I am a high school graduate from Technology High School in Newark. I have also debated for a total of 5 years. I’ve debated at many tournaments (Yale, Harvard, Bronx, etc).
I am a Kritikal judge.
if there are any other questions feel free to email me at acostalberto94@gmail.com
Arguments

Framework
You need to make this the most important argument in the round. For me at least. You loss framework, than you have a really high chance of lossing the round (depends on how far you are on the framework flow)

Dropping arguments
Drop them properly. Don’t just stop talking about them. If your opponent does drop this argument then bring it up so you can reap the benefits of their mistake.

Speed
I fine with it. I just ask that you slow down on the tags and the main warrants of the arg. If I can’t hear after I say clear three times I will only flow what I hear.

Theory
I like it and I know about it, but I am not going to do the work for you. Just because you say theory and extend it doesn’t mean that you explained ite. There needs to be a clear explanation on the theory flow what is the abuse that happens in the round and why it is important. Theory for me out ranks all others (not because it is an easy way out) because I feel that this argument are the actual rules of the debate round on what can and can’t be done by each team.

C/X
It is open I don’t flow it, but I do listen to it, and it can change my decision.

2NR/2AR
I flow it, but I mostly like to listen to it. This is the crux of the round. I need you to tell me why you should win (by explaining your arguments in the most detail that you can in the time period) and what arguments that your opponent dropped. (the reason for this is that a lot of teams really don’t do this any more so better to feel safe then sorry).

Jargon
I understand all of the debate jargon (since I did us most of them anyway) just that if there are any new ones that you think that I didn’t hear about then explain it to me.

Affirmatives
Topical affs are great, but I really enjoy hearing a critical debate with a critical affs, but with these kinds aff’s come with great responsibility. There needs to be a lot of in-depth analysis onto why your aff solves for what it solves, how it is a prereq. To the k and other args. A lot of debaters really just read evidence after evidence, i instead like to hear how the aff actually interacts with other arguments what is the actual connection. The critical aff can be the most dangerous weapon in any debate round if used properly. Performance affs are fine just explain the framework in great detail and why I should reject the resolution (if that is the case) in your own words or how you are topical.

Negative

Topicality

This can be a very powerful critical argument if used properly, but not many teams use this argument. I will vote on t if there is clear violation before the round is even finished (unless there is framework or theory). This is an argument that I like but not love like others

Counterplan
This is an argument that is very confusing for me, if you are going to run it explain what the plan does and how it doesn’t steal aff ground (unless theory is involved). If there is a critical counterplan involved explain how it is different from a k. other then that I don’t like counterplans too much, but I would vote on it.

Da
This is really a straightforward argument; I really didn’t see any variations of this argument in my debating career. If there are then I welcome them, but I really don’t have anything else to say about them.

K
Finally to the one argument that all teams want to know about. I love this argument, however I find that a lot of teams really don’t explain this argument in great detail. They just leave the k up in the air for the judge to interpret it in there own way. I know enough about the most common k’s that I can understand them, but again if I need to decide what your k is talking about you may not like what I think. Some of the other arguments that I’m not to familiar with I will listen to but there needs to be more of a keen eye in the explanation for those kinds of arguments.

I used to read these in High School all the time, I hated it when it was too long. So I will try to make this short and descriptive.

About me: I am born and raised in Newark NJ, the biggest inner city in New Jersey. I grew up with K debate and hated it. Slowly K debate grew on me. I do also enjoy policymaking, but I hate politicians. I think good ideas should be discussed and debate helps us explore those ideas. I think debate becomes problematic once we rely on vague explanations and lying to win.

Debated in middle school for 3 years and debated for Technology High School for 4 years. I debated in college for about 2 years, and I judge on and off. I have about a decade of involvement in the Debate space.

I enjoy critiques but I also incorporated theory in practice through political organizing for 3 years. I have strong opinions of armchair Marxists and intellectuals who are counter-revolutionary.

I think Debate is a mess, and I wonder if it is helpful when it is so detached from reality. Regardless if it is a critique or a policy action. Both worlds have their limitations. Debate is good because it teaches us things, but I think that education goes backward eventually.

I currently work as a Medical Case Manager for a non-profit.

Preferences

Please just run what you believe in, as long as you debate well, I will vote for it. Don't try to run a k just because I like them. If you cannot run it well, especially with my big opinions, I will NOT vote on it....

Theory: I will not vote on Theory unless there are voters. I do not enjoy theory, but I will vote on it IF you can use the round as an example of abuse. I need empirical evidence while you are debating.

I hate vague alternatives. But I also don't think vague and hypothetical policymaking will change anything.

I like specifics but do not run ASPEC.

Answer your arguments. If you don't answer them I will have to vote on it if they explain it well.

Finally, Analysis analysis analysis! You can tell me to vote on something but I need a detailed reason.

I will never vote on an ethics challenge.

I will not vote aff on presumption, that makes no sense. Aff changes the status quo. Aff passes a policy. Negative advocates for the SQ if there is no K or CP.

