When I tell people that I’m president of UPS, they look at me blankly. No, I don’t mean the shipping company. I mean the Union Philosophical Society, the second oldest organization on our campus (seventh oldest collegiate organization in the nation, in fact). Try saying Union Philosophical Society out loud—it’s obvious why we shorten it to UPS, right? Yet it makes me sad just how many people have no idea who we are. Admittedly, we haven’t always been the best at reaching out, which is part of why I’m using my last opinion article ever to tell you awesome people to check it out.

I joined UPS the spring semester of my freshman year, which seems like a really long time ago now. The first debate I ever went to was the Valentine’s Day debate: “Is love metaphysical or purely chemical?” Forgive a graduating senior her nostalgic ramblings, but I was immediately hooked on that awesome room of people and kept coming back each week. We meet in Denny 317, affectionately known as the Temple of Minerva among members. Fun fact—that room was built for the Union Philosophical Society when Denny was rebuilt after the 1904 fire. UPS and Belles Lettres (the oldest organization on campus) used to meet on either end of Denny, and when it was rebuilt with stained glass windows, the center included our crest, with the UPS motto underneath: Sapientia omnibus praestat. Wisdom stands before all.

We consider UPS to be a debate society and a brotherhood. Although the official format of meetings centers around a debate, we also try to foster discussion about issues, have hot tea at the meetings, hold outside teas and hang out with each other. In other words, the Society is a group of people who enjoy each other’s company and enjoy talking about things. You don’t have to be a good public speaker to join. Let me tell you, when I first walked into that room, I thought that no one was ever going to convince me to actually speak in a debate or join in the discussion. Yet even I spoke for the first time in the April Fool’s debate that year: “Hippies: A Threat to Society or the Saviors of Mankind?”

Members debate a huge range of topics, from the political to the philosophical, from the serious to the outright silly. We’ve discussed methods of dealing with sex offenders, the existence of God, polyamorous relationships, drinking at college, contact with aliens—and this is just a tiny sampling of many fascinating things. Debate topics are all contributed by members and typically provoke interesting discussion. Whether you really have an opinion, or just really love to sit back and hear other people talk, UPS could be an excellent organization for you. If you’d like more information, email us at [email protected].

This is partly a shameless plea on behalf of the Society and partly a love letter of sorts to one of the groups that changed my life at Dickinson. Even at its most frustrating (and I’m sure many organization presidents will tell you things can get pretty frustrating), I have loved the time spent in the Temple of Minerva these past few years with other Peers of the Union Philosophical Society. What’s a Peer, you ask? Did I forget to mention we have a secret initiation ceremony for members? Oops, I can’t tell you any more than that.