There are three systems of ethics applicable to forensics programs. The classical conception borrows from Quintilian's reference to a "good man speaking well." A second approach starts from the context of a democratic society and builds on the principles that should govern a speaker in that setting, among which are the obligation to select and present fact and opinion fairly and a responsibility to reveal the sources of one's information. A third ethical process is the concern with "ghost writing" expressed by Ernest G. Borman, who suggested that the speaker who allows others to provide the content and style of a speech robs the audience of the knowledge of the speaker's character. If one chooses to define a forensics program as an end unto itself--a coaching of 10 individual events--existing ethical systems will offer little help. If, however, one views participation in forensics as a training program for valuable skills applicable beyond the immediate competitive setting, rather than as an extracurricular coaching situation removed from the regular speech program, then ethics become relevant. This latter attitude raises the following implications: (1) the forensics "coach" must be a communications professional who plays an integral role in the larger communications program, (2) the student must be encouraged to view the contest events as a simulation of an actual speaking situation, and (3) all coaches and judges must also be encouraged to view the events as simulations of real speaking events, rather than as ritualized ceremonial occasions practiced by only an enlightened few for their own benefit. (HTH)