News
Don't join the Green Key Society if you're looking to relive the debaucheries of your Green Key experience during the school year.
Although Green Key Weekend is about all about hedonism, its namesake organization is rather tame.
The Green Key Society is primarily a service organization in its current inception, with a hands-on role in Orientation, Commencement, the Baker Bell Tower tours and various other events.
Green Key Society members are recognizable at these events as they don their trademark polo shirts.
The organization's constitution calls for 65 members, 20 of whom are selected by their classmates in elections during spring of sophomore year.
The rest of the members represent campus organizations that are at least two years old and have at least 20 members.
Green Key weekend's name ultimately proves to be borrowed from the society, not because it reflects the society's spirit but because the society has had a hands-on role in planning the weekend throughout much of its history.
The idea for the Green Key Society was a response to a welcome the Dartmouth football team had received when visiting the University of Washington in 1920.
The Knights of Hook, UW's service organization, met the Dartmouth team at the train station, provided transportation to the players' lodging, served as guides for the team and even introduced them to women in the area.
Orton Hicks '21, College Vice President at the time, helped to create a similar society after his experience in Washington.
Originally, Hicks wanted the society to be named the "Hospitality Society," but they chose the name "Green Key" because it reflected both the College with "green" and hospitality with "key," and the organization was born in 1921 following the merger of Sigma Pick and Shield and Sabre, two sophomore societies.
The Green Key Society's initial responsibilities included entertaining guests from other institutions, being a "vigilance committee" for freshmen and selecting ushers and cheerleaders.
