WikiCU - User contributions [en]

Thomas Vinciguerra

2008-02-19T19:55:42Z

Avatar1:

'''Thomas Vinciguerra''' [[Columbia College|CC]] '[[1985|85]], [[J-School|J]] '[[1986|86]], [[MA]] '[[1990|90]] ([[October 8]], [[1963]] - ) revived the [[Philolexian Society]] in [[1985]] and has thereafter been known to members as its "Avatar". He was also an editor of the ''[[Columbia Daily Spectator]]'', participated in the [[1982]] revival of the [[Varsity Show]], and, in 1991, introduced the annual reading of "Is There A Santa Claus?" by [[Francis Pharcellus Church]] CC1859 to the College's annual [[Yule Log]] ceremony.

An editor at ''[[Columbia College Today]]'' magazine for more than a decade, he is now deputy editor of the newsmagazine ''The Week'' and contributes frequently to ''[[The New York Times]]''.

[[Category:Columbia College alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas,]]
[[Category:J-School alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]
[[Category:GSAS alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]
[[Category:Class of 1985|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]

James Hamilton

2007-10-29T16:10:30Z

Avatar1:

'''James Hamilton''' [[Columbia College|CC]] [[1805]] was [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s son and among the earliest members of the [[Philolexian Society]].

[[Category:Columbia College alumni|Hamilton, John]]

Peithologian Society

2007-08-27T20:47:58Z

Avatar1:

The '''Peithologian Society''' was a literary society. Founded in [[1806]] as an outlet for freshmen frustrated over the [[Philolexian Society]]'s sophomore standing entrance requirement, it became the latter club's bitter rival, until it was vanquished in the early 20th century.

Its alumni include [[Nicholas Murray Butler]] (Class of 1882) and [[Alfred A. Knopf]] (Class of 1912).

[[Category:Inactive clubs]]

Philolexian Society

2007-08-27T20:46:25Z

Avatar1: /* Alumni */

{{Infobox club
|Name=Philolexian Society
|Image=Philo.gif
|Founded=[[1802]]
|Recognition=
|Membership=
|Executive board=
|Allocation=
|Category=[[Debate_clubs|Debate]]}}

{{wp-also}}

The '''Philolexian Society''' is one of the oldest collegiate literary societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. It is known primarily for its witty debates and unabashedly anachronistic air.

The society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Composition and Forensic Discussion". The name Philolexian is Greek for "Lover of discourse," and the society's motto is the Latin word "Surgam", meaning "I shall rise". The society publishes a literary journal of the same name twice a year.

It has many famous alumni.

==History==

The Society was founded on [[May 17]], [[1802]]. Originally, freshmen were barred from entry, and to satisfy them, the [[Peithologian Society]] was founded four years later. For a century, these two societies would be rivals, until Peitholgian ceased to exist after the turn of the century. After maintaining a continuous existence for over 130 years, Philolexian succumbed to periods of intermittent dormancy over the next 20 years, thanks to a combination of administrative interference, the Great Depression, and student apathy following an internal power struggle. In the 1930s, for example, society president [[Ralph de Toledano]] noted that the group was almost exclusively devoted to drinking wine and listening to jazz. Although a postwar incarnation included such distinguished names as [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[John Hollander]], [[Jason Epstein]], and [[Robert Butler]], Philolexian effectively cesed to function in the early 1950's. The society was revived once in the 1960s by [[Ben Stein]] and others, largely as an adjunct to [[Alpha Delta Phi]], but the effort failed to take hold. In [[1985]] Philolexian was reconvened again by six students and has been active ever since. The leader of the most recent revival, [[Thomas Vinciguerra]], is now known as "the Avatar".

==Activities==

Beyond its weekly debating sessions, the society administers the [[Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest]]. It also hosts a "Beat Night", reading poetry of the [[Beat Generation]] aloud on [[The Steps]], and holds an annual "Croquet Tea" on [[Mathematics Lawn]], in which members appear in 19th century costume.

== Debate resolutions ==
* Student government is incredibly lame.

