Social Options on the Rise

When Eliot J. Rushovich ’03 was a sophomore, he feared the fraternity he’d just joined, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), was on its last legs.

“Going into my sophomore year, we lost all of our founding fathers and ended up [with] 12 people,” Rushovich said.

Now those worries seem far behind. AEPi is flourishing, with 40 members at last count. Indeed, Greek life at Harvard seems alive and healthy.

“Toward the end of the year every weekend, one fraternity was having a party,” said Rushovich, a former AEPi president. “Fraternities are offering an alternative social environment, one that is more interested in everyone having a good time.”

More and more, some students say, final clubs are ceasing to be as dominant a force in the social lives of students—both men and women.

The founding this year of Harvard’s third female social club and its fifth fraternity was the latest sign of the upswing in organized social options available to undergraduates.

The growth of some groups is also furthering a slow movement to give women more control over their social lives.

A Space of Their Own

Founded by 16 women last spring to provide another outlet for women to socialize with each other, the Isis touts itself as a middle ground between the application-dependent Seneca and the exclusive Bee club.

“Same-sex clubs have many advantages for building friendships,” said acting President and Co-Punchmaster Sarah C. Geisler ’03 in October. “We wanted to give women this option.”

The popularity of these alternatives shows in the numbers. At its first punch this fall, the Isis punched 130 women, wooing them with wine and cheese. About 40 were accepted.

About 100 women applied this year to the Seneca, a social club founded in 1999 which also emphasizes women’s advocacy. The Seneca accepted 17.

And nearly 90 women rushed the Delta Gamma (DG) sorority, which eventually accepted 26 new members.

“It’s very important even for people who aren’t in sororities to have options open where women have control over their social scene,” said Chafen C. Watkins ’03, vice president of DG.

Their philosophy seems to have appeal.

Seneca President Sarah A. Levine-Gronningsater ’03 said that around 800 people attended the group’s “Frost” party in December and more than 1,000 students attended their Red Party at Boston’s Roxy club in March.

As an alternate to final clubs events, DG has hosted events like a formal on a harbor cruise and a date auction to raise money for their national charity.

And as of February, the Isis became the first female social organization—bypassing older groups like the Seneca, the Bee, DG and Kappa Alpha Theta—to gain a physical home for their group.

“I think it’s great that any women’s group has a space on campus,” then- Seneca President Alison E. Fisher ’02 said in February. “Space is very limited for women’s groups.”

Isis also leased an apartment near the Square.

The expense and lack of space in Harvard Square has long been a problem that new social organizations face in starting up their groups.

With no homes of their own, women’s social groups have been forced to use final clubs and clubs in Boston to host their meetings and campus-wide events.

While the Seneca looked into buying the Mt. Auburn Street house formerly occupied by the Sigma Chi fraternity, they have yet to successfully purchase a house for themselves.

“We can only keep our fingers crossed that the chance to purchase a house comes sooner than later,” Levine-Gronningsater said.

Greek Invasion

But women are not the only ones who are searching for social circles of their own.

While final clubs have long been the locus of social life for a select group of men on campus, male Greek organizations increased their campus presence this year.

This spring, 38 males founded a new fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, after representatives from the national organization recruited Harvard students to start a chapter.

With a “pikiki” party in April, the fraternity quickly established itself as another Saturday night option on campus.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), which was started by four students last spring, has grown to about 40 members.

SAE President Matthew I. Tomey ’03 said the growth of SAE is a “testament to the renaissance that’s going on here.”

“The increase in the number of fraternities is a strong sign that Greek life can succeed at Harvard,” Tomey said. “A year ago students would be much more inclined to just think of final clubs on campus, while fraternities were more marginalized.”

Tomey said their chapter is the fastest growing chapter of the national organization, and added that they expect to be recognized as an official SAE chapter by the fall.

Like the women’s groups, the biggest hurdle that fraternities face is the lack of their own space.

Sigma Chi, the most established fraternity on campus, is struggling to survive even as the fraternity scene grows in popularity, as its energies are focused on housing woes.

Founded at Harvard in 1989, Sigma Chi had been residing in a house at 43-45 Mt. Auburn Street since the Pi Eta fraternity, which owns the building, was disbanded.

The Pi Etas decided to lease their building to Sigma Chi in 1996 in exchange for Sigma Chi making much-needed physical improvements to the building.

But last spring, the Pi Etas voted to sell the house and the relationship between the two groups became embittered.

Sigma Chi and Pi Eta are currently embroiled in two lawsuits, with Sigma Chi suing Pi Eta for the right to remain in the house and Pi Eta counter-suing Sigma Chi, alleging they did not fulfill their agreement to make repairs to the house.

With the suit yet to go to trial, Sigma Chi is homeless. They now meet in members’ dorm rooms and rent out spaces around the Square for parties.

But Sigma Chi is not giving up.

“My experience is that [Sigma Chi] is not the house. It’s experiencing relationships,” said Chris J. Harrington ’03, president of Sigma Chi.

Pudding for All

More established social organizations—from the Hasty Pudding Social Club to the final clubs—encountered a few bumps in the road this year as well.

This year marked the beginnings of the democratization of the Hasty Pudding Social Club’s punch process.

The club applied to the College for official student group status this fall in order to maintain their place in the Hasty Pudding building, which the University bought from the group’s graduate board in 2000.

The College granted the group official status on the condition that the exclusive social club’s punch process be opened to all undergraduates.

The Hasty Pudding held their first open punch in November, posting fliers around campus detailing the process instead of sending out invitations.

More than 100 students showed up in the required business attire to fill out the application, which stressed the non-discrimination clause that the College requires its student groups uphold.

Andrea L. Olshan ’02, then-president of the social club, said she was relieved at the positive turn-out.

“As president, it was very encouraging that so many people came out without being punched,” she said in November. “It was very heartwarming and reassuring for me. It’s been a rough ride.”

—Staff writer Anne K. Kofol can be reached at kofol@fas.harvard.edu.