List of collegiate secret societies
Encyclopedia
There are many collegiate secret societies in North America. They vary greatly in their levels of secrecy and independence from their universities. As the term is used in this article, a secret society is a collegiate society where significant effort is made to keep affairs, membership rolls, signs of recognition, initiation, or other aspects secret from the public.
Some collegiate secret societies are referred to as 'class societies', which restrict membership to one class year. Most class societies are restricted to the senior class, and are therefore also called senior societies on many campuses.
and Gridiron
, and some have not, like Skull and Bones
(the Yale societies had published their membership lists in the yearbooks and the Yale Daily News
).
One key concept in distinguishing secret societies from fraternities is that, on campuses that have both kind of organizations, one can be a member of both, (that is, membership is not mutually exclusive). Usually, being a member of more than one fraternity is not considered appropriate, because that member would have divided loyalties; however, typically, there is not an issue being a member of a secret society and a fraternity, because they are not considered similar organizations or competing organizations.
An especially difficult problem is the degree to which any one society is an actual society or is simply an honorary designation. Phi Beta Kappa, for example, was a true secret society, until after its secrets were divulged, the society continued on. It claims today to still be an actual society that has meetings, conducts its affairs, and is a living social entity, however membership for most members consists of one evening's initiation, and no more, which would make the society completely an honorary in most people's eyes.
Many such societies exist which operate as honoraries on one campus, and which may have been at one time actual meeting societies, and which are kept alive by one or two dedicated local alumni or an alumni affairs or Dean's office person, who see to it that an annual initiation are held every year. Some of these frankly state that they are honoraries, other seek to perpetuate the image of a continuing active society where there is none.
While there are some guideline criteria for the neutral observer to understand what sort of society any given organization is, much of the analysis reverts to what any one society has been traditionally understood to be. There are additional means, such as societies that were more or less explicitly established in emulation of some previous secret society, or using historical records to show that society X was created out of society Y.
. For example, many societies have two part names which follow the pattern set by Yale's Skull and Bones
or Scroll and Key
. The Yale societies also limited their membership to 15, sometimes 16, in a class year, and it is common to find similar numerical limits in many of these societies. Extensive mortuary imagery is associated with many secret societies, maintaining a pretense of great seriousness, and, again following Yale, clubhouses are often called "tombs."
by a process called tapping. On a publicly announced evening, Yale undergraduates would assemble informally in the College Yard. Current members of Yale's secret societies would walk through the crowd and literally tap a prospective member on the shoulder and then walk with him up to the tapped man's dorm room. There, in private, they would ask him to become a member of their secret society, of which the inductee had the choice of accepting or rejecting the offer of membership. During this process, it was publicly known who was being tapped for the coming year. Today, the selection process is not quite as formal, but is still public. Formal tapping days used to exist at Berkeley, and still exist in a much more formal setting at Missouri.
. The spread of Phi Beta Kappa to different institutions likely sparked the creation of such competing societies as Kappa Alpha
(1825), many of which continue as American collegiate social fraternities (and, later, sororities) to the present day. Yet there was also a second strain of development, when at Yale University, Chi Delta Theta
(1821) and Skull and Bones
(1832) were founded — ultimately serving as antecedents for what would become known as class societies.
Skull & Bones aroused competition on campus, bringing forth Scroll & Key
(1841), and later Wolf's Head
(1883), among students in the senior class. But the prestige of the senior societies was able to keep the very influential fraternities Alpha Delta Phi
and Psi Upsilon
from ever becoming full four year institutions at Yale. They remained junior class societies there. There were sophomore and freshman societies at Yale as well. A stable system of eight class societies (two competing chains of four class societies each) was in place by the late 1840s.
Delta Kappa Epsilon
is actually a highly successful junior class society, founded at Yale in 1844. None of the 51 chapters the parent chapter spawned operates as a junior society, but DKE did come from the class society system. Likewise, Alpha Sigma Phi
started out as a Yale sophomore society and now has 68 chapters (although, again, none of Alpha Sigma Phi's chapters have remained sophomore societies).
The development of class societies spread from Yale to other campusses in the northeastern States. Seniors at neighboring Wesleyan
established a senior society, Skull & Serpent (1865), and a second society, originally a chapter of Skull and Bones, but then independent as a sophomore society, Theta Nu Epsilon
(1870), which began to drastically increase the number of campuses with class societies. William Raimond Baird
noted in the 1905 edition of his Manual that, "In addition to the regular fraternities, there are in the Eastern colleges many societies which draw members from only one of the undergraduate classes, and which have only a few features of the general fraternity system." From Wesleyan, the practice spread more widely across the Northeast, with full systems soon in place at Brown, Rutgers, and other institutions.
Kappa Sigma Theta, Phi Theta Psi, Delta Beta Xi, Delta Sigma Phi, were all sophomore societies at Yale, and the two large freshman societies of Delta Kappa and Kappa Sigma Epsilon lived until 1880. Delta Kappa established chapters at Amherst, the University of North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Dartmouth College, and Centre College. Kappa Sigma Epsilon had chapters at Amherst, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
and Dartmouth. Other class societies existed at Brown, Harvard, Syracuse, Colgate, Cornell, and other Northeastern institutions.
Theta Nu Epsilon spread to about 120 colleges and universities, but many of its chapters operated as three year societies where operating as a class year society was inappropriate.
It is from this class society historical base and the desire to emulate the most well-known of all the class societies, Skull & Bones, that senior societies in particular began to spread nationally between 1900 and 1930. Junior, sophomore, and freshman class societies also are to be found at campusses across the country today.
The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
, was home to the first known secret collegiate society in the United States, the F.H.C. Society (founded in 1750). The initials of the society stand for a Latin phrase, likely "Fraternitas, Humanitas, et Cognitio" or "Fraternitas Humanitas Cognitioque" (two renderings of "brotherhood, humaneness, and knowledge"), but it has long been publicly nicknamed the "Flat Hat Club". William & Mary alumnus and third American President, Thomas Jefferson
, was perhaps the most famous member of the F.H.C. Society. Other notable members of the original society included Col. James Innes, St. George Tucker
, and George Wythe
. Jefferson noted that, "When I was a student of Wm. & Mary college of this state, there existed a society called the F.H.C. society, confined to the number of six students only, of which I was a member, but it had no useful object, nor do I know whether it now exists." The best opinion is that the society did not survive the British invasion of Virginia at the end of the American Revolution
. The society was revived in 1916 (at first, as the Flat Hat Club
) and again in 1972.
William & Mary students John Heath and William Short
(Class of 1779) founded the nation's first collegiate Greek-letter organization, Phi Beta Kappa, on December 5, 1776, as a secret literary and philosophical society. Additional chapters were established in 1780 and 1781 at Yale
and Harvard. With nearly 300 chapters across the country and no longer secret, Phi Beta Kappa has grown to become the nation's premier academic honor society. Alumni John Marshall
and Bushrod Washington
were two of the earliest members of the society, elected in 1778 and 1780, respectively.
Although the pressures of the American Civil War forced several societies to disappear, many were revived during the 20th century. Some of the secret societies known to currently exist at the College are: The 7 Society, 13 Club, Alpha Club, The Orange Society, Bishop James Madison Society
, Flat Hat Club
, The Society, The Spades, W Society, and Wren Society
.
Cornell University
has a rich history of secret societies on campus. Andrew Dickson White
, the first President of Cornell University
and himself a Bonesman
, is said to have encouraged the formation of a "secret society" on campus. In the early years, the fraternities were called the "secret societies," but as the Greek system developed into a larger, more public entity, "secret society" began to refer only to the class societies. In the early twentieth century, Cornell students belonged to sophomore, junior, and senior societies, as well as honorary societies for particular fields of study. Liberalization of the 1960s spelled the end of these organizations as students rebelled against the establishment. The majority of the societies disappeared or became inactive in a very short time period, and today, the two organizations which operate on campus are: Sphinx Head
(founded in 1890) and Quill and Dagger
(founded in 1893).