I am a parent judge with experience as a federal law clerk and a corporate lawyer. I focus upon logic, persuasion, and evidence. Secondary issues are civility (required), clash (essential), and quick thinking (responsive and on-point argumentation score high).

I value quality of argument over quantity - rifles beat shotguns. I do not insert my personal views but will penalize abusive, imaginary, or hyperbolic claims. Lying with statistics or misrepresentation of evidence are also red lines. That said, teams need to take care to address every argument their opponents make; if you drop an argument, I will presume that it has been conceded, but I will listen to arguments on why conceding that argument is not fatal to your case.

As a judge, I prioritize substance over theory.

I don’t fill in the blanks on topicality. If you want to argue it, then be sure you spell it out - I will gladly listen. As for kritiks, I do not judge from a technical background -- you may run them at your own risk.

Debate is practice for citizenship. I want polite disagreement. Nothing is personal, but if you attack the other team as people, it will cost you speaker points. Being respectful is not sufficient to win, but it is necessary. Chronic poor sportsmanship, rudeness, or bad-faith interruptions can decide a round that is close on substance.

I appreciate directness, clarity, and common courtesy . Good luck and remember that debate is persuasion, not mixed martial arts.

Hey!

My email is: akashkaukuntla1224@gmail.com

I mainly debated Policy through high school but I haven't debated recently so I am not familiar with the topics of any event (I probably won't understand any shorthand terms etc.)

I never dabbled in K's, only Policy arguments so don't assume I know any specific theory. If you decide to run a K please explain your theory very well.

Overall, I tend to score highest based on clarity and cohesiveness throughout each individual speech and the complete debate in general. I am not great with speed so I would suggest slowing it down a bit if you want me to fully understand your arguments. Please slow down for analytics!

Good Luck!

Email - kobeski.michael@gmail.com please include me on the email chain.

I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt on tech issues and other situations that may occur at tournaments. Please reciprocate that benevolence by trying to keep the round on time. Prepare ahead time. Recognize that when rounds are delayed that it has a cumulative impact on the entire tournament.

Also, please don't ask me to provide you with supplies such as flow paper or pens. That is not my role as a judge. Bring your own equipment.

Experience - Long time debate judge and coach. This is my second year coaching and judging for Unionville.

Policy/LD - I am familiar with Policy and LD debate.

Public Forum - I have judged Public Forum debate, but I am not as familiar with this format.

General Philosophy - I will try to flow and base my decision on the arguments made by the competitors. I encourage debaters to directly respond to the arguments made by their opponents, and I urge competitors to make arguments that have claims, warrants, and impacts. I prefer that debaters use evidence to support arguments. However, reading evidence alone is not an argument.

This generally means that I will look at the flow to see what arguments were made, and make my decision based on what I have written down on the flow.

Although I am receptive to all arguments, some claims have greater thresholds than others. It is still the debaters' responsibility to refute the arguments. I have voted for alternative frameworks and in round impacts, but mostly because the other team didn't respond well to those claims.

Constructive speeches should be used to construct new arguments, and rebuttals should be used to respond/refute/extend previously made contentions. I am not receptive to new arguments made in the final speech, and need for the debaters to show how their arguments in second speeches have been developed from previously articulated positions. Dropped arguments are conceded arguments. But you can always do impact comparisons.

In order for me to evaluate an argument, I must be able to understand and flow it. Vocal clarity is very important, definition of terms and jargon is also important. Moderate Speed is generally ok IF (IF IF IF) you are speaking clearly. I will not interrupt you to say unclear, and will continue to try to flow. It is your responsibility to recognize that you are unclear. It is ok for a partner to politely indicate that a speaker is unclear.

It's your round, and you can present any arguments you want in any style you want. I will be more effective as a critic if you signpost, label your arguments, and follow the flow. If you want to kick out of the line-by-line, then I will struggle to follow you and will most likely have to intervene to make sense of the arguments. It is ok if you don't want to signpost or tell me where to flow arguments, you will just have to live with my decision as I tend to vote in favor of the team that does the best of helping me organize my flow.

Signposting means to tell me where to flow your arguments. For example "On the counterplan, their first permutation was this..., my argument is this...." The more you do this, the better I will be as a judge.

I would like to be on an email chain - georgeli135022@gmail.com, but if the internet is broken, I'm fine with flash drives as well.

I was a policy debater for like 2 years, but I prefer a clear-cut debate rather than a lot of theory and K's. You can still make those arguments, you're just gonna have to make them clear to me and also your opponent.

TLDR- be respectful to the opposing team, and let's make sure to make debate an enjoyable experience where we can all learn something.

Policy

It's been like 3 years since I actually did policy debate, make sure to extend your technical terminologies for me to more easily understand your arguments. As an old-school (kinda) taught by old-school debaters, I prefer large tangible impacts to small soft ones, but if you make a good argument for that I will still favor it.

Some other stuff:

While arguments y'all make should be supported by evidence and reliable sources, they should also make logical sense. Please don't make me pull my hair out trying to decipher what you just said.

