Commons club
Encyclopedia
A commons club is a type of social organization whose membership is "open" rather than selective based on personal introduction and invitation. It may also refer to the lodge or other meeting facility associated with such a club and used for its activities. Usually, commons club refers to a type of men's social organization which flourished at institutions of higher education
in North America
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
, but membership was usually open to anyone interested in joining. The resources of a large organization could be put to sponsoring events and activities, as well as providing dining and housing, beyond the means of an individual student. Commons Clubs over time came to identify their chief ideals as Democracy
, Service
, and Brotherhood, but did not enforce them through secret oath
s or ritual
s.
as an outlet for students frustrated with the traditional curriculum
centered on the classics
. Some early organizations to use the phrase "commons club" were of this type, their name referring to the democracy and debates of the British House of Commons
. In the mid-19th century, general or "social" fraternities
supplanted the literary fraternities, to the point where "independent" students became disadvantaged in campus awards and activities as opposed to "Greeks" and considered to occupy a lower position in the social hierarchy of the time.
As a counter to this trend, Woodrow Wilson
, then a member of the Wesleyan University
faculty, reformed the Wesleyan House of Commons Debating Society in 1889 to look after the social need of male students outside the fraternity system. In 1899, sixteen non-fraternity men, led by Frederick Clark, Thomas Travis, and Herbert Ward, formally established the Wesleyan Commons Club.
The success of the Wesleyan Commons Club inspired the founding of similar organizations at Dartmouth College
, Middlebury College
, and Norwich University
. These four formed the National Federation of Commons Clubs in 1906, which would add thirteen additional members by 1918 as well as numerous non-aligned Commons Clubs on campuses throughout the United States
and Canada
.
Because membership was open, a Commons Club could grow to a size unwieldy to govern, inadequate for forming close friendships, and unsuited to the effective advancement of their stated ideals. Ironically, factions and in some cases whole clubs split away and sought petitions from national fraternities or declared themselves a local fraternity. In 1905, ten members of the Middlebury
Commons Club, including President George E. Kimball, left to form a new organization which later became the Kappa Delta Rho
national fraternity. The weak organization of the Federation itself left it vulnerable to splits along competing visions. Disaffiliation or disbanding of member clubs accelerated with World War I
, resulting in the collapse of the Federation.
At the 1918 general meeting, Clarence Dexter Pierce, a member of the University of Vermont
Commons Club, successfully sponsored a resolution to declare the Federation a Greek letter fraternity, with its attendant structure and selectivity. The Commons Clubs at the University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire
, and University of Connecticut
ratified the plan, forming what is now the Phi Mu Delta
national fraternity. While the Union College
Commons Club originally intended to join its counterparts in organizing Phi Mu Delta, the group instead elected to refound the Alpha Charge of Theta Delta Chi
in 1923 because of pressure from its alumni.
, delegates from the commons clubs of Denison University
, Ohio University
, and Hillsdale College
met for the express purpose of forming a new national organization. The new organization was known official as the American Association of Commons Clubs. The new organization, commonly known as the American Commons Club, was an American letter fraternity for men without restrictions as to race, creed, or color.
The Commons Club movement lost its relevance and withered in the more liberal climate of student life after World War II
. By 1964 only the founding chapter at Denison University
remained, and in 1969 the American Association of Commons Clubs became an organization of only alumni while the active chapter became a member of Delta Chi national Fraternity. In 1989, a new Commons Club was formed at Indiana University with the support of the alumni of the AACC. It has spread to four other campuses and continues to grow.
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Principles
Commons Clubs both emulated and differentiated themselves from fraternities and other competing social institutions. They provided a social networkSocial network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
, but membership was usually open to anyone interested in joining. The resources of a large organization could be put to sponsoring events and activities, as well as providing dining and housing, beyond the means of an individual student. Commons Clubs over time came to identify their chief ideals as Democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, Service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, and Brotherhood, but did not enforce them through secret oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
s or ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s.
History
Greek-letter literary and philosophical societies, starting with Phi Beta Kappa (est. 1779), rose at American universitiesUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
as an outlet for students frustrated with the traditional curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
centered on the classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
. Some early organizations to use the phrase "commons club" were of this type, their name referring to the democracy and debates of the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. In the mid-19th century, general or "social" fraternities
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
supplanted the literary fraternities, to the point where "independent" students became disadvantaged in campus awards and activities as opposed to "Greeks" and considered to occupy a lower position in the social hierarchy of the time.
As a counter to this trend, Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, then a member of the Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
faculty, reformed the Wesleyan House of Commons Debating Society in 1889 to look after the social need of male students outside the fraternity system. In 1899, sixteen non-fraternity men, led by Frederick Clark, Thomas Travis, and Herbert Ward, formally established the Wesleyan Commons Club.
