she/her

eyliterski22@gmail.com

i did policy debate for 4 years in high school; wisconsin and some nat circuit

1. i will not vote for any ontologically violent args (racism good, sexism good, homophobia good, ableism good, etc.); make these args or be any ist/phobic and you get an L and 0 speaks

2. tech>truth (but u still need to explain why what they dropped matters)

3. spreading is fine (slow down on tags, analytics, theory) being unclear is not - i will say clear x2, after that i’ll attempt to keep flowing but it will prob be bad

4. i’m a tabs judge so run what you want - don’t try to judge adapt too much

5. feel free to ask questions

6. have fun and be nice ! debate is cool so enjoy it

**i have not judged this year's topic

READ IF U WANT:

the following are thoughts i have ab dif args and background info; could help u to understand how i evaluate rounds or improve ur chances of getting my ballot. *good debating can change any of these thoughts

case:

-idc what aff you read

-no, teams don't need to defend the hypothetical implementation of a topical plan but u should have a reason why you aren't

-tell me how to frame the impacts of the 1ac otherwise i default to magnitude x probability

-your impact scenarios should probably be more than two, 5-sentence cards

-for neg - case turns r super cool and good

-plz don’t drop ur case :(

T:

-competing interps > reasonability

-definition quality matters !!

-potential abuse can be a voter but in-round abuse is more persuasive

-if u go for T it should be all 5 min of the 2NR

-T is not a reverse voter

theory:

-theory is cool; neutral on all theories except disclosure (DISCLOSE TO UR OPPONENT)

-generally think condo is fine *if your strat is to bombard the aff with 9 off and hope they drop something, pref me low

-almost all theory is a reason to reject the arg not the team

-i dislike when teams try to trick their opponents into dropping their 3 sentence theory that was shoved into a T shell - if u do this i’ll be very open to the other team getting new answers

-some theories are not cool, pls don’t read them or i will tank ur speaks (eg. formal clothes theory or shoes theory)

disads:

-DAs that turn case make me happy

-for aff - link turns to DAs make me happy

-plz have a coherent link chain

-good ptx DAs are rare but awesome

-yes, do impact calc

cps:

-should prob be functionally and textually competitive

-this should go without saying but i’ll say it anyways: u need to prove why the cp is better than the plan to win it

-i won’t judge kick unless u tell me to

-for aff - perms are good

ks:

-default to weighing the aff against the alt

-good for ks of reps/rhetoric, cap, set col, anthro, statism, security, etc.; anything beyond that you’ll need to explain a bit more

-no matter what k ur reading u need to clearly articulate the links, impacts, and alt (put the work in even if ur reading a generic k)

-for aff - just saying ‘extinction outweighs’ is less persuasive than actually engaging with the k

k affs v. FW:

for aff:

-i don’t think that FW is inherently violent

-turning their impacts is good, prob better than counter interps of their definitions

-prove to me why your model of debate is better

-i think the 1ac should defend something and a shift from the squo, what that something happens to be is up to you

for neg:

-if your model of debate completely prevents kritikal args from being ran i will have a hard time voting for it

-having a TVA is prob good but not necessary

-i’m pretty neutral between education/skills impacts and clash/fairness - both can be persuasive

SPEAKS (nat circuit only):

• a 28.5 = average, above that means good job and below that means practice more or be nicer

• anything below a 27 means you did something wrong (were super rude or left like 3 minutes left in a speech)

NCFL update 5/24/2024

Hey, I'm Nathanael. I did CX decently for 4 years in HS, ok with most things (incl. speed), will vote for anything comprehensible and logical (and will vote path of least resistance / requires least intervention). Just make sure to explain well Ks that aren't stock. Also don't try to adapt too much to me. I hold some opinions, but those will only matter if the debate is incredibly unclear / I need to intervene -- I prefer to be as tabula rasa as possible.

Now for the longer version.

