A Look into the Past: Forgotten Societies at SMU

Written by Carolee Avery

Thumbnail Photo by Cristi Tohatan on Unsplash

SMU has a rich history that spans back to 1802 when the university first opened its doors to students. Among that history are student-led societies that have helped to shape the university culture and its student body. From the Residence Society in the early years of SMU dorms to the Pride society, the following are societies at Saint Mary’s that have either changed or have been forgotten by the sands of time.

GLBTQ Society/SMUQ

The earliest version of this society that I could find was the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (GLBTQ society)which was listed as a society in the 2010-2011 Santamarian Yearbook. Beyond listing the society in the yearbook there is little information on it. However, on March 10, 2011, SMU Queer (SMUQ) created its first Facebook post and shortly after followed it up with another post about the society's new email address, which is now defunct. It’s not clear when the society changed its name from GLBTQ society to SMUQ or what motivated them to do so. The society again changed its name from SMUQ to LGBT SMU in 2018 officially announcing its name change in a social media post on September 19, 2018. The executive team at the time cited easier recognition amongst the student body and a more inclusive title as factors in the decision to change the society’s name. According to their Facebook page, they changed their name to SMU Pride on August 16, 2019, although no reason is given for the name change. I attempted to reach out to the society for clarification via Facebook messenger and email but have not heard back from them. The society did have some activity in the fall of 2019. For example, it was present at the 2019 Fall Societies Fair, it had a few general meetings, and at one point the society planned to hold bystander training. However, in February 2020 the executives sent out an email to the society’s mailing list saying that all society activity would be put on hold until “after the winter break.” Since then the winter break has come and gone and the society hasn’t shown any signs of life and any attempts to reach out to the executive team go unanswered. We can only assume the society has since retired. 

D.R.A.F.T Team

The Drinking Responsibly and Feeling Terrific (or D.R.A.F.T) Team originally started out as the “Student Peers Society Initiative” that helped to organize Saint Mary’s Alcohol Awareness Week in 1999. It is first listed and introduced as its own society in the 2001-2002 Santanmarian Yearbook, the yearbook gives a half-page introduction to the society that reads “The Saint Mary’s University D.R.A.F.T (Drinking Responsibly and Feeling Terrific) Team is a committee of students and staff interested in promoting student’s well being through responsible alcohol use.”  

The Santanmarian Yearbooks list the D.R.A.F.T Team as a society until the 2007-2008 edition which has it missing from the list of societies. Research into the society turned up no further information about the society or what happened to it and I’m left to speculate. If I had to assume it might be a combination of lack of interest and support for the society, the creation of the Res Life Team, which works alongside RAs to create events on campus that promote the healthy use of alcohol and cannabis, as well as the Healthy Campus Strategy that was outlined in the university’s Strategic Plan in 2017. The Healthy Campus Strategy is an initiative set forth by the university to help promote the health and well-being of the students and staff and includes on-campus activities, resources for both students and staff and grants for students who help promote the health and well-being of the Saint Mary’s population. 

Clipping Taken from the 2001-2002 Santanmarian Yearbook

Residence Society

This society is one of the oldest that I was able to find any information about. The Residence Society started when the university opened the dorms for students to live on campus and its purpose was to support students in residence living. This included fielding any complaints that students had, but also creating and overseeing events on campus and in the dorms. In an interview, SMU alumna, Mary Hotchkiss, who was part of the society in 1969, says “[Residence Society] was mainly just, you know, to hear any complaints… [For] activities, but just seeing if you like the food and what we’d like to see changed…” 

I wasn’t able to pinpoint an exact date this society stopped existing, as it’s missing from the societies list in the Santanmarian yearbooks. The society did have a brief revival in 2004 but was again missing from the societies list in the following year’s yearbook. The society has been replaced with current-day SMUSA who fields any complaints students might have with the University. Moreover, we now have campus and Res Life Teams who help plan events within campus residences.

Photo by Meg Boulden on Unsplash

Literati Society

An English society of sorts, the Literati society was active from an unknown time until 2003 when it took a short hiatus. It was an active society again starting in 2005, and in the 2005-2006 Santamarian Yearbook it was given a full-page spread in the societies section where executives said “… A small group of inspired and passionate English students banded together and created a spark that has since grown into a glowing flame.” The Society existed outside the SMU English Society but there was no information available as to why. The society continued to be active until 2010 when it again disappeared. There wasn’t much information on this society other than the aforementioned yearbook entry so I wasn’t able to find out what caused the society to disband.

Besides these societies, there are quite a few that pop up in the societies section of the Santamarian yearbook one year and then disappear the next. Most of these societies were small and often very specific to trends of that year. While I don’t have much information on them besides their names and the year(s) that they appear, I’d like to mention three specific clubs that caught my eye and might inspire you to create your own society in the future. 

1. PAWS (Partnership for Animal Welfare Society) which appeared in the 2008-2009 Santamarian yearbook.

2. Role Play appeared in the 2008-2009 Santamarian yearbook.

3. The Sandwich Society appeared in the 2010-2011 Santamarian yearbook.

This list isn’t exhaustive and there are likely many other societies that were once part of the SMU culture but aren’t anymore. If you’d like to suggest a society (past or present) for a future SMU Journal article, feel free to reach out to me at carolee.avery@smu.ca.