimate
PF
You still should be cutting evidence in PF with good, clear cites.
I still will judge this event like any other - judge instruction and impact calc are key.
Most of my policy section still applies (focus on aff + DA sections - CPs and Ks in PF get wacky and is prob easier w/o them).
Good luck, and have fun!
Last Major Update 5/27/2023
Hi :)
General Info:
-I use she/her pronouns
-I want to be on the email chain ( email is delanie.n0214@gmail.com)
-I debated for Millard North High School 2018-2021, I ran both policy and kritical arguments, I have a slightly more than a basic understanding of Bataille, Puar, Preciado, Derrida, most cap arguments, and set col
-I study political science at UNL and currently coach policy at Millard North
- I don't care if you sit, stand, walk, or look at the wall when you speak
- Please be kind.
- if I am judging your LD round- I am fine with any kind of debate- LARP or otherwise- I'll listen to whatever you read in front of me
- if I am judging your PF round- I think PF is generally way underdeveloped in argumentation, that being said, please PLEASE have substantive clash in your rounds, especially in relation to evidence
TLDR:
-Read what you like, debate well and respectfully
My preferences:
- I have an extremely high burden for evidence, if you do not have a warranted piece of evidence attached to your argument at the end of the round and your opponent does- I will default to the evidence every single time. this means you need to extend your evidence well- explain your evidence and contextualize it- you can read as many cards as you'd like but if the text of the card doesn't say what you're saying it does I will have trouble buying your argument.
-Tech > truth almost always
-Do not assume I will read your evidence unless you tell me to and why (if you have a fantastic piece of evidence that answers every single argument your opponent is making, tell me how. Don't just tell me to extend it.)
-PLEASE extend author names when you extend a card (not only author name, but please put it in there) but if I don't know what card you're referencing (especially if you have multiple cards that basically say the same thing), I can't evaluate it, and tend to buy responses when it is answered by your opponent.
-POLICY AFF: If you do not garner solvency or do anything due to your case ( performance, etc.), it will be hard for me to vote for you. Defend your solvency or prove you do something.
-I love Kritical arguments, but I need an extremely clear path to solvency to buy your argument.
- Tagteam cross ex is fine
- I frequently give advice for future arguments in my RFD. If you do not want that, let me know, I will not be offended.
- I will and have (more frequently than I would like) vote(d) neg on presumption,at the end of the round, if I have no reason to believe that the affirmative does anything other than the squo ( or worse), I will vote on presumption.
- don't steal prep; emailing/flashing is not prep
-condo is not my fav, but I won't outright reject it.
-I love a good theory argument; you need to flesh out the impact.
-T is a fun and good time, but I need the impact of a nontopical case.
- Speed is fine, read as fast as you want, i'll clear you
-DisAds: I need specific links, but I'm willing to vote on a link of omission if I'm given a reason to.
-Debate is a game, but I don't think cheaters should always lose. Always following the rules of debate takes away the fun. Tell me why cheaters should lose.
-Trigger warnings and generally not okay behavior: if you have a case that involves sensitive material in any form, you should add a trigger warning. If you choose to add a trigger warning, you need another option for a case if the material triggers someone. If you fail to provide another option, you will concede the round. I will not allow you to make this space unsafe for anyone. That being said, if you misgender someone and/or are racist/ sexist/ homophobic /transphobic /general bigotry, I will stop the round, vote you down, and tank your speaks. Quite frankly, I'm tired of extremely rude behavior being allowed in debate, and for debaters to have to fight to be treated with kindness and empathy, I will not submit to the current narrative.
Speaker points:
I generally think speaker points are a terrible way of determining success; my rules are:
30 - I think you should win this tournament
29-29.9- little to no criticism
28-28.9- few strategic issues
27-27.9- more than a few issues or multiple critical errors
26 or lower- you owe someone an apology
I default to 28 for the loser and 28.5 for the winner unless I feel compelled to think about it harder.
Bottom line:
-Do whatever you're comfortable with and do it well. If you don't make an effort to get better, you're wasting everyone's time
Email: pranavpalli42@gmail.com, please include if using an email chain.
Meme Cases: If I find it funny, I will give you 30 speaks.
If you have questions, just ask before round.
TLDR- Do whatever and be nice.
General-
- I don't have any topic knowledge- don't use abbreviations w/o introducing them.
- I will not vote for an argument without a warrant or an impact.
