The Stute released an article providing updates on Khoda, Stevens’ secret society, on February 18. While it was initially speculated that Khoda was no longer running as the website had not been updated since 2019, it has now come to light that the secret society is still very much alive, with a typical number of members as compared to historical data. In order to gain a better understanding of where the organization stands currently, The Stute was able to perform an exclusive interview with an active member of Khoda through an unaffiliated third party, and was also contacted by anonymous alumni of the organization with more context as to Khoda’s history and purpose.
Founded in 1909 as a senior leadership honor society at Stevens, Khoda is touted as existing for the betterment of the Stevens community, even within its secrecy. As the aforementioned alumni explained, “Khoda exists to connect leaders of varied backgrounds and experiences, promote group problem solving, and stimulate individual and group initiatives. Khoda is an integral part of Stevens history and culture; its members even initiated the creation of the Student Government Association and Gear & Triangle leadership honor society.” And while it exists for the betterment of this community, it does not aim to do so for the sake of the student body as the SGA does. Rather, the alum clarified that Khoda “merely allows for a cross section of official and unofficial student organization leaders to connect and lead in their own ways” of which they, personally, felt benefitted them greatly by “being connected to esteemed leaders at Stevens.”
Though the alum commented that “seemingly little has gone on as of recent with the organization,” The Stute’s interview found that as of March, Khoda tallied eight current members — none of which are listed on Khoda’s website which was noted as “disheartening to see, as it connects newer alumni with the old.” Khoda was, surprisingly, still active over the course of the pandemic and was able to recruit during that time as well. These “tapped” members were picked in the same fashion as all their predecessors, by gauging who is active on campus and subsequently who might have the ability to, as our interview with the current member provided, “contribute to Khoda and their bigger picture.” The most recent tapping ceremony, in which Khoda’s pledges, if you will, were essentially made members, took place this past spring. It can be assumed that the next will occur this spring.
When asked what Khoda’s goals were for this upcoming semester and year, the response given in our interview was that they would continue to work with hiring committees to make sure administration was bringing in quality candidates, as well as working to make sure the student body has the same values and is as strong as it was before the pandemic. One consistent source of controversy of this secret society is how they are able to work to better the Stevens community if there is next to no communication with the student body about their concerns or needs. The reality is that, as the alum explained, “There will always be ways to improve the campus, and there will always be a need for someone to step up to fill those needs, whether they do it on behalf of Khoda or any other group of people.”
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