Stewards Society

The Stewards Society, also known as the Society of Stewards, is/was a secret society — a label that the organization contests, preferring the term "private association" — at Georgetown. Founded in 1982, the society was exposed in 1988 and subsequently experienced several schisms, resulting in the creation of several Societies of Stewards. The society's 1988 revelation led to significant controversy surrounding the group's exclusivity and membership, concerns that have occasionally resurfaced.

Origins

The exact origins and founding date of the Stewards Society are unclear. The Georgetown Voice issue exposing the society's existence did not conclusively confirm a founding date and instead presented competing theories. Some members of Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity which was closely associated with the Stewards in the 1980s, speculated that the Stewards had their origins in the 19th century before a recent revival by Richard J. Cellini (CAS '84, L '87)1. However, other sources claimed that the Stewards Society was established in 1982 by Cellini and Manuel Miranda (SFS '82)2, an origin story that has been generally accepted in campus media ever since. The organization's activities and membership remained officially secret until 1988, when it experienced a flurry of coverage in student media. 

Shortly before the revelation of the Stewards' existence and activities, the society's existence began to leak to the broader student body. A tipping point came when two students, Rosie Hidalgo (CAS '88) and Peg Dowley (CAS '89), were critical of a Leadership Conference organized by the Alumni Association that did not include any women speakers3. Dowley subsequently met with Fr. Joseph Durkin, S.J., and accused him of Stewards membership4. Hidalgo similarly complained that "the whole thing smelled of Stewards" after she was asked to participate in the conference and declined5.

At the conference itself, Cellini inadvertently referenced the Stewards twice during a morning address criticizing Georgetown's student organizations6. With the society's existence increasingly public, the conference's afternoon forum fixated on the Stewards. Club leaders vented their frustration regarding Cellini's criticism and his disclosure of the Stewards' existence; Hidalgo described herself as "vehemently opposed to the Stewards"7.

Revelations and aftermath

In the aftermath of the Leadership Conference, the Stewards Society published a letter to the editor in The Hoya's February 5, 1988 edition. The letter included five points: a pledge to defend Georgetown and its traditions, a statement about the club's secret membership, a commitment to recognizing leadership and rejecting discrimination, a commitment to helping develop women leaders, and a commitment to securing support within the organization for admitting women8. In a contemporaneous letter to The Hoya, Fr. Durkin acknowledged that he was a moderator for the Stewards and criticized the organization's decision to remain secret and not admit women9. 

The February 5 revelations in The Hoya led to additional student criticism. On February 7, GUSA passed a resolution condemning organizations that discriminate "on the basis of race, gender, wealth, or creed"10. Stewards were asked to abstain; GUSA Chairman Mark Johnson (CAS '89), then a candidate in the GUSA executive election, abstained11. An additional motion called for Johnson to resign from his position as chairman, but it failed to receive the necessary two-thirds majority12.

The Voice published a special issue on February 8 about the Stewards, creating further controversy around the organization. It named prominent students and alumni as Stewards, including The Hoya's editor-in-chief13, the vice president of GUSA14, and the former mascot15. GUSA Chairman Johnson, also identified as a Steward, managed to win his executive election despite the ensuing controversy16.

On February 8, three Stewards announced the society's dissolution in a press conference held at Village C17. However, coverage in The Hoya presents conflicting viewpoints on whether the society actually disbanded18, 19; regardless, the Stewards Society continued to operate after 198820. Two members of The Hoya's board, including editor-in-chief Chris Donesa (CAS '89), resigned due to their Stewards affiliations21.

In the aftermath of the 1988 controversies, the Stewards' undergraduate organization disbanded and the Stewards temporarily ceased recruitment22. In 1989, however, a group of students requested to join, leading to the renewal of undergraduate recruiting23. In May 1989, GUCD president Brian Jones (MSB '90) stated that he was the Stewards Society's new president in a letter to then-Dean of Student Affairs John DeGioia24. Jones was subsequently removed from his role as president of GUCD by a membership vote25. 

Activities

The Stewards Society's initiation process, as described to the Voice in 1988, began with a letter from Fr. Durkin26. The candidate would next receive gold keys, meet a member in Red Square, and sign a secrecy pledge27. One candidate who decided not to join told the Voice that he was "sent on searches throughout the campus for keys, and was asked about how he felt about Georgetown traditions"28. 

