Devil’s Advocate tempts audience to victory at 2025 Raft Debate

Rather than relying on either the arts and humanities, natural sciences, or social sciences to save humanity, the cunning Devil’s Advocate convinced the audience at this year’s Raft Debate that all three academic disciplines should remain stuck on the island and none should be saved for the sake of humanity.  

Following the success of its return last year, the College of Arts & Sciences hosted the Raft Debate, a beloved William & Mary tradition, on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Hundreds of students, faculty, and staff gathered in Commonwealth Auditorium to watch the debaters argue why their academic discipline should be the one to earn a life raft and save humanity in a fictional shipwreck scenario.  

Emceed by Trey Mayo Ed.D. ‘22, assistant dean for Graduate Studies, School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, the debate featured Andrew Tobolowsky, associate professor of religious studies representing the arts and humanities, Isabelle Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry representing the natural sciences, and Andrea Wright, associate professor of anthropology and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies representing the social sciences. The winner, Jonah Goldwater M.B.A.‘23, assistant teaching professor of philosophy, acted as this year’s Devil’s Advocate. 

As is tradition, each professor is first given seven minutes to argue for their academic discipline. Then, each professor is given a three-minute rebuttal period, followed by a five-minute period for the audience to ask the debaters questions. With the fate of their survival out of the debaters’ hands, the winner is determined by a noise dosimeter, which measures the volume of applause from the audience. 

“One of my favorite parts [of the night] was hearing the audience shout their votes with such excitement. The passion and energy made every bit of effort worth it,” said Yuhan Yue ‘26, one of the student volunteers for this year’s debate. 

Despite the Devil’s Advocate’s victory, the debate serves as a celebration of the diversity of academic disciplines across the university and its interdisciplinary nature. 

“When I first came to William & Mary, I didn’t really know anyone and was still figuring out how to find my place. Helping organize the Raft Debate—and seeing how funny, spontaneous, and full of life it is—made me feel part of a community that truly welcomes curiosity and joy,” said Rebecca Fuchs ‘26, another student volunteer.  

The debate began with Taylor arguing that the value of the natural sciences lies in its validity.  

“We do the work to get [our experiments] to work. We are resilient, we can troubleshoot, we can make things work,” Taylor said. 

“The sciences are the foundation of everything, and [Taylor’s] argument captured that,” Nina Duarte ‘27 said. 

Wright spoke about the versatility of the social sciences that allows it to “look underneath the surface.” 

“Social sciences are the lynchpin. It makes what we do at university make sense,” Wright said.  

Next, Tobolowsky brought the audience back to 1693 to argue that W&M was founded on the principles of the humanities. 

“Knowledge comes from the humanities. It is the best choice for whatever comes next,” Tobolowsky said.  

Henry Flaherman ‘28 liked how Tobolowsky’s argument supported the universality of the humanities. “You can’t apply the other disciplines without the basis of civilization,” Flaherman said.  

Goldwater, donning devil horns, a red blazer and flame socks, argued that the best option is for all three academic disciplines to remain stuck on the island. Ignorance is bliss, after all, Goldwater declared to the crowded auditorium. His comedic responses captured the audience, and for the first time since 2019, the Devil’s Advocate was announced as the winner of the 2025 Raft Debate. 

“I had a blast playing the Devil’s Advocate, and I believe the fun I was having came through to the students, who had fun joining in. I also think it was important to really ‘lean in’ to the role,” Goldwater said. “The other debaters rightly pointed out the great work their disciplines do. But the devil is a tempter, I reasoned, so why not tempt the other fields into wanting to stay on the island, by arguing it’s where they’d do their greatest work?” 

Five other Devil’s Advocates have won the Raft Debate since 2002. For now, the three disciplines can only hope to get off the island next year.  

Missed the debate? Watch the full livestream here.