On occasion Eucleians hosted open forums for important topics of the day, inviting lecturers of great popularity and fame. Edgar Allan Poe, who lived in New York City, was a guest reciter at at least one Eucleian and Philomathean society joint meeting. Politics, current affairs, literature (especially the Gothic and Romantic popular in the era), and university events seems to have been the most popular topics for internal essays, orations and discussions. Until the turn of the 20th century, officers of the Eucleians also gave public speeches at commencement, apparently occupying a central position in those functions.