They adjourn to a tavern.....................like wow..............kinda like........"post toasties"......at lake ridge toastmasters club....................we would go to Ruby Tuesdays.........after our weekly meetings on Wednesdays............across from the PWC, VA complex........

Debates[edit]

In order to become a member of the Philodemic Society, a Georgetown undergraduate student must give three impromptu floor speeches over the course of one semester or four speeches over the course of two or more semesters.^[5] Each undergraduate on the Induction List is assigned a mentor from within the Society to familiarize him or her with the traditions, practices and rules of the Philodemic and assist in the preparation of an induction keynote. The Philodemic Society maintains a formal dress code for all their debates. Proper attire for weekly debates is "Western Business Attire." Every Thursday, after the debate, the Society journeys to Martin's Tavern on Wisconsin Avenue to continue the discussion.^[15]

The Philodemic Society Room in Healy Hall in 1910.

Weekly debates[edit]

Two keynote speeches are given at the start of each debate, one speaker on the affirmation and the other in the negation of a resolution that had been previously selected by the Society at a Business Meeting. The number of keynotes may be doubled for the purposes of inducting new members into the Society. Much of the fall semester contains debates with four keynotes as many new members are inducted into the Society during this part of the year. The keynoters give prepared speeches for the purposes of laying the groundwork for the Debate and outlining the most relevant and pertinent arguments that are meant to be expounded upon by the Society at large during the following floor debate. Once the keynoters have finished making their remarks, the president reads the house rules, and opens the floor to the Debate.^[5]

The Philodemic room is quite literally divided in two - with the negation and affirmation sitting on opposite sides of the room. The president calls on speakers, alternating speakers between those speaking on behalf of the affirmation and those speaking on the side of the negation. Floor speeches are relatively short - under three minutes - and are meant to be an unprepared address that anyone in attendance may give at a moments notice. Little or no preparation is intended for these speeches as members and non-members alike are encouraged to use these opportunities to hone their speech giving skills and quick thinking abilities by giving on-the-fly, pertinent and sometimes, dramatic speeches. Preference is given to Society members in order of Seniority. At the President's discretion, he or she may call for a non-members speaking time during which the President will only call on non-member undergraduate speakers. This is usually when non-member undergraduates attain their three or four speeches. After several rounds of floor speeches that last for about one hour, the keynoters are invited back to give their closing remarks. Once they are finished, the President divides the room, and the keynoters physically count the people that are standing on their side of the room. Abstentions stand in the middle between to the two sides.