Amarna, the College's second co-ed undergraduate society, held its first full-fledged organizational meeting last night to actively seek new members.
About 50 interested students came to the meeting in Blunt Alumni Center to learn more about the group and how it will operate. Seven students, led by Duncan Hodge '94 and Christine Carter '94, formed Amarna at the end of Fall term and the group received College recognition at the beginning of this term.
As an undergraduate society, Amarna is similar to a co-ed Greek house, but with no rush or pledge process. Students can join Amarna by attending a new-member retreat this Friday night and then signing a membership card. Members must pay $25 dues this term and $75 next term, Hodge said.
The retreat, at the Dartmouth Outing Club's house on Occom Pond, will feature events designed to let members get to know each other.
"We'll have an opportunity for people to all interact with other people to see if it's something they are really interested in," Carter said. "The card-signing will be afterwards."
English Lecturer Terry Osborne, who advised the seven founders, told the students at the open house last night that his work with Amarna was the most important thing he had done in his seven years at Dartmouth.
"You have a chance to be a part of something probably as revolutionary as anything at Dartmouth," Osborne said. "This could be a change in direction in the social scene."
The group founded Amarna in hopes that it would become a viable social alternative to the Greek system. Members may not be active in other Greek houses or undergraduate societies.
The group distributed its nine-part statement of purpose at the meeting. Most of the statements revolve around making the organization open to the entire College community.
Although Amarna does not yet have a physical plant, Hodge said Pelton and Turco have identified a building for them. Hodge said he did not know the specific building but said he expected to find out in the next couple of weeks.
Claire Unis '95, editor in chief of Spare Rib, a women's issues publication, said at the open house that Amarna hopes to have a diverse group of members.
"Every single person here has a hand in shaping what Amarna is going to be," she said. "We're not trying to establish traditions that are going to be passed down for the sake of traditions."
Andrew Smith '94, former Student Assembly vice president, said Amarna's name came from a city in ancient Egypt that broke free from traditional society to form an ideal culture.
"They were breaking away from things that weren't as they should be," Smith said.
Amarna's constitution caps membership at 75, but Carter said the number is not written in stone, and could be changed if necessary. Hodge said he hopes more undergraduate societies will form if there was sufficient demand.
The group has two parties planned for later this term. The alcohol policy that applies to Greek houses, which limits the number of kegs at each party, will apply to undergraduate societies, but with several minor modifications, Carter said.