Dartmouth College
'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." 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." The college's administration of the society system at Dartmouth focuses on keeping track of membership and tapping lists, and differs from that of Yale's, though there are historical parallels between the two colleges' societies.
and one of the oldest in the country. Membership is limited to seven senior men who are selected by the seven previous members. The new members are chosen based on a variety of factors, these include: campus leadership, a solid academic record, and athletic participation. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West." The ceremony is traditionally conducted during commencement weekend. They are called "claws" or "white hats", denoting the white caps they wear around campus to signify unity and loyalty. The Raven's Claw Society is very loyal and has been a part of Dickinson's history for over 100 years. While the members of the group are known, the majority of their actions and traditions are concealed. The group prides itself in serving the Dickinson College and Carlisle, Pennsylvania communities through discreet service activities. The group's alumni organization is also responsible for founding one of the college's largest scholarship funds and the McAndrews Fund for athletics. Additionally, Dickinson College has named several buildings on campus after Raven's Claw members in recognition of their generous service and/or financial contributions to the school.
Founded in 2001, The Order of Scroll and Key is a senior honor society at Dickinson College which recognizes seven senior men each year. Every member is tapped at the end of their junior year on the basis of their dedication to the College and the surrounding Carlisle community. Their current membership includes fraternity presidents, community advisers, community service leaders, as well as many other outstanding individuals. Their alumni have gone on to be successful community leaders, businessmen, artists, etc. The Order of Scroll and Key works to benefit numerous area charities and philanthropies, and in recent years has supported Carlisle C.A.R.E.S., Safe Harbor, and Sadler Health Clinic, among others. As one of Dickinson's distinctive "hat" societies, members can always be recognized by the gray hats that they wear.
Wheel and Chain is Dickinson College's Senior Women's Honorary Society. Founded in 1924, members are elected in the spring of their junior year on the basis of participation in campus activities, service to the college and community, leadership skills and personal character. Membership is limited to ten senior women. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West" in April. In May, each incoming Wheel and Chain class ceremoniously rings the bell in Denny Hall during Commencement ceremonies. Colloquially known as the "blue hats", members are known to the public; however, the society's activities remain secret.
has four secret societies—the D.V.S. Senior Honor Society
, the oldest society, founded in 1902; Ducemus; Speculum; the Order of Ammon; and the Paladin Society. D.V.S. has provided the university mace that is used each year at the Convocation and Commencement ceremonies. The Paladin Society endeavors to make positive contributions to Emory's "spirit" anonymously and confers the Knights of Emory Spirit Award on two members of the Emory community each semester. The societies have been populated by many of Emory's best, including university and student group leaders, members of the Board of Trustees and recipients of Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. In addition to the societies on the Atlanta campus, several secret societies exist on Emory's Oxford campus as well. These societies have strong alumni networks.
is the oldest known secret society and honor society at the Georgia Institute of Technology
(Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1908, ANAK's purpose is "to honor outstanding juniors and seniors who have shown both exemplary leadership and a true love for Georgia Tech." The society's name refers to Anak
, a biblical figure said to be the forefather of a race of giants.
Although not originally founded as a secret society, ANAK has kept its activities and membership rosters confidential since 1961. Membership is made public upon a student's graduation or a faculty member's retirement. The ANAK Society's membership comprises at least 1,100 Georgia Tech graduates, faculty members, and honorary members. Notable members include Bobby Dodd (honorary), Ivan Allen Jr., and most of Georgia Tech's presidents.
The society has been influential in the history of Georgia Tech. ANAK played a major role in establishing several of Georgia Tech's most active student organizations – including Georgia Tech's yearbook, the Blueprint
; Georgia Tech's student newspaper, The Technique
, and Georgia Tech's Student Government Association – as well as several lasting Georgia Tech traditions
. The society also claims involvement in a number of civil rights projects, most notably in peacefully integrating Georgia Tech's first African American students in 1961, preventing the Ku Klux Klan
from setting up a student chapter at Georgia Tech.
Harvard
does not have secret societies in the usual sense, though it does have Final Clubs, fraternities, sororities, and a variety of other secret or semi-secret organizations.
Final Clubs are secretive about their election procedures, and they have secret initiations and meetings. However, there is little secrecy about who is a member. They are larger than secret societies generally are, (approximately forty students per club). Guests are admitted under restrictions. However the Owl, Porcellian, AD, Delphic, Fox are somewhat stricter than the others, having rules against admitting non-members to most areas of their buildings. "Punch Season" and the "Final Dinner" is analogous to "Tap" at Yale.
Final Clubs at Harvard include the Porcellian (1791, originally called The Argonauts); The Delphic Club (1846); Fly Club
, (1836), a successor of Alpha Delta Phi
; The Phoenix - S K Club
(1897); Owl Club
, originally called Phi Delta Psi, (1896); The Fox Club
(1898); and the Spee Club.
There are also five female clubs: The Bee, The Sabliere Society, The Pleiades Society, La Vie, and The Isis.
Harvard also has three fraternities, Sigma Chi
, Alpha Epsilon Pi
, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon
, and three sororities: Delta Gamma
, Kappa Kappa Gamma
, and Kappa Alpha Theta
. These organizations are semi-secret in nature, have secret initiation processes and meetings but a more transparent process for gaining membership. All three sororities and the Sigma Chi fraternity also have rules against admitting non-members to many parts of their buildings.
There are also several final clubs and fraternities which are now defunct, including Pi Eta, The DU Club, Delta Upsilon
, Pi Kappa Alpha
, and The Iroquois.
Approximately 10% of men and 5% of women are in final clubs. Approximately 7% of men and 15% of women are in Greek letter organizations. Additionally, an unknown number of students are in other secretive on-campus groups.
Other secretive social groups include the Hasty Pudding Club
, Oak Club, Harvard Lampoon
, Harvard Advocate, and The Seneca.
The Signet Society
is a Harvard arts & letters society that requires a creative body of work to be considered for membership, and publishes its roster of members on its website. It has an historic house at which it serves lunches, and most members are elected in their junior and senior years.
Finally, The Harvard Lodge is Harvard's chapter of Freemasonry
, founded in 1922 by Harvard Law School
Dean/Professor Roscoe Pound
, members of the Harvard Square & Compass Club, and members of the Harvard Masonic Club (which included Theodore Roosevelt
). It is the oldest academic lodge in North America, its membership is restricted to males with a Harvard affiliation, and it operates from an undisclosed property overlooking Boston Common
.
banned all secret societies in the late 1990s, citing controversy regarding hazing and abuse of students. Prior to the ban Norwich was home to a handful of long standing secret societies such as the Night Riders and Skull and Swords.
Princeton's
eating clubs are not fraternities, nor are they secret societies by any standard measure, but they are often seen as being tenuously analogous.
Additionally, Princeton has secret societies; the most visible is a chapter of St. Anthony Hall
, the literary society. The 21 Club, an all-male drinking society, is also a notorious Princeton secret society. Princeton also has a long tradition of underground societies. While secret society membership is relatively public at some schools, Princeton's historical secret society rolls are very secretive because of Woodrow Wilson's
ban on clandestine organizations and his threat to expel secret fraternity members from Princeton. One such society is Phi , a society dating to 1929 when members of the Whig society splintered off after the merger of the Whig
and Cliosophic debating societies. Phi's membership is secretive and difficult to discern, because no more than 10 active "Phis" exist at one time: Phis usually receive offers at the end of their 3rd year. As an adaptation to Princeton's stringent anti-society rules, each active class does not meet the preceding class that selected it until the 1st of June (after their first Reunions and before graduation). 1.6... is the Golden Ratio
, hence the name Phi
.
in the United States, Rutgers University
has had several secret societies on campus. Documented societies date as far back as 1872 with the establishment of the Sword and Serpent. At the turn of the 20th century, Rutgers had developed two full sets of class year societies based on the Yale model, down to the freshman societies such as the Serpent and Coffin. The senior class societies at Rutgers included the Brotherhood of the Golden Dagger (1898–1940), Casque and Dagger (1901) and Cap and Skull (1900).
Of these, only Cap and Skull
is still known to be in operation; however, after a reorganization in 1982, it is became university-sanctioned and had shed much of its secrecy. Today, it is more generally an honor society although members still engage in the society's long-standing traditions. In its early days, members of Cap and Skull had also engaged in later "attacks" of the infamous Cannon War with Princeton
. Cap and Skull class year pictures were often taken with members standing around the buried cannons. Today, less than one-half percent of Rutgers students are tapped for Cap and Skull membership.
is home to at least four secret societies — Gridiron Secret Society
, Order of the Greek Horsemen
, Palladia Secret Society and Trust of the Pearl.
