Two and a half years after its founding, Amarna undergraduate society's membership is burgeoning, and the organization may begin looking for a new physical plant.
Amarna, which began with seven students in the winter of 1994, boasted more than 60 active members Spring term, according to Treasurer Scott Rankin '98.
Amarna is located in a College-owned house on East Wheelock Street beyond Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
But Amarna members say the society may be ready to find a larger, more centrally located house.
"We want a more centrally located house" where "people would see ... and understand us more," Vice-President Holly Eaton '98 said.
Amarna member Mark Hoagland '98 said members "would certainly love to have a bigger house."
Hoagland said members have spoken with Associate Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders about a preliminary housing proposal for Fall term.
"We're about as big as the largest frats, yet we have one of the smallest houses on campus," he said. "We contribute something that doesn't need to be exiled to the other side of campus.
Hoagland said there are rumors about a future home for the society, but he said nothing is concrete.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said Amarna is fulfilling the goals of its founders.
"It has managed to fill a need on campus," he said. "Its objective is to provide a place where men and women could live and have the benefits of a small setting without the exclusivity and choice and selection associated with other groups."
Amarna "has done very well, flourished from very modest beginnings," he said.
Rankin called Amarna "an innovative force on campus."
"It is doing things undergraduate and Greek societies haven't done before," he said.
Eaton said "Amarna is a place where anyone and everyone would feel welcome."
She said Amarna's character is defined by "severely ranging personalities" from male to female and conservative to liberal.
"We're all going in so many directions," she said. "There is not just one focus."
Amarna President Abigail Augusta '98 said because Amarna is so young, individual classes have a greater influence on the house's future.
"The classes that come in continually define the house," she said. "We have a lot of freedom to do what we want with Amarna."
Augusta said Amarna's relative youth distinguishes it from fraternities and sororities.
"Since it's so new, it's not so based on tradition," she said. "We can try out things we want to do ... creating our own traditions and continually changing them."
Augusta and Rankin said Amarna is less dependent on alcohol than other groups.
"One of our principles is to have moderation," she said. "And although we have [alcohol] at parties, it's not a focus ... there is no pressure."
Amarna does not sponsor a rush or pledge period. And members say joining the society involves no pressure.
"You walk in, sign a card and that's it," Eaton said.
"In the fall we have open houses at the same time as rush, so we are there as [students] are looking at fraternities and sororities," she said.
Rankin said, "We're non-selective. Nothing is mandatory."
"You can put as much into it as you want," he said.