Bio:

I debated Policy for Brookfield East (WI) for 4 years, and won state 2 of those years. I've also had some success in outrounds at some natcir tournaments (including at NCFLs). I also did Congress and Extemp and got 2nd and 3rd in state, respectively, but who cares.

I currently am a student at Duke majoring in CS/ECE/Math. I'm on the Duke debate team (it's BP / British parliamentary format).

I haven't judged at all this season, so please (at least the first time) fully say out or include in speech doc what acronyms are etc.

Conflicts: Brookfield East (until 2027), Marquette EZ (LD).

Email is 0.char_pen@icloud.com, feel free to email for questions, clarifications, etc. or for the email chain, but I much prefer Speechdrop.

Overarching phil:

The primary point of high school CX debate is to gain skills that you will use beyond debate, and it takes the form of / secondarily is a game. If, to win the game, you "convince" me (i.e., win on the flow in the debate) that debate is not a game / whatever, totally cool, I'll buy it.

To that extent, that means that any norms that I think facilitate skill-development, I'll like (e.g., disclosure). Also, if it means our debate is less accessible to the public, so be it (that's the point of PF). I.e., I'm ok with spreading and all that stuff, but ofc make sure you're clear -- a bright line needs to be drawn somewhere -- and don't spread analytics without a speech doc. If I miss it, that's your problem, not mine. I'll clear you at least a few times before you can probably tell I stop flowing.

At the same time, I believe that the process of gaining skills or playing the game must respect basic principles, i.e., be respectful, be a good person -- these are important irl skills too! (and perhaps more so than any skills you'll gain from debate.) Sure, there are things you could do to increase your chances of winning the game that isn't the "right" thing to do, and please don't do those things -- debate should be respectful and civil, not cutthroat and trying to get every advantage one can get. E.g., don't spread against some novice team registered in a varsity division for some reason -- they're not getting anything out of the debate, you're not either (if you play more "fairly" you'll still get the W and probably higher speaks, and practice with lays?). But this doesn't mean play ultraconservative or don't introduce arguments the other team has never heard of -- learning new things is good (obviously)! This also means obviously no card clipping, etc. Don't read too much into this paragraph -- just basically so long as you're not overly pretentious or anything in a debate you're obviously winning you'll be ok in front of me.

I find I give pretty high speaks -- and I reward niceness / attitude / not-being-a-jerk.

Thoughts on specific args (the "I like" etc. are obviously outweighed by the flow -- read what you want, try not to read into this stuff too much, these are just FYI):

DAs: I'm always down for a trad DA-Adv debate, and imo (as long as they don't become messy) these are the easiest debates to judge. Just make sure to do some weighing in the 2NR/AR. Ptix / tradeoff DAs in particular I'm good with, elections DAs tho are iffy (not like completely opposed to them tho). I'm also not the hottest on "[insert "authoritarian" country here]" bad DAs -- I find the link chains here to be particularly weak. I find any case turns coming from the DA should be a larger part of the debate.

CPs: I like CPs, especially those similar to the Aff, it tests the Aff team and makes sure they can adequately defend their own Affs, e.g., actor CPs. However, I less prefer more blatantly squirrelly CPs / things the Aff are fully locked into, e.g., consult CPs or delay CPs (these feel mostly the same year-to-year and I'm more partial towards Aff args). Not a fan of 2NC CPs, though. To win the perm (on the aff), just "perm do both" or whatever isn't enough -- explain the lack of mutual exclusivity and how the perm could be an aff, i.e., describe how the perm would work.

Ks: I rather enjoy generic Ks, e.g., cap / set col / etc (perhaps this is a function of where I stand politically). I'm also ok with performance Ks. For anything beyond generics, though, I'd appreciate a decent O/V. I don't think kicking the alt and taking the K as a DA is utilized enough by negs (my thoughts on condo later). Alt debates, though, are important imo and the aff shouldn't assume alt solvency -- e.g., in a cap K, will revolution actually solve capitalism? Specific links are ofc good / preferable as well, I dislike generic topic links.

