2023 Eisenhower High School Debate Invitational
2023 — Goddard, KS/US
JV/Open Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideHello my name is Nabaa I am a third year debater and excited to hear your perspectives. I want you to run what you know and respond to the other team as best as possible. One thing I will say is that Respecting each other is at utmost importance despite technically being each others opponents. So be nice please.
GENERAL
Topicality is a good argument if the debater can provide reasons as to why the opponent is truly not within the bound lines of the topic. However if it is a general topicality and is not very strong then please note that it may not be a round winner.
Advantages: Running an advantage you must prove to me as to why your plan is beneficial and why your impact is important.
Disadvantage: Running a disadvantage you must prove why this plan causes this effect and why the impact outweighs in comparison to the plan.
The point of this debate is to prove why you as a competitor are better than the other opponents this means that make sure you are not dropping arguments and signify what argument goes where. I will be flowing so please be mindful of this.
also please follow the novice packet
Fine with most arguments. K's are fine, just make sure to explain them.
I dislike dropped arguments. If you intentionally drop an argument. Mention it.
I default to Stock Issues, Aff must win all Arguments to win unless I am presented with different framework.
Not the fastest at flowing so i prefer no spreading. that said you can still speak quickly but i have to have enough time to write it down
Any other clarifications or questions you have you can ask me before the round but I am generally pretty cool w/ whatever.
Flay judge
Hello, I'm Kayla. I've done Speech and Debate for what I would consider a "hot" minute. I've competed and coached at every level, and I love some Policy Debate.
I'll be honest, I am terrible at writing paradigms. However, I am good at Taylor Swift so here is my likes/dislikes in a Policy Debate round as told by Taylor Swift Songs.
If this is confusing, then please just ask me questions before the round starts. I am much better at talking about my paradigm, than putting it into words.
Also just note, I was not a K Person... However, I have coached KritiKal Arguments before... but, this does not mean I know all the in's and out's of your K... unless it's a simple version of Cap.
Please add me to the email chain: kaylab222@gmail.com
Enjoy,
DA's
Politic DA’s - Lover
Topic DA’s - Stay Beautiful
Specific DA Links - I Wish You Would (Taylor’s Version)
CP's
CP’s with 5+ Planks - Breathe (feat. Colbie Caillat) (Taylor’s Version)
Condo vs. Equal to or Less than 5 Conditional Positions - You Need to Calm Down
Dispositionality - I Forgot That You Existed
K's
Cap/Race/Gender Based K’s - Gorgeous
Nietzche/Baudrillard/Etc. K’s - Tolerate It
Clear Explanation of the Alt in the Context of the Round - Timeless (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)
Judge Kick - You’re On Your Own, Kid
Theory/T
Topicality - Love Story (Taylor’s Version)
Fairness as an Internal Link, instead of a Voter (T) - Safe & Sound (Taylor's Version)
TVA’s - happiness
Theory - Tell me Why (Taylor’s Version)
Misc/Niche Things I Care/Don't Care About
Speed - Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version)
Not Slowing Down After I Clear You Once - this is me trying
Not Slowing Down After I Clear You Twice - it’s time to go
Taking 2+ Minutes to Send the Doc - Is it Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)
Interrupting People during CX/Being Hyper Aggressive in Round: The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
Doing Big Picture Analysis in the 2NR/2AR: loml
Sending Evidence in PDF Format, instead of Word - - i hate it here
Mentioning Taylor Swift during the Round: The Best Day (Taylor’s Version)
If you made it this far, thank you for reading my paradigm :)
Assistant Coach - Maize South High School
2 years policy debate, plus 5+ years judging policy
4 years forensics having competed in every event except LD & PFD and specializing in Oration and Informative
I try to judge in a very blank slate style though I do have some arguments or argumentative guidelines I prefer over others. For my affirmative teams I like to see cohesive arguments and a logical plan presented. However the affirmative wishes to refute negative arguments is entirely up to them as long as they follow a clear and logical path.
