Club week is built on years of traditions, but for new clubs Phi Kappa Delta (PKD) and Sigma Nu Epsilon (SNE), club week is about creating new traditions.
PKD, a women’s social club founded in 2013, is participating in club week for the first time this year. The charter class of 33 members is inducting 47 new members this week.
“We did not expect the interest that we got,” junior Emma Word, co-president of PKD, said. “It was very humbling. As a freshman, I would not have gone for a new club. I think a lot of people like us because we don’t have a stereotype. We’re very diverse. We’re not getting all of one type of person and I hope it stays that way.”
Word said interest for a new women’s club had been generated for some time when she and co-president junior Bekah Sanders approached dean of social clubs Kara Abston about starting PKD.
“Dean Abston directed people to us and they brought their friends,” Word said. “Bekah and I only knew a few people and it spread from there.”
PKD has one of the largest induction classes this year. Taking on a class of 47 new members was not the original plan, but Word said she did not mind.
“In order to stay alive as a club, we had to grow,” Word said. “We had about 100 people come to our 3rd round mixer, and if I could have taken everybody, I would have.”
SNE was founded in 2012 and is welcoming its second induction class this week. President senior Ryan Short is a charter member and said joining a club with a blank canvas was a big draw for new members.
“Everything we do is built off of strength, heart and courage,” Short said. “Tradition is good, that’s one reason why people join large clubs, but being able to mold a club into what you want it to be is a big advantage of ours.”
Club week can define what a club is about, and in deciding what SNE was going to do during club week, current members chose not to rely on their previous experiences with club week prior to forming SNE.
“We know every club is going to have a stereotype, but we basically went back to the drawing board for inspiration (for club week),” Short said.
PKD is placing the focus on its new members and their relationships with each other. Word said she does not believe that club week has to be excessively difficult as long as the new members bond.
“Club week isn’t about me or the charter members,” Word said. “It’s about our first pledge class. I want them to come out of it saying, ‘I grew so much closer to a group of girls I didn’t even know a week ago.'”
