Kostun,+Yuri

Judging Philosophy 2009-2010 Yuri Kostun Number of Rounds Judged on Topic: 3. Affiliation: Westwood High School (Austin, TX) parent. Personal history: I have been out of debate since ’97. I judged some rounds at the UT institute this summer and at one tournament so far this year. Likes: Clear Speech - I understand the need for speed but if I don’t get pen time I won’t get your argument. My chicken scratch of a flow gets worse the less I can understand you. If you want to ask me before the round to yell “clear” if I can’t understand you, it is highly likely you should already plan on slowing down. I will do it, but I’m just saying… Signposting – I need to know where you are in the debate and where you want your arguments applied. I need to know more than “extend Smith and cross apply it here” since I may or may not have gotten Smith written on my flow. Debates simply get too confusing without signposting. The less guessing I have to do, the more pen time I get - the better decision I can make. Dislikes: Snarkiness Confusion – I am easily confused. Reverse my likes and you have my dislikes (see above). I’d rather hear longer well explained arguments/cards than shorter less explained arguments/cards.

Clarity and clash will magnify your chances of winning.

Argument selection: I don’t have a pre-selected list of arguments I won’t listen to in a round. It is nice when there is clash. Topicality: I do have some presumption for affirmatives that appear to be right in the heart of the topic. However, I believe in topicality as a necessary defense mechanism for negatives, so I will vote on it and am unlikely to vote against the negative for running it. I also understand the tactical nature of topicality arguments, and am not going to punish you for using the tools at your disposal.