- Presumption goes Neg unless 2NR has CP or Alt.
- I usually won't time you so please time yourselves.
- I don't judge kick CP or Alt unless told to.
- Perm is a test of competition and not new advocacy.
- If a piece of ev/arg is bad, then beat it. But, I won't vote on a 2016 Elections DA.
- I'm not the fastest flow in the world- please go slower since its online.
- Include analytics in your speech docs you send the other team-- I'll give 0.5 extra speaks.
- I don't like new affs bad theory.
- Fairness can be an impact but can also be an internal link to other things.
- I don't flow cross and will listen depending on how bored I am.
- If you accuse your opponent of cheating(stealing prep, going way over speech time, clipping, etc.), bring evidence and I will give the cheater 0 speaks and contact tab. If you accuse someone but don't have evidence, you will get 0 speaks and I will contact tab.
Policy-
- Framework: Aff- weigh case offense against framework's. C/I w/ standards are much good- do line by line on standards and voters. Neg- Extend an interp and do LBL on C/I and standards. Weigh your standards against their offense. I find TVAs really persuasive.
- T: I have no topic knowledge and don't know what core aff/neg ground is. Explain what the debate looks like with your interp and you will be fine.
- CP: Make sure that there are certain net benefits of the CP and give specific and warranted reasons why it would be better than the plan.
- DA: Fine with everything from generic to aff-specific DAs.
- Theory: I lean neg on Condo. I'll reject argument unless its condo or new affs bad or I'm told to.
- K: I understand cap & security the best. I've hit afropess, set col, and Puar so I'm familiar with them, but please still explain the Ks. DON'T use jargon. I'm fine with Ks w/o alt as a linear DA.
- Affs: I think the aff has be related to the res in some way (the more specific the better).
PF-
- Collapse onto one or two pieces of offense.
- Please weigh and/or extend defense- otherwise I will presume(squo).
- Front line in second rebuttal.
- Do clean line-by-line.
- Paraphrasing is fine.
- Ks and theory args are fine.
- Spreading is fine if both teams are ok-- ask the other team if you want to spread and send a speech doc.
- I won't call for ev unless told to by a team. The team asking me to call has the burden of telling me exactly what's wrong with that piece of ev or else I will not read it.
- In the roadmap, just say which arguments you will start on .
LD-
- refer to Pratham Soni's paradigm for most of the stuff about LD: https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?judge_person_id=107127. I share most of my opinions w/ him about LD.
Not actively coaching anywhere at this time. I typically judge about 8 tournaments a year split between LD and Policy.
I have 2 years of high school LD debate, 2 years of high school policy, and 2 years of college parli & LD experience. I coached every debate event in Nebraska over the course of 10 years in various Nebraska high schools. I'm comfortable judging all events, but the paradigm is oriented towards LD and Policy debaters. Absolutely feel free to ask me questions before the rounds about my judging practices.
Speed - This will be challenging in the digital debate era. I would recommend starting at 75% of your top speed and working your way up. I will call clear if I can't hear you (either due to speed or due to technical issues). The most important thing if you want to speed read in front of me is that you MUST be organized. Number or label your arguments, clearly indicate when you are moving to the next flow/case, etc. and use those references as the debate continues.
Fiat - I handle this different in LD and Policy. The construct of policy debate created the concept of fiat and theory much more developed. I will evaluate arguments about how fiat isn't real or doesn't matter in policy debate, but my default paradigm is that fiat exists in every policy round. The opposite is true of Lincoln Douglas debate where I do not believe that fiat exists by default. If you choose to, for example, read a counter plan in LD against a traditional values case, the burden will be on you to bridge the theory gap and prove that fiat should exist in LD.
Email: realprathamsoni@gmail.com
PGP: He/Him
TLDR:
Water finds the path of least resistance; make me vote with the route that is the least amount of work for me. I don't want to do mental gymnastics to reach a decision.
I love super techy debates where the debate is around extinction-level scenarios. Ks is also fine with me, but I hate K vs Larp debates, especially when there is 0 clash. Pref me if you aren't a tricks debater.
Background:
I am currently a Sophomore at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying Cyber Security. I did debate for all 4 years, I did Cx for my first two, then LD for my last 2. I debated on the national circuit. I did LARP debate but in Cx and increasingly during my senior year, I read Ks.
