Alpha Society records

Smith College's first literary society, Alpha Society, was founded by the Class of 1881 in the winter of their freshman year. Mary Sophia Wilkie chaired its first meeting on January 19, 1878. The Society soon gained much respect and admiration for its frequent productions of popular plays and its publication of its own newspaper, The Alpha. Members met approximately once every three weeks. The meetings included entertainment such as plays, music, readings, recitations, and lectures on various topics of interest.

Alpha Society was such a success that in 1892 five members broke off to form a rival society, Phi Kappa Psi. Both societies flourished, selecting their members by careful consideration of artistic merit and creativity. By 1934 student interests had shifted away from the arts. The two societies elected to combine into the society known as Alpha-Phi Kappa Psi, thus allowing both to endure.

In 1938 Alpha-Phi Kappa Psi adopted a new constitution which limited its membership to thirty students who had distinguished themselves in one or more of the arts. This reflected an ideological shift over the years from "an amusement society", as it was described by a member in 1883, to "an honorary [sic] society which recognizes outstanding creative achievement", as it was described in 1938. Activities of Alpha-Phi Kappa Psi were last recorded in 1968.