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]. Image File history File links Another picture of Demosthenian Hall, taken back in 2003 by User:Atrivedi File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Another picture of Demosthenian Hall, taken back in 2003 by User:Atrivedi File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The University of Georgia (UGA) is the largest institution of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. ... Athens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, at the eastern terminus of Georgia 316. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Demosthenes (384–322 BC, Greek: Δημοσθένης, Dēmosthénēs) was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. ...

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. Augustin Smith Clayton (November 27, 1783 - June 21, 1839) was a jurist and politician from the American state of Georgia. ... James Jackson (October 18, 1819-January 13, 1887) was a United States Representative from Georgia, a judge advocate in the American Civil War, and a cheif justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. ... Clayton County is a county located in the state of Georgia. ...

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. The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a private debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford. ... The University of Georgia (UGA) is the largest institution of higher learning in the U.S. state 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. This article is about the student newspaper. ... WUOG 90. ... Kashima Shin-ryu sword techniques are the adopted sword techniques incorporated in some Aikido Schools, such as the Iwama Aikido, by M.Saito. ...

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. 1876 edition Roberts Rules of Order is the informal short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted for use by a deliberative assembly. ...

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 hosts 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.

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

William Yates Atkinson, the governor of Georgia from 1894 to 1898, was born in Oakland, Georgia, on November 11, 1854. ... This is a list of Governors of the state of Georgia, including governors of the British colony of Georgia. ... John Barrow (born October 31, 1955), American politician, is currently a Democratic Congressman from Georgias 12th District (map), having defeated incumbent Republican Max Burns in the 2004 election. ... Middleton P. Barrow Middleton Pope Barrow (August 1, 1839 - December 23, 1903) was a United States Senator from Georgia. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... David William Brooks (September 11, 1901 - August 5, 1999) was an American farmer and businessman. ... Gold Kist is a large chicken producing company in the United States south. ... John Archibald Campbell (June 24, 1811-March 12, 1889), was an American jurist. ... William Ragsdale Cannon (1916-1997) was an American Bishop of the United Methodist Church, elected in 1968. ... Bishops of The United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, in order of their election to the Episcopacy, both living and dead. ... Augustin Smith Clayton (November 27, 1783 - June 21, 1839) was a jurist and politician from the American state of Georgia. ... Hugh Manson Dorsey (July 10, 1871 – June 11, 1948) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. ... Crawford Long. ... Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento (November 20, 1914 – 1992) was an Italian fashion designer. ... Ralph Eugene Reed, Jr. ... Born Charles Henry Smith (June 15, 1826 – August 24, 1903) he was a Georgia politician but was more widely known by his nom de plume Bill Arp under which he wrote for nearly 40 years. ... Born Charles Henry Smith (June 15, 1826 – August 24, 1903) he was a Georgia politician but was more widely known by his nom de plume Bill Arp under which he wrote for nearly 40 years. ... Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 - March 21, 2002) was an American politician who served as Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia briefly in 1947 and again from 1948 to 1955, and as a U.S. Senator from 1957 until 1981. ... Postbellum photograph of Robert A. Toombs. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... John Heddens Jack Kingston (born April 24, 1955), an American Republican politician, has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing Georgias 1st congressional district in the southeastern part of the state (map). ...

References

Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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