I expect much the same from the negative team. You may decide which avenue to take in trying to take down the affirmative plan as I put equal weight behind all potential courses of attack.
I do not like speed to be used as a weapon. I understand in debate the pace of speaking will be picked up to get all the info in, but if I ever feel that a debater is attempting to speak quickly just so that the opposing team will not hear an argument and then not be able to respond to it, I will judge that critically and penalize you for that.
I appreciate when debaters "get off the cards". I want to see debaters analyze their cards and break down their arguments and try to connect with me on a human level rather than just rattle off facts and figures for the duration of their speech.
I'm not a stock issues judge. While stocks are important to frame a debate, I do not and will not judge solely on them. Do not rely on believing you "won" inherency/solvency/etc. to lead you to a round win. Only a clear and sound argument overall will win you a round in my eyes.
I am open to Topicality arguments but I want them to be specific. Don't just run T cause you feel like it and don't argue that your definition of "the" is better than someone else's. If you run T it needs to be specific and show that the affirmative is actually harming the competitiveness of the round.
If you run DAs make sure they have specific links. I'm not a big fan of generic DAs so make sure you find some way to link to the aff directly.
For Kritiks I generally am not a fan of them but if you can present one that ties to the specific round AND you run it well then I might rule in your favor, just be aware that it might be a risky play. Not to dissuade you but just to inform you.
TL;DR - I want more on-case arguments that have real world examples. I'm fine if you go off case, it just needs to be presented well and somehow swing around to providing clash in the round.
I worked in radio for 8 years before transitioning to education so I value good communication skills in a round and being able to connect with people as I have spent a chunk of my life honing that skill. Your evidence is important but your ability to properly convey it to me is just as important. I want to see you communicate your intentions of your arguments and where you stand on the issues in the round.
As a reminder this is an educational activity and we are all people just trying to get better and learn things. I understand debate in its very nature is confrontational, but remember that your opponents are fellow human beings just like you and should be treated with respect. Try to avoid being argumentative in rounds and keep it loose.
At the end of the day just have fun!
Update July 1, 2024.
GENERAL THOUGHTS
I am the former debate, forensics and speech teacher and coach at Wichita Collegiate, where I also competed when I was a student there. I completed undergraduate work in public policy, am doing graduate work in social justice and have contributed with time and policy writing to numerous public servants at various levels.
In any debate or speech event, I prefer a moderate speaking pace. I would rather be able to understand every word you are able to tell me than have you fit in so many words that I can't understand what you're meaning to communicate.
Please introduce yourself at the beginning of rounds. Remember that you're representing your school, and do not do anything you would not want your grandparent to see on the evening news.
Be respectful. You're going to tackle some controversial issues. There's a way to do so with tact. Breathe. Have fun!
POLICY (CX) DEBATE
I am a policymaker judge. My penchant for policy comes from my background- real world experience with presidential candidates, governors, US Representatives, US Senators, state legislators and city councilors and mayors. I know what real policy impacts are. If you're going to use an obscure policy mechanism, dot your "i"s and cross your "t"s before you use it in front of me.
Cite your sources when you have them. This helps me differentiate between cut cards and pure analyticals, though the latter cannot be discounted.
Speaking style can be what persuades me when evidence presentation is even. Make note of your delivery if you want me to remember a particular point. I want to see negative offense.. show me Ks, CPs and T, especially in higher level debates. If you're going to use those things, though, make them good-- and watch your audience and your opponents before you decide to employ certain K topics. Think!
PUBLIC FORUM (PF) DEBATE
Folks, there has to be clash. Your round structure is different from CX, and your research burden is likewise different. Adapt!
LINCOLN-DOUGLAS (LD) DEBATE
If you don't follow basic structures of LD with values and criterions, I do not know how to adjudicate you. Make clear why I should prefer your interpretation of the resolution to your opponents.
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
Use facts, please. Be inquisitive. Be prepared to hold others accountable, and be able to hold your own when people ask questions of you. The literal point of this event is for ideas to be debatable, folks. That means there has to be a positive and a negative side to your argument. If you make an argument that stops debate, you've lost me. This event was designed to be accessible. Your participation in it should consistently maintain that intent.
