Judge Philosophies

Alexis Arredondo - PCC

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Jacee Cantler - PCC

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Jay Arntson - PCC

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Johnny Kelly - PCC

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Nick Matthews - Cerritos College

<p>Hello! I am a full-time coach at Cerritos College. I debated in both high school and college for eight years, and I have been coaching at the college level for the past five years. Here are a few important things to know when I am judging you:</p> <p>1) I am partly deaf and wear hearing aids, so I will probably sit towards the front of the room. Please speak up a bit and speak at a conversational pace of speed. Otherwise, I may not be able to flow all of your arguments.</p> <p>2) I am fine with all types of arguments&mdash;DAs, CPs, Ks, procedurals, etc.&mdash;as long as they are well-executed and well-explained. The caveat:&nbsp;if your argument is particularly&nbsp;novel or if I have never heard it before, I will be less confident in my understanding and evaluation of it. This goes for both kritiks and obscure politics disads.&nbsp;&quot;You haven&#39;t explained _______&nbsp;well enough&quot; is a line that frequently appears in my RFDs.&nbsp;</p> <p>3) I like to read about what&#39;s happening in the world. Since knowledge is subjective, I try to minimize the influence of my reading on my evaluation of your arguments, but I definitely have a bias against arguments which rely on faulty factual premises.</p> <p>4) An argument consists of three parts: a claim, support, and an implication. The last of these is very important. Why does your argument matter? What is the impact? How does it relate to other arguments? How should it influence my evaluation of the debate? Debaters who directly answer these&nbsp;questions&nbsp;are far more likely to win. Don&#39;t leave them up to me to resolve.&nbsp;</p> <p>5) Similarly, you should focus on comparative evaluations of arguments in your rebuttals. It is insufficient to win that an argument is valid; you also have to prove that it is preferable in some way to what your opponent argued. Focus on argumentative depth over breadth. Narrowing the debate down to a few key issues and kicking out of less important arguments is always a smart play.</p> <p>6) I am nonverbally expressive as a judge, so pay attention to me. If you see me nodding, you&#39;re probably saying something smart and you should emphasize it. If I look skeptical about your argument, I&nbsp;probably am. Use this information appropriately.&nbsp;</p> <p>If you have more specific questions, I am always happy to answer them before the round. Good luck, and don&#39;t forget to have fun!</p>


Victor Cornejo - PCC

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