Kathryn B. Clancy '01, president of RUS, praises the Seneca for providing a new social option for women, but says she does not see the group as competition to RUS' feminist agenda.

"[Women in the Seneca] don't want to be involved in an overtly activist group, but know there is something very wrong going on at Harvard," she writes in an e-mail message. "The Seneca's a great outlet for women who don't want to be involved in activism."

But Seneca organizers say they see women's issues and activism as cornerstones to their group.

When one of the club's founding presidents departed this fall, Butler and Seru forged a partnership that cemented the club's dual mission.

The group's goals, its mission statement reads, are both to "provide community opportunities for the Harvard campus" and "promote awareness of issues that affect women."

In March, the Seneca invited every undergraduate to the Red Party--an open-bar soiree held at a Boston dance club.

"We showed that a campus-wide party is not impossible," Seru says.

Later that month, Seneca members volunteered their time staffing the Coalition Against Sexual Violence's Take Back the Night events. Members have also helped the organizers of the Women's Guide--a new campus publication--to poll students.