Photo:Brynn Anderson/AP
Brynn Anderson/AP
In August 2021, videos ofsorority recruitmentat the University of Alabama — where more than 2,500 potential new members (PNMs) compete for spots in 19 houses — began to flood TikTok. The clips of Alabama’s rush week, under the hashtags #BamaRush and #BamaRushTok, quickly went viral — and even spawned a Max documentary on the phenomenon.
The documentary, titledBama Rush, promises to provide a more in-depth look into the highly competitive world of sorority recruitment and Greek life at the university. In the process, the film also sheds light on The Machine: a not-so-secret organization at the university with a history of influence and, at times, controversy.
The Machine operates under the guise of being a secret society, but their power and presence has been well documented at the University of Alabama for decades. The underground organization is reportedly made up of representatives from the school’s top sororities and fraternities, and controls everything from on-campus politics to Homecoming Court elections. A peek at their influence is seen in the trailer forBama Rush,when a social media comment appears on the screen that reads, “The Machine will stop this!”
When the students participating in the documentary are asked if they have heard of The Machine, their response is quick and blunt: “We shouldn’t talk about that.” However, their hesitation to speak on camera about the secret society is warranted. In 2022,theNew York Timesreportedthat Marina Anderson, a PNM, was dismissed from Alabama’s sorority recruitment that year over suspicions she had been recording while inside a house — which is strictly prohibited.
So, what exactly is The Machine at the University of Alabama? Here is a complete look at the controversial secret society, from its beginnings over a century ago to its troubled history over the years.
The Machine is a chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon that dates back to 1914
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 Southernerreported. That underground society was officially a chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon, a national fraternity that began in 1870 at Wesleyan University. Unofficially, though, it earned the nickname “The Machine” from the school newspaper,The Crimson White,for its political domination at the university.
The Machine has determined almost every SGA president in Alabama’s history
As a result, only a handful of non-Machine candidates have ever been elected president in the 100-plus years that the SGA has existed. The most recent example came in 2015, when Elliot Spillers became the first non-Machine-backed candidate to win SGA president in nearly four decades,according to HuffPost. Spillers was also only the second Black president in the SGA’s history.
However, Spillers still gave partial credit to The Machine for his victory.
“The entire Machine is not a bad organization,” Spillers told HuffPost. “It took members within that organization to stand beside me and go against the grain and get me elected to this office. Just like the rest of us on campus, they’re ready for change. They’re ready for an inclusive environment on campus.”
Joey Viselli was another independent candidate who ran against The Machine in 1989. He was a popular pick, thanks to his father’s local restaurant, Bama-Bino’s Pizza, but narrowly lost the election, according toEsquire. However, The Machine was reportedly bitter at the close race and organized a boycott of Bam-Bino’s — which had previously gotten large orders for SGA and Greek life parties. As a result of the boycott and loss of business, Bama-Bino’s was forced to close.
“I was attacked. For what? Because I raised a child who has ideas?” Joey’s father, Fran Viselli, toldEsquire.
The Machine also reportedly controls student government policies and decisions
AP
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 toThe Crimson White. The Machine allegedly determines what bills and measures it wants to support or undermine — and there are potential consequences for not following along.
Machine-backed SGA members allegedly face both personal and house-wide repercussions for voting against the secret society’s wishes. According toThe Crimson White, those potential punishments include being deemed a social outcast or losing your fraternity or sorority’s ability to have “swaps” (or themed parties). The school newspaper added that fear-based control extends all the way up to the University’s administration, claiming that they won’t take steps against The Machine because they’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs.
But voting in line with The Machine’s interests supposedly has its benefits: Machine representatives are reportedly rewarded with alcohol or paid bar tabs,The Crimson Whitereported. Additionally, their fraternities or sororities will allegedly receive Machine-funded private parties. There is also an alleged annual beach trip for Machine representatives in student government.
The Machine’s power grip has also reportedly influenced sorority recruitment
HBO MAX
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 was an ideal candidate: Twilley had a 3.87 GPA, skipped ahead two grades in high school, sang in the campus choir and even had written recommendations from Greek alumni that university faculty helped her secure, according to theLos Angeles Times. However, two years in a row, all of the 15 White sororities at the time rejected Twilley — allegedly at the urging of The Machine, perThe New Republic.
“The Machine … put the word out that any sorority that accepted a Black girl wouldn’t get invited to parties,” Pat Hermann, a University of Alabama English professor, claimed to theSeattle Timesin 2001.
