The Literary Societies were not the only organizations where debate practice occurred in the early twentieth century. During President Thomas Miller's tenure, two clubs arose that carried on the skills of public speaking.
Photographs of these clubs are available in the print and digital collections in the College Catalogs and in the Cohongoroota (circa 1912)
Before There Was Football. . .
Debate and forensics is as old as Shepherd itself. 2019's Summer exhibit honors Shepherd University's Division I National Champion debate team by tracing the history of the academic contest at the university back through to the first recognized student organizations, the Parthenian and Ciceronian Literary Societies.
Our current debate team's affiliation is with the Political Science and Global Studies Department rather than the English or Communications departments, as in prior years.