Judge Philosophies
Amanda Ozaki-Laughon - CUI
Hello,
I am the Director of Forensics at Concordia University Irvine. I competed both nationally and locally at PSCFA and NPTE/NPDA tournaments during my 4 years of competition, and this is my 4th year coaching and judging.?
I tend to prefer policy debate, and am sympathetic to trichotomy arguments that say policymaking includes the educational facets of value and fact debate. Value and fact debates are often lacking in the very basic structure of claim+data+warrant, and rarely use terminalized impacts. These shortcomings are much easier to logically rectify if policymaking is used. "should" is not necessary to test whether or not the resolution is true.?
Theory comes first in debate, since it is a debate about the rules. I default to competing interpretations and am unlikely to vote for your counter interpretation if it has no counter standards for that reason. MOs should choose whether to go for topicality or the substance debate and collapse to one OR the other, not both. Likewise, PMRs should choose whether to collapse to MG theory arguments OR the substance debate, not both.?
Kritiks should explain why they turn the AFF and have terminalized impacts. The framework should be utilized as offense to frame out the method of the AFF, and prioritize the impacts of the K. The Alt should explain why they solve for the AFF, and avoid the disadvantages of the link story. I prefer critiques that do not make essentialized claims without warrants about how the AFF's method in particular needs to be rejected. I prefer critical affirmatives be topical in their advocacy statement or policy option.?
Disadvantages should explain why they turn the AFF and have terminalized impacts. Uniqueness claims should be descriptive of the status quo, with a predictive claim about what direction the status quo is heading. Politics disadvantages should have well-warranted link stories that explain why the plan uniquely causes losers/win, winners to lose, etc.?
Counterplans should solve for at least one of the advantages of the AFF. Plan-inclusive counterplans are core negative ground, though perhaps less so on resolutions with 1 topical affirmative (resolutions that require the AFF to pass a bill, for example). I usually default to counterplans competing based on net benefits, and thus permutation arguments need to explain why the perm shields the link to the disadvantage(s).?
Andrew Lake - WU
I debated for Washburn for four years. I now coach at Topeka West High School. I am a flow centric judge and I am willing to vote on anything that is articulated well with a clear framework. I can handle most levels of speed so long as you are articulate. It is in your best interest to start relatively slow and speed up as the speech progresses (crescendo). The rest of this judge philosophy is how I will default in the event that you don't tell me how to evaluate a position.
Overall, net-benefits.
Theory: I love theory debates. Generally I will evaluate them through competing interpretations based on the standards and which standards I am told are most important.
Advantages/Disadvantages: Generally, uniqueness controls the direction of the link; extinction and dehumanization are terminal impacts. A 1% chance of a disad/adv occurring gives that team "offense" for the ballot.
CP: Counterplans should be competitive and switch presumption from the negative to the affirmative. Thus, the CP has to give me a net-benefit over the case or a perm to warrant a ballot. I am willing to vote on CP theory if those arguments are won.
K: I wasn't a big K debater, but I have argued them and judged them frequently. You should be able to explain your K, its framework, link, impx, alt and alt solvency. Buzz words, and name dropping are not a substitute for the former explanation. I am willing to vote on framework and similar arguments if those theory arguments are won
Andrew Lake - WU
I debated for Washburn for four years. I now coach at Topeka West High School. I am a flow centric judge and I am willing to vote on anything that is articulated well with a clear framework. I can handle most levels of speed so long as you are articulate. It is in your best interest to start relatively slow and speed up as the speech progresses (crescendo). The rest of this judge philosophy is how I will default in the event that you don't tell me how to evaluate a position.
Overall, net-benefits.
Theory: I love theory debates. Generally I will evaluate them through competing interpretations based on the standards and which standards I am told are most important.
Advantages/Disadvantages: Generally, uniqueness controls the direction of the link; extinction and dehumanization are terminal impacts. A 1% chance of a disad/adv occurring gives that team "offense" for the ballot.
CP: Counterplans should be competitive and switch presumption from the negative to the affirmative. Thus, the CP has to give me a net-benefit over the case or a perm to warrant a ballot. I am willing to vote on CP theory if those arguments are won.
K: I wasn't a big K debater, but I have argued them and judged them frequently. You should be able to explain your K, its framework, link, impx, alt and alt solvency. Buzz words, and name dropping are not a substitute for the former explanation. I am willing to vote on framework and similar arguments if those theory arguments are won
Bailey Hockett - WU
My background:
I debated for 4 years on the NPTE/NPDA circuit at Washburn University. I competed in policy debate in high school for 4 years. I am now pursuing my J.D. at KU.
Overview: I think that debate is a game. Do what you can justify. I prefer debates that engage the topic and in an ideal situation utilize fiat to do so, but I will definitely listen to arguments that interpret the topic differently.
I would prefer that you read advocacies unconditionally, but I will not vote you down without the other team winning the condo bad theory. I do tend to buy abuse stories for condo bad theory (i.e. if youre going to read a conditional strategy, you should have some killer answers to condo bad).
Ill do my best to protect from new arguments in rebuttals, but feel free to call them.
Impact calc is huge and seems to be disappearing from parli.
Identity/Performance/Critical Arguments:
I judge these arguments similarly to other criticisms. Therefore, I need a clear advocacy; it does not need to be an alternative, but make your advocacy clear, whatever your advocacy may be. I still think you need to have very strong solvency for your argument and I need some type of way to weigh the debate through impacts.
Im willing to listen to framework debates.
I do think that if you are rejecting the resolution then you need some sort of justification for doing so or some kind of explanation or link to the resolution because I think this fosters creativity.
Texts and Interpretations:
You can either provide me with a written copy of the text or slow down when you read the plan/cp/alt/interp and repeat it. Not doing so can make debates impossible to judge and follow.
Procedurals/Theory/T:
I LOVE theory. I default to competing interpretations, but this does not mean that I wont listen to other frameworks for evaluating T, especially if there is only one framework. I do not need real in round abuse, but an abuse story needs to exist even if it is potential abuse. I view topicality similarly to a DA in that I view your interp as the uniqueness what the case should be, violation as the links what did they do to affect the UQ, and the standards are the internal links to the voters which are the impacts.
Disads:
read em
CPs:
read em. Perm em.
Ks:
I need a clear thesis for any complicated criticism. How can you tell if its too complicated and needs a thesis? If you/your coach are questioning if its complicated, it probably is. I also need a clear depiction of what your post alt world looks like.
I enjoy criticisms and they certainly have a place in parli. Perm, perm well, and perm often.
Brenden Dimmig - UNT
Brian Lain - UNT
Brigitte Tripp - WU
Brigitte Tripp - WU
Chris Miles - Minnesota
n/a
Chris Miles - KCKCC
TOO LONG DIDNT READ: You do you. If you bring me chai I will give block 30s. If you have questions then ask me.
Theory arguments are boring.
I competed in High School and College policy debate at KCKCC, then competed in NPDA/NPTE national circuit style debate. I have been coaching primarily NPDA/NPTE debate with some NFA at times. Generally familiar with most arguments and analytic arguments. I am uncompelled by many theory arguments and would generally prefer a substance debate than a theory debate (this includes things like tricot and spec especially). I will default to reasonability for many of these arguments.
Darren Elliott - KCKCC
Darren Elliott "Chief" --Director of Debate and Forensics Kansas City KS Community College
Director and Head Coach at KCKCC for the past two decades. In that time we have had multiple late elim teams at CEDA Nats, multiple teams qualified to the NDT, 2015 NPDA Parli National Champions, 2016 NFA LD National Champion, mulitple CC National Championships in all formats of Debate and some IE's as well. I appreciate the breadth the activity provides and I enjoy coaching, judging hard working students who value the activity.
*PARLI ADDITION--The Aff should have any plan texts, ROTB, ROTJ, Alts, Etc. written on paper prior to the end of the PMC. The Neg should have any counterplan texts, ROTB, ROTJ, Alts, Etc. written on paper prior to the end of the LOC. Debates are routinely spending 3-5 minutes prior to FLEX time after the first two speeches to manage these issues.
Probably the least interventionist judge you will encounter. Will listen to and fairly consider any argument presented. (Avoid obvious racist and sexist arguments and ad Homs). For an argument to be a round winner you need to win the impact the argument has in relation to the impacts your opponent might be winning and how all of those affect/are affected by the ballot or decision (think framework for the debate). No predispositions against any strategy be it a Disad/CP/Case or K or T/Framework on the Neg or a straight up policy or K Aff. Win what it is you do and win why that matters. I actually appreciate a good Disad/CP/Case Offense debate as much as anything (even though the arguments a number of recent KCKCC debaters might lead one to think otherwise). The beauty of debate is its innovation.
I appreciate in-depth arguments and hard work and reward that with speaker points. A debate that begins in the first couple of speeches at a depth that most debates aspire to be by the last two speeches is a work of art and shows dedication and foresight that should be rewarded. Cross-X as well, in this regard, that shows as good or better of an understanding of your opponents arguments as they do will also be rewarded. Cross-X is a lost art.
Most of all--Have Fun and Good Luck!!
David Hansen - TTU
Hey there! I competed for 2 years at Snow College and 3 years at William Jewell College. I am a second year graduate teaching assistant at Texas Tech University. My preferred pronouns are he/him/his.
General Notes
I believe that NPDA is a unique and amazing format. Making your critical, framework, and theory arguments specific to NPDA is a great way to win more debates.
Interpretations and advocacies should at least be read twice and slowly. Ideally you provide the judge(s) and competitors with a copy.
Pretty much nothing in my philosophy is absolute.
I tend to believe that the way we discuss the world has real impacts outside of the debate round.
If debaters are debating ethically, I tend to believe that framework arguments are more persuasive than the arguments against it. However, I will vote based on how the debate plays out. If you win that defending the topic is bad and you reject the topic, you will likely win the debate.
An argument without a warrant isnt an argument.
I tend to believe that recording, sharing, and watching rounds is good for debate.
