Events
The Washington Society generally meets on Thursdays at 8pm when classes are in session at the University of Virginia in Hotel C of the University's West Range, known colloquially as "Jefferson Hall." Special meetings, such as the inaugural meeting every semester, may be held in other locations to accommodate for new member interest. Meetings generally consist of several literary presentations and a debate between two teams. Literary presentations and debates range from humorous discussions to serious readings or reenactments of plays, dramas, poems, stories, and the like.
Membership in the Washington Society is open to any current student at the University of Virginia. By signing the roll of the Washington Society, a student declares their intent to join and becomes a provisional member for a semester. Provisional members are required to complete a literary presentation and debate in front of the Society as well as perform an act of service. When a provisional member fulfills the requirements for membership, they are inducted into the Society as regular members. The Society may also grant honorary memberships to community members who have provided exceptional service to the Society.
The Washington Society also participates in three annual debates with the Jefferson Society. The Ethics Debate is held in the fall semester and addresses questions of ethical decision-making. The Harrison Cup is a humorous debate held in the fall semester. The Smith Simpson Debate on Foreign Policy is held between the two groups on a question of foreign policy in the spring and was endowed by R. Smith Simpson. The Smith Simpson Debate occurs in the Dome Room of the Rotunda.
In addition to participating in inter-society debates, the Washington Society works to promote speech and debate more broadly. The Society hosts two literary competitions for University of Virginia students with a cash prize awarded to the winner. The Society sponsors an annual book drive and helps coordinate a middle school debate club at Burley Middle School in Charlotteville. The Society jointly hosts a high school debate tournament alongside the American Parliamentary Debate Association organization at the University in February.
Read more about this topic: Washington Literary Society And Debating Union
Famous quotes containing the word events:
“Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child’s loss of a doll and a king’s loss of a crown are events of the same size.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“It is the true office of history to represent the events themselves, together with the counsels, and to leave the observations and conclusions thereupon to the liberty and faculty of every man’s judgement.”
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626)
“All the events which make the annals of the nations are but the shadows of our private experiences.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)