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Oct 3, 2013 · Via Welcome To The Machine. ... The 100-year-old organization has been the subject of many profiles and exposés, including a now-notorious 1992 Esquire cover story. According to Esquire, the ...
- The Machine Is A Chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon That Dates Back to 1914
- The Machine Has Determined Almost Every SGA President in Alabama’s History
- The Machine Also Reportedly Controls Student Government Policies and Decisions
- The Machine’S Power Grip Has Also Reportedly Influenced Sorority Recruitment
- The Machine Has A Decades-Long History of Reported Racism
- In 2013, The Machine Was Accused of Rigging A Local Election
- The Machine Is Still A Present Force at The University of Alabama
In 1914, a University of Alabama student named Joseph Lister Hill founded the school’s Student Government Association — and simultaneously created a secret fraternity to control it, The Bitter Southerner reported. That underground society was officially a chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon, a national fraternity that began in 1870 at Wesleyan University. ...
The Machine’s power at the University of Alabama is undeniable: a reported 1989 Machine pamphlet uncovered by Business Insiderin 2013 stated that the society had elected 68 out of the 75 presidents in SGA’s history. “This is because the SGA is ours,” the pamphlet claimed. This success rate is due to some questionable and alleged Machine tactics. Es...
The Machine’s influence doesn’t stop after election day: The SGA president and senators who were elected with The Machine’s help are also expected to vote a certain way once in office, according to The Crimson White. The Machine allegedly determines what bills and measures it wants to support or undermine — and there are potential consequences for ...
The extent of The Machine’s influence goes beyond student government — it has also reportedly impacted how the University of Alabama sororities recruit their members. In 2000 and 2001, a highly-qualified student named Melody Twilley attempted to become the first Black woman to join an all-White sorority at the University of Alabama. On paper, she w...
Over the 100-plus years of The Machine’s existence, there have been several stories of alleged racism beyond their sorority recruitment tactics. In 1976, Cleophus "Cleo" Thomas defeated The Machine and became the first Black president of the SGA. His victory was achieved, in part, thanks to the support of White sororities (who, at the time, were no...
The Machine’s reach extended beyond campus borders in 2013, and the secret society reportedly rigged a Tuscaloosa City Board of Education election, the New York Times reported. In 2013, then-26-year-old Cason Kirby (a former Machine-backed SGA president) narrowly defeated the incumbent Kelly Horwitz for the District 4 Board of Education seat, accor...
While The Machine is still present at the University of Alabama, the group appears to be trying to reform its image in recent years. In 2017, Jared Hunter became the first Black candidate for SGA president to be backed by The Machine. “Running for office with the support of a group with such a checkered past was one of the hardest decisions I have ...
Oct 3, 2013 · The 100-year-old organization has been the subject of many profiles and exposés, including a now-notorious 1992 Esquire cover story.According to Esquire, the Machine started out as a chapter of ...
Apr 1, 1992 · The Most Powerful Fraternity in America. It controls life at the University of Alabama, but nobody can see it. Its influence extends to the statehouse, but nobody can touch it. It stinks of corruption, but nobody can smell it. It is, simply, the Machine. Get instant access to 85+ years of Esquire. Subscribe Now!
The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of Panhellenic sororities and IFC and NPHC fraternities that formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics. The group, which has operated in varying degrees of secrecy since 1914 (though its ...
Esquire (New York, New York : April, 1992), pp. 102 — 106 Note: The following is an expose that appeared in Esquire Magazine in 1992. Insofar as one can determine, the facts presented are accurate and consistent with both contemporary accounts and with current knowledge.
Feb 13, 2024 · “Welcome to the Machine,” sound-wise, comes as close to sci-fi as any Pink Floyd track. But lyrically, it describes an all-too-human verity wherein a beautiful dreamer gets corrupted and used ...
