I, Raymond, commit to judging according to equanimity and integrity, and based solely on the evidence and individual arguments brought forth by each team.

I view Public Forum as accessible to a lay audience; therefore, debaters should strive for clear explanation and logical arguments.

I have been doing debate for the past year and began in policy. I recently switched into public forum for my 2nd year after debating it a little around the end of my first year.

I understand but don't prefer Ks or Theory during a debate, but I am still fine with both as long as they are rational and realistic and maintain a safe environment in the debate. When reading, speak as loudly and clearly as possible because it allows you to be more confident and ensures that you catch my complete attention throughout the entire round. Any speed for when reading your speeches is fine during the round as long as it is comprehensible and everyone is able to understand the words you're saying. Make sure to speak with emotion and enunciate in your last couple speeches while emphasizing on weighing and providing clear reasons on why you win. Keep your speeches organized and easy to keep track of for when I create a ballot, to be clear, make sure you do front-lining and give an off time road-map. Be assertive during cross, but still remain respectful and polite. Have fun and good luck!

Lexington High School ‘26
Add me to the email chain: shiangela19@gmail.com

FOR NOVICE

Welcome to debate!

One of your priorities should be to always be to have fun.

Be respectful to your partner and your opponents.

FOR VARSITY

Tech > truth

I will evaluate arguments based on what I get on the flow and my personal biases will always be overridden by whichever team had the stronger argument on the flow.

Always remember debate is meant to be a fun activity and to be respectful of your partner, your opponents, and your judge. I don’t stand for any racism, homophobia, sexism, intentional misgendering, in general anything personally harmful, etc.

The speaks I give will be a reflection of your in-round attitude, line-by-lining, and implication of your arguments.

I’m fine with open cross, just make sure your opponents are also fine with it -- on that note, cross is binding.

You have to have an impact on T just like you do on any other argument. Don’t just say violation and leave it at that. Tell me why I should vote the other team down for not being topical. Give me judge instruction on why it’s a voter.

My default is condo good, but I can definitely be convinced otherwise.

Clash with your opponents -- that’s the point of debate. Don’t let it be two ships passing in the night, never interacting with each other.

If you want to point out your opponents dropped something, implicate it. It doesn’t mean anything to me if you just say an argument you made went cold conceded.

Remember to do impact calc! Magnitude, probability, and timeframe, which is probably one of the first things a lot of debaters learned how to do.

I’m fairly judicious with prep, but if I notice you stealing prep, you’ll see it reflected in your speaks.

All in all, have fun with this activity. Debate is a game (though even that is debatable).