What is finals club

A controversial take, maybe, but give me the chance to explain. Before I came to campus, final clubs were an enigma. To outsiders, these clubs are painted with the ambiguity, intrigue, and antiquity of a National Treasure plot. All I knew is that they had to be different from the fraternities that dot the landscape of universities and colleges in the South. They had to be, right? It was Harvard, after all.

Fraternities and sororities, especially those in the South, also have a very distinct reputation. Many find their closest friends within sororities and fraternities, and upon graduating, turn to their Greek-letter organizations for connections. Both systems are known for being the center of social life for college students, and both have a history of restricting who is allowed to attend parties and events.

Parties are not trivial matters. The fact that the majority of students are excluded from the spaces where the majority of the fun is often perceived to happen is demoralizing and undemocratic.

One, a powerful proactive vision of increasing inclusion and the other, a bastion of privilege and exclusion. The good news is that the first force has been winning. First, Harvard built the House system to prevent segregation by wealth. All the while, Harvard diversified its class. Today, Harvard students are majority people of color and over 15 percent of Harvard undergraduates are first-generation college students. To its credit, Harvard makes extraordinary investments to defend democratic interactions on its campus.

Starting now, Harvard needs to apply the same tools it used to promote a democratic vision in admissions and residential housing to its social life. Final clubs, on the other hand, succeed because they have the exact opposite characteristics. LULU Press. June 2, Jessica Tisch. November 29, History final: The story and lore of Harvard's unique social organizations.

The Harvard Independent. June 22, Web site: Home. Mcauley, James K. October 5, The Men's Final Clubs. December 27, Thorne, Gabriela. July 16, February 12, Web site: Delta Kappa Epsilon Alpha. Web site: Eta Sigma Chi. Web site: About Us. October 14, October 17, Web site: What is the Seneca, Anyway?

Flyby the Harvard Crimson. Boston, MA. June 4, Beam, Alex. May 20, Harvard's Vanishing Squash Courts. Vanity Fair. Jonathan A. March 18, Granade, Matthew W.

Web site: History. The Oak Club. April 27, Web site: CHC Staff. Cambridge, MA. Cambridge Historical Commission. August 6, Fahs, C. January 29, Delwiche, Noah J. September 11, Web site: Khurana, Rakesh. Untitled letter addressed "Dear President Faust" [Opening "I write today to convey the College's recommendations for addressing the problems created for our community by the discriminatory membership policies of undergraduate unrecognized single-gender social organizations, including Final Clubs".

PDF, letter on stationery, from college. Saul, Stephanie. May 7,