FTN - Judge Philosophies

Judge Philosophies

- Lincoln

Policy Debate Paradigm I am the policy debate coach for Lincoln High School in Portland, OR.  I was a policy/LD debater for Lincoln High School and CEDA debater for The American University in Washington, DC. Upon graduation, I returned to coach the American CEDA program for three more years. After a long hiatus, I’ve been called back to the activity that I love.   Debate is awesome! But … it’s only as good as we, as a community, make it. I am coming back to the activity to make sure that it continues for future generations. Teams that disrespect their opponent, or this activity, will be dealt with severely on my ballot. Integrity is not something to trifle with for short-term strategic benefits.  <ol> <li>Stand during speaking times, unless you’re medically unable.</li> <li>Homophobic, racist, religiously intolerant, or sexist language and/or behavior will not be tolerated.</li> <li>Rudeness, dishonesty, cruelty and vulgarity devalues the activity.</li> <li>Have fun! Strive for creativity, humor, debate scholarship, humility, compassion, and being strategic.</li> </ol>   Stylistic Overview <ol> <li>CLASH!</li> <li>Quality over quantity. Just because I can handle a faster round doesn't mean that it impresses me.</li> <li>Smart analytics is always better than lazy warrantless evidence.</li> <li>Debates about evidence QUALITY and CONTEXT are to be encouraged!  </li> <li>I am ok with tag teaming during cross ex so long as it provides greater clarity and isn’t abused.</li> <li>So long as it’s not a new case, advantage/scenario or neg position. The negative and affirmative positions should be disclosed pre round, if asked.</li> <li>If asked, evidence must be made available to the opposition.</li> <li>Prep stops when the flash leaves your computer.</li> <li>Provide a clear decision-making calculus judge from the start throughout the round and please do all of the impact analysis for me.</li> <li> I believe one or two prestandards (a propri) arguments are sufficient, anything more and I lean towards abuse.</li> </ol>   Positions Kritiks I’m more than open to them. But know that I’d probably rather judge just about anything … than a postmodernism debate. Even if you argued this in front of me 5 times this season, debate a K as if I’ve never heard the topic before. Topicality/theory debates Slow down for clarity, these debates tend to be nuanced.  Try to limit these positions to only abusive situation Disadvantages Not shockingly, case specific disads are better than generic. Counterplans Competition is key. Aff leaning on Conditionality. Legit perms must include all of plan and part of the counter plan.   I will try to judge whatever you want, within reason, so long as you justify it.

Alberto Rincon - Wilson

n/a

Alicia Nichols - Renaissance

I started judging last year at local Idaho tournaments, this year I have judged 7 tournaments both local and national circuit. I am mainly a public forum judge, but that doen't mean I will freak out if I am in a policy round. My judging philoshopy is heavily rooted in communications, however I will flow the round based on what you tell me. I am fine with speed as long as I can understand you, spreading will hurt your speaker points as well as my ability to flow and understand your arguments. I will not make arguments for you so be explicit especially during the final speech. I expect impact comparison throughout the round. Voters are really important to me, by the last speech I expect clear reasons why you won the round.

Ameena Amdahl-Mason - Clackamas

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Ashley Versteeg - Silverton

n/a

Ben Hynes-Stone - Silverton

n/a

Benjamin Agre - Cleveland

Brandon Johnson - SAHS

n/a

Brian Malan - Gresham

n/a

Briana Mendenhall - Silverton

n/a

Cameron Nilles - OES

n/a

Carrie Strecker - Neah-Kah-Nie

n/a

Cary Doyle - Corvallis

n/a

Cassie Duprey - Corbett

n/a

Catie Easter - Barlow

n/a

Chuck Hamaker-Teals - Southridge WA

I am the coach for Southridge High School in eastern Washington.  I competed in high school debate in the 90s.  I've been coaching for 18 years.  Each topic has lots of ground, find it and bring the arguments into the round.  Be polite and kind.  Rude debaters almost never win.  I can flow relatively quickly but will punish debaters’ speaks if they are unclear or unprepared.  I try to vote on the flow, although I don't like Topicality run without forethought.  I am not a fan of the kritik but I will vote for one.  I don't mind theory arguments, I just need to be clearly told how the impact relates to what is happening in the round.   I vote on issues where I can clearly see the impact in the round.  I like clear, fast, well organized debates with lots of good arguments and lots of impacts.  When I sit on out round panels, my decisions are very similar to those of current college debaters, not communication judges.   Arguments about sources are tiresome and I am more persuaded by rationale or meta-analysis.