Gridiron Secret Society
, founded in 1908, has been described as a highly-secret society connected to the University of Georgia. Its membership is all male but not limited to the Greek system. Its alumni include a number of prominent business and political leaders from throughout the United States, such as President Jimmy Carter, Attorneys General (such as Griffin Bell), past and current U.S. Senators throughout the country and each Governor of Georgia since the 1930s along with other of the country's Governors. Gridiron has extensive alumni participation, with well-attended banquets held in Athens twice each year, but its purposes and activities remain a closely guarded secret.
Order of the Greek Horsemen
, founded in 1955, is composed of fraternity men and annually inducts five new members from among the male leaders of the Greek system
. It is considered the highest honor a fraternity man at UGA may attain. It's selection criteria remains a mystery, and its members are not revealed until the end of each school year. New members are always active students, but honorary alumni members have been selected by the group.
Palladia Secret Society Palladia was founded in the early 1960s and is known as "the highest honor a woman may attain at the University of Georgia." Palladia inducts approximately 12 women each fall. Palladia has an extensive network of alumni, including administrators of the University of Georgia and prominent female leaders across the state.
Trust of the Pearl, founded when the first sororities were chartered at UGA, is a secret society for sorority women. The Trust of the Pearl is considered the highest honor a sorority woman may attain at UGA and inducts five new members each spring. Pearls are rumored to play a heavy role in selecting future leaders of the Panhellenic System but the purpose of the society is unknown. Members often wear black g-strings and a pearl necklace when gathering in public.
Order of Angell, known as "Order", is an evolved version of a previous society Michigauma. It was inspired by the rituals and culture of the Native Americans of the United States. Since its creation in 1902 the group is credited with creating Dance Marathon, one of the largest charitable events at the University of Michigan and construction of the Michigan Union for which it was granted permanent space in the top floors of the tower which they refer to as the "tomb". In 2007 the group changed its name to Order of Angell to distance itself from its controversial past.
Adara Holding to astrological roots, Adara formed in the late 1970s by the women leaders on campus. In the early 80's they joined the tower society and occupied the 6th floor of the tower just below Michigamua.
Vulcan Senior Engineering Society, known as "the Vulcans", occupied the 5th floor of the Union tower though were not formally a part of the tower society. They draw their heritage from the Roman god Vulcan
. The group which used to do its tapping publicly is known for its long black robes and for its financial contributions of the University of Michigan College of Engineering
.
sophomore society was founded under the guidance of faculty member Luther DeFoe. DeFoe also served as a mentor to the founding members of the QEBH
senior men's society, which was founded in 1898. Mystical Seven
was founded in 1907 and has become the second most well known society on campus. Some have suggested that Missouri's Mystical Seven was modeled after Virginia's Seven Society
, which had been established just a couple years earlier. Other secret societies followed, including Society of the Hidden Eye for junior/senior men, LSV
for senior women, Thadstek for freshman/sophomore men, Tomb and Key for freshman/sophomore men, Steinmetz for senior engineers, and Kappa Kappa whose membership composition was unknown. During this period of rapid expansion of secret societies, a network of sub-rosa
inter-fraternity organizations also established itself on campus with no purpose other than socializing and mischief making. This network, known commonly as the "Greek Underworld" included organizations such as Seven Equals, Kappa Beta Phi, Sigma Phi Sigma, Kappa Nu Theta, and Sigma Alpha Beta.
Mizzou is currently home to at least six secret honor societies that still participate in annual public Tap Day ceremonies at the end of each spring semester. QEBH, Mystical Seven, LSV, Alpha Xi Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, Friars Chapter of Mortar Board, and Rollins Society each use the Tap Day ceremony at the conclusion of the year to reveal the members who were initiated over the past year. Missouri is one of few remaining institutions in which the local Omicron Delta Kappa and Mortar Board chapters carry out much of their work in secrecy. In addition to Tap Day activities, several of the societies maintain a public presence during some athletic events. QEBH is the caretaker of the Victory Bell, along with Nebraska's Society of Innocents
, awarded to the winner of the Missouri–Nebraska Rivalry football game each year. The Friars Chapter of Mortar Board exchanges a gavel with Nebraska (The Black Masque Chapter of Mortar Board) at each MU-UNL football game, symbolizing the rivalry between the Universities. Mystical Seven and Oklahoma's Pe-et Society were likewise entrusted with the Peace Pipe trophy that was awarded to the winner of the biennial Missouri-Oklahoma football match. Omicron Delta Kappa previously served as caretaker of the Indian War Drum trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Border War football game between Missouri and Kansas.
The library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
contains the archives of the Order of Gimghoul
, a secret society headquartered at the Gimghoul Castle. The order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W. Davies, Edward Wray Martin, and Andrew Henry Patterson, who were students at the time.
The society is open to "notable" male students (rising juniors and higher), and faculty members by invitation. The society centers itself around the legend of Peter Dromgoole, a student who mysteriously disappeared from the UNC campus in 1833. The founders originally called themselves the Order of Dromgoole, but later changed it to the Order of Gimghoul to be, "in accord with midnight and graves and weirdness," according to the university's archives.
Tradition has it that the order upheld the "Dromgoole legend and the ideals of Arthurian knighthood and chivalry." From all accounts, the order is social in nature, and has no clandestine agenda. Membership is closed and information about the order is strictly confidential, as is access to archives which are less than 50 years old.
The Order of the Gorgon's Head, another secret society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was founded in 1896 by Darius Eatman, Edward Kidder Graham, Ralph Henry Graves, Samuel Selden Lamb, Richard Henry Lewis, Jr., and Percy DePonceau Whitaker. Membership has always been limited to male members of the junior, senior, professional, and post-graduate classes along with male faculty members. Inductees may not be members of other societies. Officers include Princeps (chief officer), Quaestor, and Scriptor. The purpose of the Order is to promote friendship, good will, and social fellowship among its members. The Order of the Gorgon's Head was one of two "junior orders" established at the University in the 1890s. The two orders had written agreements that they would not attempt to recruit freshmen or sophomores. Each order had a lodge (the Gimghouls later built a castle), where members gathered for meetings and events. Each had secret rituals based on myths. Those of the Order of the Gorgon's Head centered on the myth of the Gorgons, three monstrous sisters prominent in ancient Greek and Roman lore.
The University's library also contains the archives of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. The Societies were founded in 1795 by some of the first students to attend the University, and are the oldest public school societies in the nation. While at first maintaining strict secrecy in their proceedings, the Societies' meetings are now generally open to the public; however, the Societies reserve the right at all times to call an "Executive Session", at which point all non-members are escorted from the chambers. All undergraduates may attempt to join one of the two societies by petitioning, but only a select few are admitted, upon mutual agreement between current Society members.
were both founded at the turn of the 20th century, while The Mortar Board
Senior Society was founded in 1922. None of these societies were intended to be secret, in that their undergraduate and alumni membership were and continue to be publicly known, they share many of the characteristics of undergraduate secret societies of the time; they tap a diverse group of campus leaders to become members during their senior year, organize social and service activities throughout the year, and maintain an extensive network of successful and notable alumni. Alumni of Friars, for example, include Harold Ford Jr. and Ed Rendell
; the Sphinx alumni roster boasts Richard A. Clarke
and John Legend
. In addition, there are several other groups called "secret societies". These groups generally denote a social club that is independent of any official organization. For this reason, the society is not regulated by the university and is not accountable to a national organization. Many of the all-male secret societies, such as "The Owl Society," (founded 1992), "THEOS," (founded 1998) and "OZ," (founded 2004) were founded by former members of fraternities after severing ties to a national organization. Most of these groups have members from a variety of class years and are more similar to single chapter fraternities. Other societies, such as the all-female "Tabard Society" (founded 1987), were founded by students who were not affiliated with any particular Greek organization.
for a very long time. Little is known about the secret societies that are at Maryville College. The current groups that are known about are The Colors (three different groups: The Reds, The Purples, and The Greens) which are designated for women. These groups have been around for many years and supposedly have roots in the college history. The groups for men are the UTs and the DUDs. Both of these groups have adopted Greek Letters in their names but they are not actually fraternities. There is only one fraternity at Maryville College and it is Delta Kappa Epsilon
and one local sorority Kappa Zeta Delta. During Homecoming each year, the secret societies place flowers and symbols across campus to welcome their alumni back to the campus and provide visibility that they are still present at Maryville College.
