A look into DiPhi: Who they are, what they do, Student Government ties

Every Monday during the school year, the University's oldest student organization, the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, holds a meeting that starts at 7:30 pm and can run until 2 a.m. The next day, a handful of DiPhi members spend their time recovering from the night before as they prepare for their next meeting — the Undergraduate Senate. 

The two groups are different: anyone can join DiPhi through a petition for membership, while members of student government are elected. Senate meetings are staggered, every couple of weeks with occasional emergency sessions, while DiPhi is consistent. Still, their memberships have significant overlap. Half of the senate's leadership members along with the Student Body Treasurer are members of DiPhi. 

What is DiPhi?

DiPhi was founded in 1795 as a literary and debate society to address the University’s lack of an English department. According to DiPhi Senator and Undergraduate Student Body Treasurer Andrew Forbes, in the early years every student was required to join either the Di or Phi societies which led to political competition and even “duels.” 

Since its founding, DiPhi has made notable contributions to campus. The group has donated large collections of books to the UNC Libraries, and played a role in the University’s adoption of its Carolina blue and white colors. 

Operating in a parliamentary manner, DiPhi holds weekly meetings in their ‘Dialectic Hall,’ which is New West. Social events for the societies are held in the ‘Philanthropic Chambers’ located in New East. Guests are welcome to attend and participate in meetings, where members debate topics ranging from foreign policy to literature. 

DiPhi is currently led by Joint Senate President Anna Crist, who has been involved with the organization since 2022. Crist herself is not in student government, but said there are “a couple people in DiPhi who are ambitious.” She said that DiPhi’s current presence in student government is carryover from Andrew Richards’, former DiPhi and Undergraduate Senate member, tenure at UNC.

“What happens in student government is absolutely not DiPhi sanctioned, it happens completely outside of DiPhi,” Crist said. “I would stress that there is absolutely a divide between DiPhi as an institution and this select group of people who are doing this other thing, who happen to be in DiPhi, but they do not speak for the organization or represent us in any way.”

How did this overlap happen?

Forbes said the old requirement for UNC students to join one of the societies laid the groundwork for overlap between DiPhi and student government. 

“Around the early 1900s when that sort of system ended, surprisingly, the people who are into debating politics are also the type of people who’d be interested in student government, right?” he said. 

However, Richards said DiPhi’s entry into student government can be traced to 2021, when Richards and fellow student Anna Fiore ran for Undergraduate Senate.

“DiPhi started getting interested and involved in Student Government in an organized way when Anna Fiore and I ran for Senate in 2021 to put a focus on campus food insecurity and fix some election rules we thought were unfair or likely illegal,” Richards said. 

He said one of their primary goals was to amend legislation that had shrunk the size of the undergraduate senate in recent years. Taking advantage of low voter turnout during midterm elections, Richards recruited candidates, including many from DiPhi, his existing social network at the time. Richards also said they recruited a substantial number of non-DiPhi members.

“We recruited a ton of people and they all won, more or less unopposed,” he said. “And they all got into undergraduate Senate and suddenly I had a working majority senate to like, play with, which I don’t think was something that I had really contemplated.”

This new majority enabled Richards to enact reforms, particularly in allocating student fees. Previously, student organizations could only receive funding through reimbursement, which posed challenges for clubs planning large-scale events. He said his team implemented changes that allowed for direct payments, making funding more accessible and equitable. 

“Opinions differ very strongly about whether or not this was a genuine attempt to improve things or like a scheme, and I think probably the truth is somewhere in between as it is so often with these things,” Richards said. 

He said DiPhi members were involved with student government during his time at UNC, but not in a systemic way. Richards added that he and Fiore’s campaign was “definitely the start of what’s happening now.”

“There’s a lot more understanding and there’s a lot more interest in power vested in the undergraduate Senate than there was when I joined when I started out,” he said.

This approach to student governance has created concerns about its potential overreach and undermining of democratic processes. 

"A hybrid regime"

Richards compared student government to managing a “fantasy football team” for “government nerds.” He said it gives members the opportunity to experiment with governance structures and processes, like the district system and constitution, while developing skills and networking.

"Having those kind of people running the pretty serious appropriations process is probably good," he said. "And having those people network with administrators and be able to do lobbying is probably not always bad, although definitely sometimes."

While he acknowledged the positive outcomes of DiPhi’s involvement, he said having people from a “high engagement organization” has its downsides. He also cited interpersonal conflicts between DiPhi members which spilled into student government and caused disruptions.

"When I passed a bill we expanded the size of senate and then ran 30 of my friends for senate and took over, not everyone was thrilled about that," he said. "Most notably the student body president." 

One former DiPhi member who was involved in student government, senior Sophie Van Duin, has been outspoken about her concerns about the overlap. Van Duin created a 27-page ‘Subversive Guide to Student Government’ outlining other trends within student leadership prior to her resignation as chair of the Board of Elections in Fall 2024. 

Now, as a graduate, Richards expressed a desire for deeper engagement in student governance from different parts of campus. 

"Is it great that student government functions as a hybrid regime right now? Probably not," Richards said. "I think now that it exists, it will become more socialized and maybe other groups will run slates. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see BSM run one. I think that adding more structure to it is, in general, good."

@calebherrera

enterprise@dailytarheel.com