Peach Fuzz Speech Debate Tournament
2024 — NSDA Campus, GA/US
VLD Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideKensington Eden
Email - Kensingtoneden@gmail.com
History
I have been doing policy debate since 6th grade. In addition to policy I also do Student Congress when I can. I did LD for a year as a sophomore.
Tech v Truth
Yes tech over truth... to an extent.
Argument for argument, truth holds more weight for me. So if all else is equal, truth wins. But in reality most tech arguments win because they are better argued and better justified/researched. T arguments are where truth is really important for me. I dont care about grammatical stuff or exact wording.
Generally if you have to resort to little technical arguments instead of responding to the actual advocacy and spirit of the argument, it shows a lack of skill and research.
Arguments
Ks
I love Ks! I will vote down topicality arguments that would remove Ks outright. Ks are an important part of the culture, and are valid arguments. Personal Pet Peeve in Ks is mindset shift based solvency, its a weak argument that only really works on very specific issue, argue for judge role instead
Im enjoy critical theory stuff in my free time outside of debate, as well as doing a lot of Ks in my own debates, so I would like to think Im pretty good at understanding Lit Bases.
T/Condo
See truth v tech section for more on T, I like T and Condo arguments as long as they're actually relevant to the debate, and not just something you put in every speech to take up time. Dont do T on an obviously topical case, dont do Condo on a neg that presented 3 off. It is a corruption of fairness, it disrespects your opponents, your judge, your community, and the arguments themselves.
DA
DAs are good, I say never do a K or CP without a DA and vice versa. A round with out a DA is hard to win.
CP
Again fairness is important, make sure your CP is competitive. Im hesitant about using your opponents exact cards to argue PICs, i wont vote you down for it, just make sure youre not taking entire sections without doing any work (rehighlighting, retagging, etc etc..) of your own.
Speaks/Misc
Make sure your docs are well formatted, dont have weird scrunched up cards, or photos of articles. Your opponent should be able to easily read the cards, know what youre going to say, and be able to access your links. If not we'll have to waste time resending docs, and links, and cards. I will doc points for the inconvenience.
Stand up when you speak, unless you are unable to, stand up! Its a sign of respect for your opponents, judge, and arguments, as well as improving your speaking ability (posture is an incredibly important factor for your lungs). Again I will doc points.
I allow tag teaming, as long as its not overly one sided.
Obviously dont be unkind to your opponents. Dont call them names, or make fun of them. That being said, I am all for CX being "messy", interrupt each other, drill them on the questions they cant answer, move on from questions they can.
Dont swear in your speeches. I understand that certain arguments use it in a strategic way to illustrate their point. But in the vast majority of situations, I disapprove of it. Swearing may not seem like a big deal to you or your partner, but that doesnt mean everyone feels the same way. If you feel that language is is crucial to your argument (which I dont doubt it could be) make sure to ask your opponents and judge/s before hand if they are comfortable with it, if any of them are not, or are not sure, then you must respect that and remove them from the speech for that round. But if your opponents are fine with it I am too.
Educational Background:
Georgia State University (2004-2007) - English Major in Literary Studies; Speech Minor
Augusta University (2010-2011) - Masters in Arts in Teaching
Georgia State University (2015-2016) - Postbaccalaureate work in Philosophy
Relevant Career Experience:
English Teacher/Debate Coach (2011-2015) Grovetown High School
LD Debate Coach (2015-2018) Marist School
English Teacher/Debate Coach (2018-2022) Northview High School
English Teacher/Debate Coach (2022-present) Lassiter High School
Public Forum
Argue well. Don’t be rude. I’ll flow your debate, so make the arguments you need to make.
Policy
I haven't judged a lot of policy debates. I'm more comfortable with a little slower speed since I don't hear a lot of debates on the topic. I'm okay with almost any argumentation, but I'm less likely to vote on theory arguments than K or Case arguments. Add me to your email chains.
Lincoln Douglas
I appreciate well-warranted and strong arguments. Keep those fallacies out of my rounds.
If the negative fails to give me a warranted reason to weigh her value/value criterion above the one offered by the affirmative in the first negative speech, I will adopt the affirmative's FW. Likewise, if the negative offers a warranted reason that goes unaddressed in the AR1, I will adopt the negative FW.
I appreciate when debaters provide voters during the final speeches.
Debaters would probably describe me as leaning "traditional", but I am working to be more comfortable with progressive arguments. However, I'll vote and have voted, on many types of arguments (Plans, Counterplans, Ks, Aff Ks, and theory if there is legitimate abuse). However, the more progressive the argument and the further away from the topic, the more in-depth and slower your explanation needs to be. Don't make any assumptions about what I'm supposed to know.
Debates that don't do any weighing are hard to judge. Be clear about what you think should be on my ballot if you're winning the round.
Speed
If you feel it necessary to spread, I will do my best to keep up with the caveat that you are responsible for what I miss. I appreciate folks who value delivery. Take that as you will. If you're going to go fast, you can email me your case.
Disclosure
I try to disclose and answer questions if at all possible.
Cross-Examination/Crossfire
I'm not a fan of "gotcha" debate. The goal in the crossfire shouldn't get your opponent to agree to some tricky idea and then make that the reason that you are winning debates. Crossfire isn't binding. Debaters have the right to clean up a misstatement made in crossfire/cross-ex in their speeches.
Virtual Debate
The expectation is that your cameras remain on for the entirety of the time you are speaking in the debate round. My camera will be on as well. Please add me to the chain.
Axioms
“That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.” — Christopher Hitchens
”There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way to be kind.” — Mr. Rogers
Contact: jonwaters7@gmail.com