Secret societies have been a part of University of Virginia
student life since the founding of the Eli Banana
society in 1878. Early secret societies, such as Eli Banana and T.I.L.K.A., had secret initiations but public membership; some, such as the Hot Feet
, now the IMP Society
, were very public, incurring the wrath of the administration for public revels.
The first truly "secret society" was the Seven Society
, founded circa 1905. Nothing is known about the Seven Society except for their philanthropy to the University; members are revealed at their death. A few other societies that flourished around the turn of the 20th century, such as the Z Society
(formerly Zeta), who were founded in 1892, the IMP Society, reformulated in 1913 after the Hot Feet were banned in 1908, and Eli Banana, are still active at the University today.
New societies have periodically appeared at the University during the 20th century. The most notable are the P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society, a secret group that rewards contributions to the University and which was founded prior to 1970; and the Society of the Purple Shadows, founded 1963, who are only seen in public in purple robes and hoods and who seek to "safeguard vigilantly the University traditions". Many of the secret societies listed contribute to the University either financially or through awards or some other form of recognition of excellence at the University.
In the early 1900s a group of cadets modeled a senior society based on Yale University's Skull and Bones. Both the membership and initiation was kept hidden, as the university had banned all secret college societies and associations. As time passed, this Skull and Bones society absorbed the less prominent and public Scorpions Club, and merged names to become Skull and Scorpion. This senior secret society taps nine member of VPI's Corps of Cadets each spring before their senior year during a time known as Military Weekend. in the late 1960s the society changed its name officially to the Order of the Pylons, in order to more accurately represent it's military history, as well as the recognize the recent monument that had been erected on VPI's campus. members are referred to as The Nine, and are tapped to represent each pylon, as well as the centerpiece of the memorial, the cenotaph a marble block engraved with the names of VPI's medal of honor winners.
Also considered secret society in its early history, the German Club, a club unique to Virginia Tech has since stopped tapping candidates and has begun allowing applications to be prospectives for membership. The German Club still contributes significant financial and philanthropic service to the University and community as a whole.
Another known secret society on campus is the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Club. Presumably named for the characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Club (or RGC) is rumored to have been active on campus since 1961. Membership in the RGC is completely secret, even after graduation.
Washington and Lee University
in Lexington, Virginia
is known for two secret societies, the Cadaver Society
and the Sigma Society
.
The membership and organizational structure of the Cadaver Society
are largely unknown. Cadaver has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1957. The Cadavers have a bridge that bears their name, connecting the main campus to Wilson Field, as well as their symbol in many prominent places throughout the campus. The society has been criticized for their secrecy and many of their activities which include running around dressed in all black and masks late at night as well as drawing their symbol all over campus. They have been known to run through the Sorority houses, talking in high voices and attempting to wake everyone in the houses up.
Founded in 1880, the Sigma Society
is one of Washington and Lee's "oldest, continuous social organizations." While membership information is not necessarily anonymous, the group's purpose and inner workings remain a secret. The group has long had a connection to President George Washington, though the extent of that relationship is unknown to the public at large. Similarly, the acronym P.A.M.O.L.A. R.Y.E. - which can seen inscribed on buildings and in classrooms throughout the Lexington area - also bears an unknown significance to the group. The group has largely gone underground since undergoing a public spat with the University in 1994 when University officials paid the Sigmas $15,000 after it tore down the Sigma cabin. As noted by Chief Justice William Rehnquist
, Associate Justice to the Supreme Court Lewis Powell, Jr. is one of the group's most prominent members.
encompasses organizations with many shared but not identical characteristics. The oldest surviving undergraduate secret societies at Yale parallel various 19th century fraternal organizations.
In the traditional Yale system societies were organized by class year. There were two, (then three), senior societies, three junior societies, two sophomore societies, and two freshman societies. All the societies were independent, all had their own traditions, and each class-year pair or trio shared common traits appropriate to their class year; the freshmen societies were rambunctious and owned little real property, the sophomore and junior ones were progressively more elaborate, (the sophomore ones regularly maintained live theater in their halls), and the senior ones were extremely small and elite, and with quite expensive property and celebrations.
Each of the societies had a link to a society in the class year before it and after it; that is, members of one freshman society would all get elected to the same sophomore society year after year, and so on, so that there were two or three parallel sets of linked societies. From time to time, there would be a coup, and one society would break the pattern, forcing the other societies to likewise change election strategies, or cause the creation of a new society. Delta Kappa Epsilon
, a junior society, was created in reaction to a botched election process to the junior class societies in 1844.
This process held from the 1840s to the 1910s. This system kept Yale out of the more typical intercollegiate college fraternity system, although some regular college fraternities were created out of the Yale system. Yale-type class societies also extended across northeastern colleges.
This system has not survived the introduction of regular fraternities and other changes. The senior class societies continue prosper today without any of the lower class societies. A similar system was introduced at Wesleyan University
in nearby Middletown, Connecticut
, but with a pair of societies in each class year and dual memberships between class societies and college fraternities, so that most class society members were also fraternity members. The older societies survived because of their endowments, real estate, and the vigor of their respective alumni organizations and their charitable Trusts.
In the past century, the size of Yale has allowed for a wider variety of student societies, including regular college fraternity chapters, and other models, so that it can be difficult to categorize the organizations. And there are societies like Sage and Chalice and St. Anthony Hall which cross ordinary categories.
There are typical attributes of the Yale societies. They are often restricted by class year, especially the senior class. They usually have fifteen members per class year. They "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) The normal pattern now is that a group of secret societies places an advertisement in the Yale Daily News in early spring that informs students when Tap Night is taking place and when students should expect to receive formal offers (usually 1 week before official Tap Night). Tap Night is typically held on a Thursday in mid April; the most recently held Tap Night was April 15, 2010.
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.
Many societies have owned meeting halls, with different accommodations. Following the example of Skull & Bones, the halls are often referred to as 'tombs'. A series of articles on Dartmouth and Yale secret society architecture provides an overview of the buildings. Societies that own tombs or halls are sometimes known as 'landed' societies. The three oldest landed societies are Skull and Bones
(1832), Scroll and Key
, (1841) and Wolf's Head
, (1883). The surviving landed Sheffield societies are Berzelius (1848) and Book and Snake
(1863), St. Elmo
(1889), and the Aurelian Honor Society
(1910). St. Anthony Hall
(1867) calls itself a "final society". Three newer societies that own property include Elihu
(1903) – whose building is the oldest of the senior society buildings at Yale – Manuscript Society
(1952), and Mace and Chain
(1956). Yale's Buildings and Grounds Department lists the societies with halls in its online architectural database.
There may be any number of unknown or underground secret societies at Yale. Any group of students may self-constitute themselves as a society at any time. Certainly there have been many which did not last long enough to leave any significant records. Indeed, the Yale Rumpus has in recent years published names of students it believes are in various secret societies. According to the Rumpus, in addition to the secret societies listed in this Wikipedia page, numerous other societies (such as WIPS, Spade and Grave, Ox, Truth and Courage, Llama and Cardigan, Red Mask, Ceres Athena, Gryphon, Fork and Knife, Ink and Needle, etc.) are either active or have been active recently. They typically meet in off campus apartments, fraternity common rooms, classrooms, and other available spaces. Some groups have enough resources to rent a permanent meeting space. Given the extracurricular zeal and competition for society spots evident in the Yale student body culture, a definitive list of secret societies that exist on the campus (or on any campus) can change year by year.
q
Some collegiate secret societies are referred to as 'class societies', which restrict membership to one class year. Most class societies are restricted to the senior class, and are therefore also called senior societies on many campuses.
