College literary societies in American higher education are a particular kind of social organization, distinct from literary societies generally, and they were often the precursors of college fraternities and sororities . In the period from the late 18th century to the Civil War , collegiate literary societies were an important part of campus social life. These societies are often called Latin literary societies because they typically have compound Latinate names.
92-690: The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society , located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia , and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Originally founded in 1820, the society has disbanded several times and was and most recently refounded in 1991, remaining active since. It continues to hold regular meetings at Phi Kappa Hall on the University of Georgia's North Campus. The Phi Kappa Literary Society holds formal debates and
184-667: A Bar on the ground floor, the Gladstone Room (a reception room) and the Morris Room (a meeting room) on the first floor, and a Members' TV Room on the second (uppermost) floor, along with separate offices for the President, Librarian, Treasurer and Secretary. Many of the rooms in the Union are named after figures from the Union's past, such as the Goodman Library with its oriel windows and
276-501: A Los Angeles jury of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. Speaking for 90 minutes in front of 1,300 students, Simpson spoke of racism in the Los Angeles Police Department , and said he was sorry for hitting his wife, Nicole. Paul Kenward had given O. J. Simpson assurances there would be no broadcast media at the union debate. However, Chris Philp , (now Conservative MP and then
368-592: A YouTube channel which has more than 1.8 million subscribers and has gained more than 250 million views across its videos. The Oxford Union's general conduct and management is governed by the Standing Committee. The voting members are: The non-voting members are: The Bursar, the Deputy Bursar and the Access Officers attend meetings of Standing Committee in an advisory capacity. Day-to-day management of
460-518: A century of dormancy the oldest literary society in the United States. The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1813, is the oldest continuously existing collegiate literary society. In recent years, the Philodemic Society of Georgetown University has attempted to resuscitate the long tradition of intercollegiate debate between collegiate literary societies with
552-459: A fellow panelist, former CIA operative David Shedd . Oxford Union president Gui Cavalcanti replied that its agreement with Marsh and other panelists gave them the right but not the obligation to publish video of any events, adding that "just this academic year, we’ve had multiple events not uploaded, ranging from J. J. Abrams to Sir Patrick Stewart ." A transcript of the panel and its 22-minute audio are available online. In October 2019, before
644-613: A forum for creative writings and orations as well as poetry. Phi Kappa Literary Society was founded by Joseph Henry Lumpkin , William Crabbe, Homer V. Howard, Stern Simmons, John G. Rutherford, and John D. Watkins at the University of Georgia on February 12, 1820. They formed the society after splitting from the Demosthenian Literary Society , dissatisfied with their disorderly conduct. As Phi Kappa grew larger, makeshift meeting places were no longer appropriate or useful. Through funding provided by member Alexander Stephens ,
736-537: A free-standing debating chamber in the gardens, which opened in 1879. This was about a decade after the completion of the Cambridge Union's premises (also designed by Waterhouse), and the exteriors of the two buildings are very similar. The original Woodward debating chamber is now known as "The Old Library". The Old Library is best known for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti , Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris , referred to collectively as
828-419: A lack of security personnel, a number of students from the audience eventually came to take on the responsibilities of controlling events, in one instance preventing a scuffle from breaking out between a protester and members of the audience, and eventually assisting police in herding protesters from the main hall. One student protester interviewed by BBC News reported that fellow protesters played ' jingles ' on
920-454: A limited adversarial role; at Columbia University the Peithologian and Philolexian were competitors, and they maintained a friendly and highly charged rivalry at best. In his famous diary, George Templeton Strong recorded that a Philolexian gathering was disrupted by "those rascally Peithologians"; and firecrackers and stink bombs, tossed into the midst of each other's meetings, were usually
1012-655: A number of other institutions, together with those participating in some visiting study programmes in Oxford, are also eligible to apply for temporary membership. Guests staying at the Oxford Union Society/Landmark Trust flat in the Old Steward's House are deemed to be visiting members of the Society for the duration of their stay in the flat. Residential memberships are available to Oxford residents who are not from
