Social clubs continue through Christian perspective

By Joy May

For three days each fall, cartoon characters and toga-adorned Roman citizens descend on the AU campus wandering the valley, sitting in classrooms and singing silly songs in the cafeteria. They’re in search of the ultimate “rush” — getting to know their fellow brothers and sisters during social club Recruitment Week, the third week of each new school year.

“Rush,” as the once-weeklong event was formerly dubbed, brings out the creative and the crazy — from Novus Dux “Dux on the Pond” day, where each member is dressed like a water creature (frogs, ducks, amoebas), to the traditional aroma that lingers from the garlic and onion necklace adorning the necks of all Dativus recruits. Male and female clubs often join together for some activities, promoting the “brother/sister” relationship AU social clubs enjoy. Camarada and Dativus, L’amifidel and Novus Dux, Eniteo and Agathos, and Xenos and Amici all enjoy those fraternal bonds, while Arete Pep and Sachem still stand as two of the original organizations on AU’s campus.

Social clubs have their origin at AU as early as the mid-1930s, when a group of women came together to form a “cheer block” for the men’s athletic teams on campus. “PEP” Club was officially recognized in 1935, and PEP stood for “Christian Personality, Education and Progress.” Club members wore orange corduroy jackets to school games, and the women maintained a small membership to ensure that everyone in the club knew each other. Pep later added “Arete” at the beginning of their name — the word is Greek for “excellence.” More recently the club has changed Pep’s initials to mean “Profession” rather than “Progress.”

The male response to Pep Club was Boosters, formed in 1936. They also attended college athletic functions and attempted to foster school spirit by sitting in a block at games. Sachem followed in 1937. The word “sachem” is an Algonquin word for leader, and the men of Sachem desired to exhibit leadership on the university campus by following their motto, “God first, others second, self last.”

During the next five decades, the university spawned more than 20 social clubs, from the freshman-only “Souerettes” (women) and “Green Knights”(men) designed to orient new students with the campus, to the Jemadarians (men) and Dames (women) clubs for married students. The Crusaders, once a club for freshman men, changed its name to Arcita in 1962, and also parented long-standing Amici (in 1961) from former Crusaders members.

Native American language offered names to several clubs on campus, including Nawakas and Winnetaska, both social clubs with a focus on friendship and athletic fitness. Other clubs relied on pure creativity for their names; CIHU, a club for freshman women, took its name from the club motto — “Can I Help You?” Men’s club, IV-C, formed in 1941, garnered their name from a Roman numeral and the club’s purpose: Church, College, Country and Club.

After the late 1940s, new club charters were at a standstill, with only a few popping up in the next 20 years — Camarada (1942-43), TRIAD (1948-49), Fide et Amore (1955-56) and Taeda (1961-62). Then, in the early ’70s, a new wave of fraternity swept through the campus, birthing nearly a half dozen new groups, including Adelphos and Adelpha Philos, the first clubs designed to specifically promote intercultural relationship building. Two new men’s groups, Agathos and Dativus, were also added.

By the mid-’80s and early ’90s, clubs like Novus Dux and L’amifidel, both born out of a desire to focus more intently on spiritual development and fostering friendship, were created. (Both of these clubs dropped enough membership to lose their charters and were “restarted” in the late 1990s.) Around this same time, the all-male “God Squad” and their “Secret Sisters” formed clubs in support of men pursuing ministry opportunities. Secret Sisters, in their original design, were intended to offer encouragement and a “boost” to the men of God Squad by sending notes and goodies through campus mail. Xenos and Eniteo were also created in later years.

While not all these clubs still exist on the AU campus, the spirit of social clubs is still alive and well. According to Brent Baker, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students, social clubs bring purpose and vitality to campus life. “I do think social clubs provide some of the liveliness of campus life. Certainly they do for the groups themselves, but they serve a function for the larger community. They provide things like Cheap Thrills and Encore, and staff the booths at the Homecoming fair. I think for the members, social clubs provide a place of belonging and fellowship and growth.”

And though social clubs have a long and strong history on this campus, there are always those opponents of the groups who say they promote exclusivism, or that they’re just a private university’s version of Greek sororities or fraternities. Baker points out, however, that there are distinct differences between secular universities and their social groups and AU’s clubs.

“We try and live out social clubs through a Christian perspective. The biggest difference is that recruitment week and operation of the clubs comes from a faith perspective. What other universities’ groups share is good brotherhood and sisterhood, and obviously fraternities and sororities are service-oriented as well, but what they lack is Christ. So they’re not going to have the same kind of potential for connectivity that our clubs would,” explains Baker.

Advisors for these groups provide mentoring relationships and see that the university is honored by the activities of each group. Carolyn (Falls) Caldwell BS ’64, professor in the Falls School of Business, has sponsored Arete Pep for the last four years. As a member and former president of Pep in her undergrad years, Caldwell’s fondness for the club’s purpose availed her to aid the women of Arete Pep as a sounding board and advisor for them. She feels clubs “provide our students an opportunity to serve others and, most importantly, an opportunity to develop leadership skills.”

Current members of campus social clubs also value the relationships they’ve formed with their club brothers and sisters. Novus Dux chaplain Joe Wisely says, “The end all benefit is accountability. There is nothing like having 40 guys who can hold you accountable to living a life for Christ. I rushed because I desired a stronger commitment to the Lord and desired to make some stronger friendships along the way.”

And those friendships do matter. Former Eniteo member (and one of its founders) Jaymie (Brooks) Dieterle BA ’92 recalls that the relationships she formed with her brother club, Agathos, continue to be meaningful even today. “I remember the formals and the parties and Rush, but I have even greater memories with friends I might never have known had it not been for club.”