Knell,+Steve

Doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin. Previously coached at the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Rowland Hall-St. Mark's and Bingham High School in Salt Lake City.

Last updated 1/29/17 for Golden Desert and Cal.

I try to be as neutral as possible. Make and weigh arguments through some sort of framing calculus and that should be sufficient. I will do the best I can to select the appropriate winner of the round in every debate.


 * IMPORTANT Note:** I am not a debate coach anymore, and I judge a lot less. This means I don't know the topic, and I have had a hard time keeping up in many rounds this year. **__Slow down and be very clear.__**


 * Answers to common questions:**
 * Yes, speed is fine, but keep in mind:
 * I say clear __ **once** __ per speech and then you're on your own and you start losing speaks. If I miss an argument you think is important, it's your problem.
 * The worst times for your fastest reading are first thing in the morning and later in the day after several hours of judging.
 * Single-line framework blips, spikes, theory debates and dense K lit should be read at half of your top speed and have double the crystallization.
 * If you want me to vote on an argument, reference it a couple times and spend more than 5 seconds on it, or you risk me missing it.
 * If you are debating someone who has a hard time understanding spreading, please be a good and reasonable person and slow down.
 * Yes, theory/T is fine, but it's one of the last things I want to spend my Saturday listening to. I will gut-check on messy theory debates.
 * Yes, atypical and/or nontopical advocacies, narratives, performances, etc are fine as long as they have a clear voting story.
 * Yes, I will disclose a decision.
 * No, I will not disclose speaks.
 * Yes, flashing should be prep time. It's time for me to start enforcing this.


 * Things that will make me happy:**
 * Clear, solid, offense-oriented debate on substantive issues with stellar weighing.
 * Crystallizing and weighing. Giving me an "easy way out" - telling me, "big picture," exactly where you're winning and why that means the ballot goes to you.
 * Savvy but non-sketchy strategy; i.e., knowing what to go for and what's most likely to win you the round, but not resorting to tricks or stupid theory when things get tough.
 * Well-developed, unique ways of approaching the topic (with a clear voting story).
 * Being nice, classy, humble, and respectful, while still displaying a healthy amount of sass.

>> //** Do not argue with me after the round. Do not argue with me after the round. Do not argue with me after the round. **//
 * Things that will make me cranky:**
 * Lack of clarity.
 * Skepticism, presumption, permissibility, or other sketchy nonsense.
 * Generic, vacuous K debates.
 * Bad, overly generic or overly specific/sketchy theory arguments, and messy theory debates with no weighing or willingness to slow down.
 * Overuse of meaningless jargon.
 * Being a jerk, either to me, to your opponent or anyone else for that matter, before, in, or after the round.
 * Being a jerk includes post-rounding.
 * Being unnecessarily loud.


 * Things for which I will not vote:**
 * Arguments claiming racism, sexism, oppression, homophobia, etc. are good, justifiable or morally acceptable.
 * Skepticism. You will never win a skep debate in front of me.
 * Theory arguments in which the violation is something that happened out of round. **This includes disclosure theory.** I do not care if it is verifiable.
 * Presumption. You should defend something.


 * Peculiarities:**
 * I believe in epistemic modesty. This means that arguments are not 100% true or false. The implication of this is that I don't buy blanket preclusion arguments or "cold concessions." These arguments just give you increased credence - you should still weigh and answer things.
 * Role of the ballot arguments are adjudicated at the same level as framework arguments. You can make arguments about why your "Role of the Ballot" comes first, but just because you said the phrase "Role of the Ballot" doesn't mean your way of framing the debate gets magical credence.
 * //**You will lose speaks if you argue with me after the round.**//


 * Have questions? Ask.**