User:Bensculfor/Lunar draft
Modern Lunar Societies[edit]
A draft rewrite of the subsection Lunar Society of Birmingham#University of Birmingham Lunar Society.
University of Birmingham Lunar Society[edit]
In the latter part of the 20th century, the University of Birmingham Lunar Society met every Thursday to debate and discuss all manner of topics in the Guild of Students bar. In 2012, the society was reformed into an alternative to the more regulated debating society at the university. The now fortnightly symposiums were formatted as round table discussions with a debate chair facilitating the debate,[a] and speaking priority given to those who had not already spoken at that meeting. These debates were noted for their wide range of topics, from scientific to political and philosophical, as well as for their commitment to ensure that attendees are comfortable expressing their opinion; in order to do this, the society abided by the Chatham House Rule: attendees of meetings are free to use the content of the discussions, but must not identify the speaker. In the Summer of 2019, the society voted to rename itself the Devil's Advocate Society in order to avoid being misconstrued as an astrology society.[1] However, the format and spirit of the original Lunar discussions remains. Former presidents of the society have gone on to senior positions in the media and business, and two have represented the university on University Challenge.[b][2][3]
Notes[edit]
- ^ c.f. taking stack.
- ^ Eliott Jan-Smith in Series 46, and Ben Sculfor in Series 49.
References[edit]
- ^ The post on the society's FaceBook page announcing the name change (retrieved 2019-10-12).
- ^ A picture on the BBC website of Jan-Smith on the Birmingham team (retrieved 2019-12-01), and a post on the Society's FaceBook group listing Jan-Smith as a committee member (retrieved 2019-10-12).
- ^ A Wayback Machine snapshot of the Society's webpage listing Sculfor as a committee member (retrieved 2019-10-12), and a webpage on the bbc showing Sculfor as part of the Birmingham team (retrieved 2019-11-13).