For more information about our frequent social gatherings, informal meetings, trips, and other events, please do not hesitate to check our Instagram or attend a Monday meeting. We look forward to seeing you!
Welcome to the website of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.
Established in 1795, DiPhi is the oldest student organization at UNC. We are a literary and debate society dedicated to upholding our ideals of rational thought, promotion of the arts, the free interchange of ideas, and the study of the history of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Our debates are held in a modified parliamentary style every Monday at 7:30 post meridiem on the top floor of New West. Following the debate program, we hold business and have a section for Papers, Petitions, Memorials, and Addresses, which allows members and guests to present to the Joint Senate on any topic they wish. In addition to our Monday debates, we host social nights, dances, and trips to local attractions.
The history of DiPhi is the history of the University. Rich, diverse, and often complicated, the two hundred and twenty-three years of DiPhi’s history have seen the founding of some of UNC’s most cherished institutions: the University Library, the school colors of Carolina blue and white, and the Schools of Law, Medicine, and Journalism. Included among the distinguished alumni of the Societies are President James K. Polk, Vice President William R. King, and Pulitzer Prize winners Thomas Wolfe and Paul Green.
We invite you to join us for a debate or social gathering and to help us in upholding the motto of our Joint Senate: Ad virtutem, libertatem, scientiamque — towards virtue, liberty, and knowledge.
Your humble and obedient servant,
Senator Ryan Rosenberg
Correspondent of the Societies, Class of 2016