Debate Commentary

I thank Martin Sigalow and Chris Kymn for their helpful input for this article. 1. Intro Is theory just whining? Certainly, some theory arguments sound like whining; after all, some debaters claim that it is abusive to answer the affirmative’s framework because that makes it harder for them to win. …

Many LDers believe that the activity improves with time. The conventional wisdom goes something like this: All else equal, a true argument beats out a false argument in round. Debaters copy and comply with good norms since it’s easier to win theory and K debates when you’re on the right …

This is episode 3 of Hutt Up or Shut Up starring Sam Azbel and Paul Zhou! Joined by guests Terrence Lonam, Associate Director of the National Symposium for Debate, and Ben Koh, Director of NSD Northeast, they discuss the 2016 Nov/Dec Topic: The United States ought to limit qualified immunity …

This is episode 2 of Hutt Up or Shut Up starring Sam Azbel and Paul Zhou! Joined by guests and NSD Top Lab Teachers Shivane Sabharwal and Sean McCormick, they discuss the judge as an educator, what ought debate look like, Sam’s stellar debate career, and how to make rounds …

This is NSD Update’s Head to Head! Two people will argue back and forth on a controversial debate topic. They are presented with word restrictions and limits on time for when they must submit their responses. The winner will be declared upon the posting of the next “Head to Head.” …

NSD Update is super excited to release the first episode of Hutt Up or Shut up brought to you by the National Symposium for Debate. This is a podcast hosted by NSD Staff Sam Azbel and Paul Zhou that will be released every two weeks and will concern debate news, …

After a three year hiatus, NSD Update’s Head to Head Series Returns! Two people will argue back and forth on a controversial debate topic. They are presented with word restrictions and limits on time for when they must submit their responses. The winner will be declared upon the posting of …

We are pleased to announce that the topic that we are going to debate at the NSD Flagship Institute is: Resolved: The United States ought to guarantee the right to housing. Students should feel free to begin doing research and casing on the topic if they wish, but should keep in …

1. Resolved: The United States ought to become party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 2. Resolved: The United States ought to limit qualified immunity for police officers. 3. Resolved: A just government ought to prioritize civil liberties over national security. 4. Resolved: The United States ought …

A Conversation On Trigger Warnings by Krupali Patel and Fred Ditzian A few months ago a student of mine had a debate round that made me think about the way that we care about one another in debate. They flipped negative, just like most normal rounds would have, but the …

An Alternative View of Offense/Defense by Michael Bogaty with significant contributions by Rahul Gosain In recent years, the community has adopted a near-universal paradigm for evaluation of arguments: offense/defense. On any issue up for debate, whether a framework, contention-level argument, or theory shell, only offensive arguments hold weight. Defensive arguments …

Introduction This is the first of a few articles I will write criticizing disclosure as a norm in Lincoln Douglas debate. In this article, I will argue that the practice of disclosure diminishes creativity in debate and therefore prepares debaters poorly for life. I have three caveats to the disclosure …

An Argument Against the States CP In this article I’d like to expand on an argument made by JP Lacy in 2009[1]: There is no entity with the power to decide between state & federal action…. Why do we need to get further into educational or fairness concerns? The choice …

Slaying the Dragon: An Argument Against Out-of-Round Theory by Chris Kymn Opening Remarks I’ll try to show that out-of-round theory arguments (including, but not limited to disclosure theory[i]) are specious and explain where they go astray. In doing so, I hope to (1) aid debaters in answering such theory arguments …

AN OUTSIDER’S MANUAL TO KRITIKS Part 1: Three Role of the Ballot Arguments Intro It seems like we’ve gotten to a point where the largest ideological divide in the national circuit can roughly be approximated by divergent views of Kritiks[1]. In elimination rounds especially, many judges are considered instant losses …