The Final Score: The Year in Final Clubs

The first door slammed closed Jan. 20. And the bang was heard across campus.

In the course of five months, final clubs, the single-sex social organizations with a lengthy legacy at Harvard, have undergone a complete metamorphosis from fraternity-like party hot spots to their gentlemen's club roots.

Twenty years ago, most undergraduates had never heard of a final club, let alone visited one. But over the past two decades, as the clubs allowed non-members to enter, and as the randomization of the Houses detracted from campus social life, the clubs' buildings took on the role of party venues.

Even before the guest policies changed, though, there were signs that the clubs were not pleased with their perceived obligation to the student body.

A.D. President John H. "Jake" Heller '99 said the clubs felt a need to give students the kind of social life the College does not offer.

"We bear the social responsibilities of frats," Heller said. "We are losing our identity as anything more than a social provider."

The only exception to this transformation was the Porcellian club, founded in 1792 and the oldest of the organizations, which has never entertained non-members in its Mass Ave. building.

Graduate members of the other clubs, who fondly recall the buildings as quiet places for reading the paper or drinking with the boys, rather than open, late night parties, were not fans of the apparent change in the clubs' mission.

Rev. Douglas W. Sears '69, president of the Inter-Club Council, said graduate members believe Harvard should carry more of the social burden and allow the clubs to return to their original purpose.

"My rallying cry for the last 10 years I've been involved in this is 'more club, less frat,'" Sears said.

Phoenix S. K. (PSK) club Graduate President Andrew F. Saxe '84 said the state of the clubs has been agitating his graduate board for some time.

"The situation had to settle down," he said. "It's been building for three years."

Beyond the desire to reinstate the original way of life in the clubs, graduate members as well as undergraduates have grown increasingly worried about liability issues.

In 1997, MIT first-year Scott M. Krueger died from alcohol poisoning at the MIT chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity

After being charged with manslaughter, the fraternity disbanded.

"I think a lot of [the transformation] was triggered with the Scott Krueger incident," said Owl President Jonathan Powers '00. "It blew up again after the legal decision was handed down this year."

Clubs fear such legal action because if people drink at a club and then hurt themselves, the clubs' officers--both graduate and undergraduate--are legally responsible.

By keeping guests out, clubs ensure that they will avoid expensive legal battles. Although the clubs have large endowments, it can still be a struggle to meet all club costs, including property taxes, physical upkeep and club events.

"We just don't have enough money to deal with the exorbitant legal fees," Powers said.

In recent years, clubs have also had problems with destruction of property, by both members and non-members.

"Things that get destroyed and damaged are a real concern for us," Saxe said.

During the past semester these concerns precipitated a flood of policy changes. The graduate boards of four of the eight clubs locked out non-members, and two others strengthened rules regarding guests.

The A.D. club made the first move on Jan. 20 in its decision to bar all non-members from the club, with only a few exceptions for traditional events.

Initial reaction from club members was negative.

At the time, A.D. member Kenneth H. Ahn '00 said undergraduate members had not expected such a drastic change, but expressed a fatalistic optimism about his club.

"It shocked everyone, but for the club's sake, it had to be done," Ahn said. Now, he and his peers have less control over their club, now that the bill-paying alums have flexed their muscle.

"Second semester, the grad boards began taking a closer look at how the clubs were being used," Sears said. "Allowing undergraduates overly broad discretion in guests of clubs was something that needed a second look."

After the A.D. change, Owl President Andrew D. Duffell '99 said that regardless of speculation, his club would not follow suit.

But the very next week, at a Jan. 27 biannual policy meeting, the Owl announced a similar guest restriction policy. The initial announcement called the changes a trial for the month of February. But three weeks later, the club decided to extend its ban on non-members indefinitely.

In the weeks that followed, other clubs also dramatically altered their club policies.

The PSK closed to guests April 1.

On April 8, the Spee club became the fourth to ban all non-members.

Although the other clubs have not made such drastic changes, they have all shown a commitment to changing the atmosphere inside their buildings.

The Delphic and Fly clubs decided to enforce their guest policies more strictly, but have not formally banned non-members.

The Fox club is the only one not to have altered its guest policy at all.

On Feb. 7, the Fox discussed the possibility of following suit, but decided against it because the members felt the Fox had not been as open as the other clubs in the past.

"We have more respect for our club. We follow the rules," Fox member Andrew L. Perito '01 said. "There's no reason for us to go down the road these other clubs have followed."

Although there have been no guest policy changes since the Spee announced its ban, other events have hinted at what the future of final clubs holds in store.

For the first few weeks of May, the graduate board of the A.D. club closed its building to members for renovations that precede the building's 100th anniversary celebration.

The graduate board had raised money to restore the building, but undergraduates had not been treating it with respect, according to members.

"There will be a total revamping of the inner structure to get it ready [for the fall anniversary], and we haven't exactly been keeping the place clean," said incoming A.D. President Steven W. Ranere '00.

In recent weeks, the graduate board reversed its decision and allowed members to use the building again.

But although the ban on building use was lifted, the incident points to the fact that Harvard final clubs have changed. And many people predict the transformation will continue as Harvard students reach the limits of their search for social venues.

After several months living with the policy changes, members said they are now more content.

"People are still adjusting to it," Powers said. "It's nice to get back to the basics."