Philo. Society reigns as Penn's oldest student group

A small group with leaders clad in black robes convenes by candlelight every other Friday night in an archaic room fraught with hundreds of ancient leather-bound volumes and dozens of aging parchment scrolls.

But despite the wooden pews, oak paneling and arching stained-glass windows, these are not medieval monks, and this is not a Gothic chapel. Though reminiscent of a gathering from the Middle Ages, the group -- squirreled away on the top floor of College Hall -- is Penn's Philomathean Society.

Unbeknownst to most students, Philo -- Penn's oldest student organization -- was established in 1813 and has continued its tradition of educating its members and the University at large ever since.

"Our goal is to be an active intellectual force at Penn," says Nolan Shenai, Philo's moderator. "We try to bring as much intellectual stimulation to the school as we can while educating our members at the same time."

This broad goal of the pursuit of knowledge has translated into a diverse range of activities for the society, spanning from debates to poetry readings to art shows.

The society directly contributes to the University community not only through its events, but also through its literary magazine, Philomel.

And while the spectrum of activities is quite wide, all of Philo's events are underscored and united by its spirit of intellectualism and academia.

"Learning comes in many different forms and encompasses many different fields," says College sophomore and Philo member Sonali Mishra. "We try to cover a lot of different areas in our meetings, but we always create an academic environment."

Although officially open to all students, these meetings are relatively secretive in nature and are largely a mystery to most Penn students.

The meetings, which typically begin at 8 p.m., can often last into the wee hours of the morning and Philo's approximately 40 members frequently conclude sessions by watching the sun rise.

To keep members interested and engaged for such extended periods of time, the debates and discussions which characterize every meeting are often jazzed up with the society's eccentric but historic rituals and traditions.

The society dons black robes and administers meetings entirely in parliamentary procedure to symbolize a respect for education.

However, it also injects an air of lightheartedness into its meetings by holding selected sessions entirely around specific humorous themes and commemorating noteworthy events in literary or intellectual history.

For example, one recent meeting was mafia-themed and was conducted with Italian accents. A more long-standing tradition is the annual "Poe Vespertil," during which members process down Locust Walk chanting the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe in observance of his death.

"The Poe Vespertil is just a fun event which commemorates Poe in a way that no other group at Penn does," explains College freshman and Philo Chronarch Chris Redmond, who is in charge of all the group's rituals and traditions.

This small, elite group of students, which is capped at 50 members, is selected through a rigorous application process in which members must interview with Philo leaders, make a presentation before members and finally submit a creative piece to the society.

Although its small size may be seen as constraining to its intellectual capabilities, Philo members ensure that this restricted size is precisely what allows the society to be so productive and accomplish so much.

"We believe in quality over quantity," Shenai says. "Although we are relatively small, every member of Philo has a certain spark of personality mixed with intellect, which ultimately allows us to create the intellectual environment we strive for."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.