today maintain a steady membership. The Societies still meet together as a Joint Senate with the members of the Philanthropic Society sitting on the north side of the Dialectic Society Chamber and members of the Dialectic Society sitting on the south side of the chamber. Each society is responsible for putting forward a slate of candidates for Joint Senate officers every semester. These officers include the President of the Joint Senate, President Pro-Tempore, Critic, Clerk, Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Historian. Membership Membership in the societies is open to all UNC students. Students become senators by petitioning either the Dialectic or Philanthropic Society. Determining Society Traditionally, the society a student petitions is determined by their county of origin. If the student was from North Carolina, to the east of Orange County, they would petition the Philanthropic Society. If they are from North Carolina, to the west of Orange County, they would petition the Dialectic Society. If the student came from Orange County, or was from another state or country entirely, they could choose their society. However, in their Fall Session of 2012, this was constitutionally altered and any prospective member has the ability to petition either society, regardless of their place of origin. Although once an integral part of determining membership, this tradition is maintained as simply that, a tradition, instead of a requirement. Sponsorship When a prospective member decides to petition, they may ask any senator in the society they intend to join to act as their sponsor. A sponsor takes on the duty of teaching the petitioner about the history and function of the societies. It is often the case that potential petitioners will ask a senator who often participates in debates or currently in an executive position due to their visibility. Eligibility To become eligible, a student must attend three meetings, including the one prior to their petitioning, and must speak at least four times. One of these speaking occasions must be a speech given during the floor speech section of the meetings program. Petitioning Speech The petitioner must then deliver a petitioning speech on a topic of their choosing and field questions from the joint senate. Queries may challenge the petitioner to defend claims that they have made in their speech. The petitioner is also asked to complete a history section, comprised either of questioning on DiPhi history or of an oral report on a topic of DiPhi