Before beginning the petitioning process, petitioners should understand the purpose of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, as stated in the Preamble to the Joint Senate Constitution:
      WE, the members of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, in order to promote the ideals of our Societies; namely
      to stimulate and advance interest in parliamentary discussion,
      to encourage public speaking, culture, and the arts,
      to facilitate a free interchange of ideas,
      to encourage rational thought,
      to promote the welfare of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
      to promote the study of the history of this University,
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Joint Senate of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.

PART ONE: The Petitioning Process

Purpose of Petitioning
The purpose of formally petitioning the Societies for membership is for petitioners to demonstrate a genuine zeal for the Societies and their purpose. All of the following information in this guide is designed to help petitioners through the process, but knowledge of information presented in this guide is not a guarantee of a petitioner’s acceptance into the Societies. Above all, petitioners must show a dedicated commitment to the Societies that will continue even after acceptance.

Guide to Petitioning
The petitioner shall read the unofficial “Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies Guide to Petitioning and Sponsorship.”

Attendance
The petitioner shall attend at least three (3) meetings, including his petitioning meeting and the meeting immediately prior to it, within the six (6) weeks prior to, and inclusive of, his petition.  He shall be present for the entirety of at least one (1) of these meetings. Guests are always welcome to join the senators at Linda’s after the meetings, and at any social events.

Speeches Prior to Petitioning
The petitioner shall speak on at least two occasions before, and not inclusive of, his petitioning speech.  One of these occasions shall be in debate during the meeting’s program.

Sponsorship
It is the responsibility of the petitioner to express their interest in joining the Societies by approaching a senator about sponsorship; senators do NOT approach guests offering to be their sponsor. Petitioners should be careful in selecting a sponsor as the sponsor will be responsible for helping the petitioner prepare for his big night. The petitioner shall meet with his sponsor at least three (3) days prior to his petition.  At this meeting, he shall discuss the topic of his petitioning speech with his sponsor.

The petitioner must provide the following information, which the sponsor will present to the rest of the Societies:
      --local address (for purposes of sending the acceptance/rejection letter)
      --hometown, places of residence
      --high school
      --year and major
      --high school and college activities
      --hobbies
      --previous speech or debate experience, if any
      -- reason for petitioning
      --what the petitioner hopes to offer the Societies
      --what the petitioner plans to gain from the Societies
      --number of Joint Senate meetings attended
        (must be at least 3, inclusive of the meeting at which he petitions)
      --which debates the petitioner has spoken in (it is helpful to know which side the petitioner      took)
      --any PPMAs the petitioner has given, and appropriate details to refresh senators' memories
      --extent of the petitioner's social interactions with current senators, including any service activities for the Societies which he has participated in

Petitioning Speech
The petitioner shall speak on a topic that is important to him. His speech must include a clear, well-stated thesis, and an argument for this thesis. The petitioner shall be knowledgeable on his topic and be ready to defend his position. Creativity is encouraged.

When called on to speak, the petitioner must say, “Mr./Ms. President, at this time I request the honor of petitioning the Dialectic/Philanthropic Society for membership.”

The ONLY thing the petitioner may bring up with him when he speaks is his speech. NO seating charts; NO visual aids for the portraits; NO notes.

PRIOR to speaking, the petitioner must (without stepping on the dais) give a copy of his speech to the Clerk with the following on the heading: name, state of origin, and society of petitioning.

AFTER the speech, there will be a question & answer session of indeterminable length. The purpose of this Q&A is to challenge the petitioner to defend his speech and to speak on other aspects of the topic at hand. The Q&A will also consist of personal questions and questions regarding Di-Phi. No matter what the question, the petitioner must always answer fully.  “Yes”/ “No”/ “I don’t know” answers are unacceptable.  If the petitioner does not know the answer, he must be creative. 

PART TWO: Information Petitioners Should Know

The following are important facts about Di-Phi that petitioners should know, and that they may be asked to supply during the petitioning questioning.

