Students Form New Co-Ed Social Club

As an alternative to a social scene they call exclusive and unsatisfying, a group of Leverett House residents is creating a new co-ed social club open to all student.

The club, Philos, is awaiting funding and formal recognition from the Undergraduate Council. Philos is Greek for "dear ones."

Eric I. Schwelling '94, the president of the fledgling organization, said the group seeks to "create a social atmosphere on campus and bring everyone together."

Schwelling said he formed the club because many students share his and his friends' frustration with the mainstream Harvard social scene of parties, bars, final clubs, fraternities and sororities.

"I've talked to a lot of students who simply aren't satisfied with the social life on campus and they believe that Harvard has really made no effort to satisfy their social needs, so I'm trying to make that effort," Schwelling said.

Members plan to sponsor barbecues, dances, community service projects and road trips, Schwelling said. An introductory party sometime in the next month and two large social gatherings per year will generate interest in the organization, he said.

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps Ill and Assistant Dean Ellen Hatfield Towne are the group's advisors and have given Philos pending recognition to expedite their Undergraduate Council grant application.

In an interview yesterday, Epps said that he thinks the club will serve an important purpose.

"I've felt for a long time that we've needed an organization like this," Epps said. "I'm happy to endorse their purpose."

In recent years, students have attempted to form a number of single-sex social organizations including fraternities, women's social clubs and sororities, with mixed results. The College considers single-sex clubs in violation of their anti-discrimination policy.

Many of the new group's plans depend on receiving funding from the Undergraduate Council, which members hope will be approved at the first meeting of the council's finance committee.

"I really don't see us getting all the funding that we need," Schwelling said.

"I feel confident that we'll get the bare minimum that will get us off the ground and that we can build from there."

Members will also pay $35 a year in dues, but club officers are trying to find ways to keep this from becoming an obstacle to new members, Schwelling said.

Schwelling said the group hopes to obtain a permanent meeting place and furnish it with a grill, pool table, pinball machine, large-screen TV, VCR and stereo.