Philolexian to Hold Contest Philolexian Society held a short meet-1 ing in Earl Hall last evening. On account of a small attendance, the usual literary exercises did not take place, but 1 business was transacted. A. J. Kilmer. 1909 was elected a member of the so-1 ciety. A. T. Swords 1907 was appointed , chairman on the committee to take charge of the oratorical contest of the year, the winner of which will receive a bronze bust of Washington, given for this purpose by Dr. G. A. Cole '62.

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1906-11-01 →

Philo to Debate on Immigration Laws It is expected that the date for the contest for the Philolexian Centennial Washington prize will be set this evening at the weekly meeting of the society, to be held at 8 o'clock in Earl Hall. The literary program for the meeting is as follows: Debate on the subject, "Resolved, that immigration be further restricted." Affirmative F. A. Higgms 1908 and P. H. Windels 1908. Negative A. T. Kilmer 1908 and V. K. W. Koo 1909. Extempore speeches will be made by A. S. Moses 1909, and D. Armstrong 1909.

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1906-11-21 →

Immigration Discussed at Philo At a meeting of Philolexian held last night, it was decided that the society advance $lOO to the Debating Union for the intercollegiate debates on the condition that as much as possible be returned from the proceeds of the debate with Cornell. January 11,1907 was the date arranged for the Coles prize competition. A debate on the following question was then held: "Resolved that immigration be further restricted." P. W. H. Windels 1908 and W. M Schwarz 1907, supported the affirmative; A. J. Kilmer 1908 and V. K. W. Koo T909 spoke on the negative and were awarded the decision.

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1906-11-22 →

Philolexian Prize Announced At a well attended meeting of thcPhilolexian Literary Society held ir. Earl Hall last night, the question "Resolved that the action of President Roosevelt in disbanding the 25th Regiment of Colored Infantry was unjustified" was debated. The affirmative side was taken by A. S. Moses 1909 and W. J. MacGreevy 1908, and the negative was supported by McA. Coleman 1909 and W. H. Sellew 1909, to whom the decision was awarded. A. T. Swords 1907 made an extempore speech on "Cross Country Work" and V. K. W. Koo 1909 made an extempore speech 01 "The Labor Question of the Panama Canal." The literary program criticism was given by A. T. Kilmeri9oB. F. L. Hopkins 1907, President oi Barnard spoke at the meeting inviting the members of Philolexian to attend the Barnard Smoker two weeks from last night. The invitation was unanimously accepted with thanks. A. T. Swords 1907,…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1906-12-06 →

COLES PRIZE CONTEST Event to be Held To-Morrow Night— Seven Men Entered Philolexian Society will hold the first contest for the Philolexian Washington Centennial Prize for patriotic orations, in Earl Hall to-morrow evening at 8:15. The Prize Fund was the gift of J. Ackerman Coles '64 to the society in 1902. The contest occurs once in four years. The prize is a replica of the life size bronze bust of Washington, modelled from life at Mount Vernon, by Jean Antoine Houdon. It was cast at the Baibedienne Foundry in Paris and imported especially for this purpose by Tiff an; . The original is now in the Virginia staiehouse. By the conditions of the gift, President Butler and the president of the society are judges while Mr. Tassih has been chosen as the thiru judge. Dean Van Amringe will preside at the contest. Contestants are urged to make their appointments immediately to meet Mr.…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1907-01-10 →

PRIZE ORATIONS TO-NIGHT First Contest for Philolexian Washington Prize—Six Competitors This evening at 8:15 in Earl Hall, the Philolexian Society will hold the first contest for the Philolexian Washington Prize. The fund was established for the society by J. Ackerman Coles '64, and the prize is a copy of the life size bronze bust of Washington, modelled from life at Mount Vernon, by Jean Antoine Hou don. The cast was made at the Barbedienne Foundry in Paris and was imported especially for this purpose. The original is in the Virginia State House. Dean Van Amringe will act as chairman and the judges will be Dean Kirchwey, Mr. A. DeV. Tassin and H. E. Chapin 1907. The program will be as follows: 1. "Washington in New York," .... McAlister Coleman 1909 2. "American Character," A. Joyce Kilmer 1908 3. "The Stability of Our Republic,".. Welles H. Sellew Columbia Songs 4. "True…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1907-01-11 →

COLES PRIZE ORATIONS Six Contestants Speak for Philolexian Prize—Awarded to F. A. Higgins Philolexian Society held the first contest for the Philolexian Washington Frize in Earl Hall last night. The speeches, of course, were original and distinctly patriotic in character. No one but a member of Philolexian Society was eligible to speak for the prize. The prize itself was given by a Philolexian alumnus, J. Coles '64, '6B (P. & S.). and consists of a recently imported replica life size Barbedienne bronze bust of George Washington, taken from life, while Washington was at Mount Vernon, by Jean Antione Houdon in 1788. The prize was imported by Tiffany's bronze department. On the front of the pedestal of the bust is inscribed: Washington, by Houdon, replica Cole's Philolexian Prize for 1906, and below this is the name of the contestant winning the prize. The speeches began…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1907-01-12 →

