Put me on the chain with this email: chen.kent@husky.neu.edu

Did policy for 4 years in hs

I don't care if you run kritik or policy as an aff just make policy interesting if you are. I vote on the flow, Don't just read a card and don't explain why you win on an argument. Make sure you know what you're saying. Please clash and explain, it makes it easier for me to vote. Do the work for me on the flow.

I can't stress this enough, please explain why you win an argument and why you should win. It gives you so many advantages to just tell me what to do on the flow rather than assume that I'll know what your intent is.

Sign-post, makes it easier to flow.

Roadmap, makes it easier to flow.

I'm okay with whatever speed you read at, just make sure I can understand what you're saying.

Generally I give 28's. Please don't make me give anything below.

Generally you should pref me low if you a policy aff, if you do run policy make it interesting. I don't like the use of nuclear war as an impact for extinction, something like climate change as an impact is better.

Add me to the thread: tkirk@bostonpublicschools.org

I was a high school debater 20 years ago. This is my first year as a debate coach. I attempt to approach each round with a Tabula Rasa philosophy, to whatever degree that is possible. I am willing to listen to and am familiar with any argumentation. I want debaters to evaluate and frame arguments as the round progresses with emphasis on comparative analysis between those competing arguments. Speed is generally not a problem.

**update for Harvard

Judged at Lex but my topic knowledge is still negative - I got a 2 on AP Macro Econ so if economic concepts become important in the debate please overexplain.

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

SLOW DOWN PLEASE

Top Level

Hi! My name is Vincent (he/him) and I’m excited to be judging your round. I debated for 4 years at Canyon Crest Academy (Canyon Crest LR, Canyon Crest LD/DL) and qualified to the TOC my senior year. I’ve debated as both a 2A and a 2N but at my heart I’m a 2A.

Please add both emails to the chain: Vincentli784@gmail.com, canyoncrestlr@gmail.com,

TLDR

tech > truth

Good for Policy v K, K v K, and Clash Debates

Decent for low to mid level policy debates

Bad for mid to high level policy debates BUT i'll still try my best

Misc things

New to judging so i’m still formulating a lot of my ideas around debate but I will promise to try my hardest to be the best judge I can during your round. Ik first hand how much effort y’all put into this activity and I’ll do my best to reward that!

Basically no topic knowledge

I’ve never been the best flow so pls slow down <3

I’ll vote for any argument provided it has a claim warrant & impact and doesn’t check off any of the “ism” boxes. HOWEVER, I’ve read exclusively critical arguments on both the aff and neg for the last 3 years of my career so if I’m in the back of a policy throwdown, it would be helpful to slow down and over explain warrants/arguments.

Judge instruction wins debates and the best 2NR/ARs should do all the work for me explaining how I should weigh and evaluate certain arguments.

Please use all of cx time

Don't like it when debaters ask flow clarification questions before cx. It's fine to ask for flow clarification but please do it within the 3 minutes of cx

Be kind and respect your opponents. It’s ok to be sassy in cx but no ad homs pls

K Aff v FW

Although my personal history has seen me on the aff side way more than the neg side, I’m receptive to framework and will vote for the team that does the better debating.

If fairness is the 2NR impact, it shouldn’t be a “they cheated and that was unfair for me” but rather how a lack of fairness zeroes the ability for both teams to engage in a mutually beneficial game which means resolving fairness comes first.

K v K

Love these debates but anything that isn’t cap should involve overexplaining links + perm.

Seeing and identifiying the bigger picture is pivotal in these debates (typically the perm lol)

K affs probably get a perm but if it’s the main 2AR strategy I should have a clear vision of what the two movements look like in tandem.

Policy aff v K

I’ll first look to the framework debate and I won’t arbitrarily pick a middle ground, and will choose either between the aff or neg interp.

Links are the most important part of the K and I love hyper specific link explanations that sound like they directly clash with the 1AC.

T(not framework)

Will require hand holding and over explaining.

Definitions with intent to define/exclude and in the context of the res are probably the best interps

Competing interps always made more sense to me than reasonability but the more riddiculous the 1nc interp is, the more justified reasonability becomes

Counterplan/DA

Understand all the arguments but just a reminder that I haven’t read these arguments since my freshman year of high school.

Please especially over explain convoluted Counterplans!

Counterplans need to be tied to a clear net benefit and 1NC cx should be clear abt which DAs serve as net benefits to which Counterplans

Overexplain in debates abt counterplan competition and theory please

For my debate it is fun and that the students have fun is the most important thing, so I think there are several ways to make the debate fun as a judge I don't like when students only read the evidence without giving me an explanation I want them to give me real-life examples and opinions I don't care how strong your evidence is, you have to explain. you have to show a level of knowledge. You should make me think you can win.

The team that wins the rounds of questions also has a better chance of winning

Hi! I'm Camille and I'm a 3rd year coach at the Henderson in the Boston Debate League. Add me to the email chains - cportermcavoy@bostonpublicschools.org. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science and communications.

I debated in high school for four years as a varsity parliamentary debater (class of 2016), so I'm relatively familiar with all types of arguments (Ks (including K affs), theory, T, etc). I am happy to evaluate anything read in the round. I believe in judging debate tabula rasa, aka blank slate. If aff tells me the sky is green and neg does not contest it, then the sky is green for the purposes of the debate round. But also please don't blatantly lie or misrepresent your evidence. I won't vote against you solely on this but your speaker points will reflect this. This also does not apply for arguments that are causing obvious harm in the round, like if someone says something blatantly racist, sexist, ableist, etc.

To me, the best debate rounds have a lot of clash. Don't just throw cards at me - explain to me what the card means, how it negates what the other team is reading, and actually weigh those things for me in the round. Impact calculus goes a long way for me in rebuttals. Use your rebuttal speeches to truly compare arguments and tell me why you have won the round. Don't leave anything for me to evaluate on my own. Above all else, do your best, be respectful, and have fun!

Spreading - I don't mind it, but make it clear. If you are trying to spread unnecessarily, your speaker points will reflect it. Just tell me where you want me to put things on the flow and make your taglines super clear. Feel free to ask me any clarifying questions before the round!

The most important things to know about my judging style and experience are as follows: - I'm in my third of year coaching in the Boston Debate League, so I'm most familiar with their cases on this topic (UBI, Federal Jobs Guarantee) and not as familiar with cases outside the BDL packet on this topic. - The most important arguments to me are the arguments that carry through to the end of the debate round - if something comes up in Constructives or CX, it needs to show up in the rebuttals for me to consider it in my decision. - I haven't done much varsity judging before in my three years of coaching. - I am most familiar with the structure of policy arguments.