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#17328516011341104-404: A second-year student at University College and features editor of the student magazine Cherwell ), was fined £50 for selling a written transcript of the debate and helping to sell an audio cassette to TV stations. In November 2007, President Luke Tryl sparked controversy by inviting Holocaust denier David Irving and British National Party leader Nick Griffin to speak at a Union forum on
1196-561: A tradition of hosting some of the world's most prominent individuals across politics, academia, and popular culture ranging from Albert Einstein and Michael Jackson to Sir Winston Churchill , Ronald Reagan , Queen Elizabeth II and Mahathir Mohamad . Many former Presidents of the Union have gone on to hold high office in the UK and the Commonwealth including William Gladstone , Ted Heath , Boris Johnson , and Benazir Bhutto . The Oxford Union
1288-554: A vote of the society. Once a student is a full member of Phi Kappa, they must speak at least once every three weeks to maintain membership. Each academic Thursday, Phi Kappa holds a pre-planned debate centered around a resolution in the format of "Be It Hereby Resolved." Two pre-selected speakers start off the debate with one speech in affirmation of the resolution and one in the negation. These speakers have seven minutes to attempt to deliver their speech while all subsequent speakers are limited to five minutes each. The president facilitates
1380-476: Is a debating society in the city of Oxford , England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford . Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest university unions and one of the world's most prestigious private students' societies. The Oxford Union exists independently from the university and is distinct from the Oxford University Student Union . The Oxford Union has
1472-604: Is also home to a grand piano, known as the "Bartlet-Jones Piano" after the Oxford University Music Society president who found it dusty and forgotten in a cupboard in the Holywell Music Room and placed it on permanent loan to the Union. The piano was unveiled by Vladimir Ashkenazy who famously refused to play it in front of the packed chamber because he "had not warmed up". The despatch boxes which continue to be used in Union debates are modelled on those in
1564-603: Is constitutionally bound to remain so. The first meeting of the Society was held illegally in a room in Peckwater Quad at Christ Church . The first recorded debate was about Parliamentarianism vs Royalism during the English Civil War . By the late 1820s, the Oxford Union was established enough to have regular elections, a growing collection of books, and formalized relations with its sister society The Cambridge Union . In
1656-527: Is not always the case, however; Phi Phi Society at Kenyon and the Phi Kappa at Georgia are examples of large literary societies with Greek names. The Clariosophic and Euphradian societies at South Carolina both had Greek letter aliases, Mu Sigma Phi and Phi Alpha Epsilon, respectively, which appeared on their seals, but which were not used in normal conversation or writing. In the following table, there are two types of literary societies listed together,
1748-416: Is separated into three parts: constructive, rebuttal, and summation. Upon conclusion of the debate, a panel of judges (also made up of active and alumni members) select the winner. Traditionally, each spring, a competitive debate is held between Phi Kappa and their rival society, Demosthenian. This long-standing debate has roots reaching back at least to the 1920s when it was known as the "Champion Debate." In
1840-462: Is the largest schools' competition in the world, with over one thousand teams entering each year. There are chamber debates every Thursday evening during University terms. Experts for the proposition and opposition present paper speeches to the house. Members have an opportunity to deliver brief speeches from the floor. Following the style of the British Parliament, a motion is moved to "divide
1932-556: Is their 202-year-long rivalry with the Demosthenian Literary Society . Until 2019, each spring semester Phi Kappa would debate the rival society in the Intersociety Debate. However, in November 2019 the societies revised their intersociety agreement and eliminated the Intersociety Debate. Phi Kappa instead debated Georgetown's Philodemic Society in 2021 before renegotiating the intersociety agreement with Demosthenian and reinstituting
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#17328516011342024-404: Is usually by invitation. They share all the characteristics of a college literary society, except that they are not open to all students; and they share many of the features of a college fraternity. In the 1830s and 1840s, students began to organize private literary societies for smaller groups, and these more intimate associations quickly developed into wholly secret associations . Groups such as
2116-731: The American Whig and Cliosophic Societies at Princeton University , Social Friends and United Fraternity at Dartmouth College , the Irving Sothe Philorhetorian and Peithologian societies at Wesleyan University , the Philologian and Philotechnian societies at Williams College , the Philomathean and Zelosophic societies at the University of Pennsylvania , the Philolexian and Peithologian societies at Columbia University ,