Election of Philolexian Officers At the regular meeting of Philolexian held last night in Earl Hall the election of officers for the second half-year was held. A. T. Swords 1907 was elected president, A. J. Kilmer 1908 vice-presi-dent. D. Armstrong 1909 secretary, and V. K. W. Koo 1909 treasurer. It was decided to omit the meetings during the two weeks of the mid-year examinations. Plans for the coming Philo.-Barnard debate were discussed, as was the question of pins. The meeting was well attend ed

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1907-01-17 →

Philolexian Oratorical Contest Held The annual oratorical contest of the Philolexian Society was held last night, a large and appreciative audience being present. W. A. Paul 'O9, the first speaker, took for his subject "Universal Peace." He was followed by F. A. Higgins 'OB who spoke on "The First Pioneer." A. J. Kilmer 'OB concluded the contest with an address entitled "A Hero of Peace." After some deliberation the judges, Professor C. A. Beard, Mr. Galwey of the English Depart'sient, and K. Webb 'O6 awarded the first prize to A. J. Kilmer 'OB. F. A. Higgins and W. A. Paul were awarded second and third prizes, respectively. At a business meeting which preceeded the Contest, it was announced that the annual dinner would be held on Tuesday evening, May 14, at 7 o'clock, at Bretton Hall, corner of Broadway and 86th Street. All members of the Society, including the Freshmen who were…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1907-05-11 →

Philo Elections for Coming Year At a meeting of the Philolexian Society held yesterday in Earl Hall, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, E. C. Rouse '08; vice-president, F. R. Svvartwout '08; secretary, W. H. D. Pell 'O9; treasurer, McA. Coleman 'O9; delegates to Debating Union, E. C. Rouse 'OB, V. K. W. Koo 'O9, A. J. Kilmer '08; committee on admission, D. Armstrong 'O9, A. E. Turpin 'O9, A. S. Moses 'O9.

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1907-05-15 →

ORATORS IN COMPETITION Final Speeches for Curtis Medals—Mr. Parker Discusses Event Columbia's orators will meet in Earl Hall at 4 o'clock this afternoon in the final competition for the Curtis Medals. Preliminary trials, at which ten men spoke, were held on March 28, four men being selected to make the second appearance. Each of the two upper classes has an equal representation, the speakers today being F. A. Higgins and A. J. Kilmer of the Senior class, and V. K. W. Koo and I. H. Levinthal of 1909. The subjects of the addresses are as follows: Higgins, "The Patriotism of the Fathers"; Kilmer, "Socialism Not a Peril"; Koo, "China's Viewpoint"; and Levinthal, "The Ideals of True Democracy." All the speakers but the last have entered quite extensively into literary work at the University and Levinthal has had considerable experience in religious teaching and speaking. Higgins…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1908-04-10 →

Barnard-Philolexian Debate Cancelled Because of the proximity of the Seniors' examinations, it was decided to cancel the debate between Philolexian and Barnard. The Philo team, however, had been previously chosen. The following- men who won the annual prize debate were to have composed the team: E. Smith 'lO, A. J. Kilmer 'OB, W. A. Paul '09,: G. B. Compton 'O9. Committees have been appointed by both societies to arrange a joint social meeting for sometime in May. At the next meeting of Philolexian, which will be held on May 6, Freshmen may speak for admission to the society.

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1908-04-30 →

PHILOLEXIAN ANNUAL BANQUET TONIGHT Will Take Green Bus at 10:00 From Library to University Club. Immediately after the Interscholastic Oratorical contest tonight in Earl Hall the members of Philolexian, the ten speakers, the presiding officer and judges will hasten to the Columbia University Club at 18 Gramercy Park, where the annual banquet will be held. A Fifth avenue bus will be in front of the library to take the members of the society and their guests down town. Joyce Kilmer 'O7, literary editor of the New York Times, will be the principal speaker. Kilmer was formerly active in Philolexian, serving as its president. Since his graduation from college he has won distinction in the literary field. E. Stagg Whitin, chairman of the Prison Labor Commission, formerly an active Philo man, will be the toast master. Secretary Fackenthal, Professor Powell and Chaplain Knox, the presiding…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1916-03-11 →