Josh’s Judging Paradigm

Yow, have judging paradigms gotten long or what? You don’t want a tome. Here are the bulletpoints:

1. Please put me on the chain: joshblevins@gmail.com

2. I generally dislike speed/spreading and think it is bad for education. I am worse than you are at flowing it. I am also not a coach and don’t judge constantly, so I’m not previously acquainted with as much evidence as you are. I will not vote against you for speed, but if I miss your argument on my flow, that hurts you.

3. If you are going to spread, slow down for analyticals and tags.

4. This is policy debate. I’m mostly (90%) a policymaker. Thus, impacts (qualitative and quantitative) are the single most important issue in round. An impact calculus (magnitude, severity, timeframe, probability, irreversibility, etc) is going to help you.

5. Secondarily, I also (10%) care about stock issues. You will often see me weigh each of these on my ballot. If I don’t vote on K and policy impacts are too close to call, I will tally-up stock issues.

6. The preceding two paragraphs notwithstanding, I will listen to and consider nearly any argument as a potential voting issue as it is presented persuasively and respectfully. This includes debate theory.

7. Roadmap! Signpost! It helps me but, more importantly, I promise that it helps you. Particularly as a round progresses, in many instances, I can conceivably stick an argument in seven different places on my flow. If you don’t tell where you want an argument to go, I won’t look around the ballot to find places to apply it for you.

8. The best debate rounds are full of clash. It is possible for both sides to discuss a single issue and yet have little to no clash because they talk past each other. On any given issue in-round, please don’t further your own line of argument without answering those that your opponents are making.

9. As a policymaker, I love good DAs and CPs. This shouldn’t just consist of reading new evidence; links to the 1AC should be solid and an impact calculus is essential.

10. I am happy to vote on K, but both a unique link and impact analysis are essential. Generic Ks don’t do much for me.

11. I increasingly rarely vote on T. If you’re going to run it, persuading me on standards is essential.

12. Let me know when your opponents drop arguments.

13. Saying a couple of words of esoteric debate jargon and moving-on (e.g., “dispo solves”) is not an argument unto itself.

14. I do not flow cross ex. Often, I do not pay close attention to it, particularly when I am making notes on my flow or my ballot. CX is for your edification, a time to request clarification of arguments, grab missed evidence tags, sharpen a line of reasoning, etc. If something is said in CX that you want to matter in the round, repeat it in your speech. I mention this because I’ve recently seen debaters argue that their opponents didn’t respond to something brought-up in CX. Let me be clear: CX is not a speech and your opponents don’t have to answer anything from your CX in their speeches.

15. Finally, in online rounds, please excuse any apparent inattention. (I use multiple monitors and may be staring right at you on a monitor that doesn’t have a camera.)

Here are some thoughts on what debate means to me:

Debate is a thinking person’s game. At its best it tests your acumen and requires the use of parts of your intellect which daily life usually does not. Think about your opponents’ arguments and their frames of reference, draw from the corners of what you know, and present a cogent and cohesive broadside. Think critically. Don’t simply argue on the surface.

I believe profoundly in the value of competitive debate. Disagreement alone does not advance humankind. It takes an exchange of ideas, thoughtful deliberation, and compelling argumentation to move us along. In the real world, folks on opposite sides of an issue frequently talk past each other, promoting their case without substantively addressing their opponent’s points. Don’t let that happen in a debate round. Find some real clash.

In life—as in debate—you can’t be expected to be an expert on every argument you hear, nor on every issue about which you might find yourself in conversation. But it is your obligation to yourself and to the human race to be an expert critical thinker, and to be able to articulate that thinking coherently.

Have some fun doing it.

original January 2004 / last updated for Harvard National, February 2024

Please add mosieburkebdl@gmail.com to the email chain.

Hello! My name is Mosie (MO-zee), he/him/his. Please use my name instead of “judge”.

Personal and professional background:

I debated for Boston Latin Academy from 2011-2017, and was part of the first team from the Boston Debate League (UDL) to break to Varsity elimination rounds on the national circuit, bid, and qualify to the TOC. I attended Haverford College (B.A. Philosophy, Statistics minor) for my undergraduate studies and Northeastern University (MBA/M.S. Accounting) for graduate school. I currently work as an accountant for a software company in the Boston area. Liv Birnstad and I co-coach the Boston Debate League’s Travel Team, which is composed of students from multiple schools within the Boston UDL.

Short Version:

-Offense-Defense.

-I have experience judging and coaching traditional policy, Kritik, and Performance styles.

-High familiarity with many literature bases for Kritiks. This increases your burden to explain your theory well, and I will not do theoretical work for you.

-I have prioritized developing my understanding of counterplan strategies and competition theory, and I am a better judge for CP/Disad strategies than I have been in previous seasons.

-All speeds OK, please prioritize your flowability. I will say “clear” twice before docking speaks for clarity.

***********************************************

I have judged 0 tournaments on the intellectual property topic. I coach and write arguments of all styles on the intellectual property topic.

***********************************************

Longer Version:

Style

Speed is fine, but it should not come at the expense of clarity or flowability. I will say “clear” twice before docking speaks for clarity.

I welcome rounds with numerous off-case positions, but keep in mind that I flow on paper and I need pen time.

Make my job easy! If you bury important arguments in an unclear wall of noise because you’re speeding through your blocks, I probably won’t catch them. Example: if your 2AC frontline against a core counterplan includes 4-5 uncarded arguments before you read evidence, you should read those uncarded arguments more slowly than you would read the highlighted lines in a card.

Cross-examination should be conducted intentionally and strategically. It should not be an attempt to phrase gross mischaracterizations of your opponents’ arguments as questions. Don't be cruel, disrespectful, or belittling. CX where both debaters are continuously talking at the same time is a pet peeve.

The 2NR and 2AR should prioritize persuasiveness and focus on condensing the debate where possible. They should not just be a list of semi-conceded arguments.

In the absence of guidance from tournament admin I follow NSDA guidelines for evidence violations, including card clipping, improper citation, and misrepresentation of evidence.

Please take steps to minimize tech delays. Set up the email chain and check your internet connection before the round start time. You should be able to reply-all and attach a document without significantly delaying the round. Putting cards in a doc before your speech is prep time.

Case

I love a robust case debate! Neg teams should aim to have a variety of arguments on each important case page. Impact defense usually isn’t sufficient to contest an advantage scenario on its own. State good usually isn’t a sufficient case answer against a K aff. Most 2NRs should spend time on the case.

I find alt cause arguments more persuasive than recutting solvency evidence to make a counterplan that addresses the alt causes.

Please extend the substance of your case arguments, instead of “dropped A1 means nuke war, case outweighs on magnitude.”

Overviews should accomplish specific goals, and if your overview does not have a purpose I would rather it not be present in your speech. If there is a lengthy overview on a flow, please tell me during your roadmap.

