Talk:List of Yale University student organizations

Senior Society System
I have added a great deal of information on the senior society system and (unless I run into a person who starts erasing all my work, as happens occasionally) will continue to do so. Much of this comes from first-hand knowledge; I will attempt to find published authority and add citations, which may take some time. I would appreciate it, however, if anyone irked by unsourced material will add a "reference needed" tag (or more helpfully, research and a citation) rather than erase it.

I may make a few mistakes, but hopefully I will identify and correct them. I welcome contrary and corrected fact and, if bolstered by a cite, contrary opinion. I have tried to avoid any personal opinions, as per Wikipedia guidelines; all opinion is something I have seen in print.

There is a big question in my mind as to whether this material belongs here or in the principal article on the university. I might move or even reproduce it in the main article, as the society structure had such immense historical importance to the College and is reflected in contemporary college life at Yale. Apollo (talk) 18:13, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Consistency
There could be more consistency between sections of this article.

Take, for example, the "Dance Groups" section, which merely lists groups, providing a link where available. Then there is the "Musical Groups" header, which includes a introductory sentence, and a brief explanation of many of the groups. Finally, there is the "Other notable clubs" header, which includes a larger introduction and a paragraph about each group. (I'm not even considering the sections with expanded content, such as the "history and structure" section of the "Senior societies" header. I would actually propose merging content like this into the Yale University article, or if it is important enough, moving to its own article)

A few things to note when considering how exactly to make these more consistent with each other:
 * Often a full Wikipedia article already exists for the group, in which case anything more than a very brief description is not necessary. (See the "other notable clubs" section, as well as the description of the Yale Dramatic Association)
 * A brief description may not even be necessary, unless there is no Wikipedia article on the group, and no primary or secondary source available (as an outside link), in which case I wonder why the group should even be listed in the first place.
 * Promotional wording should be avoided at all cost. Something like "has become one of the most internationally renowned of the American collegiate vocal ensembles" (from the a cappella section) does not serve the purpose of this article, which is to list student organizations and perhaps briefly describe what they do / who they are. (Not to mention that this particular quote has no source.)

Please respond if you have strong feelings about any potential changes to the organization and format of this article. SmudgeTheFirst (talk) 21:07, 20 July 2009 (UTC)