Lovin' and Learnin' with Philomathean Society supreme ruler Gerard Leone who is convinced Philomathean means "love of learning."
Street: So how'd you get involved with Philo?
Gerard Leone: I tried out my fall semester freshman year, but I didn't get in. I tried again in the spring and I did get in.
Street: What does trying out mean?
GL: There's a three part application for Philo. There's a creative section, which is usually prose or poetry, but we've had crazier things submitted. The only requirement for this section is that it has to be able to fit through the Philo hall door. There's a presentation to the society for six minutes on a topic of your choice, and there's a one and a half hour interview with some other Philos.
Street: What was your creative piece?
GL: I ended up submitting three stanzas of a poem when I was accepted. My presentation was on post-modernism in architecture, notably Bernard Chumi and the Park de Lavalette.
Street: Are you a member for life?
GL: Yes. The constitution says perpetuous. So those in their graves are still technically Philos.
Street: So you meet on the top floor of College Hall. Can I just walk up there if I'm not a member?
GL: You can. There's only two particular Philo events that only Philos can go to. Technically, everything is open to the public.
Street: Is there an air of intellectual elitism because everyone is so smart?
GL: Well, if you don't know what you're talking about, generally we can tell. At the end of hearing enough people talk, you know if someone's bullshitting you or not. The word that gets tossed at Philos a lot is the word "pretension," which I take umbrage at. We're not necessarily putting on airs.
Street: Do you have a special term for Philos hooking up with other Philos?
GL: Everyone attaches "cest" to the end of everything. We call it Phicest.
Street: There are rumors that Philos like to drink together on Friday nights?
GL: Not on top of College Hall, only off campus. We have some teetotalers, so it is not required or encouraged. There is drinking, just not on college property.
Street: What are your biggest events?
GL: Our big event every year is called the Annual Oration. We get a speaker or author to come in and talk about their work. In recent years, we've had Salmon Rushdie and Arthur Miller. We also had a guy speak who read 80 biographies of Hitler to determine how history percieved him.
Street: What does the name Philomathean mean?
GL: Love of learning.
Street: How has the society changed over the years?
GL: It was first more theater-based, then more English-based, but then Philos founded departments at school that replaced the society's activities. We used to publish more often, but now we have Writer's House for that. We're an anachronism - we do a little bit of everything, so it's difficult. We don't have a specific purpose. We try to reconcile something that is agreeable with the present day.
