The Tejas Club: A Texas twist on an old Harvard tradition

Gabriella Garza The Tejas Club: A Texas twist on an old Harvard tradition

To get into one of Harvard’s nine prestigious final clubs, there is no application. There is no

interview and there is no rush process.

Instead, they use a process called “punching,” which is a series of social events where active members get to know prospective members and then invite people they think would be good for the club to join. By this definition, The University of Texas at Austin is home to its very own final club as well.

On the corner of 26th and Rio Grande one will find a Members of the Tejas Club in front of their West Campus home in 2013 being compared to club members in the late 50s. (photo: Jena Sepich)

quaint three-­‐story plantation style home situated on a grassy patch of land. This house is the home to The Tejas Club, the premier men’s social organization at The University of Texas at

Austin, and an organization rooted in their traditions and founding principles.

Tom Renfro and Howell Cobb, students at The University of Texas Law School, founded the club

in 1925. Their vision was simple: to establish a club on the Texas campus composed of men whom they believe to be honorable and with whom they would like to associate as friends while in school and after they leave campus. The men began recruiting friends to join the club, named the club “Tejas,” and began to refer to one another as “braves,” with the intention of emulating the friendliness of the East Texas Indians.

There was no formal application, the men were asked to the join if Renfro and Hobb thought

they were fit to be members. Borrowing this method from Harvard, this unconventional recruitment process is still practiced by the club today. Prospective members “come around” the club, attending

events and trying to get to know the braves. When the club members think a young man will be an appropriate addition to the club they’ll ask him to join, which can be at any time during in the semester.

It can take weeks, months and even years before someone receives an invitation to join, if they ever do.

As a result, the number of members in the organization usually hovers around 50, making it one of the smaller social clubs on campus.

By 1926 the club had grown to 19 members, and were asked to join the Interfraternity Council.

However the club chose to remain independent of the Greek system, and has remained so ever since.

Since final clubs are not eminent in the south, most people are not sure how to classify the organization.

As a member of Texas Round Table it is associated with the spirit group community, but because they own a house they could also be considered a fraternity.

“So the spirit group label was kind of retroactively applied to Tejas, we don’t necessarily identify

as a spirit group. We understand that’s kind of where, according to the university, we lie but we definitely see ourselves as an independent fraternity,” said Christopher Jordan, current club Co-­‐Vampire [service chair]. “I would definitely classify it as an independent fraternity that unique in its values, processes, traditions and things like that.”

Similarly to the members of Harvard’s final clubs, braves have gained the reputation among

students of being refined men, who are active on campus, politically focused, and success driven. This reputation can be attributed to their long tradition of recruiting leaders, the fondness of the club by renowned Texas alumni and the university administration, and their tendency to host unique events incomparable to those hosted by the Greek and spirit group communities.

Braves pride themselves on being exceptional leaders on campus. Renfro was serving as a state

representative in the 1925 legislative session when he founded Tejas, and since the club’s

consummation 17 braves have served as president of The University of Texas student body, including current president Kornell Rady.

Although the club wasn’t founded for political purposes, this is a feat unequalled by any other

university organization. It doesn’t stop there-­‐between 1928 and 1946 there were at least three Daily Texan editors, four head cheerleaders, and braves in Silver Spurs, Friars, and Cowboys. Today, braves are integrated into almost every student group on campus. Notable alumni include Harley Clark, originator of the ‘Hook ‘em’ hand sign, and Rex Tillerson, current chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Corporation who recently pledged $5 million to the construction of the newest addition in The Cockrell School of Engineering building complex.

The club also hosts an annual

champagne breakfast to celebrate Texas Independence Day and honor outstanding faculty and graduating seniors. This past year current University of Texas President William Powers Jr. was in attendance, as well as former university historian and

The braves serenade guest of honor Margaret C. Berry on the porch of their house at the 2014 Texas Independence Day brunch on Feb. 28. (photo: Kristen Jones)

honorary Tejas Brave Margaret C. Berry. After the breakfast the braves stormed campus armed with yellow roses to continue the celebration. The braves were dressed in suits and delivered the roses to unsuspecting females while serenading the, often-­‐confused, young woman with the Righteous Brothers’ popular tune “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’.” The young men delivered these roses to women working out in Gregory Gymnasium, faculty in the Dean of Students office and even a random classroom in the Belo Center for New Media.

“Shout out to the Tejas Club for coming into my Psych class and singing ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin

Feelin’,’ tweeted Holly Cook, university freshman. “My professor got confused and just let us leave early.

Happy Friday!”

In addition to their annual brunch, Tejas hosts other distinctive events such as their weekly

lectureship series called “Tejas Coffee” and the Bob Pees Croquet Tournament and Crawfish Boil. Tejas Coffee is a conversation with a notable guest speaker hosted every Thursday night during the semester.

Distinguished speakers have included former Longhorn Head Football Coach Mack Brown and former director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Bob Inman.

“Tejas Coffees actually evolved from an older tradition called, “Tejas Smokers” and that’s been

around since the club was founded in 1925. All the guys would sit around the living room and smoke cigars indoors and talk about law, philosophy or things like that…then they evolved into the Tejas Coffee once smoking became a little less, you know, normal,” said Jordan. “There’s been a speaker coming to the house every Thursday night since the mid-­‐50s.”

Bob Pees’ is a subtle retaliation to the Greek hosted “Round-­‐Up” events that occur a few weeks before. All of the invited guests are required to wear white. The lawn is filled with young women sporting white dresses and gentleman smoking cigars in white linen shirts.

“The original purpose of the party was to poke fun at Current braves pose before the 2014 Bob Pees lawn party with an a-­‐frame one of their fellow members used in his student government campaign this past year. (photo: Maggie Widodo)

a brave, Bob Pees, who had graduated. But now, yeah, it is a sarcastic round-­‐up party,” said Jordan of the event.

Although the club’s structure seems to be modeled

after Harvard’s finals clubs, the men of Tejas don’t consider legacy, social prominence or wealth when selecting members, unlike the Ivy League clubs.

“We look for men who can be best friends, brothers, campus leaders, and uphold the standards

of this great university,” said Arjun Mocherla, current brave. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your last name is. We accept one another for who they are. And because of that I’m proud to call myself a brave.”