Judge Philosophies
Adam Xu - Lake Oswego
n/a
Alex Sisca - West Linn
Ameena Amdahl-Mason - Clackamas
<p>I competed in policy debate in high school, APDA in college, and I have been coaching all forms of debate, but primarily parliamentary, policy, and LD, since 2001. To me, your jobs as debaters is want to provide me with compelling reasons why you should win the debate, including organized refutations and voting issues in your final speech. I keep a rigorous flow, so organization, including a clear organizational system of lettering or numbering is important. Line-by-line refutation as well as overviews and underviews can provide clarity to the debate.</p> <p>CX: I would consider myself a tabula rasa judge, as much as that is possible. I feel comfortable with any line of argumentation, including theory and kritiks. However, I do not appreciate rudeness, including cursing, either between or among teams. Generic argumentation, weak links, and time sucks are not appreciated. I enjoy judging policy, especially when new and interesting ideas enter the debate.</p> <p>LD: I feel comfortable with any line of argumentation, as long as it clearly linked to the topic being debated. I prefer philosophical argumentation in LD, rather than more policy style argumentation. However, I do judge a lot of policy debate, so I am capable of evaluating a policy oriented round.</p> <p>Parli: I will evaluate what I hear in the round, not what I wish I had heard, so if there are things that need to be pointed out as fallacies, etc., please do so. I am not a fan of topicality/definitional debates in parli, unless the affirmative's definition is extremely skewed.</p> <p>PF: I don't flow PF, because I don't believe it is intended to be flowed in the same way as other debates. Otherwise, everything above applies.</p>
Andrew Morgan - Tillamook
n/a
Andrew Riley - Lincoln
n/a
Anna YOUNG - Centennial
n/a
Autumn Rouse - Sunset
Ben Mann - Wilson
<p>Hey there! I’m the Assistant Speech and Debate Coach at Wilson High School.</p> <p> </p> <p>I competed in high school for a year at West Linn mainly focused on LD and IEs (Oratory, Impromptu, Radio, Prose, etc). Afterwards, I judged off and on at high school tournaments for the past three years. Currently, I’m a senior at Lewis & Clark College competing in college parliamentary debate and IEs along with coaching Wilson.</p> <p> </p> <p>Regardless of the event, I fundamentally believe you should compete in whatever way you feel most comfortable and I should adapt to you rather than the other way around. In debate, I generally value substance over style (the arguments you make over the way you deliver them). IEs are more of a balance between the strength of the piece and delivery. While I try to be as open as possible, I do have tendencies for specific debate formats which are as follows:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>CX</strong></p> <p>Speed is fine, just give me a little pen time between positions to finish flowing. Slow down with plan/counterplan/alt texts. Prep time starts once you’ve put in the flash drive. Theory is fine – I default to competing interpretations unless told otherwise. K’s are good and I’m familiar with a lot of the classics (Cap, Nietzsche, Fem, etc) but explain obscure ones to me a little more. I’m neutral on most theory (condo, PICs, delay, framework, etc) and open to arguments on both sides as long as they have voters. Counterplans don’t need to be textually competitive or mutually exclusive if you show how they compete through net-benefits as the best policy option. I don’t need to see evidence unless you cite something that sounds blatantly counterfactual. Theory as an RVI is an uphill battle for my ballot.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>LD</strong></p> <p>Make sure to ground your contentions and rebuttals in your value and criterion. Some of the strongest LDers either explain why their value/criterion outweighs or explain why affirming or negating the resolution is preferable regardless of the value/criterion. Warrants, empirics, and logic get you far with me.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Parli</strong></p> <p>Most things said in CX apply here: I default to net-benefits, counterplans, kritks, and theory are fine (I default to competing interpretations and am neutral on theory). Though I’m not outright against fact and value debates, I strongly feel policy provides the greatest fairness and education and that a policy lens can be extracted from value and fact-oriented resolutions. If you’re affirmative on a policy topic, PLEASE read a plan text.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Public Forum</strong></p> <p>Of course, I value delivery more in this event. Aff should provide a clear weighing mechanism for the round and structured contentions will get you far with me. Please be respectful during crossfire.</p> <p> </p> <p>If you have any questions about my judging philosophy, feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:mannb@lclark.edu">mannb@lclark.edu</a>. Happy competing!</p>
Ben Hynes-Stone - Silverton
n/a
Benjamin Agre - Cleveland
Bill Cole - Century
n/a
Cameron Nilles - Barlow
n/a
Carolyn Hill - Nestucca
n/a
Cherri Dunning - Marshfield HS
n/a
Chris Selker - Lincoln
Cindy Kaylor - Centennial
n/a
Colleen Neary - Nestucca
n/a
Dakota Winslow - Silverton
n/a
Dave Schaefer - Nestucca
n/a
Diana Stepleton - Lincoln
Dinesh Bhat - Sunset
Don Steiner - Wilson
Era Lambert - Centennial
n/a
Erik Pringle - SW Christian
Evan Ford - Cleveland
Frank Selker - Lincoln
Grace Holmes - Aloha1
n/a
Jan Bosson - West Linn
Jason Miller - Lake Oswego
n/a
Jean Cowan - Marshfield HS
n/a
Jen Loeung - Centennial
n/a
Jennifer Conner - Forest Grove
n/a
Jennifer LeSieur - Clackamas
Jenny Owen - Lincoln
Previous debate and practical experience: High school policy debate (1977-1981); legal career; past seven years judging all forms of debate, individual events & Student Congress in Pacific NW for 15-20 tournaments/year as well as 2-3 ToC Tournaments/year; and, six years of coaching a large, comprehensive speech and debate team. I value and thank debaters for pre-round research and preparation, but I view the actual round as the place where even more is required, namely: Engagement, clash, aggressive advocacy/defense of positions, respectful behavior and proportionality. Use of canned arguments, kritiks and counterplans without specific links into the actual debate fail even if they are entertaining, well planned and/or superior to the alternative. I prefer the substance of the debate over the form. Taglines make flowing easier, but do not warrant claims nor constitute extensions of arguments per se. I try to flow all of the debate but not robotically. I aim to judge competitors on their round at hand, not on all the arguments that could have/should have been made, but were not. I do not view the ballot as my chance to cure all that is wrong in the world though I wish it were that easy. I offer a caveat: Rude or malicious conduct are ill-advised. I will default to the rules of that form of debate (to which I will refer if they are called into question) as the base for my decision within the context of debate before me.