Collin Peterson-vanKanegan - West Linn

n/a

Collin Mertens - Southridge WA

Courtney Walsh - MHS

n/a

Denise Besel - Ridgefield H.S.

n/a

Don Steiner - Wilson

Donna Graville - Lake Oswego

n/a

Dwight Siewert - Westview

Eileen Stone - Cleveland

Eli Morgan-Steiner - Wilson

Eliza Haas - Sunset

https://judgephilosophies.wikispaces.com/Haas%2C+Elizabeth The above philosophy was written mainly for nat circuit LD, but most things will apply to most debates. I'm also totally good with a traditional, Oregon-style debate. If so, I look more at internal consistency of argumentation than I would with a more progressive debate. Read the paradigm, but feel free to ask me specific questions before the round if you have them!

Ellen Pfeifer - MVHS

n/a

Emily Tribble - Westview

Erik Johannes - OES

n/a

Faith Gadling - Sprague

Gulinur Nassyrova - Aloha1

n/a

Hannah Matheison - Lake Oswego

n/a

Holly Shilling - Cleveland

Jackie Weissman - Cleveland

Jake Weigler - Lincoln

<pre> Name: Jacob Weigler                   Institution: Lincoln High School</pre> <pre> Position: Assistant Coach            Years Coaching: 5</pre> <pre> Number of tournaments judged this year: 0</pre> <pre>  </pre> <pre> Theory</pre> <pre> I like good theory debate, don’t like bad theory debate (Duh). A good theory debate would involve teams providing their interpretation of the theoretical issue, warrants to justify that as the superior interpretation and indicts of their opponents interpretation.  Bad theory debate almost always lack the third and frequently the first. I have little problem pulling the trigger on a theory debate as long as those implications are clearly identified and explained early in the debate.</pre> <pre>  </pre> <pre> Topic Specific Args.</pre> <pre> As of October, I have not judged a round on this topic. I do know about the topic area and I’ve reviewed what was put out by camps over the summer. </pre> <pre>  </pre> <pre> Evidence</pre> <pre> I like well-applied evidence. I don’t mind sifting through a bunch of cards to decide a debate, but I’d rather not. At that point I am forced to make my own evaluations to the quality or comparative value of evidence that you might not agree with. So … make those comparisons for me. Final rebuttals (or even earlier speeches) that isolate the warrants in their evidence and use that to make comparisons will save me a lot of trouble and you a lot of disappointment if I see things differently.</pre> <pre>  </pre> <pre> Style</pre> <pre> Style tends to be a matter of taste. I am encouraged about the willingness of teams to expand the stylistics of debate, but remain deeply committed to the core principle of rejoinder. In other words, the ability for critical debate. I welcome performative arguments, but I think you must provide a point for your opponents discourse to engage and respond or, absent that, accept your opponents’ attempts to do so.  I have some problems with being asked to simply affirm a performance as that seems at cross purposes with the nature of this activity. Other than that, BE NICE! Zero style points for being a jerk.</pre> <pre>  </pre> <pre> Misc.</pre> <pre> I’m a pretty flexible judge. Tell me what to do and I’ll generally do it. I have a set of assumptions and criteria about how to evaluate a debate that I will fall back to absent instructions from the debaters. If you have any questions about that, just ask before we start. Most importantly, I like impact and issue comparisons in the final rebuttals. Statements like “Even if” or “Regardless of if they win X” or “My impacts should always be preferred because” will go far to win my ballot. Too many debates are reduced to trying to stack a bunch of impacts on your side and hope it is enough to outweigh. Don’t be that kind of debater, give me a big picture and weigh it out for me.</pre>

Jane Griffiths - Lake Oswego

n/a

Jane Berry-Eddings - Sprague

Janet Billups - Cleveland

Jason Miller - Lake Oswego

n/a

Jaswinder Guliani - Southridge

n/a

Jean Cowan - Marshfield HS

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.

