Hildebrand,+Kristen

School: Brookfield Academy

Experience: I was a debater in college, mostly value debate. For four years, I travelled around the country and won several speaker awards. This is my first year judging, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I am an attorney and am in court frequently making arguments and developing counterarguments.

Speed: If I cannot hear you, I cannot write it down. That said, I can handle rapidity as long as you are clear on the tags and you address points so that I can flow counterpoints. I do not like it when someone says “apply the … card” especially in value debate. I like hearing the arguments.

Overall – I like clash with the arguments and quality arguments. I also like to weight the entire round through the lens of the value and the value criterion. So, whoever convinces me that their value and value criterion makes more sense, I will then apply that to the arguments and determine who wins. I am rational.

Additional Information:
 * 1) I dislike rudeness. My favorite debaters are those who are not only articulate, but also maintain a high level of decorum.
 * 2) I love theory, and I do like to keep theory debate as such. I also love policy, but it should not be meshed too much with theory debate. They each have their place. Therefore, with theory debate, I try to measure the debaters based on their arguments, not so much on the quality of their evidence. With policy debate, I am very focused on the quality of the evidence, including the source.
 * 3) I do not like sloppiness of flowing or sloppiness of thought. Dropping arguments that I think fit into the value and value criteria will result in a loss, unless there is another argument that is a real knock out punch.
 * 4) I do not like it when debaters try to map out what they are going to do prior to time starting. I also do not like it when debaters think that they have the official watch. I keep time unless I ask otherwise.
 * 5) Counterplans are fine in my eyes. As long as it has all its parts - and is sufficiently presented, I will listen to it.
 * 6) I do not like it when debaters lose themselves in their computers. This is first and foremost a speaking exercise, and I am the audience.
 * 7) I do not like it when female debaters dress inappropriately, and I will discount speaker points for such behavior. I have never had a young men before me dressed in anything but a suit and tie, or similar attire, which is correct debate uniform. Oddly, only a few young women have had the presence of mind to dress appropriately. I have seen obnoxiously tight clothing, obnoxiously informal clothing, and dresses so short they should never be worn, much less before a judge. It’s a very weird dynamic; since I am a judge, I see this as a pre-courtroom setting. I wear a suit every day to court, just like the men.
 * 8) I do appreciate it when debaters look at me, and speak to me, instead of to each other.
 * 9) I do not like it when debaters are condescending to each other, instead of staying focused on the arguments.