Word: punch
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...congrats, you got to the bottom of this book-length e-mail! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding punch, your feelings during punch, or anything at all, contact Mama G as a first line of defense. Also feel free to talk to seniors who have been through this once before and can help you keep your wits about you as you go into this stressful but (more importantly) fun and exciting process...
...Last week, it was discovered that the “punch book” of the Isis Club, a female final club, was accessible in the public domain, and, predictably, many curious Harvard students accessed this sensitive information. A punch book contains comments about every current “punch” (the students who wish to join the club) and, as one could imagine, the comments are rarely based on any sort of merit. The Isis’ book is rife with vapid and positive evaluations, as well as harsh critiques based on punches’ accessories, shrill vocal...
Those even tangentially aware of the punch process understand that by walking into a punch event students are subjecting themselves to withering social scrutiny. The arbitrary judgments are generally based on a two-minute introduction to a current member, who knows that he or she is in a position of power. Based on little more information than a name, House, and concentration—and a guess as to their socioeconomic status—current members must make a decision on a punch’s worthiness by the next “cut meeting...
...Ultimately, the punch process brings out the worst in everyone involved—punches desperate for acceptance, snide insiders gossiping about dating infidelities, and gleeful critics seizing on any opportunity to condemn the clubs. And after the punch process is over, those who did not get in can bitterly rage against the institution while those who did sit smugly satisfied, confirmed in their sense of superiority...
...short, the Isis punch book has simply confirmed what we already knew about the unfortunate nature of Harvard’s elite social scene. It is certainly regrettable that the current Isis punch members are serving as the casualties of that which is endemic to the final club scene at large. But this tangible piece of snootiness serves as a reminder that these clubs institutionalize a brand of distinction that is altogether unimpressive...