Policy debate is about making real-life policies. I will refer to the real tangible impacts of the plan over arguments like theory or Kritics. If you do use theories and Ks, make them understandable, if you start spouting words I hear from my philosophy class it will most likely fly past me. Especially if you're using Ks, please elaborate on how the alternative is better than the plan.

Public Forum

PF is pretty similar to Policy Debate so I'll probably judge it as one. All my points about the clash and evidence from above still apply, especially on Ks and Theory. There is less time in PF to fully flesh out the intricacies of a Kritic or Theory so it should be even more clear.

Ofcourse, I want you to explain the logic of your arguments clearly and make sure to engage in as much clash as possible. Beyond that, as long as it makes sense it's good enough for me.

General Notes

Debate is not just about dumping evidence on your opponent and then hoping something sticks, please clash with your opponent. Extend your arguments and answer your opponents' arguments. If you don't extend arguments after your opponent drops them I will put much less weight on them in my decision.

I will take logical arguments over some flimsy evidence. Just saying we have evidence doesn't cut it, explain and extend why that's important to the wider debate and the plan.

As a policy debater, I've seen pretty fast speeds before so I can understand them. However, as a judge, I would much rather you make a few clear and concise arguments than try to overwhelm your opponent with 10 different disadvantages and counterplans. I'm also not going to read your document if you spoke incomprehensibly to fill in my flow sheet, I'll just disregard that argument in my decision. I'm not saying speaking fast is bad since there is a lot to get through, I'm just saying don't abuse it.

Of course, the point of debate is to educate and have fun. As someone who follows politics and policies, I want to learn something from the debate. Use common sense and we'll have an enjoyable experience.

Zoey Lin (she/her/hers)

Lexington '20 | Dartmouth '24

Please put me on and properly name the email chain! [lin.debate@gmail.com] [Tournament - Round X: Aff Team v Neg Team]

I'm colorblind, so please highlight in green (or give me time to change your color)

Also if y'all wanna bring me food, like... I won't say no. To be clear I'm not asking for food, I'm just saying it will make me happy <3

tl;dr

Be genuine, be nice, just do what you’re good at. I promise I'm very low maintenance, as long as you're nice, give me an outlet and a chair, and are a reasonable human being I will and flow what you say! Don't be rude pls

This picture encapsulates both my personality and my judging philosophy

Please be super clear. I can flow you, but I might not be able to flow you + mumble + echo + distance + zoom. If you're unclear and lose even though "but I said it in my speech", imma give you this look: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Policy (Updated 9.23.23)

Do what you're good at, don't adapt for me (yes I have biases, but if I'll be persuaded more by what you say than what I think).

Frame the round and tell a good story, unless told otherwise I am tech > truth, theory is a reason to reject the arg (but condo is a reason to reject the team), judges don't kick, and anything goes. Other than that, I am a sucker for specific strategies. Even if you don't go for them I will reward case specific research (aff recuts, counterplans that solve the internal link, specific pics against k affs, etc). Do your best with neg ground—even though you need a DA, that's not an excuse for awful ptx scenarios.

Other thoughts: I don't think enough 2a's are willing to go for theory and I'm happy to vote on 2+ condo bad!

What You're Here For (K Stuff)

Debate is definitely a game and clash is an intrinsic good for debate. I find myself particularly persuaded by switch-side debate arguments and well crafted TVAs. Despite that, I think debate could be much more than a game even though we're here "playing" it and the history of the args I read supports that idea. I'm most familiar with and went for identity critiques (anti-blackness and queer theory) and security (fem ir, racial ir, and traditional ir). I'm pretty decent for psychoanalysis and various anti-capitalist lit bases (marxism, left accelerationism, semio-capitalism). I'm average for other white pomo, and pretty bad for death good. That being said, I don't want to listen to nebulous appeals to buzzword impacts... K teams win when they are able to contextualize their k to their opponent's args, especially with links. You don't need a "good k" you need a well applied k.

LD (Updated 11.18.23)

I'm a policy debater who doesn't care what you read. The only thing you should consider is that although I will flow your argument and its warrants, I might not fully understand it to your liking (i.e. just because you said permissibility doesn't mean I'll fill in the warrant for you).

If you want to know specifics though, I'm definitely better for k/larp compared to phil, and definitely questionable for theory and tricks*. I don't care if you defend the topic, but have some sort of grounded criticism, please.

Long LD Specific Paradigm: I aspire to be Henry Curtis

*Caveat: Lexington Debater Brett Fortier told me "if you're willing to listen to tricks, you're a tricks judge." While that is me... I really do not want to listen to RVI's, trick's, nebel t, a prioris and just LISTS of paradoxes. Much thanks!

Misc Stuff

I flow on a computer and sometimes often away or stare blankly. Don't worry I can type without looking, this just means I'm thinking

I've realized that zoom debate has made it so that y'all prep so loudly. I don't super care but it's also just jarring that I can hear all of your conversations about the debate and especially your conversations about me...