Then, in 2003, The Machine allegedly orchestrated the first time an all-White sorority extended a bid to a Black woman in an attempt to reform its image. According toTuscaloosa News, a current Gamma Phi Beta member claimed toThe Crimson Whitein 2003 that The Machine allegedly bribed the sorority to extend a bid to Carla Ferguson, a Black student, in exchange for the sorority’s admission into the not-so-secret society.
The Machine has a decades-long history of reported racism
Dave Martin/AP
Over the 100-plus years of The Machine’s existence, there have been several stories of alleged racism beyond their sorority recruitment tactics.
It “was almost a benign act of terror,” Thomas told theTuscaloosa Newsin 2006. “It was so uncreative — at least to me.”
Ten years later, in 1986, The Machine was rumored to be behind another cross burning — this time on the lawn of a Sorority Row home that Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black sorority, was considering using as a residence, both theAPandThe Crimson Whitereported. At the time, University Relations Director Mike Ellis called the cross burning “a school prank” and no charges were filed, according to the AP.
In 1999, a Black independent candidate for SGA president named Fabien Zinga claimed he had received racist threats that he believed came from The Machine. Zinga told CNN that his campaign signs had been defaced with racial slurs and that he had received a late-night phone call from a man who threatened him with violence.
“What I vividly remember,” Zinga told CNN, “is when he says ‘We are going to hang you from the tree.’ ”
In 1993, the SGA was suspended for three years after a violent (and rumored Machine) attack
The attack allegedly left Riley with “a golf-ball-size bruise on her cheek, a busted lip and a knife wound on the side of her face,” Riley’s older brother Rob Riley and her campaign manager Scott Batey claimed in a statement toThe Crimson White .
“Today The Machine is a little club of thugs and cowards,” he said. “I wouldn’t be associated with The Machine today for any price, and I don’t blame my sister for not wanting to associate with this group either.”
As a result of the attack, the University of Alabama shut down the student government, suspending it until 1996 in an attempt to reform campus politics.
In 2013, The Machine was accused of rigging a local election
The Machine’s reach extended beyond campus borders in 2013, and the secret society reportedly rigged a Tuscaloosa City Board of Education election,theNew York Timesreported.
But in November 2013, a judge dismissed Horwitz’s case — ruling that only 70 of the ballots could be considered questionable, which was short of the 87 she needed to overturn the election results,theTuscaloosa Newsreported.
The Machine is still a present force at the University of Alabama
Jay Reeves/AP
While The Machine is still present at the University of Alabama, the group appears to be trying to reform its image in recent years.
He continued, “The Machine’s stigma casts a shadow on the history of this university to this day. I wrestled with the dilemma — and eventually realized I had an incredible opportunity. I knew my campaign and my ideas were my own. No matter who chose to support me, I would run on my own terms.”
Hunter won the election, becoming only the third Black SGA president in the university’s history (and the first with Machine support).
“I wouldn’t be surprised if, in five to 10 years, The Machine that we see today is completely different,” he toldThe Crimson Whiteafter his win. “I think progress takes time and this year was the first step in making changes.”
Other students echoed similar thoughts after Hunter’s election. “The Machine is morphing. This is good, since diversity is important for the student body,” Helmi Henkin, a then-junior in a Machine sorority, toldThe Crimson White.
Also in 2015, a sophomore SGA senator named Alex Smith wrote an essay forThe Crimson Whitetitled“Why I’m Leaving the Machine.”In it, she described The Machine as an “oppressive system” that she could no longer be a part of.
“What I don’t understand is why The Machine intimidates and suppresses the voices of students while simultaneously sabotaging any progressive plans independents propose, especially when those plans would help every individual on this campus, including Greeks,” she wrote.
An SGA senator named Mike Smith expressed similar thoughts toThe Crimson Whitein 2017, claiming that The Machine wasn’t getting any more progressive in nature.
“They don’t care about diversity, equality or inclusion,” he told the school newspaper. “They nominated a woman and a Black man back-to-back to regain control … after two years of getting over 50 percent, I promise you the basement will throw up a White conservative Old Row fraternity guy for president next year.”
Smith’s prediction was partially accurate: In 2018, a White student named Price McGiffert, a member of The Machine fraternity Kappa Alpha, was elected SGA president. During McGiffert’s tenure, The Machine was suspected of influencing his creation of a new office for diversity and inclusion, according toThe Crimson White.
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source: people.com
