Sub Deb Sorority

A pledge had to follow silly, sometimes embarrassing, social protocols at school; no make-up, hair pulled back, and they had to wear a little kitten pin with their pledge number and a gold and black beanie on their heads.  In the school cafeteria the pledges had to clean up the lunch dishes for the older active members.  At club meetings, pledges were called upon to entertain with skits & songs, and do ridiculous & meaningless activities, like forcing toothpaste back into the tube.  I remember pledges solved this impossible task by eating the paste when members weren’t looking. One dare pledges had to complete was to roll an egg one block up N. Fort Thomas Ave using only their nose. One artistic task was to create a costume for each weekly meeting (ie: typewriter costume).  

After months of nonsense, the pledge time would end, and the girls became active members.  Shown, is a typed copy of the Official Sub Deb “Kitten Song,” pledges had to memorize and sing on demand. This song was sung to the tune of “Darktown Strutter’s Ball"  

The Sub Debs sorority was the longest-lasting sorority/fraternity for students from Highlands.  The shenanigans from the ’50s continued with similarities and differences.  In the 1970’s during August, when a sophomore girl was invited to join SubDebs, the active members wandered around town late at night toilet-papering the homes and trees of each potential new member.  Once the T.P.  was in place, the potential new member was awakened by a loud serenade from all the active members of the club.  Here’s what they sang, outside her bedroom window… 

“Hello Lisa, how are you? How do we SubDebs look to you? We think you’re great, we think you’re grand;               So come on out and give us your hand. SubDebs, SubDebs summon Lisa Holmes!”   

The parents of the potential new member were “in on the ploy” and had the front door unlocked.  The active members then stormed into the girls’ bedroom and took her (in her pajamas) with them to serenade other new members.  Once all the new members (usually between 20-30) were gathered, all the girls went to the home of an active member for a nice breakfast, hosted by the mothers.  From that August morning forward, she was a SubDeb pledge, until initiation (about 2 months later).

While pledging, girls were not called by name, but were referred to by their “Kitten Number.”   

In the 1970’s the Sub Debs were simply a social club.  They did not have a philanthropic purpose, as do college sororities, but were just part of a fun social club where high school girls from sophomore to senior got to know one another and participated in social activities together.   

Pledging was a time of conforming to the group mentality. Although it was a sort of “prestigious” symbol to be invited to Sub Deb membership, pledging was a humbling experience.  The uniform was stylish in the 1950s but by the 1970s pledges stood apart in the sea of “preppy” teenagers.  Every morning when pledges arrived at Highlands, they had to congregate in the second-floor girls’ bathroom near the library.  Each kitten had to carry a plastic container filled with wrapped candy.  When active members came into the bathroom, pledges had to line up in kitten order to give them each a piece of candy.  After school most days, pledges had to meet on the plaza in front of the Methodist church and do wacky performances.  For example, sometimes they had to do the “Sub Debs kitten song and dance.”  Other times, they had to fly around the plaza like airplanes, occasionally hiding from bombs (when instructed to do so).  The pledges had regular pledge meetings at an active member’s home to hear their marching orders (or schedule) for the week.  Some weeks included dares such as: dressing as the Seven Dwarfs for a Highlands Football game or hopping like bunnies around the football field after the halftime show.  Since Sub Debs had been a sorority for decades, most community members were accustomed to the silly shenanigans on display.  

In the late 70’s, sports commitments, play practices, and most extracurriculars demanded more time and attention.  Those factors (along with concerns about the exclusionary makeup of the club) caused the members to allow the club to fizzle. 

Sub Deb, style, canteen, sorority