Zhu,+Alex

Hi! My name is Alex Zhu and I debated for four years at Ferris High School in the state of Washington. I am currently part of the APDA Debate Club at UC Berkeley. I generally flow everything and will make my decision based on what I have written down. This also means that I will not flow dropped arguments unless the debater states and explains both the importance of the dropped argument and why it is important to begin with. I am fine with speed and write fast, however, if it’s not on my flow, it will most likely have been because you went too fast to understand. Also, while I will not use arguments during CX towards the decision, I will note them and will consider them if the arguments are linked back throughout the debate. The most important things that I value are warrants. Debaters need to make it clear why their arguments support their values and why each point is important. Lincoln Douglas is ultimately a moral debate; I would rather see a clash of values and principle than a “fact shoot out”. That being said, facts and statistics are still important as they add validity to your arguments. The best cases have a balance of both. As a judge, I am fine with all different types of styles and cases. Theories are fine as long as they are stated clearly and both parties are able to argue on established ground rules. I expected theories to still be linked to the resolution and not an out-of-the-blue idea. On the issue of counterplans, while they are fine (I understand that some resolutions lean more towards one side than the other), unless the resolution is completely flawed, I expect original arguments and cases. Ultimately, I want to influence debaters as little as possible. I am fine with anything that the debaters are comfortable with. Speed is not an issue for me as long as the opponent can also understand the arguments presented. Not a huge fan of spreading, however, if you are comfortable with it, than do it. I expect basic courtesy and respect between the debaters; please keep things civil. Debate is meant to be fun, as long as everyone can have a good debate, that will be good for me!