Topicality & Theory

I love these debates when they are intentional and clever, and I strongly dislike these debates when they’re just an exercise in reading blocks. I was a 1N who took the T page in every round, and I will appreciate your strategic concessions, decisionmaking, and tricks.

I will vote on theory arguments if you win them. If your theory argument is silly, I will find it less persuasive and it will be more difficult to win.

Kritiks

I am well-versed in most K literature frequently used in debates (and you should ask if you'd like to know about my familiarity with your specific K author). This has 2 important implications for K teams:

1. I will know what you’re talking about when you explain and use the details of your theory. I will reward solid understanding of theoretical nuances that are relevant to your K if you communicate them and use them strategically.

2. I will not extrapolate the details of your theory for you. It is important that you clearly communicate the theoretical nuances you're using to make your arguments. “Ontology means we win” isn’t a complete argument, even though I know how to connect those dots.

Performance is 100% fine by me. If you incorporate a performance as part of your aff's methodology, I will evaluate is as I would any other methodology, so please incorporate it in later speeches and make sure I know why it's important.

In Policy aff vs K 2NR debates, the team that wins framework will usually win the round.

Counterplans

I’ve recently made a significant effort to improve my understanding of these debates after identifying it as a weak point in my judging and coaching abilities. I have a new appreciation for competition debates, process CPs, conditionality, and the like, and I’m looking forward to judging more counterplan/disad strategies! Please slow down a little on the frontlines that are rapid-fire analytics and the 2AC/2NC theory blocks.

I can conceptually come to terms with 2NC counterplans in response to 2AC add-ons, but I don’t like them very much, and I would prefer to avoid debates that require new cards going into the 2NR/2AR.

On theory debates about counterplan planks, perm severance & intrinsicness, etc. I will default to reject the argument until you make an argument for reject the team.

Disadvantages & Impact Comparison

I want to understand your scenario as early in the debate as possible, so please make it clear and explain the link chain. You should have an explanation of the story of the disadvantage that is as concrete and jargon-free as possible, especially at the top of the 2NR.

Impact comparison should be composed of persuasive arguments, not a magnitude-probability-timeframe-turns case checklist.

I am a student at New England School of Law Boston. I graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in political science. I debated for 3 years at New Mission High School out of Boston. In a round, I look for confidence. I'm cool with any type of argument. I tend to vote on the flow. Please make sure your explanations are clear. Give me an impact calc!!

I want you to tell me why I should vote on certain arguments. Again, any type of argument is fine with me. Topicality, kritiks, Da's, CP's, and theory are all fine with me and I understand them when ran. Speaking wise, if you spread, make sure you at least go over your tag-lines slowly so that I can mark that down on the flow. Also, please stand during speeches and cross-ex. That's all. Let's all have a good time. Any other questions, feel free to ask me before the round.

Yes I want to be on the email chain: maeveknowlton@gmail.com

Slow down during your blocks.

Please :) better yet send them if you want.

General

Background: currently a college debater at Suffolk

5 years of judging experience

3 years middle school urban debate
3 years high school national circuit

Cross is open unless its a maverick or someone requests that it be closed.

She/Her please

PLEASE sign post(say which argument you talk to when changing topics) during your speeches. If I look confused I probably am.

please give roadmaps. Roadmap for 1nc = how many offs then case. Roadmaps for any other speech is the order of arguments being addressed.

Assume that I know nothing going into the round. I won't debate for you in the RFD, you need to explain to me why you win on certain arguments in the round.

You can run any arguments in front of me, including Ks.

I guess I'm a tech over truth judge but in a good round a distinction doesn't need to be made. You need to explain to me why you won in the context of the debate and not just why your argument is true, especially for Ks and framework.

Incase you're wondering, I was a K debater in high school on both aff and neg for most of my career. And I also am very critical of poorly made Ks, so be warned. I do college debate now and do more policy but still do K.

Be nice! Especially in novice. If you are varsity be clever/charming/funny. Make the environment enjoyable to be in for everyone.

Arguments

K: My biggest thing with Ks is that out of round impacts need to be argued very very well for me to vote for them, because as someone who's been in the debate scene for years, they're quite literally just not true. If you win the out of round impacts then I'll vote for it but it will be nearly impossible to convince me that out of round spill over exists unless you literally show it. I've judged these arguments for 5 years, it's not going to pull my heart strings. I heavily prefer in round impacts/fiated K impacts. You'll be more successful and the debate will be more interesting for everyone. Additionally, I've judged a lot of butchered and watered down versions of Ks that are painful to watch, so if you're going to run a K please read the literature or at least debate with someone who has. A poorly articulated K is the most boring round to judge.

• K AFFs: I can definitely be a good judge for you and I love K affs but things you should know 1) Your aff should have a specific reason to be on the aff. please do not just copy and paste your 1nc(and vice versa) 2) You should have a clear reason for the ballot. 3) If your aff is a method of political resistance you should be clear on what it is or isn't. Vagueness will hurt your chances at a ballot with me.If the debate is K v Kaff, please do not lose track of A) tech and B) the actual rundown of your aff. If the synopsis of your aff changes mid round I will notice. The worst K affs are slippery advocacy's that don't argue for anything in particular and don't know what they want to be until the 1ar.
• Performance: I love good performance debates! however, I can't listen to music over your speech because I am autistic. I love good performance debates though! Feel free to send the lyrics and if you tell me what the value of the music is in the speech. If the music has an influence over the ballot or argument I will evaluate it as if I had heard it. You should also be prepared to explain why the performance of the aff is integral to it's solvency/advocacy. Performances that stop being talked about after the 1ac are boring and defeat the purpose.

Framework: Framework arguments matter a lot to me and I will consider them heavily while voting. if you're running a K along the lines of "reject aff's thinking" or "embrace this mindset" and you don't explain what that means to me in terms of voting (role of the ballot) then I will vote you down. If you don't explain the voters of your framework then I can't evaluate it. Even if you win on framework the other team can still win under it. "Dropping framework" does not mean you win the round unless you explain to me why your framework being used frames how I judge the round in the result of a ballot for you.

T: Feel free to run topicality in front of me, but A) I buy into reasonability pretty often and B) if you claim to be unprepared for the most common aff in the year I will keep that in mind while evaluating the T.Fairness and clash are internal links,not impacts

CP: You can run CPs, but be clear on the competition to the aff and/or net benefit. More harsh on PICS than regular CPs but you can still run them.

Theory: You need to show real examples of abuse and its effect on the round. Truth vs teched is swapped here for me, though tech still matters. Unless there's a serious breach of ethics in the round I will most likely ignore it. However please do run it if there is because I love voting down unethical teams.