Bottom Line

Debate is a great place to challenge yourself and have fun while doing it... the first thing that I want to see is that everyone is enjoying themselves and having a good time. Some debaters think that they're too good or cool to afford their opponents respect and decency in-round: if this is you, I will not be a good judge to have in the back of your round. We are all here to have fun and get better, so if you are jeopardizing that in any way, don't expect me to be as willing to vote for you.

I really care about the participation of queer debaters, especially gender minorities and poc. It's really difficult to find queer spaces in general, never mind in debate and worst of all in an online debate environment. I will be extremely sensitive to the way people who are not cis white men are treated in the debate space. If you are looking for additional resources, please check out https://www.windebate.org/ for the most passionate mentors and https://www.girlsdebate.org/ for funny memes, cool people, and amazing overall help.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to shoot me an email or ask before the round starts. I'd be happy to clarify anything on this paradigm or offer you any other insight that I might have forgotten to include here.

Good luck!

Millard North High School '23

LD for 4 years - 3 on the national circuit

email - nathan.liu1203@gmail.com

Debate is hard, and everyone puts a lot of time in - I will reciprocally put effort into judging your debate and, to the best of my ability, bracket my predispositions.

Post-rounding is acceptable as long as it stays respectful and in-round.

I coach with DebateDrills- the following URL has our roster, MJP conflict policy,code of conduct, relevant team policies, and harassment/bullying complaint form:https://www.debatedrills.com/club-team-policies/lincoln-douglas-team-policy

EMAIL: richard.liudebate@gmail.com

LRCH '22

UPenn '26

Top Level:

I do not have strong ideological preferences on content or form. I am more familiar with critical debate than traditional policy arguments. I am probably best at judging clash debates, then K v. K, then Policy v. Policy.

Be kind and respectful. I will reward your speaks if you are and punish them if you are not.

Background

I am a sophomore studying finance at Wharton. I debated for Little Rock Central for four years and read almost exclusively critical identity-based affirmatives.

Planless Affirmatives/FW

Aff teams should consolidate offense and leverage the method/1AC. Neg teams should engage the case page. I am more persuaded by arguments focused on the quality of debates and the importance of rejoinder for the negative than arguments about procedural fairness.

Ks

The most valuable thing neg teams can do is good link debating. To me, framework is a filter that lowers the link quality threshold necessary for the neg to win. Even if you win “you link you lose”, the neg still has to prove a link.

Aff teams should debate framework in a way that says “lowering the link quality threshold necessary for the neg to win is BAD”.

Theory

Unless completely dropped in every speech including the final rebuttal, I will probably never vote on any theory argument besides condo. I am probably sympathetic to condo bad but have not judged many debates that hinged on this.

DAs/CPs

I am fine with these, but am inexperienced in judging debates that come down to counterplan competition or perm theory. If you make this the focal point of the 2NR/2AR you will probably be more frustrated with the RFD than I am.

Emmanuel Makinde - Add me to the email chain - (emmanuelmakinde18@gmail.com)

i debate at NYU currently

Top-Level

For the sake of all things good in life, cringe, and the activity of debate... call me Manny or Emmanuel, not "judge"

Debate is a space where people come to test their intellectual capacities through a discussion about the reading of the 1AC. I don’t care what your methodology is for accessing that discussion, but you should be able to defend it. I love debate and have a lot of fun, so it is more enjoyable for me to see other debaters having fun.

I can't promise to set aside my biases entirely (I try my best, but I don't think anyone can 100% do this). I do promise to evaluate debates as fairly as I can and give you the most valuable feedback. I'm always going to be open to questions at the end of debate, and don't be afraid to disagree with the RFD. I've experienced a fair share of inexperienced judges, and strive to be as far from that as possible. I default to common sense unless you tell me otherwise.

The nuance between, "The plan is not topical" and "The plan is so obviously, wildly untopical" can make or break debates. Don't mistake this for ad homs, but don't forget that debate is about persuasion as much as it is about research, and argumentation—how you articulate your argument makes a difference. I'll clarify here that tech and truth aren't mutually exclusive, but judge instruction on how to evaluate a certain argument is useful. Here, I'll also insert a link to a certain segment of Juju's lecture that embodies how I feel about tech v. truth. A dropped argument is true to the extent that you explain it.

Spreading is good. Speaking slow is good. Debate ultimately relies on communication. I know how hard it might be for you to grapple with the idea of maybe not spreading incomprehensibly through tags and analytics, but it's just that simple. If I can't hear what you said, it won't get on my flow. Just be self-aware about your spreading. You don't automatically get higher speaks because you spread faster.

Plans Texts

Plan texts are cool. I think a lot of policy AFFs have poor evidence and can be beaten with analytics sometimes. I generally dislike the ones that “The USFG should do the resolution in its [insert plan focus]” plan texts because they are a moving target for me. I will gladly fill in for the neg here and probably err on any theory if there isn’t much contextualization coming out the 2AC. I value the quality of evidence (because it’s really hard to find), but I won’t look at you sideways if your warrants are SLIGHTLY inconsistent with your tag unless the opposing team points it out.

