Johnson,+Jamal

I'm a Princeton student and a member of Princeton's debate team. I did Lincoln-Douglas debate at Tomball High School, which is in Texas.


 * Paradigm**: I would prefer that debaters avoid policy-style arguments in LD. I think it often detracts (or distracts) from clash on substantive issues and diminishes the quality of the debate. I prefer clean arguments that are easy to flow, clearly linking value, criterion, and independent arguments. I'm most impressed by strong organization, clear argumentation, and discretion in terms of prioritizing quality of arguments over quantity. I will flow everything, including CX, but, in making my decision, I will not consider CX unless a debater demonstrates (either in CX or in a subsequent speech) the reason a specific point should be considered. Indeed, I will not vote on the basis of //any// issue unless a debater provides a clear rationale as to why it matters. I think the clearest path to victory in a round is to demonstrate why your value is superior to your opponent's and how you better uphold your value than your opponent does. Debaters should strive to be genuinely persuasive. To that end, delivery is important. I will dock speaker points for spreading, lack of fluidity or lack of tone variation, and rudeness or vulgarity. If you have questions, please feel free to ask them before the round.