• Disclosure: if I witness an active refusal, or if they break new last second then I'll give it attention, but if it's A) a novice prelim round or B) a minor mistake I won't take it to seriously.
• Spreading: Will only evaluate it if you request an accommodation and the other team refuses or ignores it. If you don't request a lower speed before the round I will most likely not buy this argument, almost every round at a tournament I'm judging at, spreading should be expected.
• Condo: Show specific examples of condo making the round worse, things like contradicting arguments (especially K/theory/T), arguments being randomly picked up and dropped, etc.
• PICS bad: if your pic is literally just "AFF plus another thing" and not an actual different method testing that the aff can engage with without being extra topical or debating themself, you will be vulnerable to losing to this theory if I am your judge. Most PICs are not that bad but I've seen some pretty abusive pics.
• Perm bad: a very hard maybe. If the perm is lazy I can buy it. if the alt/cp is vague and doesn't have clear competition I won't.

I will update this if I see a new theory argument (there's always something)

DA: I haven't seen a 2nr go for DA not as a net benefit to a CP in a long time. they're basically just parts of the CP shells now, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just what I expect. keep in mind that the magnitude of the impact is usually the least important part of the DA for me. Uniqueness>>>Impact Risk and timeframe has much more weight in terms of impact framing. Extinction has no weight on the ballot unless every other part of the DA is sound, don't just keep rambling about how big of a deal it is because I don't care. Talk about links and uniqueness, FINISH THE SHELL.

Speaker Points

I tend to give pretty high speaks if you do well.

If you ask good cross-ex questions I may give you more points, and I understand cross can be intense, but being overly aggressive or rude in cross is a VERY big ick to me and can deduct major speaker points.

If you straight up lie about something in the round continuously and it isn't a mistake, then I will be annoyed and will drop speaks. I.E misinterpreting something they said in cross, lying about the flow/arguments dropped, etc.

Nathan Fulton's Policy/Parli Judging Paradigm

I sometimes volunteer as a high school or college debate judge. This document explains how I evaluate rounds.

Debate Background: I was a policy debater in high school. In college I competed with moderate success in NPTE-style parli (argumentative and delivery style are very similar to policy). I graduated a long time ago, did a bit of assistant coaching shortly thereafter, and since then I've judged a couple tournaments every year or two. Which is to say: experienced but rusty!

Argument Preferences: This is your game. Tell me how you want to be evaluated. If you do not tell me, then I will default to my own view of what debate is. By default, debate as an educational game that is particularly good at teaching its players research skills and critical reasoning skills. I also view debate as a less than ideal game for teaching rhetoric and inter-personal communication skills. This means that I am open to evaluating all types of arguments, place a huge premium on argument quality, and place less of an emphasis on presentation. I will typically default to evaluating arguments as you would expect from a judge with substantial policy debate experience and no old-school theory commitments. But, again, this is the default. it's your game. You can reduce the likelihood of surprises in my RFD by clearly articulating how I should be evaluating arguments presented in the round.

Above all, please be kind and have fun.

If you have any questions, just ask.

Speed: I have no objections and can generally follow along, but I have been out of the debate world for over a decade. I get slower at flowing every year. I will let you know if I am falling behind.

Philosophically: speed can be used to play a game where there are complex interactions between lots of inter-related topics that cannot be disentangled (finance, technology, law, policy, politics, geopolitics, etc.). Speed can also be used to play a game where a smaller number of topics are explored in extraordinary detail. Both of these games are very useful preparation for citizenship and for professional life. Unfortunately, playing enough of these games to learn useful skills without using speed is prohibitively time-consuming. So in my mind speed is just this weird tool we use to make debates more interesting and textured without needing 4 hour rounds.

But practically: speed is self-defeating when it's used as a cudgel. I love giving W's when there is a sneaky triple turn across 4 different flows that requires understanding several hidden nuances in two seemingly disparate internal link scenarios, and which could only be evaluated because both teams correctly and efficiently executed on dropping other parts of the flow. I hate giving W's due to the 2AC running out of a time and didn't make it to the silly procedural at the bottom of ADV 3. I think that using speed in rounds where one of the teams is clearly incapable of keeping up -- and then continuing to move quickly while asking for a ballot on the basis of a dropped argument -- is both bad form and unkind. If a key drop happens in a round and it is clear that your opponents are struggling to keep up, please point out the drop but then continue with the round at a slower pace on the areas where there is contention so that everyone can still learn.

Personal Background: I work as a computer scientist at the intersection of artificial intelligence and software safety; you can read more about my work at https://safelearning.ai

Welcome to my paradigm—if you’re here I’m probably about to judge you, or you’re about to do prefs/strikes. I’m Amishai (pronounced ah-me-SHY, he/him) call me Amishai or "judge" I don't care.

ADD ME TO THE CHAIN AND FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE OR AFTER ROUNDS:
Agoodmangoldstein@gmail.com

My paradigm is long. It is probably the longest you have read.

Don't want to read it all? Say so and I will just quickly walk all debaters through it pre-round, no problem at all--otherwise I will assume you have read it and adjudicate accordingly. This is ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR NOVICES AND MIDDLE SCHOOLERS--don't be intimidated, I am here to help you and not just judge you.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

BIOGRAPHY:

I am a political science and theory student at American University and am a volunteer coach in the Washington Urban Debate League. I was most recently head coach of the policy debate team at MacArthur High School in Washington DC (Fall 2023). I was assistant coach for middle schoolers at Boston’s Mission Hill School (closed now) for a year (2019-2020) and a lab leader for the Boston Debate League's summer program in 2023. I have judged intermittently since Fall 2019, at all levels and divisions.

I debated policy for six years in the Boston Debate League (2017-2023), including as team captain for Latin Academy, and now do college parliamentary debate in the American Parliamentary Debate Association as well as coaching HS policy. I’m also a former moot court advocate with national awards, former high school history teaching assistant, historic home docent, and Democratic political organizer.

I’ve judged approximately 20 rounds under the fiscal redistribution resolution in multiple leagues, tournaments, and divisions and am very well versed in it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

READ THIS IF NOT A POLICY ROUND--IF IT IS POLICY (really, only policy), SKIP TO PARADIGM!

I am primarily a policy judge, so if you have me for anything other than policy (or public forum), the round will probably move slower. I am very proficient in moot court and American parliamentary debate as well, so if I happen to be judging one of those you can treat me as an experienced judge. If it is a speech event or any type of debate other than CX, LD, PF, or Parli, however, please treat me as if I am a lay judge in how you operate, ie slow down and explain. That said, I still have some confidence in my ability to handle complex issues and theory, and if I am confused, I will tell you. Read the paradigm below for good measure either way.

