Yale Political Union

The Yale Political Union (YPU) is a debate society at Yale University, founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold (1906–1963), who would later become University President, to combat the apathy that characterized Yale's political culture in the 1930s. It was modelled on the Cambridge University and Oxford University Unions.

Related Topics:
Yale University - 1934 - Alfred Whitney Griswold - 1906 - 1963 - Cambridge University - Oxford University

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The YPU is a non-partisan debate society. A speaker moderates weekly debates according to Robert's Rules of Order. The Union's highest ranking officer is the President, elected for a term of one semester, who oversees the YPU's day to day affairs and provides leadership in setting the tone of any given semester. The office of President was split into the offices of President and Speaker in late 1961.

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A prominent figure (politician, journalist, etc.) is often invited to keynote a Yale Political Union debate. Students then have the opportunity to ask questions of the guest, and then give speeches of their own, either in support or opposition to the resolution. This ability to allow students to interact with relevant political figures is often considered one of the great strengths of the organization.

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The Union is an umbrella organization that currently contains six independent political parties: the Liberal Party, the Progressive Party, the Independent Party, the Conservative Party, the Tory Independent Party, and the Party of the Right. These parties are actually independent debate societies that host their own debates and activities apart from the Union, though members will come together for weekly YPU debates. In the past the Political Union has had other parties including a Bull Moose Party, a Constitutional Union Party, and a Labor Party, but not all at the same time. Six parties is an all time high for the total number of parties. Two is the all time low. Four has been fairly typical. Of the current parties, three of them are on the right, one in the center, and two on the left.

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These parties have their own political leanings, as their names might suggest, but they are better understood as being distinguished by different styles. For instance, the parties on the Right tend to have more combative and intense debates that cover topics beyond the political, such as philosophy and literature. Of the parties on the left, the Liberal Party is one of the two oldest parties in the Union (the other being the Independent Party), and the Progressives were formed in the mid 1980's by left-leaning members interested in real debate, rather than simply a speaker's program (though now the Progressive Party boasts of "debating silly topics using perfect parliamentary procedure").

Related Topics:
Philosophy - Literature

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The Liberal Party is the only founding constituent party of the Union to retain its original name. Liberal Party debates tend to be slightly less formal to facilitate learning and constructive debate rahter than the debate-for-its-own-sake style of several other parties.

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The Independent Party (IP), holding down a center to right of center ground, used to be, at the time of the Union's founding, the Conservative Party, but the tumult of the 1960's led to it moving to a renaming and refocusing toward a more middle ground. Somewhat confusingly, the newest of the three parties on the right has appropriated the IP's former name, and claims the IP's 1930's through 1960's history as its own.

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Among the parties on the right, the POR is the oldest, having split out of the old Conservative Party/current IP in the 1950's, followed by the Tory Party (created by the losers of an internal POR election in the 1970's, then by the newest party in the Union, the Conservative Party (created by the losers of yet another POR election, this time in the 1990's) Currently, the Tory Party generally advances an English aesthetic with a bent toward "reasoned conservatism," the Conservative Party speaks of developing "principled and profound leaders" and the Party of the Right challenges its members to become "great" in word, deed, and character. The Progressive Party has been known for its emphasis on Robert's Rules of Order, the Liberal Party for lively debates on topics dividing the Left, and the Independent Party for its interest in policy matters and its penchant for attracting "resume-builders."

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Though the Yale Political Union was originally founded by a member of the Yale faculty, the current administration is generally unsupportive of the Union's efforts. Members offer different explanations for this fact; some suggest that the current administration does not see the value of having a central forum for channeling students' political energies and fostering debate, others offer that the administration may be disuaded from assisting the Union because (in recent years) its more vocal members have become increasingly politically conservative.

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All sides agree that the YPU is not as influential as it once was. Members note that this is the result of several factors. A few point to the presidency of current Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, who was President of the YPU as an undergraduate at Yale. Kerry attempted to create a more national role for the organization, with a greater emphasis on outside speakers. This was not appreciated by Union members who preferred a more insular Union, and given Kerry's subsequent prominence he is frequently cited as a negative turning point by members on the right. In fact, this push and pull between outside speakers and student debate has characterized the YPU for at least thirty years.

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The YPU did regain some of its strength throughout the 1970's, until it suffered a severe blow shortly after A. Bartlett Giamatti became the Yale President. According to Union legend, Giamatti, violating numerous agreements and covenents established with the YPU, "repurposed" (stole) the YPU building/debate hall and turned it into a practice hall for aspiring Yale artists. Records are inconclusive, but alumni are not dissuaded.

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After several years of rebuilding, the YPU managed to recover its numerical strength, and by the middle of the 1980's counted over 1100 members, nearly 1/4 of the entire student body at Yale. But the one-vote failure of an acquisition attempt of the much financially stronger Model UN program at Yale and the earlier loss of the YPU's dedicated facilities made this apparent recovery illusory.

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Membership numbers have been further weakened over the last fifteen years. Though the Yale Political Union has regained strength in recent years, the long-term strength of this resurgence remains to be seen, and membership remains roughly 20% of its last peak in the late 1980's.

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