Yale Political Union

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The Yale Political Union
Image:Ypubanner.png
Founded 1934
Home Page The Yale Political Union

Elected Officers of the Union, Spring 2007
President Daniel Thies BR '07
Vice-President Harry Greene BR '08
Speaker David Kasten JE '08
Director of Development April Lawson SY '09
Director of Campus Relations Dara Lind BK '09
Floor Leader of the Left Vivian Nereim SM '09
Floor Leader of the Right Matthew Klein SM '09
Treasurer Amit Bhalla TD '08

Appointed Officers
Secretary Daniel Rice CC '10
Social Chair Noah Mamis BR '08
Teller Joyce Arnold MC '10

The Yale Political Union (YPU), a debate society that is the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold (1906–1963), who would later become University President, to combat the apathy that characterized Yale's political culture in the 1930s. It was modelled on the Cambridge University and Oxford University Unions, and members of the YPU have reciprocal rights at its sister societies in England. [1] The Union has at times been the central forum for political discussion and activism at Yale. Its officers over the years have included Senator John Kerry, Senator David Boren, Attorney General Edwin Meese, Governor George Pataki, and William F. Buckley.

The YPU is a non-partisan debate society. A speaker moderates weekly debates according to Robert's Rules of Order. The Union's highest ranking officer is the President, elected for a term of one semester, who oversees the YPU's day to day affairs and provides leadership in setting the tone of any given semester. [1] The office of President was split into the offices of President and Speaker in late 1961.

A prominent figure (e.g., politician, journalist, etc.) is often invited to keynote a Yale Political Union debate. Students then have the opportunity to ask questions of the guest, and then give speeches of their own, either in support or opposition to the resolution. This ability to allow students to interact with relevant political figures is often considered one of the great strengths of the organization.

Contents

[edit] Parties of the Yale Political Union

The Union is an umbrella organization that currently contains seven Parties: the Liberal Party (Lib), the Party of the Left (PoL), the Progressive Party (Prog), the Independent Party (IP), the Conservative Party (CP), the Tory Party (Tory), and the Party of the Right (PoR). These parties are actually independent debating societies that host their own debates and activities apart from Union activities, though members will come together for weekly Union debates. The Parties are traditionally listed in the order given above, from Left to Right. [2]

In the past the Political Union has had other parties including a Bull Moose Party, a Constitutional Union Party, and a Labor Party, but not all at the same time. Seven parties is an all time high for the total number of parties. Two is the all time low. Four has been fairly typical. All of the parties contribute in their own unique way to the Union's character.

Though party size and membership varies greatly over the decades, currently the Independent Party is the largest Party in the Union, maintaining more than a third of the voting membership of the Union in recent semesters. The Party of the Left, Liberal Party, and Party of the Right follow, at a little over a third of the size of the Independent Party. The other three parties are all roughly the same size.

These parties have their own political leanings, as their names might suggest, but they are better understood as being distinguished by different styles. For instance, the parties on the right tend to have more intense debates that cover topics beyond the political, such as philosophy and literature. The parties on the left tend to have a more casual atmosphere than the parties on the right, while still engaging in political dialogue.

The Liberal Party is one of the three founding constituent Parties of the Political Union. Liberal Party debates tend to be slightly less formal in an attempt to facilitate learning, promote constructive debate, and provide a more relaxed environment.

The Party of the Left was formed to satisfy a desire for more formal debate on the Left of the Union, emphasizing a synthesis of first principles and policy. PoL debates are more formal than Liberal Party debates and more serious than those of the Progressive Party. PoL debates often concern "the questions that divide the Left."

The Progressive Party boasts of "debating silly topics using perfect parliamentary procedure." The Progressive Party prides itself on being able to bring a sense of a humor to the Union floor, and student Speakers at a debate should be prepared for one of the classic "Prog questions," which often contain a lot of innuendo and can be tricky to answer appropriately.

The Independent Party's members cover the entire political spectrum. The Independent Party has become quite large as a result, and discusses more partisan and policy topics, and rather few traditional philosophical debates. Because of the IP's wide range of views, their debates tend to draw the most people, sometimes out-drawing the Union's own debates.

The Conservative Party was founded in 1996. It is committed to the production of principled and profound leaders. The Party's debates focus on the principles of Western Civilization.

The Tory Party developed from a split in the Party of the Right during the Spring of 1969. The Tory Party is a society of philosophical conservatives, tending toward Burkean traditionalism, an English aesthetic, and "reasoned conservatism." The Tory Party's attitude toward the Union has often been reserved, but has been more active in recent years.

The Party of the Right was founded in 1952, in a reaction to the perceived leftward movement in the Conservative party of that era. The Party of the Right is the least politically or philosophically homogeneous of the Parties on the Right. The Party is known for its goal of making Great Men and its mantra: "We care not what you think, only that you think."

[edit] A Brief History of the Yale Political Union

Though the Yale Political Union was originally founded by a member of the Yale faculty, the current administration is generally unsupportive of the Union's efforts. Members offer different explanations for this fact; some suggest that the current administration does not see the value of having a central forum for channeling students' political energies and fostering debate, others offer that the administration may be dissuaded from assisting the Union because (in recent years) its more vocal members have become increasingly politically conservative.