Jim Gullo - MHS

n/a

Jocelyn Sparks - Willamette

n/a

Joe Gilligan - West Linn

n/a

John Stump - Cleveland

Josh Scheirman - Marshfield HS

n/a

Julia Adebawo - Westview

Julie Siewert - Westview

Julie Solomon - OES

n/a

June Gerst - Century

n/a

Kaitlin Gilbert - MHS

n/a

Karen Hobbs - Summit

n/a

Karen Armstrong - Glencoe Tide

Katherine Cowan - MHS

n/a

Kathy Lloyd - Lake Oswego

n/a

Katie Kantrowitz - Silverton

n/a

Kayla Crook - Marshfield HS

n/a

Ken Teschner - Tigard

n/a

Kenneth Bisbee - Ridgefield H.S.

n/a

Kristine Hayes - Neah-Kah-Nie

n/a

Larry Gilius - Cleveland

Linda Bonder - OES

n/a

Lisa Howard - South

M Addmas - Lake Oswego

n/a

Mackenzie DeLong - Aloha1

n/a

Mariane Drygas Pope - MHS

n/a

Marissa Bertucci - Gresham

n/a

Mark Little - OES

n/a

Mark Stueve - Marshfield HS

n/a

Mark Wilczewski - Barlow

n/a

Matthew Compton - MHS

n/a

Melissa Wyman - Cleveland

Melodie Martz - N Val

n/a

Michael Curry - Sprague

For all forms of debate: BE NICE! Be nice to me. Be nice to your opponent. Be nice to your partner. There is no money on the table, so don't act like there is. Speech and Debate is one of the most important things you do as a human being. So help make this wonderful activity accessible to all! Public Forum I expect cases to reflect the speaking expectations of event. 4 minutes of information presented in 4 minutes of time. I see my role as evaluating what you feel is important and would be worth speaking about, listening, and learning about. That being said, I do need clear signposting. The cleaner my flow, the more legitimate decision I can make. I expect to see impacts accessed in the round. If I have my way, all I have to do is look at the flow and weigh Aff world versus Neg world. I would like to make my decision solely off of the arguments first. If necessary, I may have to fill in some gaps . . . but I'd like to avoid this. If the debate is very messy on the flow, or lacks impacts, then and only then would I look to speaking style as a way to render a decision. Parliamentary Debate In a parli round I see my role as a non-intervening policy maker who is accustomed to, but doesn't necessarily require, stock issues as a part of the presentation. It's weird I know, but I don't think any one judge fits squarely into any one paradigm. More importantly, I would like to base my decision on the best arguments in the round. My need for some stock issues is more an acknowledgement that there should be some common expectation amongst the debaters about what to run. I do tend to policy make more often then stock issue, but I do presume Neg to an extent. Still, a bad Neg case will always lose to a better Aff, even if the Aff doesn't fulfill all its burdens. Unlike many of my Oregonian peers, I am very much in favor of teaching policy and theory arguments in parli debate. For me, especially considering that Neg's prep time is almost useless, providing the Neg with offensive opportunities is necessary. I do expect off case arguments to be run correctly. The #1 reason why I rarely vote (for example) on T is because elementary facets of the shell are missing, lack of impacts, or a general misunderstanding of what the argument even is. If you have me for a judge, don't run off case just for its own sake. I have a high threshold for pulling the trigger on a procedural, or a K. So be wise in these arguments' applications. My opinion on speed is the same for Parli as it is for Public Forum in one area. I expect both first constructives to be delivered at a reasonable speed. If I have a clean flow at the beginning, then I can place responses properly once the pace picks up. I still don't want spreading, but I get it that the Aff needs to move at a quick pace in order to cover the flow prior to and after the Neg block. I expect arguments that are complete. Good link stories. Weighable impacts. Voting issues in the rebuttals. No tag teaming when questions are presented. Also, THERE IS NO RULE IN OREGON ABOUT ONLY HAVING 3 QUESTIONS!!! If you say "I'll take the first of three questions," I will weigh that against you. Take the questions if the opponent has been asking good questions. I won't blame you if you don't because the questions haven't been probing. Ideally, I want to weigh the round on impacts. I like comparing Aff and Neg worlds. If necessary, I may have to fill in some gaps in order to render a verdict . . . but I'd like to avoid this. If the debate is very messy on the flow, or lacks impacts, then and only then would I look to speaking style as a way to render a decision. LDV Debate In an LD round I see my role as a non-intervening judge who wants to leave the direction of the round open as much as possible to what the debaters bring to the table. LDV is wide open for me in many regards. In Oregon, I value the V/C debate and would love all communication at a reasonable speed. Yet, we travel to some circuit tournaments on the West Coast, so of course I enjoy seeing the diversity of policy and framework arguments. So here's what would make my decision more legitimate. In regards to the case, run what you believe is worth speaking about, listening about, and learning about. Chances are really good that you know some stuff I don't. You are really focusing on this topic, and I have to teach classes, grade assignments, and raise my two sons. So you have the information advantage. You are going to have to educate me and sell me on whatever you are running. One point that is very important: I'm a smart guy. I'll get it only if you are proficient at delivering it. If I "didn't understand" your position, it's probably because you failed to adequately explain it. I do need clear signposting. I do need the constructives to be at medium speed. I find most people who spread are bad at it for a number of reasons. But the impact is devastating: I will have a messy flow. If you can give me a clear beginning, then you can pick up the pace in the rebuttals, and I can flow it better. I like to compare Aff and Neg worlds. I like to do this weighing with impacts. I would like to be able to base my decision off of the flow. If necessary, I may have to fill in some gaps in order to render a verdict . . . but I'd like to avoid this. If the debate is very messy on the flow, or lacks impacts, then and only then would I look to speaking style as a way to render a decision.