Prefs (1 is good, 5 is worst):
Policy/LARP - 1
K - 1.5
T/Theory - 2 (but not friv theory)
Trad - 2.5
Phil/Framework - 3
Tricks - 5 (please don't do tricks, I had this phase but its not fun to judge)
General:
Tech and Truth are two separate things, it's stupid for someone to say tech over truth, what they mean is they like util, but that doesn't exclude K args from the round.
Debate is game with educational implications. Presumption is neg but flips aff if there is a CP (or a different interp). Make sure that your 2AR/2NR has weighing so I can vote for whatever is easy for me to vote on. I don't really know what to put in this section. It will keep expanding as I keep judging, but ask me any questions you have please, so its beneficial for both you as a debater and me as a judge.
LARP:
Most of my LD experience is in LARP debate, I love it. I love the policy aspect of it. I like it when the neg reads 7 off, just make sure your DAs have actual weight to them.
K:
I have had a love/hate relationship with K debate. I love it when you are actually genuine about the topic you are stating. Like identity politics, but if you're running a K because it is strategic to this round, then it will come off as super bad and make me disincentivized to vote for you.
CP:
The counterplan is conditional unless said otherwise, the burden of the neg if nobody lays out a framework is "the neg has to prove an instance of when the aff doesn't work/provide a better way to approach the problem". This being said, if you are debating conditionality I will be Tabula Rasa
DA:
I love DAs, especially econ DAs and politics DAs. If there is a unique DA you have, I will enjoy it. I love extinction-level impacts, but be careful if the FW isn't util then I can't weigh through extinction.
T/Theory:
Disclosure is a must, I will literally just stop flowing if someone brings up a valid disclosure shell.
Other theory is something I'm cool with but please don't be a tricky debater and run like 5 theory shells. Theory is supposed to be run when your life is genuinely harder because of something the other debater did.
SEND THE THEORY/T SHELL OVER EVEN IF ITS JUST ANALYTICS, I will not flow it unless the shell is sent to everyone.
Trad:
My local circuit was very trad, I enjoy a trad debate, and am willing to vote on trad arguments. LARP debates however can easily argue against a trad debate, and I prefer LARP so its not in your best interest to read trad in front of me, especially at a nat circuit tournament.
Phil/FW:
I don't really enjoy philosophy because there are so many different interpretations of it. If you are reading a generic phil like Kant, I'm chill with that. If there's phil I don't understand, I just simply won't vote on it. If you are planning on reading Phil/FW, just ask me before the round, I will probably tell you I know your author/idea.
Tricks:
L
Things to make life easier:
- Set up the email chain before the round, I'll know you've read my paradigm
- Sending cards is a must, but please don't be extra and send only the cards, if you're gonna be reading analytics at 350 wpm and I don't understand it, I won't flow it.
- If you sing 30 seconds of Kanye, I'll give you 30 speaks
- Don't be dumb, I woke up at 8 AM on a Saturday when I could've been sleeping, please don't be extra.
I have 2 years of experience in LD and 2 years of experience in Policy. I went to Millard South High School.
I ran mostly traditional arguments in high school so if you run high theory debates I fully support it I just need you to really explain your link to the resolution and/or the affirmative and explain your alternative really well.
I don't always remember to time so please remember to time yourselves.
Email: emmagsorrell@gmail.com
Add me to the email chains just because I like to read the unhighlighted portions of cards.
If I hear the same case ran multiple times with pre-fiat education claims I find it pretty unpersuasive.
I also love analytical arguments. I love analytics, it makes me think that y'all are doing the debating in your own head and thinking for yourselves and not just reading cards.
Policy
Affirmative
If you are running a K affirmative, you should still be spending almost all of your 2AC on case. Listening to a critical affirmative is one thing but being able to explain your alternative, link to the resolution and why your pre-fiat impacts have solvency is extremely important to me. Because of this, I find myself skewed against K affirmatives because I have a pretty high solvency threshold. Know your case an explain to me why I vote on it, or else I will vote Negative on presumption.
I like affirmative cases. I'm pretty even Steven on condo arguments, I think if the negative is making contradictory arguments I would buy condo bad a lot more, but at the end of the day it's all up to interpretations.
I find myself liking generic links bad arguments. I find it persuasive to me if the affirmative says "the negative cannot prove how the affirmative specifically triggers X."
I like permutation arguments to be materialized. If the affirmative can specifically show a world with direct interaction between their plantext and the alternative I will almost always vote for the permutation.
