If the popularity of recent blockbuster movie The Skulls shows anything-how many sequels did it spawn? Two and counting?-secret societies are a throwback to a bygone era of university life that continues to fascinate us.
This was at least evident last week, as the newest members of the Golden Key International Honour Society (GKS) at U of T were officially inducted at a grand ceremony at Convocation Hall-even though most of them had only a vague idea of what the society stood for.
The U of T chapter of the GKS received about 1,300 new members this year, among almost 29,000 other students across 17 Canadian universities who received invitation packages to join, for a “one-time-only, lifetime membership fee” of $80.
“You read about an honour society, you don’t know what it is, and they’re asking you for your money,” said Alexandra Kellner, who received one of three GKS Academic Awards that night. She decided to join after reading testimonials available on the society’s website.
It was because of the membership fee that Jeff, a second-year student at UTSC who wished to withhold his full name, decided not to join.
“It may be a hoax, but more primarily, it costs 80 bucks,” he said.
Founded in the U.S. in 1977, the organization started chapters in Canada eight years ago. The premise of the society is the rough idea of “achievement”-it brings together the students scoring in the top 15 per cent of the university in GPA. The induction ceremony promised opportunities to “network” with fellow “future leaders.”
“The truth is being the top 15 per cent at U of T or other universities really means nothing…given how many students there are in each faculty,” said April, a GKS member studying at UTSC. “It’s like throwing $80 down the drain.”
According to the Society’s website, the money funds the ceremony itself, as well as scholarships, social activities, publications, and regional conferences. Some events require members to register and pay an additional event fee.
A portion of the membership is also sent to the GKS’s headquarters in Atlanta. The most recent, publicly available IRS tax forms for the society, state that $5 million U.S. in membership fees were collected in 2003, from 350 chapters located in Australia, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and other countries. More than $200,000 paid the salary of CEO Alexander D. Perwich II, with $800,000 going to the rest of the staff. Scholarships awarded by the society for the same year amounted to a little more than $600,000, not including those funded by corporate sponsors.
“If you want to retain good talent and build something worthwhile, I think that [money] is a necessary requirement,” said Paul Dawalibi, president of the GKS at U of T.
The fact that a portion of the membership fees goes to the U.S. has been subject to controversy, according to Tom Nowers, the associate principal of student affairs and services at UTSC.
“People have asked the question, is there a reasonable return in the form of scholarships, given the amount of revenues Atlanta is receiving?” he asked.
Inducted as a honourary member of GKS a number of years ago, Nowers has one primary criticism with the society’s structure-the fact that, once paid, the invitee becomes a lifetime member of the society, without any need to prove your worth again.
“They don’t seem to have any quality control over the organization,” he said. “That was one of the reasons that I distanced myself from the Golden Key Society,” said Nowers.
Still, it seems students are willing to shell out to be a member of the club, whether they’re critical, approving, or not really all that sure.
