Strother,+Wyatt

WYATT STROTHER PARADIGM
Last changed Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 10:09 AM EST  I am pretty much "tabula rasa" and will listen to any types of arguments and frameworks as long as they are impacted and the standards/benefits are explained and defended in the round. However I do value clarity in speaking and will dock speaker points heavily for teams or debaters that attempt to "spread" by slurring/mumbling through important parts of their speeches. I also sometimes dock speaker points for rudeness during cross examination, though not without a warning. I tell both teams this at the beginning of every round and always emphasize the importance of "sign-posting", i.e. making it clear when a new argument or a different flow is being introduced, and I definitely emphasize that debaters should make it clear when they are reading a tag and citation for an argument or piece of evidence so I know how to organize my flow. My only personal bias is that I value the accessibility and openess of the debate activity to all types of students. I tend to not count "flashing" time as prep but if it starts to cause ridiculous delays (more than a minute or so between "ending prep" and beginning the next speech) I will sometimes have to put my foot down.