The University of St Andrews Union Debating Society is a student debating society at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Tracing its origins back to 1794 and established in 1890, it is one of the oldest debating societies of its kind in the English-speaking world. It also holds weekly public debates in the Lower Parliament Hall, which are free and open to all students - the only Scottish Debating Society to do this. In 2015, the society became the first in Scotland to win the European Universities Debating Championship, a competition that they compete at every year. The society's motto remains to be "pro amicitia et litteris" meaning "for friendship and learning". History Founding The origins of the University of St Andrews Debating Society can be traced to the formation in 1794 of the university Literary Society. However the society suffered from a lack of sufficient funding, so much so that apart from joining and annual fees, much of the Society's income came from the imposition of fees for lateness, absence, or the use of 'improper language'. At this stage of its history, the Literary Society operated under a strange mixture of egalitarianism and exclusiveness. Initially, there was no president of the Society and meetings were chaired by each member in rotation. The only distinct posts allowed were that of Secretary and Treasurer. In addition, all decisions were taken collectively by the Society as a whole. However, membership was limited to twenty-five students, was strictly by election, and no 'strangers' were permitted to attend debates. In 1846, The Classical Society, a rival debating society, was re-established and was soon vying with the Literary Society for the attention of the student body. However, it soon became apparent that there were simply not enough students at the university to justify the existence of two debating societies and consequently in 1890 the Classical Society and Literary Society merged to form the Union Debating Society. Development The acquisition of James Crichton's House by the fledgling Students' Union afforded the Society a permanent home, although the two organisations had no official ties. This, and the fact that the Union Debating Society now had over seventy members (a third of the total student population), gave the Society renewed confidence and a greater importance than ever before in the lives of students. In 1898 the Society decided to form Debates Board, in order to manage the