All sides agree that the YPU is not as influential as it once was. Members note that this is the result of several factors. A few point to the presidency of current Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, who was President of the YPU as an undergraduate at Yale. Kerry attempted to create a more national role for the organization, with a greater emphasis on outside speakers. This was not appreciated by some Union members who preferred a more insular Union, and given Kerry's subsequent prominence he is frequently cited as a negative turning point by members on the right, although he did enjoy enough support to be reelected. This push and pull between outside speakers and student debate has characterized the YPU for at least thirty years.

The YPU did regain some of its strength throughout the 1970s, until it suffered a severe blow shortly after A. Bartlett Giamatti became the Yale President. Giamatti, violating numerous agreements and covenants established with the YPU, "repurposed" the YPU building/debate hall and turned it into a practice hall for aspiring Yale artists.

After several years of rebuilding, the YPU managed to recover its numerical strength. This recovery moved into rapid gear during Spring term of 1984 when membership tripled to 900 during a term highlighted by a nationally televised debate. By the end of 1986, active membership rolls comprised over 1200 members, nearly 1/4 of the entire student body at Yale, and the YPU successfully launched a Model Congress, a magazine, and an on-topic debate team (which sent two union members overseas to the world debate champtionships). But the one-vote failure of an attempt to acquire the much financially stronger Yale International Relations (Model UN) program at Yale in Spring 1987 (which would have made for a political powerhouse on campus), and the earlier 1980's loss of the YPU's dedicated facilities made this apparent recovery illusory, and the Union began to slip backwards again after a poor recruit in the fall of 1988. Such began another "time of troubles."

In the early 1990s, shrinking membership base largely reflected a politically apathetic student body. Though smaller, the parties were relatively stronger and tighter institutions during this period. The Spring elections of 1992 were marred by a scandal involving fraudulent voter qualification signatures. In the Spring of 1993, in the aftermath of a hotly contested Presidential election, bitterness manifested itself as executive board members continually threatened to leave executive board meetings to deprive the President of the quorum necessary for conducting business. Some of this enmity dissipated with the election of the next board.

One of the few enduring YPU spinoff publications, Rumpus Magazine, was founded by members of the Progressive Party in 1992. For the first 3-4 years of its publication, Rumpus remained closely linked to the YPU. One of the more sordid scandals of the period, involving a member who misappropriated the YPU's long-distance phone access number for calls to a racy 1-900 number from his senior single, was broken by Rumpus in the Fall of 1994.

Further indignities were heaped upon the YPU by the Yale Administration in the 1990's, as they took away both the Crown Street offices, and the offices under Bingham Hall. During this process, many irreplaceable historical archives were lost.


The YPU hit a lowpoint in membership in the late 1990s. The YPU President, an Independent Party member, was impeached in the Fall of 1997, leading to the near collapse of the Independent Party. The effects of this crisis took some time to reverse, though by 2001 the Independent Party was largely restored and began an impressive period of growth.

The Yale Political Union as a whole has regained strength in recent years. Although membership remains roughly 25% of its last peak in the late 1980s, it is nevertheless still one of the largest undergraduate organizations at Yale, with hundreds of active members. A succession of qualified officers have run the Union well for over two years now, the quality of debate has improved significantly, and the infighting of the late 1990s and early 2000s has given way to an era of greater friendliness and cooperation between the parties. The YPU's relationship with the Yale administration has also improved markedly, and new members seem excited about the direction in which the Union is headed in the future.

[edit] Officers of the Yale Political Union

Union Officers are elected at the end of each semester (except for the Treasurer who holds a year-long term). All Officers are members of the Executive Board of the Union, although not all of the Officers have votes on the Executive Board. There are two primary officers, a Speaker, and a President, and a number of other offices, that have varied over the years, including Vice President(s), Treasurer, and Secretary. The Speaker is the most important officer during the actual periods when the Yale Political Union is in session, and runs the meetings, deciding on points of parliamentary procedure as necessary. The President is the most important officer while the Yale Political Union is not in session, and runs the Executive Board, with primary responsibility for planning the meetings, the seasonal calendar, and the overall strategy of the group. Both these and the remaining offices (particularly the Floor Leaders) have grown strikingly both in scope and responsibility during the Renaissance of sorts in which the Union now finds itself.

[edit] The Advisory Committee

The recent constitutional amendments passed on April 4, 2006, created a new Advisory Committee to "advise the Executive Board and the President and . . . provide long term planning for the Union." Past Presidents of the Union are automatically nominated for membership, subject to approval by the Executive Board, and there may be up to four other members on the Committee at any one time (subject to nomination by the Chairman of the Committee and approval by the Executive Board). [3] The Senior Sometime President on the Committee is constitutionally designated as the Chairman of the Committee. Since the Committee's highly politicized release of one of its members so that he might run for the office of President, the long term efficacy of the Committee has been called into question.

[edit] Chairmen of the Parties of the Yale Political Union

Each Party in the Political Union is headed by a Chairman, although the Liberal Party and the Party of the Left use the gender-neutral term 'Chair.' (During the tenure of the Chairman of the Party of the Right, the holder of that office prefers to be referred to as "The Chairman" instead of his or her given name.) All of these Chairmen either serve personally on or send proxies to the Executive Board and the Rules Committee of the Union.

[edit] Notable Presidents of the Yale Political Union

Notable Presidents of the YPU include:

[edit] Notable Recent Guests

[edit] External links


  1. ^ "TWO YALE GROUPS TURN TO POLITICS; New Union's Plan to Train an Intelligent Minority for Leadership Is Approved.", The New York Times, December 9, 1934.
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