I was pleased to see that the induction's held by Eta Kappa Nu made the front page of our school paper last week. The good mood I was in was spoiled when I read the letter to the editor throwing doubt on the validity of the entire honor society system at WPI. As the president of one honor society and a member of another, some of the things implied by last week's letter seem ridiculous to me.
The honor societies that are on the WPI campus are - for the most part - only chapters in larger, national organizations. As part of a national organization, a WPI chapter must adhere to the rules and guidelines established at the national level. These guidelines include selection criteria (i.e. what the society honors in its members).
In Eta Kappe Nu (the Electrical Engineering honor society), for instance, the criteria for admission are set by the national organization and our chapter is bound to follow the national rules. Over the course of this year, several people have approached me and inquired exactly what the criteria included, and I was more than happy to let them know. I think that if the president of each honor society was asked what his or her group honored and what the criteria for selection are, they too would be glad to answer.
It seems to me that last week's writer has a problem with one group in particular, which - for any number of reasons - does not disclose its selection criteria to the student body at large. Skull is the only honor society I know of where "speculation about the qualifications" exists, and a problem with them does not need to become a problem with every honor society.
It doesn't matter to me whether or not honor societies would have to specify their qualifications to the school. For most groups, it would be redundant. I could not however, let the doubt cast on honor societies by last week's letter go unanswered.
Jon Barlow
President, Eta Kappa Nu