Theory and Framework
I love a great theory or framework shell. I am happy to vote here. I think debaters need to step outside our normal buzzwords and discuss how our interpretations alter the debate game and our education.
Counter Plans
Im uncertain about conditionality. I am sympathetic to arguments about the MG being key and difficult. However, I also believe the negative should have some flexibility. Feel free to run your shell. Feel free to be conditional. I will vote depending on how condo plays out.
PICs are usually abusive in NPDA debate, but often strategic and occasionally justified especially if the topic provides aff flex.
Delay is almost always bad, so are process CPs.
Kritiks
These are fine. I read them a lot, went for them occasionally. Please provide early thesis-level analysis. I think most K shells Ive seen are incredibly inefficient and vulnerable to impact turns. Teams should likely cut major portions of their FW page and instead develop solvency and internal links to the case.
MGs should be more willing to go hard right (or left) to answer Ks. The aff probably links to Cap, but there is SUBSTANTIAL lit in favor of cap.
Performance
I think performance arguments can be amazing. However, they are easy to do inefficiently and hard to do well. An aff that is rejecting the motion needs to justify why: 1. Your thing matters more than the topic 2. Why you cant discuss your thing on this topic OR 3. Why your thing is a prior question to the topic.
On the neg, you need to prove that you are an opportunity cost to the aff. Maybe its as simple as you need to keep debating, but you need a reason.
David Worth - RIce
David Worth – Rice
D.O.F., Rice University
Parli Judging Philosophy
Note: If you read nothing else in this, read the last paragraph.
I’ll judge based on given criteria/framework. I can think in more than one way. This means that the mechanisms for deciding the round are up for debate as far as I’m concerned. My decision is based mostly on how the debaters argue I should decide the round but I will intervene if the round demands it. There are many cases where this might be necessary: If asked to use my ballot politically for example, or if both sides fail to give me a clear mechanism for voting, or if I know something to factually incorrect (if someone is lying). In these cases, I try to stay out of the decision as much as I can but I don’t believe in the idea that any living person is really a blank slate or a sort of argument calculator.
I prefer debates that are related to the topic.
I will not vote for an argument that I don’t understand. If I can’t figure it out from what you’ve said in the round, I can’t vote on it.
I will admit that I am tired of debates that are mostly logic puzzles. I am tired of moving symbols around on paper. Alts and plan texts that are empty phrases don’t do it for me anymore. The novelty of postmodern critique that verges on--or actually takes the leap into--nihilism has worn off. I don’t think there’s much value anymore in affirming what we all know: That things can be deconstructed and that they contain contradictory concepts. It is time for us to move beyond this recognition into something else. Debate can be a game with meaning.
Warrants: I will not vote for assertions that don’t at least have some warrant behind them. You can’t say “algae blooms,” and assume I will fill in the internals and the subsequent impacts for you. You don’t get to just say that some counter-intuitive thing will happen. You need a reason that that lovely regionally based sustainable market will just magically appear after the conveniently bloodless collapse of capitalism. I’m not saying I won’t vote for that. I’m just saying you have to make an argument for why it would happen. NOTE: I need a good warrant for an "Independent Voting Issue" that isn't an implication of a longer argument, procedural, or somehow otherwise developed. Just throwing something in as a “voter” will not get the ballot. I reserve the right to gut-check these. If there is not warrant or if the warrant makes no sense to me, I won't vote on it.
Defense can win, too. That doesn’t mean that a weaker offensive argument with risk can’t outweigh defense, it simply means that just saying, “oh that’s just defense,” won’t make the argument go away for me. Debate is not football. There’s no presumption in the NFL, so that analogy is wrong.
You need to deal with all the line-by-line stuff but should not fail to frame things (do the big picture work) for me as well. It’s pretty rare that I vote on one response but it’s equally rare that I will vote on the most general level of the ideas. In a bind, I will vote for what’s easier to believe and/or more intuitive.
Speed is fine as long as you are clear. There are days when I need you to slow down a tad. I have battled carpal/cubital tunnel off and on for a few years and sometimes my hand just does not work quite as well. I’ll tell you if you need to clear up and/or slow down, but not more than a couple of times. After that, it’s on you.
Please slow down for the alt texts, plans, advocacies, etc., and give me a copy too. If I don’t have it, I can’t vote for it.
Strong Viewpoints: I haven’t yet found "the" issue that I can’t try to see all sides of.
Points of Order: Call them—but judiciously. I’ll probably know whether the argument is new and not calling them does not change their status as new. Also, if you’re clearly winning bigtime don’t call a ridiculous number of them. Just let the other team get out of the round with some dignity. If you don’t, your speaker points will suffer. It’ll be obvious when I think you are calling too many.
If the round is obviously lopsided and you are obliterating the other team then be nice. I will lower your speaker points if you aren’t respectful or if you simply pile it on for the heck of it. If it’s egregious enough, you might even lose the debate.
You don’t need to repeat yourself just to fill time. If you’re finished, then sit down and get us all to lunch, the end of the day, or the next round early.
Theory: I’m not going to weigh in on the great theoretical controversies of the day. Those are up to you to demonstrate in the round. T can be more than one thing depending on the round. I’m not going to tell you what to do. Debate is always in flux. Actually, I’ve learned or at least been encouraged to think differently about theory issues from debaters in rounds far more often than from anyone else. If I had pontificated about The Truth As I Knew It before those rounds, the debaters would have simply argued what I said I liked and I wouldn’t have learned, so it’s in my interest as well as yours for me not to hand you a sushi menu with the items I’d like to see checked off. PICS, Framework, Competing Interp, in-round abuse, etc. are all interpretable in the debate. I will say that I probably most naturally think in terms of competing interpretations, but, again, I can think in more than one way.
My “Debate Background:” I did CEDA/NDT in college. I coached policy for years, and also coached parli from the days of metaphor all the way into the NPTE/NPDA modern era. I have also coached NFA-LD.
Finally, I ask that you consider that everyone in the room has sacrificed something to be there. A lot of resources, time, and effort went in to bringing us all there. Be sure to show some respect for that. I am serious about this and it has come to occupy a significant portion of my thinking about debate these days. In fact, I think it’s time for the in-round bullying to stop. I see too many rounds where one team’s strategy is simply to intimidate the other team. I find it strange that an activity that talks so much about the violence of language often does so in such a needlessly aggressive and violent manner. In some rounds every interaction is barbed. Flex/CX is often just needlessly aggressive and sometimes even useless (when, for example, someone simply refuses to answer questions or just keeps purposely avoiding the question when it’s obvious that they understand the question, opting instead for aggression sometimes verging on ad hominem). I see too many other rounds where everyone is just awful to each other, including the judges afterward. You can be intense and competitive without this. We are now a smaller circuit. It’s strange that we would choose to spend so much time together yet be so horrible to each other.
David Worth - RIce
David Worth – Rice
D.O.F., Rice University
Parli Judging Philosophy
Note: If you read nothing else in this, read the last paragraph.
I’ll judge based on given criteria/framework. I can think in more than one way. This means that the mechanisms for deciding the round are up for debate as far as I’m concerned. My decision is based mostly on how the debaters argue I should decide the round but I will intervene if the round demands it. There are many cases where this might be necessary: If asked to use my ballot politically for example, or if both sides fail to give me a clear mechanism for voting, or if I know something to factually incorrect (if someone is lying). In these cases, I try to stay out of the decision as much as I can but I don’t believe in the idea that any living person is really a blank slate or a sort of argument calculator.
I prefer debates that are related to the topic.
I will not vote for an argument that I don’t understand. If I can’t figure it out from what you’ve said in the round, I can’t vote on it.
I will admit that I am tired of debates that are mostly logic puzzles. I am tired of moving symbols around on paper. Alts and plan texts that are empty phrases don’t do it for me anymore. The novelty of postmodern critique that verges on--or actually takes the leap into--nihilism has worn off. I don’t think there’s much value anymore in affirming what we all know: That things can be deconstructed and that they contain contradictory concepts. It is time for us to move beyond this recognition into something else. Debate can be a game with meaning.
Warrants: I will not vote for assertions that don’t at least have some warrant behind them. You can’t say “algae blooms,” and assume I will fill in the internals and the subsequent impacts for you. You don’t get to just say that some counter-intuitive thing will happen. You need a reason that that lovely regionally based sustainable market will just magically appear after the conveniently bloodless collapse of capitalism. I’m not saying I won’t vote for that. I’m just saying you have to make an argument for why it would happen. NOTE: I need a good warrant for an "Independent Voting Issue" that isn't an implication of a longer argument, procedural, or somehow otherwise developed. Just throwing something in as a “voter” will not get the ballot. I reserve the right to gut-check these. If there is not warrant or if the warrant makes no sense to me, I won't vote on it.
Defense can win, too. That doesn’t mean that a weaker offensive argument with risk can’t outweigh defense, it simply means that just saying, “oh that’s just defense,” won’t make the argument go away for me. Debate is not football. There’s no presumption in the NFL, so that analogy is wrong.
You need to deal with all the line-by-line stuff but should not fail to frame things (do the big picture work) for me as well. It’s pretty rare that I vote on one response but it’s equally rare that I will vote on the most general level of the ideas. In a bind, I will vote for what’s easier to believe and/or more intuitive.
Speed is fine as long as you are clear. There are days when I need you to slow down a tad. I have battled carpal/cubital tunnel off and on for a few years and sometimes my hand just does not work quite as well. I’ll tell you if you need to clear up and/or slow down, but not more than a couple of times. After that, it’s on you.
Please slow down for the alt texts, plans, advocacies, etc., and give me a copy too. If I don’t have it, I can’t vote for it.
Strong Viewpoints: I haven’t yet found "the" issue that I can’t try to see all sides of.
Points of Order: Call them—but judiciously. I’ll probably know whether the argument is new and not calling them does not change their status as new. Also, if you’re clearly winning bigtime don’t call a ridiculous number of them. Just let the other team get out of the round with some dignity. If you don’t, your speaker points will suffer. It’ll be obvious when I think you are calling too many.
