Debate 2 Report

On Friday December 12, 2008, in Room 204 at 8:30am a debate was held to determine whether Hamlet, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, was crazy or not. Judges Nicholas Leblond, Yannick Lee, and Jennifer Ross overlooked the debate. Arguing that Hamlet was mentally insane were Ilayda Williamson, Mary Collins, and Michaela Blaser. Those responsible for arguing that Hamlet was not crazy were Kelsey Campbell, Melissa Watson-Shotton, and Jessica Barton.
The affirmative side opened with situations involving those mentally insane and reasons why Hamlet would go insane. There was a little bit of rambling about somewhat morbid topics. The negative opened by saying that their opponents misunderstood the situation and context of the story.
The rebuttals from both sides were strong, clear, and concise. Neither team wasted any time getting right to the point. The second point from both sides included strong arguments as to why Hamlet, or “Paul” according to the judges’ rules, was or was not crazy.
The free-for-all was not particularly interesting it seemed because the crowd seemed rather inattentive. There were some raised voices and even a few vulgar expressions as one of the team members on the affirmative side felt as if a member of the audience was encroaching upon her personal space.
Both sides continued on with strong points and counters challenging each other at every opportunity wasting no second. The side arguing the negative had a particularly strong finish. According to the rulings of the judges, the team arguing that Hamlet was not crazy, the negative side, was the winner in this extensively researched debate.