The success of the Wesleyan Commons Club inspired the founding of similar organizations at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, and Norwich University
Norwich University
Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...
. These four formed the National Federation of Commons Clubs in 1906, which would add thirteen additional members by 1918 as well as numerous non-aligned Commons Clubs on campuses throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Because membership was open, a Commons Club could grow to a size unwieldy to govern, inadequate for forming close friendships, and unsuited to the effective advancement of their stated ideals. Ironically, factions and in some cases whole clubs split away and sought petitions from national fraternities or declared themselves a local fraternity. In 1905, ten members of the Middlebury
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
Commons Club, including President George E. Kimball, left to form a new organization which later became the Kappa Delta Rho
Kappa Delta Rho
Kappa Delta Rho is an American college social fraternity, with 77 chapters spread out over the United States, primarily in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions...
national fraternity. The weak organization of the Federation itself left it vulnerable to splits along competing visions. Disaffiliation or disbanding of member clubs accelerated with World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, resulting in the collapse of the Federation.
At the 1918 general meeting, Clarence Dexter Pierce, a member of the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
Commons Club, successfully sponsored a resolution to declare the Federation a Greek letter fraternity, with its attendant structure and selectivity. The Commons Clubs at the University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
, and University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
ratified the plan, forming what is now the Phi Mu Delta
Phi Mu Delta
Phi Mu Delta is a small, national fraternity founded on March 1, 1918 at the Universities of Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The fraternity is focused on the three ideals of democracy, service, and brotherhood.-Founders' Creed:...
national fraternity. While the Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
Commons Club originally intended to join its counterparts in organizing Phi Mu Delta, the group instead elected to refound the Alpha Charge of Theta Delta Chi
Theta Delta Chi
Theta Delta Chi is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Theta Delt, Thete, TDX, and TDC. Theta Delta Chi brothers refer to their local organization as Charges rather...
in 1923 because of pressure from its alumni.
American Association of Commons Clubs
At a convention held in 1921 on April 22 and 23 in Granville, OhioGranville, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,167 people, 1,309 households, and 888 families residing in the village. The population density was 790.4 people per square mile . There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 345.4 per square mile...
, delegates from the commons clubs of Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
, Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
, and Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...
met for the express purpose of forming a new national organization. The new organization was known official as the American Association of Commons Clubs. The new organization, commonly known as the American Commons Club, was an American letter fraternity for men without restrictions as to race, creed, or color.
The Commons Club movement lost its relevance and withered in the more liberal climate of student life after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. By 1964 only the founding chapter at Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
remained, and in 1969 the American Association of Commons Clubs became an organization of only alumni while the active chapter became a member of Delta Chi national Fraternity. In 1989, a new Commons Club was formed at Indiana University with the support of the alumni of the AACC. It has spread to four other campuses and continues to grow.
American Commons Club Chapters
| Institution | Year Founded | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Denison University Denison University Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital... |
1917 (became AACC chapter in 1921) | affiliated with Delta Chi Delta Chi Delta Chi or D-Chi is an international Greek letter college social fraternity formed on October 13, 1890,at Cornell University, initially as a professional fraternity for law students. On April 29, 1922, Delta Chi became a general membership social fraternity, eliminating the requirement for men... in 1969 |
| Ohio University Ohio University Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus... |
1919 (became AACC chapter in 1921) | affiliated with Theta Chi Theta Chi Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta... in December 1921 |
| Hillsdale College Hillsdale College Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis... |
1920 (became AACC chapter in 1921) | |
| DePauw University DePauw University DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association... |
1923 | |
| Iowa State University Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of... |
1927 | closed in 1936 |
| Simpson College Simpson College Simpson College is a four-year, coeducational liberal arts institution situated in Indianola, Iowa, USA, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Simpson, which has been fully accredited by North Central Association since 1913, is a small school with approximately 1,400 full-time students... |
merged with the Iowa Beta chapter of Theta Kappa Nu Theta Kappa Nu Theta Kappa Nu Fraternity was founded on June 9, 1924, at Springfield, MO. Delegates from eleven local fraternities from nine different states united to form the new fraternity... in 1935 |
|
| University of Cincinnati University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio.... |
affiliated with Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon is a college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University with chapters in the United States, and Canada, and affiliation with a German fraternity system known as the Corps of the Weinheimer Senioren Convent... in 1964 |
|
| Adrian College Adrian College Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college related to the United Methodist Church in the city of Adrian, Michigan.-Campus:The school is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor and Toledo, Ohio, and 90 minutes from Detroit... |
1934 | affiliated with Theta Chi Theta Chi Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta... in 1964 |