If the round is obviously lopsided and you are obliterating the other team then be nice. I will lower your speaker points if you aren’t respectful or if you simply pile it on for the heck of it. If it’s egregious enough, you might even lose the debate.
You don’t need to repeat yourself just to fill time. If you’re finished, then sit down and get us all to lunch, the end of the day, or the next round early.
Theory: I’m not going to weigh in on the great theoretical controversies of the day. Those are up to you to demonstrate in the round. T can be more than one thing depending on the round. I’m not going to tell you what to do. Debate is always in flux. Actually, I’ve learned or at least been encouraged to think differently about theory issues from debaters in rounds far more often than from anyone else. If I had pontificated about The Truth As I Knew It before those rounds, the debaters would have simply argued what I said I liked and I wouldn’t have learned, so it’s in my interest as well as yours for me not to hand you a sushi menu with the items I’d like to see checked off. PICS, Framework, Competing Interp, in-round abuse, etc. are all interpretable in the debate. I will say that I probably most naturally think in terms of competing interpretations, but, again, I can think in more than one way.
My “Debate Background:” I did CEDA/NDT in college. I coached policy for years, and also coached parli from the days of metaphor all the way into the NPTE/NPDA modern era. I have also coached NFA-LD.
Finally, I ask that you consider that everyone in the room has sacrificed something to be there. A lot of resources, time, and effort went in to bringing us all there. Be sure to show some respect for that. I am serious about this and it has come to occupy a significant portion of my thinking about debate these days. In fact, I think it’s time for the in-round bullying to stop. I see too many rounds where one team’s strategy is simply to intimidate the other team. I find it strange that an activity that talks so much about the violence of language often does so in such a needlessly aggressive and violent manner. In some rounds every interaction is barbed. Flex/CX is often just needlessly aggressive and sometimes even useless (when, for example, someone simply refuses to answer questions or just keeps purposely avoiding the question when it’s obvious that they understand the question, opting instead for aggression sometimes verging on ad hominem). I see too many other rounds where everyone is just awful to each other, including the judges afterward. You can be intense and competitive without this. We are now a smaller circuit. It’s strange that we would choose to spend so much time together yet be so horrible to each other.
Erick Roebuck - OU
I coached Parli at Biola University for 12 years from 1997-2009. We had success at NPDA and NPTE during my time there. I returned to NPDA Nats last year as the DOF for the University of Oklahoma in 2018.
- I am not a fan of critical, non-topical AFFs. If you want to run one of these for me, you are probably going to have to slow down and teach me to embrace your position as I might not be familiar with the literature you are referencing to build your claims.
- K's need to have some link to either the case or the AFF/NEG advocacy.
- I believe the role of the ballot is to assess the arguments and debaters, not solve some systemic problem within or outside the round. I am currently very skeptical of critical debate as it often excludes debaters trying to play by the rules. If your advocacy necessarily excludes the other team access to the ballot, I think you may be guilty of the same exclusion that you are fighting against.
- I am okay with speed if you are clear, especially with the tags. Arguments are more important than delivery, but confident, engaging delivery helps earn those 30 pt ratings. Give me time to switch tabs on my laptop when you switch sheets.
- I prefer that the neg block goes this way: 2NC covers the flow. 1NR crystallizes and shares voting issues (while obviously referring back to the flow when necessary). If the 1NR addresses issues that that the 2NC did not cover, then I will give the 1AR a lot of leeway to collapse and focus on key issues.
- Not a fan of lazy cross applications. Explain why they matter and impact the arguments.
- If the neg offers a counter definition, criteria, weighing mechanism, framework, or role of the ballot, it is imperative that they give me a reason to prefer NEG over AFF in the INC. It really is too late, in my opinion, to do this in the Neg block. I will default to AFF interpretations if no reason to prefer is given by the NEG in the 1NC, especially if the 2AC gives me reasons to prefer the AFF.
- I think new arguments in the 2NC are dumb strategy. The aff can turn those in the 1AR without you having a chance to respond. Use at your own peril.
- Have fun. Be nice. Build one another up through the clash of ideas in our awesome activity of debate!
Concordia Notes...
- I am just judging elim rounds in Parli, so take that into consideration as you strike judges.
Jackson De Vight - TTU
Background: I have been debating for 10 years. I started in high school with LD, policy, and parli, and did parli in SoCal for 4 years. Im now a graduate coach at TTU.
General:
- PLEASE READ: I am hard of hearing and have wrist issues so please emphasize clarity and word economy over speed. I'll get to argument preferences later, but TBH just understand that I prefer depth and organization way more than speed. If you're one of the faster teams, go about 2/3s your full speed for maximum comprehension. I will clear and speed-check you, but if I drop my pen, that's the final signal that you've lost me. I vote on my flow¦so dont lose my flowing.
- Read all plan texts, counterplan texts, advocacy texts, alternative text, and interp/role of the ballot arguments slowly, twice, and clearly.
- I dont time speeches myself.
- I may want a copy of all texts, interps, and ROBs beyond specifically what I flow, so be prepared.
- Topical debates are by far my preferred mode.
- I generally dislike Condo, mostly because it's generally deployed pretty poorly. You can use it, but I'm pretty sympathetic to Condo Bad when warranted well.
- Ideologically Im fairly open to most arguments but do realize that my social location and political perspective are probably irrevocably intertwined in the way I evaluate rounds. Like, Im pretty moderate, so warranted arguments about the wonders of the free market or the necessity of social purging arent likely to do well in front of me if your opponent knows what theyre doing.
- For the K:
TL; DR unless its a pretty well-structured criticism that links well and specifically, Im probably just not the judge you want in the back of the room. Ultimately, I'm compelled to vote for well-warranted, smart arguments regardless of the form they take. Because of my experience/background, I'm less compelled out-of-hand by approaches that do not seek to engage the core of the topic (and that goes for aff and neg), but see previous sentence for how you should to debate in front of me. I want to hear your best arguments, and I'll vote on what's won.
Assume I dont read your lit base. Most of my issues following those arguments have to do with the use of phrases Im not familiar with. If you have me in the back of the room, consider simplifying the terminology and I should be fine. However, I am not the best critic for your arguments. I think about public policy frequently. This is less true for critical arguments. Also, if you go one off and 5 minutes of case and the one off is a disad, youll probably have my heart forever.
I very much believe that debate is a game that you are trying to win. Utilizing debate rounds as personal platform ventures into a realm I am deeply uncomfortable assessing. You are free to engage in debate in a manner you see fit, but realize that I likely do not possess the capacity to properly assess the role of personal history as part of a critical debate. You will do much better here if you have a solidly built framework and well articulate ROB.
* I cordially dislike almost every affirmative criticism that does not uphold the burden of the affirmative in relation to the resolution.
** For criticisms that utilize personal experience, please avoid using arguments about mental health issues or sexual violence.
*** Performance-oriented criticisms will need to do serious work to justify a performance as something I should vote on.
**** When I ran critical arguments, they were mostly economic, ablism, or ecological in nature.
Arguments:Overall, youre going to get a lot more mileage from me by going for fewer, more well-articulated, and more warrant-heavy argumentation. As indicated above, speed is not your friend when Im in the back of the room so just go for depth over breadth.
Counterplans: I prefer that you provide a copy for the other team. Make sure you have a written text. I like advantage counterplans, PICs, and actor counterplans. Consult less so, but Im open to it. For the affirmative: Im open to PICs bad but dont default that way. Well utilized CP strats are beautiful.
Permutations: Permutations are tests of competition, not advocacies. Multiple perms arent unfair, but theyre a little silly unless you explicate why you want more than one. I will not reject a permutation outright unless you give me a reason of why it shouldnt be evaluated. HAVE A PERM TEXT
Theory: All theory positions should have an interpretation, a violation, standards, and voting issues. Please read your interpretations more than once. I am pretty willing to vote on well warranted theory arguments.
Topicality: My threshold for T is maybe lower than some. If you win your interpretation, violation, and your standards outweigh I will vote for you.
Speaker Points: Be smart and concise and your speaker points will range between 26-30. Utilization of racist, sexist, etc. rhetoric will sink your points pretty quick, as will parroting to your partner. Like, win the round, but dont parrot if you can help it.
Voting/Rebuttals/POO:Have clear voting issues either through distinct voters, two world analysis, or some other format. YOU MUST DO IMPACT CALCULUS IF YOU WANT IT CONSIDERED. Call POOs if you hear them. I try to protect, but you should call them all the same.
Feel free to ask questions. I can give you my professional email if youd like it. Debate is great.
Modified on 8/31/2017
Jordan Terry - WJC
I competed in parli for 3 years. This is my first year judging. Speed is generally fine but the faster you go the more arguments I’ll miss so spread at your own risk. I prefer policy affs but feel free to do whatever you’re comfortable with. I will vote on impacts unless you give me something else to vote on. Ks are fine but if I’m not familiar with the literature (which is probably most of the time) you need to explain it very clearly. If I don’t understand it, I won’t vote on it. I believe the debate space ought to be safe and accessible for everyone so be kind and be inclusive. I'm very generous with speaker points so expect high speaks as long as you treat everyone with respect.
Jordan Terry - WJC
I competed in parli for 3 years. This is my first year judging. Speed is generally fine but the faster you go the more arguments I’ll miss so spread at your own risk. I prefer policy affs but feel free to do whatever you’re comfortable with. I will vote on impacts unless you give me something else to vote on. Ks are fine but if I’m not familiar with the literature (which is probably most of the time) you need to explain it very clearly. If I don’t understand it, I won’t vote on it. I believe the debate space ought to be safe and accessible for everyone so be kind and be inclusive. I'm very generous with speaker points so expect high speaks as long as you treat everyone with respect.
Kaitlyn Bull - WU
My background: I debated for 5 years on the NPTE/NPDA circuit (2 years at the University of Texas at Tyler and 3 years at Washburn University). I competed in policy debate in high school for 4 years. I have my BA in Political Science with a minor in Women and Gender Studies. I'm also in my first year of law school so I'm not as involved with coaching and judging this year as I was in the past.
