Judge Philosophies
Al Primack - Pitt
To all interested in a PhD program in communication
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) has a strong communication program that emphasizes rhetoric and public affairs, critical media studies and media theory (including: media criticism, media political economy, film, and media history), and argument. Our program only accepts students we can guarantee funding to (tuition remission, teaching assistantships/fellowships, and health insurance). The debate program is looking for high-character coaches that are interested in making debate accessible, educational, and inclusive. Grad students that work with the team receive at least one course release, work a relatively light coaching/judging schedule, and have opportunities to develop skills and competencies around directing a program and planning events. Applications are typically due by early January. For more information, email me atdebate@pitt.edu
Background
I competed in speech and debate at the college level from 2010-2014. My primary debate event was NPDA, but I also competed in some LD and attended policy camp and workshops. My favorite things to run were performance-based critical arguments (e.g., hip-hop), critical race theory, feminist criticism, queer theory-based arguments, but I mostly debated case in NPDA due to partner preference. I coached IEs and some NPDA at CSU Long Beach from 2014-2016. I have been the director of the William Pitt Debating Union since FA 2023.
I do not need content warnings for sensitive topics, but you should always check with your opponent, read other judges paradigms for elimination rounds, and consider providing them if there is an audience.
Labeling
I have realized that I have a strong preference for debaters to label the parts of their arguments (e.g., tell me if something is your link, your solvency, your impact, etc.) and when responding to your opponents arguments, let me know which specific aspect of the argument, or which card, or which claim you are responding to if engaging in direct refutation. I miss the days of "The link is... the internal link is... the impact is... on their solvency... In response to [Author, Date]..." Nowadays, I find I get lost sometimes when, for example, the 1NC does something like "On case" or the aff says "On the econ DA" and then the debater reads a ton of cards without indicating first the specific thing to which each card is being used as a response.
Speed
I prefer debates at a conversational rate of speech. Sometimes I struggle to hear or process spreading (I cannot actually make out the words, and the sound at that speed doesn't help me process the card information before me). Also, for how my mind functions, I have trouble communicating my need for people to slow down because I am so over-focused on trying to comprehend verbal messages.
Affs
I am open to anything, but regardless of the argument you run, you need to provide the grounds and warrant for your claims. Regardless of your aff type, be sure you also have your best, most relevant cards in your 1AC. There are too few speeches in LD to add too much to the backend.
Advantages/Disadvantages
I need a solid link story for ad/disads and I need clearly articulated impact calculus between them. I am a fan of analysis at the link level as I think there is a strong burden for the Aff to show a propensity for their ability to solve or garner an advantage, and I think the same rule applies to disads for the negative. I also prefer more specific evidence than generic evidence. Also, dont make me do the work of impact calculus; thats your burden.
Counterplans
I am open to all sorts of CPs, but the negative needs to defend a CPs theoretical legitimacy if challenged. I also require a clear link story and explanation of exactly how a CP avoids a disad and/or garners a unique benefit that the Aff doesnt. I do think it is ethically best if the neg is upfront about the conditionality of their CP (unconditional, conditional, dispositional) and I am open to argumentation about CP theory. Losing a CP is not an RVI as only the aff has the burden to prove their case.
Kritiks and Framework
I am open to K debate, but I need your Ks philosophical premises explainedclearly. In all my days of performing critically oriented academic research and graduate coursework on queer theories, critical race theory, settler colonial studies, psychoanalysis, etc., I can tell you that everyone has their own Lacan, Foucault, "Butler," Fanon, etc. If you dont want my very particular rhetorical interpretation of your critical argument to guide my evaluation of the round, then please summarize the key theses (or common knowledge) you want me to use when understanding your critical lens - even if it means putting that in your tag or an overview in your constructive speech. In other words, I do not want to intervene, so guide me clearly through the terrain of your argument so that I can reasonably follow without having to review my own version of the map I drew myself the last time I traveled in the critical territory you bring the round to.
All criticisms need to have a 1) strong link story to the specific thing being critiqued (the specific plan or take on the resolution, the specific language used in round, the specific aspects of intercollegiate debate being criticized, etc.; 2) a clearly defined alternative; and 3) an impact.
All criticisms also need a clearly articulated framework that includes: roles for the judge and debaters, role of the ballot, and an understanding of what our debate is. Try to avoid convoluted alternatives, or be ready to explain or "paint a picture" of what the alternative means. If you ask me to prefer deconstructive textual activism over the 1ac, I need to know what your definition of deconstructive textual activism is and how your K functions as that sort of activism or relates to the world of such efforts. You need to make clear to me what your advocacy or alternative is, what my role is in evaluating the round, and what function my ballot serves in the round. Additionally, I am not a fan of alternatives that cannot be enacted. I will take your alt or advocacy quite literally within the context of your argument.
Topicality
I like very specific and contextually relevant definitional work. I am not a fan of T debates where the interpretation comes from a lower-court ruling on an unrelated legal matter or the Merriam Webster's dictionary. Give me relevant legal interpretations (statutory or judicial), industry interpretations, or something actually related to the topic. All words have commonly understood meanings, but with respect to the resolution, we are working with contextually specific interpretations of terms.
If the aff is using the resolution's terms metaphorically, they should be up-front for that and have good responses for the standards debate (and should probably be pre-empted in the framework).
