Despite some similarities with the Greek system, the campus' two undergraduate undergraduate societies, Amarna and Panarchy, differ significantly from other societies on campus, abiding by different standards and interacting differently with the College than their Greek counterparts.
The importance of differences between the two types of organizations came to the forefront after Monday's news that Alpha Theta fraternity and The Tabard fraternity, two co-educational CFS houses, were considering secession from the Greek system.
Panarchy, the College's first undergraduate society, was formed in 1993 out of a Greek house, while Amarna was created in January 1994.
Both are currently independent of the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council and maintain constitutions and guidelines that have important differences from those of many Greek houses including different membership guidelines.
Perhaps foremost among these distinctions is that membership is open to all students except freshman and there is no term specially designated for joining the society, as mandated by the College's "Undergraduate Society Policies and Procedures."
"We have no rush or pledge period," said Andrew Gray '01, a former president of Amarna. "Undergraduate societies are non-selective, and students can join at any time."
Shihwan Chung '02, President of the CFSC, affirmed the difference. "The Greek houses can choose their members, and are permitted to be selective," he said.
Another major difference written into the policies and procedures of undergraduate societies is the issue of coed membership. Unlike the houses of the Greek system, undergraduate societies are required to admit both men and women and to seek to maintain parity between the sexes.
In addition to rules for membership, there are other differences reflected in the individual constitutions of Amarna and Panarchy. According to former Amarna President John Brett '00, Amarna views itself as an institution guided not so much by pre-existing rules as by the needs and suggestions of current members.
"I would underline that there is no obligatory participation," he said. "All involvement is voluntary, and we strive to meet the needs of our current membership."
"We continually turn inward to evaluate how we're maintaining our ideals, goals and relationships as a community," he added.
Additionally, as part of its agreement with the College, which owns the house, Amarna is required to fill all its rooms with students who are currently taking classes. Panarchy remains independent from College ownership.
Under both the CFSC constitution as well as the undergraduate societies' policies and procedures, both sets of organizations are required to conform to the College's alcohol policy, which applies to all houses regardless of affiliation.
As for the fate of Alpha Theta and The Tabard, the two coed fraternities perhaps hoping to secede from the CFSC, the College guidelines offer little advice. The only certainty in the future seems to be that the rules both for undergraduate societies and for Greek houses are destined to change significantly.
"The consensus is we would support any Greek organization that wanted to make the switch," said Gray, who noted that at the moment both the Greek system and undergraduate societies are subject to change and revision under the provisions of the Student Life Initiative.
"We are really in a state of flux where the administration doesn't have a clear idea of where we are in relation to the College," he said. "The committee that will be addressing affinity houses and undergraduate and senior societies has not yet been formed but is expected to complete its work next fall," he added.
Chung agreed with Gray's assessment of the level of uncertainty, noting that the Greek Life Steering Committee has plans to release a new and revised set of rules for the Greek system in April.
"There is some danger for Tabard and Alpha Theta," Chung said, speaking about their potential secessions. "They're jumping into murky water and don't really know what they will be leaving behind."
According to Chung, until the roles of undergraduate societies and the Greek system are clearly laid out, which will not happen until at least next fall term, there seems little chance of a quick and simple resolution to their potentially conflicting roles as campus organizations.
