Kaur,+Eesir

Debate, for me, is a safe and intellectually challenging/stimulating environment for individuals to pose, validate and refute arguments. With that being said, I believe that the round is fair game for anything. I will listen to everything said in the debate round, and will judge it holistically. I love kritiks, but I think they need to be well articulated and threaded throughout the debate. I am not a fan of topicality unless you can provide an extremely convincing argument for T. I value quality, so please don't sacrifice your content for speed--I would much rather prefer a debate round that stimulates thinking and creativity and moves at a slower reading pace, than a speed-read debate round. I also consider author qualifications and strongly believe that personal experiences matter in a debate round. Feel free to share who you are in the round, because ultimately, that's what makes debate so wonderful. However, I also want to hear academic arguments made and developed throughout the round.

Finally, and most importantly, you must respect each other as debaters and people. We come together, from all different walks of life, because we share (hopefully) a passion for debate. My hope is that ultimately, we can learn from one another, irrespective of our backgrounds, and I believe that can take place when we view our "opponents" simply as people with whom we are having a stimulated intellectual discussion with.

I debated for three years under the guidance of Jen Johnson and the Bay Area Urban Debate League. I also spent about 2 years debating as an undergraduate at Harvard University, and coached debate in Boston for about 3 years. Currently, I coach H.S. debate and continue to engage in competitive speech at Columbia Graduate School. Please take a look at judge Jen Johnson's page for more information, as my debate philosophy aligns very closely with hers.

Enjoy the game!

Eesir