Note: I am fine with complex arguments in public forum and do not ascribe to the principle that a member of the general public should necessarily be able to understand every round--this can be cross-applied to any debate I judge. Debate is an academic activity, it is not a speech event.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LD and PF debaters: I am judging you with the lens of a policy debater and judge. My preferences for policy below can be cross-applied. This is NOT true for parli as I am a collegiate parliamentary debater also and will typically use the “path of least resistance” method to determine the most meaningful argument which has gone insufficiently addressed by a side and assign the winner accordingly.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

POLICY COMPETITORS READ THIS (if you don’t read this you might have a very avoidable loss. You’ve been warned)

I know I can be unique in this, but: I don’t evaluate arguments in a vacuum unless you can really convince me that I should, if you run discrete K, framework, and CP that all kind of contradict each other it’s going to be difficult for me to vote for you unless you do a really killer job of it, because I think debate shouldn’t be a game of throwing a bunch of sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks. In other words, I will be considering all of your arguments in the same universe, and if they can’t coexist in that universe, you are going to lose. This makes me more of a truth judge than a tech judge, but I also don’t think these labels are great because I might vote more like a tech judge in a given round--I may simply "vote on the flow" if a round is extremely close, or if it is particularly dull and uninspiring clash-wise.

I don’t typically flow author names, extend by referencing warrants--please. I flow online and often in shorthand so my flow will likely be of little use to you, but I am happy to walk you through it if you ask afterwards. I am a quick typer but you need to clearly tell me what is case and what is off or I will do bare minimum figuring out what goes where. Constant on case—off case and back again jumping is confusing and will likely lead to some mistakes on the flow, and it’s bad speech organization so your speaks probably will suffer.

I am comfortable with just about any type of argument.

Ks are perfectly fine. I am pretty well versed in foundational Western political theory and a little bit of Chinese philosophy but not so much the literature base that appears in most Ks, though I am still happy to handle Ks, if your K is very generic I'll have seen it, if not I can still work with it and will understand the concepts at least at the elementary level.

I like framework and am happy to vote on quality framework debate.

I AM the judge you want for topicality as a frequent former T debater—do it well, be accurate, and I WILL be willing to vote on T (usually in combination with other things but I have given ballots solely on T on rare occasions).

I do not love conditionality but I am not averse to it, run that condo if you feel it’s necessary, I might scowl but I’ll be fine.

CAVEAT: IF YOU DO NOT FORMALLY, PROPERLY SET UP YOUR K/T/FRAMEWORK/ANY OTHER OFF I AM LIKELY NOT GOING TO BE CONSIDERING IT AND IT IS GOING TO BE AN AUTO-WIN FOR YOUR OPPONENT.

This is also true if you run extremely high theory on an inexperienced opponent without going through necessary motions to explain and make the round accessible! I come from an urban debate background, basic fairness and accessibility is a real issue to me. But so are the rules. Example: I’ll have more tolerance for a sloppy alt if you’re a new to varsity urban league debater than if you’ve competed at nats.

Judge kick: sure, if you can convince me that there’s a good reason beyond not wanting to argue on whatever you want me to kick

Competition args on CPs: yes please, just give me good clash and give me solid extensions (not lazy ones) even if aff doesn’t respond well

Disclosure (of case) is good in policy debate, and I am not going to be open to arguments that it isn’t good, nor am I very open to arguments that disclosure is only good or should only be done for a certain category/demographic of debater.

PLEASE don’t be too heavy on analytics in constructive. I know when you’re being lazy and making up for lack of cards. It’s tough to flow and it’s low quality debate. Find the balance and your analytics will support your evidence, but your analytics cannot take the place of evidence. If your constructive sounds like a rebuttal, you can assume I will not take kindly.

PET PEEVE: when a policy round consists of zero clear overlap or clash on the flow. This happens way way way more often than you would think. If this happens, I will typically take it out on speaks. CLASH. LOOK AT FLOW. DID I SAY CLASH? OK GOOD

WEIGHING, LINE BY LINE, IMPACT CALC AND VOTERS
Do it. You do it, other team doesn’t do it, you’re not guaranteed a win but your chances go way up. Judges are lazy—do the work on the flow for me. If there’s no semblance of basic impact calc/weighing/voters, I will vote on the flow alone with bare minimum weighing and you may not like the decisions I make because I don’t have any guidance from you on how to weigh different args. WRITE MY WHOLE RFD TOP TO BOTTOM IN YOUR 2AR/2NR, DOWN TO THE SMALLEST PARTS OF THE DECISION (not literally writing it, but tell me what you think should be in it).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Style and Sportsmanship:

I’m fine with spreading, but if you’re spreading so fast you’re literally gasping for air that’s not healthy for you (literally) and it’s going to hurt my flow. On a 1-10 of speed, my own preference is around a 6 BUT if you need to go slower to be clear and effective you should absolutely do so. If I can't understand you, I will tell you to slow down only once, and if you don’t adapt you’re accountable for my flow having huge gaps. In addition, you need to signpost, if you do not at least read the tag, it is highly likely that I will not catch all of your arguments which will hurt your overall chances in the round.

* I NO LONGER GIVE ANY TIME WARNINGS OUTSIDE OF HIGH SCHOOL NOVICE OR MIDDLE SCHOOL ROUNDS. * In any disputes over time, my timer will still overrule yours.

Stand when you speak, sit when you speak, wear a suit, wear pajama pants--I legitimately do not care. The only thing ever so slightly related to physical appearance that will affect my decision is if you appear visibly annoyed at something your partner or opponent does in round, hit the table, loudly sigh, etc. This happens frequently, is extremely poor sportsmanship and I will call it out with zero hesitation person by person in feedback.

Clash is good, personal attacks are not. If any conduct negatively influences the debate so much that I have to address it mid round, it will hurt your speaker points and possibly your overall chances. This seems to happen most frequently during cross examination, by far. It’s fine to try to back your opponent into a corner but don’t be personally hostile while doing it! I will not hesitate to call you out, but it's not fun for me and it is embarrassing for you and your team. I will GLEEFULLY give you a 25/26 if you, a skilled national circuit debater with tons of full on tournament wins, bully your opponents in cross (this happened, if it sounds oddly specific). I will do it even more gleefully if you have more structural advantages in your favor.

THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS BUTIT KEEPS HAPPENING: if cross ex is open you and your partner both need to be asking and answering questions. You can choose to split the CX periods and have only one person talk in each one but IF ONE PERSON DOES ALL OR 75%+ OF CX TALKING, I WILL REDUCE SPEAKER POINTS FOR BOTHTEAM MEMBERS.

Just because I may seem personally inclined to certain ideological arguments DOES NOT mean I am going to vote for them by default. I like authentically contrarian/conservative cases a lot, as long as they aren't bigoted and are well reasoned/argued.

If your argument is grounded in calling your opponents racist or bigoted in some inherent manner, there better be a good case to back it up. (I don't mean settler colonialism args--I mean "aff should lose because they are x demographic and thus are racist")

Openly bigoted arguments will automatically lose. This includes explicit racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, etc, which, if bad enough, will make me end the round then and there. There's plenty of room to debate controversial policy on tough issues without making bigoted arguments.

