It’s final club punch season on campus and students are eagerly awaiting an invitation to be slid under their doors. Punching, which is similar to rushing – like in fraternity lingo – seems to be one of the top priorities for sophomores this fall. The process usually lasts the fall semester and involves a series of events that students can keep getting invited back to. At the end there is a final dinner and the club selects a handful of individuals to be a part of the club.

Harvard has eight male final clubs and five female final clubs. The oldest of the male’s being the A.D. and the Porcellian, were established more than a century ago and were the original two. The first female club opened in 1991 and is The Bee.

Despite these clubs going private and no longer being affiliated with Harvard, they are not exempt from controversy and backlash. Just last year, guests at the Delphic reported muscle relaxants in their drinks and students punched for the A.D. this year were subjected to head dunking in water. There are also those students at the College that are very opposed to the idea. A female individual shares her opinion in that she thinks all final clubs should be abolished because it is sexist to women.

There may be a mixture of opinions flying around but as long as they continue to be funded and privately owned, there is nothing Harvard can do… Despite the negativity around them, there will still be shrouds of sophomores waiting for the next invite.