Philomathean Society beats Columbia in debate

Saturday, the University once again beat Columbia -- only this time the competition was focused on intellect rather than athletics. More than 50 students convened in Bennett Hall's Penniman Library to witness the intellectual debate between the University's Philomathean Society and Columbia University's Philolexian Society. The forum, sponsored by the Philomathean Society -- the oldest continually existing literary society in the country -- focused on the famous quote by W.C. Fields: "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." Philomathean Society members defended the assertion that Philadelphia was a better city to live in than New York. The debate was moderated by Channel Six Anchorman Jim Gardner. The special guest judges were city councilman Thatcher Longstreth and Elaine Simon, the co-director of the Urban Studies Program. While the debate had a serious format, it contained many humorous overtones. According to Engineering senior Will Sauer, the funniest point was when a member of the Philomathean Society pointed out that the Liberty Bell is just a cracked bell and that New York's favorite saying is "Say no to crack." Members of the Philolexian Society rebutted by noting the association of New York with bagels and Philadelphia with cream cheese. "You can have a bagel without the cream cheese, but not the cream cheese without the bagel," Sauer said. Rob Sloane, the captain of the Philolexian Society's debate team, said that "it was good for the two societies to come together." "There was a spirit of friendly competition and things turned out quite well," he said. Brendan Cahill, captain of the Philomathean team, said the debate was an attempt by the two intellectual societies to get back to their roots. "Debate and drama were always central parts of the society," he explained. "We had a very good time," he added. "I had a lot of fun with it. We hope to have another debate this summer on [Columbia's] turf at the Penn Club in New York." The friendly rivalry was part of an American Association of Collegiate Literary Societies Congress which the University hosted this weekend.