Negative
If you are running a K, explain your alternative. I see way too many teams barely talk about their alternative because they argue the links too hard. I will not buy an empty K shell. Tell me what your K does and how your alternative functions/solves.
I love PICs. Literally if you run a case-specific PIC I will probably vote for you.
I read the entirety cards, if the affirmative has bad evidence and negative lets them get away with it, I will be mad and point it out in my notes.
I will probably not vote negative if you have no on-case evidence. You have proved that the affirmative is fulfilling their burden so why should I ignore their entire case with full solvency for a K with a grassroots movements DA. I probably will not buy it unless you are an off-case god.
If you rely on a K or a CP for all of your solvency I am super against flowing this affirmative, that being said I will if it feels necessary. Don't screw up the perm work, that should be the argument you prep out the most on a K/CP. (Hence why I love PICs)
pronouns: any | email: victorthoms037@gmail.com
TL;DR
- Read what you enjoy reading - if that's something like tricks or other silly things I'm good with that
- Tech > Truth
|||Pref sheet below - Tag-Team CX/Flex-Prep is alright
- If you have a trigger warning, offer an alternative option
- Good with speed
- Judge intervention is stinky, I try my hardest not to do it
- Online debate: I am fairly laid back for online debates, so if you know that wifi or clarity might be an issue please send a doc of your constructive.
-
Pref Sheet: 1 (fav) - 5 (meh)
Theory - 1
K - 2
Larp - 2
Phil - 3
Trad - 3
Tricks - 4
Background/// I debated policy for 3 years at Millard North with some experience at the nat circuit level. I qualified for nationals twice and had some success in the Nebraska circuit. In my experience, I interacted with a wide variety of arguments, if you have questions please feel free to ask.
Coached policy for 2 years at Omaha Central (21-23)
Currently coaching LD at Lincoln North Star (23-24).
The not TL;DR part
PF/// Full disclosure, I am not fully acquainted with the norms of PF, but as long as teams clearly weigh in their round I should be able to make a cohesive ballot that is hopefully acceptable.
Policy/// Literally read whatever you want as long as I am able to understand it. Very tech over truth so I really just want to see debaters reading what they enjoy so they can compete at their best. Otherwise, the LD section will give more context to how I feel on certain arguments that are found in both.
LD///My LD experience comes from judging and coaching, not from competing. Keep that in mind.
Trad - Trad debates and other things like it are debates I'd like to see go further than they typically do. It could just be me being a bozo, but I'd like to see justifications for why specific frameworks are important for the round and the impacts you claim to solve for. But honestly I'll still vote you up if you don't do that so feel free to ignore my whining.
Phil - I can't say I am the most familiar with phil, but frameworks in these rounds tend to keep me more captivated and this might ensure that I will buy your persuasion and voters more.
Larp/Plan texts - I tend to be pretty picky on plan texts, but most teams get away with reading fairly mid plan texts so it doesn't really matter to me. Rounds I do better in have clearly conveyed solvency mechanisms and framing that justifies why their impacts matter in the first place.
DA - No preferences here, just make sure it links and weigh.
CP - Counterplans can vary a lot so I will just talk about them generally. I prefer for debaters to clearly state their net benefit and why it's mutually exclusive. Obviously, CPs tend to be very strategic so if you bend these rules I'll be fine with that, just guide me how to evaluate it in round.
K - I read a variety of Ks while debating, and have seen even more diverse arguments when I started coaching. Read whatever K you like, I would just want to make sure that the K has a clear story and solvency mechanism. If it is predicated on pre-fiat arguments, be sure to give examples of the alternative working in the past. Or if it has never been tried, why its a good idea to risk it all on the alt.
ROTB - Spend more time on your role of the ballot than you think you need to. I need to know why I should be voting the way I am, not just a baseless request. I prefer role of the ballots that do more than just imply that I should hack for the side that reads it. This doesn't mean I won't use it, but it will be a far easier debate for you if it is justified by whatever you are reading.
Theory/ T - Theory is something I read in pretty much all of my rounds in policy. I will always evaluate theory first in rounds. While I am very familiar with theory and topicality, I want debaters to actually give examples of abuse to justify why they are reading it. These can be the most flimsy justifications in the world, but I want to see them there because if not I will buy reasonability or we-meets very easily. I say all that but I do recommend y'all to read theory in front of me since it makes winning my ballots easier. (read it well though!)