2208-716: The Clariosophic , Euphradian , and the Euphrosynean societies at the University of South Carolina , the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies at the University of Georgia , the Linonia and Brothers in Unity at Yale University , the Miami Union and Erodelphian (previously Adelphic) societies at Miami University and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . These societies were usually in
2300-689: The Demosthenian Literary Society and Phi Kappa Literary Society of The University of Georgia in Athens , the Enosinian Society of The George Washington University and the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society of the University of Virginia . Some early college social fraternities still meet in a literary society format, including Kappa Alpha, Alpha Delta Phi, and Mystical 7. There are seven literary societies at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois where they have remained despite
2392-513: The House of Commons and were offered to the House during World War II . As recently as the 1970s the Oxford Union still provided a full silver service dining room for its members which, like its famous bar, was the afternoon and evening venue of choice for many of the university's leading undergraduate journalists and politicos. To be invited to dine at the large table in the bay window - the usual domain of
2484-558: The Kappa Alpha , Sigma Phi , Delta Phi , Mystical Seven , Alpha Delta Phi , Psi Upsilon , and Delta Kappa Epsilon and virtually all the pre-Civil War college fraternities were either first organized as literary societies or derived from factions split off of literary societies. In some cases, literary societies such as Trinity College's Cleo of Alpha Chi became chartered as chapters of national fraternities. These new organizations held meetings and were organized on identical lines to
2576-581: The Oxford Union murals . The current debating chamber and several further extensions to the main buildings were added over the next forty years. The final extension was designed in a conventional Gothic Revival style by Walter Mills and Thorpe, and built in 1910–11. It provides the Macmillan Room (the Union dining room) and Snooker Room on the first floor above the Goodman Library, underneath which there are basement library stacks. The Union also consists of
2668-530: The Phi Kappa Literary Society , founded in 1820 and dormant from the 1970s until its official reestablishment in 1991. Similarly, the Philolexian Society of Columbia University , established in 1802, operated more or less continuously until expiring in the early 1950s and, except for a brief revival in the early 1960s, was not revived until 1985. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at
2760-477: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were founded in 1795, closed for approximately four years when the university was shuttered during Reconstruction and reopened. These societies merged in 1959 and still meet today as a "joint senate." The Euphradian Society at the University of South Carolina , established in 1806, was deactivated sometime during the late 1970s; it was reactivated by alumni in 2011. The Clariosophic Society , also established in 1806 at
2852-399: The University of South Carolina , was reactivated in 2013. The Euphrosynean Literary Society, established in 1924 at the University of South Carolina, was reactivated in 2015. The Linonian Society at Yale University is the oldest society to still be in existence, founded in 1753, the society went sometime in the 1890s and was revamped at the beginning of the 21st century making it with over
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2944-578: The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union ." In April 1978, several literary societies held a Congress hosted by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was at this gathering that the Association of American Collegiate Literary Societies (AACLS) was established. For the next two decades, AACLS would hold a Congress in
3036-418: The 1870s, the Society had grown too large for the chamber and commissioned a new chamber by Alfred Waterhouse . Finished in 1878 and opened the following year, the Union's new Debating Chamber was the largest purpose-built debating chamber in the world. The original chamber became the Society's library and is now home to over 60,000 volumes. A further period of building began in the early 1900s when an extension
3128-717: The Annual East Coast Conference of Collegiate Literary Debate Societies, held in conjunction with a masked ball known as the Kai Yai Yai ball. The competition is held at the beginning of October and has in recent years included the Philomathean Society , the American Whig-Cliosophic Society of Princeton University , the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies of the University of North Carolina ,
3220-493: The House" in order to vote. Members in the chamber vote on the proposition with their feet by exiting the hall through a door designed to model the voting lobbies of the House of Commons , the right-hand side being marked 'ayes' and the left-hand side 'noes'. Oxford Union Society debates are filmed and licensed by Oxford Union Limited, a registered company controlled by the Oxford Union Society. Oxford Union Limited runs
