0 T-iosls oolitical discussions <Dead $ederalists Society seizes the day The Dead Federalists Society did not hold secret meetings at midnight or make new members endure initiation rituals to prove their allegiance. Instead, they got together about once a month to discuss politics. Started by senior Brad Hayes in 1995, the Dead Federalists Society had about a dozen members in 1996-97. Hayes got the idea for the organization from his roommates, Tim and Jeremy Hutchinson, who had started a similar group with the same name in high school. Inspired by the motion picture, "Dead Poets' Society," they reinitiated the idea at Harding and "it remained for me to make something official out of it," Hayes said. Dr. Kevin Klein, the society's sponsor, hosted the meetings in his home to provide a relaxed, informal setting for speeches and discussion forums. "Often, our topic just evolved as we sat and talked," Klein said, but sometimes a student or a professor prepared a lecture. Topics covered included the Jeffersonian democracy, federalism, the primaries, progressivism and the descent into apathy. According to Klein, the students enjoyed talking about the current issues inAmerican government. "We tried to look at these issues with a historical perspective and would invariably find that each current theory has historical roots," he said. When Dr. Terry Edwards led the discussion on federalism, for instance, he spoke about its increasing relevance in Europe and compared the present situation to the effects federalism had in the early United States. "The get-togethers were helpful not only to history or political science majors but to all majors, because the students were required to think rationally and express themselves," Klein said. "If I can promote friendly discussions and critical thinking among them, I believe I will have been successful. 'As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.' That's what we were doing here." Students who participated in the Dead Federalists Society represented a variety of political views, which often caused the discussions to turn into debates, but "it was encouraging to see that they could disagree without walking all over each other," Klein said. Hayes said he was thankful for Klein's presence at the meetings. "It was good to have someone there who had studied these subjects and could give us some pointers if we began talking eloquent nonsense," he said. According to Hayes, the Dead Federalists Society benefited both students and professors. "The meetings fostered good student-teacher relationships because we could communicate about something that isn't strictly textbook material," he said. - Karin Springer Dactylology Club. First row: Becky Leavell, Tammy R eese, Jill Johnston, Kori Schackmann, Nicole Alexander, Donna McDaniel . Second row: Cade Vaughan, Danny Freeman, Bob Logsdon, Theron Williams, Matthew Rees, Travis Gable, Dr. Linda Thompson (faculty sponsor). Photo by Aaron Gillihan. Dead Federalists Society. First row: Steve Cooper, Argentina Sienna, Rachel Simpson, Danna Stokes, Joel Boone, Natasha Murray. Second row: Freddy Grimm, Jessica Benthall, Danny Arencibia, Gina Brown, Brad Hayes . Third row: Barry Watts, Mike Jaques, Andrew Shadel, J eff Jackson, Duane Anderson. Photo by Aaron Gillihan. 186 Dactylology and Dead Federalists Society
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==