Graduate board members say they have become increasingly fed up with undergraduate abuse of the clubs and lack of respect for the buildings.

"There was a lot of damage done to the building last year," Saxe says. "And we're trying to raise money."

Sears says graduate boards understand the importance of their position to the survival of the clubs and attempt to enforce regulations outlined for club members.

"There are guidelines for guests and guidelines for member behavior. Grad boards and the ICC have been trying to ensure these guidelines are observed," he says.

Sears adds that graduates expressed disappointment when they discovered that current members' behavior did not meet the standards they had set based on their own experiences years ago.

"Some clubs looked at the behavior of undergraduate members and found that some were motivated by [the] opportunity to acquire an interest in a function hall and they were not genuinely interested in furthering the fellowship of the club," he says.

Sears concedes this view of undergraduate members may stem from an occluded picture of what the clubs are really like now.

"For whatever reason, there are fewer graduates who are around clubs during everyday times that may not have anything to do with undergraduates," he says. "Clubs have become more of the domain of the undergraduates and their friends."

And with this shift came the feeling from graduates that undergraduates were jeopardizing the clubs they love. So they sent a message this spring with the club closings.

"People realized these are fragile institutions and it takes a lot to keep the club happy," Saxe says. "We have to keep the finances in shape and keep the original purpose of members for members."

Graduates' concerns about the future of clubs as gentlemen's institutions are compounded by the more practical issues of liability which arise when large numbers of non-members flood the club-owned buildings to drink. The clubs can then be liable for injuries or property damage.

"As businesses, the clubs are having problems," Sears says. "They can be dangerous or not dangerous. Looking at the guest policy, how does alcohol fit into the mix?"

Final clubs might not have the same problems if they did not serve alcohol, because most problems with destruction and accidents occur when the people involved are drunk.

But because clubs cannot insure themselves against an illegal activity, like giving liquor to minors, their danger level skyrockets even higher.

Although there is a large endowment and undergraduates pay dues of about $75 a month, Saxe says the student members' money is used for undergraduate events.