Michelle Neal - Heritage

n/a

Miles Stirewalt - Willamette

n/a

Nancy Gilius - Cleveland

Navneet Guliani - Southridge

n/a

Patrick Johnson - Westview

Real world arguments win- theoretical/improbable impacts do not Comparative impacts critical for a win Topicality is legit, again, only for real world probability CLASH! and signpost where your arguments clash with opponents AND why your impact is more significant No tagteam when prohibited Speed is not your friend when I'm judging, if you have firmly established your contentions and have time, then spreading ok w/o speed

Patrick Cleaver - Lincoln

Patrick Gonzales - Cleveland

Patrick Leahy - SAHS

n/a

Patrick Welch - BSH

n/a

Paul Hamann - Heritage

n/a

Paul Altotsky - Tigard

n/a

Priyoshi Kapur - Sunset

Rachel Wilczewski - Barlow

n/a

Ramata Adebawo - Westview

Rob Moeny - N Val

n/a

Robyn Rose - Lake Oswego

n/a

Ross Burford - Summit

n/a

Ryan Endsley - Barlow

n/a

Sarah Brock - SAHS

n/a

Sean McKean - Thurston

Experience Policy Debate (2009-2013): Tualatin High School Parli (2013- Current): University of Oregon Coach at Thurston High School. General Overveiw: I tend to be down with anything you want to read in front of me, I believe that it is my job to adapt to you and the arguments you want to read not your job to adapt to me. I am not going to tell you what to or not to read in front of me or reject your arguments on face. I tend to prefer more technical debates where you explain to me how all of the relevant arguments interact at the end of the round over just extending them and making me try to figure it out myself at the end. I want to be able to write my RFD at the end of the round by sticking as much as possible to the flow without having to insert my own analysis, this means I want you to write my RFD for me, tell me why I should vote a particular way at the end of the round. I am fine with speed/ tag-team cross-ex, for paper-less I stop prep when the USB is removed from your computer. Now on to some more specific stuff, Impacts are the big one for me, I don't care what impacts you are reading or what framework (Ontology, Methodology, Util, ect.) you are using, but I NEED you to explain to me the interaction between your impacts and theirs, I don't want to have to be the arbritrator of what impacts outweigh each other at the end of the round without any analysis from you. This is especially important if your impacts operate within different frameworks, I don't know how to weigh extinction v value to life debates if you don't explain to me how one outweighs the other. If I am not provided with an alternative framework I default to utilitarianism. Theory/ T: I read a lot of theory in high school, and still do some in college so I am pretty much able to follow what is going on in complex theory debates, although I would prefer that you slow down a bit when spreading theory since it is more condensed and harder to flow. I evalutate theory just like any other argument, which means I am probably more likley to vote on it than most judges if you go for it correctly, using an offense/ defense paradigm. In order to win theory in front of me you are going to need to impact it out and explain what it means for the round. (IE just because they dropped your Consult CP's are illegit argument doesn't mean you insta-win if you don't give me some reason why that theory argument results in a ballot, not just me dropping the CP). CP's: I don't believe in judge conditionality, that means that if you go for the CP in the 2NR I won't kick it for you if the aff wins a perm or a DA to the CP. Besides that I am down with whatever CP you want to read, I think that competing through