3312-467: The Intersociety Debate in 2022. Besides this competitive debate, the societies continue to meet for a non-competitive Intersociety Meeting each fall. College literary societies (American) Most literary societies' literary activity consisted of formal debates on topical issues of the day, but literary activity could include original essays, poetry, music, etc. As a part of their literary work, many also collected and maintained their own libraries for
3404-780: The Oxford Union regularly fields successful teams at the World Universities Debating Championship (which the Union hosted in 1993) and the European Universities Debating Championship. The Union also runs the Oxford Schools' Debating Competition and the Oxford Intervarsity Debating Competition, each of which attracts schools and universities from around the world, as well as running a number of internal debating competitions. Oxford Schools' Debating Competition
3496-415: The Oxford Union. The admission of women to the Union required a 2/3 vote of its past and current members. The first vote to admit women failed, with 903 men voting to admit women and 459 voting against. The second vote, on 9 February 1963, succeeded, 1,039 to 427. Oxford student Judith Okely , who had led the campaign to admit women, then became the first woman member. Geraldine Jones of St Hugh's College
3588-580: The Phi Kappa Declamation, wherein members aim to give their absolute best possible speech from a list of pre-selected topics. This is the most honored practice of the year, emphasizing impeccable rhetoric, writing, and floor presence of the speaker. The Declamation was first introduced in 1994, shortly after the refounding of Phi Kappa. It was previously known as the Alexander Stephens Declamation until Phi Kappa members voted to rename
3680-567: The Phi Kappa Literary Society moved into its permanent residence at Phi Kappa Hall. Phi Kappa Hall was built for $ 5,000 and dedicated on July 5, 1836. It is the seventh-oldest building on the University of Georgia's campus, and the Phi Kappa Literary Society currently shares use of the building with the Georgia Debate Union. The Phi Kappa Literary Society has disbanded and reformed many times in its history. The first occurrence
3772-600: The Union is partly conducted by professional staff, principally the Bursar, the Deputy Bursar and the House Manager. Elections are held to fill the offices of President-elect, Librarian-elect, Treasurer-elect and Secretary, as well as 6 positions on the Standing Committee and 11 positions on the Secretary's Committee. In order to stand for election to the Secretary's Committee, members must make two speeches on different nights during
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3864-453: The Union's president - was considered the acme of attainment in that particular sphere of the university. It was often said more plots were hatched around that particular table on a regular evening than in the Houses of Parliament on Bonfire Night . Similarly, the Union's two libraries were extensively used by that same cadre of undergraduates (principally humanities students) who were rushing at
3956-498: The University of South Carolina to include the female population and serve as a sister society to the Euphradians. In some cases, intense recruitment battles would ensue over new students, and to avoid problems some colleges chose to assign incoming students to one or the other literary society. This pattern was followed, for example, at Dartmouth, where the faculty imposed rule was "The students of College shall be assigned according to
4048-421: The University's AfriSoc society on Azmati's behalf, and soon gained national news media coverage. This was eventually followed by the resignation of standing committee members and other Union officials, and then by Union president Brendan McGrath on 19 November. Azmati was compensated an undisclosed amount. In April 2023, the union invited the gender-critical feminist philosopher Kathleen Stock . The invitation
4140-627: The Washington Society dates back to the glory days of the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. It was during this time that great plant-eating dinosaurs roamed the Earth, feeding on lush growths of ferns and palm-like cycads and bennettitaleans. Meanwhile, smaller but vicious carnivores stalked the great herbivores. The oceans were full of fish, squid, and coiled ammonites, plus great ichthyosaurs and
4232-410: The annual 'No Confidence' debate, blind Ghanaian graduate student Ebenezer Azamati was violently removed from the hall for refusing to relinquish his seat, which had been reserved for a committee member. Azmati later had his membership revoked for two terms for 'violent misconduct'. Footage of the event was recorded by another member, and was subsequently uploaded to the internet. This led to protests from
4324-530: The beginning of the school year and at other important dates, such as July Fourth. The most famous of those addresses is Ralph Waldo Emerson 's " The American Scholar ." Yet, there were hundreds of others, most of which were less radical than Emerson's address. Since these organizations are virtually the oldest kind of student organization in America, where they have survived, they are seen as ancient institutions. One author from Georgia acknowledged that fact (by parody) in discussing his own society: "The origin of