==Alumni==
*[[Horatio Allen]] - railroad engineer
*[[Charles Anthon]] - classicist
*[[William Backhouse Astor]] - financier
*[[William Theodore de Bary]] - East Asia scholar
*[[Jacques Barzun]] - cultural historian
*[[James Warner Bellah]] - writer of Westerns
*[[John Berryman]] - poet
*[[Samuel Blatchford]] - Supreme Court justice
*[[Randolph Bourne]] - essayist
*[[Robert Neil Butler]] - gerontologist
*[[Sidney Buchman]] - screenwriter
*[[Frederic René Coudert, Jr.]] - congressman
*[[I.A.L. Diamond]] - screenwriter
*[[Evert Augustus Duyckinck]] - literary critic
*[[Jason Epstein]] - publisher
*[[Charles G. Ferris]] - congressman
*[[Hamilton Fish]] - Secretary of State
*[[Nicholas Fish]] - diplomat
*[[Stuyvesant Fish]] - president of the Illinois Central Railroad
*[[William Dudley Foulke]] - journalist
*[[Dixon Ryan Fox]] - president of Union College
*[[James W. Gerard]] - ambassador to Germany
*[[Oliver Wolcott Gibbs]] - chemist
*[[Allen Ginsberg]] - Beat poet
*[[Robert Giroux]] - publisher
*[[Robert Gottlieb]] - editor
*[[Paul Governali]] - football quarterback
*[[James Hamilton]] - [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s son
*[[Abram S. Hewitt]] - mayor of [[New York City]]
*[[John Hollander]] - poet
*[[Richard Howard]] - poet
*[[Stephen Watts Kearny]] - general
*[[Jackson Kemper]] - theologian
*[[Joyce Kilmer]] - poet
*[[Wellington Koo]] - Chinese politician and diplomat
*[[William Langer]] - senator and governor of North Dakota
*[[William Beach Lawrence]] - acting governor of Rhode Island
*[[James Lenox]] - bibliophile
*[[Alfred Thayer Mahan]] - military theorist
*[[Brander Matthews]] - dramatic scholar
*[[Thomas Merton]] - author and monk
*[[John Purroy Mitchel]] - mayor of [[New York City]]
*[[Nathaniel Moore]] - Columbia president
*[[Edmund H. Pendleton]] - congressman
*[[Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk]] - bishop
*[[Henry Ustick Onderdonk]] - bishop
*[[John L. O'Sullivan]] - journalist
*[[William Barclay Parsons]] - engineer of the [[New York City]] [[subway]]
*[[William Milligan Sloane]] - historian
*[[Ben Stein]] - humorist, speechwriter, actor
*[[John Lloyd Stephens]] - explorer
*[[George Templeton Strong]] - diarist
*[[Ralph de Toledano]] - conservative commentator
*[[William R. Travers]] - sportsman
*[[John Howard Van Amringe]] - dean of [[Columbia College]]
*[[Thomas Vinciguerra]] - journalist
*[[Peter Dumont Vroom]] - governor of [[New Jersey]]
*[[Walter Wager]] - novelist
*[[Gideon Yago]] - TV personality

== External links ==
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/philo/ Philolexian Society website]

[[Category:Societies]]
[[Category:Debate clubs]]

Philolexian Society

2007-08-27T20:45:43Z

Avatar1: /* History */

{{Infobox club
|Name=Philolexian Society
|Image=Philo.gif
|Founded=[[1802]]
|Recognition=
|Membership=
|Executive board=
|Allocation=
|Category=[[Debate_clubs|Debate]]}}

{{wp-also}}

The '''Philolexian Society''' is one of the oldest collegiate literary societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. It is known primarily for its witty debates and unabashedly anachronistic air.

The society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Composition and Forensic Discussion". The name Philolexian is Greek for "Lover of discourse," and the society's motto is the Latin word "Surgam", meaning "I shall rise". The society publishes a literary journal of the same name twice a year.

It has many famous alumni.

==History==

The Society was founded on [[May 17]], [[1802]]. Originally, freshmen were barred from entry, and to satisfy them, the [[Peithologian Society]] was founded four years later. For a century, these two societies would be rivals, until Peitholgian ceased to exist after the turn of the century. After maintaining a continuous existence for over 130 years, Philolexian succumbed to periods of intermittent dormancy over the next 20 years, thanks to a combination of administrative interference, the Great Depression, and student apathy following an internal power struggle. In the 1930s, for example, society president [[Ralph de Toledano]] noted that the group was almost exclusively devoted to drinking wine and listening to jazz. Although a postwar incarnation included such distinguished names as [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[John Hollander]], [[Jason Epstein]], and [[Robert Butler]], Philolexian effectively cesed to function in the early 1950's. The society was revived once in the 1960s by [[Ben Stein]] and others, largely as an adjunct to [[Alpha Delta Phi]], but the effort failed to take hold. In [[1985]] Philolexian was reconvened again by six students and has been active ever since. The leader of the most recent revival, [[Thomas Vinciguerra]], is now known as "the Avatar".

==Activities==

Beyond its weekly debating sessions, the society administers the [[Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest]]. It also hosts a "Beat Night", reading poetry of the [[Beat Generation]] aloud on [[The Steps]], and holds an annual "Croquet Tea" on [[Mathematics Lawn]], in which members appear in 19th century costume.

== Debate resolutions ==
* Student government is incredibly lame.