Sample Questions:
1. What year were the Societies founded?
2. Name 3 famous Di’s and 3 famous Phi’s
3. What are the colors of the Societies?
4. Choose X portrait(s) and tell something about the men in them.

Joint Senate Motto: “Ad Virtute, Libertatem, Scientiamque,” which is Latin for “Towards Virtue, Liberty, and Knowledge”

Di Society Motto: “Virtus et Scientia,” which, in English, means “Virtue and Knowledge”

Phi Society Motto: “Virtus, Libertas, et Scientia” – “Virtue, Freedom, and Knowledge”

What was the original name of the Society: The Debating Society

When the Debating Society was formed: June 3, 1795

First President of the Debating Society: James Mebane (Di)

When the Debating Society split: A motion was made June 25, 1795 to split. The actual split did not come until July 2, 1795. The new organization was called the Concord Society.

First President of the Concord Society: David Gillespie

When the Societies’ names changed: After working for about a year it occurred to the members of both Societies that English names were not of sufficient dignity. Accordingly on August 25, 1796, the name Debating was changed into its Greek equivalent, Dialectic. Four days later, on August 29, 1796, the Greek Philanthropic took the place of Concord.

When the Di and Phi Societies re-merged: May 19, 1959

Di-Phi’s Colors
The walls of the Di Chamber are blue, symbolizing excellence, while the walls of the Phi chambers are white, symbolizing purity. This is the origin of “Carolina blue and white.”

Origin of Colors
Carolina's colors, light blue and white, began as emblems of factional division between the members of the Di and Phi Societies. The Di, it appears, decided to put blue ribbons on its diplomas, which are given to graduates in addition to the University's diplomas. In addition to blue standing for honor, blue ribbons were the universal symbol for excellence in agricultural regions like North Carolina. The Di prided itself on excellence. The Phi chose white ribbons, indicative of truth and virtue, for its diplomas. When intercollegiate football began in the 1880s, the team members noticed the school colors worn by schools like Virginia and Wake Forest. They wanted similar identification as Carolina students. Quite naturally, they adopted the Societies' blue and white signifying that students of both the Di and Phi were on the team and supported it to victory.

Difference between Di’s and Phi’s
These two organizations were soon locked in heated competition in almost all facets of campus life. They competed especially intensely for new members. Di's and Phi's would ride out to meet promising students arriving in Chapel Hill in order to influence their choice of Societies. This competition became so fierce that, according to legend, duels were fought. The trustees of the University quelled this practice of cajoling prospective members around 1850 by formalizing a dividing line that the Societies had somewhat observed for years. Students from east of Orange County were Phi's and students from west of Orange County were Di's. Those students from Orange County and those from out of state could still choose their Society.

The Chambers
The Monday meetings take place in the Di chambers. There is no food allowed in the Di. The Phi is where social events like the December are held.

Why Members are Called “Senators”
In the 1920s the Phi became an “Assembly” and called members representatives. The Dialectic Society previously had been called a “Senate.” Although most of the practices taken from the State Legislature at that time have since been abandoned, members of the Societies (whether Di or Phi) now call each other “Senator.”

Other Interesting Facts
• In the 1852 national presidential election both the vice presidential candidates were Carolina alumni. William Alexander Graham, for whom Graham Dormitory is named, was a Di and William R. King, who ran with eventual president Franklin Pierce, was his rival from the Phi.
• Senators are not allowed to walk on McCorkle place (the upper quad between South Building and Franklin Street). The official reason is reverence and respect for the resting place of the first president of the University, Joseph Caldwell.
• The Phi Society initiated the first women April 29, 1930. Three women, Beatrice Crisfield, Katherine P. Wells and Virginia Douglass were inducted. The Di Society, thinking the Phi’s had been “hasty” in admitting women, held off until 1935.
• The Phi’s elected their first woman to office in 1937, and Marian Igo was elected the Phi Society’s first female president.

Students were required to be members of either the Di or the Phi until which date: In 1889 the University allowed students to chose not to be in either society. Until that point, students were required to be members of one of the Societies. Additionally, students who were not members were not allowed to live in University housing until then.

