'The game is over' says Ghamma Rho leader
Bibeka Shrestha
Issue date: 11/16/05 Section: News
The number of secret societies on campus is back to one. Gamma Rho, the newest secret society at W&L, recently announced that it is in the process of disbanding.
Gamma Rho is not the true name of the organization. "That's just the name we adopted on campus." said Gamma Rho's leader, who is known under the alias of John Kennedy.
"We thought reversing the Rho Gamma name would be a clever way of showing that our organization had women in it."
Rho Gamma is the group of sorority women who assist freshmen girls with recruitment.
Members of Gamma Rho actually belong to a lobbying group that deals with trade and other business matters and traces its roots to the 1920s.
The founding members were wealthy alcohol manufacturers who worked together to get the government to repeal the 18th Amendment that prohibited alcohol.
They decided to stay together after realizing just how much influence they could exert.
The organization grew and began to help establish the careers of prominent lawyers, politicians and businesspeople, who would theoretically then help the lobbying group accomplish its goals in the future.
Gamma Rho is disbanding because its parent organization believes it has successfully finished its training, which primarily included getting recognition and respect from the campus.
"We wanted the school and the student body to understand a little of what we were doing here," said Kennedy.
Gamma Rho members, according to Kennedy, are ready to begin their work for next year and the year after.
Gamma Rho is composed of a few junior and senior undergraduates and a few seniors in the law school, Kennedy said.
The rivalry between the Cadavers and Gamma Rho was feigned.
It was "just for the purpose of training," said Kennedy. "We really don't even dislike them."
According to Kennedy, Gamma Rho decided to challenge the Cadavers to test members who wanted to be a part of the lobbying organization.
W&L's reputation as a politically conservative university drew the organization to campus.
"The country is in a conservative phase right now," said Kennedy. "A conservative school would seem a good place to recruit new individuals."
Kennedy was contacted by an alumnus to recruit W&L students based on certain academic and physical criteria.
"[The alumnus] said that [the lobbying organization] thought I would put together a good team," said Kennedy, who is also related to a member of the group.
Gamma Rho can be reached at gammarho2005@yahoo.com or on AOL Instant Messenger at gammarho2005 for a limited time.
Kennedy reported that so far, people have been contacting their group to ask for money or learn more about their group's logistics.
"We haven't gotten any hate mail," said Gamma Rho. "We were surprised."
Gamma Rho is not the true name of the organization. "That's just the name we adopted on campus." said Gamma Rho's leader, who is known under the alias of John Kennedy.
"We thought reversing the Rho Gamma name would be a clever way of showing that our organization had women in it."
Rho Gamma is the group of sorority women who assist freshmen girls with recruitment.
Members of Gamma Rho actually belong to a lobbying group that deals with trade and other business matters and traces its roots to the 1920s.
The founding members were wealthy alcohol manufacturers who worked together to get the government to repeal the 18th Amendment that prohibited alcohol.
They decided to stay together after realizing just how much influence they could exert.
The organization grew and began to help establish the careers of prominent lawyers, politicians and businesspeople, who would theoretically then help the lobbying group accomplish its goals in the future.
Gamma Rho is disbanding because its parent organization believes it has successfully finished its training, which primarily included getting recognition and respect from the campus.
"We wanted the school and the student body to understand a little of what we were doing here," said Kennedy.
Gamma Rho members, according to Kennedy, are ready to begin their work for next year and the year after.
Gamma Rho is composed of a few junior and senior undergraduates and a few seniors in the law school, Kennedy said.
The rivalry between the Cadavers and Gamma Rho was feigned.
It was "just for the purpose of training," said Kennedy. "We really don't even dislike them."
According to Kennedy, Gamma Rho decided to challenge the Cadavers to test members who wanted to be a part of the lobbying organization.
W&L's reputation as a politically conservative university drew the organization to campus.
"The country is in a conservative phase right now," said Kennedy. "A conservative school would seem a good place to recruit new individuals."
Kennedy was contacted by an alumnus to recruit W&L students based on certain academic and physical criteria.
"[The alumnus] said that [the lobbying organization] thought I would put together a good team," said Kennedy, who is also related to a member of the group.
Gamma Rho can be reached at gammarho2005@yahoo.com or on AOL Instant Messenger at gammarho2005 for a limited time.
Kennedy reported that so far, people have been contacting their group to ask for money or learn more about their group's logistics.
"We haven't gotten any hate mail," said Gamma Rho. "We were surprised."