CP/K theory: I think the neg should probably get at least some condo, but not infinite (a middle ground of 1 or 2 seems reasonable to me). Generally don't like floating PIC/Ks as well. Also I entertain a lot more / have a lower threshold to buy reject the arg etc. instead of reject the team. I also generally do err towards protecting the 1AR against the neg block. Ifiat seems abusive, but idk convince me otherwise.

Theory in general: If the neg asks something, you better be able to clarify in cross or I'll probably buy some spec argument (as long as the neg is within reason, ofc -- they can't ask exactly how many house members will vote for, against, and abstain for example. Otherwise I think in-round violations are totally legit and important to address to ensure accountability and to improve the debate space. In general I'm willing to listen to / buy theory -- it's how we improve debate.

T: I'm cool with T, but it ofc will be harder to win against core affs. That being said, I've found myself to be more partial than most towards extra T (or something of the sort). I've seen T run best where it's run kinda like other stock issues -- i.e., place more emphasis on how they don't meet the definition / the violation, and the impacts are pretty easy to win.

Affs: I'm alright with K affs -- but K affs must be willing to defend against T-USFG, etc. I see too many soft-left Affs. Either make it a K aff (whoah so scary) or run a normal aff please. Imo good soft-left affs are few and far between (I've definitely seen them, though). Tips for beating soft-left affs for the neg -- they almost always involve the state and there is a lot of theory saying how any revolution can't engage the state, and also in general the state is incredibly ineffective. Also they're usually incredibly weak to traditional arguments, e.g,, DAs/CPs, and probably aren't topical.

Ethics violations: A team should be willing to stake the debate on this -- i.e., the debate will boil down to this. If this does happen, then I'll stop the debate, evaluate the complaint, and decide the debate there. Any tournament regulations that may be in place ofc supersede this.

Now that you've read to the end of my paradigm, please go touch some grass. You probably need to :)

About me:

Pronouns: she/they

Currently the assistant coach at La Crosse Central (specifically coaching novice policy).

I did Policy debate as a novice for one year as a senior at La Crosse Central, and am now a sophomore at UW-La Crosse for Sociology!

Debate Stuff:

Speed: I’m okay with whatever pace you want as long as you are clear and aren’t trying to be Eminem.

Kritiks, CPs, DAs, T, etc: Run whatever you wish as long as you can make the argument. I don’t vote based on what I like/dislike.

Please include me on the email chain: evarussellmiller@gmail.com

Please time your own speeches and prep time if you can.

Please treat everyone with kindness and respect.

Personal Background: I debated four years in Wisconsin. I competed at NCFLs and NSDAs 4 times each. Most of my experience is in PF, Congress, and extemp but I have some experience with other events.

Include me on Email Chains please: rspors25@gmail.com

The vast majority of the rounds I have judged this year are policy rounds. That being said, don't spread in front of me. If you are spreading, share a speech doc, but just please don't. If you are running a K, T, or CP, you better be ready to explain it well (For example if you are running a T don't just rattle off the tags Education, Time abuse etc. Explain these arguments to me well). I tend to prefer 1 or 2 well reasoned arguments over 15 tags with no links or warrants.

TLDR: Have good ethics, Trust the Flow, Don't be a jerk.

Policy:

If you have received a blast and I am your policy judge, please know my experience is in PF/LD in a very traditional district. A fairly low level of Speed is okay but if I can't hear you I can't flow you. I will keep a flow and I will vote on the flow. If you are running a theory or a K it will take work to convince me but I am not against these types of arguments. Topicality or Framework arguments are things I am far more familiar with and I also tend to find them more relevant to the round than other theory arguments. In essence, convince me that your plan would work, and is the best solution. If you are the neg, Convince me they are wrong.

