Debate, Creative Writings, and Oratory

Debate March 7, 2013 - "Ought the University System Board of Regents Repeal its Ban on Undocumented Students?"

Admin — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Please join the Phi Kappa Literary Society on March 7th as we discuss arguably one of the most cotroversial policies of the USG Board of Regent’s: it’s ban on undocumented students. Brother Walker Smith will be first affirming, and Brother Ben Woodard will be first negating. Guests are encouraged to speak and ask questions as well.

We will also be hosting guest speaker Richard Milligan, a Ph.D candidate in the UGA Department of Geography and organizer with the Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition. He will be delivering a guest oration titled “Celebrating Courage, Sponsoring Fear: The Ban on Undocumented Students 50 Years after Desegregation at UGA”.

The Definitions for the Debate are as follows:

Ought- “Should”, this is a good old fashioned normative debate. The University has a moral obligation to allow the following.

The University of Georgia System- All chartered state educational institutions. Community colleges already allow, whether explicitly or by enforcement, undocumented students.

Repeal the ban- Allow the affected parties to attend classes and attain an accredited degree.

Undocumented students- Any enrolled or formally enrolled student of the University who was born to foreign parents in a foregin nation, currently live in the United States and do not possess a visa or any other form of legal documentation.

The Debate That Never Happened! - February 25, 2013

Admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 07:48:31 +0000

On February 25 at 6:30 P.M. in the University Chapel, the Phi Kappa Literary Society will be orchestrating the 50th year anniversary of “The Debate That Never Happened” between Sam Webb, National Chairperson of the Communist Party USA, and Dr. Greg Morin, a leader within the Georgia Libertarian Party. The topic of the evening shall be “Is Full Employment Possible Under Capitalism? Solving America’s Jobs Crisis.” To understand why this is such a special occasion, a bit of history is necessary.

50 years ago, in 1963, the University of Georgia was a much different place than it is today. Deep in the throes of the Cold War, and still in the wake of the McCarthy Era, geopolitical tension was palpable in ways unimaginable in our day and age. At the height of the ideological battle between communism and capitalism, the Phi Kappa Literary Society of UGA attempted to hold a debate between Arnold Johnson, director of the Information and Lecture Bureau of the Communist Party USA, and Dr. David Wright, leading economic authority at the University of Georgia. This attempt, however, was squelched by a unanimous vote of the Faculty Committee on Student Affairs. Then-President Aderhold went even further, accusing the Society of attempting to “incite riot.” In the spirit of free speech and debate that has guided the Phi Kappa Literary Society since its inception in 1820, we will recreate this debate on its 50th year anniversary.

The Phi Kappa Society also invites all guests to proceed across the North Campus quad to Phi Kappa Hall at the conclusion of the main debate to participate in another that shall be conducted solely by the members of the Phi Kappa Society. We will be hearing debate on the topic “Was Jesus a Communist or a Capitalist?” Guests are encouraged to take the floor to speak at this debate.

***While tickets are free, they are limited and in high demand. Please contact Ben Woodard at bpwood@uga.edu for information on how to reserve tickets.

https://www.facebook.com/events/401068403320755/

Debate February 7, 2013 BIHR: Brutus was justified in killing Caesar.

Admin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:26:56 +0000

Come and join the Phi Kappa Literary Society for our annual historic debate where we will be taking on the question “Was Brutus Justiified in Slaying Caesar?”. Each year the Phi Kappa Literary Society digs through the annals of our history, and recreates a debate that we’ve held in years past. This year, we are revisiting a topic that was originally discussed in 1823.

Debate January 17, 2013 BIHR:Personal privacy is more important than national security to the interests of society.

Admin — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:55:46 +0000

Come join us for our second debate this semester as Brother Giordano and Brother Wheeler tackle the question of what is more important: the individual or the state? Brother Giordano will be affriming the resolution and the debate will be starting at 7:00 PM at Phi Kappa Hall.

Definitions are as follows:

“Personal Privacy” – preventing intrusions into ones physical space or solitude. It is the idea of hiding or protecting ones body or possessions from sight or knowledge and can be achieved by walls, bags, partitions, etc. It prevents unwelcome searches and unauthorized access to restricted areas or information.

“is more important” – of greater significance or value

National Security – the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic power, diplomacy, power projection, political power, and military power.

“interests of society” – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Debate January 10, 2013 - BIHR: Mental healthcare is of greater importance than gun control in preventing mass shootings in the U.S.

Admin — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:04:12 +0000

Our first debate this semester will be held Thursday January 10, 2013. Brother Mattew Tyler will be presenting the resolution BIHR: Mental healthcare is of greater importance than gun control in preventing mass shootings in the U.S.

