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Group holds first debate
Dionysium promotes intellectual discussion in social atmosphere
By Elliott Thomas Ash
When it comes to intellectual cultural activities, the UT student has no dearth of options. But when one visits a museum, he or she will rarely get a chance to discuss newly absorbed ideas in a lively, social atmosphere. Hence, the Dionysium, monthly gatherings that feature lively intellectual discussions. "When I was in school, I would be leaving class, and there wouldn't be a place to discuss the ideas that interest me socially," said L.B. Deyo, Dionysium president, whose organization gets its name from Dionysius, the Greek god of wine. Deyo said he feels that intellectual conversations are considered rude in today's culture and founded the colloquium to encourage them. Deyo founded the precursor to the Dionysium five years ago in New York City - the Athenaeum. In May 2004, he joined longtime friend Buzz Moran to recreate the operation in Austin. Tuesday night marked the first Dionysium performance at the Alamo Drafthouse, where the theatre's seating barely accommodated the audience. "The audience was almost all new people today," said Moran, Dionysium chairman. "We feel like our show is getting better and better." Tuesday's Dionysium centered on the Civil War, in honor of Juneteenth - the June 19 celebration of the end of U.S. slavery. "Texans received the news of emancipation two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written," said Bernadette Pfeiffer, director of George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center and lecturer at Tuesday's Dionysium. "Juneteenth is a celebration of the American who received the news of freedom." After the lecture, three audience members volunteered to participate in an improvisational story-writing contest to be completed before intermission concluded. The highlight of the Dionysium was the debate. Expanding upon the Civil War theme, the debaters probed whether or not "the Civil War was fundamentally about slavery." Arguing the affirmative - that the Civil War was about slavery - was George Forgie, a history associate professor who teaches a class on the Civil War and Reconstruction. George Manning, retired army officer and lieutenant commander in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, debated the counter argument. The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely.
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