“Faculty Rules Concerning Secret Societies” also stated that if students’ commitment to societies ever caused academic distractions, their society would be terminated. However, the percentage who did not belong to a frat and had below 60 percent was 3.5 percent. A document from the 1933-1934 school year reported that the percentage of seniors who belonged to a frat and had an average GPA below 60 percent was 7.3 percent. There were multiple other factors for the banning of secret societies, one of them being that fraternities were associated with plummeting grades.

No boys, or parents, could complain that we were snobbish, or tolerated snobbery,” the document states. The cost would obviously be lessened for each member. The methods by which boys would be assigned to one society instead of another would have to be carefully considered but the problem is not insuperable. This would allot to each of the existing societies approximately 60 members, or about twice as many as they have at present. “If, however, our primary object is to give all the undergraduates an even chance and avoid caste distinctions, we may get results now by requiring the secret societies to admit all the members of the two upper classes, to the number of more than 400. Although the official ban was announced in 2012, there was discussion regarding restrictions on secret societies and fraternities as far back as the mid-1900s.įor instance, in the 1944-1945 school year, a committee of faculty guardians put together a document of “Faculty Rules Concerning Secret Societies,” listing out new restrictions that fraternities and secret societies had to adhere to. The drawbacks of secret societies in the context of inclusivity at Andover drew concerns and resulted in their eventual ban. The idea of joining a fraternity seemed almost like a mirage, a faint image of something that one desperately wants but knows they will never obtain. However, those who were excluded from the rich and competitive world of secret societies developed a different perspective. fraternity, according to the 1941 Pot Pourri Yearbook. Rockefeller were both members of the A.U.V. Prominent figures like former president George H. The societies do take in, however, all the best athletes, the managers of teams, the playboys, and the “good fellows.” …At the present moment most, although not by any means all, of the “good” boys in school are society members,” wrote Fuess. In such cases the father frequently blames the school. found, to his sorrow, that his son was not acceptable, and this experience is not uncommon. Fuess, admissions for fraternities and secret societies were highly exclusive, based on popularity, athletic ability, and in part, familial connections. Groups like Kappa Omega Alpha (K.O.A.), Alpha Gamma Chi (A.G.C.), and Brothers of Auctoritas, Unitas, Veritas (A.U.V.) were housed in current dorms and administrative buildings like Alumni House, Benner House, and Graham House, respectively.Īccording to a 1943 Statement by former headmaster Claude M. Late night meetings, boarding together, and anxious eyes eager to read a letter confirming initiation were all part of the secret society experience. Fraternities legally existed at Andover up until about eight years ago when a ban was put in place, according to Paul Murphy, Instructor in Mathematics, and former Dean of Students.

The secret society 2021