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS- ACTING/INTERP
Follow the rules of your event, first. I know what they are, and you should, too. If the event has a book, I will downgrade you if you do not use it properly. Hold it with one hand at the spine and maintain control. Otherwise, you have no gestures and you give me no ability to read your facial expressions. That means you deliver an incomplete performance, which will really make us all sad.
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS- SPEECH AND DRAWS
I do not so much care about what your actual claim is as I do about the way in which you organize your speech to support and defend your claim. Persuade me!
Basic Intro: Debated and did forensics for 4 years at Andover HS, have gone to Nationals in extemporaneous speaking and student congress. Currently WSU student in biochemistry.
Debate:
I have arguments that I like and don't like, but I want you to run what you do well. Try to convince me that you have won and deserve to win, but don't be rude in any case I will knock speaker points and if extreme enough lose rounds, but shouldn't be much of an issue. I view policy debate as, well, a debate of policy. I believe it is the affirmative's goal to present an effective measure of public policy within the topic, and the negative's goal to present why the status quo or a viable alternative is a better policy than the opposing team.
How I Judge: I flow, and dropped arguments could cost you. Make sure you keep up with the opposing team and their arguments, everything should get an answer. Neg make sure your arguments adequately connect to the affirmative cases, not the biggest fan of generic links but I'll allow it if you argue well. Topicality is fine with me, I like Counter Plans
Speaker Points: I don't really have a set idea or theory in place for Speaker Points, but it's mostly predicated on your technical efficiency, style and presentation. Being unnecessarily rude, offensive will cost you speaker points.
Forensics:
I generally do not have much theory for my ranking across events. For events such as Exempt and Congress, I value quality of information, arguments, and speaking style. For other oratory events, I generally value the quality of the topic choice, information, flow, and clarity, and I will rank on who did the best in the aggregate of these factors. As stated above for debate, being unnecessarily rude or offensive will cost you points and rank.
I don't have any debate experience so adjust your speaking speed accordingly and speak confidently.
Introductions
Hello, my name is Gage Giffin and I'm assistant coach for Sedgwick High School's Debate and Forensics Team. This is my first year coaching, but I debated in high school for three years and my partner and I were the 321A Policy Debate Champions for 2023.
I know the effort it takes to be here. I commend you all for the hard work and dedication to be here. That said, we are here above all to have fun. Have a good round and may the odds be ever in your favor...
Policy
Judging Style - I do not have one style really. I go back and forth between stock issues and policymaker. Your key to my vote is to explain your arguments and explain how I should vote. Run anything you want, but at the end of the day, explain it to me like I'm a toddler. Why do your arguments beat the opposition and why should I vote for you?
Speed - I would say I prefer a medium speed to listen to. However, I can manage with faster debates if that is what I'm given.
Evidence - If possible, please provide evidence to me. I enjoy reading along with the debate.
Kritik - I've never liked Ks. There's your warning if you run those. If you decide to, take the time to fully explain your K and what it means for this debate. Otherwise, I will not vote on it.
Topicality - Topicality is a big issue for me. You have to be within the limitations of your resolved statement. To the NEG though, that only goes so far. If you try to run a T on general words like "the", you better have a good explanation to back it up.
Congress
My style and beliefs for judging Congress are still forming as I get more experience with the category. Overall, keep up the clash and relevance. You should be engaging in the chamber, making your voice heard, and convincing me that you could be a real senator or representative for the United States. Don't just say anything though. Use critical questions and arguments instead of just wasting everyone's time with pointless or repeated arguments. There is a lot on the docket and too little time. So make every bit of time worth it!!
**If you have any questions please ask me!!! If your question isn't on here it is because no one's ever asked me before. BE THE FIRST!
