Kadri,+Amal

I’m basically a tab judge, with a few caveats with regards to Kritiks and Theory. Everything that follows this except for the stuff pertaining to that is just my personal preference for how I’d like the round to proceed. I’m well versed in PF and LD debate; and have done basically every event that there is the category from Congress to World Schools. I’m ok with spreading, but I’ll let you know if you are going too fast, in whatever method you prefer, and the first warning or so won’t have any effect on your speaks. I’m fine with progressive debate, but at the same time I still cling to the idea that debate is a chance for us to flex our policy understanding and persuasive power in a manner that is somewhat similar to the real world political stage. With that mentality, if you can condense your points and speak eloquently that will do wonders for my impression of your argument. On the topic of speed, if you plan on spreading, let me know and I might ask you to pre-flow for me. This is largely because, despite myself, I’m still human; and I wouldn’t a moment of tiredness where I fail to catch something you said to be the difference between a deserved win and an unfair loss.

K’s and Theory: I think Kritikal and Theoretical arguments have their place in debate for sure. But when you use them abusively or unreasonably they sour the flavor of the round for me. At the end of the day I’m the judge, and if I think your argument is BS I will be very given to the reasonability argument that basically says “that’s stupid, drop the argument.” Kritiks are a useful tool to point out greater structural issues that extend beyond and surround the topic, they aren’t crutches to avoid arguing the topic. With that preface, as a general rule I prefer competing interpretations over reasonability arguments, paragraph theory is ok as long as you don’t ramble (a shell is helpful, but only for the sake of clarity, you won’t be docked for not using a shell if it’s too much of a hassle for a small theory spike).

At the end of the day, I like topic discussion. It’s the most straightforward to evaluate and is the least subjective as far having to be an active judge is concerned. As always, please roadmap, signpost and slow down for cards, authors, and important points. Always tell my WHY and argument is winning, don’t just brush over stuff. Maintain a certain decorum in round, but have fun and be yourself. Sarcasm, tone, and the like are important persuasive tools; don’t shy away from them in an effort to be polite.