The tapping process was awkward, but fun. I didn't like that I couldn't confide in anyone, and was uncomfortable that not all of my close friends were tapped or were joining the same society as I was. It seemed like a big deal. In the end it wasn't, and after the drama and awkward missions of tap week was over, things went back to normal. Being in a secret society is a fairly private thing, as the name would imply, so after flairing it up for a few days you can go back to your pre-tap behavior. You don't have to compare notes with people in other societies or share details with people not affiliated with a society.
This ties into something that I've found to be particularly enjoyable about society membership while secrecy isn't watertight and your close friends will likely end up knowing what group you're in, it's a relief to have something that you have the right to keep private. By the time you're an upperclassman, it often feels like everyone knows everyone else's business, so creating a bit of a social buffer zone was refreshing. I'm not suggesting that everyone should take secrecy too seriously, because senior society membership becomes public after graduation anyway check out the canes at graduation if you're curious about the '11s. Still, I'd rather keep this bit of info to myself for now.
So what exactly does it mean to be in a secret society? We meet on Mondays, drink together and get to know each other. We hang out other times during the week, and occasionally we have daytime adventures. Some of us get tattoos. We have secret symbols, and get to play around with living our childhood spy/code breaker fantasies. Most societies, including the one I'm a member of, also have larger missions and work to bring together leaders on campus in a new social setting. We also have a more specific mission statement in addition to the leaders' club aspect, but writing about it would miss the point.
Our meetings are kind of like Greek meetings, in that they happen once a week and often involve drinking games. They're not like Greek meetings in that many of the societies (including mine) are co-ed, the meetings take place in undisclosed locations and the Monday night scene has a different dynamic than Wednesdays since going out afterwards to other parties isn't generally part of the plan, it makes everyone a bit more laid back and likely to hang out for longer.
Societies are also a great way to meet a diverse group of people you might not have known beforehand. Just as sophomore year is brightened for many by the addition of a new handful of co-pledges and Greek upperclassmen, my junior year benefited by the infusion of new blood into my social life. My society hasn't by any means replaced my normal social circle, but it has given me the chance to mix it up a bit.
Looking forward, societies also provide an additional network of Dartmouth students to connect with after graduation. When I have to leave the Dartmouth bubble, I'll be able to interact with other grads from my society, and can use the network in the same way I'd use a network from the other student organizations I'm involved in. I also think it'll be entertaining to tell people I was in a secret society.
All in all, I'm happy I was tapped. I probably would have been perfectly fine not being tapped as well, but there have been some definite perks that came with my society membership. For you eager underclassmen, you'll have great junior and senior years either way. And don't worry, there are still secret things you won't learn from this week's Mirror, so you have lots of adventures to look forward to if you do end up going down the society road.
