Societies, tea-ing, these Wellesley College-specific terms mark the start of many deep relationships and bonds between Wellesley sibs who share a common interest. Recently, the Agora Society opened its doors to Wellesley sibs for the Fall 2025 tea season.
Founded in 1890, Agora is Wellesley’s political society, which has expanded its mission to encompass discussions around political and social justice issues. Interviewing Agora’s co-presidents, Janina Shivdasani ’26 and Medha Kodali ’26, and member Joya Breinholt ’26, who previously served as the merchandise chair and the formal chair, the Wellesley News learned about their unique tea processes and experiences within Agora.
Although Agora’s Fall 2025 tea season has concluded, first-year students who will be eligible to tea next term may be wondering what this process entails. To connect with prospective members and vice versa, Agora usually hosts three to four low-stakes teas per season. Shivdasani commented that tea season “is meant to be a mutual gauge of fit” and wants “everyone to feel comfortable.”
Prior to their co-presidency of Agora this year, Shivdasani and Kodali were once roommates, even tea-ing the society together in Fall 2023 and becoming part of the same family.
Although both Shivdasani and Kodali formed a close-knit friend group in their first year, they decided to push themselves out of their comfort zones more and “take advantage of all the opportunities to meet new people on campus” in their sophomore fall by exploring the various societies on campus. Agora immediately caught Kodali’s eye, while for Shivdasani, Agora’s then-president’s conversation with her about cheese during Open House allowed her to feel at home as a “cheesehead.”
Coming from Washington, D.C., Breinholt, who became a member in Spring 2023, remarked how she “always found politics to be a connective topic, and wanted to meet people with as deep an interest in it as [she] has.” After attending her first Agora tea during her first year at Wellesley, she quickly “fell in love with the people and the atmosphere, and was certain [she] wanted to join.”
As a political society, Agora upholds its mission to promote interest in politics by planning politically related activities for the community. From a community-wide lecture with a US Congresswoman to collaborating with the Wellesley Dems and the CPE to phone-bank for a gubernatorial candidate this year, Agora members not only participate themselves but also engage with many other Wellesley sibs. In Agora, sibs also hold weekly political discussions “on everything from wonky international relations concepts to trending current events,” Breinholt explained. Given the group’s internal diversity, Breinholt particularly enjoys the unique perspectives each sib brings to the table. For this week’s topic, Breinholt summarized it as “the phenomenon of conservative men self-identifying as ‘moderates’ on dating apps and its implications for justice, equality and the growing gender gap in American politics.”
Alongside activities that promote Agora’s mission, Agora hosts a variety of light-hearted social events, ranging from small social gatherings to larger traditions. Some past events include apple-picking trips, pasta nights, and mixers with other societies. Kodali’s favorite Agora tradition is the celebration of summer birthdays, where Agora hosts have a picnic for everyone who has a birthday during the summer: “It’s honestly just an excuse for us to hang out and eat food. Another favorite is our annual fall retreat, where we spend a weekend together, cooking, exploring and watching movies.”
For perspective tea-ers, Agora society may seem like just another political org. However, it holds a much deeper meaning within Agora’s tightly knit family. When Breinholt returned to campus after studying abroad, Breinholt found Agora to be one of the easiest communities to step back into: “the community in Agora is ‘my people’ on campus. There’s nowhere else at Wellesley that I feel more at home and most like myself.”
For Kodali, “it’s a space where [she] feels comfortable being [herself] while also meeting new people and hearing new perspectives. Agora has been a welcoming and meaningful space that [she] genuinely looks forward to. Experiencing changes and growth at Wellesley, Shivdasani mentions that Agora “helped [her] grow as a person in terms of [her] political awareness as well as social awareness, always to try and make the space comfortable and fun for everyone.”
As the senior Agora members enter into the countdown to prepare for the closing of their Wellesley chapter, new Agora classes of Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 embark on their own unique journey, continuing to carry the mission to promote political engagement – wherever life may lead them. Yet through all the seasons of change, what remains constant is the unbroken siblinghood and warmth of each Agora family, which binds every class of Agora members together.
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Hira Khan, Chelsea Tarringer.