PF: Constructive: Speed is fine as long as you are clear. If you are unclear I will stop flowing and if it isn't on my flow it isn't on my ballot. I competed in a very traditional district so that is what I am most familiar with. If you are running some sort of progressive debate, make it a strong case. I think progressive arguments are overused in PF. If you are running something weird, explain it well and convince me. I think debate is ultimately an event based in convincing your opponents and judge. Convince me your argument isn't so weird.

Rebuttal: I want a line by line. 2nd rebuttal should include responses to 1st rebuttal otherwise it is dropped. That being said, don't be toxic and attempt to spread people out of rounds by arguing you should win the round based on a dropped third subpoint on your sixth response to their observation. Win the round via solid argumentation not some trick.

Summary: Summary is the hardest speech in a round. As a general rule, if something isn't in your summary it better not be in your final focus. Summary is a speech for crystalizing your arguments into something that can be used in your final focus and weighing. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WEIGH. If you don't weigh, you make me weigh. You will be sad because I may not weigh your voters favorably, I will be sad because you made me do more work. Don't make everyone sad. Weigh! Also don't just say "we win on timeframe and scope and yada yada yada" I can do that. Tell me why, under the established framework you are winning in a way that means you must win the round. If you want to use all those fancy weighing words, don't just shout the buzzwords at me. Tell me why I should be deciding the round in terms of timeframe, magnitude etc.

Final Focus: Give me the voters. Tell me why you're winning the important points of the round and tell me why that means you're winning the round. The final focus is not "Rebuttal: Reprise" (nor is the summary for that matter). Please do not just word vomit every card your side read the whole round. Tell me why you won.

LD:

Values and Criterions are important. Treat them like they are important. Whichever value wins out is how I am going to weigh the round. Make your arguments in terms of the values and weigh under the criteria.

Lincoln Douglas is a debate of values and morals. Keep that in mind.

Progressive debate is fine just make it make sense.

Everything I said above about speed, argumentation and weighing remains true for LD.

Congress:

1. This event is called congressional DEBATE, not congressional speech giving. Use your speech times to advance an argument, to directly clash with other speakers, and to persuade the audience to your side. That being said while I do want a well-reasoned debate, you are also essentially cosplaying as senators so there is some room for theatrics and if done well, this can add to your speech. A boring speech is not very persuasive.
2. SPEED! Speed does not belong in this event whatsoever. You are senators persuading the body to vote one way or another on a bill not policy debaters.
3. I would rather you give no speech at all than a repetitive, pre-written speech that takes time from other debaters who want to bring up new points.
4. Questioning periods, points, and motions weigh heavily on my ballot. Use these to your advantage. Answering questions well is HUGE for me. Effective use of parli pro is impressive to see, but incorrect use is a big disadvantage.
5. I will rank the PO as we are instructed to do. If you are an excellent PO you are likely in the running for the top spot in my rankings. If you are a poor PO you will likely find yourself near the bottom. Being a good PO is about running a fair and efficient chamber. I want that chamber to run like a well oiled machine.
6. Evidence, Follow the same ethics and evidence things I have stated below.

General Things for Everyone:

The Flow: In this round the flow is going to be king. If I can't understand you I can't flow you and if it isn't on my flow it isn't on my ballot.

Critique: I will disclose if they let me. I will give a oral critique if they let me. Everything will be on the ballot. I know how valuable that feedback is to coaches and competitors alike. If you are unhappy with my oral critique, look to my ballot for more information. If you have any questions, ask them. I am more than happy to give more advice/feedback. If you are just postrounding trying to argue about my decision. Don't, that's annoying.

Evidence Ethics:IMPORTANT There is nothing that irritates me more than shoddy evidence standards. This is an educational activity and if there is a card to which the content is in question it is possible I will call for said card. Be prepared. I want to be included in your email chains (rspors25@gmail.com).