I will NOT flow or vote on cross examination. I will closely observe it for the purpose of awarding speaks, but if you extract an important concession, contradiction etc and never bring it up in constructive/rebuttal, it’ll be like I didn’t hear it. And I will tell you that, disappointedly, when I give feedback. This approach hopefully forces you to not try to argue during cross and instead use it how you are supposed to—to help understand arguments and extract pieces to build your own.

There are no dumb questions until the round starts. Please try to clarify everything you need to with me prior to the 1AC.

I look at your speech doc as you read in addition to flowing, so I can and will catch you if you clip cards which will result in an auto-loss. Reminder—clipping and cutting are not the same! Being explicit that you are cutting a card is fine, deceptively clipping lines in your card and/or selectively choosing to read certain words with others to make the card say something it doesn’t actually say is certainly not fine. If you catch your opponent clipping or doing any other sort of evidence violation, say so! Don’t wait for your next speech. Just say it as soon as they’re done talking so I can review the cards and proceed according to NSDA rules.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SPEAKS/DECISION/POSTROUND

I'm lenient with speaks. Yes, there’s a debate-wide problem of speaks inflation, but unless a tournament addresses it holistically with a clear rubric to evaluate debaters, I won't be the judge who denies a good debater a speaker award. This does not mean free 28s-30s but I typically don't give below a 27 in a round without major debater errors, so don't worry too much. Speak how you're comfortable. I won't penalize slow and steady speakers. I will penalize fast and unintelligible speakers. I'll NEVER penalize based on taking a second to catch your breath/find your place, or word pronunciation confusion/accents.

I’ll disclose my decision if I’m required to or it’s the general standard of the tournament. If it’s not, I won’t. I won't disclose speaks unless required to. Doing so detracts from the point of feedback--to improve your debating in substantive ways.

Asking questions after my decision and feedback is fine, especially if you’re confused as to why I voted how I did. If I can’t disclose, I unfortunately can’t answer a lot of questions except those about style and general argument choices. If you actually “postround” and argue with me, however, I will tell your coach and tab and give you no speaks. If your coach comes in and postrounds me, I will leave the room immediately, give you no speaks and tournament staff/tab will be informed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FINAL WORDS

Please have fun. We are not debating the end of the world (even if we are). We’ve all chosen to take time out of our day to be in the debate space. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously in it, and we'll all have a better time.

Good with anything, speeed- make sure that you are clear and I can hear what you say.

Topicality: 

Explain why its abusive in the round and why it matters to the debate as a whole.

Policy/fiat/USGF affs:

tell me why policy making is the best thing ever/ why it's preferable to the Neg's roll of the judge and ballot/etc. Explain your permutations, what they look like, how they work, why it functions.

Case:

Case Debate is important, make sure that you engage in it!

K/DA

Give good link analysis, the more links that you have specific to the case the aff is running the better, if you only have generic links then I probably will not vote for it so make sure you focus on the link and alternative debate.

Brandon Ren--brandondebate25@gmail.com (add me to the chain duh <3)

he/him/his

BUDL/BDL/BLA'24

UMass Amherst'28

***if you say "bawk bawk bitch", I will give you a 0.5 speaker point boost*** (Crazy Rich Asian Reference)

***Pref me higher for nontraditional/K teams (I'm fine with policy too)***

My background (if u even care lol)

I've debated for 6 years in the Boston Urban Debate League. So, to all my Urban debaters, YALL R A TROOPER!! Graduated and debated for Boston Latin Academy 2020-2024 locally and nationally in the Varsity CX circuit. I have ran Policy for 2 years and Ks/Kaffs for 4 years. Entering University of Massachusetts--Amherst as a freshman majoring in Legal Studies and a minor in Asian/Asian American Studies.

Short version

1) Experienced in judging traditional policy, Kritiks, and Kaffs

2)Not really a theory person and def not high theory, but if u run basic theory (like condo) I'm willing to evaluate especially if teams run 6+ offs (really need you to COOK IT THOROUGHLY)

3) Don't care about speed (just make sure it ain't sounding like an un-discovered language) or else I will yell clear two times before docking speaks (0.5), just let me silently cook on my paper

4) Pretty familiar with most K lit (Racial/Regular cap, Afropess, Model Minority, Techno-orientalism, Set col, Academy, Queer theory, etc.), but don't act like I know what it is bc I need y'all to be on your game. Don't let me catch u slacking 4k

5) Tech > Truth (if both teams are ahead in the tech debate, then truth will act as a tiebreaker) + Quality > Quantity

6) Make my job easy to do, don't force me to physically and mentally go through my messy asf flows

7) Any sort of evidence violation (Card-clipping, improper citation, and evidence misrepresentation) or NSDA Guideline violation WILL result in an automatic L <3

Long version (I'll try my best to not yap, but I can't promise anything)

1) Generally, I love clear instruction in the rebuttals about where you want me to focus my attention and how you want me to filter offense. For policy teams I think this is more about link and impact framing, and for more critical teams I think this is about considering the judge’s relationships to your theory/performance and being specific about their role in the debate.

2) I've obviously debated for quite a while (scarred for the rest of my life), so I've debated and judged both tradition and non-traditional styles of debate. However, I do have to say is that I get way too bored at traditional policy affs because it's so "typical". Everytime whenever an aff team say that its a policy aff it's like my mind automatically maps out the general idea of what's going to happen.I'm willing to entertain your hypothetical, government, policymaker scheme tho don't get me wrong. IMO, impact calc is the best part when it comes to policy aff bc that's the only time where you're actually "alive" rather than just spreading through a bunch of cards like a machine. Impact calc allows me to better evaluate the aff and let you guys deliver your rebuttal in a organized fashion to answer the ultimate question: "why should I vote for your policy"? For DAs, give me a good and BOMBASS link story and impact calc.Paint me THE MURAL OF CATASTROPHE of all the shitshow that would happen if the AFF is passed or even considered and why that OUTWEIGHS EVERYTHING. For CPs, explain how your cp works better than the aff. If i can't recognize what the cp is, I will likely not vote on it.(Although I haven't personally ran things like Process CP, Advantage CP, or anything along the lines of those BUT I'm willing to vote on it as long as u EXPLAIN <3)

There's not much I can say on my preference when it comes to a traditional policy bc I really don't have much preference about it :p If you do have questions you want to ask me, please do so <3