Categorization
There is no strict rule on the categorization of secret societies. Secret societies can have ceremonial initiations, secret signs of recognition (gestures, handshakes, passwords), formal secrets, (the 'true' name of the society, a motto, or a society history); but, college fraternities or "social fraternities" have the same, and some of these elements can also be a part of literary societies, singing groups, editorial boards, and honorary and pre-professional groups. Some secret societies have kept their membership secret, for example Seven SocietySeven Society
The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the...
and Gridiron
Gridiron Secret Society
The Gridiron Secret Society is a secret society based at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. However, there is much speculation about its international reach...
, and some have not, like Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
(the Yale societies had published their membership lists in the yearbooks and the Yale Daily News
Yale Daily News
The Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878...
).
One key concept in distinguishing secret societies from fraternities is that, on campuses that have both kind of organizations, one can be a member of both, (that is, membership is not mutually exclusive). Usually, being a member of more than one fraternity is not considered appropriate, because that member would have divided loyalties; however, typically, there is not an issue being a member of a secret society and a fraternity, because they are not considered similar organizations or competing organizations.
An especially difficult problem is the degree to which any one society is an actual society or is simply an honorary designation. Phi Beta Kappa, for example, was a true secret society, until after its secrets were divulged, the society continued on. It claims today to still be an actual society that has meetings, conducts its affairs, and is a living social entity, however membership for most members consists of one evening's initiation, and no more, which would make the society completely an honorary in most people's eyes.
Many such societies exist which operate as honoraries on one campus, and which may have been at one time actual meeting societies, and which are kept alive by one or two dedicated local alumni or an alumni affairs or Dean's office person, who see to it that an annual initiation are held every year. Some of these frankly state that they are honoraries, other seek to perpetuate the image of a continuing active society where there is none.
While there are some guideline criteria for the neutral observer to understand what sort of society any given organization is, much of the analysis reverts to what any one society has been traditionally understood to be. There are additional means, such as societies that were more or less explicitly established in emulation of some previous secret society, or using historical records to show that society X was created out of society Y.
Common traits
There are several common traits among these societies. The pattern for many of these societies has been set by practices at YaleYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. For example, many societies have two part names which follow the pattern set by Yale's Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
or Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
. The Yale societies also limited their membership to 15, sometimes 16, in a class year, and it is common to find similar numerical limits in many of these societies. Extensive mortuary imagery is associated with many secret societies, maintaining a pretense of great seriousness, and, again following Yale, clubhouses are often called "tombs."
Tapping
The archetypical selection process for entry into a collegiate secret society began at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
by a process called tapping. On a publicly announced evening, Yale undergraduates would assemble informally in the College Yard. Current members of Yale's secret societies would walk through the crowd and literally tap a prospective member on the shoulder and then walk with him up to the tapped man's dorm room. There, in private, they would ask him to become a member of their secret society, of which the inductee had the choice of accepting or rejecting the offer of membership. During this process, it was publicly known who was being tapped for the coming year. Today, the selection process is not quite as formal, but is still public. Formal tapping days used to exist at Berkeley, and still exist in a much more formal setting at Missouri.
‘Honoraries’
Several campuses distinguish societies called ‘Honoraries’ from secret societies. Where the society is considered to operate in name only, and membership is an honor given in recognition of some achievement, and that such a society is distinct from a secret society. However, functionally, such organizations can operate identically to secret societies, and historically, most honoraries operated on a secret society basis. Phi Beta Kappa is the most well-known such example, where it originally operated on a secret chapter basis, and it became the progenitor of all college fraternities, and at the same time, some time after its secretas were made public in the 1830s, Phi Beta Kappa continued on as an honorary. Virtually all the oldest honoraries were once clearly secret societies, and to the extent that they are distinct now is at least ambiguous.History
Often considered the first secret collegiate society in North America, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded in 1776 by students at the College of William and Mary, was in fact antedated by other societies at the College established as long as a generation earlier. The society had a rudimentary initiation and maintained an uncertain level of secrecy. Those secrets were exposed in the mid 1830s by students at Harvard University acting under the patronage of John Quincy Adams. Since the 1840s, Phi Beta Kappa has operated openly as an academic honor societyHonor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...
. The spread of Phi Beta Kappa to different institutions likely sparked the creation of such competing societies as Kappa Alpha
Kappa Alpha Society
The Kappa Alpha Society , founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It was the first of the fraternities which would eventually become known as the Union Triad...
(1825), many of which continue as American collegiate social fraternities (and, later, sororities) to the present day. Yet there was also a second strain of development, when at Yale University, Chi Delta Theta
Chi Delta Theta
Chi Delta Theta is an Asian-American Interest sorority based in California. The organization strives to promote sisterhood, community service, academics, cultural awareness and social activity in the lives of its members.-Creation:...
(1821) and Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
(1832) were founded — ultimately serving as antecedents for what would become known as class societies.
Skull & Bones aroused competition on campus, bringing forth Scroll & Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
(1841), and later Wolf's Head
Wolf's Head (secret society)
Wolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Membership is recomposed annually of fifteen or sixteen Yale University students, typically juniors from the college...
(1883), among students in the senior class. But the prestige of the senior societies was able to keep the very influential fraternities Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S....
and Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
from ever becoming full four year institutions at Yale. They remained junior class societies there. There were sophomore and freshman societies at Yale as well. A stable system of eight class societies (two competing chains of four class societies each) was in place by the late 1840s.
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
is actually a highly successful junior class society, founded at Yale in 1844. None of the 51 chapters the parent chapter spawned operates as a junior society, but DKE did come from the class society system. Likewise, Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is a social fraternity with 71 active chapters and 9 colonies. Founded at Yale in 1845, it is the 10th oldest fraternity in the United States....
started out as a Yale sophomore society and now has 68 chapters (although, again, none of Alpha Sigma Phi's chapters have remained sophomore societies).
The development of class societies spread from Yale to other campusses in the northeastern States. Seniors at neighboring Wesleyan
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
established a senior society, Skull & Serpent (1865), and a second society, originally a chapter of Skull and Bones, but then independent as a sophomore society, Theta Nu Epsilon
Theta Nu Epsilon
Founded at Wesleyan University in 1870 as a chapter of Skull and Bones, Theta Nu Epsilon is a sophomore class society that accepts members regardless of their fraternity status.-Early history:...
(1870), which began to drastically increase the number of campuses with class societies. William Raimond Baird
William Raimond Baird
William Raimond Baird was the namesake and Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities and publisher of its early editions.-Biography:...
noted in the 1905 edition of his Manual that, "In addition to the regular fraternities, there are in the Eastern colleges many societies which draw members from only one of the undergraduate classes, and which have only a few features of the general fraternity system." From Wesleyan, the practice spread more widely across the Northeast, with full systems soon in place at Brown, Rutgers, and other institutions.
Kappa Sigma Theta, Phi Theta Psi, Delta Beta Xi, Delta Sigma Phi, were all sophomore societies at Yale, and the two large freshman societies of Delta Kappa and Kappa Sigma Epsilon lived until 1880. Delta Kappa established chapters at Amherst, the University of North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Dartmouth College, and Centre College. Kappa Sigma Epsilon had chapters at Amherst, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
and Dartmouth. Other class societies existed at Brown, Harvard, Syracuse, Colgate, Cornell, and other Northeastern institutions.
Theta Nu Epsilon spread to about 120 colleges and universities, but many of its chapters operated as three year societies where operating as a class year society was inappropriate.
It is from this class society historical base and the desire to emulate the most well-known of all the class societies, Skull & Bones, that senior societies in particular began to spread nationally between 1900 and 1930. Junior, sophomore, and freshman class societies also are to be found at campusses across the country today.
The College of William & Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, was home to the first known secret collegiate society in the United States, the F.H.C. Society (founded in 1750). The initials of the society stand for a Latin phrase, likely "Fraternitas, Humanitas, et Cognitio" or "Fraternitas Humanitas Cognitioque" (two renderings of "brotherhood, humaneness, and knowledge"), but it has long been publicly nicknamed the "Flat Hat Club". William & Mary alumnus and third American President, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, was perhaps the most famous member of the F.H.C. Society. Other notable members of the original society included Col. James Innes, St. George Tucker
St. George Tucker
St. George Tucker was a lawyer, professor of law at the College of William and Mary, and judge of Virginia's highest court. In 1813, upon the nomination of President James Madison, he became the United States district judge for Virginia.-Early life:Born in St. George, Bermuda, near Port Royal...