Cross: Don't be abusive. Be assertive. I think cross is one of the most informative parts of a debate round. I will be actively listening but not actively flowing. If something is conceded in cross, it is conceded. That being said, it still needs to be brought up in speeches to make my ballot. If something important happens during cross, explicitly tell me "Judge write that down" I will but then I will expect you to elaborate in a speech.

Speaker points: I will probably be pretty generous with speaks. If you are racist, homophobic, sexist, Antisemitic, or anything else bad, expect the speaks to reflect that. Cross is a really good way to impress me and show me that you are a 30 pt speaker.

tl;dr for wisconsin tournaments i judge:

- i debated primarily on the nat circuit my junior and senior year, won a bid tournament, was in a bunch of bid rounds, etc, so i'm good with speed and i have a lot of experience with debate

• great judge for terminal impacts, IR, politics, and economics-focused arguments, impact turns, interesting counterplans, neg teams that go for substance against k affs.
• meh judge for topicality (unless it's egregious), kritiks, theory arguments, and soft left affs.
• bad judge for planless affs, "you use the state" links on kritiks, or kritiks that don't explain what their world looks like beyond "decolonization" or "ethics of care" or "we call for a socialist revolution", etc.

i will vote for all of the above arguments! but i do have the most experience with the top bullet point arguments, so you will need to do less work for me if you read those, which can help you in a close round,

UW madison '24

homestead '20

2n/1a

email chain: yes. jackwyp101@gmail.com

intro

debate isn't a game, it's a sport

i'm a senior at UW madison. i debated 3 years for homestead, being every speaker position. am i qualified to judge you? i won niles my senior year, regularly appeared in bid rounds, and won state twice, but my involvement in the HS topic is limited

don't call me judge. call me jack, or jack wyp, or wyp

i'm a policy-leaning tabs judge

i have deduced that death is indeed bad

i once read the lyrics to call me maybe as a counteradvocacy against a k aff

the kritik

despite my policy leanings, i love good k rounds where the negative doesn't go for framework and substantively engages in LBL. 2 things you must do to win my ballot:

1) explain. i want to know what the world looks like after the k, what debate looks like after the k, why the aff is worse than the squo, etc. if i'm confused, i'll most likely take the easier way out, which will result in an affirmative ballot.

2) prove the aff makes the world worse or the alt solves. i've seen far too many k rounds where the neg loses because they cant explain why the aff is bad besides "it isn't perfect" or "it doesn't solve this thing"; don't put yourself in that situation.

clash of civs

i lean neg on t-usfg, but i also hate debating these rounds. i love it when neg teams go for substance against these. if aff, have a creative c/i on fw and explain what the ballot does/means, at least by the 2ac.

disads

yay. ptix is fine. i follow politics very closely so i will likely know if you're lying/wrong about something. this also means if you have a smart, correct politics disad, i will like it quite a bit.

counterplans

yay. cheating counterplans are fun. cheating counterplans are also unfair. don't go for condo unless its dropped or if they read 3+ advocacies, otherwise i'll be very sad.

topicality

competing interpretations > reasonability

speaker point distribution - wisconsin only

29+ - you are fantastic and are one of the top speakers at this tournament

28-28.9 - you were a solid speaker. nothing too amazing happened but also nothing too bad. most of my speaks will fall in this range.

27-27.9 - you made some major mistakes which probably cost you the round. this includes things like dropping offcase, dropping perms, dropping theory, etc.

26.9 and below - you either said something really offensive, or you didn't even try and give a complete speech. ie you end speeches with 2 minutes left in it with a lot of args you could still make.

specific wisco debate stuff

- plz no more soft left affs on IR topics

- highlight cards, it saves so much time

- don't drop theory

- make sure you fill up all the time in your speeches. related - allocate time efficiently. your case overviews should be a few seconds max. you shouldn't take much prep for the 2ac

- F L O W

- framing "contentions" aren't particularly useful; you still have to beat the disad.

have fun, i truly mean it!