Barnes,+Heather

Heather Barnes Debated for George Washington (1999-2003) Coached for George Washington (2003-2005) and Mary Washington (2005-2006)

1. I like good debate. I have a justly deserved reputation for being a policy hack. These two statements shake out as follows: If you are a K debater, stick with what you do best. You're more likely to win and get good speaker points if you know what you are talking about. If you do both, I will be much happier judging a policy debate and consequently, will be much less hateful in my post-round. If you are a policy debater, don't run stupid arguments with bad evidence, because that's almost as bad as having to listen to a K debate.

2. Like everyone else, I end up voting for arguments I don't like all the time, but here's my predispotions anyway. Consultation counterplans aren't competitive and running them makes you a cheater. Being topical is awesome. I highly recommend having a plan that (unironically and non-metaphorically) upholds the resolution. I'm not really a fan of competing interpretations, but often end up judging t/theory debates this way because another paradigm isn't presented or adequately defended. Calling T genocide is so patently offensive that I won't even bother to mock it more extensively. I'm generally okay with PICs, dispositionality/conditionality, agent cps, etc. I think the aff is a lot better off arguing that the nature of the counterplan justifies non-intrinsicness, "abusive" permutations, etc. (and then actually making said arguments) than asking me to reject a team because of abuse. Ks - ugh. Performance - blech. Making your personal story a voting argument - shudder. Debate is a game and I'll take the easy way out if I can, so unanswered cheap shots will be voted on. Fight the good fight: status quo solves + a disad or case turns = sweet.

3. Other thoughts. An argument consists of claim and a warrant, so please make both. If you are running out of time, make the warrant because the claim can be inferred but not vice versa. A well-written plan is a thing of beauty, so try for some elegance. Pay attention to my facial expressions - if you can't interpret whether a particular grimace means I hate your argument or I can't understand what you're saying, just ask. I haven't reached Dallas-level comfort with talking to you during the round, but the feedback is certainly there for the taking. Be nice, unless being mean would be funnier. Most of all, please think globally about the debate, think about how arguments interact, and make "if, then" statements. Final rebuttals would be a lot more coherent if you thought about what the world would look like if you won all the arguments you're making.