Important Discourse At Philo Meeting Joyce Kilmer and Meredith Nicholson Among Speakers Scheduled For Coming Year. Many important topics were brought up at the meeting of Philolexian last night. Reports were made by all the committees and the officers. The most important was that of the Program Committee. C. P. Ivins, ' 18, chairman, announced some of the tentative programs for the meetings of the term. Since the efforts of the members will be principally directed toward the play, it is planned to have some outsiders address the meetings. Next week it is expected that Mr. Joyce Kilmer, a former Philo member, will speak. Among the other speakers that it is planned to have address the society is Meredith Nicholson, one of the well known authors at the present time. It was also decided to hold an undergraduate speaking night next Wednesday at which some men would be invited to speak…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1916-10-19 →

Looking Backwarand THROUGH THE FILES. JANUARY 17. Ten Years Ago Today. At the intercollegiate basketball series Columbia defeated Princeton for the second time during the season. The score was 18 to 5. J. J. Ryan 1909S played a strong game for the Varsity. The Philolexian officers were elected for the next semester at a meeting held in Earl Hall. A. T. Swords, 1907, was elected president; A. Joyce Kilmer, 'OB, vice president; D. Armstrong, 'O9, secretary, and V. K. W. Koo, 'O9 treasurer. * * * Fifteen Years Ago Today. An innovation in regard to mass meetings proved very successful when a mass meeting held for the purpose of arousing interest in football took place at 1130 o'clock instead of 4:30 P. M. It was decided to hold any further mass meetings at the same hour. * * * Twenty-five Years Ago Today. Because he participated in the forbidden rushing, Mr. Hess, '94, was suspended by…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1917-01-17 →

PHILOLEXIAM WILL ENTERTAIN TONIGHT Many Graduates Promise to Attend Reception to Freshmen—Play Postponed. Philolexian will play the host to members of the 1920 class at its annual Freshman reception tonight at 325 West 108 th Street. The reception will be in the nature of a reunion of all the graduate and active members of the Society who are at present connected with the University. About sixty Freshmen have already accepted invitations tendered them by members of the Society. The original play which was to have been produced by members of the Society this evening has been postponed until the initiation banquat, which will occur later in the spring, owing to the severe illness of the member of the cast who was to have taken the part of "Minerva." A lively musical and literary program has been arranged, however, and songs and speeches will be in order from about 8:45 to 11:00…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1917-03-21 →

Fox Will Officiate At Prize Contest Of Philolexian Professor Dixon Ryan Fox of the History Department will officiate at the Coles Prize Contest to be held by the Philolexian Society on Wednesday evening, when undergraduate members of Philo will deliver original orations upon patriotic subjects. All members of the University and their friends are invited to attend. The contest is held once every four years, and was established in 1907 by Jonathan Ackerman Coles '63, 68M. The award for the best oration is a bronze cast of an heroic-size bust of George Washington. The original was modelled from life by Jean Antoine Houdon and now stands in the Assembly Hall of the State of Virginia at Richmond. At the first contest, held in 1907, Honorable Mention was awarded to the late Joyce Kilmer, who spoke on "American Character". The next contest was won by Dixon Ryan Fox 'll using "Balance" as…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1931-04-28 →

Dixon Ryan Fox Recalls the Glamour Of Philolexian's 130-year-old Tradition By DIXON RYAN FOX [Editor's Note: The following article by Professor Dixon Ryan' Fox is especially interesting, in view of the present Philo dispute, in giving a picture of the past glories of that organization. Professor Fox wrote the article before the present controversy developed. He proves that which cannot be denied: Philo's past history has been distinguished. Today, however, there is doubt in many minds—and possibly in Professor Fox's, too —that the current spectacle is adding anything to Philo's glorious tradition.] X By DIXON RYAN FOX Professor of History Among the oldest academic organizations in America is the Philolexian Society, familiarly known as "Philo" by Columbia College men for 128 years. In the weekly meetings of this group, Columbia today is nearer the Columbia of 1802 than…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1932-01-15 →

Sing, O Muse: The worst verse of CU By SPENCER HARRINGTON They assembled last night, perhaps 20 in all, amid the pomp and candle-lit glory of John Jay lounge. They'd dimmed the lights, brought out the tapers, and then stood under the ennobling inscription, "Hold fast to the/Spirit of youth/Let the years to come/Do what they may." But all that didn't matter. The Philolexian Society had assembled not to honor youth, or the passage of time, but instead bad poetry. Really bad poetry. To celebrate vile verse in the tradition of Joyce Kilmer, CC '08, the Philolexians first put up eyebrow-raising posters depicting two women in leather S&M garb to announce the First Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest. They then enlisted Professor James Mirollo of the English Department to act as judge. After the reading, he said the atrocities he had heard were "ab- solutely awful. "I'm…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1986-10-31 →

