Whig-Clio marks 250th anniversary as home for campus political groups

Whig-Clio’s trajectory has been marked within the past few years by its decreasing centralization and its increasing support, as an overarching political organization for different political groups on campus, Whig-Clio president Cydney Kim ’17 said.

“When Whig-Clio first started 250 years ago, or even in the late 20th century, it was actually one of the few political organizations on campus; there weren’t as many political groups as we see today,” Kim explained.

The 250th anniversary of Whig-Clio was celebrated with a gala in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 21.

Whig-Clio, or the American Whig-Cliosophic society, was founded in 1941 when the Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society merged. The Whig Society and the Cliosophic Society were founded as separate organizations in 1765 and 1769, respectively, making the society the University’s oldest student group and the oldest political and debating association in the world.

According to Whig-Clio historical records held by Princeton’s Mudd Library and Justinas Mickus ’18, the history chair of Whig-Clio, in the 18th century, Whig-Clio was one of the main extracurricular activities on campus and played an integral role in students’ social lives as well as in fulfilling the intellectual needs of students outside the traditional classroom setting.

“Whig-Clio used to be a thing that was probably more important for the university student’s education than the University itself,” Mickus said.

However, by the end of the 19th century, the introduction of organized athletic teams and eating clubs replaced the social need fulfilled by Whig-Clio, Clio Party Chair Allison Berger ’18 said.

Berger is a member of the Editorial Board of the Daily Princetonian.

“It still retains the core ideas; it still is a place where people interested in literary, political and social aspects of education gather,” Mickus said.

According to the historical records, subsidiaries of Whig-Clio, such as the Princeton Debate Panel, the International Relations Club and the Nassau Literary Review began to emerge as autonomous entities in the 20th century.

By 1928, the societies joined together and conducted activities in Whig Hall because the two groups could not sustain two separate societies, according to historical records. Clio Hall was rented to the University. However, the two societies were officially merged in 1941 when a joint constitution and board of trustees was established for the two groups.

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Kim said that this trend of decentralization has lasted to this day, as Whig-Clio partners with new smaller organizations, including the College Democrats and the LGBTQ Center, to host different events.

“Whig-Clio does have an endowment and we’re able to provide funding for a lot of these events, so I think all of our partnerships have been very beneficial,” Kim said.

Kim added that Whig-Clio’s aims have expanded to include community outreach. She said last year’s president, Adam Tcharni ’15, began the outreach program, and he initiated an alternative breakout trip to Washington, D.C. during fall break. Kim added that Whig-Clio is still looking for ways to partner with high school debate programs.

However, one of the aspects of Whig-Clio to have stayed the same since 1941 is its leadership structure, Kim said. She explained that the election process has happened at the same time of year and followed the same format. Elections happen during December and candidates for presidency and various leadership positions make their statements public in the first week of December, Kim said.

Robert Ehrlich ’79, the former Governor of Maryland and the guest speaker at the Gala, said that although he was not part of Whig-Clio as a student at the University he greatly appreciated what it stood for.

“Appreciation for the written and spoken word has been central to my success,” Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich explained he was speaking about how to not let opponents use subjective words to define you during debates. He explained that these subjective words include terms such as ‘pro-life’ and ‘affirmative action.’

He also said his speech addressed the anti-free speech movements he has been noticing as trends on college campuses, which normally have played an important role in maintaining free-speech and freedom.

“Folks from the right and left are concerned about it and they should be,” said Ehrlich. “College should be about freedom.”

Theodor Furchtgott ’18, who organized the 250th anniversary Gala, said that Whig-Clio needs to ensure that it is a place where honest debates can occur.

“I think a lot of what [Whig-Clio] need[s] to do is make sure this is a place for intellectual discussion, where people feel comfortable expressing their opinions without fear of censorship,” Furchtgott said.