Highlights: I think that debate is a game in which you should make use of all the tools that you can creatively deploy. I prefer debates that engage the topic and in an ideal situation utilize fiat to do so, but I will definitely listen to arguments that interpret the topic differently. I would prefer that you read advocacies unconditionally and I will vote on conditionality. I protect from new arguments in rebuttals, but if you feel the need then still call them if you must. Impact calculus is the most important thing to me as a judge. I want the rebuttal speeches to help me craft my ballot through the lenses of timeframe, probability, and magnitude (not necessarily in that order). Since I am in my first year of law school I am not as involved with the team. Please if this is a topic area tournament do not assume that I know everything about the topic.
Identity/Performance/Critical Arguments: I judge these arguments similarly to other criticisms. Therefore, I need a clear advocacy; it does not need to be an alternative, but make your advocacy clear (whether it be a poem, metaphor, alt, etc.). I need you to frame the debate for me through unique impacts you may garner from these type of arguments. I'm willing to listen to "role play as the state" framework strategies from the negative, but I think the biggest mistake neg teams make here is not answering the arguments on the aff proper and they end up being framed out. I do think that if you are rejecting the resolution then you need some sort of justification for doing so or a link to the resolution because I think this fosters creativity.
Flowing: Give me enough time to switch tabs on my laptop when you switch sheets. If I think you are too quiet, unclear, or fast I will let you know immediately. Speed is not really an issue, clarity is.
Texts and Interpretations: You can either provide me with a written copy of the text or slow down when you read the plan/cp/alt and repeat it. I think this is very important during theory debates and framework debates. I'll ask you to repeat it before the next speech/prep begins if I don't get it.
Procedurals/Theory/T: I enjoy a good T debate and I default to competing interpretations, but this does not mean that I won?t listen to other frameworks for evaluating T. I am not a fan of RVI?s. I understand the utility of these arguments, but they likely aren?t going to win my ballot. I do not need real in round abuse, but an abuse story needs to exist even if it is potential abuse. I need procedurals to have clearly articulated interpretations, violations, standards, and voters not just blips in the LOC of, ?vote for us for fairness and education?. I view topicality similarly to a disad in that I view standards as being the internal links to the voters (impacts). I am not a huge fan of multiple new theory sheets in the MG. I have a low threshold for theory, eh I'm a T hack I guess.
Disads: I enjoy topic specific disads. As a side note, I have higher standards for voting on politics than most others because I ran the argument so often. I need specifics such as vote counts, whose whipping the votes, sponsors of the bill, procedural information regarding passage, etc.
CPs: I love counter-plans and I regret my under-utilization of them while I was a competitor. I am not prone to vote against any type of counter-plan. I prefer functional competition over textual competition because it is easier to weigh and more tangible to me.
Ks: I enjoy criticisms and I believe that they can offer a very unique and creative form of education to the debate space. If your criticism is complicated then I would like a thesis page or an explanation of what the alternative does. I really enjoy a good perm debate on the K and am not opposed listening to theory regarding the alternative/perms (floating PICs, severance, etc.).
I?m going to borrow a bit about alternatives directly from Lauren Knoth?s philosophy as it describes my feelings regarding complicated alternatives perfectly.
?***Important*** I need to have a clear explanation of what the alternative does, and what the post-alt world looks like. Stringing together post-modern terms and calling it an alternative is not enough for me if I have no idea what the heck that means. I prefer to know exactly what action is advocated by the alternative, and what the world looks like after passage of the alternative. I think this is also necessary to establish stable solvency/alternative ground for the opposing team to argue against and overall provides for a better debate. Good theory is nothing without a good mechanism with which to implement it, and I'm tired of this being overlooked.?
Perms: I really enjoy perm debates. I think that the text of the perm is critical and must be clear in the debate. Slow down, read them twice, and/or give me a copy of the text. You don?t have to read the entire plan text in K debates and instead it is sufficient to say, ?do the plan and x?. My definition of a legitimate perm would be that they are all of the plan and all or parts of the CP/Alt. I think that perms serve as tests of competition.
Katelyn Johnson - TTU
Hey there! I competed for 2 years at Snow College and 3 years at William Jewell College. I am a second year graduate teaching assistant at Texas Tech University. My preferred pronouns are she/her. Youll notice that my judging philosophy is similar to David Hansens. If you want the fast guide to how I debate, treat me like you would David. Except, I am more willing to have non traditional affs run in front of me than David is.
General Notes
I believe that NPDA is a unique and amazing format. Making your critical, framework, and theory arguments specific to NPDA is a great way to win more debates.
Interpretations and advocacies should at least be read twice and slowly. Ideally you provide the judge(s) and competitors with a copy.
Pretty much nothing in my philosophy is absolute.
I tend to believe that the way we discuss the world has real impacts outside of the debate round.
If debaters are debating ethically, I tend to believe that framework arguments are more persuasive than the arguments against it. However, I will vote based on how the debate plays out. If you win that defending the topic is bad and you reject the topic, you will likely win the debate.
An argument without a warrant isnt an argument.
I tend to believe that recording, sharing, and watching rounds is good for debate.
Theory and Framework
I love a great theory or framework shell. I am happy to vote here. I think debaters need to step outside our normal buzzwords and discuss how our interpretations alter the debate game and our education.
Spec arguments- Im putting this section in here because it seems like people can not longer develop plan texts. I use to hate spec, but have found it to be an extremely persuasive argument with how much plan texts are run. I dont think you should have to specifcy where the money comes from, what branch of gov your acting through, etc, thsse things are answered via normal means. I do think some things need to be specified with a vague resolution that hs multiple possible affirmatives.
Counter Plans
Im uncertain about conditionality. I am sympathetic to arguments about the MG being key and difficult. However, I also believe the negative should have some flexibility. Feel free to run your shell. Feel free to be conditional. I will vote depending on how condo plays out.
PICs are usually abusive in NPDA debate, but often strategic and occasionally justified especially if the topic provides aff flex.
Delay is almost always bad, so are process CPs.
Kritiks
These are fine. I read them a lot, went for them occasionally. Please provide early thesis-level analysis. I think most K shells Ive seen are incredibly inefficient and vulnerable to impact turns. Teams should likely cut major portions of their FW page and instead develop solvency and internal links to the case.
MGs should be more willing to go hard right (or left) to answer Ks. The aff probably links to Cap, but there is SUBSTANTIAL lit in favor of cap.
Performance
I think performance arguments can be amazing. However, they are easy to do inefficiently and hard to do well. An aff that is rejecting the motion needs to justify why: 1. Your thing matters more than the topic 2. Why you cant discuss your thing on this topic OR 3. Why your thing is a prior question to the topic.
On the neg, you need to prove that you are an opportunity cost to the aff. Maybe its as simple as you need to keep debating, but you need a reason.
Matt Parnell - TTU
MATT PARNELL JUDGE PARADIGM
Section 1: General information
I debated four years of high school policy and then another five in parli at Washburn. I believe that offense will win you most debate rounds as long as its packaged well enough. As a debater, I read a lot of different positions but there is a soft spot in my heart for politics + counterplan debate. I can hang with most positions however if youre reading something new, you might wanna go a bit slower so I can jive with what youre reading. I will say that theory is my jam. I wont vote for silly theory (I mean I might if you win it) but I do love really good and deep theory debates. Overall, Ill vote on the framework that you present. Ill default to an offense vs. defense paradigm but if you want me to evaluate the round differently, you gotta let me know.
Identity/Performance/Critical Arguments: I view these arguments very similarly as I do Ks. Provide a clear advocacy, or at least some form of tangible action and tell me why that action is key to resolve your links. Provide a clear way for me to weight the debate through impacts. At the core, I believe your argument should have some sort of linkage to the topic. Im not asking you to be topical, but I am asking for at least a little time in the PM/LO dedicated to a discussion of the topic.
Flowing: I need like a second of pen time between positions. If you have any particular questions about my flow, just ask. Essentially I will vote based on what I have on my flow. Im a big fan of debaters who organize well.
Texts and Interps: Slow down when you read plan/cp/alt texts. I think texts are pretty important to the round and I want to ensure that I understand what the text of your arg is.
Procedurals/Theory/T: I love theory. That doesnt mean I like really silly theory but a really intense and deep theory debate is fantastic. I need interps to be said slowly. I think that if you collapse to theory you need to be doing the work on the voter level. So many times, debaters blip out fairness and education and call it good however if you go for theory, give me actual, termialized impacts to those claims. I will vote on potential abuse but you need to tell me why I am doing so. It makes me happy to see debaters having an in depth theory debate. Generally, I think condo is bad however I am not rigid in that interpretation. I will vote on condo strats and condo good if youve won the flow.
DAs: Read them. The more specific the link story the better. I was a politics debater so I enjoy a good politics debate. I do have a high threshold when it comes to the uniqueness question of a politics disad so give actual details i.e. who is voting for what, vote counts, etc.
CPs: Also read them. I really like creative counterplans. If you read a counterplan, make sure you have a net benefit attached.
Ks: These are also fine. Please explain what the alternative does however. Im willing to pull the trigger on any K however I need an explanation of how the alternative resolves the links page. Also try not to slam a bunch of postmodern terms together and call it good. The alt advocates a particular action so please, tell me what that action is. Im at least baseline familiar with most lit bases however if youre breaking something completely new, give a small thesis at the top of the shell.
Perms: Perms are fine and you should be making them. You dont have to read the entire perm text for me. Just say Perm do X and here are the net benefits. Perms are a test of competition but if you want me to treat it as an advocacy, you better make that argument.
Speaker points: Ill start at 28 and go up or down. If you give a good speech with solid arguments, youll be rewarded. If I cant understand you, you will be punished. Ill really only give less than a 26 for things such as hate speech, hyper aggression, etc.
This is your space so you do what you want. I will judge what you want me to judge. I only ask that you be considerate of the other people in the room.