==Alumni==
*[[Horatio Allen]] - railroad engineer
*[[Charles Anthon]] - classicist
*[[William Backhouse Astor]] - financier
*[[William Theodore de Bary]] - East Asia scholar
*[[Jacques Barzun]] - cultural historian
*[[James Warner Bellah]] - writer of Westerns
*[[John Berryman]] - poet
*[[Samuel Blatchford]] - Supreme Court justice
*[[Randolph Bourne]] - essayist
*[[Robert Neil Butler]] - gerontologist
*[[Sidney Buchman]] - screenwriter
*[[Frederic René Coudert, Jr.]] - congressman
*[[I.A.L. Diamond]] - screenwriter
*[[Evert Augustus Duyckinck]] - literary critic
*[[Jason Epstein]] - publisher
*[[Charles G. Ferris]] - congressman
*[[Hamilton Fish]] - Secretary of State
*[[Nicholas Fish]] - diplomat
*[[Stuyvesant Fish]] - president of the Illinois Central Railroad
*[[William Dudley Foulke]] - journalist
*[[Dixon Ryan Fox]] - president of Union College
*[[James W. Gerard]] - ambassador to Germany
*[[Oliver Wolcott Gibbs]] - chemist
*[[Allen Ginsberg]] - Beat poet
*[[Robert Giroux]] - publisher
*[[Robert Gottlieb]] - editor
*[[Paul Governali]] - football quarterback
*[[James Hamilton]] - [[Alexander Hamilton]]'s son
*[[Abram S. Hewitt]] - mayor of [[New York City]]
*[[John Hollander]] - poet
*[[Richard Howard]] - poet
*[[Stephen Watts Kearny]] - general
*[[Jackson Kemper]] - theologian
*[[Joyce Kilmer]] - poet
*[[Wellington Koo]] - Chinese politician and diplomat
*[[William Langer]] - senator and governor of North Dakota
*[[William Beach Lawrence]] - governor of Rhode Island
*[[James Lenox]] - bibliophile
*[[Alfred Thayer Mahan]] - military theorist
*[[Brander Matthews]] - dramatic scholar
*[[Thomas Merton]] - author and monk
*[[John Purroy Mitchel]] - mayor of [[New York City]]
*[[Nathaniel Moore]] - Columbia president
*[[Edmund H. Pendleton]] - congressman
*[[Benjamin Treadwell Onderdonk]] - bishop
*[[Henry Ustick Onderdonk]] - bishop
*[[John L. O'Sullivan]] - journalist
*[[William Barclay Parsons]] - engineer of the [[New York City]] [[subway]]
*[[William Milligan Sloane]] - historian
*[[Ben Stein]] - humorist, speechwriter, actor
*[[John Lloyd Stephens]] - explorer
*[[George Templeton Strong]] - diarist
*[[Ralph de Toledano]] - conservative commentator
*[[William R. Travers]] - sportsman
*[[John Howard Van Amringe]] - dean of [[Columbia College]]
*[[Thomas Vinciguerra]] - journalist
*[[Peter Dumont Vroom]] - governor of [[New Jersey]]
*[[Walter Wager]] - novelist
*[[Gideon Yago]] - TV personality

== External links ==
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/philo/ Philolexian Society website]

[[Category:Societies]]
[[Category:Debate clubs]]

Thomas Vinciguerra

2007-08-03T19:27:16Z

Avatar1:

'''Thomas Vinciguerra''' (b. Oct. 8, 1963), [[Columbia College|CC]] '85, [[J-School|J]] '86, [[GSAS]] '[[1990|90]] revived the [[Philolexian Society]] in [[1985]] and has thereafter been known to members as its "Avatar". He was also an editor of the [[Columbia Daily Spectator]] and participated in the [[1982]] revival of the [[Varsity Show]].

An editor at ''[[Columbia College Today]]'' magazine for more than a decade, he is now deputy editor of the newsmagazine ''The Week'' and contributes frequently to ''The New York Times''.

[[Category:Columbia College alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas,]]
[[Category:J-School alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]
[[Category:GSAS alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]

Thomas Vinciguerra

2007-08-03T19:26:26Z

Avatar1:

'''Thomas Vinciguerra''' (b. Oct. 8, 1963), [[Columbia College|CC]] '85, [[J-School|J]] '86, [[GSAS]] '[[1990|90]] revived the [[Philolexian Society]] in [[1985]] along with five Columbia College undergraduates and has thereafter been known to members of that society as its "Avatar". He was also an editor of the [[Columbia Daily Spectator]] and assisted in the [[1982]] revival of the [[Varsity Show]].

An editor at ''[[Columbia College Today]]'' magazine for more than a decade, he is now deputy editor of the newsmagazine ''The Week'' and contributes frequently to ''The New York Times''.

[[Category:Columbia College alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas,]]
[[Category:J-School alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]
[[Category:GSAS alumni|Vinciguerra, Thomas]]