The Machine (secret society)

The Machine is a secret society at the University of Alabama. The group has operated in varying degrees of secrecy since 1914 (though its roots run deeper into the 19th century). It is alleged that The Machine plays a real role in both the politics of the student community and in the political careers of numerous Alabama politicians.

The Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon was founded at the University of Alabama in 1888 without formal permission of the society. In 1902, the chapter contacted the fraternity's governing authority and was accepted as a legitimate chapter. It was subsequently accepted by the administration and university community, and in 1905, the chapter hosted its first annual promenade, which was a successful public event.

In 1909, on February 14, The Alpha Rho chapter created a new society, this one for members of the senior class, called The Skulls. The Skulls replaced the Theta Nu Epsilon chapter. Both the earlier and later organizations were publicly recognized by the university, and appeared each year in the university yearbook. The Skulls was considered a legitimate student group until 1922. The organization officially ceased to exist at that time.

The Machine itself formed in 1914 from the Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon as a coalition of National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities and Interfraternity Council (IFC) fraternities.

The Machine was evidently first publicly noted as "a political machine" in 1928 by Alabama's campus newspaper, The Crimson White. Then in a 1945 article in the newspaper, it was referred to as "the machine", and the name has stuck ever since.

Esquire devoted its April 1992 cover story to an exposé of The Machine. By their own estimates, Theta Nu Epsilon claims to have a "voter block of 8,000 students." It is credited with selecting and ensuring the election of candidates for Student Government Association, Homecoming Queen, and other influential on-campus and off-campus offices, including the Student Government Association Senate.

Over the years, numerous campus political groups have been formed in an attempt to motivate independent students to vote for non-Machine candidates. While a law student, future Congressman Carl Elliott of Vina, Alabama, ran for the high-profile position of president of the student government. With the support of the growing number of out-of-state students and women, Elliott became the first person to defeat the Machine. In 1936, Elliott completed his term as SGA president and graduated with his law degree. The University Party was formed by Ed Still and Jack Drake in 1967. Drake lost the SGA Presidency to Ralph Knowles and Still lost to Joe Espy.

An anti-machine group called "The Coalition" formed in 1968 and operated through 1972. This was a joint effort by the men's dormitories, small non-machine fraternities, International Students Association, women students, and the Afro-American Association. It was formed by Steve Windom (later lieutenant governor), Tommy Chapman (later district attorney), Steve "Red" Wadlington (later political campaign operative), Don Gilbert (later head of Alabama Trial Lawyers Association) and Jim Zeigler (later public service commissioner and a member of the Mallet Assembly). The Coalition succeeded in 1969 in electing Joe Estep as vice-president over the Machine's George Culver. It elected Henry Agee as secretary-treasurer over the Machine's Phil Reich. In 1970 it elected Zeigler as president of SGA as an independent. It also elected Windom to the Student Senate and almost 50% of the Student Senate in 1970–71. In 1972 the coalition senators led by Fred Benjamin got the SGA to recognize and fund the Afro-American Association. Benjamin co-won Senator of the Year award along with a machine senator. He lost election for vice president of the SGA later that year.