On the other hand, I WILL EAT UP YOUR Ks and Kaffs. Like I am ✨OBSESSED✨with everything that goes in it. For the majority of my debate career, I've always been a K debater (and will always be) because the educational value you get out of this is truly unquantifiable and also the amount of creative autonomy you get creating these is what makes it all a beautiful process. I'm familiar with rage politics, disruption politics, utopian/dystopian world, poetry, performance, etc. However, during these debates I need y'all to have really flushed out arguments particularly the link debate and the alt/solvency debate. Being able to have more than 1 link gives you more room to manuever around, but having clear and flush out link stories on reasons why the aff or neg is problematic will make your life so much more easier especially when doing the perm debate.Within any Ks/Kaffs, the adv/alt is the essence of it all because that is where I get to imagine your world. SO TELL ME ABOUT IT. What does it look like? How does it operate? How does it resolve the link? WHY is this better than the aff? Explain your methodology. Tell me what my role in this space is and why that should be preferred. (I really love having fun if you couldn't tell)

3) I don't care if you're spreading or not just make sure it's not some other worldly language. I will shout clear twice before I start docking speaks (0.5). I'm fine with however many offs you want to run, (depending on how much you're running) but if I'm not looking at you here and there while you talk don't take it personal because I'm just trying to cook on my paper. I'm human, let's get over that fact that I don't have sonic speed handwriting. However, if your opponent (before the round) request for you to not spread, please don't spread on them. It is violent and I will dock 0.5 speaks for it. If the opponents makes it a voting issue, I am gladly to vote on it. Debate needs to be more accessible to EVERYONE, so don't be a dickhead <3

4) 2NR and 2AR should prioritize persuasiveness and condensing down your argument as much as you can. I (won't hold this against you, but I'll be annoyed) hate when the negative tries to juggle with more than 2 arguments as they approach the end. Strategically, it's overwhelming for your opponents, but obviously you would risk trading off your persuasive articulation on those few condensed arguments that you're actually winning on.

Case

1) I love myself some good case debate bc that's when your directly clashing and interacting with each others literature. Negative team should have a variety of arguments on every important case page there is. Simply saying states good isn't a "good enough" answer to a Kaff.

2) Please elaborate and extend the substance of your argument. "Dropped X means nuke war and case outweighs on magnitude" don't mean anything if you just say it like that. Like don't be dry and boring bc the juice is infront of you, just TELL ME WHYYYY(?)

3) Overview should only be present to help you accomplish something. Don't get me wrong, overviews are great. However, if they don't really serve a purpose, it rather serves as a time waster when you could be getting to more important things. If there's any long overview throughout the flows, please alert me (like I begggggg)

Framework

1) I think both sides should also clearly understand their relationship to the ballot and what the debate is supposed to resolve. At the end of the debate, I should be able to explain the model I voted for and why I thought it was better for debate. Any self-deemed prior questions should be framed as such. All of that is to say there is nothing you can do in this debate that I haven't probably seen so do whatever you think will win you the debate.

Performance + K Affirmatives

1) Love myself a good performance/Kaff. If the performance aspects is included as the aff's methodology, I will gladly evalute as if its like any other types of methodology. So please emphasize on it during or later on in the speech and make sure that I understand the importance of this methodology. At the end of the debate, I shouldn't be left feeling that the performative aspects were disconnected from debate and your chosen lit base

Kritik

Like I have said, I am a K debater deep down from the bottom of my BIG YELLOW ASIAN HEART, which means for K teams

1) I am well versed in many of the k literature used in debate. Even if I might not know your specific k literature, I will know what you're talking about when you explain and use the details of your theory.

2) Don't ever assume I'll do the work for you. At the end of the debate, there should be a clear link to the AFF, and an explanation of how your alternative solves the links

3) Please don't kick your alt (unless you really have to then ig I can't stop you :/). Links to the AFF’s performance, subject formation, and scholarship are fair games. SO this really has to be a life or death for you your mind even come across kicking the alt

**************************************************************
If you have any question, please feel free to reach out! Otherwise, good luck and have fun pookie(s)!!!!

Hey y'all,

Introduction: My name is Ariella Taylor and I am a freshman at Case Western Reserve University. I have experience running Ks (black futuristic stuff and afro pess) and regular policy cases.

Voting: Impact Calc and Internal link explanations are key for my vote. If the debate is coming down to fw please tell me how I am supposed to engage with these arguments, tell me what my role as a judge is in this round.

If you run - DA - CP - Inherency cards, I need you to explain to me why these arguments matter. Many Aff teams state a problem but do not articulate how their plan solves it. I will buy the internal link between the plan and solvency impacts if the neg does not bring it up, but if they even hint at it I will agree and concede to a huge gap in your case. I try to come into each round unbiased, in most cases, I will not care about (for example) whether black people can vote or not, or billions of people dying in a nuclear war if you do not tell me why I should care. Moreover, please please do not assume that I will just buy args because I am black, I will not.

* Note for the Aff: Please try to get to your solvency in the first speech

* Note for the Neg: Do impact calc on your Das and turns

* I will vote any team down for clear bullying.

Policy Debate wins I look for (how to impress):

1. Have fun!
2. Use of meaningful pauses and inflections during your Constructive presentation go a long way towards impressing me.
3. Ensure you Cross X as many of the arguments presented in the others team Constructive presentation as possible.
4. Try to use up most the time allotted to you. It is a shame when someone rushes through their Constructive presentation and has over half their time remaining.
5. Display of respect to your opponent and the effort they have taken to prepare and present during the debate.

Policy Debate concerns I look for (how NOT to impress):

1. Mundane and/or monotone reading of Constructive presentation from paper or laptop.
2. Not showing eye contact when presenting.
3. Use of personal slights or offensivelanguage meant to intimidate others.
4. Showing little interest in material or position being represented.

Certifications:

NFTS Speech & Debate

Course Work:

NFTS Adjudicating Speech & Debate

NFTS Coaching Speech & Debate

NFTS Speech & Debate Event Management

NFTS After School Security

NFTS Bullying, Hazing and Inappropriate Behaviors

NFTS Protecting Students from Abuse

NFTS Implicit Bias

NTFS Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention

NTFS Cultural Competence

Add me to the email chain - sabrinasabrinazhang@gmail.com

 

My past debate experience:

• 4 years of policy debate at Lexington High School
• My senior year I qualified for NDCA and the TOC national debate tournaments
• Competed in 25+ tournaments, if you want more detail, ask me about it when I judge you
• I am currently affiliated with Lexington High School in MA

 

Last topic debated: China topic 2016-17, I know nothing about education policy so please define acronyms during the 1AC and CX and describe lesser-known acts on education 

This was my wiki from last year if this would help you: https://hspolicy16.debatecoaches.org/Lexington/Gao-Zhang+Neg

 

I was a 2N and my favorite debate arguments were:

• Case-specific turns (I will vote on a flushed-out case turn)
• Well-researched DAs
• A specific CP + a generic DA
• Cap K
• Commodification/Tuck & Yang

  ***NOTE: PLEASE DEBATE WHAT YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH***

• I am a very good judge for anything you may want to run and I evaluate everything - I have written out some things that I am more/less persuaded by below, but please do not let that deter you from running what you are comfortable with - if you debate it better than your opponent then I will vote for you!!