Jerome Beck - Cleveland
Jesse Newman - Tillamook
n/a
Jill Angle - Sandy
n/a
Jimmy Nguyen - Sunset
June Gerst - Century
n/a
Kane Prevost - Centennial
n/a
Kathleen Kessinger - SW Christian
Kathy Wolff - Cleveland
Kathy Pruitt - OCHS
n/a
Katy Walker - Century
n/a
Kayla Crook - Marshfield HS
n/a
Kehl van Winkle - Thurston
Kelly Court - SW Christian
<p>Debate: I want to be able to flow your debate. Speak clearly and not too fast. If I can't keep up with you, you will not win. Make sure to state your contentions clearly at the beginning and again as you move from point to point. Be polite. Pay attention while your opponents are speaking. I like a clean well organized debate. Have fun.</p> <p>Individual Events: Tournaments make for long days; I like to learn new things and to be entertained. Please refrain from swearing in your presentations. It is seldom necessary. I look forward to judging again this year.</p> <p> </p>
Ken Beare - Westview
Kristin Wilson - Barlow
n/a
Lee Anna Jones - Lincoln
Lisa Kaplan - Cleveland
Liz Fetherston - Thurston
<p>You can find my philosophy and my decisions from last year in this google drive: tinyurl.com/debate-rfd</p> <p>TL;DR: I debate for UO. You won't go too fast or be too technical for me, but it's your game, so play it however you want. I recommend you still read the part about impacts in the philosophy.</p> <p> </p> <p>Please email me at thurstonforensics@gmail.com if you have further questions or need clarification.</p>
Luke Haenggi - Tillamook
n/a
Mackenzie DeLong - Aloha1
n/a
Mandee Dees - Silverton
n/a
Margaret Gorman - Silverton
n/a
Mark Little - OES
n/a
Mary Jo Golder - Marshfield HS
n/a
Melissa Lowry Sullivan - Southridge
n/a
Micah Eulberg - Century
n/a
Mrs. Malos - Corvallis
n/a
Nick Bonnichsen - Silverton
n/a
Parent Lake O - Lake Oswego
n/a
Parent 1 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Parent 2 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Parent 3 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Parent 4 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Parent 5 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Parent 6 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Parent 7 TBA - Barlow
n/a
Patrick Gonzales - Cleveland
Patrick Cannon - Lincoln
Patrick Leahy - SAHS
n/a
Paul Fedotov - Centennial
n/a
Radhika Ananthapur - Sunset
Reddy Mallidi - Westview
Riley Johnston - Silverton
n/a
Rita Ramstad - Centennial
n/a
Robert Crawford - PEHS
<p> In all events, I expect adherance to classic public speaking values--crisp enunciation and good projection, eye contact, confident posture and controlled movement, and a sense of sincere commitment to the truth, whether the truth of your position in debate events or the truth of your selection in IE's.</p> <p> I judge Public and Public Forum debate forms. In both, I am a "communications" judge. I feel the opportunity to speed-read briefs, rattle away in arcane debate jargon, and demand specific outcomes from judges is offered in OTHER debate forms, so in these I expect attention to oratorical skills, the art of persuasion, and cogent argument centered on a common-sense interpretation of the resolution. I expect full engagement with that common-sense interpretation on both sides, rather than evasive attempts to shift the ground under the judge's feet--this means clarity and clash.</p>
Robyn Rose - Lake Oswego
n/a
Rose Wilson - Tillamook
n/a
Roseanne Parry - Southridge
n/a
Scot Klocke - Sunset
Scott Constans - Centennial
n/a
Sebastian MacFarlane - Cleveland
Sherry Yu Li - Westview
Srinivasaulu Gubba - Westview
Stacy Fender - Lake Oswego
n/a
Star Kacmarsky - Tillamook
n/a
Stephen McClanahan - Silverton
n/a
Steve Barth - Marist
n/a
Steve Bosson - West Linn
Steve Root - La Salle Prep
n/a
Tiffany Daggett - Nestucca
n/a
Ty Wyman - Cleveland
Val Stricklin - Cleveland
Vivek Ajjarapu - Westview
Whitney Johnson - Tualatin
n/a
Xander Harris - Silverton
n/a
Yansheng Men - Sunset
Yanwen Chen - Southridge
n/a