R: Cry

Wednesday, February 27th at 8.00pm

R: Civilization is on the rise

Wednesday, February 20th at 8.00pm

Included in the Federalist Party's mission is the commitment of her members to combat the errors of our age. To do this, of course, we must consider ourselves in the context of history. How has the project of society changed throughout the years, if such a thing exists? By what standard can we measure a community's success? At this week's debate on Wednesday at 8 pm in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room, we will seek to answer these questions, as well as to consider how factors like technology, industrialization, and education have influenced the trajectory of culture, for better or worse.

R: Don't settle

Thursday, February 12th at 7.30pm

In Plato's Symposium, Aristophanes tells of a time when mankind was much different. Human beings each had one soul but twice the body, rendering them very powerful. To squash the threat of rebellion and punish them for their pride, the gods split them in two parts, leaving each being incomplete and miserable. "This, then, is the source of our desire to love each other. Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature." Relationships can soothe loneliness, he says, but most wonderful of all is the meeting of the two halves of one soul. So ought we search forever for our soulmate? Perhaps the concept of a soulmate is not very romantic at all, since the bond requires no effort to exist. Join us in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room at 7:30 this St. Valentine's Day to discuss love, compromise, and happiness.

R: Revive noblesse oblige

Friday, February 8th at 7.30pm

At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Ann Romney broke from her mode of awkwardly portraying her husband as a relatable everyman when she promised that "No one will work harder. No one will care more. And no one will move heaven and earth like Mitt Romney to make this country a better place to live." Isn't this the kind of president we need? It's a shame that Romney may have downplayed his greatest advantage - his privileged lifestyle. He was born, raised, and educated as an aristocrat, and that preparation would have helped him be a completely different kind of leader than President Obama. We cannot pretend that there is not a noble class in America, so ought we continue to support populist meritocracy instead of welcoming help from the top? What should this help look like? Can a person lead well without personally knowing the experiences of the people he leads? Come to our Alumni Debate this Friday at 7:30pm to discuss the successes and failures of meritocracy, historical instances of noblesse oblige, and its relevancy in contemporary American society.

R: One school fits all

Thursday, January 31st at 7.30pm

This week we will seek to explore the role of the government in education, and discuss where our priorities ought to lie in order to sort through the countless solutions offered by politicians and think tanks. Should the government require schools to meet national academic standards, or should communities be allowed to incorporate virtues into the curriculum? Was Bush's No Child Left Behind program a failure, and if so, what makes Obama's Race to the Top initiative any more promising? Some have said that these approaches to education reform are too conservative, and a more radical change is needed. Perhaps vouchers or charter schools are the answer, or even doing away with high schools as we know them. Join us in Berkeley Mendenhall Room at 7:30 Thursday evening to share your thoughts.