TLDR- I know my ballot is long, its so that you can understand my approach on any argument don't read it all if you don't want to especially if you know your strat going in is a 1 off k why read my thoughts on T then lol. Go for what you're familiar with as a judge my job is to adapt to you as long as you engage with the debate rather than spewing off your coaches 100-page brief. I'm fine with speed or speed K's, open to nontraditional debate or straight stock issues. Please ask questions before round if you're not sure of my opinion of something or what I default to on things such as T standards and Judge kicks. * if a judge is against spreading that I'm on a panel with please accommodate that judge its always so awkward to have 2 of us in the know just to ruin the round for the outlier. However, don't apply that logic to k's please!
add me to the email chain Jaceyg957@gmail.com
TOP LEVEL
Tech > Truth
Plan specific analytics > generic links.
NEG FLEX GOOD (unless you win condo neutral on condo)
Open >Closed CX (I flow CX but don't apply it to the debate unless in speeches)
Bias always exists no matter what another judge writes we all have bias and let them manipulate the ballot in one way or another I will do my best to ignore them and judge purely off of the mechanics of the round however don't be afraid to post round me if you feel that I'm wrong, however be respectful about it (especially seniors)
I'm more than fine with spreading I've ran 11 off rounds before however slow down for tags, authors, and analytics.
Rebuttals I really like 2nr 2ar consolidation So slow down and go for what you'll win.
Judge instruction is key even if you don't debate K's arguments such as framework, ROJ, ROB, telling me how to evaluate evidence is crucial to an easy ballot, I need to be able to justify the route I took to sign the ballot for you even if it's a simple MAG= EVERYTHING, PROBABILITY= 100% TIMEFRAME=YESTERDAY.
Please call me Jacey or J calling me Judge is kinda weird when most of you have debated me or at bare minimum are only 1-3 years younger than me, I'm "old" to you but not to the world at least not yet :(
Plan text/CASE (policy)
1AC often times go in with a plan like "set standards on (insert)" I have no idea what this means please be able to specify in cx or 2ac, more specificity the better or else I will lean neg on generic case debates/theory. I love high quality evidence and miss when case debate was a thing, it's okay if your evidence isn't 100% accurate but if the competitors call it out then good luck :).
DO line by line I beg, often people do overviews and then move onto to the off case, I will not cross apply for you.
Read re-highlights I need to know what part the highlight takes out
Presumption is so underutilized; I will grant 0% solvency if warranted however this goes both ways if a CP/ALT is introduced.
DA-
I care most about the tech and utilization of the DA I'm a good judge to run DA's you wouldn't run on lay circuits, you have to defend the entire DA if you lose one part that's wraps (mitigation is different that's below☝). "DA outweighs and turns case" + the inverse aren't actual responses flesh out what that means.
Lastly idc if the impact is both nuke war or if its climate v nuke war, explain why your side is more important too often debaters get lost in the sauce on the magnitude level when the other aspects are far more important unless FW tells me otherwise and even then, when it's both nuke war, we have to break that tie somehow.
CP-
I love Funky CP's do ADV CP's or PICS if you want just execute them well.
Explain the perm, most times the CP can easily be permed but Aff teams don't go further than "perm, perm solves" without explaining what the world of the perms look like.
Theory-
If you go for theory, you should make the framing clear as to how you are going for it/how you want me to evaluate it, Impact it out, please. It helps to point out in-round abuse. On procedurals, it helps to explain why their model abuses others.
Condo vagueness and disclosure are all viable with me, anything else you'll have to just try and see.
K's!!! -Just ask me my thoughts on your k lit before round lol
I ran a lot of Cap and eco fem k's throughout my last two years in high school with a little bit of set col and anti-blackness, I understand the general thesis behind psychoanalysis, Baudrillard, and some of the pomo k's but don't be afraid to overexplain. Do not expect me to do the work for you if its cap or eco I have some leniency.
I could care less if the alt is "discuss the aff through a Lens of (insert)" or "we set a global paradigm shift." just be able to defend the strategy you go for. Don't do 5-minute overviews and then cross apply it just do the line by line at that point.
please read the literature and be able to explain the link story clearly, I will not grant you 100% of the systematic violence your k tries to address, that's so unrealistic so gage what you can or cannot solve for and or what impacts the aff causes due to the link.
