Commentary
Judge Fatigue by Chris Theis
This weekend at Harvard between the round robin and the tournament I judged a total of 23 debates. I did not have a round off until the semi finals. By the end I was exhausted mentally and physically. I bring this up not to complain, though it was terrible, but rather to bring up a dynamic that I believe is under-appreciated by tournament directors and debaters alike.
The Necessary but Insufficient Burdens of Self-Defense by Stephen Babb
The debate world’s head is exploding at the proposition of Affirmative debaters having to demonstrate that repeated domestic abuse meets the multiple conditions for qualification as “self-defense.” For deadly force to be justified as self-defense, the conventional logic is that certain requirements must be met, namely: the threat must be imminent, and deadly force (as opposed to less deadly alternatives) must be necessary for someone to prevent serious harm from being inflicted. Proportionality may also be considered a requirement insofar as it wouldn’t be acceptable to use deadly force to stop a minor affront or injury.
Ranking Educational Objectives by Stephen Babb
Even some of the best theory debates are plagued by shallow and unimaginative discussions of education. Buzzwords like “depth” and “scope” are tossed about in mindless recitation while the judge wonders why they should even be flowing the same debate they’ve watched dozens of time before. Our debates about debate can be painfully superficial, and no more so than when invoking the weighty value of “education.”
Should Judges Time Rounds?
Should judges time rounds or may they rely on debaters’ cross-timing? At one time the community norm was unequivocal – judges had to time (and if necessary give debaters time signals). Debaters as a general rule didn’t time their own speeches. Today on many circuits timing practices are much more equivocal. Debaters are generally expected to time themselves and each other, though they often do so haphazardly. Does the judge have a responsibility to make sure time is kept correctly?
Three Judging Practices That Need To Stop by Adam Torson
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