A group of well-dressed students is trying to make the Duke community think.
Last Thursday 17 students in business attire met in the Breedlove Room at the inaugural meeting of the Duke Philodemic Society. Roughly following parliamentary procedure, the students debated in meeting-house style the merits and efficacy of democracy as a form of government.
"There wasn't a forum on campus for real issues," said senior Bill English, a columnist for The Chronicle, who founded DPS and serves as its chair. "[DPS] could absolutely transform the face of undergraduate life at Duke."
Taking both its name and format from the Georgetown Philodemic Society, DPS offers students a noncompetitive arena for philosophical, theological and political discussion.
English, also president of the Duke Conservative Union, began forming the group last year during a DCU trip to Washington, D.C. While visiting friends at Georgetown University, English and Nathan Carleton, a sophomore and also a columnist for The Chronicle, began talking about the lack of public debate at Duke.
"[DPS debate is] different than sitting around the dinner table and saying, 'Let's talk about philosophy,'" Carleton said. "There are no other opportunities like it on campus--an extracurricular opportunity for intellectual conversation."
Each debate session begins with two keynote speakers who offer opposing views on the week's issue. After brief statements and briefer rebuttals, the floor is opened to all in attendance for debate. At the end of the evening, participants vote on the issue at hand. The formality of the debate is enhanced by a suggested dress code of coat and tie or equivalent.
"The real purpose of [the code] is to say, 'What we're doing here is serious. We're really engaging upon something worthwhile,'" English said.
Freshman John Korman said the dress guidelines added authority to the meeting. "It added an air of formality, profundity," he said.
But members emphasized that the dress code is not a primary component of the society. "As long as you're bringing good ideas to the table, it doesn't matter what you're wearing," sophomore Anthony Resnick said.
Members said political affiliation was not a factor in last week's debate either.
"There were a lot of different outlooks and opinions," Korman said. "A lot of times in a class you're taught things in a certain way. The Philodemic Society encouraged me to think for myself. It was intellectually expanding."
Although many of the society's founding members are affiliated with DCU, people from all political viewpoints are encouraged to participate.
"It won't be fun if everyone thinks the same thing," English said. "Reviving higher education shouldn't be a necessarily conservative value."
English hopes the group will eventually grow in membership. He said he would also like to bring in distinguished faculty members as occasional keynote speakers.
The Philodemic Society meets Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. in the Breedlove Room. Tonight's topic is "Greater Security Justifies a Sacrifice of our Liberties."
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