4416-695: The buildings would not be lost. OLDUT's principal sources of funds are private donations and grant funding (including from the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Oxford Foundation), rent on investment property and hiring fees. OLDUT uses these funds to provide financial support for the refurbishment and maintenance of the Union buildings and the operation of the Union's library and reading-rooms. The original Union buildings were designed by Benjamin Woodward and opened in 1857. The society soon outgrew these premises and commissioned Alfred Waterhouse to design
4508-458: The campus at large. When the societies dissolved, their libraries were transferred to the college libraries, and in many colleges the acquisition of the literary societies' libraries was a significant change in their collection, usually broadening the college's libraries' scope into popular literature, but often also adding important and rare works. Although literary societies had Latin names, and fraternities had Greek names reduced to initials, this
4600-517: The college libraries. The society libraries were also high in quality, as shown by their printed catalogs... The rivalry between the two societies at each college extended to their libraries; each tried to have a larger library than the other." Several societies, especially in the South, would build separate buildings for the societies and their libraries. On the austere college campus of two centuries ago, "the only fairly comfortable and attractive places were
4692-454: The college literary societies, (frequently half the college's student body), and smaller private societies, and were admitted by invitation. Some of these societies are still active. The University of Georgia hosts two literary societies (both of which were temporarily disbanded during the Civil War and the subsequent Union occupation): the Demosthenian Literary Society , founded in 1803, and
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#17328516011344784-442: The criterion for membership is being a fully matriculated member of the University of Oxford or a member of one of the Union's "kindred societies", namely: All those eligible for life membership can instead apply for long-term membership for a period of at least the duration of their course. Shorter membership is also extended to staff members of the University of Oxford or of any of its colleges or permanent private halls. Members of
4876-456: The debate, calling on each new speaker until the society is ready to vote. A majority vote of the society decides the winner of each debate. The society abides by Robert's Rules of Order for their meeting procedures. The weekly main debate is followed by an open forum for creative writings and orations. In this section of the meeting, both members and guests can deliver any creative writings they may wish to share, pre-prepared speeches outside of
4968-638: The decision to proceed with the debate, saying that providing Irving and Griffin with a platform for their extreme views afforded them undue legitimacy. Following the event, some, including Oxford MP Evan Harris , criticised the No Platform Policy adopted by the Student Union. In February 2015, the Union invited Marine Le Pen , the leader of the Front National in France, to address the Union, in view of
5060-594: The early 1830s, the Union held its first debate on having confidence in HM Government, a tradition that is continued to this day. As the Society developed, it bought a plot of land by Frewin Court in central Oxford and commissioned Benjamin Woodward , who was then working on the University Museum, to design new buildings for the Society's use. These initial buildings opened in 1857, included the original debating chamber. By
5152-430: The end of Molly Mantle's term. It remains an ongoing point of discussion within the Society. Students running for election usually stand as part of a team, known as slates , enabling voters to support a designated candidate for each position and increase each candidate's vote count. In May 1996 President Paul Kenward invited O. J. Simpson to address the union, his first public address since his October acquittal by
5244-652: The event in 2019. The Phi Kappa Literary Society often collaborates with other on-campus and off-campus groups to hold special events. In 2011, members of Phi Kappa participated in a debate versus the renowned Oxford Union , and in 2013, Phi Kappa sponsored a debate between the Communist Party USA and the Libertarian Party of Georgia . The Phi Kappa Literary Society also maintains a close relationship with The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies at UNC-Chapel Hill . Their closest tie to another student organization
5336-497: The first meeting of the newly refounded society took place on February 14, 1991, in Phi Kappa Hall. The society's publishes The Orator , a literary magazine. To become a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society, a University of Georgia student must petition the society for membership, which is a five-week process that culminates in the student delivering a petitioning speech before the society. The student must then be accepted by
