Questions for HYPSM alumni

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trivia. M is a land grant university.

But Purdue begins with a P.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why are high powered individuals from such elite and rarified societies wasting their valuable time and energy on an anonymous parenting chat forum?

Hard to believe, I know, but the rich and connected have kids, too.

Rich and connected is fine but someone was carrying on like this was some elite special group.

What’s that got to do with anything?

St. A is considered just another frat at Penn. They may try to mimic the Harvard final clubs, but they’re not the Fly or the Owl..

St. A’s at Columbia refused to have anything to do with St. A’s at Penn because, inter alia, St. A’s at Penn was not coed. At least it wasn’t back when I was in college. Whether that’s still the case I don’t know. Penn was a VERY atypical chapter of St. A’s. Fly at Harvard used to be Harvard’s chapter of Alpha Delta Phi which was Harvard’s most elite frat until Harvard closed its frats.

The Fly has nothing to do with ADP in the last 50 years; that it was once an ADP chapter in the early 19th century is irrelevant now. None of the frats at Harvard were for men who couldn’t get punched at a club. The reason the single sex final clubs are still open while the frats closed is that the powerful alums all belong to the clubs.

You’re reaching pretty hard here.

I don’t understand your point. Harvard used to have frats but closed them. Harvard’s Alpha Delta Phi split into two clubs, Fly and A.D. Initiates to ADP are taught that, of the two, Fly has maintained more of the ADP traditions. I’m not claiming that’s true; I don’t know, I’m just saying that’s what’s taught. There were discussions between ADP’s international headquarters and Fly about allowing members of Fly to be pledged into ADP (presumably at MIT). I don’t think anything came of those discussions because it would have been a logistical nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok clear this up for me. Are these socities for rich people or elite people? Those are not the same thing.

Elite people. Old families, even if the families are no longer rich or never were. I’m relatively well off but I wouldn’t say I’m rich. My father was rich, but not as rich as my grandfather, who was not as rich as my great grandfather. In another branch of my family, my great grandmother endowed a chair at Columbia. No way that I, my father, or even my grandfather could have done that. My family has been downwardly mobile for generations but we still get into the same clubs we always have. Our children are still invited to cotillion. Even the daughters of branches of my family that never had money are debutantes and social belles. My father was very conflicted about all that. I could never tell where his head was at on that subject.

This is an interesting and educational discussion for a public school mongrel like myself.. What was the cause of you Dad's conflict? He was conflicted about all of it, or just that the part of the family with the breeding and not the money were still invited to cotillion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elite has different meanings to different people. Thank you for explaining what the word means to you and what it means in terms of an "elite" frat.

Think of it this way: People who are listed as members of Forbes 500 richest are rich but that’s no indication whatsoever that they’re elite. Men who belong to the Club of Cincinnati are elite but they might be poor as church mice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite has different meanings to different people. Thank you for explaining what the word means to you and what it means in terms of an "elite" frat.

Think of it this way: People who are listed as members of Forbes 500 richest are rich but that’s no indication whatsoever that they’re elite. Men who belong to the Club of Cincinnati are elite but they might be poor as church mice.

In this context elite refers to pedigree and breeding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok clear this up for me. Are these socities for rich people or elite people? Those are not the same thing.

Elite people. Old families, even if the families are no longer rich or never were. I’m relatively well off but I wouldn’t say I’m rich. My father was rich, but not as rich as my grandfather, who was not as rich as my great grandfather. In another branch of my family, my great grandmother endowed a chair at Columbia. No way that I, my father, or even my grandfather could have done that. My family has been downwardly mobile for generations but we still get into the same clubs we always have. Our children are still invited to cotillion. Even the daughters of branches of my family that never had money are debutantes and social belles. My father was very conflicted about all that. I could never tell where his head was at on that subject.

This is an interesting and educational discussion for a public school mongrel like myself.. What was the cause of you Dad's conflict? He was conflicted about all of it, or just that the part of the family with the breeding and not the money were still invited to cotillion?

You’re question is too binary. I really never understood my father’s conflict. He moved out west to get away from his family. His family had always joined private clubs and were high ranking Freemasons. My father wanted none of that. But sometimes it was as if another person appeared and he would talk of his family’s old traditions with pride. It’s just not explainable. Most people thought my father’s idiosyncrasies were caused by the death of his mother when he was six and his father’s second marriage to the classic wicked stepmother. But now we all agree that my father had Asberger’s, as does my son. Their behavior is often not logically explicable.

[Anonymous]

Yes it is true that Ivys stick together in friendship social work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok clear this up for me. Are these socities for rich people or elite people? Those are not the same thing.

Elite people. Old families, even if the families are no longer rich or never were. I’m relatively well off but I wouldn’t say I’m rich. My father was rich, but not as rich as my grandfather, who was not as rich as my great grandfather. In another branch of my family, my great grandmother endowed a chair at Columbia. No way that I, my father, or even my grandfather could have done that. My family has been downwardly mobile for generations but we still get into the same clubs we always have. Our children are still invited to cotillion. Even the daughters of branches of my family that never had money are debutantes and social belles. My father was very conflicted about all that. I could never tell where his head was at on that subject.

This is an interesting and educational discussion for a public school mongrel like myself.. What was the cause of you Dad's conflict? He was conflicted about all of it, or just that the part of the family with the breeding and not the money were still invited to cotillion?