According to The Hoya, Steward meeting sites were "marked by the sign of a key"29. The society's meeting places have included Copley Crypt and Dahlgren Quad30.

In the press conference announcing the society's disbandment, the Stewards claimed credit for a 1987 Rock Against Cancer fundraiser31. The Stewards also organized an on-campus Halloween screening of The Exorcist32.  Other Steward activities involved the cultivation and promotion of various traditions. Stewards would send freshmen a list of Georgetown traditions and helped promote Healy Howl33. The Second Stewards Society, formed after a 1990s split in the original Stewards, supported the Georgetown University Committee for Crucifixes in the Classroom in 199934. It is unclear what other initiatives the Stewards have been involved in, as the organization publicly promotes only some of its activities35.

Splits and continued activities

In the mid-1990s, a group of Stewards split from the original Stewards Society to found the Second Stewards Society. Hoya coverage first refers to a "Second Stewards Society" in 1996, so it is likely that the split occurred sometime in 1995 or 1996. The two societies, both referred to as "Stewards", disputed which society could claim links to the original36. The Second Stewards argued that the split ended the original Stewards Society and that the new society should therefore call itself the Third Stewards Society37. The Third Stewards, by contrast, considered themselves the successors of the original Stewards Society and claimed that the Stewards Society "continued its business as usual" after the Second Stewards left38.

The Stewards have seemingly remained active, though they have not experienced as much campus media coverage in the past two decades as they did in the 1980s and 90s. The 2013 and 2014 GUSA executive elections both featured candidates who were members of the Stewards39, 40. As in the 1980s and 90s, Steward membership proved controversial. The Stewards' most recent appearance in campus media came in 2020 with an opinion piece in The Hoya from Adam Augustine Carter (CAS '87, L '91), which responded on behalf of the Second Stewards to a recent Hoya piece41.

Controversies and criticism

The Stewards have been a subject of significant controversy since the late 1980s. The organization's status as an all-male society has been especially controversial, drawing retrospective criticism from the society's then-moderator Fr. Durkin and from a 1988 GUSA campaign which criticized the Stewards for a lack of diversity42. 

The society has often been described as an elitist conservative organization — a characterization frequently contested by members — in campus media. That reputation may come at least partly from its selectivity; the Stewards have been known to recruit leaders of student organizations. The society's five-part membership criteria from 1991 (members had to meet at least one criterion) included possession of a leadership position43. Additionally, three consecutive Hoya editors-in-chief were Stewards44. 1988 campus media reports on the Stewards reference broad concerns about improper influence, such as the notion that the society aimed to "put forth a hidden agenda that benefits the society's members"45. 

The Stewards were heavily criticized for a lack of diversity, including for their all-male status. The group's lack of racial diversity also prompted outcry from students when the society was revealed in 1988. A 1989 Hoya editorial criticized the Stewards as "a secret society of 12 white men"46.

In 2013, an anonymous Facebook account revealed that two candidates on separate campaigns in the 2013 GUSA executive elections were Stewards47. In response, a rival campaign rescinded their secondary endorsement (GUSA elections use ranked-choice voting)48. The winning vice-presidential candidate revealed his membership in a different, unnamed secret society49. In the 2014 race, four of the eight candidates were Stewards50.

As recently as 2020, an anonymous Twitter account purportedly run by a group called The White Rose claimed to reveal the identities of Steward members; the Stewards claimed that the account's tweets were inaccurate51.

