Final club

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A final club is an undergraduate social club at Harvard College.

Origins

The historical basis for the name "final clubs" descends from a time when Harvard had a variety of clubs for students of each class year, with students of different years being in different clubs, and the "final clubs" were so named because they were the last social club a person could join before graduation.

The clubs

There are currently eight all-male final clubs at Harvard:

There is also one all-male social club, The Oak.

History

Each of the male clubs traces its roots to the early 20th century and before, while five all-female social clubs have been founded recently and are called the Bee, the Isis, the Pleiades, the Sabliere Society, and La Vie. Another women's organization, the Seneca, distinguishes itself as a "501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization that is often misidentified as a final club." Several other clubs are also 501(c)(3) organizations and engage in some community service. The Bee was founded in 1991; The Seneca in 1999; Isis in 2000; Pleiades in 2002; Sabliere in 2002; and La Vie in 2008.[4]

(The co-ed Signet Society, Harvard Crimson, Harvard Advocate and Harvard Lampoon also have selective membership, but their charters define them as something other than social organizations, based on their literary or artistic characteristics.)

Eight of the male clubs own real estate in Harvard Square. Clubhouses usually include dining halls, libraries, and game rooms. Most are staffed with chefs, stewards, and other paid personnel. Most serve lunch and dinner meals at regular schedules. The Delphic Club boasts a regulation-size squash court.[5]

The Bee Club rents space from the Fly Club at 45 Dunster Street in a building that was previously the D.U. (the "Duck") before half the club became the Oak Club and half merged with The Fly. La Vie Club rents a colonial style house on Garden Street. The Isis rents a portion of The Owl's premises. The Sabliere Society recently obtained property in the Square. The Pleiades Society recently obtained an apartment on Waterhouse Street.[1]

None of the final clubs provide housing to undergraduate members, nor are they currently affiliated with national organizations. The Delphic began as Delta Phi, and the Fly began as Alpha Delta Phi.

In 1984, Harvard required that the final clubs either go co-educational or cease any connection with the College, as required by Title IX legislation. The clubs opted to become fully independent, and since then have maintained themselves beyond university regulation. The clubs own property in Cambridge, collectively assessed at over $17 million as of 2006.

Historically, there was more differentiation among the clubs. Years ago Harvard College freshmen could join a freshman club, then a "waiting club," and finally a "final club." Of the final clubs still in existence, only the P.C. and the Fox were initially founded as final clubs. The Phoenix SK is the amalgam of three separate clubs: the Phoenix, the Sphinx, and the Kalumet. The Iroquois Club built the edifice now owned by the Office for the Arts at Harvard, at 74 Mount Auburn Street. Their dance studio is the former Iroquois dining hall. The original Pi Eta Club built the structure now occupied by Upstairs On The Square, and Grendel's Den.

Each fall the clubs hold "punch season," during which select sophomores and juniors are invited to a series of social events. After each event, more likely prospective members, or "punches", are invited back. After the last event, called a "final dinner", each club elects 10–30 new members who then choose among the clubs they have been asked to join. Being "punched" refers to receiving an invitation to the first punch event. Once the punch process has begun, the verb "to punch" can also refer to a prospective member's attending the clubs' events, e.g. "Is he really punching both the Delphic and A.D.?"

The clubs have an undergraduate membership of around forty apiece, amounting to over 10% of the eligible male undergraduates, and 5% of eligible female undergraduates. The clubs have varying entrance restrictions for guests. Some final clubs often hold parties and open their doors to women guests and male guests of members. Others, like the A.D., have only in recent history opened their doors to female guests of members and still do not allow male guests. Others rarely welcome non-members. The Porcellian does not allow non-members past "the bicycle room" in the building's foyer; the Delphic permits its guests access only to its basement or courtyard through separate entrances; the Fox has a basement room with a separate entrance for guests.

Political backlash

In January 2006 national attention focused on the Harvard final club system as a result of the confirmation hearings of Samuel Alito. Alito came under criticism as a result of his membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a conservative group that opposed affirmative action and the admission of women into Princeton. One of the leading Democrats highlighting this charge was Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Conservatives, however, responded by pointing out Kennedy's membership in the Owl Club of Harvard. As a result of the political fallout, Senator Kennedy left the club.

In August of that same year, Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial candidate (and now Governor) Deval Patrick came under fire for his membership in the Fly Club.[6] Critics viewed Patrick's membership in the club as contradictory to his image as a champion of civil rights. Patrick countered that he had left the club in the early 1980s when he realized that it contradicted his values, although the club itself had Patrick's name on its roster as late as 2006.

The Social Network

The Phoenix – S K Club and Porcellian Club were both featured in the movie The Social Network.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Cambridge Historical Commission, "City of Cambridge, Landmarks and Other Protected Properties", 2009.
  2. ↑ "Cambridge Massachusetts City Council Calendar No. 23 Monday, December 4, 2000" (archived 2001). "Consent Agenda #17, relative to a Preservation Easement for 2 Holyoke Place (Fly Club)."
  3. ↑ "SPEE CLUB, INC., Summary Screen", The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, William Francis Galvin, Secretary Of The Commonwealth, Corporations Division
  4. ↑ "LA VIE CLUB INCORPORATED Summary Screen", 2008, The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, William Francis Galvin, Secretary Of The Commonwealth, Corporations Division
  5. ↑ Beam, Alex, "Harvard's Vanishing Squash Courts", Vanity Fair, May 20, 2009
  6. ↑ "Patrick says he quit The Fly Club in 1983 - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2011-10-17. 

Further reading

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