Di-Phi’s influence on the library
The Society’s interest and support for books and literature comes in the very first expenditure made. Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, the two Societies merged their collections with the University to form the modern UNC Library in 1886. By then, each group owned more than 10,000 volumes, which was much larger than the University library. Di-Phi started the library, and now all books in the library say “Endowed by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.”

What the President has that no other officer is allowed to have: The beaver-skin hat and the cane, used to maintain decorum.

Why the President has a hat: The practice of wearing hats in the society, as is permitted in the English Parliament, was forbidden. The President, however, of at least one Society (Dialectic) was after some years required to preside with a hat on, often a high-crowned beaver hat borrowed for the purpose.
How else Di-Phi has influenced the campus: Created what became the General Alumni Association, the Yackety-Yack (yearbook), the University Magazine (which became the Carolina Quarterly), created the Honor System, and many of the academic schools (School of Journalism and Mass Communication for example). The Phi Society voted in January 1922 to establish the Daily Tar Heel as a daily publication (it had previously been tri-weekly).

What Di-Phi does in addition to the debates:
• The White and Blue – An occasional publication of the Societies, The White and Blue reflects the eclectic interests of the Senators. Found within its pages are fiction, political commentary, history, poetry, reviews, and anything else the Societies see fit to print.
• The Mangum Medal – The oldest award given by the University, the Mangum Medal is the Chancellor's Award for oratory, given each year to a graduating senior. This award is managed by the Societies.
• The December – A white-tie affair, the Societies’ formal winter ball.
• The Century Debates – A formal debate that pits the Di against the Phi on a question debated one hundred years, in the case of the Centennial Debate, or two hundred years, as in the case of the Bi-Centennial Debate, ago.
• Kemp Plummer Battle Lecture – Traditionally given on the evening of University Day, this formal lecture seeks to enlighten the University community regarding its past.

Portraits
• Di-Phi has the largest privately owned portrait collection in the Southeast United States
• The portrait of James K. Polk (Di) is one of the only likenesses of the president painted from life and the only portrait painted of him while he was president (1847).
• The portrait of Thomas L. Clingman is among the most notable in the collection and is unique in the foreshortening of Clingman's upraised right arm, a difficult artistic technique seldom seen in portraiture.
• The portrait of the Archangel Michael (in the Phi) is thought to be painted by Samuel Morse (of Morse code fame). The portrait shows the Archangel Michael slaying Satan.
• The portrait of Benjamin Franklin (in the Phi) was bought for $10. The frame cost $15.
• Additionally, be able to identify the following portraits and who they are:
o Gov. John Motley Morehead
o Gov. Zebulon B. Vance – whose significance to the Societies is that when the treasury became low, he gave a speech so hilarious that enough senators were fined for laughing at his speech that it got the Societies out of financial trouble; his significance to North Carolina is that he was Governor during the Civil War

Famous Alumni Senators
• President James K. Polk – Dialectic Senator and President of the U.S.
• Thomas Wolfe – Dialectic Senator, prolific author, editor of the Daily Tar Heel (expanded the DTH to twice weekly) and author of Look Homeward Angel
• U.S. Senator Thomas Clingman – Dialectic Senator, known as the “Prince of Politicians,” served in the U.S. House of Representatives and then in the U.S. Senate until he was expelled from the Senate in absentia after refusing to resign his Senate seat during the Civil War; he served as a general in the Confederate States Army.
• Governor Zebulon B. Vance – Dialectic Senator and N.C. Governor
• Governor John Motley Morehead – Dialectic Senator and N.C. Governor
• Vice President William King – Philanthropic Senator; a U.S. representative from NC who went on to become the 13th Vice President of the US; he was the shortest-serving person to occupy that office (except for Tyler and Johnson who ascended to the Presidency)
• Governor Charles B. Aycock – Philanthropic Senator; Governor from 1901 to 1905; while in office he was an advocate for the improvement of the public school systems
• General James J. Pettigrew – Philanthropic Senator and Brigadeer General in the Confederate States of America who led Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg
• Elisha Mitchell – Philanthropic Senator and UNC professor; responsible for measuring the height of Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River and located in N.C.; Mitchell fell to his death at Mitchell Falls.
• Paul Green – Philanthropic Senator and playwright

