Word: porcellians
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Birge feels that the same qualities that have embellished the reputation of the Porcellian Club have greatly diminished its ability to be of service to its members. The restrictions placed on discussions within the club make conversation meaningless, he said. "If you start to talk about issues, somebody says, 'Go home and do that; the Club is for friendship.' For Porcellian members, Comradeship and intellectual relationships must be two different things...
...high-club distinction between intellectual and social companions extends beyond the realm of male friendship. Many members of the most highly regarded clubs--the Porcellian, the A.D., the Fly, the Delphic, and the Spee--make similar distinctions among their female associates...
Birge feels that this sort of segregated existence is out of step with the times, and he puts partial blame for its perpetuation on the aristocratic traditions of the clubs. "If you're an active member of the Porcellian, you can't be living in the 1960's. When you're inside that place, you realize it's something straight out of Fitzgerald...
...steeped tradition of the Porcellian hurts its members academically too, Birge feels. "There's a fetish about a lack of commitment. To care too much about something is square. Big as it is, there's not one room in the place set aside for studying. This is part of a confusion between complacency and maturity...
Birge thinks that the constant reminders of distinguished alumni are a detrimental influence. "There are enough pictures in the place to make it clear that graduates of the Porcellian are famous, but the average member turns this around and figures that it was the Porcellian that made these people famous. They don't figure that when the old guys were at Harvard, they didn't spend their time around the club staring at pictures...