I'll def get heat for this but I think too often teams are afraid to take the positions they believe. I'll listen to a cap good debate, even if people argue its immoral 1 no it isn't it's a discourse, I'd rather have the discussion in a controlled environment like debate and 2 we should engage in all perspectives 3 its real world most old heads support cap.
K affs/performance -
I've written a couple k affs and ran one myself for a little bit, I would like some relationality to the topic however if you decide not to then please be ready for the T debate.
I like K aff debate however don't be annoyingly snarky most of the time inclusion is better to resolve harms addressed then making everyone opps right off the bat. being assertive is good but there is a line I'm a very expressive person you'll see if I think it's too far.
I'd like clear framework with a ROB and ROJ often times when K affs drop its due to a lack of understanding on what exactly the ballot does or how my specific orientation with the aff resolves any harm.
when responding to T I like impact turning T however a crafty counter interp would be nice!
T/FW
I default to fairness acting as an internal link to something like Edu however if you make fairness an impact beef it out.
T v K- I think that Policy teams too often stick to the blocks rather than engaging with the merits of the 1AC. If you go for T in the 2nr explain why the method is bad and do a fair amount of case/presumption work. even if you win that the game of debate should have rules and the aff violates, you need to be able to defend why the game is good or else I'm left confused on what to maintain and K teams entire 1ac at least gives somewhat of a stasis point on if the game is good or not.
T v policy- LOVE LOVE LOVE! I love cheeky interps, T subsets sure why not! I default to C/I however have been persuaded by reasonability, but it needs to be fleshed out more than two lines in the 2ac
I don't agree with some judges that T has to be all five minutes of the 2nr I'd prefer if it was, but I understand that on Pannels where a lay judge is present making T five minutes isn't going to work out.
If asked be able to give a case list.
In front of me arguments about standard setting on research and what it means for the season or next season of debate tend to sway me the most.
MISC
please make the flow clean, don't overstep your partners speeches more than is necessary to win the round.
My hand writing is AWFUL so I'll probably just type out RFD/comments and send them to you if possible so that your coach doesn't wonder what caveman judged the round.
(if you get me in LD or PFD just ask me questions I'm not writing another paradigm when I don't know how they got me in here!)
Jaret Jarmer-
Put me in the email chain: jaret.jarmer00@gmail.com or speech drop either is okay.
Please share using a word doc. it's not the end of the world if it is a PDF, but I really prefer a word doc
TLDR: I try to be as Tab as possible. Everything is up for debate. Run what you want. I'm cool with 9 off and case or 1 off K. If it's a K aff, just tell me what my ballot does, and win your vision of debate is better than your opponents.
Debate Experience:
Largest Debate Influence: Evan Manning
Policy: I debated for three years at Eisenhower High School 2016-2019 China, Education, and Immigration. Primarily in DCI and TOC-circuit tournaments. I ran pretty much everything from reading the K of politics as a 2A to Sparking myself. Name it, I have probably done it, so do what you want. Spark and Empire were my favorites, and I ran them both on the Aff and Neg. If you have a question about how I feel about an argument, ask me about it before the round.
PF: I debated PF for two years. I read pretty much everything I ran in policy. I got away with Debate is Bad and Spark more times than I should have. Just go for what you want. If it's not considered traditional, then win it's better than your opponent's vision of debate, and you will probably get what you want.
My opinions
Speed is fine
1. Tech over Truth
2. I will never refuse to listen to an argument or vote you down because of my personal opinions about an argument.
3. K’s- Are fine; that being said, please explain what my ballot does when I vote for the K. I find it very hard to vote for a K when I don’t know what my ballot means. I ran Hardt and Negri Empire, so past that, don't expect me to know your lit at all. Also, I think it is especially important to be clear on tags here - big words, difficult concepts. (K affs with or without a plan text are fine). The stronger the link, the better..... Links of omissions aren't the best, I think more teams should make the argument that speeches are time-limited.