2ACs should integrate extensions on the line by line. 2AC overviews are fine, but I won't flow them as a response to any case arg made by the 1NC. Long 2AC overviews are boring.

Case debates are so underrated. Please do it more

CPs

I love weird, specific, techy CPs. Advantage CPs and PIKs are my favorite. A lot of teams are usually bad at explaining why the perm doesn’t solve beyond a random card in the block or saying “Perm links to NB”. Good analysis is rewarded on the perm debate. Case solvency usually needs more time spent as well.

I don't believe in judge kick lmao sry

DAs

Similar to 1AC's, I think a lot of DA's have terrible link ev. I don't think it's the fault of the card cutters, but rather the topic committee for picking topics with terrible neg ground. I also think generics are generics for a reason - you can win on them if you debate them well. I'm willing to vote aff on any part of the DA that neg loses (i.e. if there's no impact why does it matter, if there's no link why is it relevant, if its not-unique why should I vote neg, it the internal links are cheap why should I grant you risk of impact o/w)

Ks

I'm very comfortable with anti-blackness Ks. I'm less comfortable, but still fine with other identity/positionality Ks, DnG, dark Deleuze, Baudrillard, Bataille, and some other pomo Ks, but do not expect me to fill in the lines. In those debates, I will flow cross and value/reward digestible explanations on the line by line.

I'm more attracted to small alternatives/advocacies than big ones. The former is more like "Discourse within this round is good" while the latter is like, "We organize an international communist revolution". I think the bigger ones lose more often to the args that are foundational on the "How do we get there?" questions. With that said, presumption becomes more convincing on the big advocacies than the smaller ones.

Be clear whether or not you're kicking the alt in the 2NR.

I’m not the judge for you if you are not black (especially white) and you want to read anti-blackness. Autoloss 0 speaks. Content > Strategy. It’s the same thing if you read bizcon and cap in the same 1NC. Do not embody perf cons.

K/Performance Affs
I've read several K AFFs the majority of my senior year (and still do in college). Even though I love the K so much, remember that I still value the clash and technical component of debating, so don't just read a 2.5 hr overview and then say "that was the work i did in the overview" in response to line by line. That is not debating. Also, do not come into the debate with the idea that your K just sort of subsumes every conceivable notion of human thought that doesn't directly engage with the body of literature you introduce. There isn't any theory of power that can intricately explain every single other theory of power.

With that said, KvK debates are fun but easily get muddy. Fortunately, there are easy ways for you to get out of the muddiness (specific link contextualization, using the grammars of your opponents, specific quotes, etc.).

I do not appreciate you reading a K Aff as a justification for being rude and disrespectful. A lot of K debaters in general have felt the need to assume this perceived role of K debaters (especially identity K debaters) as just rude and like all French revolution "F the state and F you". No. Your K authors aren't saying to be rude to people, so don't do it. Don't confuse that with being assertive which is excellent.

It should be related to the topic. You cannot just read a K AFF that has nothing to do with the resolution---you will definitely lose on T. I know how tempting it might be given the low prep burden, but even one card or two cards that establish a relationship to the resolution is enough.

I love performance AFFs and respect the debaters who have the courage to do it and make it look so easy. I also don't care if you choose not to read cards; just make it something flowable.

Prefs

On a scale of 1-10, how confident am I to render a ballot on certain debates?

Policy vs. Policy: 8.2

Policy vs. T: 6.3

Policy vs. K: 8

K vs. FW: 7.9

K vs. K: 8.1

K vs. Cap K: 9

K vs. Antiblackness Ks: 9.3

K vs. Pomo Ks: 7.2

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 (i.e., procedural, reason to reject the team, PIK solves case *these are not mutually exclusive, but it helps in terms of impact framing*)

Impact it out, please. It helps to point out in-round abuse. On procedurals, it helps to explain why their model abuses others.

If you feel like there is an ethics violation, I'd rather you make it as an argument than stop the debate unless you feel the ethics violation is making you seriously uncomfortable or unable to continue the debate. Here, I'll insert that homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, sexism, and any other "ism" that expresses deep prejudice towards any specific group warrants 0 speaks and an auto loss. Ad homs are also weird.

More than 3 condo probably isn't good against common AFFs that were alr on the wiki. Disclosure is good.

T/FW

Fairness is an impact if it's an intrinsic good. Otherwise, it's an internal link to education and clash. Predictability controls everything.

v. K Aff: If the 2NR doesn't have a way to prove why you can access the critical lit/discourse of the 1AC (i.e. TVA, SSD) then aff offense on your model becomes so attractive. PIKS, counter-advocacies, and your regular CP + disad debates are smart if deployed correctly.

v. Policy Aff: If you think I'm slightly on edge about whether or not the plan text is topical, good impact debating should mitigate that. If the plan is "obviously" not topical, then that should be clear to me from the 1NC. A single line as to why I should prefer the interp or C/I is necessary.