, and George Wythe
George Wythe
George Wythe was an American lawyer, a judge, a prominent law professor and "Virginia's foremost classical scholar." He was a teacher and mentor of Thomas Jefferson. Wythe's signature is positioned at the head of the list of seven Virginia signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
. Jefferson noted that, "When I was a student of Wm. & Mary college of this state, there existed a society called the F.H.C. society, confined to the number of six students only, of which I was a member, but it had no useful object, nor do I know whether it now exists." The best opinion is that the society did not survive the British invasion of Virginia at the end of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. The society was revived in 1916 (at first, as the Flat Hat Club
Flat Hat Club
The Flat Hat Club is the popular name of a society founded after 1916 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and revived there in 1972. The organization was named after the F.H.C. Society, which had been founded at the College on November 11, 1750, and was itself known...
) and again in 1972.
William & Mary students John Heath and William Short
William Short (American ambassador)
William Short was Thomas Jefferson's private secretary when he was ambassador in Paris, from 1786 to 1789. Jefferson, later the third President of the United States, referred to Short as his "adoptive son". Short, along with Jefferson, was a co-founder of Phi Beta Kappa at the College of William &...
(Class of 1779) founded the nation's first collegiate Greek-letter organization, Phi Beta Kappa, on December 5, 1776, as a secret literary and philosophical society. Additional chapters were established in 1780 and 1781 at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Harvard. With nearly 300 chapters across the country and no longer secret, Phi Beta Kappa has grown to become the nation's premier academic honor society. Alumni John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...
and Bushrod Washington
Bushrod Washington
Bushrod Washington was a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice and the nephew of George Washington.Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and was the son of John Augustine Washington, brother of the first president. Bushrod attended Delamere, an academy administered by the Rev....
were two of the earliest members of the society, elected in 1778 and 1780, respectively.
Although the pressures of the American Civil War forced several societies to disappear, many were revived during the 20th century. Some of the secret societies known to currently exist at the College are: The 7 Society, 13 Club, Alpha Club, The Orange Society, Bishop James Madison Society
Bishop James Madison Society
The Bishop James Madison Society is a secret society of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Students founded the society in the year 1812 as a tribute to the life of the late Bishop James Madison, eighth president of William and Mary and cousin to the U.S. president James Madison...
, Flat Hat Club
Flat Hat Club
The Flat Hat Club is the popular name of a society founded after 1916 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and revived there in 1972. The organization was named after the F.H.C. Society, which had been founded at the College on November 11, 1750, and was itself known...
, The Society, The Spades, W Society, and Wren Society
Wren Society
The Wren Society, is one of the many secret societies on the campus of the College of William and Mary.Founded in 1832, to honor the two hundredth birthday of Sir Christopher Wren, the society quickly grew in prominence . The society, like many other traditions of the Royal College, fell victim to...
.
Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
has a rich history of secret societies on campus. Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White was a U.S. diplomat, historian, and educator, who was the co-founder of Cornell University.-Family and personal life:...
, the first President of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and himself a Bonesman
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
, is said to have encouraged the formation of a "secret society" on campus. In the early years, the fraternities were called the "secret societies," but as the Greek system developed into a larger, more public entity, "secret society" began to refer only to the class societies. In the early twentieth century, Cornell students belonged to sophomore, junior, and senior societies, as well as honorary societies for particular fields of study. Liberalization of the 1960s spelled the end of these organizations as students rebelled against the establishment. The majority of the societies disappeared or became inactive in a very short time period, and today, the two organizations which operate on campus are: Sphinx Head
Sphinx Head
The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Cornell University...
(founded in 1890) and Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger
Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University...
(founded in 1893).
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
'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." 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." The college's administration of the society system at Dartmouth focuses on keeping track of membership and tapping lists, and differs from that of Yale's, though there are historical parallels between the two colleges' societies.
Dickinson College
The Raven's Claw is an all male senior honorary society at Dickinson College. It was founded in 1896, making it the first society unique to Dickinson CollegeDickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
and one of the oldest in the country. Membership is limited to seven senior men who are selected by the seven previous members. The new members are chosen based on a variety of factors, these include: campus leadership, a solid academic record, and athletic participation. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West." The ceremony is traditionally conducted during commencement weekend. They are called "claws" or "white hats", denoting the white caps they wear around campus to signify unity and loyalty. The Raven's Claw Society is very loyal and has been a part of Dickinson's history for over 100 years. While the members of the group are known, the majority of their actions and traditions are concealed. The group prides itself in serving the Dickinson College and Carlisle, Pennsylvania communities through discreet service activities. The group's alumni organization is also responsible for founding one of the college's largest scholarship funds and the McAndrews Fund for athletics. Additionally, Dickinson College has named several buildings on campus after Raven's Claw members in recognition of their generous service and/or financial contributions to the school.
Founded in 2001, The Order of Scroll and Key is a senior honor society at Dickinson College which recognizes seven senior men each year. Every member is tapped at the end of their junior year on the basis of their dedication to the College and the surrounding Carlisle community. Their current membership includes fraternity presidents, community advisers, community service leaders, as well as many other outstanding individuals. Their alumni have gone on to be successful community leaders, businessmen, artists, etc. The Order of Scroll and Key works to benefit numerous area charities and philanthropies, and in recent years has supported Carlisle C.A.R.E.S., Safe Harbor, and Sadler Health Clinic, among others. As one of Dickinson's distinctive "hat" societies, members can always be recognized by the gray hats that they wear.
Wheel and Chain is Dickinson College's Senior Women's Honorary Society. Founded in 1924, members are elected in the spring of their junior year on the basis of participation in campus activities, service to the college and community, leadership skills and personal character. Membership is limited to ten senior women. New members are inducted in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West" in April. In May, each incoming Wheel and Chain class ceremoniously rings the bell in Denny Hall during Commencement ceremonies. Colloquially known as the "blue hats", members are known to the public; however, the society's activities remain secret.
Emory University
Emory UniversityEmory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
has four secret societies—the D.V.S. Senior Honor Society
D.V.S. Senior Honor Society
The D.V.S. Senior Honor Society is an honor society at Emory University in Atlanta. Founded in 1902, D.V.S. admits seven seniors each year based on their campus leadership, dedication to Emory, and academic excellence. It is the oldest of Emory's five secret societies. The other societies are...
, the oldest society, founded in 1902; Ducemus; Speculum; the Order of Ammon; and the Paladin Society. D.V.S. has provided the university mace that is used each year at the Convocation and Commencement ceremonies. The Paladin Society endeavors to make positive contributions to Emory's "spirit" anonymously and confers the Knights of Emory Spirit Award on two members of the Emory community each semester. The societies have been populated by many of Emory's best, including university and student group leaders, members of the Board of Trustees and recipients of Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships. In addition to the societies on the Atlanta campus, several secret societies exist on Emory's Oxford campus as well. These societies have strong alumni networks.
Georgia Institute of Technology
The ANAK SocietyANAK Society
The ANAK Society is the oldest known secret society and honor society at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1908, ANAK's purpose is "to honor outstanding juniors and seniors who have shown both exemplary leadership and a true love for Georgia Tech"...
is the oldest known secret society and honor society at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
(Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1908, ANAK's purpose is "to honor outstanding juniors and seniors who have shown both exemplary leadership and a true love for Georgia Tech." The society's name refers to Anak
Anak
According to the Book of Numbers, during the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, Anak was a well known figure, and a forefather of the Anakites who have been considered "strong and tall," they were also said to have been a mixed race of giant people, descendants of the Nephilim...
, a biblical figure said to be the forefather of a race of giants.
Although not originally founded as a secret society, ANAK has kept its activities and membership rosters confidential since 1961. Membership is made public upon a student's graduation or a faculty member's retirement. The ANAK Society's membership comprises at least 1,100 Georgia Tech graduates, faculty members, and honorary members. Notable members include Bobby Dodd (honorary), Ivan Allen Jr., and most of Georgia Tech's presidents.
The society has been influential in the history of Georgia Tech. ANAK played a major role in establishing several of Georgia Tech's most active student organizations – including Georgia Tech's yearbook, the Blueprint
Blueprint (yearbook)
Blueprint is Georgia Tech's official student yearbook. It was established in 1908 and is the second oldest student organization on campus. Their staff meets Thursday nights at 7 pm in Room 137 of the Student Services Building.-History:...
