Signing of the Roll Meeting--Thursday, February 9

I. Announcemnents: Including, but not limited to: Banquet--email Lauren Maloche with the information that you're coming, and pay John Wass. Provies: MANDATORY Lit and Debate Workshop on February 14 at 6:30 pm--come for lots of info and fun!

II. Signing of the Roll--Unfortunately for anyone aspiring to the illustrious role of Secretary in the future, Gene raised the bar by actually having the minutes book available for the provisionals to sign. We had 11 people become provisional members of the Society tonight! Pictures to come on the flickr account shortly...

III. Three Events of the Week--in lieu of actual events, Mike gave us some of Robert Frost's poetry, including "Acquainted with the Night."

IV. Lits
-- Rachel Carr told us about interviewing with the Jeff, and suggested that anyone who comes to Jefferson Hall on a Thursday night will "never be the same," reading "Ode to Jefferson Hall" by Joseph Freeman.
-- Jacqueline Minneman, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, offered several short selections from author Nicholas Sparks before offering her own description of Jefferson Hall in his style.
-- Preston Gisch read Orson Scott Card, but not the science fiction for which he is famous. Instead we got an often enlightening, often humorous, and often disgusting discourse on toilet paper.
-- Lindsay Riegel read the first chapter of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, an excerpt which located its narrative in the experiences of a missionary's wife with her four daughters in Africa.
-- Gwen Kirk read a thought-provoking children's tale of fulfillment when a small fish named Arlene gets to become what she always wanted to be a sardine (by definition, a small fish stuffed in a tin can with oil). Arlene the Sardine provided many lessons for us all.
Then a number of unscheduled lits were given from the floor.
-- Peter Trauernicht read a chapter on jokes about the death of JFK and a comedic birth from Lewis Blacks' Nothing Sacred.
-- Mike Dindoffer offered the "true" tale of St. Valentine (which had some really striking parallels to events that I may or may not remember...) and gave flowers to his girlfriend. Very cute.
-- Katie Bray, piggy-backing on Ally Gold's Absinthe Donuts story by Tucker Max from last year, told how she had gone to the Tucker Max book signing that afternoon and then read a brand-new story, The Foxfield Weekend (about UVA's very own sundress-wearing, booze-drinking outdoor cocktail party--add horses to taste) from his new book, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell.

IV. Mao is Dead; You're the new Chairman of the CPC; Resolved: Maintain traditional Maoism. Dan Wiser (PM) and Vadim Elenev (MG) against Kelly Webster (LO) and David Rhodenbaugh (MO). This debate was particularly fun for two reasons: the debaters actually clashed and developed their points (as opposed to merely reiterating them) and they all had a really good sense of context (everyone was "Comrade" and the glorious party came first, etc., etc.). There was some confusion about the vote, but the opinion poll came out 9-16-1, and the quality of debate poll came out 12-12-5, with Ben breaking the tie in favor of the opposition this time.

V. Adjourn to the College Inn.