THE INDEPENDENT PARTY
The Independent Party is the oldest and largest party in the Union. We are the only party that does not formally align itself with either the Right or Left. Our motto is ‘Hear All Sides,’ an imperative that we strive to live by. Don’t confuse us for milquetoast moderates, though. At our weekly debates and social events, you will hear bold expressions of beliefs that resist the claustrophobic categories dominant in today’s politics. We pride ourselves on our openness, our tradition of lively yet respectful debate, and our intellectually diverse while close-knit community.
Recently, the Independent Party has debated the following resolutions:
R: Turn Your Brother in for Murder
R: Stop Crimes Before They Happen
R: Separate Art from the Artist
R: Make Politicians Retire
R: Legalize Prostitution
R: Be a Gentleman
To learn more about the Independent Party, visit their website.
To attend an Independent Party debate, reach out to Chief Whip Samantha Tishler (samantha.tishler@yale.edu)
Along with our debates, the Independent Party hosts a wide variety of social events throughout the academic year. Whether watching a movie, arguing over drinks, or having a margarita mixer, IPsters are always having fun together. As we like to say, we take our ideas seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. The IP is one of the closest groups of friends you will find at Yale; the friendships formed in the IP stay with us forever.
We also go to New York City every semester to meet with prominent politicians, journalists, business people, artists, and media personalities. In recent semesters, we have meet with former New York Mayor Ed Koch, Obama Administration health care expert Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, Editor-in-Chief of The New Atlantis Eric Cohen, CEO of the New York Public Library Tony Marx, UN Ambassador John Bolton, Historian Eric Foner, and our late alumnus William F. Buckley, Jr.
“Yale,” George Pierson famously said, “is at once a tradition, a company of scholars, a society of friends.” The Independent Party is much the same.
