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.

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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.

Experience:

I did 2 years of Lincoln Douglas, 2 years of Public Forum. My partner and I competed at NSDA Nationals 2021 and 2022 and qualified to Public Forum TOC in 2022. I now mentor with Boston Green Academy's High School novice team as part of the Boston Debate League.

For Varsity:

Unsurprising preferences:

• Engage meaningfully with the substance of your opponents' arguments ("I want to see clash")
• At the end of the round, I will vote for the team with the strongest link to the most important impact. This means I need terminal impacts extended into the final speech and weighing done to tell me which ones are most important.
• Use your final speech to write my RFD for me. Tell me what is still standing in the debate and why it means I should vote for you.
• Don't steal prep
• Tech > truth, if I have to pick one, but like, don't read bad arguments. Debate is still a game of persuasion, and true arguments are more persuasive than untrue arguments.

Other preferences:

• If you are called on an evidence ethics violation I will weigh that heavily in my decision. Debate relies on a high degree of self-regulation and trust because there is only so much time in-round to review evidence. If you have ethically questionable evidence in your case, remove or revise it before your round with me.
• I'll flow CX. It's part of the debate for a reason and if anyone makes a really good point in CX I'm not gonna pretend I didn't hear it. But ideally save me the trouble and bring it up in your speech.
• I would love to see a collapse to theory! I will heavily reward a good theory debate with high speaks. There are real conversations to be had about what norms are best for maintaining the fairness and education of debate, and the round is a great platform for those.
• I have limited (but nonzero) experience with K's, so I won't be able to fill in the blanks for you if your story is not clear and convincing. I will happily vote on a kritik, I just need a clear and convincing reason as to why I should vote for you.

For Novice/JV:

Know your case!

Before the round, you should try to summarize in a single paragraph (you can do this in your head) what the story is for voting aff or neg. If you could explain to me over coffee in like 60 seconds what your case is about and why it matters, you will be way more comfortable reading it, responding to rebuttals, making rebuttals, surviving CX, and so on.

In general, I vote for the team with the strongest link to the most important impact. So the most important thing to do in the round is give me that 30-60 second summary, in one or both of the later speeches. Ultimately, I decide a winner based on my own explanation of why I'm voting aff or neg (the RFD), so if your story isn't clear, I won't be able to justify a vote for your side.

liv (pronounced "leave") birnstad – livbirnstaddebate@gmail.com

any pronouns

washington (DC) urban debate league '23

harvard '27

'23 National Urban Debater of the Year

For LD

I have now judged one LD tournament (Newark '24), im a policy judge who is good for your Ks or more trad LD Strats, but I won't be able to get the tricks debate.

For college policy

I didn't/don't do college debate so I am not familiar with the college topic at all. it's your burden to explain acronyms or any other norms I might miss becuase of that!

TL;DR

debaters stop stealing prep challenge. level: impossible. ☹

i coach the boston debate league's nat circuit team + some WUDL folks

i'll happily evaluate anything, i just care about you having fun and being kind to your opponents. debate isn't always a safe space so anything you do that legitimately harms the safety of the space will deck your speaks and make you lose.

read my face, im very expressive lol

if there is something I see in your speech that appears to be legitimately harmful/violent language, or justifies violence, my ballot is not yours.

I wouldn't consider myself to be too tech-heavy. speed is fine but make sure arguments are warranted out -- I want everything on my flow.

speed? – sure

open cx? – sure

theory? – sure but i wouldn't say im a theory hack

can i read __? – yes, just read it well

tech > truth? – i’ll reward good debate and i encourage you to just make fully warranted arguments above all else.

tell me how to evaluate the round.

Full Version

bio

i debated all of highschool in the washington urban debate league so accessibility is really important to me (see below). i coach multiple HS teams and some middle schoolers which means I will hold you to higher threshold for tolerable nonsense since youre likely not eleven.

i read policy affs all four years but was much more flex on the neg. my entire senior year i only went for a K. did all the nat circuit things and generally care a lot about the activity so feel free to do what you want and do best.

stealing prep

dont do it. if it seems like you are close to stealing prep (i.e. maybe you're not outright stealing prep, but you're using send time very liberally, or anything else sketch. i.e. typing while the other team is in the bathroom and you're not running prep) and i have to remind you more than once, you're losing .2 speaker points each time.

accessibility…

comes before everything else. if youre debating a paper team w/o a computer – make sure there is a way they can access your ev. if you fail to do this i’ll deck your speaks and give the other team much more leniency.

