A golden key--the symbol for at least two honor societies, Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key International Honour Society, it represents a major function of such groups: unlocking doors to careers and graduate schools.
But which key to use, when they are all labeled with Greek letters and distinguished-sounding names, is a question that can confuse anyone. More importantly, students with relatively high grade point averages, whose mailboxes are inundated with invitations from honor societies, may inquire about the purpose of these societies: Are they simply a recognition of past accomplishments, or do they promise something more?
Honor societies at the University tend to fall into two main classes--large ones overarching nearly all disciplines, and others that cover a single academic field. In the former class are such groups as Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most academically prestigious honor society at Duke, inducting a few seniors in the top tenth of their class and even fewer juniors, and Phi Eta Sigma, a freshman honor society that annually inducts about 250 to 300 students, based on a grade point average of at least 3.5.
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Both those societies are at least 70 years old at Duke, but more major honor societies have been added in recent years, like the Golden Key International Honour Society--the "u" added to "honor" to connote its now international membership. Chartered in 1987, the chapter invites juniors and seniors in the top 15 percent of their class to join. And the newest general honor society at Duke is the three-year-old National Society for Collegiate Scholarship, which invites first- and second-year students with a 3.4 grade point average or higher to join.
Many honor societies for students in specific fields--such as Tau Beta Pi for engineering, Sigma Psi for science and Phi Alpha Theta for history--have chapters at Duke as well. Most of these societies offer extensive job resources and scholarships for their members.
New honor societies pop up all the time, but an honor society's age is not necessarily an indication of its quality.
"If you've got a brand new academic arena--computer science, for example--it will likely want to have its own honor society sooner or later," says Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Rhett George, the faculty adviser for the electrical engineering honor society Eta Kappa Nu.
In fact, creating a new honor society can be a little too easy sometimes. In 1994, two enterprising Duke undergraduates decided to do more to democratize honor societies by creating Sigma Gamma Delta. The society sent out a mailing to 2,379 Duke students inviting them to pay a $28 induction fee to join "one of the nation's fastest growing and most distinguished collegiate honor societies." What the 608 students who signed up did not know was that the chapter at Duke was the only one in the country, and that the society's national headquarters was a mailbox in a Dallas shopping center.
Eventually, the students--one of whom is the brother of a former editor of The Chronicle--refunded most of the induction fee to the society's members, but that sort of occurrence can cast doubts on the merits of honor society invitations, since almost all charge induction fees.
"I think an industry has cropped up, and while these newer honor societies do recognize merit, they are essentially charging for a service, which is a line item for a resumé," says Phi Beta Kappa member and Rhodes Scholar Sam Malone, Trinity '02.
"There are better ways to get better line items," he says. "However, the alternatives usually involve taking larger intellectual risks and making substantial time commitments."
The reason students might consider joining honor societies instead of committing to something else is clear. After Duke undergraduates manage to make the grade, manage stress and juggle extracurricular activities, they have yet another persistent worry--getting in somewhere else. While coursework can become very heavy at times, a single number between 2.0 and 4.0 takes up disappointingly little space on a resumé. So amid the innumerable activities, research opportunities and internships available to Duke students, undergraduate honor societies may be one of the easiest ways to get rid of that uncomfortable silence near the middle of a resumé.
That is not to say, however, that membership in a society can guarantee a job offer or admission to graduate school.
"I do note Phi Beta Kappa, [but] in my twelve years here membership in an honorary society has never come up in a meeting on graduate admissions," says Diskin Clay, director of graduate studies in Duke's classical studies department.
The importance of honor societies varies among graduate programs, however. Dennis Shields, associate dean of admissions at the School of Law, says, "Phi Beta Kappa is an indication of excellence in a liberal arts education, and we look for that." In the law school, Golden Key and honor societies of individual fields are noted as well, but with the understanding that Phi Beta Kappa is more selective.
But Shields notes that admissions, in general, are not based on a system of points, and that other qualifications--academic rigor, extracurricular interests and contributions to an academic environment--are ultimately more important. "In this context," he says, "honor societies can be seen as a confirmation of the other things we look for, but they do not necessarily constitute an elevation of those other qualities."
Even if honor societies can open doors for individuals, the name "honor society" raises the question of what the members of these elite groups of people do together. "I think they've mastered the elite part, but not the society part," Malone says of Phi Beta Kappa. "After the induction ceremony, which is a great place to meet people, there isn't much follow-up activity aside from the selection of new members each semester."
George, who also serves as secretary of the Duke Phi Beta Kappa chapter, is inclined to agree. "I think it's more of a recognition [than a society] at the undergraduate level, though all members are welcome to all our meetings and to vote on new members," he says.
Phi Eta Sigma, the freshman honor society, also functions more as a recognition. "I think the reason that the Duke chapter has remained more honor than activity is simply because the members are already very active in social, Duke or community organizations," says Donna Kostyu, assistant director of the Pre-Major Advising Center and faculty adviser of Phi Eta Sigma. "I don't consider the lack of activities a problem--just an indication that students are already very busy."
Other societies, such as Golden Key and NSCS, make group activities and community service a higher priority. "It's a different kind of thing for people to join than other honor societies," senior Janaka Bowman, president of the Duke chapter of Golden Key, says of her group's emphasis on community service. Last semester, the group put on entertainment in a local senior center, provided ongoing tutoring at a nearby elementary school and volunteered for Ronald McDonald House, among other activities.
NSCS, too, has been active in the community. Senior Lindsay Rodman, national president of NSCS and executive vice president of Duke's chapter, cited the founder's decision not to use Greek letters in the group's name in order to underscore the group's focus on community service.
Nonetheless, says Rodman, fairly low participation in group events can always be a problem. "There are a lot of people who join and don't do anything," she says, saying those students are content with having another item for their resumé.
In Golden Key's case as well, a solid majority of members choose not to participate in the group's activities. Despite inducting about 190 members each year, a core group of about 10 officers organizes the community service events, and at most 50 or so take part in any of the events.
"With admissions for any organization, people will join for their own reasons," says Caroline Lattimore, assistant dean of Trinity College and faculty adviser of the Duke chapter since 1991. "I hope students will join Golden Key out of a desire for leadership development and from an interest in community service."
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