; Georgia Tech's student newspaper, The Technique
The Technique
The Technique, also known as the "Nique," is the official student newspaper of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and has referred to itself as "the South's liveliest college newspaper" since 1945...
, and Georgia Tech's Student Government Association – as well as several lasting Georgia Tech traditions
Georgia Tech traditions
Numerous Georgia Tech legends and traditions have been established since the school's opening in 1888, some of which have persisted for decades. Over time, the school has grown from a trade school into a large research university, and the traditions reflect that heritage...
. The society also claims involvement in a number of civil rights projects, most notably in peacefully integrating Georgia Tech's first African American students in 1961, preventing the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
from setting up a student chapter at Georgia Tech.
Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
does not have secret societies in the usual sense, though it does have Final Clubs, fraternities, sororities, and a variety of other secret or semi-secret organizations.
Final Clubs are secretive about their election procedures, and they have secret initiations and meetings. However, there is little secrecy about who is a member. They are larger than secret societies generally are, (approximately forty students per club). Guests are admitted under restrictions. However the Owl, Porcellian, AD, Delphic, Fox are somewhat stricter than the others, having rules against admitting non-members to most areas of their buildings. "Punch Season" and the "Final Dinner" is analogous to "Tap" at Yale.
Final Clubs at Harvard include the Porcellian (1791, originally called The Argonauts); The Delphic Club (1846); Fly Club
Fly Club
The Fly Club is a male-only final club at Harvard University, founded in 1836.Both the Fly and A.D. Club, another Harvard final club, trace their beginnings to the Harvard chapters of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. The A.D. surrendered its chapter credentials in 1865 and broke off from the national...
, (1836), a successor of Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S....
; The Phoenix - S K Club
The Phoenix - S K Club
The Phoenix – S K Club is one of eight male Final Clubs at Harvard College, which traces its earliest roots to 1895. It consists of an undergraduate body of male upperclassmen at Harvard College who are not members of any other Final Club and alumni members...
(1897); Owl Club
Owl Club (Harvard)
The Owl Club is a men's only final club at Harvard College, founded in 1896. Its clubhouse is located at 30 Holyoke Street in Cambridge, in close proximity to Lowell House.-The Owl Club:...
, originally called Phi Delta Psi, (1896); The Fox Club
Fox Club
The Fox Club is a traditional Gentlemen's club housed in the former London home of Charles James Fox, a British whig.-External links:** at...
(1898); and the Spee Club.
There are also five female clubs: The Bee, The Sabliere Society, The Pleiades Society, La Vie, and The Isis.
Harvard also has three fraternities, Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
, Alpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi
Alpha Epsilon Pi , the Global Jewish college fraternity, has 155 active chapters in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Israel with a membership of over 9,000 undergraduates...
, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
, and three sororities: Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States and Canada, with its Executive Offices based in Columbus, Ohio.-History:...
, Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
, and Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta , also known as Theta, is an international fraternity for women founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury...
. These organizations are semi-secret in nature, have secret initiation processes and meetings but a more transparent process for gaining membership. All three sororities and the Sigma Chi fraternity also have rules against admitting non-members to many parts of their buildings.
There are also several final clubs and fraternities which are now defunct, including Pi Eta, The DU Club, Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...
, Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
, and The Iroquois.
Approximately 10% of men and 5% of women are in final clubs. Approximately 7% of men and 15% of women are in Greek letter organizations. Additionally, an unknown number of students are in other secretive on-campus groups.
Other secretive social groups include the Hasty Pudding Club
Hasty Pudding Club
The Hasty Pudding Club is a social club for Harvard students. It was founded by Nymphus Hatch, a junior at Harvard College, in 1770. The club is named for the traditional American dish that the founding members ate at their first meeting...
, Oak Club, Harvard Lampoon
Harvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
, Harvard Advocate, and The Seneca.
The Signet Society
Signet society
The Signet Society of Harvard University was founded in 1870 by members of the class of 1871. The first president was Charles Joseph Bonaparte. It was, at first, dedicated to the production of literary work only, going so far as to exclude debate and even theatrical productions. According to The...
is a Harvard arts & letters society that requires a creative body of work to be considered for membership, and publishes its roster of members on its website. It has an historic house at which it serves lunches, and most members are elected in their junior and senior years.
Finally, The Harvard Lodge is Harvard's chapter of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, founded in 1922 by Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
Dean/Professor Roscoe Pound
Roscoe Pound
Nathan Roscoe Pound was a distinguished American legal scholar and educator. He was Dean of Harvard Law School from 1916 to 1936...
, members of the Harvard Square & Compass Club, and members of the Harvard Masonic Club (which included Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
). It is the oldest academic lodge in North America, its membership is restricted to males with a Harvard affiliation, and it operates from an undisclosed property overlooking Boston Common
Boston Common
Boston Common is a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Boston Commons". Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States. The Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street,...
.
Norwich University
Norwich UniversityNorwich University
Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...
banned all secret societies in the late 1990s, citing controversy regarding hazing and abuse of students. Prior to the ban Norwich was home to a handful of long standing secret societies such as the Night Riders and Skull and Swords.
Penn State University
Penn State University is known for the Skull and Bones Senior Society organized there in 1912. This society is unrelated to the more prominent organization of similar name at Yale University. Parmi Nous Senior Society and the Lion's Paw Senior Society. Lion's Paw has extensive alumni participation, and strong links to the alumni affairs office of the university, thus making it somewhat different than other societies included here.Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
eating clubs are not fraternities, nor are they secret societies by any standard measure, but they are often seen as being tenuously analogous.
Additionally, Princeton has secret societies; the most visible is a chapter of St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
, the literary society. The 21 Club, an all-male drinking society, is also a notorious Princeton secret society. Princeton also has a long tradition of underground societies. While secret society membership is relatively public at some schools, Princeton's historical secret society rolls are very secretive because of Woodrow Wilson's
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
ban on clandestine organizations and his threat to expel secret fraternity members from Princeton. One such society is Phi , a society dating to 1929 when members of the Whig society splintered off after the merger of the Whig
American Whig-Cliosophic Society
The American Whig–Cliosophic Society is a political, literary, and debating society at Princeton University and the oldest debate union in the United States...
and Cliosophic debating societies. Phi's membership is secretive and difficult to discern, because no more than 10 active "Phis" exist at one time: Phis usually receive offers at the end of their 3rd year. As an adaptation to Princeton's stringent anti-society rules, each active class does not meet the preceding class that selected it until the 1st of June (after their first Reunions and before graduation). 1.6... is the Golden Ratio
Golden ratio
In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The golden ratio is an irrational mathematical constant, approximately 1.61803398874989...
, hence the name Phi
Phi
Phi may refer to:In language:*Phi, the Greek letter Φ,φ, the symbol for voiceless bilabial fricativeIn mathematics:*The Golden ratio*Euler's totient function*A statistical measure of association reported with the chi-squared test...
.
Rutgers University
As one of the oldest collegesColonial colleges
The Colonial Colleges are nine institutions of higher education chartered in the American Colonies before the United States of America became a sovereign nation after the American Revolution. These nine have long been considered together, notably in the survey of their origins in the 1907 The...
in the United States, Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
has had several secret societies on campus. Documented societies date as far back as 1872 with the establishment of the Sword and Serpent. At the turn of the 20th century, Rutgers had developed two full sets of class year societies based on the Yale model, down to the freshman societies such as the Serpent and Coffin. The senior class societies at Rutgers included the Brotherhood of the Golden Dagger (1898–1940), Casque and Dagger (1901) and Cap and Skull (1900).
Of these, only Cap and Skull
Cap and Skull
Cap and Skull is a senior-year coeducational honors society at Rutgers University, founded on January 18, 1900.Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent upon excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and public service. Leadership as well as character are also considered crucial factors for...
is still known to be in operation; however, after a reorganization in 1982, it is became university-sanctioned and had shed much of its secrecy. Today, it is more generally an honor society although members still engage in the society's long-standing traditions. In its early days, members of Cap and Skull had also engaged in later "attacks" of the infamous Cannon War with Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Cap and Skull class year pictures were often taken with members standing around the buried cannons. Today, less than one-half percent of Rutgers students are tapped for Cap and Skull membership.