accessibility also means not reading arguments drenched in violence (in any sense) without checking if that is ok for the other teams. this is especially true for teams that read arguments about sexual violence.

speaker points

while policy isnt always seen as one, it IS a speech act, your speaking matters. being technical will help you get speaks but its not enough if youre trying to get 29s or higher. fyi, if you can’t already tell by the way i type, i love, love, LOVE good use of emphasis lol

BE NICE. debaters that are mean in round are not gonna be getting good speaks. being mean shouldnt help you and i won’t reward it.

the k

do whatever you want. win fw. when EVERYTHING, inevitably, become a link in the block, distill it down to like two by the 2NR to make me happy! be warned that i hate psychoanalysis and think that a lot of high-theory ks are annoying as hell. going for high-theory ks is a risk in front of me, dont assume i know the lit or your jargon.

K affs

i never read them but i think theyre super interesting and am happy to evaluate one!

the kritik should be a space of advocacy – not speaking for others. teams taking the literature specific to an identity that they do not hold and completely misinterpreting it is weird. (not saying its bad to explore literature... just don’t do it poorly)

if you read an aff that uses things like songs, poetry, etc, you're good to do that in front of me.

cross x…

Is my FAVORITE part of debate so please, please, PLEASE utilize it well!

6,7,8+ off

I generally believe these kinds of debates are shallow and don't actually give teams as much leverage as they think apart from a time skew. while theory is not my bread and butter (see below) ill be a lil more lenient with condo with 6+ off.

theory

i'm admittedly not a great judge for theory, especially the "specs." if you wanna go for this, you have to GO FOR IT. actually articulate the impacts and the warrants to how they are implicated by whatever your violation is. get off your blocks.

card clipping/evidence ethics

if someone makes a card clipping accusation in the round (or another evidence ethics violation) i will stop the round after the speech in which it occurs, explain the stakes to the team that makes the accusation, and if they decide to continue with the accusation i'll evaluate the argument. if it gets to that point, i'll see if the cards were clipped. if so, the team that makes the accusation wins, if not, they lose.

silly/fun args?

please! debate is supposed to be enjoyable and i love silly little arguments just know the time and place.

misc

I don't see myself voting on things that happened before the reading of the 1ac. if you’re gonna make args about the other team from before the round, it's gonna be hard to get my vote on these args so make them with caution.

if the round doesn’t go the way you want, i would be happy to listen to a redo + give feedback just send it to me within a week.

Hello! My email is mosieburkebdl@gmail.com - Please add me to the chain!

I debated for six years, high school and middle school, in the Boston Debate League for Boston Latin Academy, attending national circuit tournaments for four of those six years. I graduated from Haverford College in 2021 with a degree in Philosophy and a minor in Statistics, and wrote a thesis offering Deleuzian (and related) readings of data visualizations. I received a Master's in Accounting/MBA from Northeastern University in 2022 (despite loving the Cap K).

I began coaching the Boston Debate League's Travel Team, which is composed of teams from multiple schools in the Boston area, in Fall 2022. I coached for Boston Collegiate Charter School during the 2021-2022 season.

Short version:

-I lean K, and I will know your K's lit base. This increases your burden to explain your theory well, and I will not do theoretical work for you in my RFD

-I was a 1N who took T in 95% of my 1NRs and I will understand and appreciate your tricks

-Evidence comparison will get you much farther than 15 new 1nr cards

-Solid development on the case pages gets great results

-Speed and tons of off-case positions are okay. Read the important warrants in your cards.

-I'm not the judge for your condo 2AR, though i'm sure it's great, no really

-This paradigm has not been adapted for virtual debate, but I will gladly answer any questions about how this applies to virtual debate

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

As of the 2024 Urban Debate National Championship, I have judged 8 tournaments on the fiscal redistribution topic including outrounds on the national circuit. I actively coach and write arguments of all styles on the fiscal redistribution topic.

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Full paradigm:

***I follow NSDA guidelines for evidence violations, including card clipping and misrepresentation of evidence, in the absence of guidance from tournament admin***

Style:

Speed is fine. Card-speed and non-card-speed should be different. If you blast through 8 arguments in 15 seconds, I won't get them all, it won't be my fault, and I don’t want to get post-rounded because I didn’t catch that they dropped the 6th of 8 2AC permutations. Don't bury your best arguments!

Strong, direct CX is great! (However:)

Don't be cruel, disrespectful, or belittling. This is especially true if you are more experienced/knowledgeable than the other team. If you're a senior with 4 years of national circuit experience and 3 summers of camps, don't be a jerk to sophomores at their first varsity tournament. This doesn't mean you should go easy, it means that you should take your opponents and their arguments seriously.