4. Theory- I like theory debates. That being said, zooming through generic pre-written blocks without adapting them to how they apply to this specific round probably isn't the best strat. I feel like most theory debates don't have much direct clash. For me to vote on this, let me know what my ballot does. Win your vision of debate is better than your opponents.
5. DA – I think Specific links are better than generic links. This is very true when it comes to the PTX disad of the year. Impact turning disads is a fun strat. I don't see that much anymore.
4. CP’s- I love all the cheating counterplans you can think of.... Consult, Delay, etc... but an aff can absolutely win this is cheating.
5. T- If you’re going to go for T, go for T. Impacts of violating topicality can be very persuasive. T isn't an RVI, but please don't cold concede this and make me vote on it.
6. Impact Turns- Impact Turns are the best; please impact turn. I'd love to judge a good spark debate. Sparking was my pastime.
K Aff Stuff
Top Level Things
K Affs with or without a plan text are cool. I ran a K aff with a plan text that was a meta kritik. Just because something is my personal opinion on how an argument should function doesn’t mean I’m going to default to it. Tell me how to vote and what the world of debate looks like post my ballot. I think debate is a game, but the cool thing about this game is we get to debate what the rules are. The only literature I’m familiar with is Hardt and Negri, and Judith Butler. I ran Empire on the Neg most of the time and ran Butler on the Aff and the Neg. Outside of that, assume I have never heard of your literature before. So, zooming through the thesis of your K probably isn’t going to help you.
K Aff V Framework.
I prefer a K aff to have some connection with the topic. That being said, I’ll still vote for one that doesn’t. I just feel like the Neg is going to much easier time winning framework and abuse claims. I think teams should spend some time on real-world impacts to violating topicality. In my personal opinion, I don’t feel like reading framework is equal to genocide or violent; in fact, I think more teams should leverage real-world impacts to violating limits or topicality in general against the impacts of the Aff.
K V K
I’m down with K v K debate. They probably should clash. It was my default when I was debating a K aff. In the end, I need to know what my ballot does. I don’t feel like I have a preference on a response to a K Aff. Do what you're more comfortable with.
Speaker Points
(If I'm Judging IE events and the scale is out of 25, I will use this scale and subtract 5)
Copy and Paste from Austin's Paradigm
Speaking Style
Jokes and humor in the debate round is always great. The more fun the round, the higher speaker points you typically get. Keep the atmosphere positive.
Good CX = Good speaks.
(This scale is dependent on debate division.)
Speaker points for me tend to range around the following:
•≤25.0 - You messed up and yelled at someone, had a physical altercation, severe card clipping, false evidence, abused prep severely, etc.
•25.1-27.5 - You made multiple technical errors in the debate. At the low end, you might have stole some prep, clipped a card, et cetera. Your speaking was average to not clear across the board.
•27.6-28.9 - You did well in the debate. This is average, and you may have made minor errors with a good strategy. Speaking was clear the vast majority of the time, and you were courteous.
•29.0-29.8 - Wow, good debating. You were clear the whole time, and powered through the other teams' arguments effectively and clearly. Clear speaking the whole time, and your strategy had near-surgical precision.
•29.9-30.0 - Nearly perfect!!!
Great communication and good form are important to me.
I do not mind speed but do not spread if you are not adept at it; I need to understand more than be impressed by your words per minute. Speaking of understanding, please make it a focus to know the correct pronunciation of difficult terms and words that are pertinent to your arguments. Thanks.
Topicality is underrated. I find it to be the bedrock of your argument. I also think impacts are important. If you bring up tools to make your opponents’ position weak such as disads, CP, etc., please be prepared to support these in detail, and develop your them to expose the weakness of your opposition.
A great k is okay but people are in love with using ks without knowing how. Don't be that person. Also, provide a good roadmap before your speech, and above all, at the end of your portion of the round, please be clear on why the judge should decide FOR you or AGAINST your opponent.
