Philolexian Society

Philolexian Society
Founded:	1802
Recognition:
Membership:
Executive Board:
Category:	Debate
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See also Wikipedia's article about "Philolexian Society".

The Philolexian Society is one of the oldest collegiate literary societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. It is known primarily for its witty debates and unabashedly anachronistic air.

The society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Composition and Forensic Discussion". The name Philolexian is Greek for "Lover of discourse," and the society's motto is the Latin word "Surgam", meaning "I shall rise". The society publishes a literary journal of the same name twice a year.

It has many famous alumni.

History

It was founded in 1802. After maintaining a continuous existence for over 130 years, a combination of administrative interference, the Great Depression, and student apathy following an internal power struggle led to periods of intermittent dormancy over the next 20 years. Allen Ginsberg is often apocryphally credited with having run the society into the ground. The society was revived once in the 1960s by Ben Stein and others, but the effort didn't last. In 1986 the society was reconvened again by a group of six college students with nothing better to do with their time. The society has been active ever since. The leader of the most recent revivalists, Thomas Vinciguerra, is now known as "the Avatar".

Activities

Beyond its weekly debating sessions, the society administers the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest. It also hosts a "Beat Night", reading poetry of the Beat Generation aloud on The Steps, and holds an annual "Croquet Tea" on Mathematics Lawn, in which members appear in 19th century costume.

Debate resolutions

• Student government is incredibly lame.

Alumni

• Randolph Bourne
• Allen Ginsberg
• Joyce Kilmer
• Wellington Koo
• Thomas Merton
• Ben Stein
• Thomas Vinciguerra

External links

• Philolexian Society website