here - College of Arts & Sciences - Bethel University

Relative importance of on-case argumentation to the critic in decision-making:
On-case argumentation is as important to me as the debaters make it in any given round.
If everyone drops case, then it will probably not factor into my decision at all. On the
other hand, I expect offense from both teams, so Opp needs to do more than just make a
few mitigating arguments on-case to win my ballot.
Openness to critical/performative styles of debating:
Please know that while I appreciate both song and dance as artistic expressions, I prefer
not to see those things in a debate round. So if you like to sing or dance your way
through the PMC (or any of the speeches for that matter), you should probably strike me.
Given that my judging paradigm has evolved significantly during the past 5 years that I
have been part of the NPDA community, I am open to other so-called "critical" styles of
debating as long as the activity is still a debate and is not just another opportunity for
your favorite IE event.
Any additional comments:
Simas, Libby
University of California, Berkeley
Background of the critic:
I have been a policy debate coach and judge for the past 6 years. I also competed in both
policy (6 years ago) and parli (7 years ago). For most debaters, that is all the information
they need to put me in a category!
Approach of the critic to decision-making (for example, adherence to the trichotomy,
stock-issues, policymaker, tabula rasa, etc.):
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