The Societies  visited the historic site of one of Paul Cameron’s largest plantations in Durham, NC. Here we were able to witness the magnitude of the slave-based plantation economy of the pre-war South.

Newly sworn-in President Chester Bissell performed the induction of the Fall 2013 Executive Committee at Business on April 22nd. We congratulate these new officers:

Fall 2013 Joint Senate Officers
President: Chester Bissell
President Pro Tempore: Nathan Vail
Critic: Will Robertson
Clerk: Brittany Jordan
Treasurer: Isaac Warshauer
Sergeant at Arms: Sarah Pickhardt
Historian: Tyler Clay
Di President: Linet Menachery
Phi President: Ellen Crouch

The oldest award given to students by the University, the Willie P. Mangum Medal in Oratory, was presented to Senior Senator Alex Blomme by the Chancellor last week. Congratulations Senator Blomme! Out of all DiPhi’s Seniors, Senator Blomme delivered the best address responding to Thomas Wolfe’s description of the University as magical. The competition was judged by three faculty members. See more here.

DiPhi’s Willie Person Mangum Portrait is discussed by Carolina Inn Historian Dr. Ken Zogry

I don’t know about you, but some of our senators are eagerly awaiting the results of who won this years coveted Mangum Medal. Let’s take some time to learn about the medal and look over a list of all past recipients to pass the time before the 2013 award winner is announced.

This oldest student award was established in 1877 in memory of Willie Person Mangum, Class of 1815, who had a distinguished career in politics, including three terms in the U.S. Senate and a leading role in the Whig Party. It is continued by the family of Mangum Turner, Class of 1900. A gold medal is awarded to the member of the senior class who, in the opinion of a group of judges, gives the best oration at an annual contest. The award is administered still today by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, and the Societies’ Historian generally finds a group of Professors to act as judges. Below is a list of every recipient since 1879:

1879-Robert Watson Winston
1880-Charles Brantley Aycock
1881-James Madison Leach Jr.
1882-Edwin Anderson Alderman
1883-Numa Fletcher Heitman
1884-James Lee Love
1885-Solomon Cohen Weil
1886-John Franklin Schenck
1887-Louis Milton Bourne
1888-Oliver Douglas Batchelor
1889-Charles Aurelius Webb
1890-Henry Johnston
1891-William Watkins Davies Jr.
1892-George Henry Crowell
1893-James Crawford Biggs
1894-Charles Leonard Van Noppen
1895-Herman Harrell Horne
1896-Richard Gold Allsbrook
1897-David Baird Smith
1898-Edward Kidder Graham
1899-Thomas Contee Bowie
1900-David Preston Parker
1901-Dorman Steele Thompson
1902-Marvin Hendrix Stacy
1903-Charles Edward Maddry
1904-Edgar Samuel Williamson Dameron
1905-Judge Buxton Roberton
1906-Walter Raleigh Jones
1907-John Johnston Parker
1908-Walter Parker Stacy
1909-Kemp Davis Battle
1910-Horace Edney Stacy
1911-Charles Eugene McIntosh
1912-F.P. Parker
1913-Guy Berryman Phillips
1914-Elbert Sidney Peele
1915-Claude Howard Woltz
1916-W.B. Armstead
1917-Robert Marion Ross
1918-Albert Coates
1919-William Enoch Price
1920-W.L. Townsend
1921-William Haywood Bobbitt
1922-Bryant Council Brown
1923-Victor Vernon Young
1924-George Coggin Hampton Jr.
1925-C.V. Kyser 1926-John Henry Harrell
1927-not given (?)
1928-Norman Block
1929-no award
1930-John Albert Lang
1931-Edward Ryan Hamer
1932-Frederick Coleman Wardlaw
1933-Donald Ray Seawell
1934-Lawrence H. Fountain
1935-Rufus Aldophus Jack Pool
1936-Robert Phillips Russell
1937-Fred Henry Weaver
1938-Robert Nathaniel Magill
1939-Voit Gilmore
1940-Horace Richter
1941-Edward Lewis Kantrowitz
1942-not given
1943-not given
1944-not given
1945-not given
1946-not given
1947-not given
1948-William Robert Coulter
1949-Charles Dennis Dixson
1950-Gibbon Elliott McNeely
1951-Paul Alexander Roth
1952-John Martin Schnorrenberg
1953-Alva Ward Stewart
1954-Kenneth Lawing Penegar
1955-Charles Bishop Kuralt
1956-Richard Beverly Raney Webb
1957-James Derel Monteith
1958-Carl Adam Barrington Jr.
1959-John Charles Brooks
1960-John Taylor McMillan
1961-Davis Beeken Young
1962-Fatma Ramazanoglu
1963-Daniel McMullen Armstrong III
1964-Sarah Elizabeth Parker
1965-Michael Darr Barnes
1966-Armistead Jones Maupin Jr.
1967-John Willial Stupak Jr.
1968-Philip Leroy Clay
1969-Robert Neal Hunter Jr.
1970-Thomas Franklin Foster
1971-Joseph Bryan Cumming III
1972-Joseph Pinckney McGuire
1973-John Andrew Venden Berry
1974-Harold Brent McKnight
1975-Cole Charles Campbell
1976-Mary Susan Linderman
1977-Andrea Booth Young
1978-Willie Lavonsa Moore
1979-Lisa Gale Haneline
1980-Mary Eloise McCain
1981-Daniel Paul McCurdy 1982-Mark Allen Boyce
1983-Jennifer Cheryl Cresimore
1984-Michael Perry Rupen
1985-Richard Lee McGee
1986-James Hugh Slaughter
1987-Steven Bruce Epstein
1988-Monty Dean Hagler
1989-George Wayne Goodwin
1990-Michael Anthony Kolb
1991-Gretchen Alexa Case
1992-Gregory Wayne Stafford
1993-Sean Larry Dalton
1994-Jonathan Chad Sauls
1995-Carrie Elizabeth Meigs
1996-Andrew Edson France
1997-Kathryn Paige Howell
1998-Matthew Darwin Crawford
1999-Anna Elizabeth Pond
2000-Bradley O’Dea Timmers
2001-William Michael Oldham
2002-Aaron Bednar
2003-Kunal Nandy
2004-Mumukshu Patel
2005-Jennifer C. Mullins
2006-Matthew Lewis Liles
2007-Anne Hamilton Phillips
2008-Robert Brice Russ
2009-Elyssa Kathleen Sharp
2010-Daniel Aaron Friedman
2011-Erica Michelle Pressley
2012-Emma Christine Pham

Read about Dr. Simpson’s study of the Great Dismal Swamp, and see a video of his tour through it here. For a limited time, Dr. Simpson is featured on the unc.edu homepage as well. We’re happy to help spotlight him and this incredible work about the history and beauty of our state.

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The Societies had an amazing trip to attend the meetings of our sister organizations, the Phi Kappa Literary Society and the Demosthenian Literary Society at the University of Georgia in Athens. Although the Societies are still locked in bitter rivalry, we wish them both the best of luck.