| American Whig-Cliosophic Society | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1765 |
| Type | Student debating organization |
| Headquarters | Princeton, New Jersey |
| President | Jay Parikh |
| Parent organization | Princeton University |
| Affiliations | American Parliamentary Debate Association |
| Website | http://whigclio.princeton.edu/ |
The American Whig–Cliosophic Society (short form: Whig-Clio) is a political, literary, and debating society at Princeton University and the oldest debate union in the United States.[1] Its precursors, the American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society, were founded at Princeton in 1769 and 1765 by James Madison, William Paterson, and Aaron Burr.
Originally two separate organizations, the American Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society were the primary student organizations at Princeton until the end of the 19th century. Competition from eating clubs, sports teams, and other student activities drew members away from the societies.
Prompted by declining memberships, the societies were merged to form the American Whig–Cliosophic Society in 1928. The organization's modern role is to serve as an umbrella organization for political and debating activity at Princeton. It sponsors influential lecturers and speaking contests. It oversees subsidiary groups such as the International Relations Council (IRC), Princeton's Model Congress (PMC), the Debate Panel, Mock Trial, and Model United Nations organizations.
Today, Whig-Clio's Debate Panel is one of the world's top intercollegiate debating societies, and competes regularly against teams such as the Oxford Union, the Cambridge Union Society, and the Hart House Debating Club. In the 2010 World Rankings it is ranked 20th, up three places on 2009.[2] It competes most frequently in the American Parliamentary Debate Association league, of which it is a founding member. In 1983, 1989, and 1995 Princeton hosted the World Universities Debating Championships.
Princeton Mock Trial (PMT), another Whig-Clio subsidiary, currently ranks among the top 40 mock-trial programs in the nation. It ranked 4th place in the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament in 2008 and won the AMTA Regional Tournament held at Princeton in 2008. It has produced three AMTA All-Americans. It annually hosts a Moot Court tournament for high school students from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
In the past half decade, the International Relations Council (IRC) has grown to become the biggest subsidiary of Whig-Clio in terms of membership. It hosts Sunday weekly meetings for students to discuss international events and developments. It sponsors two annual international affairs conferences: one for the high school level Princeton Model United Nations Conference (PMUNC) and one for the collegiate Princeton Interactive Crisis Simulation (PICSIM). PMUNC attracts some 1000 high school students from around the world. It has become a renowned conference in Model UN circuits. PICSim boasts a format unique to Princeton IRC: an innovative, crisis-driven international affairs simulation with 11 committees.
Recent past Presidents of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society are Benjamin Weisman '11, Molly Alarcon '10, Alec Williams '09, Aaron Spolin '08, Shriram Harid '08, Matthew MacDonald '07, Karis Gong '06, and Andrew Bruck '05.
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