You’re question is too binary. I really never understood my father’s conflict. He moved out west to get away from his family. His family had always joined private clubs and were high ranking Freemasons. My father wanted none of that. But sometimes it was as if another person appeared and he would talk of his family’s old traditions with pride. It’s just not explainable. Most people thought my father’s idiosyncrasies were caused by the death of his mother when he was six and his father’s second marriage to the classic wicked stepmother. But now we all agree that my father had Asberger’s, as does my son. Their behavior is often not logically explicable.

How did they achieve high ranking as freemasons? Were they born to that or they produced certain accomplishments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elite has different meanings to different people. Thank you for explaining what the word means to you and what it means in terms of an "elite" frat.

Think of it this way: People who are listed as members of Forbes 500 richest are rich but that’s no indication whatsoever that they’re elite. Men who belong to the Club of Cincinnati are elite but they might be poor as church mice.

In this context elite refers to pedigree and breeding?

Yes. My father abjured all that and moved out west to get away from it. I love New York, where my father was born and raised and I wanted to go to Columbia, as had my father. My father didn’t want me going to New York and didn’t want me at Columbia. He was never able to explain why. After a big fight (my father and I were always fighting) I did end up at Columbia. My little brother wound up there, too.

[Anonymous]

Surprised that DCUM puts Berkeley in the same sentence as HYPSM. It’s a commuter school (gasp) with many, many kids who transferred from community college (gasp) or are older adult undergrads.

[Anonymous]

Do you think he was right or wrong that Columbia was a good place for you and your brother? Does Columbia have these final clubs and were you in one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok clear this up for me. Are these socities for rich people or elite people? Those are not the same thing.

Elite people. Old families, even if the families are no longer rich or never were. I’m relatively well off but I wouldn’t say I’m rich. My father was rich, but not as rich as my grandfather, who was not as rich as my great grandfather. In another branch of my family, my great grandmother endowed a chair at Columbia. No way that I, my father, or even my grandfather could have done that. My family has been downwardly mobile for generations but we still get into the same clubs we always have. Our children are still invited to cotillion. Even the daughters of branches of my family that never had money are debutantes and social belles. My father was very conflicted about all that. I could never tell where his head was at on that subject.

This is an interesting and educational discussion for a public school mongrel like myself.. What was the cause of you Dad's conflict? He was conflicted about all of it, or just that the part of the family with the breeding and not the money were still invited to cotillion?

You’re question is too binary. I really never understood my father’s conflict. He moved out west to get away from his family. His family had always joined private clubs and were high ranking Freemasons. My father wanted none of that. But sometimes it was as if another person appeared and he would talk of his family’s old traditions with pride. It’s just not explainable. Most people thought my father’s idiosyncrasies were caused by the death of his mother when he was six and his father’s second marriage to the classic wicked stepmother. But now we all agree that my father had Asberger’s, as does my son. Their behavior is often not logically explicable.

How did they achieve high ranking as freemasons? Were they born to that or they produced certain accomplishments?

Darned if I know. Neither my father nor I ever joined the Freemasons. I had a lot of Freemason friends and cousins in New York and attended functions. I planned on joining but those plans got scuppered when I moved to D.C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t get into HYPSH but want the connections? Join a traditionally Ivy League frat like Alpha Delta Phi or St. Anthony’s Hall. Get a masters at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. With a Fletcher degree you can join the Harvard Club.

OOPS. I meant HYPSM.

This is true. My uncle’s brother (my mom’s sister’s husband’s brother) went to Ole Miss but would go to the Harvard Club because he was in a frat that was also there. Or maybe it was MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think he was right or wrong that Columbia was a good place for you and your brother? Does Columbia have these final clubs and were you in one?

Meant that it was not a good place for you and your brother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok clear this up for me. Are these socities for rich people or elite people? Those are not the same thing.

Elite people. Old families, even if the families are no longer rich or never were. I’m relatively well off but I wouldn’t say I’m rich. My father was rich, but not as rich as my grandfather, who was not as rich as my great grandfather. In another branch of my family, my great grandmother endowed a chair at Columbia. No way that I, my father, or even my grandfather could have done that. My family has been downwardly mobile for generations but we still get into the same clubs we always have. Our children are still invited to cotillion. Even the daughters of branches of my family that never had money are debutantes and social belles. My father was very conflicted about all that. I could never tell where his head was at on that subject.

This is an interesting and educational discussion for a public school mongrel like myself.. What was the cause of you Dad's conflict? He was conflicted about all of it, or just that the part of the family with the breeding and not the money were still invited to cotillion?

You’re question is too binary. I really never understood my father’s conflict. He moved out west to get away from his family. His family had always joined private clubs and were high ranking Freemasons. My father wanted none of that. But sometimes it was as if another person appeared and he would talk of his family’s old traditions with pride. It’s just not explainable. Most people thought my father’s idiosyncrasies were caused by the death of his mother when he was six and his father’s second marriage to the classic wicked stepmother. But now we all agree that my father had Asberger’s, as does my son. Their behavior is often not logically explicable.

How did they achieve high ranking as freemasons? Were they born to that or they produced certain accomplishments?

Darned if I know. Neither my father nor I ever joined the Freemasons. I had a lot of Freemason friends and cousins in New York and attended functions. I planned on joining but those plans got scuppered when I moved to D.C.

What is wrong with the dc freemasons?