net benefits is just as legit as being mutually exclusive. I default aff on presumption if the debate comes down to CP v plan, you need to win that your CP is for some reason better than the plan not just that it solves equally as well. K's: I am down with whatever K you want to throw at me, and am somewhat versed in the lit, but don't just assume that I have read every book written by your K author and am some sort of scholar on the subject. When in doubt default to explaining what your argument is saying rather than just giving me tag line extensions. I tend to prefer more specific links to the aff and explanations of how the K works with the aff than simply "they use the state," but that does not mean I won't listen to your more generic K's. I prefer a good explanation of what your alternative does over simply reading the tag line and telling me it solves. K affs: Most of what I said above applies here, I am down with reading kritikal affs and I think that reading non-topical affs or affs without a plan text can be a defendable position. I do think that the aff needs some kind of advocacy statement, if it isn't a plan text, that tells me what I am voting for. DA's: DA's are DA's there isn't much more to say, either read them with a CP or explain how they interact with case.   If you have any more specific questions, or are confused by this feel free to ask me questions in round.

Selena Breazile - Neah-Kah-Nie

n/a

Sravya Tadepalli - Crescent Valley

Don't. Spread.

Stephen McClanahan - Silverton

n/a

Stephen Jang - UHS

n/a

Stewart Reed - Southridge

n/a

Sue Sanders - Cleveland

Susan McLain - Glencoe Tide

I love all types of debate. CX, PF, PARLI, AND LD. I am a real world Policy Maker. I am always looking for good solid critical thinking, support ideas or evidence as per event style and type. I believe debate is a persuasive speaking event with strong developed arguments. I am happy to answer questions before round starts. Individual Events are all unique and interesting! I like to judge a variety of events! My extemp, impromptu, radio, oratory and interp speakers have all had strong showings over the years.  I have coached for 43 years. Susan McLain

Suyash Sharma - Westview

Taylor Deardorf - Southridge WA

I debated for Southridge High School but most of my judging criteria come from my experience come form my colegiate Mock Trial competitions.  I am a college student at the University of Washington. Because of this experience in the trial court, PF teams would be more successful laying out cogent arguments in real world situations. Debaters, especially for Public Forum, should focus on clarity and well-warranted, logical arguments. That being said, debaters should feel free to use any really creative impacts or arguments as they like, as long as they can back it up and is somewhat believable. Real wolrd impacts play a huge role for me when I vote. Furthermore, disrespectful, overly-aggressive, and/or dishonest debaters will also be deducted significant speaker points. I expect a good clear framework or I will simply default to my personal preference for a framework. In the end, I will vote for the team who persuades me in believing that their side will create a better world or the least-worse world (so impacts are important for me). If the aff fails to provide any reason for change, and I feel the status quo is the most reasonable, then I will default to con because it is the aff’s job to create change and withhold the entirety of the resolution. I do not like to disclose unless the tournament requires to, but I am willing to give constructive feedback.

Tori Marshall - Grants Pass

n/a

2016 Jean Ward Invitational