From Hamilton to Sha Na Na: Famous CU alums abound By Jean Lee Did the walls of your John Jay room witness the musical birth of Sha Na Na? Are you washins your whites in the same machine as Suzanne Vesa did? Did Art Garfunkel lose his way around campus durins Orientation, too? Possibly, very probably. These former Columbia first—years and more survived Orientation, Contemporary Civilization, and the required swim test while their counterparts across Broadway endured the senior thesis and the year of lab science. And they went beyond the sates on Broadway to achieve fame and admiration in the music, art, literature, business, and political worlds of American culture. The lons an d lustrous list of Columbia alums stretches back to the University'sorisins as Kins's Collese, established in 1754. Under the leadership of the Collese's first president, the Reverend Samuel Johnson,…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 1990-08-30 →

Only CU Students Can Make Bad Poe-Tree By Telis Demos Spectator Staff Writer ■ The Philolexian Society presented original works in a show so bad, it was good —jj In typically bizarre fashion, the Philolexian Society on Thursday paid homage to the great writers and rhetoricians of the Society's history: they awarded a prize to the aspiring bard who could write the best worst poem. The Society allowed the uninitiated a peek into their esoteric world at the 17th Annual Bad Poetry Contest last Thursday. It was exhibition of malapropisms and grandiose poems about irrelevant subjects—exactly what good bad poetry ought to be. Those involved said understanding the contest means understanding different types of "bad." Most bad poetry causes discomfort and induces little laughter, as the poem's author is largely unaware of his ineptitude. But the "bad" poetry sought by…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 2002-11-25 →

Worst Poetry in the World Draws Crowd BY SHANE FERRO COLUMBIA DAILY SPECTATOR The Kraft Center roared with laughter for three hours Thursday night as students tried to prove their poetic worth —or lack thereof—at the 22nd Annual Joyce Kilmer Memorial Poetry Festival. The Columbia Philoiexian Society, Columbia's oldest student organization, held the bad poetry competition in honor of Albert Joyce Kilmer, American journalist and poet and former vice president of Columbia's Philoiexian Society. While the bad poetry performed throughout the night focused mainly on religion and love, Amitai Schlair, GS, took home the prize for his poem describing how "Poetry is like sausage." Schlair, dubbed "Schmonz" by the Philolexians, went on to read about "venison villanelles" and how "things took a turn for the bratwurst." "I'm thrilled. It has been a dream of mine since I was a…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 2007-11-16 →

Bad Poetry Contest inspires the best of students' worst BY OLIVIA WONG Columbia Daily Spectator The 25th Annual Alfred Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest is calling out to all Columbians to put the midterm stress behind them and em- brace the silliness of horribly clever poetry—no experience required. The Bad Poetry Contest, hosted by Columbia's Philolexian Society, will be held on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Barnard's Held Auditorium. The bad poetry contest is easily Philo's most popular event, even though most of the society's other events—Professor Tea several times a semester and Beat Night, held in honor of Philo alum Allen Ginsberg—are open to the public. Why is that so? According to last year's winner, Philo alum Edward Rueda, CC 'O5, "I think Columbia is severely lacking in school pride, but a strong sense of sarcasm is one of the few things that brings…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 2010-11-18 →

ANNUAL CELEBRATIONS BACCHANAL + HOLI These two events serve as the cornerstone of spring semester. On the morning of Bacchanal—typically the second Saturday in Apri|—the Hindu Students Organization holds a large celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, on Ancel V ' Plaza. Several hundred pounds of paint powder will make their way into your hair and onto your clothes. Later.in the day, you'll gather with a few thousand of your closest friends to’ watch an act you probably complained about. But Bacchanal is » still a ton of fun-—if we're lucky, it falls on one of the year's first warm spring days. TREE LIGHTING Columbia celebrates the holiday season by lighting up the trees that line College Walk. Students, faculty, and administrators gather on Low Plaza in December for a tree lighting ceremony, complete with hot chocolate, cider, and other treats. Students…

Columbia Daily Spectator, 2014-08-25 →

Philolexian has always been held in somewhat ambiguous regard by the Academy, as has the work of one of its most famous sons, Alfred Joyce Kilmer '08, the one-time Philo vice president whose centennial was widely noted last December. Kilmer, of course, composed 'Trees,' which first appeared in the August 1913 issue of Poetry magazine.

Vice President of the Philolexian Society.

Columbia College Today — vol. 29 (Spring/Summer 1987), 'The sentimental hero' by Thomas Vinciguerra '85 →

Named in The Annals of the Philolexian Society (1912) at the referenced leaf.

Named in The Annals of the Philolexian Society (1912) at the referenced leaf.

Named in Maxwell, Catalogue of Columbia Graduates (1916) at the referenced leaf.

A. Joyce Kilmer · Confidence: CERTAIN