Social Clubs at Mississippi University for Women
 

Ran across this site for the local non-Greek-letter orgs at this school—did anyone here go to the "W" and belong to one of them?

http://www.muw.edu/studentlife/scgl/4year.html

Three of my sisters did (back in the days when the "W" was still MSCW) and were Silhouettes there.

I know a couple girls who went there and were in the clubs....not going to say which one(s), but I was told stories about some hazing, it sounded pretty intense, crazy stuff that's defintiely not allowed in a fraternity or sorority.. The girls made it sound like the school was aware and allowed it [not necessarily approved it though].

-Mark

I just wanna say that the BlackList Social Club (under 2 year clubs) is really freakin' me out. Paddles, eye patches and matching jackets . . . .

one of my friends in my grad program went to undergrad there and was a mamselle (sp?)

- marissa

http://www.muw.edu/clubs/troubadour/image9R7.JPG

Awwww they have a handsign. :)

Interesting.

I noticed they have a rush process much like NPC sorority recruitment, but 3 of the clubs only accept juniors and seniors. Do the freshmen and sophomores still have to visit those 3 clubs? Isn't that a bit of a waste of time for them, since they're ineligible to join? Or is it more of a "you're not eligible yet, but this is what we're about, so keep us in mind" thing? If you decide you like one of the 2-year clubs, do you have to drop out and rush again as a junior? Do a lot of people do that?

Just curious :)

From what I understand by reading the Web site, the two-year clubs take their members from women who are already in four-year clubs. Sounds like you have to be tapped as opposed to rushing—KDLady, is that right?

When did the W start taking guys?

From the school's history section - "In 1982 the United States Supreme Court ordered the university to admit a male student to the nursing program. Following this historic decision the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning ordered the university to change its policies to allow the admission of qualified males into all university programs. In 1988 the Board of Trustees reaffirmed the mission of MUW as an institution of quality academic programs for all qualified students with emphasis on distinctive opportunities for women. Today, the university refers to itself as Mississippi University for Women...and smart men, too!"


I know two women who went to the W. One was a Mam'selle but she didn't initiate. The other, who is an AOII alumna initiate, is a proud alumna of both Silhouettes and Blacklist. She said that she was tapped into Blacklist.

Edited because I can't spell today.

So you can be in a social club and an in NPC? Do the social clubs have secrets?

Yes but keep in mind the following which may not be universally true. Every organization has its own membership criteria.
* I equate the social clubs to local sororities. There are no NPCs at the W but they do have NPHC sororities.
* Strictly speaking of AOII's AI requirements, as long as she wasn't an initiated member of another NPC, she met that criterion.
*There was nothing in her social clubs constitutions prohibiting her from joining an NPC.
* We gained a valubale member who is now serving on an International Committee.

As for social club secrets, they have them as well as some fun traditions.

So if your tapped into a 2 year club do you still belong to both the 4year club and the 2 year?

From what I understand, the 2-years as they are now, are like honorary organizations. It would be like being in AOII and Rho Lambda. However, the 2-year clubs are a little more active then a couple of Rho Lambda chapters that I have seen.

So in a way the two-year clubs are similar to secret societies like Skull and Bones?

WOW, ARE THOSE DUDES WHITE. :D

Anyhoo - what is up with 4 of the clubs having black & white as their colors? I think it's a cool combo, but 4 times over?

The Troubadours is one of the 4 year social clubs and this is a picture of some of the Troubadour 'Big Brothers'. The triangle handsign they're making is part of our tradition and looks less silly when the girls do it.

I hope you don't think we were passing judgment based on the picture.

Not at all. I was explaining the picture if anything, since there seems to be alot of questions about the W and I was just trying to help out with answering them.

I was a Troubadour (4-year) and a President of BlackList (2-year) while in college at MUW. BlackList was formed in 1914 and is the oldest social club on campus. It actually has a pretty interesting history and very loyal alumni. There are 13 members chosen out of the Sophomore class every year to pledge during their Junior year and be actives during their Senior year. The pledges are not chosen because of their affiliation with any other organization, they are chosen for their involvement on campus, their academic standards, and their interest in the club. Unfortunately the last few years we have seen interest in the Social Clubs drop so our numbers have been pretty low for all of the clubs 2-year and 4-year.

The Troubadour Social Club was the first club on campus to have Big Brothers (those are the guys in the pictures). Each family tree has a Big Brother who is basically just there for support and friendship.

The "W" offers a very unique experience with it's Social Clubs and traditions.

Oh...and MUW has been admitting men since 1983.

Ball and chain
 

I remember many years ago when I was at MSU, I had friends in Rogue at the W who wore the ball and chain bracelets. Do they still do that? I thought those were very cool.

I'm not sure. When I was there they still did, but a few years ago they revamped the entire pledging system for all of the social clubs and certain things were taken away from each club's public pledging program. I assume that they just don't wear them everywhere they go anymore.

Whoa! I was going to say the same thing! Those two-year clubs are something SERIOUS!

I don't want to start anything so I'm going to ask a yes or no type question. To avoid the mess, just don't give specifics.

Is any club more desirable than any other (i.e. are they "tiered")?