5428-401: The large literary societies. Soon, the existence of these smaller private Greek letter organizations undermined the large Latin literary societies. Competition from athletics and other entertainments also took a toll, so many dissolved or existed in name only by the 1880s. A literary society almost always provided its members with an extensive library , either available to members only or to
5520-614: The last eight meetings of the Consultative Committee may either stand for election as Chair or vote. The number of elected positions on Standing Committee was increased from 5 to 7 in Michael Li's term (Trinity 2017) and implemented in Chris Zabilowicz's term (Michaelmas 2017). However, the number of elected positions was decreased back to 5 officers at the end of James Price's term (Hilary 2021) before being increased to six at
5612-558: The last minute to complete the obligatory weekly essay for their formal university education. The Union's buildings were used as a location for each of the films Oxford Blues (1984) and The Madness of King George (1994). Debating at the Oxford Union takes two forms: competitive debating and chamber debating. Competitive debating offers members of the Union debate workshops and a platform upon which to practise and improve their debating skills. The Union's best debaters compete internationally against other top debating societies , and
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#17328516011345704-444: The literary exercises would consist of a debate , but could also include speeches , poetry readings, and other literary work. There also is a fundamentally distinct type of literary society, that, although formed at a college and following the same forms and kinds of literary exercises, was limited to a small subset of the college. These are private literary societies, such as Phi Beta Kappa or Yale's Elizabethan Club . Membership
5796-419: The long-necked plesiosaurs. Vertebrates first took to the air, like the mighty pterosaurs and the first true birds. The supercontinent Pangaea began to break up and disperse itself across the Earth's surface, sending a big chunk of land to the very spot where Thomas Jefferson's decomposed old ass lies buried today. And it is on this same chunk of land, a few miles away, that Mr. Jefferson's University sits, home to
5888-685: The membership. Amongst the earliest individual addresses made to the Union were speeches given by Lord Randolph Churchill at the start of the 20th Century and Millicent Fawcett who became the first woman to address the Oxford Union in 1908. Since then notable speakers to have addressed the members of the Oxford Union include: Membership of the Oxford Union falls into four classes: life membership, long-term membership, temporary membership, and residential membership. Temporary membership can take four forms: course-length membership, termly membership, visiting membership, and (confusingly) permanent membership. The overwhelming majority of members are life members;
5980-465: The modern era, this debate takes a similar form as the Intrasociety Debate, with a team of five debaters from each society arguing for or against an agreed upon resolution. Each team provides alternating constructive, rebuttal, and summation arguments, and the winning team is determined by evaluation from a panel of judges, who are usually university faculty members. In the spring, Phi Kappa holds
6072-554: The motion, "This House Believes Extremism in Defence of Liberty is no Vice; Moderation in the Pursuit of Justice is no Virtue". In 1975 the union debated the motion "That this House Would Say Yes to Europe" with Conservative leader Ted Heath, Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe and senior Labour cabinet minister Barbara Castle speaking in the debate. It was televised live by the BBC shortly before
6164-403: The nationwide trend of developing into fraternities and sororities; these include: Phi Alpha Literary Society , Chi Beta Literary Society , Sigma Pi Literary Society , Gamma Nu Literary Society , Sigma Phi Epsilon Literary Society , Pi Pi Rho Literary Society , and Gamma Delta Literary Society . Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society , commonly referred to as the Oxford Union ,
6256-418: The odd or even places which their names shall hold on an alphabetical list of the members of each successive class..." Having two societies on campus encouraged competition , and a thriving society would have interesting enough meetings to attract full attendance from its membership and perhaps even people from the community. These societies met publicly, sometimes in large lecture rooms, and in most instances,
6348-464: The official curriculum were often the most popular. Studies have been done, for example, finding an increasing discussion of slavery at literary society meetings through the 1850s. In addition to debates, in the years before the Civil War, college literary societies sponsored addresses by politicians and other dignitaries. Most frequently those addresses were delivered in conjunction with graduation. Still, there were also literary society addresses at