I strive to be impartial and open because I am a high school debate and forensics coach, and that’s how I want my students to be judged. However, I do not appreciate debaters who are unkind to lay judges; tournaments would be very hard to hold without them, and they are some debater's mother, grandfather, family friend, etc. Disdaining them is inappropriate.
Try hard, be polite, use language that is academic, appropriate, and unbiased; don’t attack your opponents themselves, but rather their arguments on the basis of logic, evidence, organization, and knowledge…and say thanks after to all in the room.
This paradigm is not earth-shattering, but simply common sense points to follow, and good luck to all.
Hello, my name is Rylee Lopez and I am a gradated senior who has done debate and forensics for 2 years through the state and national tournament, so I understand the format of debate and have past experience judging as well.
Feel free to speak fast, I can understand. I vote on who has the biggest impacts in the round and who is able to explain their position better. I will vote on theory, topicality and weird obscure arguments if they are again complete, have an impact/voter.
Aff- Make sure you clearly state your stock issues, if you want to run a K-AFF or performative Aff as well that is ok.
Neg- DA,CP, Case, T, K's, Theory, all is fine as long as you explain it thoroughly
I will vote against you if you are being racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.
I am a High School assistant debate coach, as well as a High School science teacher. My background in debate is that debated a few years in High School myself, so please do not waste your time with explaining the rules of debate to myself or your opponents. I believe that all topics are debatable, but ensure that you explain the relevance of your evidence and the connection to the argument. Although you may bring attention to topicality issues, this should not be the center of your argument. I favor sound arguments backed up with multiple sources of scientific evidence, so ensure that you provide clear tags / authors. I do not have a preference for style choices, I am open to all styles of debate. Presenting a thorough case is important, so I need to be able to understand you. Avoid extreme speed reading and burrowing your face into your computer screen. Although this is a competition, be careful with your word choice and "attacks" on your opponents. I do not favor taunting or personal attacks. Stick to the case and the debate topics.
I have been an assistant coach for Andover for 15+ years and did debate in HS. I am fine with speed if you are very clear. Ks are fine, but you better make it relevant somehow. Otherwise, policy maker is my default.
If you run T, make it good. It is everything in a round and yes, grammar matters. Make it a voter and don’t drop it.
Have specific links to generic disads. If I start hearing the exact same DAs run over and over with literally zero changes from the last round, I know your arg has alt causes and I can't ignore that. Counterplans can be topical but don't have to be; also you must convince me that you absolutely cannot effectively perm. The more generic the counterplan, the less I will give it weight in the round. Convince me that this CP is actually the best alternative for the specific harms that Aff addresses.
Don’t try to run nonsense “rule violations” that aren’t actually violations, as a strat. And if you try to tell me that the other team is “violating the rules of debate” be prepared for me to ask if you actually want to bring a formal complaint and stop the round.
Lastly, as a policy maker, I will take a very, very, hard look at the plan text (yes, including grammar and word choice). I don’t expect you to have answers for every single nuanced thing, but at least have basics covered (specific AoA, answers to funding, timeframe…etc.).
Hi! I'm Angelica :) I'm a former debater for Dodge City High School and I now serve as the assistant coach. I've competed in Lincoln-Douglas & Policy, preferring policy. I am a stock issues lover, as it's how I was raised in my first years of debate.
I LOVE it when things are explained simply. I am neurodivergent and things like summaries at the end of cards are awesome for me, not necessary though. I am not a fan of spreading, but if you MUST, I'd like a copy of evidence to help me follow along. CPs are okay with me! I'm not a fan of K args but if you're gonna run them please explain them to me, while I consider myself smart, I am not good at focusing. yes to theory too btw!
tl;dr
- love stock issues so much
- i prefer you don't spread but give me evidence to follow if u need to!
- yes to counterplans
- ok to kritiks BUT explain them well plz
- yes theory args
- thanks 4 being in debate :)
other things about me because i love talking about myself:
- i love taylor swift & boygenius
- i have chronic bronchitis -- it's not contagious! but please don't hate me if i cough
- i am a queer mexican woman -- take this into consideration before running Ks related to my identity
- i live in lawrence, ks part time
- i'm a criminal justice major on my school's pre-law track
- i love when girls, nb people, and POC are involved in debate!