The reason I ask is because I'm wondering if these social clubs are really interested in members who fit into their groups or if they are vying for all new members.

....and the problem with this is what?

/rant
These kind of comments tick me off. I mean hell, if they want to do it, let them and don't think they are any less just because they do things differently from you. I know for a fact that if I posted pictures of what goes on here people on GC would be bitching and moaning about how it's hazing or just plain stupid. I know my organization has matching jackets....I know of many NPHC orgs who (OMIGAWD) have them too!! *sarcasm* Oh, we have paddles..and make our damn pledges carry them too, ohh, and there are planty of rules along w/the paddles also. Eye patches? Heh, I had our pledges wear "decorated" pirate hats...ahh, that was hilarious. It was simply beautiful. I'm so taking pics of pledging this ysear of all the orgs...should be fun. /end rant

Heheh, I see your pirate hat and raise you hawaiian shirts. I still love, cherish, and wear my Hawaiian shirt, and I handed down the Flamingo-print hawaiian shirt my mom made me in high school to my little, who is now enjoying a love for the hideous pink birds.

... and for that matter, i've got some super cute princess crowns from my pledging...

- marissa

Awww, I'm jealous. I wish I had something fun like that from pledging. I used to have a tiara (not from pledging, but still), but my pledge sister took it away from me because she said I enjoyed myself too much in it. :(

hah hah! my big had a thing with giving me tiaras - i got one for big/little, one for my 21st, another random one in there and i love them all (there in a memory box at home!)

- marissa

no fair, some people get all the fun

YAYYYY I'm a troubie newbie aka (Troubadour with the Triangles)!! Pledge Class 2006

I attended MUW from 1999-2000, and was a Rogue pledge in the fall of '99 and an Active for my last three semesters there. I really, REALLY wanted to be a BlackList, and still have dreams about that now!

The Two Years (Blacklist, Maskers, Jesters, and Exodus) call their pledges, rather than you going through a formal rush. They are called Honorary Societies. Sophomores usually go through an end-of-the-year thing called "Sophomore-Junior Rivalry" which is one of the ways girls can express their interest in the club. But usually, before that point at the end of your sophomore year, the current (new!) actives know which girls are interested in pledging their clubs.

The W has very very different "sorority" culture, I think because it was sheltered from other universities by virtue of being a women's only school. The social clubs have some very strange little pledging practices, which honestly comes very close to real hazing. Rogue pledges had to wear a ball and chain, which was a wooden ball painted black attached to a rather long bead chain. We wore this on our right hand, and because the chain was so long, we kept our hand spread to keep the thing from falling off. In this way, it was a constant, conscious thing -- you never forgot about Rogue. I liked that an awful lot. The Revelers, another four year club, had to wear a white glove on their right hand that must never get dirty, so they would hold their hands in the air at about shoulder height. They weren't allowed to acknowledge that they were wearing the glove, which made for lots of funny conversations. "Do y'all have to wear those to church, even?" "Wear what?" (These are public things, so I don't feel too bad sharing them on a public forum.)

There's also a society called the Hottentots (a three year, sophomore junior and senior), but I believe they're now more an academic honor society. I'm pretty sure they're co-ed now. But when my mother went to the W in 1973, the Hottentots were also quite mysterious, and did a "wiggle" across campus in the dark of night, sort of a conga line, and they would loudly whisper "Hot-en-totssssss!"

*grins* It was a fun time. All three of my younger sisters are Alpha Delta Pi; none of them went to the W. Kinda saddens me, but at the same time, it's fun to share all that with just my mother.

crl, model pledge, pc 99.

It all depends on personal interest, in most 4 year clubs its about fun and wanting to be a part of the schools history, in the case of 2 year its about drive and how bad you really want it.... or at least in personal experience/opinion

In the case of BlackList, if you dont fit, you dont get called. If your not set on it with heart and mind, you dont get called and you wouldnt live to tell the tale if you did. not that we actually kill people

I'm confused. someone help me here ( I realize this is an old thread).

How is it that the campus has NPHC orgs yet no NPC or NIC? :confused:I just want to understand the logic.

To be honest I'm not sure why they have never had NPC or NIC groups. The "W" as it is affectionately called in the State of MS, is the oldest public university for women in the country. (It might have even been the first too.) The campus is rather small so I'm not sure if it could support NPC and NIC groups. My father-in-law lives in Columbus, MS where it is located. From driving by it many times, I get the feeling it's more a commuter campus. However, it is rich in tradition and history. (Eudora Welty is one of their well-known alumna--there had even been talk about changing the name to Welty University I believe.)

Anyway, I think their social tribes/clubs have just always been the norm there. I always wondered why Delta Gamma (since they were founded up the road in Oxford in 1873) never had a chapter the "W."

Good question...have to ask around to see if anyone knows!

Thanks.:)

Are the NPHC chapters for MUW only or are they citywide? I had just assumed that they were the latter.

I don't know. I can find out though.

I have 3 friends who are/were alumnae from the "W."

One, Roselyn Dabbs, who was a junior transfer to Ole Miss, joined Tau Chapter of Chi Omega, and later became our National President. Another who graduated in the 1950s and another who was a Black Lister from the 1990s. All relayed fond memories.