Events
The hallmark of the Society's public visage is its Speaker Series, which draws distinguished individuals from myriad disciplines to address the Society and its guests each Friday evening during the fall and spring academic sessions. Noteworthy speakers over the years include Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, U.S. Senators John Warner and George Allen, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, Vermont Governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean, Tom Clancy, William Faulkner, George Will, Ruth Westheimer, Antarctica explorer Roald Amundsen, Congressman Bob Barr, Colombian President Victor Mosquera Chaux, John Dos Passos, Avery Dulles, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart, Christina Hoff Sommers, Congressman Asa Hutchinson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, Playwright and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek Soong May-ling, Kenny Mayne, Sharon Olds, César Pelli, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and Edward Teller, inventor of the Hydrogen Bomb.
Each week, members of the Society engage in spirited debate on matters ranging from current events to philosophy and law to humorous topics. Members frequently present original works of Literature and Poetry or give readings of the works of other authors. Each semester, the Society holds a number of competitive Debate, Oratorical, and Literature events, and engages other organizations in friendly contests of debate or athletic skill. The Society hosts several formal events annually, including Wilson's Day, the Restoration Ball, and Founder's Day - first held in 1832.
Read more about this topic: Jefferson Literary And Debating Society
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“A curious thing about atrocity stories is that they mirror, instead of the events they purport to describe, the extent of the hatred of the people that tell them.
Still, you can’t listen unmoved to tales of misery and murder.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. By carefully chronicling the current events of contemporary life, it shows us of what very little importance such events really are. By invariably discussing the unnecessary, it makes us understand what things are requisite for culture, and what are not.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“Just as a mirror may be used to reflect images, so ancient events may be used to understand the present.”
—Chinese proverb.