Asst. Debate coach 6 years, Debate in High School, Head Forensics Coach 6 years. Theatre Teacher
The biggest thing I look for in a debate is clear and precise speech. I am ok with spreading as long as you can annunciate every word and make sure that your speech is understandable.
Areas that I tend to give the most weight are as follows:
Solvency
Topicality
Inherency
I will flow throughout. The biggest thing I do not like in a debate is if it get's too far off topic and the plan is not debated at all or touched on very little.
To me debate is about being able to know what you are talking about and having clear answers and to have facts available at the tip of your tongue. It is not about reading. Know what you're talking about and you will be fine with me.
I approach debate from a policy maker paradigm with a bit of tab and game theory tossed in and I see the value of stock issues. In other words, I want the debaters to convince me that adoption of a policy is good or bad idea. The stock issues are a convenient frame of reference. I will not vote on issues that don't arise in a round, although I might note these on the ballot for the students' benefit. I consider sound logic and reason to be essential to good argumentation. As important as evidence is, good reasoning is more important.
I really like signposting, structure and direct clash. Your job as a debater is to make the judge's job as easy as possible. Make it easy for me to flow: signpost, recite a clear structure (outline structures really work well) and clearly show me how arguments relate to those of the other team. Generic arguments are fine if they are linked sufficiently to be genuinely relevant; time suck arguments annoy me. Off-case arguments are fine if they are actually relevant to the round.
I am much more experienced in forensics than I am in debate.
I have been judging all types of debate for a few years now, so I know the basics, but I generally prefer to be treated as an inexperienced judge (in other words, please speak fairly slowly and assume I don't know many abbreviations for the current topic).
I care most about competitors speaking clearly, acting professionally, making logical arguments, and having solid evidence to support those arguments.
I have found that I am difficult to be persuaded on Topicality arguments. I also REALLY don't like kritiks... And if you make a ridiculous stretch to something leading to nuclear war or human extinction, you probably won't win that argument with me.
Email: dyates@usd313.org
I prefer speechdrop but do what you must.
Experience:
Head Coach @ Buhler High School
- Former Head Coach @ Nickerson HS 2019-2023
- Assistant Coach @ Salina South 2017-2018
- College: 4 Years Parli Debate, NFA-LD, and Limited Prep @ Kansas Wesleyan University from 2014-2018.
- High School: 4 Years Debate/Forensics at El Dorado HS (2010-2014). Did pretty much everything.
I am a huge advocate in you doing you. I will list my preferences, but know that I do find myself open to nearly any argument/strategy/style within reason. Please do not feel like my paradigm below should constrain you from doing arguments that you believe in.
• Be respectful and debate with integrity. Overt rudeness and exclusionary/offensive language and/or rhetoric will lose you my ballot.
• Substantive arguments and clear clash/organization is a must. I will not vote for unethical arguments (e.g. racism good). Please weigh arguments clearly and have a nice technical debate. Clean flows make happy ballots.
• Tech first, but not only tech. Immoral arguments will not win my ballot even if they are won 'on the flow'. Please provide a FW for weighing and evaluating the round. Don't make me have to decide why you won - you may or may not agree with my conclusions.
• I am receptive to framework and theory. I do not usually vote on procedural arguments on violations alone - extend and weigh your impacts on the procedural if you go for it in the 2R
• Kritikal arguments are good. I guarantee I like them more than you think I do. Explain your alt to me. RotB arguments take a second for my brain to process because I am a big ol' dummy, so I will want clear warrants for how and why the claim is true that my ballot does something.
• Alternative approaches (Performative Affs, K Affs) are okay but I am in all honesty less familiar with these approaches. Please explain to me the reasoning/justification for your methodology in plain-ish language if you go this route. Like the K, I like these arguments more than you might think. Please don't take my lack of exposure as a lack of willingness to vote on it.
• Please be clear on the flow. Also, please flow.