JUDGING PHILOSOPHY
Gina Lane
William Jewell College
Years judging intercollegiate debate: 18
Rounds on this topic: 35+
1. I don't reject arguments out-of-hand. I believe debaters should run the
arguments they want and then convince me to vote for them. The last two
rebuttals are incredibly important for me. You should establish the weight
and/or relative importance of each argument, or else I'll decide. I look at
counterplans using a net benefits standard. I believe dispositionality
should be defined in the debate -- Affirmatives better ask Negatives what
type of counterplan they are running and what they mean by dispositionality.
Topical counterplans are OK. I will listen to arguments regarding the
fairness of plan-inclusive counterplans. I buy kritiks, but you must tell
me the effect of that kritik on my decision -- how does it interact with the
other arguments in the round? How does the Affirmative violate the kritik?
I find that many teams have difficulty articulating this. For example,
should I vote to save the kids in Iraq, or reject Imperialism? Tell me why
I should choose one over another. I vote on topicality, but the 2NR should
make topicality the major voter in the round, and spend the majority of time
in the rebuttal on it.
2. When I am forced to spend a lot of time reading cards after a round, my
interpretation of the evidence may skew the decision in one direction or the
other. So while I try not to intervene, I also have a hard time voting on
an incomplete or inconsistent policy story, and as a result, intervention
may occur. Your best bet is to make the round clear for me in the last
rebuttal. If you instead spend the entire 6 minutes reading bunches of
cards, the outcome of the round may be somewhat unpredictable.
3. Speed: I've always liked speedy debates, but my hearing is not as strong
as it used to be. However, the main problem is not speed, it is
articulation. I still flow tags and evidence cites and text, but when there
is no clean break between those three, it is difficult for me to get a clean
flow. If I say "clear" or "slow down," I'm not just irritated; my judgment
is impaired.
4. Other: I don't like a lot of tag-teaming or rudeness towards
competitors. If you disagree with my decision, we should be able to calmly
discuss our differences. I try hard not to yell at or insult debaters.
Please show me the same courtesy.