I believe non-traditional AFFs can be topical because "affirming" the resolution is entirely up to the terms the debaters set on. That means I have a high bar for voting on T against non-trad AFFs (especially ones that don't impact turn the resolution). That doesn't mean if you read non-trad you shouldn't work hard to win your model of debate, but I will not just sort of default to normative ways of affirming the resolution.

Cross

Cross ex is the most interesting time of the debate. It is where debaters actively interact with each other. I don't flow cross, but I pay close attention to and will write down arguments that are made. I've seen entire K links from cross make it into the 2NR.

If you run high theory and can't answer questions about your thesis sufficiently, you will likely lose.

The nuance between assertive and rude are apparent and you lose speaks for the latter.

Misc

Tech -----x--------------- Truth

K ----------x---------- Policy

AT x-------------------- A2

Turns case x-------------------- O/W

Saitama -x----------------------- Goku

Ins and outs are fine.

Some of my favorite current/past debaters & coaches atm: *subject to change* Will Baker, Darrian Carroll, DB, Eu, Tyler Vergho, Raam Tambe, Azja Butler, Iyana Trotman, Maeve Ella, Ryan Cavanaugh, Beau Larsen, Nae Edwards, Greg Zoda, Joe Leeson-Schatz, Aden Barton, Gabriel Chang-Deutsch, John Sharp, Diego (Jay-Z) Flores, Curtis Ortega, Taj Robinson

Public Forum

I've never done PF, but I've judged quite a bit. It's a nice break from all the policy spreading.

A lot of the policy stuff applies.

I prefer speech docs where everything you read is in one document. Google docs is fine, but don't send me like 8 different docs for the first constructive

Off-time road maps are good

+0.1 speaks if you reference any of the following:

Adventure Time

Steven Universe

Vikram Saigal

Maximillian Layden

Bio

Email for Link Chain: rmercedes@haverford.edu

Hello my name is Ruth Mercedes (she/her), I am a senior at Haverford College double majoring in Spanish and History. I have debated in Parliamentary for over 6 years and have a little bit of experience as a judge from my high school debate days, judged the TOC in 2023, and judged this tournament last year. I recently taught a crash course in debate summer camp and am excited to be back in this world.

Spreading: I don’t like spreading and would prefer debaters who speak slowly and clearly. I am/was trained in a league that doesn’t spread so keep that in mind. If you do choose to spread, be sure to signpost clearly (however I cannot assure you that I will be able to flow your arguments effectively).

PF:

I am new to judging Public Forum, although it is similar to some formats of Parli I have done. If you have me as a judge in PF, please signpost your cases clearly. I am a tabula rasa judge, so assume no prior knowledge. Explain the content of your arguments, your claims, warrants, impacts etc. Essentially assume I have no prior knowledge of the topic nor debate itself.

Kritiks: As I was trained in Parli I am not super familiar with Kritiks. I think they are cool in concept and would love to see how that plays out. That being said, if you decide to run a kritik, know that you will have to weigh out everything very clearly for my benefit. If running a Kritik, explain your links, impacts, and alternatives.

Policy:

I tend to be a non-involved judge so when it comes to cards, I expect debaters to regulate.

Kritiks: see above

General Note: I will drop debaters who are excessively rude, make ad-hominem comments, are racist, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, etc. I also believe in disclosing results (depending on what the tournament allows), if you do not want to hear results please inform me at the start of the round.

Hey, please add me to the email chain crownmonthly@gmail.com.If you really don't want to read this I'm tech > truth, Warranted Card Extension > Card Spam and really only dislike hearing meme arguments which are not intended to win the round.

PF and LD specific stuff at the bottom. All the argument specific stuff still applies to both activities.

How to win in front of me:
Explain to me why I should vote for you and don't make me do work. I've noticed that I take "the path of least resistance" when voting; this means 9/10 I will make the decision that requires no work from me. You can do this by signposting and roadmapping so that my flow stays as clean as possible. You can also do this by actually flowing the other team and not just their speech doc. Too often debaters will scream for 5 minutes about a dropped perm when the other team answered it with analytics and those were not flown. Please don't be this team.

Online Debate Update

If you know you have connection/tech problems, then please record your speeches so that if you disconnect or experience poor internet the speech does not need to be stopped. Also please go a bit slower than your max speed on analytics because between mic quality and internet quality it can be tough to hear+flow everything if you go the same speed as cards on analytics.

Argumentation...

Theory/Topicality:

By default theory and topicality are voters and come aprior unless there is no offense on the flow. Should be clear what the interpretation, violation, voter, and impact are. I generally love theory debates but like with any judge you have to dedicate the time into it if you would like to win. Lastly you don't need to prove in round abuse to win but it REALLY helps and you probably won't win unless you can do this.