 

GENERAL THINGS

• I want to be added to the email chain but I will not be looking at cards unless I have to at the end of the debate - it is your job to explain cards throughout the debate, a good card will not save you if you didn't debate it well
• I prefer technical debate - this means that if you have a sketchy I/L that wasn't answered I would vote on it, this DOES NOT mean that you can make arguments like "they dropped it, we win" - you have to flush out every argument even if it was dropped
• Know your evidence - extend the best cards throughout speeches, know what they are saying - I dislike when teams are questioned about evidence and they don't know how to answer questions - it's just awkward so make sure you read your evidence before hand
• I reward good research/preparation - this usually is granted through the speaks I give you - I think that debate is fundamentally a research/prep activity and debate is only fun and educational when both teams come into the debate prepared - Please have specific answers to arguments
• I WILL ONLY SAY CLEAR ONCE - Please be clear after that!!! If you don't listen to me when I say clear, that is your problem. Your speaker points will be affected and you will potentially lose the ballot (depends on how much of your arguments I can actually flow)
• Take advantage of CX time!!! It is not just a time for "extra prep" - this is the BEST time to poke holes in your opponents' arguments and establish flaws in them - I love good CXs
• Make your speeches easy to flow - do line by line, sign post, be clear when you are moving on, etc
• PLEASE DO IMPACT CALCULUS - I don’t care what argument you go for - tell me at the top of your speech what your impacts are and why they matter

 

SPEAKER POINT RANGE

• I tend to give out points generously, so please give me a reason to give you higher points - I assign speaker points on these factors: making smart arguments, asking good questions and follow-up questions, being a likable person, speaking clearly
• < 27.0 - you are rude and unlikable, please learn manners
• 27.0-27.5 - you have a lot of potential in debate, but you are still learning the ropes and it is clear you are confused about arguments/debate - keep at it!
• 27.5-28.0 - good debater but still shaky - you are missing some key arguments that you need in the round and you are making some mistakes, but I can tell that you are working on improving
• 28.0-28.5 - good debater but you made a mistake(s) that was avoidable
• 28.5-29 - great debater, but not doing anything exceptionally smart - I think you deserve to be in elims of the tournament
• 29.0-29.5 - amazing debater, you are making the right arguments and are efficient in doing so - you have a ton of potential and I believe you should be in the top 10 speakers
• 29.5-30.0 - you are making arguments that are too good not to vote for, you are the best debater and I think you deserve to win top speaker and all the tournaments from here on out

 

TOPICALITY

• I really love T debates when they are done correctly - this means that both teams must have offense on why their counterinterpretation is better
• Please have a caselist on the neg and please explain why each aff you choose is good for the topic whereas the aff team's is not - Caselists should be carefully thought out before the debate
• If you are aff against topicality, have offense, do not just extend reasonability and pray I will vote for it
• If you are neg in the above scenario, please go for T - don't shy away from topicality debates!!

 

DISADVANTAGES

• I think that the link determines the direction of uniqueness - In that regard, please have a strong link to the aff (have a specific card)
• Politics DAs - I love politics disadvantages, but make sure your evidence is recent - in these debates usually the most recent evidence is the best evidence - Establish a clear internal link chain in the 1NC and keep to the same story - Side note: I will not vote on politics theory even if it is the entirety of the 2AR
• I think the best DA is an aff-specific DA - this is where I want you to show off your extensive preparation - if you have a DA based on the implementation of the plan with good evidentiary support, I would likely be persuaded by it
• Aff teams - If you are going to go for a turn on a DA, you have to have evidence supporting your turn, make sure you have impact defense and link arguments when you answer a DA

 

  COUNTERPLANS

• I believe in sufficiency framing - this does not mean I vote neg on every counterplan, because I hold a very high threshhold for CP solvency - You have to spend a lot of time proving how your CP solves the impacts of the aff - on the aff side this means you have to prove why it doesn't solve/aff method is better
• Not the biggest fan of generic CPs because more often than not they don't solve - Please have a solvency card on the neg specific to the aff
• If you have multiple planks, it is my pet peeve when teams don't read a solvency advocate (s) that advocate for all of the planks
• COUNTERPLAN THEORY - here are some things I am convinced by in terms of theory - One conditional advocacy is good, Conditional planks are bad, and object fiat is bad - In general, I can be convinced by any other theory argument - Please don't be afraid of going for theory in front of me

 

KRITIKS

• I think that it is extremely important to be able to test how the aff makes decisions - I would vote off of FW if it is impacted out
• Links - I think that the link debate is the most important part of a K - Please make your links as specific as possible, and please make as many links as you can - it helps if your links are carded as well, but I will evaluate well-thought out analytical links as well - I do not like links of omission or generic "state bad" or "state is capitalist" links, I might vote on them but I think that is lazy debating
• Alternative - Please do not kick out of your alternative - I've voted on teams who have done that before, but it is really risky and if you are going to spend the time to explain why you don't have to win the alternative, you have the time to extend it
• Permutations - Don't have competing ideologies in the 1NC because then I am almost compelled to vote for the permutation do both, if you are aff, please extend a permutation but make sure you address links in order to go for the permutation as your main strategy
• I will NOT evaluate an impact turn if you are making an argument like "racism good" or "imperialism good" - that would be a big no-no in my book and you will get zero speaker points and a stern lecture
• If you want to read a high-theory K, please explain it in the context of the topic, please do not put together buzzwords that don't form full sentences, this is a huge pet-peeve of mine
• If you are aff, make sure you have answers on all parts of the K and make sure you can justify your assumptions to make in your aff
• I also dislike overviews that are more than 2 minutes long - I hate getting out a new sheet for an overview, this is not debate this is a rant and you are avoiding clash entirely by doing this

 

KRITIKAL AFFS/FRAMEWORK

• I really like hearing Kritikal affirmatives, and even though I debated mostly policy affs during my four years, I am open to listening to any affirmative you may have
• Please relate to the topic in some way - Mention it briefly, it's not hard, explain why you couldn't defend changing education policy - I believe that this helps you against potential framework arguments
• FRAMEWORK - I think fairness can be an impact on its own, but there is a high standard you have to prove that you just couldn't have debated and the debate should be over just because of the aff - It would be better if you use fairness as an internal link to other impacts - Have TVAs to make your argument better - Contextualize all your answers in the context of what the aff is
• AT FRAMEWORK - Have a lot of DAs to their interpretation of debate - contextualize everything to your aff - Explain why whatever you're doing is good for debate/why debate is bad now - Have a counterinterpretation/counter ROB as well, they are good to have and extend even if your counterinterpretation isn't a strong argument

 

TLDR; Make smart arguments and be good people!