Johnston,+Nathan

Seymour HS: PF and LD (grad '09) University of Tennessee: Parli (grad '12) Trinity Valley School, Director of Speech and Debate: Policy, LD, PF, Congress, IE (2013-2016) Trinity Preparatory School, Director of Forensics: LD, PF, Congress (2016-present)
 * Background:**

johnstonn@trinityprep.org (Don't be shy. Any and all questions are welcome).
 * Contact info:**

I'm somewhat ideologically opposed to judge paradigms. As someone who values the educative value of our events, I think judge adaptation is something important. To that end, I see judge paradigms as a good way for you to know how to adapt to any given judge in any given round. Thus, in theory, you would think that I am a fan of judge paradigms. My concern with them arises when we are no longer using them to allow students the opportunity to adapt to their judges, but rather they exist to exclude members from the potential audience that a competitor may have to perform in front of. I'm not sure this little rant has anything to do with how you should pref/strike me, view my paradigm, etc. It kind of makes me not want to post anything here, but I feel like my obligation as a potential educator for anyone that wants to voice an argument in front of me outweighs my concerns with our MPJ system. I just think it is something important and a conversation we should be having. This is my way of helping the subject not be invisible.
 * The Feels:**

First, debate is meant to be a fun activity! With this being said, in round humor is definitely a plus! Debate rounds often tend to get real boring. I think you should do whatever you need to do to ride your own personal happiness train. So have a good time in our rounds. Ask questions. Whatever. I'm pretty easy going. That said, remember that riding your happiness train shouldn't limit someone else's ability to ride their's. As a result, my threshold for you being rude or offensive may be marginally lower than other peoples. Have fun, learn stuff, don't be a jerk though.
 * The Paradigm Proper:**

I do not walk into the room with a predetermined framework on how the round should be evaluated. The debaters in the room set the framework and I will judge the round as such. This is not my first rodeo in the activity. I've been around for over a decade. I am fine with speed, jargon, etc. I do not have any preferences as many judges say before the round but my ballots most times always reflect the arguments I'm most familiar with. I am familiar with both critical and policy types of arguments so regardless of whichever team you are I can always adapt efficiently.

1. Yes, open CX is fine (I'm kind of surprised people still ask?) 2. Prep stops when the drive leaves the computer or the email has been sent (this is specific to CX). 3. I don't really want to be flashed cases (too time consuming), but if there is an email join I'd like to join. 4. I don't flow or really pay attention during cross. That's your time to get clarification/concessions. If you want those things to matter then put them in speeches.
 * General Stuffs:**

My default interpretation of the round is within the lens of an policymaker, evaluating the affirmative plan versus the status quo or a competitive policy option. If there is an alternative framework, or a clash of two different frameworks I will evaluate the round based upon the winning framework. Each team should focus upon the warrants as to why their framework is favorable for the round; otherwise ‘winning the flow’ becomes difficult to assess. I believe that the affirmative should defend a stable advocacy whether or not they have an advocacy text and if they should be held accountable for not having one is up for debate. If there is a theoretical objection in the round I will evaluate as per a offense/defense paradigm. I will adapt to whatever is presented in the round as long as it is defended and explained (as long as it doesn't become offensive). My default method of risk calculus is always based upon an offense-defense paradigm, strictly on the flow and what was argued. I will not make extrapolations by myself, and will only assess what’s given to me. That being said, judge intervention is inevitable- however I will not allow for biases to intervene in my judgement All in all, there are other frameworks, and it is up to the debaters in the room to determine which framework I should prefer.
 * Interpretation of the Round**:

I love the Kritik debate. I'm familiar with the literature. I only ask that if it is something a bit out of the mainstream (though my version of mainstream includes a whole lot of stuff, so ask in round if you aren't sure if you're in it) or being used for its non-traditional purposes that you slow down on the taglines. I expect really good link analysis.
 * Kritiks:**

I'm cool with K affs, too. In fact, I enjoy them a lot. Though I do think that they should at least be in the direction of the topic.