Michael Portal - RIce
Hello! I have been involved in competitive debate for (roughly) 10 years. I competed on behalf of Rice University for four years.
I remain uncertain of the utility of longwinded paradigms. Here, instead, I will list my views concerning debate so as to provide some insight into how I will evaluate most (NPDA/NPTE) rounds. These insights are presented in no particular order of importance.
1. I appreciate having a written version of all texts, advocacies, etc. The language we use matters.
2. I appreciate teams that are respectful and courteous (not to me, but to their opponents and partners).
3. I appreciate when teams are creative. Boring debate is bad debate.
4. I appreciate clash. Offense wins rounds.
5. I appreciate well warranted and clear arguments, with an emphasis on presenting tangible or real-world examples. Explanations should come in constructive speeches, I should not be waiting until the end of the round to understand the argument.
6. I appreciate debaters who ask good (or strategic) questions.
7. I appreciate debaters who have good round vision and collapse only to the round’s most essential arguments.
8. I will always evaluate “stupid” arguments (RVIs, etc.) if given a good reason. I will listen to all arguments barring dangerous or violent ones. (This means I do not have a high threshold for theory, etc.)
9. I will do my best to not involve myself in the round and rely heavily on the flow (unless told otherwise). In instances where I do not understand something (e.g. one is speaking too quickly) I will make this clear.
10. I dislike when debaters deliberately exclude their opponents (by using speed, unnecessary jargon, etc.).
11. I dislike debaters who lie and cheat.
12. I dislike debaters who are rude, make the debate space more inhospitable than it already is, etc. Debate is best served when we all are (or aim to be) safe, kind, and having a good time.
13. I dislike having to do work. I will always prefer debaters who weigh arguments early and often, who explain the relationships between pages, and who have a clear narrative at the end of the round.
14. I dislike having one partner excessively use their other partner as a puppet or mouthpiece.
15. I am (currently) not well versed in argument theory. You should not assume I understand the complex relationships between the two-plank dispositional CP and x, y, or z argument. Explain your arguments well.
I strive to judge rounds as well as Adam Testerman.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask me before the beginning of the round.
Update:
- 29 September 2018: I do not care about speaker points. If you win, you receive 30s. If you lose, you receive 29s.
Michael Portal - RIce
Hello! I have been involved in competitive debate for (roughly) 10 years. I competed on behalf of Rice University for four years.
I remain uncertain of the utility of longwinded paradigms. Here, instead, I will list my views concerning debate so as to provide some insight into how I will evaluate most (NPDA/NPTE) rounds. These insights are presented in no particular order of importance.
1. I appreciate having a written version of all texts, advocacies, etc. The language we use matters.
2. I appreciate teams that are respectful and courteous (not to me, but to their opponents and partners).
3. I appreciate when teams are creative. Boring debate is bad debate.
4. I appreciate clash. Offense wins rounds.
5. I appreciate well warranted and clear arguments, with an emphasis on presenting tangible or real-world examples. Explanations should come in constructive speeches, I should not be waiting until the end of the round to understand the argument.
6. I appreciate debaters who ask good (or strategic) questions.
7. I appreciate debaters who have good round vision and collapse only to the round’s most essential arguments.
8. I will always evaluate “stupid” arguments (RVIs, etc.) if given a good reason. I will listen to all arguments barring dangerous or violent ones. (This means I do not have a high threshold for theory, etc.)
9. I will do my best to not involve myself in the round and rely heavily on the flow (unless told otherwise). In instances where I do not understand something (e.g. one is speaking too quickly) I will make this clear.
10. I dislike when debaters deliberately exclude their opponents (by using speed, unnecessary jargon, etc.).
11. I dislike debaters who lie and cheat.
12. I dislike debaters who are rude, make the debate space more inhospitable than it already is, etc. Debate is best served when we all are (or aim to be) safe, kind, and having a good time.
13. I dislike having to do work. I will always prefer debaters who weigh arguments early and often, who explain the relationships between pages, and who have a clear narrative at the end of the round.
14. I dislike having one partner excessively use their other partner as a puppet or mouthpiece.
15. I am (currently) not well versed in argument theory. You should not assume I understand the complex relationships between the two-plank dispositional CP and x, y, or z argument. Explain your arguments well.
I strive to judge rounds as well as Adam Testerman.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask me before the beginning of the round.
Update:
- 29 September 2018: I do not care about speaker points. If you win, you receive 30s. If you lose, you receive 29s.
Ryan Kelly - WU
My Background: I debated for four years NPDA/NPTE circuit for Washburn University. I debated for four years in high school policy debate, LD, and PFD. Graduated in 2017 from Washburn with a BA in International Business and Marketing with minors in Leadership Studies and Communications. I currently attend law school at the University of Kansas.
?· Highlights:
o ***First, before all else. When you read a text, interpretation, or anything in that ilk, please slow down and read it twice. I think that the text is important and it will only help you to make sure everyone has it down correctly. Thx buddies.***
o Generally, I believe that debate is a game. (?Do what you can justify? ? Doubledee.) But, within that framework, if either team raises the argument that debate is more than just a game for certain bodies or purposes, I think that type of framing for the debate round is valid and I will weigh that. I think that framing can certainly be used to weigh certain impacts as more important than others when done well. I do believe, though, that framing argument should come with robust warrant/grounds--meaning, explain why debate is more than just a game, the benefits to that outlook, etc. Absent this, my general default is that debate is a game.
o I have a preference for unconditional advocacies, but if you want to debate condo, I won?t vote you down right away or anything like that.
o Familiar arguments/debates: politics, hegemony, queerness/heteronornmativity (most familiar here), feminism, anthropocentrism, whiteness, anti-blackness, and other identity arguments. I am also familiar with militarism, cap, and overconsumption. I read Agamben quite a bit my frosh year and am familiar with Lacanian based arguments?¦.a bit. My critical knowledge is more based on identity type arguments, though.
o I think that if your argument is very complex, a thesis at the beginning will help out with my understanding.
o At the end of the day, the most important line of argumentation to me is what the post-world of the negative and the affirmative look like, and weighing between the implications of those two worlds.
o I place a high emphasis on the LOR. It was my favorite speech to give and I come from the school of Lauren Knoth in believing it can arguably be the most important speech in the debate, or a huge waste.
?· Identity/Performance/Critical Arguments
o I am fine with these types of arguments and I think that they can lead to very valid discussions in debate.
o I think that these types of arguments are most persuasive when they have an advocacy. This advocacy can be a metaphor, poem, alternative, or even the lack of an advocacy if that is explained well. Kaitlyn and I read a metaphor for our narrative affirmative, and Ian and I read a critical affirmative without an advocacy, but had justifications for that implicit in the argument. Thus, do what you can justify.
o I believe that it is important to explain the post-AFF world in this situation, just the same as when a K is read on the negative. Even if the post-AFF world is supposed to be a change to the debate space, explain what that change is and why your AFF can achieve that.
o That said, I also think that Framework can be used as a response, if it is done appropriately. I think that Framework is most valid when read as a counter-method by the negative, rather than based more in the procedural impacts. I think there is a distinction between Framework and Topicality, and you are less likely to win my ballot if you read T against an AFF in this category rather than Framework.
?· Flowing/Speed
o I should be able to keep up, but I?ll let you know if I need you to slow down, likely by saying ?slow.? (To me, there is a distinction between ?slow? and ?clear?. If your speed is fine but I can?t understand the words you are saying, I will say ?clear?. If you are going too quickly, I will say ?slow?. I?ll try to keep those two as distinct as possible to help.)
o I will likely flow on paper, but may flow on a computer. Either way, give some pen time and time to switch pages. (I was not great at remembering to do this when I was a debater, so I understand that it?s hard to remember when you just want to move to the next argument, but do your best to remember to allow time. J ).
o On the topic of speed, I enjoyed very fast debate. I thought it was a fun skill that is unique to the activity. Despite this, do not use speed when you do not need to. I think debate is about actually having a debate. If you spread someone out of a debate, are you really debating? In my opinion, not really. Engage with the other team as much as you can to facilitate an actual debate. Also, you do not have to be able to spread to win. Ian Mikkelsen is a great example of this. He never went very quickly, but his slow spread was just as effective. Through limiting your word economy and making your speech as efficient as possible, a ?slow? speaker can make more arguments than a ?fast? debater any day. But, I liked fast debates when I debated, so I don?t have a problem with them whatsoever.
?· Procedurals/Theory/T
o Repeated from above, please repeat your interpretations slowly and twice. This is especially important here.
o I am a fan of a good T debate. I think that collapsing is critical in those debates. I also believe the LOR should give a full speech when the negative goes for T/Theory. That LOR time is not just prep for the PMR if it is done correctly.
o RVIs ? I think that you should make an RVI if it is strategic. (Hold your shade about RVIs?¦to me, they are a tool just like anything else). I doubt that you will win my ballot on an RVI, but I definitely see the utility of making the argument.
o A pet peeve of mine is when debaters arrive at the voters section and simply say ?and this is a voter for fairness and education.? In fact, I?m not even sure that I would evaluate those as voters. Explain your voters?they are the impact to your theory argument.
o I am usually most persuaded by theory arguments when they are applied to parli specifically.
o MG theory is fine by me, as long as it doesn?t make the debate a mess to deal with. I see no point in spreading yourself out with a litany of small theory arguments. In my opinion, your time is better served making more offense elsewhere.
?· DA?s
o Topic specific DA?s are great! As are other DA?s.
o I have a high threshold for Politics DA?s because they were one of my favorite arguments to read and research. The link analysis should be very specific, hopefully including vote counts and other specifics such as that.
?· CP?s
o I think counterplans are underutilized in debate (by myself included when I was debating with Kaitlyn?emphasis on Advantage CP?s, sorry for letting you down Brent Nicholson). We always wished we would?ve read more of them.
o Functional competition is most persuasive to me, but I can also understand arguments about textual competition.
