About this format:
Demosthenian Debate is the signature event of the Demosthenian Classic. It can best be described as a combination of Model United Nations and Student Congress.

Here is how it works:
A member of the Demosthenian Literary Society will present a resolution. No one in the room will know what the resolution is until it is presented.

The presiding president (also a Demosthenian) will then “open the floor.”

In order to speak on the resolution (for or against) students should jump up and scream “Mr./ Ms. President” The presiding president will then call on a participant and the contestant will be allowed to speak for a maximum of five minutes. When the participant “yields the floor”, the rest of the contestants should once again jump up and follow the procedure discussed earlier.

During the course of the debate, each participant may interrupt the speaker “holding the floor” up to two times in order to ask questions.

Each participant will be judged based on two criteria:
The Quality of the Speech given on the resolution.
How Early in the Debate the Participant begins to ask for the floor.