Blippy theory arguments are not convincing, and a team must win explicitly that the other team should be rejected instead of their argument. I generally believe that conditionality can be easily defended. PICs and PIKs are in most part competitive. I need genuine in round abuse to pull the trigger on theory.
 * Theory:**

This is an essential tool to win. Hands down. Comparative analysis FTW The rebuttals should primarily focus on this, because it is the selling point of the debate. Also, for debaters favoring a “probability” style of debate, I believe that probability serves as an internal link to assessing the magnitude of a given impact.
 * Impact Calculus:**

Politics Disads are fine as long as you know what you’re talking about. I have seen politics disads debated very well, and very poorly. The more specific impact calculus the better. The negative should prove how their impacts intersect or outweigh the impacts of the affirmative in any type of DA. Specific warranted analysis on the case turn debate is a must. Case Defense is also a very important strategy in neutralizing the impacts of the affirmative. If the negative wins good ‘defensive’ arguments against the Affirmative’s advantages, it puts their DA impacts to a higher standard of evaluation in comparison to the Aff’s advantages. The same applies for the affirmative using “defensive” arguments against the DA.
 * Disad/Status-quo/Case Strategies:**

Counterplans should be competitive. They must be a better policy option than the affirmative. I may be a little AFF biased when it comes to evaluating the CP against the AFF. For a Counterplan to be a legitimate use of fiat it must have a solvency advocate or else it'll be considered as a use of utopian fiat. To win the cp you must justify its use of fiat especially if the counterplan has several planks and is international or is some random agent within the USFG. Regardless, I think that the Counterplan ultimately has one use: To disprove that the Affirmative plan is necessary to solve for the problems presented in the 1AC. This is where Advantage Counterplans that solve for the internal link to the Aff advantages are highly respectable. The Aff should be ready for this by having specific Add-ons that the Advantage CP can’t capture.
 * Counterplans:**

I like T a lot, but I'm not a big fan of multiple blippy shells just to do it. I've generally found 1 or 2 is best. I think reasonability is probably pretty solid, but I can be convinced otherwise in any given round..
 * Topicality:**

Debate in my opinion is a very strategic and educational game. You play to be competitive and to win. Go Big or Go home. I believe that there is some truth about the educational aspect of both policy and critical types of arguments; but in round it is up to the debaters to sell the argument to me and prove why they should get my ballot. Especially on the aff, the affirmative team has to write my ballot for me in the 2AR, specifically they must explain what my ballot means especially in the context of their movement. Is my ballot a representation of an instance of coalition building? like what is it!? Bottom Line, on the negative; debate what your most comfortable with, slightly adjust to my paradigm and you should be fine.
 * Performance-ish stuffs:**

I don't mean to ignore you until the bottom. LD was my first love, and with the direction that LD has taken in the last decade or so, most of the above applies to you anyway. Just a couple extra bonus comments for you. 1) I think time skew is real. I think sometimes it sucks to be the aff. Which means I may be more receptive to theory arguments and AFC than many judges. I also think that it means you can justify an RVI a little easier to me. 2) If we are in a good ole value criterion debate, make sure that you're impacting everything through the framework really clearly for me.
 * LD Folks:**

Don't steal prep when asking for evidence (I wish we could just reach a point where you all would flash each other cases like other events). If you can't find a piece of evidence within a minute I'll probably ask you to move on. 2nd Rebuttal: you probably should respond to offense or terminal defense on put on your case by the first rebuttal. You need to be doing some impact framing in summary and generally the majority of your final focus should be on impacts too. Give me an easy route to the ballot. If you just extend impacts and offense and don't put it into conversation with your opponent. I'm pretty progressive in other events, I'm not sure why that would stop in PF. So do whatever you want just make sure you're telling me to do with my ballot.
 * PF Stuff:**