Last fall, while studying in Baker-Berry Library, Kristy Choi ’14 and Rachael Siegel ’14 came up with the idea to start Dartmouth’s newest non-secret senior society, Chimera. Unlike the 11 other recognized senior societies, which only use tapping to select new members, Chimera elects new members through both taps and applications sent to campus.
The society, which currently consists of around 20 members of the Class of 2014, was formally recognized by Greek Letter Organizations and Societies this January. Siegel said that Chimera expects to accept 20 to 30 new members from the combined pool of applicants and taps.
By removing the secrecy associated with other senior societies, Chimera aims to foster an inclusive and open environment for its members, she said.
“When I got my tap, I emailed back pretty much right away and said, look, I don’t do hazing of any kind, I don’t like secrets and I’m not thrilled at the idea of arbitrary exclusivity, and got an email back in about 10 minutes that basically said ‘yeah, us neither,’” Chimera member Victoria Stein ’14 said in an email.
Under the society’s constitution, a minimum of five to 10 people will be tapped and five to 10 people will be selected on the basis of a blind application. The minimums exist to ensure that the society retains its commitment to inclusivity, Choi said.
“Dartmouth can seem exclusive to students at times,” Siegel said. “We were hoping through our more transparent application process that we would give everybody a fair shot even if they don’t know anyone older than them.”
The application process is geared toward students who might be overlooked in the traditional tapping process, such as people involved in “less visible” groups on campus or those who do not know many upperclassmen, Siegel said.
A benefit to tapping, she said, is the ability to reach out to students who are very involved in campus activities and would therefore not seek out further commitments like applying to a senior society.
“I know a lot of the people we wanted most in this group might not have actually sent in applications,” she said. “These are the type of people who do a million and one things on campus and are super involved and super passionate in what they have already.”
Chimera allows people to meet a subset of upperclassmen whom they would not otherwise have met, Stein said.
“We talked about how people get wrapped into bubbles and cliques,” Choi said. “We wanted to bridge those gaps. It’s a shame that it takes until senior year to meet some of these people.”
Siegel said that Chimera’s name emphasizes its diversity. A chimera is a mythical creature, often described as a mix of a lion, a goat and a serpent.
Chimera aims to introduce its members to different spaces, people and communities on campus, Siegel said.
Siegel said Chimera seeks a membership with varied perspectives, which helps facilitate productive discussions about campus issues. One Chimera member, Siegel said, introduced her to discussions on campus about socioeconomic issues — a topic she previously thought received too little attention.
She added that having non-secret membership allows Chimera to increase its emphasis on openness by planning open events. The group hosted a March 4 faculty-student dinner discussion about marginalization and segmentation at the College on March 4 and a brunch during Winter Carnival to introduce Chimera to the Class of 2015.
“We’re basically giving people a chance to supersede that exclusiveness,” said member Neeharika Krothapalli ’14.
Since receiving College recognition, dues have been collected on a pay-by-event basis, Siegel said. While the exact cost of membership is not yet established, the society aims to create a flexible system of dues.
To add an element of excitement to the society’s weekly meetings, members take turns surprising the group with different locations. Meetings have included activities such as sculpture, martial arts, pub trivia and sing-alongs, Stein said.
Five students interviewed said that, while the campus social scene may not need more senior societies, Chimera’s methods are a welcome alternative to an often closed-off process.
Given the recent dialogue surrounding campus climate issues, increasing inclusivity and providing more social options is beneficial, Delia O’Shea ’15 said.
“People are looking for that right now,” she said.
Elena Karis ’15, however, noted that the society’s openness may be perceived as a drawback, since students may not see it as a “real society.”
Gabriel Barrios ’15 said that adding an open society may not have much impact, as the Greek system causes stronger feelings of exclusion, and the group could be seen as simply “another thing to join” by an already-busy student body.
Kate Bradshaw contributed reporting.
