From Fall 1907 to Spring 1971, the student body of Averett was split into two competing literary societies: the Mnemosynean and Philomathean societies (or Nemos and Philos, for short). In the early years students were allowed to choose their society. In later years, one's society was selected by drawing lots. Nemos and Philos had their own meetings, their own club officers, and even their own pins.
These two groups became the focus of student activity and friendly rivalry on campus. Each group would fiield intramural sports teams, put on stage entertainments, and have regular discussions (themed around yearly topics like: Southern Personalities, Famous Universities, or 20th Century American Fiction).
Driving their performance each year was the society trophy. The actions of each group would be scored by faculty. (In the 1962 example pictured below, the Nemos lost a point because "one singer's voice was not quite true," though they were otherwise praised for their "inspired" use of a real bail of cotton and for their "comedy sailor routine" which was "very amusing.")
At the end of each academic year, the society which had accumulated the most points would earn the trophy, upon which their name would be engraved.
By 1971, as the student body began to significantly expand (primarily due to the shift from a two-year to a four-year program of study), the old literary societies were disbanded.
Preserved in the Averett archives are numerous items from this period of the school's history, including: society trophies, club yearbooks (identifying meeting dates and topics for discussion), photos of officers and events, two notebooks full of Nemo meeting minutes from 1919-28, and a notebook full of faculty evaluations of Nemo and Phillo stage shows from the years 1955 to 1970.
