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Although anyone can attend meetings of the Washington Literary Society and Debating Union, individuals must fulfill the following in order to join and become full-fledged members:
1. Presentation of a Lit before the Society. Literary presentations, or lits, vary from person to person. Some members of the Society choose to share original poems, short stories, or songs, while others read excerpts from favorites books, plays, speeches, etc. Provisional members must present a lit, but there are no further criteria for acceptability (i.e. you cannot fail just because someone doesn't like what you read). The Provisional Chair and Vice President are available prior to sharing your literary presentation to help in preparation and practice. There will also be literary workshops beginning this semester.
2. Participation in a debate before the Society. Provisional members are generally paired with current members for their provie debates. There is no shortage of debate team members in the Society, any of whom can help in preparation. Although debate is sometimes intimidating to new members, there is nothing to fear before the Wash thanks to universal support of provisional debaters. Moreover, if debate is not your thing, you need only participate once and then watch in the future. There are also debate workshops for practice and improvement.
3.Service to the Society. All provisional members are required to perform some basic serive to the Washington Society. Typically this consists of helping to set up or clean up from a party, but it can also be a more specific utilization of skills. Provies can type the Secretary's minutes so that they can be put online, or they can help with the website or planning an event.
4. Attendance.Provisional members are required to attend 2/3 of the meetings for a semester, generally 8 meetings. Attendance is expected for the entire meeting, not just lits, and not just the debate. Provisionals with difficulty meeting this requirement should see the Provisional Chair or Vice President to work something out.
5. Joining the Washington Society enables you to vote in elections and hold office. Although non-members are still welcome to attend, members are more able to influence the direction of the Society, and interested persons should consider joining if possible.
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