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EspañolDEMOSTHENIAN LITERARY SOCIETY
Demosthenian Hall, built in 1824, as seen on the night of the Demosthenian Literary Society's 200th Anniversary
The 'Demosthenian Literary Society' is a debating society at The University of Georgia in Athens,Georgia. It was founded in 1803 by the first graduating class of the University's Franklin College. The society was founded on February 19th, 1803 and the anniversary is celebrated now with the Society's annual All-Night Meeting. It was named after the Greek orator Demosthenes[1].
Augustin Clayton, Williams Rutherford, and James Jackson are recognized as the founding fathers of Demosthenian. Clayton became the first student to receive his diploma from Franklin College and went on to become a judge of wide respect and a U.S. Representative from Georgia, with Georgia's Clayton County being named in his honor. Rutherford and Jackson went on to become professors at Franklin College.
Demosthenian Hall was constructed in 1824 at a cost to the Society of $4,000 [2]. This construction of the Hall gave the Society a place to keep its growing library, which surpassed that of the University's main library. In recent years, the Demosthenians have hosted two debates with the Oxford Union, splitting the contests 1-1. The Demosthenian Literary Society meets weekly Thursday nights at 7:00 during the Fall and Spring semesters at Demosthenian Hall on the historic North Campus of The University of Georgia.
Campus involvement
Over the past 200 plus years, the society has enjoyed a diverse group of students who have been proud to call themselves members. In recent years students from a wide array of majors spanning North and South Campus have come to the society to partake in the debate and intellectual discourse that the society has come to be known for.
Members of the society are often heavily involved on campus having a hand in over 60 campus organizations. These groups include but are not limited to every political affiliated organization on campus, The Red and Black, numerous service and honor societies, WUOG, CURO, and even the University's Kashima-Shinryu Club.
Traditions of the Society
Robert's Rules
All meetings of the Demosthenian Literary Society are run in accordance with Parliamentary Procedure as set out in Robert's Rules of Order.
Extemporaneous Debate
The style of debate undertaken at normal meetings of the Demosthenian Literary Society is that of Extemporaneous Debate. In this style, only the presenters know what topics are to be debated at the meeting, and all subsequent speeches are performed based on prior knowledge and without extensive preparation, though notes can be taken during other speeches. During their speeches, the speakers are also subject to questions, preferably of a non-rambling nature, from the audience and the bench. All speeches are limited to five minutes (with few exceptions), and hand signals are provided to the speaker when he/she has three minutes, two minutes, one minute, thirty seconds, and fifteen seconds left in his/her speech.
Elections
Elections of the Demosthenian Literary Society take place during the second to last meeting every semester. Nominations take place during the two meetings immediately prior to elections. The meetings during which elections take place are the only meetings that guests are discouraged from attending.
Speaker's Points
Members of the Demosthenian Literary Society are awarded Speaker's Points for outstanding service to the society and participation in related activities. Services and activities worthy of Speaker's Points include: taking part in hall cleanings, taking part in special programs, and serving as an officer or on a committee. Points are awarded by the President, the Judicial Council, and Committee heads. Accumulation of points is necessary to hold certain positions in the society and to obtain a Speakers Key.
Speaker's Keys
In the past, after accumulating 32 speakers points, members can purchase a Speakers Key. The Speakers Key is a gold lapel pin that shows a member's devotion to the society. Though this tradition has been neglected in recent years, there has been a renewed effort by members of the society to reestablish the Speaker's Key for posterity.
The All Night Meeting
Every year, on the Saturday that falls closest to 19 February, the Demosthenian Literary Society host's its annual All Night Meeting. The meeting takes place between the hours of 7 pm and 7 am the following morning, and opens with guest speakers and continues with debate between both current members and alumni of the Society. Those members who stay until the end of the meeting are awarded a Speaker's Point and partake in a secret tradition of the society.
Annual programs
The Demosthenian Literary Society is known for several events it holds annually during the Fall and Spring semesters.
The Hat Debate
Members and guests are called up one by one to pulled a resolution out of a hat and then give a presenting speech in the affirmative. Participants are given five minutes maximum to make a case for the resolution and must present the resolution they pulled from the hat. Many times these resolutions are of a humorous nature.
The Demosthenian Classic
Starting in the Spring of 2006, The Demosthenian Literary Society moved beyond their traditional activities and created a new high school debate tournament. The Demosthenian Classic High School Debate Tournament has taken place in mid January for the past two years and has had three participating schools. The tournament has been well received and is likely to expand over the next few years.
Oration/declamation
Because the Society traditionally participates in impromptu debate, once a year a meeting is dedicated to original orations and famous or not so famous declamations. The meeting takes place in two parts. The events are considered a competition with the winner of each event winning a speaker's point. The competition is judged by the members of the Judicial Council. The competition normally takes place in early April. In 2007, the winners were Casey Sharp and Michael Darsie.
Intersociety Debate
Each spring the Demosthenian Literary Society holds a debate with the rival literary society at the University of Georgia, the Phi Kappa Literary Society. The debate is a friendly competition held in the Hatton-Lovejoy courtroom on North Campus, with the exception of this past year when the debate was instead held in the Athens Clarke County Courthouse. The judges are professors from the University of Georgia. The judges names are drawn from a hat (using the names from a negotiated list approved by both the Demosthenian Society and the Phi Kappa Literary Society) as per the 2004 Intersociety Agreement. Phi Kappa has won the last four years after coming off of a four year loss streak of their own.
Famous alumni
★ William Yates Atkinson former Governor of Georgia
★ John Barrow U.S. Congressman
★ Pope Barrow U.S. Senator
★ Robert Benham first African-American Chief Justice, Georgia Supreme Court
★ William Tapley Bennett Jr. diplomat
★ D. W. Brooks, founder of Gold Kist
★ John A. Campbell U.S. Supreme Court Justice
★ William Ragsdale Cannon, United Methodist bishop
★ Augustin Clayton Statesman, Judge, U.S. Congressman from Georgia
★ Hugh M. Dorsey Governor of Georgia
★ Crawford Long Physician
★ Count Emilio Pucci fashion designer
★ Ralph Reed political consultant
★ Charles Henry Smith better known as writer Bill Arp
★ Herman E. Talmadge U.S. Senator and former Governor of Georgia
★ Robert Toombs U.S. and Confederate statesman
★ Jack Kingston U.S. Congressman
References
1. Demosthenian, Notes from a Polite New Yorker
2. Demosthenian Hall
Further reading
★ Coulter, E. Merton. ''College Life in the Old South''. Reprint edition. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press, c1983.
External links
★ Home for the Demosthenian Literary Society
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