• 1Rand, Joe. "The Stewards: Fact and Fiction." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 2Niven, Alex. "Stewards Remain Active at GU." The Hoya. 21 February 1989.
• 3Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 4Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 5Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 6Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 7Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 8"Stewards Society Speaks." The Hoya. 5 February 1988.
• 9Durkin, Fr. Joseph T., S.J. "Stewards Should Admit Women." The Hoya. 5 February 1988.
• 10Cannella, Dave and Tiffany Faircloth. "Campus Reacts to Steward Revelations." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 11Cannella, Dave and Tiffany Faircloth. "Campus Reacts to Steward Revelations." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 12Nagel, Mark. "Johnson Remains GUSA Chairman; Assembly Votes to Censure Rote." The Hoya. 12 February 1988.
• 13Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 14Brenner, Dean et al. "Stewards Uncovered, Will Dissolve." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 15Reid, Chris. "The Stewards: An Adventure in Reporting." The Hoya. 26 January 1990.
• 16Walters, Ed. "Johnson Assesses Highs, Lows of Past School Year." The Hoya. 28 April 1989.
• 17Reid, Chris. "Stewards Come Forward; Will Disband Society." The Hoya. 9 February 1988.
• 18Renzulli, Jeffrey J. "The Hilltop Is Ruled by a Tyranny of the Majority." The Hoya. 5 December 1989.
• 19Almeida, Jennifer and Sean G. Rushton. "An Inside Look at the Stewards Society." The Hoya. 2 February 1993.
• 20Almeida, Jennifer and Sean G. Rushton. "An Inside Look at the Stewards Society." The Hoya. 2 February 1993.
• 21Wong, Nicole. "HOYA Editors Resign from Board." The Hoya. 12 February 1988.
• 22Goggin, Michael. "Stewards Society Elects Undergraduate Chief." The Hoya. 2 May 1989.
• 23Goggin, Michael. "Stewards Society Elects Undergraduate Chief." The Hoya. 2 May 1989.
• 24Goggin, Michael. "Stewards Society Elects Undergraduate Chief." The Hoya. 2 May 1989.
• 25"The CD's Lesson." The Hoya. 7 November 1989.
• 26Rand, Joe. "The Stewards: Fact and Fiction." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 27Rand, Joe. "The Stewards: Fact and Fiction." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 28Rand, Joe. "The Stewards: Fact and Fiction." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 29Reid, Chris. "Secret Society Causes Campus Uproar." The Hoya. 12 February 1988.
• 30Reid, Chris. "Secret Society Causes Campus Uproar." The Hoya. 12 February 1988.
• 31Reid, Chris. "Stewards Planned Benefit; Brought Back 'Exorcist'." The Hoya. 19 February 1988.
• 32Reid, Chris. "Stewards Planned Benefit; Brought Back 'Exorcist'." The Hoya. 19 February 1988.
• 33Reid, Chris. "Stewards Planned Benefit; Brought Back 'Exorcist'." The Hoya. 19 February 1988.
• 34Advertisement from the Georgetown University Committee for Crucifixes in the Classroom. The Hoya, 28 May 1999, p. 4.
• 35Carter, Adam Augustine. "VIEWPOINT: Speaking for the Second Stewards Society." The Hoya. 6 March 2020.
• 36Liska, Pablo. "Stewards Fight Over Identity, Purpose." The Hoya. 22 April 1997.
• 37Liska, Pablo. "Stewards Fight Over Identity, Purpose." The Hoya. 22 April 1997.
• 38Liska, Pablo. "Stewards Fight Over Identity, Purpose." The Hoya. 22 April 1997.
• 39Hinchliffe, Emma. "GUSA Election Rocked By Secret Society." The Hoya. 26 April 2013.
• 40Gregory, Matt. "4 Candidates Secret Society Members." The Hoya. 5 May 2023.
• 41Carter, Adam Augustine. "VIEWPOINT: Speaking for the Second Stewards Society." The Hoya. 6 March 2020.
• 42"Austern/Marcella Platform." The Hoya. 19 February 1988.
• 43"How to Be A Steward." The Hoya. 2 February 1993.
• 44Rand, Joe. "The Stewards: Fact and Fiction." The Georgetown Voice. 8 February 1988.
• 45Reid, Chris. "Secret Society Causes Campus Uproar." The Hoya. 9 February 1988.
• 46"Avoid Steward Central." The Hoya. 21 February 1989.
• 47Hinchliffe, Emma. "GUSA Election Rocked By Secret Society." The Hoya. 26 April 2013.
• 48Hinchliffe, Emma. "GUSA Election Rocked By Secret Society." The Hoya. 26 April 2013.
• 49Hinchliffe, Emma. "GUSA Election Rocked By Secret Society." The Hoya. 26 April 2013.
• 50Gregory, Matt. "4 Candidates Secret Society Members." The Hoya. 5 May 2023.
• 51Grudberg, Clara and Harrison McBride. "Anonymous Twitter Account Vows To Unmask Secret Society Members." The Hoya. 21 February 2020.