I like a very organized T. I also like T to provide specific articulations of abuse in round, how it might ripple out to the community, and possibly some examples.
If you are running a distinct kind of T (effects, extra, etc.), for the benefit of everyone in round, please explain how that is distinct from just regular T. It's not that I don't know it, but it's that sometimes in the middle of a round during a long day, any little bit of work you can do to reduce a judge's cognitive load is beneficial to you.
Cross Examination
I will typically flow cross-ex but I will not consider it within my evaluation of the round unless those comments are brought up within round (i.e., "In cross-ex they said [xyz], which means [abc])." I really do not like the performance of antagonism, hostility, or aggressiveness that often comes with cross-ex.
Rebuttals
Final rebuttals should provide the judge any necessary instructions for evaluating the round. I don't just need an overview of your argument (although that is helpful), but I need: your impact calculus, judge instructions, and a way to understand the framework/theory debate (if relevant).
Also, the best rebuttals tend to collapse and do great comparative work. Some of the rebuttals that are most difficult to evaluate attempt to go for everything.
Arie Likhtman - Pitt
n/a
Molly Martin - Pitt
Molly Martin - they/them -mollyam22@gmail.com
Email chain: Always in policy. (Subject Line: Tournament - Round - Aff vs Neg)
Graduate student and assistant coach with the University of Pittsburgh. I competed in policy debate for C.K. McClatchy (14-18) and Gonzaga University (18-22). Mostly read and went for policy affs in college but my research is more aligned critical literature. Regardless of the style of argument you want to make, I care more about an interesting strategy and well-executed decision-making in rebuttals than what type of strategy you choose.
TLDR, 9-14-24:
I'm very warrant-centric, so the more you're explaining your arguments past the tagline and telling me why those arguments matter for the debate, my ballot, etc., the better! I benefit from really direct communication and clear judge instruction about which arguments you think are the most important and which evidence helps support your arguments the best - regardless of the style or types of argument you wish to make. I look for judge instruction, direct clash, evidence comparison throughout a debate, extension of and reference to warrants (beyond the tag), and clear impact analysis/calculus/comparison to help me decide a debate.
I am looking forward to judging your debate, and to hear the arguments that you are interested in making. My argumentative preferences are left at the door; just make complete arguments (claim-warrant-impact) and we'll be good!
Prioritize clarity over speed. Please avoid starting your speech at max speed - work up to that speed. Slow down more for me on analytics, topicality, theory, and case overviews; annunciation is important.
Tech over truth, for the most part - still gotta tell me why things matter. For example, you need to tell me why dropped arguments matter in my decision-making process.
While defense is important (and wins championships), I find that rebuttals that sound or aretoodefensive miss the boat for me in controlling the debate.
I believe that debaters should want to control the perception of their arguments as much as possible so that judges should not have to read evidence after the debate, and that debaters should attempt to write as much of the judge's ballot as possible. While I will read cards needed, my preference is to vote off your explanations of the evidence over the author's - just don't rely on the card doc to do work for you.
Pet peeves: top-heavy overviews, not timing yourselves, stealing prep, excessive CX interruptions, rudeness to your opponents, teammates, or me.
Content:
Case debate -- do it. The best 1NCs on case have analytics that indict affirmative evidence/solvency claims AND evidence. Follow a consistent format/formula to extend your evidence.
Off-case arguments: Links should directly implicate the affirmative or be contextual to the aff, whether it's on a DA or a kritik. I like diversified links to the aff, use of CX moments, and rebuttals that make choices that best tell the full story of the plan and why it is a bad idea.
Affirmative teams should actively use the aff in responding to off-case positions. I find that high-school debates I judge that go for the kritik often do not talk about the affnearlyas much as you should. Links should be predicated on some consequence to the plan, whether it be epistemic or direct.
Turns case arguments are especially important. I want to know how impacts in debate interact.
The best extension of kritiks use examples. What can your theory or thesis be applied to?
Explain, in detail, your permutations. The 2AR is too late to start that. I find it helpful when include info about net benefits to the permutation.
K Affs: I like debates with at least a tangential tie to the resolution, but I will still evaluate affs that don't. I do think not being in the direction of the topic makes negative arguments about limits more compelling. Have reasons why your project is key to resolving specific impacts. What does solvency mean to your project and what role does debate have in it?
Framework: In terms of impacts, internal links, I prefer debates over clash and predictable limits or skills and deliberation over debates about fairness. This just means explain to me why fairness is an impact if that's your preferred strategy.
Use framework as a mechanism to engage with the aff - how can your interpretation speak to and enable debates about what the affirmative is discussing? Have examples of what debate looks like under your topic.
Theory:
I hated judge kick as a debater - I encourage all aff teams to make no judge kick arguments. My preference is that the negative mentions if I can judge kick or not in the block and in the 2NR - I feel it is judge intervention otherwise.
If you are winning theory and you are winning substance, go for substance. If you go for theory do not make me evaluate anything on/about the case.
I will evaluate theory as is debated in the round, and will put aside any preferences I have. Conditionality is not my favorite argument, but will vote on it if debated well/if it is dropped.
Slow down on your theory blocks. A good final rebuttal will break away from pre-written blocks to explain how their interpretation resolves their opponent's offense.
Please feel free to reach out with questions before the round if there is something I didn't include. Happy to talk about debating in college for any high school teams I judge.