"The Spee graduates have been heard in their disapproval of a large party with a large number of guests to which the undergraduates feel entitled," Sears says.

In Undergraduates We Trust?

Because of the monetary stake--as well as pride--the graduates have in their respective clubs, Sears says they will never return to laissez-faire governance again.

"When the undergraduates give their solemn word, the graduates will trust them but seek to verify," he says.

The recent A.D. and Spee closings raise concerns about the state of communication between graduates and undergraduates.

When the A.D. club decided to close its doors to non-members--a huge switch for what many viewed as the most frat-like of the final clubs--some undergraduates were not even aware of the change. And most of those who were expressed unhappiness.

The graduate board's subsequent action, informing members that they were not allowed in the club, suggests that the graduate board disapproved not only of guest actions, but of members' as well.

The Spee closing also demonstrated a lack of trust on the part of the graduates, citing club rule violations for the action.

Although Sears declined to comment on which clubs have faced the most serious problems with communication, he hinted that the A.D. and Spee may not be in top shape.

"The ones that have clamped down are the ones that feel most assuredly that they must do so," Sears says.

Powers says the A.D.'s graduate board proved its faith in members by reopening the club just a few weeks after they barred members. Still, none of the other clubs have focused the blame so directly on its own members.

"[Closing the Owl to non-members] was in no way a reflection on what we were doing in the club," Powers says. "[The grad board] could have easily said, `We're shutting you down.'"

Saxe says the PSK graduate board also has a relatively good relationship with its undergraduates.

"It's undergone some tension because of what's happened," he says. "But do I think there is wholesale cheating? No."

Halpern says he never felt as though the graduates really trusted him or the others in the club--and for good reason.