6440-441: The piano and danced on the President's chair though the truth of the latter assertion was seriously questioned by eyewitnesses. Smaller debates were eventually held with Irving and Griffin in separate rooms, amid criticism that the police and Union officials had not foreseen the degree of unrest which the controversial invitations would arouse. The President of Oxford University Student Union , Martin McCluskey, strongly criticised
6532-477: The popularity of the FN in the French polls at the time. This sparked considerable controversy, with allegations of Le Pen endorsing anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The speech went ahead as planned, albeit delayed by the protesters blockading the Union's main entrance, and briefly breaking into the building. In all, over 400 people turned up to the demonstration. There was considerable controversy over OUSU's response, with allegations that OUSU had indirectly supported
6624-452: The premises. Around 20 protesters succeeded in breaching the poorly maintained security cordon and attempted to force their way through to the main chamber. Members of the waiting audience blocked access by pushing back against the chamber doors. After students were convinced to yield to the protesters by Union staff, a sit-in protest was staged in the debating chamber, preventing a full debate from occurring due to security concerns. Because of
6716-406: The protesters and not adequately condemned threats of violence against Union members who had attempted to attend the talk. In 2018, human rights activist Heather Marsh accused the Oxford Union of censorship and violating a contractual obligation when they failed to post video of a "Whistleblowing" panel in which she appeared to the official Oxford Union YouTube channel, allegedly at the request of
6808-433: The realms of debate, or extemporaneous speeches. Each fall, Phi Kappa holds an Intrasociety Debate between active members and alumni. Active members and alumni form teams of five and prepare a debate based on a resolution, with about a month of preparation time. The resolution is chosen in alternating years by actives or alumni. One team speaks in affirmation of the resolution, and one team speaks in negation of it. The debate
6900-671: The referendum, in June 3, 1975. In 1985, David Lange , prime minister of New Zealand, debated against the American evangelist Jerry Falwell the motion "This House Believes Nuclear Weapons are Morally Indefensible." Lange was invited to the debate by New Zealander Jeya Wilson , who was later elected president of the union. The Union puts on a wide variety of events for its members but is best known for its Thursday night debates and individual speaker events. In both of these, leading figures from public life are invited to discuss something of interest to
6992-465: The result of the debate from the union's minute book. This attempt was defeated in a meeting more attended than the original debate. Sir Edward Heath records in his memoirs that Churchill was then chased around Oxford by undergraduates who intended to debag him (i.e., humiliate him by removing his trousers), and was then fined by the police for being illegally parked. In 1964, the Oxford Union invited American civil rights activist Malcolm X to speak on
7084-435: The rooms of the literary societies. Their members,... raised money for rugs, draperies, and comfortable, even luxurious, furniture." Typically, a college would have two or more competing societies. The campus societies were generally intense competitors. Some examples include The Irving , The Philaletheian, The Adelphi, and The Curtis at Cornell University , Philodemic and Philonomosian Societies at Georgetown University ,
7176-404: The society and the university as a whole pulled the Phi Kappa Literary Society apart, seemingly for the final time, in 1973. After sporadic, unsuccessful attempts to revive Phi Kappa, in 1991, Stephanie Hendricks took an interest in the society after prompting from Thomas Peter Allen and was elected as its new president on January 31, 1991. Thirteen new members were inducted shortly thereafter, and
7268-512: The spring to conduct business, and a Rhetor in the autumn where debates, literary exercises, and exchanges of literary magazines took place. As of April, 2024, efforts are currently underway to reestablish the AACLS. Since every college literary society saw itself as complementing the classical curriculum with the knowledge of current events, many of the societies also had libraries. "At a number of Northern colleges...the society libraries were larger than
7360-573: The subject of long leases, including an area of land around the rear of the debating chamber, part of the Union cellars (adjoining that now occupied by the LGBTQ+ venue Plush ), and part of what was formerly the Steward's house (now occupied by the Landmark Trust ). The creation of OLDUT secured the future of the Union's buildings such that even if the Oxford Union Society were to cease to be or fail financially
7452-452: The term they stand for election. For the other offices, candidates must have additionally made two such speeches in the previous term. Elections are always held on Friday of 7th Week of the university's Full Term . The election for the Chair of the Consultative Committee is held at the meeting of the Consultative Committee on Monday of 8th Week of each term. Only members who have attended four of
