Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college located in Macon, Georgia. The school was chartered on December 23, 1836 as the Georgia Female College, and opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. The school was renamed Wesleyan Female College in 1843 while changing hands from the Methodist-Episcopal Church to the Church of the South. Later the college shortened to the present name Wesleyan College in 1917. Wesleyan has the world's oldest alumnae association, begun in 1859. Seniors are inducted into the association during a candle lighting ceremony at Alumnae Weekend. Wesleyan College is the birthplace of the first sororities: the Adelphean Society in 1851, now known as Alpha Delta Pi. It is the birthplace of the Philomathean Society in 1852, now known as Phi Mu. The two sororities together are referred to as the "Macon Magnolias." The school no longer has sororities (as of 1914), and uses a class system. Incoming first years are assigned a class based on the outgoing seniors of the previous school year. The classes are the Green Knights, the Purple Knights, the Pirates (formerly the Tri-K pirates until the late 20th century), and the Golden Hearts.