Johnston,+Michael

General: I debated four years of policy, competed at both national circuit and local tournaments. I’m not currently debating in college, but I practice with the team to keep my speed and flowing abilities semi-competition ready. With that in mind, it would be nice to get warmed up to the spread, so (especially if you’re the first round of the day) keep the tags slower and clearer. Blasting through as many cards as possible at v->c makes giving high speaks a dismal prospect, especially when there’s a 50/50 chance I’m hung-over. Other general philosophies: I consider myself tabula rasa (to the extent that it’s actually possible to be tabula rasa) just don’t make some racist airborne AIDs from Africa impact or things like that, and you won’t have to worry about judge intervention on arguments. Be nice. Seriously. Keep the round organized. I’m generous with prep, so please lord be prepared to speak before you stand. Last, since this is an issue in every round I’ve judged so far: flash time does not count for prep.

Specifics. T-Read it, go for it, frankly, I don’t give a damn. I’ll vote on T no problem, just give it weight in the 1AR, give me an abuse story, and impact your arguments. K- I came from a fairly traditional league, so I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge on K specifics (unless it’s cap). So I’ll vote on it, but I have to understand it. If you see me looking really confused in the back of the room, that means you should probably put like a 10 second overview on the top of the 2NR if you decide to stick with it. DA- Normal stuff, impact calc makes my job easier. If you forget about the impacts, I’ll be sad, and so will you because you’ll probably lose. I also have a high threshold for impact turns. Just make sure your evidence actually says what you think it does before you read it, and we won’t have a problem. CP- Make it competitive and relevant. Theory/Procedurals- I debated a lot of theory early in my career, so I understand and will vote on it. Just please make it pertinent, impacted, and SHORT. If you read the West Coast theory file, I might dock speaks (Kidding, but I might hate you).

Aff: Do your thing. Critical affs: Like I said, a lot of K stuff flies right over my head, so please lord explain yourself. I hold you to a very high threshold of belief. That is all.