K (and K affs):

I am well-versed in a bunch of K literature (and you should ask if you'd like to know about my familiarity with your specific K author), but that doesn't mean you don't have to explain things. Pedagogically, it's important to 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.

I am sympathetic to arguments about ivory tower positions/armchair philosophy. I debated in a UDL, on a small team, and in a program that often lacked funding. Don't aim to win arguments by virtue of your opponents not having the resources to engage them. If you do this, you're causing direct harm to the activity and to fellow debaters, and that's an impact scenario I am happy to vote on.

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 to relevant perm/framework/T/etc debates.

T:

I was a 1N, and there wasn't a single neg block my senior year where I didn't take the T flow. I LOVE good T debates, and this is where all of your clever tricks will be appreciated. Make strategic concessions, go hard on "they don't meet the counter-interp", do fun things with internal links. Defense usually won't win by itself.

Compare interp evidence! This comparison can win you debates. 90% of interpretation evidence sucks enough to give the aff the edge on reasonability.

RVI arguments on these flows won't win you any rounds.

Theory:

If it's a time suck and it works, nice job.

I am rarely a judge where the 2AR should go for theory, and I’m a particularly hard sell on conditionality bad.

I think the neg gets to run multiple conditional advocacies with the exception of abusive cross-application of offense between contradictory positions.

I default to reject the argument, unless you have very strong reasons I should reject the team.

FW vs K Affs:

Run it well. You should have good reasons why your interpretation matters. Fairness is an impact.

Don't throw in arguments about "small schools" to get the moral high ground if you don't care about accessibility absent a ballot, please :)

DAs:

Links are almost always a sliding scale as opposed to Yes/No. How much of a link is there? How does that effect the impact debate?

"We win on magnitude so vote Aff" is not impact calc, nor is it an argument.

CPs:

I was not a counterplan debater and I’m probably a little behind the times on whatever tricky counterplan strategies have made their way into the meta, so give me the more detailed versions of why those arguments solve. Give me warranted sufficiency framing starting in the Block, please.

The likelihood of a PIC 2NR winning is proportional to the scale of the link to the net benefit.

Please slow down on the warrants and impact debate for counterplan theory debates.

Alt cause arguments on case > re-cutting aff solvency evidence to make a PIC to solve alt causes

Case:

Yes please. I don’t need lengthy overviews or underviews. Strive to put more on the case debate against K affs than state good.

Tell me what you advocate.

tell me why it is not being done

tell me why it needs to be done

tell me why it is the best thing we should do

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

Hello, I'm Julie and I've judged Policy, Congress, PF, Speech etc. at the TOC, national qualifiers and at the Massachusetts state and local level for a decade.

Policy: If you are amazing at spreading, I have a hard time understanding at the highest velocity, so try to remember to slow it down. I'm willing to have a debater persuade me of a technical violation, but it's not of default focus for me, so articulate it clearly.

Congress: I highly value mutual respect for one another in my chambers, so please be persuasive while also being respectful. Argue the issues, not the people. I immensely dislike rudeness as I think it's a malady of the times.

Thanks,

Jake LoRocco

Updated 1/10/2023

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About Me

I did policy debate for four years in high school at Dallas Jesuit. I did not debate in college but judged throughout and stayed involved in the community.

Currently judging/volunteering with the Boston Debate League.

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General

I'm good with any type of argument (as long as it's not racist, sexist, etc...) in any form (K, DA, CP, etc...). No matter the argument though, tell me why it's important and why I should vote for it. And please make it aff specific.

You can talk as fast as you want (and I will let you know if you aren't clear).

I don't think new affs bad is a legitimate argument.

Add mmartono@bu.edu to the email chain, please.

+0.5 speaks for 30 seconds of every speech in singing form.

Can we please weigh? Thanks.

I have no tolerance for people being mean and rude.

Hii! I'm Tiffany Nguyen from Millennium Brooklyn High School and I debate (First Speaker (the superior speaker)) in PF.

Please introduce yourself, your pronouns, and which speaker + side you are.

What I'm looking for:

- I'm good with most speeds, just make sure you're comprehensible.

- I will be keeping track of your time, but you should track your own too to stay aware of your pacing

- I will not be judging your crossfires (none of your judges should be), so if something important is brought up, make sure to repeat it in your speeches

- WEIGH IMPACTS!!! That's what will win you the round

Good luck everyone!! <3

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!