Framework:

I feel framework should be argued in almost any debate as I will not do work for a team. Unless the debate is policy aff v da+cp then you should probably be reading framework. I default to utilitarianism and will view myself as a policy maker unless told otherwise. This is not to say I lean toward these arguments (in fact I think util is weak and policy maker framing is weaker than that) but unless I explicitly hear "interpretation", "role of the judge", or "role of the ballot," I have to default to something. Now here I would like to note that Theory, Topicality, and Framework all interact with each other and you as the debater should see these interactions and use them to win. Please view these flows wholistically.

DA/CP:

I am comfortable voting on these as I believe every judge is but I beg you (unless it's a politics debate) please do not just read more cards but explain why you're authors disprove thier's. Not much else to say here besides impact calc please.

K:

I am a philosophy and political science major graduate so please read whatever you would like as far as literature goes; I have probably read it or debated it at some point so seriously don't be afraid. Now my openness also leaves you with a burden of really understanding the argument you are reading. Please leave the cards and explain the thought process, while I have voted on poorly run K's before those teams never do get high speaker points.

K Affs:

Look above for maybe a bit more, but I will always be open to voting and have voted on K affs of all kinds. I tend to think the neg has a difficult time winning policy framework against K affs for two reasons; first they debate framework/topicality most every round and will be better versed, and second framework/topicality tends to get turned rather heavily and costs teams rounds. With that said I have voted on framework/topicality it just tends to be the only argument the neg goes for in these cases.

Perms:

Perms are a test of competition unless I am told otherwise and 3+ perms is probably abusive but that's for theory.

Judge Intervention:

So I will only intervene if the 2AR makes new arguments I will ignore them as there is no 3NR. Ethics and evidence violations should be handled by tab or tournament procedures.

Speaks:

• What gets you good speaks:
  • Making it easier for me to flow
  • Demonstrate that you are flowing by ear and not off the doc.
  • Making things interesting
  • Clear spreading
  • Productive CX

• What hurts your speaks:
  • Wasting CX, Speech or Prep Time
  • Showing up later than check-in time (I would even vote on a well run theory argument - timeless is important)
  • Being really boring
  • Being rude

PF Specific

• I am much more lenient about dropped arguments than in any other form of debate. Rebuttals should acknowledge each link chain if they want to have answers in the summary. By the end of summary no new arguments should made. 1st and 2nd crossfire are binding speeches, but grand crossfire cannot be used to make new arguments. *these are just my defaults and in round you can argue to have me evaluate differently
• If you want me to vote on theory I need a Voting Issue and Impact - also probably best you spend the full of Final Focus on it.
• Make clear in final focus which authors have made the arguments you expect me to vote on - not necessary, but will help you win more rounds in front of me.
• In out-rounds where you have me and 2 lay judges on the panel I understand you will adapt down. To still be able to judge fairly I will resolve disputes still being had in final focus and assume impacts exist even where there are only internal links if both teams are debating like the impacts exist.
• Please share all evidence you plan to read in a speech with me your opponents before you give the speech. I understand it is not the norm in PF, but teams who do this will receive bonus speaker points from me for reading this far and making my life easier.

LD Specific

• 2AR should extend anything from the 1AR that they want me to vote on. I will try and make decisions using only the content extended into or made in the NR and 2AR.
• Don't just read theory because you think I want to hear it. Do read theory because your opponent has done or could do something that triggers in round abuse.
• Dropped arguments are true arguments, but my flow dictates what true means for my ballot - say things more than once if you think they could win/lose you the round if they are not flown.

Quick Bio

I did 3 years of policy debate in the RI Urban Debate League. Been judging since 2014. As a debater I typically ran policy affs and went for K's on the neg (Cap and Nietzsche mostly) but I also really enjoyed splitting the block CP/DA for the 2NC and K/Case for the 1NR. Despite all of this I had to have gone for theory in 40% of my rounds, mostly condo bad.

Max F. Neuman (he or they pronouns). If both teams want to use an email chain, please add maxfneuman [at] gmail.com

Competitive and Coaching Experience:

4 years of PF, almost entirely on the New York City Urban Debate League, at Bard High School Early College Manhattan.

1 year of APDA at CUNY, 3 years at Columbia.

Former PF coach at High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies, Midwood High School, and Bard High School Early College Manhattan. Current APDA coach at Temple.

Listened to that NPR podcast about college policy and thought it was cool.

Paradigm:

When I'm judging a round, I really want to avoid intervening ie; involving my own thoughts or doing your work in achieving the ballot. It leads to unpredictable decisions that are unfair to everybody. To prevent judge intervention, speak high, and win, here are a few tips:

• Enjoy yourself! Debate should be fun.

• Be inclusive! Respect your competitors. If speaking about an event or group, especially one that you are not part of, only make arguments you would make if the room were full of members of that group.

• If you need to make a potentially triggering argument, please give a content warning.

• I will not deviate from tab policy, speech times, or the speaker scale. Everything else is up for debate.

Everything below this point is stuff I am flexible on, but will default to absent other argumentation.

• I am a lazy judge. I do not want to intervene or do the work to prove why arguments are true or why they matter. Please be explicit about what the voting issues should be.