Tricks - I am not the most familiar with tricks, but I evaluate it before most other arguments in the round. If the argument is flimsy and mostly there to be a goofy time skew, I will buy your opponent's offense quite easily. Don't stop that from you reading them since the time skew strategy is an effective one, just kick them and justify why offense doesn't carry through.
please add me to the email chain - cwhaldebate@gmail.com
he/him
Order is policy, then PF
Do not trivialize, commodify, or deny the Holocaust.
Are you a high schooler interested in debating in college? If so, you should contact me and ask about it. If you are being recruited by or are committed to UNL, please conflict me!
I graduated from Patriot High School (VA) in 2022, having done WACFL PF for a year. Currently, I'm competing in NFA-LD (election reform, nukes) at the University of Nebraska. I usually judge as a hired gun of sorts for Ivy Bridge, as well as various schools on the Nebraska circuit.
Outside of debate I'm pursuing a Bachelors' of Science in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Agronomy. I'm also a tutor, a research assistant, and an intern with the state extension agency. I mainly research risk management (price volatility) and anti-trust policy (amongst other things).
Evidence sharing should not be complicated. I'm generally pro-disclosure. I don't care if you sit or stand during your speeches. I'm fine with observers so long as both debaters are.
My flow is generally pretty tight. I tend to prefer the line-by-line, and debaters who are able to stick to it tend to do better in front of me. Obviously like (almost) everything in this paradigm this is a default, so try to change it however you like. I am not persuaded by team clout, verbal abuse, or threats. If you won, I am willing to take the heat and I do not care about the community’s reaction. I have friends outside of debate and I have my dogs.
That said - if you have questions (about the round, my judging preferences, college apps, econ help...) - feel free to reach out!
I think about debate pretty similarly to (in no particular order) Ayyah Al-Jibouri, Zach Thornhill, Justin Kirk, Adrienne Phillips, and Sarah Stevenson-Peck
Case debate - The best. I will almost never not vote for a solid 2NR case collapse, if you pull this off in front of me you will almost certainly get 30 speaker points no questions asked. I'm not entirely sure what a "risk of offense" even is and will readily pull the trigger on presumption if it's won.
DA/CP combo - Yes and yes. Run your cheater counterplans in front of me - almost anything goes so long as it's in the topic lit and you can do any additional justification. PICs are (almost) always good, consult/QPQ is fine on IR topics, and delay/miscellaneous conditions is illegitimate.
T v. Policy - Was my bread and butter during the elections topic. Using T to set up other off-case positions (either you're non-topical or you link to this DA, etc) is always a good time. I default to competing interps and don't need proven abuse.
Theory - I default to reject the arg, not the team in most instances. Most neg theory save for T/FW, test case (chef's kiss) and vagueness (my beloved), are probably frivolous. The only reject the team argument in terms of aff theory (save for condo) is probably object fiat. If you argument is best described as originating from circuit LD (cough cough three tier method cough cough), then I'm not the judge for you.
T-USFG - In a bloodbath, I wouldn't consider myself a hack - that said, I'm pretty receptive to the TVA. Do with that what you will.
K - If you know what you're doing, go for it.
Up my alley: Cap, Orientalism/Terror Talk, Militarism, Miscellaneous Ks of Economics (if you run Cybernetics and do it well I won't be able to shut up about it)
It's a wash: SetCol, Biopower, some Psychoanalysis (the nukes topic is wild)
Not my forté but I can follow: AB/Afropess, Fem IR, Queer Theory, most other arguments not listed (if you have specific questions ask)
Please don't: Heidigger, Agamben, Nietzche
PF specifics
- For WACFL tournaments (this is important!!), the best case scenario is that I get approximately 5 minutes to make my decision before the tabroom starts busting down my door. Please be time efficient.
- Only way to get a 30 is to share speechdocs with unparaphrased evidence (policy-style cards).
- The line-by-line and keeping a tight (and clean) flow are your friend.
- Tag team crossfire is welcome. I don't flow crossfire but I do pay attention during it; if in doubt, anything you say is binding.
- I don't tend to jive with PF jargon (quantify, scope, de-link, terminal offense, etc).
- First rebuttal should not extend their own case. Doing so guts any advantage you get from speaking first. On the flip side, second rebuttal is expected to attack and defend.
- Please don't steal prep.