?· Ks
o I think the K is a great argument in debate and I welcome it. (I also like policy/topic debates, don?t think you should just read the K right away if I judge you.)
o I need a clear alternative. If you have an alt that includes lots of specific, high-brow language in it, please have solvency points that explain those terms.
o To me, the most important part of the K is the explanation of the post-alternative world. What happens after the K?s alternative is accepted? Paint me a picture of that world. I think a K without a well explained alternative is just unending criticism, and I am not sure that is enough to overwhelm an affirmative?s change to the status quo.
?· Perms
o Stolen form Kaitlyn?s philosophy, because I feel the same (it?s like we were partners or something): ?I really enjoy perm debates. I think that the text of the perm is critical and must be clear in the debate. Slow down, read them twice, and/or give me a copy of the text. You don?t have to read the entire plan text in K debates and instead it is sufficient to say, ?do the plan and x?. My definition of a legitimate perm would be that they are all of the plan and all or parts of the CP/Alt. IE: the alternative is to vote negative to recognize the dehumanizing struggle of indigenous populations. The perm in this case could be to do the plan and recognize the struggle of indigenous populations (thus picking out of the word dehumanizing and reading net benefits/disads to the use of that word). I think that perms serve as tests of competition.?
o Test of competition: The way I view the permutation is that it is a hypothetical test of competition of the two advocacies happening together (generally, I know there are other permutations sequences). I think that if there are net benefits to said hypothetical test that outweigh its absence, then those net benefits can be used to say there is not competition because there is only net good that occurs from the world of the two things happening in concert.
?· Also, have fun! Be nice to one another, while still being competitive. If you have any questions, please ask. J
Samuel Cook - WJC
Prep Version [MUST READ]
1. You can do whatever you like (strategically speaking) with three exceptions:
A. Do not read generic spec arguments.
B. Do not read condo bad v. one conditional advocacy.
C. Do not spray-and-pray MG or LO theory with a series of incoherent standard cross-applications and collapse to one that is under-covered in the MO/PMR.
If you want/need to object to multiple things the LOC has done and do not want to fall into the above category, I suggest you combine your interps into one interp (e.g., “the negative cannot read multiple conditional plan-inclusive counter-plans when the aff has only one legislative option”).
2. I will not do work for you and I default to a very technical evaluation of the flow (i.e. if you do not extend an aff impact in the MG, I will not allow you to shadow extend it in the PMR, and the same goes for the LOC/MO/LOR). I use consequentialism as a method for evaluating the aff versus the status quo or a competitive policy option to determine if the hypothetical implementation of a plan is net-positive or not.
These are defaults, meaning they are subject to change pending the introduction of an alternative theoretical framework that attempts to persuade me to view the debate differently.
4. Framework matters - I will evaluate this first to determine how I should view every subsequent argument.
5. Do not choose a critical strategy - or any strategy - based on what you think I want to hear. Choose a strategy that suits you best.
6. My speaks generally range from 27-30. Offensive rhetoric will not be tolerated. Be nice, have fun.
Background/General Info
Hello there, I am Sam. My pronouns are he/him. I am not the most omnipresent judge on the circuit, so take into account in your strike/pref decisions that I have not been flowing at top speed for a while. 2018-2019 is my second year out, so factor that into your decision, as well.
I view debate as a game where those who play the game best should win. With that said, I also believe this game should be an inclusive one that produces something for the participants. As a result, my paradigm attempts to discourage cheap, gotcha strategies that are repeated ad nauseam with targeted, minimal interventions while encouraging innovative techniques and content. If you have any questions about that or want to discuss what I mean beyond what is present in my paradigm, let me know.
I had a reputation as a K hack when I was a debater, but I actually read policy arguments more often. The best advice I can give you is to do what you like – making arguments that suit you will always yield better results than trying to form fit your style to the preferences of others.
I am not sensitive about being lit up after I’ve made a decision. Debaters are often both competitively driven and passionate about their arguments and I sympathize with that, so if you feel the need to let loose and yell at me, don’t hesitate, that is fine – I’d much rather you do that than let it simmer and take it out on someone else. That said, you should do your best to not make your opponents feel uncomfortable and generally be good people during and after the debate. I encourage you to ask questions at the end regardless of the outcomes of the debate, it will help you improve your performance thoroughly.
If you have any questions before or at the tournament, feel free to email me at rigdoncook@gmail.com. You may also use this email after the tournament for questions if you miss the opportunity during the event.
Topicality/Theory
I genuinely enjoy good T or theory debates. “Good” meaning terminalized offense on both sides, a robust framing debate (competing interps v. reasonability), and nuanced approaches to the interp/counter-interp level with an intent to produce a better debate for everyone involved. However, I do have some very specific love/hate here.
I will not vote on condo bad versus one advocacy. I genuinely believe that this practice - going for condo bad versus one CP or one K - has the effect of discouraging innovation in debate by pinning every advocacy to the negative in every instance, there's never a chance to experiment with new and interesting arguments. I think this is a reasonably influential variable that generics are repeatedly deployed instead of new, experimental arguments.
I am heavily against “spray-and-pray” LO/MG theory strategies that do not terminalize their impacts or contradict one another– doing this will heavily impact your speaker points and I will be biased against your offense. If your shells are blippy with a lot of incoherent cross-applications and generic standards, I will be loathe to vote for these positions. I also am not a fan of the trend where teams read theoretical objections against random, performative aspects of the debate that do not significantly impact the debate, like if the plan isn't read in the first 30 seconds. These tend to be time-sucks that, more than anything, will signal to me that you have done lazy prep, poor strategic planning, and are relying on bad back-files to be under-covered for a cheap win. Don't make me think that about you.
If you want/need to object to multiple things the LOC has done and do not want to fall into the above category, I suggest you combine your interps into one interp (e.g., “the negative cannot read multiple conditional plan-inclusive counter-plans when the aff has only one legislative option”). This will give you better, more specific offense anyway, makes the debate neater, and avoids the sophistry of the strategy I described above. Furthermore, I will be more
I hate generic SPEC arguments. Hate them. Reading them is poor strategic decision-making and I hate it. FSPEC, ASPEC, whatever the hell "ESPEC" is supposed to be, these are things that will make me dread your presence. Don't make me dread your presence. I thoroughly believe these strategic choices negatively impact parli.
Now, if you have a shell that is topic-specific and you genuinely think it has something to contribute to the debate - like G-SPEC on court decision topics, where the specification of a grounds determines precedent and that's key to your ground or whatever because it's the only way to divine what the law will result in - then fine.
I will vote on framework v. K affs if it is executed properly. I don't hack for it, I don't hack against it - it's a just another theory argument that needs to be well-executed in order to earn my ballot.
DA/CP
Possibly my favorite thing to see is well-developed DA/CP strategies or smart, aff-specific disads with extensive case debate. I’m fine with PICs and Process CPs so long as they’re well-defended, theoretically and substantively. I do not have any particular preferences in this area as long as it’s done well.
Ks
I am familiar with many of the popular literature bases used in critical argumentation, especially in parli. My specialties when I competed were arguments that involved psychoanalysis, neoliberalism, and coloniality - these are also the areas where my feedback will likely be the most valuable. Despite that, you should not assume I know your authors or their terminology because even if I do know them, I will never do work for you in explaining a theory. If you do not comprehend what you’re saying in round, then neither will my flow. In other words, do not choose a critical strategy - or any strategy - based on what you think I want to hear. Choose a strategy that suits you best.
Framework in K debates matters because it helps me identify which arguments matter and which do not. Your links should be nuanced and terminalized with internal impacts - a link should be able to turn case or cause policy failure, independently. Saying “they’re capitalist” is fine, but the more specific, complex, and impacted your links are, the less likely I will be willing to evaluate the perm. Permutations should be accompanied by disads to the alt because while perms are just a test of competition, if the perm is net-beneficial, that can determine whether or not I consider the alt to be competitive.
The alternative, if you read one, should have a risk of solving the aff impacts or the framework should exclude them from my evaluation (preferably, you should attempt to prove both).
K affs
You can read whatever you want, as long as you know how to do it. My favorite K affs as a debater connected somewhat to the topic, in both analysis and method/advocacy because I felt that was the most interesting way to approach critical affirmatives. I also think this is strategic in answering framework. However, you should feel comfortable reading whatever style of argument you want. Know that regardless of how you read your aff or position it, I am willing to evaluate framework as a response, so long as it is executed properly. Much of my thoughts on this are the same as the “Ks” section above.
Samuel Cook - WJC
Prep Version [MUST READ]
1. You can do whatever you like (strategically speaking) with three exceptions:
A. Do not read generic spec arguments.
B. Do not read condo bad v. one conditional advocacy.
C. Do not spray-and-pray MG or LO theory with a series of incoherent standard cross-applications and collapse to one that is under-covered in the MO/PMR.
If you want/need to object to multiple things the LOC has done and do not want to fall into the above category, I suggest you combine your interps into one interp (e.g., “the negative cannot read multiple conditional plan-inclusive counter-plans when the aff has only one legislative option”).
2. I will not do work for you and I default to a very technical evaluation of the flow (i.e. if you do not extend an aff impact in the MG, I will not allow you to shadow extend it in the PMR, and the same goes for the LOC/MO/LOR). I use consequentialism as a method for evaluating the aff versus the status quo or a competitive policy option to determine if the hypothetical implementation of a plan is net-positive or not.
These are defaults, meaning they are subject to change pending the introduction of an alternative theoretical framework that attempts to persuade me to view the debate differently.
4. Framework matters - I will evaluate this first to determine how I should view every subsequent argument.
5. Do not choose a critical strategy - or any strategy - based on what you think I want to hear. Choose a strategy that suits you best.
6. My speaks generally range from 27-30. Offensive rhetoric will not be tolerated. Be nice, have fun.
Background/General Info
Hello there, I am Sam. My pronouns are he/him. I am not the most omnipresent judge on the circuit, so take into account in your strike/pref decisions that I have not been flowing at top speed for a while. 2018-2019 is my second year out, so factor that into your decision, as well.