If mass shootings can be curtailed more cheaply by providing mental health care to a range of people relative to the cost of implementing strict enough gun control to meet the same reduction in mass shootings, then one would vote in the affirmative. Thus, just because we find the provision of mental healthcare to be “good” for other reasons, this debate will strictly focus on mental healthcare’s impact on mass shootings. That being said, the fact that mental health coverage does have positive externalities outside of preventing violence could be used as a tangential argument—it just shouldn’t be the main topic of debate. Similarly, in order for gun control to be effective, it must be enforced. If there is no constitutional way to effectively enforce a “gun free school zone,” or it would require the employment of an extra police officer for every school in the nation (at a cost of tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars) to prevent one mass shooting every ten years, it may not be worth the public investment.

The definitions are as follows:

By “mental healthcare,” I mean the provision of medical services and products related to mental health (talk therapy, psychiatry, psychoactive drugs, etc.) and the ease with which someone may receive these service; “ease” includes stigmas associated with receiving various forms of psychological and psychiatric treatment.

By “is of greater importance,” I mean that is would be more effective and, perhaps more importantly, it would be more efficient.

By “gun control,” I mean the creation and implementation of policy that would reduce the number of guns possessed by citizens or would make it more onerous to possess or purchase a gun of any type. Practicality should also come into play; if a law is too strict to stand scrutiny on the grounds of the 2nd amendment and would probably be struck down by the Supreme Court (or a lower federal court), then it would be an ineffective piece of gun control legislation. This certainly leaves a lot of room for interpretation, but I merely expect this to be a delineator between an assault rifles ban and taking away handguns from every single person in the U.S.

By “preventing,” I mean proactively stopping. Evidence for this could be supported by historical examples, although it is important to note that most major shooting events are anomalies, and causal inference is most tenuous when based on aberrant events.

By “mass shooting,” I mean an event in which someone illegally shoots numerous people with any type of gun, not in self-defense, regardless of whether or not the victims die. I am not going to place a specific number of shots, people, deaths, etc. on this. Rather, I will use the Supreme Court’s obscenity threshold test established in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964): “I know it when I see it.” Use your reasonable discretion.

By “in the U.S.” I mean in any of the 50 states or U.S. territories’ that fall under the jurisdiction of U.S. law

Phi Kappa's First Video

Admin — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 05:09:57 +0000

New semester, New Webmaster

Admin — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:18:06 +0000

Hello all!!!

Begining Spring 2012, I will be taking over the webmaster duties for the Phi Kappa Literary Society. My goal is to bring a fresh perspective to our internet presence and to ensure that our name is able to get to the public. Keep checking both this website, as well as our Facebook, and Youtube pages for some new additions.

Cheers,

Bro. Wheeler

New officers for Spring 2013

Admin — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 04:55:57 +0000

Well all, the time has come to announce the newly elected officers for the society.

President: Sister Jessica Melear
First Assistant: Brother Ben Woodard
Second Assistant: Brother Stanton Kincaid
Chief Justice: Brother Walker Smith
Associate Justices: Sister Liana Fiallos, Brother C.J. Brown
Alumni Secretary: Sister Cherith Fuller
Clerk: Sister Katherine La Mantia
Treasurer: Brother Matthew Tyler
Historian: Brother Mark Wheeler
Clavinger: Brother Michael Antonoff
Censor: To Be Appointed the first meeting of next semester
Webmaster: Brother Mark Wheeler

Congratulations to all the new officers. I look forward to what is sure to be an exciting semester!

BIHR: WUOG should cease its current operations

Admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:04:21 +0000

Join the Phi Kappa Literary Society as we take on this topic. As always, guests are encouraged, but not required, to speak.
-By WUOG, I mean “a student-run College radio station licensed to Athens, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Athens area. The station is currently owned by the University of Georgia.”
-By “should cease”, I mean completely end as an ongoing concern.
-By “current operations”, I mean its radio operations or any other activity that requires funding.

BIHR: Animal testing is justified for medical research

Admin — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:24:49 +0000

This Thursday, join the Phi Kappa society at 7 p.m as Bro. Kincaid presents the motion. Guests are always welcome and encouraged (but not required!) to speak.

Defintions:

Animal testing - The use of the use of non-human animals in research which is conducted inside universities, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, farms, defense establishments, and commercial facilities. It includes pure research such as genetics, developmental biology, behavioral studies, as well as applied research such as biomedical research, xenotransplantation, drug testing and toxicology tests. Animals are also used for education, breeding, and defense research.

Justified - Done for or marked by a good or legitimate reason; to be valid or right.

Medical research - The research aimed at understanding or treating a human disease or health condition and conducted to aid and support the body of knowledge in the field of medicine. Medical research may involve doing research on public health, biochemistry, clinical research, microbiology, physiology, oncology, surgery and research on many other non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.