7544-459: The topic of free speech. The Student Population at a Council meeting voted to oppose the invitations. Following this and protests by other student groups, a poll of the Union's members was taken and resulted in a two-to-one majority in favour of the invitations. On the evening of the planned debate several hundred protesters gathered outside the Union buildings, chanting anti-fascist slogans and later preventing guests and Union members from entering
7636-573: The university, but only if they are deemed worthy by a full meeting of the Union's Standing Committee after submitting a written application to the Secretary and subsequent interview by a member of the Standing Committee. The Oxford Union buildings are located in Frewin Court (off Cornmarket Street ) and on St Michael's Street , and are owned by a separate charitable trust , the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust ("OLDUT"). The Oxford Union
7728-518: The use of the society's members. "College societies were the training grounds for men in public affairs in the nineteenth century." The societies could fulfill this function because they were independent organizations, and entirely student-run activities. "The societies were virtually little republics, with their own laws and a democratically elected student administration." Topics could include Classical history , religion , ethics , politics , and current events . Controversial topics not covered in
7820-523: The weapons of choice. Membership in these societies was not only open to all the students in the college but in many cases, membership was all but required. At the opening of the University of South Carolina virtually all students were members of the Philomathic Society which was soon divided by lot into the Clariosophic and Euphradian societies. The Euphrosynean Literary Society was later formed at
7912-490: The wood-panelled Macmillan Room with barrel ceiling. The buildings have gradually been added to with paintings and statues of past presidents and prominent members. The Old Library contains a fireplace situated in the middle of the floor with a concealed flue, a rare design of which only a handful of examples survive in the UK. The debating chamber features busts of such notables as Roy Jenkins , Edward Heath , Michael Heseltine , George Curzon and William Gladstone . It
8004-513: Was built between the Steward's House and the main premises of the Society. The Oxford Union is an unincorporated association ; its property is held in trust in favour of its objectives and members, and governed by its rules (which form a multipartite contract between the members). Its members are almost exclusively drawn from the University of Oxford with some provision for members who are resident in Oxford or attend Oxford Brookes University. Until 1963, women were excluded from membership of
8096-477: Was founded as the United Debating Society, an independent forum for unrestricted debate by junior members of Oxford University in 1823. At the time, the University prohibited junior members from discussing certain issues, such as matters of theology. Although restrictions of speech within the University have since been lifted, the Oxford Union has remained separate from and independent of the university and
8188-532: Was in 1863 due to student enlistment in the American Civil War , which left only five members remaining. Meetings resumed on January 5, 1866. The society flourished in the early 1900s, participating in numerous collegiate debate competitions as well as sending members to compete in international collegiate debate contests. However, a drop in student enrollment due to World War II caused the society to disband again in 1944, and an extremely polarized atmosphere in
8280-596: Was in 1967 the first woman to be elected President of the Oxford Union. The Oxford Union has long associated itself with freedom of speech , most famously by debating and passing the motion " That this House would under no circumstances fight for its King and country " in 1933. The debate polarized opinion across the country, with the Daily Telegraph running an article headlined "DISLOYALTY AT OXFORD: GESTURE TOWARDS THE REDS". Several prominent union members (including Randolph Churchill ) tried to expunge this motion and
8372-609: Was met with criticism from the Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society and the student union, who alleged Stock's views were transphobic and called upon the union to rescind the invitation. The union declined to disinvite Stock, saying in a statement that members would have the 'opportunity to respectfully engage and challenge' Stock. Letters both in support and in opposition to Stock's talk were published in national publications, signed by academics and students, and prompted intervention from prime minister Rishi Sunak , who told
8464-446: Was never financially secure and had a significant level of historic debt associated with the erection of its buildings. Following a particularly bad period in the 1970s, the Union buildings were sold to OLDUT (the Oxford Literary and Debating Union Trust), and the Oxford Union Society was granted a licence to occupy the building. Several parts of what were historically the Union buildings and grounds were subsequently either sold or made
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