The Di-Phi Foundation
Established July 9, 1974 as a non-profit corporation to preserve, maintain, restore and enhance the properties of the Societies. Operates as the legal arm of the Societies and holds the titles to the portrait collection, furnishings and other items of value. There are 15 members, three of which are ex-officio members: the Joint Senate President, the Dialectic Society President and the Philanthropic Society President. Other members, alumni senators, serve in rotating four-year terms.

Members of Di-Phi
• You are expected to know who is who in Di-Phi. You should know both their names and their titles.
 Here are the officers you should know:
 
President of the Joint Senate
         President runs the meeting, breaks ties in votes

President Pro Tempore
         Fills in for the President if needed, the Constitutional scholar for the Societies

Critic
        Serves as programs chair and manages the debate schedule; critiques speeches
        Critic’s Discretion: the critic does not critique guest speeches or memorials and thanks the speakers         for speaking instead

Clerk
        Responsible for recording the minutes from each meeting, also for delivering letters to petitioners             announcing acceptance or rejection; does not pay dues

 Treasurer
         Responsible for collecting dues from senators and maintaining the Society’s finances; serves on the
         Finance Committee

Sergeant at Arms
        Responsible for cataloguing the portrait collection each semester, also in charge of the roll book             and maintaining the Society’s properties

Historian
        Responsible for archiving minutes in the archives, organize the Kemp Plummer Battle lecture, the         Mangum Medal competition, and the Centennial and Bicentennial debates

Di President
        President of the Dialectic Senate, leads the Dialectic Caucus prior to elections, serves as an                     ex-officio member on the Di-Phi Foundation

Phi President
        President of the Philanthropic Assembly, leads the Philanthropic Caucus, serves as an ex-officio             member on the Di-Phi Foundation


Committees
Note: Committees are led by committee chairs unless otherwise noted.

Constitutionally Mandated:

o Constitutional Committee: Will compose and endorse necessary amendments.
*Led by President Pro Tempore

o Executive Committee: Will meet in the back and figure out if there's anything we need to do.
*Led by President Pro Tempore

o Finance Committee: Will deal with finance issues.

o Membership Committee: Will recruit new guests, match petitioners to sponsors, and improve the              quality of the petitioning process.

o Programs Committee: Will produce a debate schedule.
*Led by Critic

o Social Committee: Will coordinate Greats and Phiday Nights.

Discretionary, Serious:

o December Committee: Will plan and coordinate the December.

o Flag Committee: Will consider the design and adoption of a Di-Phi flag.

o Forensics Committee: Will coordinate forensics-type stuff with high schools and so on.

o Graduation Committee: Will order decorations, secure a calligrapher, and plan the graduation                 ceremony.

o Handbook Committee: Will compose a new handbook for senators.

o Internet Committee: Will maintain and refine the website and listservs.

o Philanthropy Committee: Will motivate the Societies toward the improvement of the community.

o Portrait Committee: Will help catalogue or move portraits if and when necessary.

o Public Relations Committee: Will elevate Di-Phi's image in the public eye.

o Society Relations Committee: Will maintain and improve Di-Phi's relationships with other debate and literary Societies.

o Summer Mailing Committee: Will compose and coordinate a Summer Mailing.

o Tradition Committee: Will consider the adoption of new traditions, and evaluate the relevance of old traditions.

o White & Blue Committee: Will publish the White & Blue.

Discretionary, Fun:

o Alpha Alpha: For circumstantially social senators.

o Crotchety Old Senators Club: For old senators.

o DiPhiopoly Committee: For board game-making-enjoying senators.

o Gentlemanly Activities Committee: For establishment senators.

o Goon Squad: For overly enthusiastic senators.

o De Jure Pirate Softball Committee: For slacker senators.

GOOD LUCK!