The Philosophy Club on San Jacinto College South Campus is where students who enjoy philosophical theories gather every week to exchange ideas and personal opinions in an open discussion.

The club’s student leader, Andy Cordova, is responsible for organizing and hosting the weekly meetings. Influenced by his older brother, he said he became interested in philosophy when he was quite young.

“My older brother has always been into critical thinking; thinking about all these big ideas,” Cordova said. “And it led me to develop an interest in it myself, including politics or social issues and metaphysical aspects.”

In addition to Cordova, South Campus Philosophy Professor Ferdinand Durano serves as the group’s faculty adviser. With little guidance from the faculty, Cordova, along with other club members, run the meetings and determine the topics of discussion. 

“The thing about the Philosophy Club is that the professors don’t come in and moderate,” he said. “They just leave it up to us.”

The club’s meetings are open to all students, which Cordova noted, are regularly attended by a core group of five individuals. However, he said, he wants to grow the group’s membership and host a few events, but accomplishing that has been a challenge.

“It is difficult to get exposure through San Jac in regards to putting on events,” he said. “There are a lot of things the school puts on that the students don’t even know are happening.”

However, he said, either this semester or the next, he hopes to organize a roundtable discussion where the South Campus club meets with its counterpart from the Central Campus for a philosophical discussion.

Meanwhile, Cordova noted his greatest desire is to organize a large gathering, open to all students, to participate in an open mic discussion in one of the school’s larger facilities.

“My ultimate goal would be to have an auditorium full of people,” Cordova said, “with an open discussion on whatever philosophical topics the audience chooses.”

The Philosophy Club meets Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 118 of the Academic building-North Wing (S7). Further information is available from Andy Cordova at [email protected].