I view debate as a game where those who play the game best should win. With that said, I also believe this game should be an inclusive one that produces something for the participants. As a result, my paradigm attempts to discourage cheap, gotcha strategies that are repeated ad nauseam with targeted, minimal interventions while encouraging innovative techniques and content. If you have any questions about that or want to discuss what I mean beyond what is present in my paradigm, let me know.
I had a reputation as a K hack when I was a debater, but I actually read policy arguments more often. The best advice I can give you is to do what you like – making arguments that suit you will always yield better results than trying to form fit your style to the preferences of others.
I am not sensitive about being lit up after I’ve made a decision. Debaters are often both competitively driven and passionate about their arguments and I sympathize with that, so if you feel the need to let loose and yell at me, don’t hesitate, that is fine – I’d much rather you do that than let it simmer and take it out on someone else. That said, you should do your best to not make your opponents feel uncomfortable and generally be good people during and after the debate. I encourage you to ask questions at the end regardless of the outcomes of the debate, it will help you improve your performance thoroughly.
If you have any questions before or at the tournament, feel free to email me at rigdoncook@gmail.com. You may also use this email after the tournament for questions if you miss the opportunity during the event.
Topicality/Theory
I genuinely enjoy good T or theory debates. “Good” meaning terminalized offense on both sides, a robust framing debate (competing interps v. reasonability), and nuanced approaches to the interp/counter-interp level with an intent to produce a better debate for everyone involved. However, I do have some very specific love/hate here.
I will not vote on condo bad versus one advocacy. I genuinely believe that this practice - going for condo bad versus one CP or one K - has the effect of discouraging innovation in debate by pinning every advocacy to the negative in every instance, there's never a chance to experiment with new and interesting arguments. I think this is a reasonably influential variable that generics are repeatedly deployed instead of new, experimental arguments.
I am heavily against “spray-and-pray” LO/MG theory strategies that do not terminalize their impacts or contradict one another– doing this will heavily impact your speaker points and I will be biased against your offense. If your shells are blippy with a lot of incoherent cross-applications and generic standards, I will be loathe to vote for these positions. I also am not a fan of the trend where teams read theoretical objections against random, performative aspects of the debate that do not significantly impact the debate, like if the plan isn't read in the first 30 seconds. These tend to be time-sucks that, more than anything, will signal to me that you have done lazy prep, poor strategic planning, and are relying on bad back-files to be under-covered for a cheap win. Don't make me think that about you.
If you want/need to object to multiple things the LOC has done and do not want to fall into the above category, I suggest you combine your interps into one interp (e.g., “the negative cannot read multiple conditional plan-inclusive counter-plans when the aff has only one legislative option”). This will give you better, more specific offense anyway, makes the debate neater, and avoids the sophistry of the strategy I described above. Furthermore, I will be more
I hate generic SPEC arguments. Hate them. Reading them is poor strategic decision-making and I hate it. FSPEC, ASPEC, whatever the hell "ESPEC" is supposed to be, these are things that will make me dread your presence. Don't make me dread your presence. I thoroughly believe these strategic choices negatively impact parli.
Now, if you have a shell that is topic-specific and you genuinely think it has something to contribute to the debate - like G-SPEC on court decision topics, where the specification of a grounds determines precedent and that's key to your ground or whatever because it's the only way to divine what the law will result in - then fine.
I will vote on framework v. K affs if it is executed properly. I don't hack for it, I don't hack against it - it's a just another theory argument that needs to be well-executed in order to earn my ballot.
DA/CP
Possibly my favorite thing to see is well-developed DA/CP strategies or smart, aff-specific disads with extensive case debate. I’m fine with PICs and Process CPs so long as they’re well-defended, theoretically and substantively. I do not have any particular preferences in this area as long as it’s done well.
Ks
I am familiar with many of the popular literature bases used in critical argumentation, especially in parli. My specialties when I competed were arguments that involved psychoanalysis, neoliberalism, and coloniality - these are also the areas where my feedback will likely be the most valuable. Despite that, you should not assume I know your authors or their terminology because even if I do know them, I will never do work for you in explaining a theory. If you do not comprehend what you’re saying in round, then neither will my flow. In other words, do not choose a critical strategy - or any strategy - based on what you think I want to hear. Choose a strategy that suits you best.
Framework in K debates matters because it helps me identify which arguments matter and which do not. Your links should be nuanced and terminalized with internal impacts - a link should be able to turn case or cause policy failure, independently. Saying “they’re capitalist” is fine, but the more specific, complex, and impacted your links are, the less likely I will be willing to evaluate the perm. Permutations should be accompanied by disads to the alt because while perms are just a test of competition, if the perm is net-beneficial, that can determine whether or not I consider the alt to be competitive.
The alternative, if you read one, should have a risk of solving the aff impacts or the framework should exclude them from my evaluation (preferably, you should attempt to prove both).
K affs
You can read whatever you want, as long as you know how to do it. My favorite K affs as a debater connected somewhat to the topic, in both analysis and method/advocacy because I felt that was the most interesting way to approach critical affirmatives. I also think this is strategic in answering framework. However, you should feel comfortable reading whatever style of argument you want. Know that regardless of how you read your aff or position it, I am willing to evaluate framework as a response, so long as it is executed properly. Much of my thoughts on this are the same as the “Ks” section above.
Sarah Dweik - TTU
My background: I debated for 4 years on the NPTE/NPDA circuit (2.5 years at the University of Missouri and 1.5 years at Washburn). I have helped coach policy, public forum, and parli debate, finished my undergraduate degree at Washburn, and am now pursuing my Master's degree at Texas Tech. Im currently judging for Texas Tech. Starting off at a student-run program has helped me learn debate from a variety of different people and from learning from watching rounds online. I have also largely been shaped by people like Doubledee, Ryan Kelly, and Calvin Coker.
Highlights: I think that debate is a space where we can all engage with each other to different degrees. Personally for me, debate became a place where I could feel more comfortable to express myself and engage with others in-depth over a variety of topics that exist or arent discussed outside of this space. I am fine with whatever arguments you decide to read in front of me, but I cannot claim to fully understand every argument that is read in front of me. I do have an expansive knowledge regarding a lot of different K's, but that doesn't mean that I know everything that you will talk about in the round. I am here to learn just as much as you are. The round is yours and you should do what you are comfortable with, have fun, be respectful, and compete.
I prefer debates that engage the topic and, in an ideal situation, utilize fiat to do so, but I will definitely listen to arguments that interpret the topic differently or if you decide to reject it. I would prefer that you read advocacies unconditionally, but I will not vote you down without the other team winning the condo bad theory. Im most familiar with the following arguments: Politics, T, Hegemony, Feminism, Black Feminism, Queerness, Orientalism, and most other identity or state based criticisms. I will try and protect from new arguments in rebuttals, but please still call them out if you think they are new so I am not intervening as much. I will vote for who wins the round, regardless of my personal views, as long as you can clearly explain your offense and how to weigh the impacts of your strategy. And finally, impact calculus is the most important thing to me as a judge. I want the rebuttal speeches to help me craft my ballot through the lenses of timeframe, probability, and magnitude (not necessarily in that order). I enjoy rebuttals that reflect as much of the RFD as possible, so framing in the LOR and PMR is critical.
Identity/Performance/Critical Arguments: I totally think that debate is a performance, but make the round for you. I judge these arguments similarly to other criticisms. Therefore, I need a clear advocacy; it does not need to be an alternative, but make your advocacy clear (whether it be a poem, metaphor, alt, etc.). I still think you need to have very strong solvency for your argument and I need some type of way to weigh the debate through impacts or a mechanism that you make clear to me. Im willing to listen to framework debates and many times would use framework as an answer to critical affirmatives. I do think that if you are rejecting the resolution then you need some sort of justification for doing so or some kind of explanation or link to the resolution because I think this fosters creativity and gives context within the round of why the debating the resolution, in this case, is bad.
Flowing: I flow on my laptop because I can type a lot more quickly and clearly than I can write. This means that I would prefer if you just gave me enough time to switch tabs on my laptop when you switch sheets, and please flag when you're moving on so I can make sure your arguments go where you want them to be. If I think you are too quiet, unclear, or fast I will let you know immediately. I keep a good and fast flow as long as youre clear.
Texts and Interpretations: You can either provide me with a written copy of the text or slow down when you read the plan/cp/alt and repeat it. I think this is very important during theory debates and framework debates. I would like you to either repeat it twice and slowly to make sure that I have a copy of it or make sure that you give me a copy. If I don't get your text or interp, I will make sure I have the correct wording in my flow when the round ends.
Procedurals/Theory/T: I enjoy a good T debate and I default to competing interpretations, but this does not mean that I wont listen to other frameworks for evaluating T. I think that all procedurals can have a role depending on the round. I am not a fan of RVIs. I understand the utility of these arguments, but they likely arent going to win my ballot. I do not need real in round abuse, but an abuse story needs to exist even if it is potential abuse. I need procedurals to have clearly articulated interpretations, violations, standards, and voters not just blips in the LOC of, vote for us for fairness and education. I view topicality similarly to a disad in that I view standards as being the internal links to the voters (impacts). When it comes to theory concerning advocacies, I find multiple worlds bad theory to be quite compelling because I find that inherent contradictions in strategies for the sake of winning take away from the in round education. I am not a huge fan of multiple new theory sheets in the MG. I can see the utility of MG theory arguments, but reading them to simply shotgun the other team hyper-expands the debate into a jumbled mess. If you are going to read multiple theories, please collapse :D
Disads: I enjoy topic specific disads. However, I also loved reading politics, so I understand the utility of reading politics on a variety of different topics. However, I have higher standards for voting on politics than most others because I ran the argument so often. I need specifics such as vote counts, those whipping the votes, sponsors of the bill, procedural information regarding passage, etc. All disads are great in my book and I will always love hearing them in round.
