List of collegiate secret societies
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[edit] Background
This list contains what are commonly regarded as notable secret societies at colleges and universities. Society founding dates are provided in parentheses. Secret societies in existence at multiple schools, including Greek-lettered entities, may be included only if those chapters are traditionally recognized on their own campuses for conspicuous secrecy as an identifying characteristic. Many collegiate secret societies are historically prefigured by Greek-letter fraternal organizations and literary societies.[1]
[edit] Colleges/universities: North America
- The NoZe Brotherhood (1924)
- Bishop James Madison Society (1812, 20th century)
- Flat Hat Club (1750, 1972)
- Seven Society, Order of the Crown and Dagger
- St. Anthony Hall (1847)
- Quill and Dagger (1893)
Dartmouth's Office of Residential Life states that the earliest senior societies on campus date to 1783 and "continue to be a vibrant tradition within the campus community."[1] Six of the eight senior societies keep their membership secret, while the other societies maintain secretive elements. According to the college, "approximately 25% of the senior class members are affiliated with a senior society."[1] The college's administration of the society system at Dartmouth is different from that of Yale's, though there are historical parallels between the two colleges' societies.[2][3]
- Casque and Gauntlet (1886)
- Dragon Society (1898)
- The Sphinx (1886)
- Abaris (1996)
- Society of the Seven (1948)
- Burning Spear Society (1993)
- Eucleian Society (1832)
- Philomathean Society (1832)
- The Machine (1914)
- Petal and Thorn (1927)
- Florida Blue Key (1923)
- Iron Arrow Honor Society (1926)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Order of Angell (1902)
University of Missouri-Columbia
- QEBH (1897)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Society of Innocents (1903)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Order of Gimghoul (1889)
- Order of the Gorgon's Head Lodge (1896)
- Episkopon (1858)
- IMP Society (1902)
- Raven Society (1904)
- Seven Society (1905)
- Z Society (1892)
"Secret society" at Yale is arguably a characterization rather than a fixed category. The oldest surviving undergraduate secret societies at Yale derive from various 19th c. fraternal organization traditions, rooted in the Englightenment society-founding boom [2], and therefore the term "secret society" at Yale encompasses a variety of models: senior-only versus three-year, with or without greek letters, affiliated with other campus chapters or stand-alone entities. From 1854-1956, "Sheff", the Sheffield Scientific School was the sciences and engineering college of Yale University, and it also had a fraternal culture that differed in some respects from the humanities campus, further enriching (and complicating) the picture. [3] Yale's history contains numerous fraternal organizations that have become defunct, those remaining survived owing to confluences of endowments, real estate, and the vigor of their respective alumni organizations and their charitable Trusts. [4][5] Across this spectrum, common features of Yale secret societies are that they (usually) have fifteen members per class, they own their "tomb" which is wholly or partially closed to non-members (unlike a club such as the Elizabethan Club whose members may bring their guests). Secret societies at Yale "tap" their members, mostly on the same "Tap Night", and a member is off-limits to recruitment by another secret society, i.e. reciprocal exclusivity -- in contrast to Yale's singing groups which also "tap", but whose members may also join a society. As hybrids like Sage and Chalice and St. Anthony Hall demonstrate, it is not possible to draw clear distinctions between these secretive organizations. Yale's Buildings and Grounds Department refers to some as "senior societies" in its online architectural database.[6] The Yale Alumni Magazine contains historical references to fraternities also possessing "tombs". A series of articles on Dartmouth and Yale secret society architecture provides an overview of the buildings as "a uniquely American representation of the joining spirit, (that) are crucial to an understanding of the organizations they represent." [7]
As an aside, the linguistic tendency at Yale for mortuary-themed concepts, i.e. tombs (read silence of a tomb), and the prevalance of Yale men in the creation of the U.S. intelligence community [8] may be why the term "spook" (an undergraduate society member) became a colloquialism for a spy. [9] (For more on Yale secret society members' influences on intelligence agencies, see the book Cloak and Gown: Scholars in the Secret War, 1939-1961 by historian Robin W. Winks)
All of Yale's secret societies have become co-educational.
- Berzelius (1848, senior society, formerly a "Sheff" society called the "Colony Club".)
- Book and Snake (1863, senior society, formerly a "Sheff" society called "The Cloister".)
- Elihu (1903)
- Manuscript Society (1952)
- Sage and Chalice
- Scroll and Key (1842)
- Skull and Bones (1832)
- St. Anthony Hall (1867, three-year society, formerly a "Sheff" society, with Greek letters and national affiliates.)
- Wolf's Head (1883, senior society)
[edit] Colleges/universities: Western Europe
- Cambridge Apostles (1820)
- Vilicus Society (c.1689)
University of St Andrews, Scotland
- Kate Kennedy Club (1926)
- Juvenalorden (1907)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Senior Societies. Trustees of Dartmouth College. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
- ^ Scott Meacham (1999-07-18). Halls, Tombs, and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
- ^ Gomstyn, Alice. "Secret societies remain veiled in mystery", The Dartmouth, 2001-05-18. Retrieved on 2007-02-14.
[edit] Bibliography
- Robbins, Alexandra (2004). Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-8859-8.
- Winks, Robin W. (1996). Cloak and Gown: Scholars in the Secret War, 1939-1961. New Haven: Yale University Press; 2nd edition (March 27, 1996). ISBN-10: 0300065248.
[edit] External links
- "How the Secret Societies Got That Way", Yale Alumni Magazine (September 2004)
- "Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth"
