Christensen,+Dana

I debated for 4 years in high school and a semester of college.My experience is almost entirely in the Midwest.I debated for Millard North HS until 1999(Omaha, NE) and in college for the University of Iowa.Following my short stint in college debate I coached at Westside high school and after a short hiatus Millard South HS.I was then head debate coach at Millard South HS and am currently the head coach for Omaha Westside.This makes for over a decade of experience in the region.I have also been an instructor at the Nebraska Debate Institute for four years. I don’t have a lot to say about speaking skills.I want debaters to debate the way they are most comfortable in front of me.I will say that I do like debaters who break at some point with the purely technical aspects of the debate.This means that I prefer depth to quantity and that I prefer persuasion to jargon.Otherwise, I will follow whatever it is you like to do. Before I move into a discussion of specific types of arguments I want to address the issue of evidence.I do not like to call evidence at the end of a round.I put a high standard on what it means to extend a piece of evidence.Simply extending the Johnson in 08 card is not going to get you very far in front of me.I will vote on the argument made about the evidence on the flow.If I am calling evidence it is likely to clear up places where quality extension was lacking (I will avoid this at nearly all costs). Now I will address the issue of specific arguments.I have a fairly high threshold for topicality and theory debates.This does not mean that I will not vote for them, but it does mean that you need to execute them well in order to win a ballot.Most theory debates I hear contain a huge number of extremely underdeveloped, unwarranted, and often non-responsive claims delivered at an extremely high rate of speed.Don’t do this.If you want to win a theory debate treat it with some respect.Topicality is roughly the same commentary.Treat the argument with respect and I will vote for it. Other than those two caveats I like to hear all kinds of debate.I was a counterplan/disad debater in high school and college.I love to hear a good politics debate.However, most of my current work in debate has been centered on the critical end of the debate spectrum.I consider myself well read and informed about most of the critical literature that gets commonly read in debate rounds.Once again, I find the best debates happen when people are doing what they are most comfortable with.I am sure I will be comfortable with whatever craziness you have in store. Other than that I encourage you to ask me questions before and after the round.I am a laid back person and will likely engage you in conversation if you do not beat me to it.After that have fun.