2013 Marist "Spartan Speaks"
Marist High School - Dec 7 | Status: Completed
Judge Philosophies
Alexander Erwig - South
<p>I debated for four years in high school TOC level LD for Crescent Valley, and did three years of college parli for the University of Oregon. I've coached at multiple high school summer camps and am also currently coaching South Eugene’s policy team. Ultimately, you should deploy whichever strategy you are most comfortable and proficient with, and I’ll be happy to evaluate it. My favorite debates are those in which both teams are making smart, strategic arguments, regardless of whether those are critical or policy or theoretical debates.</p> <p> </p> <p>I'm fine with any speed, any type of argument, and will not impose my own views about debate on you. I fundamentally believe that debate is an activity where each individual has an opportunity to speak about issues and arguments important to them, so I am fully open to whatever you want to do. </p> <p> </p> <p>That being said, I’ll lay out a few of my general beliefs about debate. This isn’t to say that you should just conform to them, as I believe any theoretical issue is up for debate in-round, but should give you a heads-up as to what my inclinations are.</p> <p> </p> <p>Specific Issues: </p> <p>Kritiks: A strong framework with clear role of the ballot claims ideally accompanies most successful criticisms. I think a lot of critical debate suffers from a lack of warrant comparison and thesis-level analysis, so good comparative analysis and solid overviews will get you a long way. Just because I am versed in this kind of literature does not mean that I like seeing poorly executed critical strategies, so know your author's claims and be able to explain them. Extending tags and re-reading lines from your evidence is not the same as understanding and being able to explain your argument. Be able to sum up the thesis of your criticism in three sentences or less.</p> <p> </p> <p>Theory: I like theory debates, especially those in which the interpretations are cleverly crafted (ex. Not “PICs bad” but rather “Counterplans that create an artificial net-benefit bad”). I am not a fan of the blatant doctored evidence that I’ve seen on the domestic surveillance topic to support some T interpretations. I’ll be reading the evidence that supports your interp, so be sure that your evidence actually says what you claim it does. Be sure to include fleshed out voters (“vote b/c education and fairness” is not sufficient).</p> <p> </p> <p>DA/CP: I really enjoy evaluating these debates, and think that a well-crafted and argued DA/CP strat is probably one of my favorite debates to watch. The more specific and recent your evidence is, the better your disad is likely to perform in the debate. I tend to think that the internal links on most disads I’ve seen are the most lacking component, so having a well fleshed-out story is important in these areas.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Speaker points: My speaker points are primarily based on strategic execution in the debate, so even if you speak really well but make poor strategic choices you will get fewer speaks than someone who executes a winning strategy very well but doesn’t speak as well. That being said, I think most high school policy debaters would benefit from taking their speed down a level or two and increasing clarity. Not only does this ultimately make you faster (counterintuitive but true), but it also makes your speaker points go up. Especially in the rebuttals, many speeches would be more effective at a slightly slower pace while still making all of the necessary arguments.</p>
Kenneth Bisbee - Ridgefield H.S.
n/a
Kevin Eighmey - NEHS
n/a
Molly Schulze - Willamette
n/a