• Before anyone says a word, I assume that my job as the judge is to determine if the resolution is a true or false statement, and I assume that neg has won on presumption. As soon as a debater says anything, these starting positions go out the window and the role/destination of the ballot is up for debate.

• I've been consistently involved in debate since 2013, but you definitely know the current topic and the format's evolving norms better than I do. Author names don't mean much to me, so explain what cards say. If you want to make an abuse or theory call, or even do something non-traditional like a K, I'm amenable to it if it's adequately warranted and weighed in a way that's accessible to a broad audience that isn't steeped in debate pedagogy. If something is warranted well and not responded to at all, I'll consider it true, no matter how outlandish.

• Weigh and condense. Going for the whole flow at any point after second crossfire reduces the round to a whirlwind of blips, often with very little analysis about what should sway the ballot. Impact calculus is hard to master, but entirely worth it.

• I don't care about or even know how to consciously evaluate presentation things like what you wear, the sound of your voice, rhetoric, whether you sit or stand, or that sort of thing.

• Speed is fine when coupled with clarity. If you're especially fast (like 300 words per minute or more), start slow so I can get up to speed. If I can't flow you at all, I'll say "clear" up to three times

• Explaining how something works or happens is so much better than citing a source or quantifying a conclusion. Maybe it's because I've seen so many bad debaters win rounds on evidence challenges or because I'm a parliamentary debater, but I value explanation on par with evidence.

• If some offense is in first constructive or rebuttal and then never gets brought up during the round, I'm fine with a final focus/PMR/LOR/2AR/2NR weighing it to win, although the weighing needs to be stronger than "they dropped it so it's true." I will pick up a team that says "they dropped it so it's true, and we weigh it so it matters" if the weighing actually happens.

• You don't have to extend all defense in a summary/rebuttal if you've already touched an argument; you do have to respond if the other side is going for it and engaging with your refutation. If something was in the round before, regardless of whether it was in summary or second constructive, it can be in final focus and on the ballot if you mention it explicitly. I will enforce the prohibition on totally new argumentation (in all cases except the first-speaking team answering totally new content in the second team's summary) in final focus.

• I probably won't flow crossfire because I don't think I can do so with nearly as much accuracy as the speeches. If something important happened in crossfire, mention it in a speech to be sure it's in the round.

• I am begrudgingly okay with calling cards. It would be better if everyone could avoid this by not lying about evidence (your own or your opponents'). If there has been a question of validity or a direct and unresolved clash of cards during the round, I'll probably want to see the original source after the round. If you have a citation and a card, it's okay with me if you have to pull an original source off the internet when asked. Any other internet use is super duper prohibited. If the entire round comes down to a fact claim that nobody can resolve like "Russia has 15 nuclear submarines" when the brightline for impact access is 15, I'm amenable to arguments that I should google the number, and I'll default to just resolving the next most important issue in the round if it's deadlocked around an unresolvable fact claim.

If you want my flow, it's all yours! Send me an email at maxfneuman [at] gmail.com to ask for the flow or if you have any questions, preferably on the same weekend as your round in front of me. I'll probably delete flows/forget details about rounds after that. Please add me to the email chain at the same email address.

Hi, I am Khadydiatou Thiam,

Email chain: thiamkhadydiatou05@gmail.com

This is my Paradigm:

- Make sure that you always stick to your case.

-Don't drop any arguments (But if the other team does not point out the dropped argument I might let it slide).

-Make sure that your Affirmative has a clear plan because if I cannot understand it I won't vote for it.

-Impacts Calc is an easy ballot for me

-Disads: Running this is one of the common negative strategies. I would vote on it but just make sure they link to the Affirmative that you are running it against

-Counterplan: These are an okay strategy just make sure you run it with a disad or at least have a net benefit.

-Permutation: This is the easiest way to address a CP just make sure that you don't drop it and prove that it would work.

- Topicality: This is not the best negative strategy in my opinion but if it makes sense I will vote on it.

-K: I'm a flex debater so I would love listening to a K Debate

-Other than that just don't be rude, don't say anything offensive and most importantly HAVE FUN!

I appreciate the delivery of the spoken word at a moderate speed. I request that you utilize consideration when engaging with teammates, opponents and judges. Please present your argument in a clear, concise and organized manner. I need you to connect your details to your argument.

I am unble to judge speed reading adequately, therefore more often than not you will lose my vote. Please utilize language to clarify your points and enable your speech to be easily followed.

It is helpful to utilize tag lines, signposts. Roadmaps off - time help to clarify the organization of your presentation for me.

Debates and arguments must be persuasive. If the argument does not persuade me, I will not be able to cast my vote for it. Debaters must tell me what is importand and why I should cast my vote for their position. Please be clear and concise about what I am considering and emphasize your key points. The impacts of your contentions must be realistic. Your arguments must be clear and plausible. Please present a clear anaylsis of why you should win in the final rebuttal round.

I evaluate your fluency of speech, rate, tone, use of transitions, as well as organization of details. Please view each session as an opportunity to learn and grow. I look forward to the opportunity to learn from you!!!