CPs: I love counter-plans and I regret not reading them as much while I was a competitor. I am not prone to vote against any type of counter-plan. I prefer functional competition over textual competition because it is easier to weigh and more tangible to me, but if you want to go for textual competition, just show me how to weigh and vote on it.
Ks: I enjoy criticisms and I believe that they can offer a very unique and creative form of education to the debate space. If your criticism is complicated, then I would like a thesis page or an explanation of what the alternative does. I really enjoy a good perm debate on the K and am not opposed listening to theory regarding the alternative/perms (floating PICs, severance, etc.). When reading a K, please give me a clear explanation of what the alternative does and what the post-alt world looks like. Just a bunch of fancy words pushed together doesn't mean that I understand what your K is doing. With the alt, there should also be a stable and clear solvency/alternative ground that allows the other team to have some space to argue against it.
Perms: I really enjoy perm debates. As a PMR, trust me, I really love the perm debate. I think that the text of the perm is critical and must be clear in the debate. Slow down, read them twice, and/or give me a copy of the text. You dont have to read the entire plan text in K debates and instead it is sufficient to say, do the plan and x. My definition of a legitimate perm would be that they are all of the plan and all or parts of the CP/Alt. I think that perms are in between a test of competition and an advocacy (because youre really achieving both, ya know).
Speaker Points: I usually start at 28 and will go up or down depending on how everything goes. I do think speaker points are totally random, with no real scale for all of us to follow, but I will try my best to reward you on how well you do. I highly value the argumentation that is made to earn speaker points, although if I cant understand your arguments, then we might have a problem. I do love quotes from RuPaul's Drag Race, after all "Facts are facts, America!"
Basically, I want you to come into a round and not think that I would keep you from reading what you want to read. I understand that I won't get every argument read in front of me, but I want to make sure that I am not preventing you from expressing yourself the ways that you want to in this space. This space for me is something extremely important, so I want to make sure that I can at least help it continue to be important for you.
Scott Elliott - KCKCC
Shelbie Konkel - WU
General information:
I debated for Washburn for three and a half years between 2010-2014. Ill default to a net benefits unless told otherwise. For the most part I am fine with whatever you want to do so long as you justify it. I am fine with a rapid pace of delivery so long as you can be understood. For your benefit (and mine) be as specific and well warranted as possible, even if it means slowing down. Make smart arguments, and make them well particularly on case.
DAs:
Im fine with generic DAs like Politics so long as you do the work on the link level. I would prefer one well warranted DA rather than three or four different short shelled DAs with shaky link scenarios.
Theory:
I wouldnt say I have a particularly high threshold for voting on theory so long as the collapse is well warranted and clean. I default to competing interpretations unless you tell me why I should evaluate the debate in a different manner.
Critical arguments and Ks:
When I debated, I read the same one or two generic Ks over and over again that were just quite frankly awful; but I had more success than I deserved because people couldnt ever answer them well. While I would say that I have a predisposition to the topic (and the ramifications of policy decisions) I am fine with whatever you want to do on the affirmative or negative. You have to explain it well and I think a lot of the time that means ditching a rapid delivering and making fewer arguments that are longer and more well thought out. If you are going to make critical arguments frame the debate in a fashion that leaves no doubt how I am suppose to evaluate your arguments.
Counterplans:
Counterplans should be functionally competitive. Im fine with PICs and think that conditional CPs are okay (unless the affirmative argues otherwise). I tend to think that if you can theoretically defend it, it is fine.
Misc.:
Be professional and courtesy. Feel free to call points of order.
I will protect, but it never hurts to call attention to something you
think is a new argument.
Trevor Greenan - Parli at Berkeley
Background
I came from a high school parli background, but most of my relevant experience is from the last 3 years with the Parli at Berkeley NPDA team. I competed on-and-off for 3 years, and now exclusively coach/run the program. As a debater I was probably most comfortable with the kritikal debate, but Ive had a good amount of exposure to most everything in my time coaching the team. A lot of my understanding of debate has come from working with the Cal Parli team, so I tend to err more flow-centric in my round evaluations; that being said, I really appreciate innovative/novel arguments, and did a good amount of performance-based debating as a competitor. Im generally open to just about any argument, as long as theres good clash.
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General Issues
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I try to keep my evaluation of the round as flow-centric as possible. This means that Ill try to limit my involvement in the round as much as possible, and Ill pick up the worse argument if its won on the flow. That being said, I recognize that theres a certain degree of intervention thats inevitable in at least some portion of rounds, and in those cases my aim is to be able to find the least interventionist justification within the round for my decision. For me, this means prioritizing (roughly in this order): conceded arguments, arguments with warranted/substantive analysis, arguments with in-round weighing/framing, arguments with implicit clash/framing, and, worst case, the arguments I can better understand the interactions of.
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In-round framing and explanation of arguments are pretty important for me. While I will vote for blippier/less developed arguments if theyre won, I definitely have a higher threshold for winning arguments if I feel that they werent sufficiently understandable in first reading, and will be more open to new-ish responses in rebuttals as necessary. Also worth noting, I tend to have a lower threshold for accepting framing arguments in the PMR.
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The LORs a tricky speech. For complicated rounds, I enjoy it as a way to break down the layers of the debate and explain any win conditions for the negative. I dont need arguments to be made in the LOR to vote on them, however, so I generally think preemption of the PMR is a safer bet. I prefer to not flow it on one sheet, but if you strongly prefer that format Id rather have you do that than throw off your speech for the sake of adapting.
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I have no preferences on conditionality. Perfectly fine with however many conditional advocacies, but also more than happy to vote on condo bad if its read well.
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Please read advocacy/interp texts slowly/twice. Written texts are always nice.
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I will do my best to protect against new arguments in the rebuttals, but its always better to call the POO just to be safe.
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Im open to alternate/less-flow-centric methods of evaluating the round, but I have a very hard time understanding what these alternate methods can be. So, please just try to be as clear as possible if you ask me to evaluate the round in some distinct way.
- I evaluate shadow-extensions as new arguments. What this means for me is that any arguments that a team wants to win on/leverage in either the PMR or LOR must be extended in the MG/MO to be considered. I'll grant offense to and vote on positions that are blanket extended ("extend the impacts, the advantage is conceded", etc.), but if you want to cross-apply or otherwise leverage a specific argument against other arguments in the round, I do need an explicit extension of that argument.
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Framework
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I think the framework debate is often one of the most undeveloped parts of the K debate, and love seeing interesting/well-developed/tricksy frameworks. That being said, absent substantial argumentation either way, Ill usually defer to each side being able to leverage their advocacy/offence against the other.
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I have a pretty high threshold for voting on presumption. I find it difficult to buy that either side has actually won terminal defense, absent a good amount of work in the round. That being said, I default to presumption flowing negative.
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Prior question arguments in framework are fine/good, just make sure that theres sufficient explanation of these arguments and application to the rest of the round. Im not very likely to vote on a dropped prior question/independent voter argument if there isnt interaction done with the rest of the arguments in the round.
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Theory/Procedurals
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I generally feel very comfortable evaluating the theory debate, and am more than happy to vote on procedurals/topicality/framework/etc. Im perfectly fine with frivolous theory. Please just make sure to provide a clear/stable interp text.
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I default to competing interpretations and drop the team on theory, absent other arguments. Competing interpretations for me means that I evaluate the theory layer through a risk of offense model, and I will evaluate potential abuse. I dont think this necessarily means the other team needs to provide a counter-interpretation, although I think it definitely makes adjudication easier to provide one.
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I have a hard time evaluating reasonability without a brightline. I dont know how I should interpret what makes an argument reasonable or not absent a specific explanation of what that should mean without being interventionist, and so absent a brightline Ill usually just end up evaluating through competing interpretations regardless.
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I have a very high threshold on RVIs. If extremely well-developed and extremely mishandled by the other team I could imagine myself voting on one, but I would hope to never have to.
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Advantage/DA
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Uniqueness determines the direction of the link (absent explanation otherwise), so please make sure youre reading uniqueness in the right direction.
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I have a pretty high threshold for terminal defense, and will more often than not assume theres at least some risk of offense, so dont rely on just reading defensive arguments.
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Perfectly fine with generic advantages/disads, and Im generally a fan of the politics DA. That being said, the more you can contextualize your argument to the round the greater weight that I will give it. Specific and substantial case debates are great.
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I default to fiat being durable.
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CP
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Please give me specific texts.
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Fine with cheater CPs, but also more than happy to vote on CP theory.
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I default that perms are tests of competition and not advocacies.
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I generally wont buy textual competition absent arguments in the round telling me why I should.
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K
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I really enjoy the K debate, and this was probably where I had the most fun as a debater. I have a pretty good understanding of most foundational critical literature, and I have a decent understanding of postmodern theory (particularly Foucauldian/Deleuzian/Derridean). That being said, please make the thesis-level of your criticism as clear as possible; I will do my best to not just vote for an argument I understand absent explanation in-round, and theres definitely a good amount of literature I wont know of.
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Im perfectly happy to vote on kritikal affirmatives, but I will also gladly vote on framework. On that note, Im also happy to vote on impact turns to fairness/education, but will probably default to evaluating the fairness level first absent other argumentation.
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Same with CPs, I default to perms being a test of competition and not an advocacy. Im also fine with severance perms, but am also open to theoretical arguments against them; just make them in-round, and be sure to provide a clear voter/impact.
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I default to evaluating the link debate via strength of link, but please do the comparative analysis for me. Open to other evaluative methods, just be clear in-round.
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I have a decent understanding of performance theory and am happy to vote on performance arguments, but I need a good explanation of how I should evaluate performative elements of the round in comparison to other arguments on the flow.
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Regarding identity/narrative based arguments, I think they can be very important in debate, and theyve been very significant/valuable to people on the Cal Parli team who have run them in the past. That being said, I also understand that they can be difficult and oftentimes triggering for people in-round, and I have a very hard time resolving this. Ill usually defer to viewing debate as a competitive activity and will do my best to evaluate these arguments within the context of the framing arguments made in the round, so please just do your best to make the evaluative method for the round as clear as possible.