Judging Philosophy
Jared Ellis
Lewis and Clark
I tend to think of myself as a policymaker, unless someone convinces me that I should be something else, or that relevant issues come proir to policy concerns. This means that I think it is the responsibility of the competitors to frame the issues and convince me of what my paradigm is. I will vote on almost any issue providing it is well developed and clearly articulated. However, I will draw the line at repugnant arguments like racism good or sexism good, dont run these arguments in front of me unless you want to lose. Comparison is a must if you want to win my ballot. I expect teams to do a lot of work to convince me to vote. As for my feelings on specific issues, heres a short list: T: Its a voter, but you will really have to go for it if you want to win it, explaining specific abuse is important. DAs: Impact comparison is a must, I like to hear why they outweigh or turn back case and why the impact is the most important issue in the round. Critiques: I am willing to vote on critiques, however, you must thoroughly explain why I should vote on them. I also think that specific link evidence or analysis is a good idea. Theory issues: I am not prone to vote on theory unless it is really well explained and impacted. If you want to win on theory in front of me figure on spending a lot of time arguing it. Case arguments: This is the type of debate I really enjoy, and that this topic is really suited to. Once again, impact comparison is necessary. Style and delivery are also important to me. I think quick debate is just dandy as long as it is clear so that I can understand tags and listen to the evidence, if I cant understand Ill try to say something. I also like keeping a light atmosphere in rounds, meaning treat the other team with respect, dont be rude or nasty. Humor is always a plus, teams who can manage to work in an appropriate joke here or there always make judging more fun for me. I also really like creativity, I get really tired of hearing the same things round after round, if you can spice it up thats a plus. Thats about all I can think of, if you have any questions feel free to ask.