Duke University. Few Federation.

The Few Federation was an undergraduate organization which united the following living groups: House A, Cleland, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Bunch of Guys, on West Campus from 1971 to the early 1980s. It hosted recreational and credit-earning courses on a variety of topics including auto mechanics, electronic music and leadership. Social events hosted by the Few Federation included concerts, backgammon tournaments, and computer dating parties. It was one of four federations which were abolished in the early 1980s in order to improve balance between men and women and between selective and independent living groups on campus.

From the description of Few Federation records, 1973-1982. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 163575890

Few Federation, an undergraduate organization which united House A, Cleland, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Bunch of Guys Houses on Duke University's west campus, from 1971 to the early 1980s. The Few Federation hosted recreational and credit-earning courses on a variety of topics including auto mechanics, needlepoint, electronic music and leadership. Social events hosted by the Few Federation included concerts, backgammon tournaments, and computer dating parties. New residents of houses in Few Federation were partnered with returning students. This Freshman Advisory Council was widely successful in orienting them to the Duke University and campus life.

Three other Federations existed on campus around from the early 1970s to the early 1980s: the Edens, Baldwin, and Kilgo Federations. These independent living groups, centered around several of the quadrangles on East and West campuses, banded together to form college-type communities within the university setting. Faculty endorsed federations for their potential to help students realize their personal educational goals. Students supported federations because they provided a wider base for friendships and a variety of opportunities for involvement. A federation supplemented the on-campus living experience with a variety of house courses, occasional educational programs, festivals, dances, and parties. Each federation was headed by faculty who were responsible for organizing new programs, guiding governance of the federation structure, and facilitating partnerships among living groups.

In the early 1980s, federations were abolished in order to improve balance between men and women, and between selective and independent living groups on campus. While individual living groups were chartered and occasionally dissolved, the system of selective living, within the parameters of a program of residential living groups within residence halls, remained intact.

From the guide to the Few Federation records, 1973-1982, (University Archives, Duke University)