Smith,+Geoff

Name=Geoff Smith Affiliation=Weston/Harvard School Strikes=Weston CXPhilosophy=

Debate Background – I debated 4 years at Weston High in Massachusetts and I am now in my second year of debate for Harvard. I have done very little research on this topic (Africa), only tournament time work with Weston.

Topicality – My personal belief is that the aff has to be topical, and thus I’m perfectly willing to vote on T. However, I’m no inflexible in this regard and if you win the argument that you don’t have to be topical, I’ll vote for you (in the context of the t debate), but it’s gonna be a lot of work to convince me to vote aff because T is exclusionary violence. To win a T debate on the neg, I expect a good debate of standards and I likely default to a competing interpretation framework, though I’m not necessarily convinced that’s best for debate. Stupid T arguments and answers drive me nuts and probably cost you points, especially: C/I only my case is topical, RVIs etc.

Counterplans / Disads – Run ‘em, my preferred place as a 2N.

K’s – I’ll vote on them and I have a pretty good familiarity with most of the major arguments, though not from deploying them but from answering them. My senior year of high school featured a lot of the K. I generally think the aff does a poor job answering it, especially through on over reliance on a framework argument that doesn’t actually mandate an aff ballot. At the same time, the neg story is often so generic, that I have trouble pulling the trigger when the aff responds with smart, aff specific arguments, even if not evidenced.

Theory – I err neg on theory. In High School, as a 2A, I went for theory all the time, but I’m beginning to think the neg needs flex. I’ll still vote on Aff on theory, but especially on Dispo/Conditionality, it’ll be a high threshold and it should be your last choice in the 2AR, not your first. The key on both sides of the theory debate is to debate it with the same level of rigor you would a disad, impacting arguments.

End Game Analysis – the 2NR/2AR framing is very important for sending me towards resolving the round in your favor. Invest some thought here in identifying the important issue, and it will be most rewarding to you in the end. Failure to do so leaves me to assign importance to various issues and for me to decide the pivotal issue.