The First Meeting of the Year

You should have two main goals for the first meeting of the year. The first is to motivate club members to study philosophy by emphasizing its relevance to life. The second is to provide a brief, broad introduction to Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.

To accomplish these goals, we have provided discussion questions based on Rand’s speech to the 1974 graduating class of West Point Academy, "Philosophy: Who Needs It?" and a short article, "Introducing Objectivism." Both of these are relatively short and are available online or in article form in The Ayn Rand Reader.

Tips for running the meeting:

1. Announce the meeting with an email a few days before so that members have a chance to look at the texts ahead of time if they want.
2. Introduce yourself and the club at the beginning with a sales pitch about why the club will be a great addition to their lives. Briefly explain: why you started the club, what attendees can expect from club meetings, and what you’re hoping the club can accomplish this year.
3. Get to know each other. One of the perks of participating in a club is getting to meet others who are interested in Ayn Rand's ideas. Make sure to have everyone introduce themselves. Suggest that they say their name, major, year in school, and what got them interested in Objectivism.
4. Be prepared. Have several copies of the meeting plan available to pass out, and have some extras for new members. Pass these out at the beginning of the meeting so that members can take notes and refer to them throughout. Also, bring a copy of Atlas Shrugged to use for the second wrap-up reading exercise for "Philosophy: Who Needs It?"
5. Listen to (or read) "Philosophy: Who Needs It?" and read "Introducing Objectivism" aloud. Follow or intersperse each text by reviewing the outline and having club members answer the discussion questions.
6. Stay on track. Keep the discussion focused and keep the goals of the meeting in mind. This will help keep you from getting bogged down in details. But feel free to allow members to bring up their own questions and examples in regard to the texts. (See also our tips for discussions and how to keep discussions friendly.)
7. End on time. If you are running low on time, only discuss the starred questions. Don't skip the closing, though, because it is important to emphasize the connection between philosophy and your own lives.

The first meeting of the year is when people decide whether to participate in the club. Running a successful, engaging first meeting will help get members interested, motivated, and active in the club. If the meeting goes well and everyone feels that they’ve learned something, they will come back and probably tell others about the club too.

See and download the OCN Meeting Plans

Colleen S. is a former president of the University of Chicago Objectivist club.