University of Georgia
University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
is home to at least four secret societies — Gridiron Secret Society
Gridiron Secret Society
The Gridiron Secret Society is a secret society based at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. However, there is much speculation about its international reach...
, Order of the Greek Horsemen
Order of the Greek Horsemen
Order of the Greek Horsemen is a secret society at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1955, the organization annually inducts five new members from among the male leaders of the Greek system at the University of Georgia...
, Palladia Secret Society and Trust of the Pearl.
Gridiron Secret Society
Gridiron Secret Society
The Gridiron Secret Society is a secret society based at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. However, there is much speculation about its international reach...
, founded in 1908, has been described as a highly-secret society connected to the University of Georgia. Its membership is all male but not limited to the Greek system. Its alumni include a number of prominent business and political leaders from throughout the United States, such as President Jimmy Carter, Attorneys General (such as Griffin Bell), past and current U.S. Senators throughout the country and each Governor of Georgia since the 1930s along with other of the country's Governors. Gridiron has extensive alumni participation, with well-attended banquets held in Athens twice each year, but its purposes and activities remain a closely guarded secret.
Order of the Greek Horsemen
Order of the Greek Horsemen
Order of the Greek Horsemen is a secret society at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1955, the organization annually inducts five new members from among the male leaders of the Greek system at the University of Georgia...
, founded in 1955, is composed of fraternity men and annually inducts five new members from among the male leaders of the Greek system
Greek life at the University of Georgia
Greek Life at the University of Georgia comprises more than three dozen active chapters of social fraternities and sororities. While most of the groups are chapters of national organizations, including members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, National Panhellenic Conference and...
. It is considered the highest honor a fraternity man at UGA may attain. It's selection criteria remains a mystery, and its members are not revealed until the end of each school year. New members are always active students, but honorary alumni members have been selected by the group.
Palladia Secret Society Palladia was founded in the early 1960s and is known as "the highest honor a woman may attain at the University of Georgia." Palladia inducts approximately 12 women each fall. Palladia has an extensive network of alumni, including administrators of the University of Georgia and prominent female leaders across the state.
Trust of the Pearl, founded when the first sororities were chartered at UGA, is a secret society for sorority women. The Trust of the Pearl is considered the highest honor a sorority woman may attain at UGA and inducts five new members each spring. Pearls are rumored to play a heavy role in selecting future leaders of the Panhellenic System but the purpose of the society is unknown. Members often wear black g-strings and a pearl necklace when gathering in public.
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan Ann Arbor hosts three secret societies: Order of Angell, Adara, and Vulcan Senior Engineering Society. Order of Angell and Adara were once under the umbrella group "The Tower Society", the name referring to their location in the top of the Michigan Union tower. Order of Angell was all male while Adara was all female.Order of Angell, known as "Order", is an evolved version of a previous society Michigauma. It was inspired by the rituals and culture of the Native Americans of the United States. Since its creation in 1902 the group is credited with creating Dance Marathon, one of the largest charitable events at the University of Michigan and construction of the Michigan Union for which it was granted permanent space in the top floors of the tower which they refer to as the "tomb". In 2007 the group changed its name to Order of Angell to distance itself from its controversial past.
Adara Holding to astrological roots, Adara formed in the late 1970s by the women leaders on campus. In the early 80's they joined the tower society and occupied the 6th floor of the tower just below Michigamua.
Vulcan Senior Engineering Society, known as "the Vulcans", occupied the 5th floor of the Union tower though were not formally a part of the tower society. They draw their heritage from the Roman god Vulcan
Vulcan (mythology)
Vulcan , aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. Vulcan is usually depicted with a thunderbolt. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology...
. The group which used to do its tapping publicly is known for its long black robes and for its financial contributions of the University of Michigan College of Engineering
University of Michigan College of Engineering
The University of Michigan College of Engineering is the engineering unit of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. With an enrollment of 5,514 undergraduate and 2,646 graduate students as of 2009, the College of Engineering is one of the premier engineering schools in the United States...
.
University of Missouri
In 1895, the Alpha Theta Chapter of the Theta Nu EpsilonTheta Nu Epsilon
Founded at Wesleyan University in 1870 as a chapter of Skull and Bones, Theta Nu Epsilon is a sophomore class society that accepts members regardless of their fraternity status.-Early history:...
sophomore society was founded under the guidance of faculty member Luther DeFoe. DeFoe also served as a mentor to the founding members of the QEBH
QEBH
QEBH is a senior honor society at the University of Missouri. Founded in 1897, it is the oldest of six recognized secret honor societies on campus.-History:The society was founded in November 1897 by eight men...
senior men's society, which was founded in 1898. Mystical Seven
Mystical Seven (Missouri)
Mystical Seven is one of the secret societies of the University of Missouri. Mystical Seven taps seven outstanding seniors for membership based on their good deeds and selfless leadership and service to the campus and community. Mystical Seven is the second oldest of the secret honor societies...
was founded in 1907 and has become the second most well known society on campus. Some have suggested that Missouri's Mystical Seven was modeled after Virginia's Seven Society
Seven Society
The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the...
, which had been established just a couple years earlier. Other secret societies followed, including Society of the Hidden Eye for junior/senior men, LSV
LSV Society
L.S.V. is a secret honorary society at the University of Missouri dedicated to "promoting and improving the status of women" and recognizing "the most outstanding upperclass women" at the university, who "strive to promote and improve the status of women." L.S.V. was revealed to the campus in...
for senior women, Thadstek for freshman/sophomore men, Tomb and Key for freshman/sophomore men, Steinmetz for senior engineers, and Kappa Kappa whose membership composition was unknown. During this period of rapid expansion of secret societies, a network of sub-rosa
Sub rosa
The Latin phrase sub rosa means "under the rose" and is used in English to denote secrecy or confidentiality, similar to the Chatham House Rule....
inter-fraternity organizations also established itself on campus with no purpose other than socializing and mischief making. This network, known commonly as the "Greek Underworld" included organizations such as Seven Equals, Kappa Beta Phi, Sigma Phi Sigma, Kappa Nu Theta, and Sigma Alpha Beta.
Society of Innocents
The Innocents Society is the Chancellor's senior honorary society at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, composed of 13 men and women who apply during the spring of their junior year and are selected on the basis of academic excellence, unparalleled leadership, and selfless service to the...
, awarded to the winner of the Missouri–Nebraska Rivalry football game each year. The Friars Chapter of Mortar Board exchanges a gavel with Nebraska (The Black Masque Chapter of Mortar Board) at each MU-UNL football game, symbolizing the rivalry between the Universities. Mystical Seven and Oklahoma's Pe-et Society were likewise entrusted with the Peace Pipe trophy that was awarded to the winner of the biennial Missouri-Oklahoma football match. Omicron Delta Kappa previously served as caretaker of the Indian War Drum trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Border War football game between Missouri and Kansas.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
contains the archives of the Order of Gimghoul
Order of Gimghoul
The Order of Gimghoul is a collegiate secret society headquartered at Hippol Castle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W...
, a secret society headquartered at the Gimghoul Castle. The order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W. Davies, Edward Wray Martin, and Andrew Henry Patterson, who were students at the time.
The society is open to "notable" male students (rising juniors and higher), and faculty members by invitation. The society centers itself around the legend of Peter Dromgoole, a student who mysteriously disappeared from the UNC campus in 1833. The founders originally called themselves the Order of Dromgoole, but later changed it to the Order of Gimghoul to be, "in accord with midnight and graves and weirdness," according to the university's archives.
Tradition has it that the order upheld the "Dromgoole legend and the ideals of Arthurian knighthood and chivalry." From all accounts, the order is social in nature, and has no clandestine agenda. Membership is closed and information about the order is strictly confidential, as is access to archives which are less than 50 years old.
The Order of the Gorgon's Head, another secret society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was founded in 1896 by Darius Eatman, Edward Kidder Graham, Ralph Henry Graves, Samuel Selden Lamb, Richard Henry Lewis, Jr., and Percy DePonceau Whitaker. Membership has always been limited to male members of the junior, senior, professional, and post-graduate classes along with male faculty members. Inductees may not be members of other societies. Officers include Princeps (chief officer), Quaestor, and Scriptor. The purpose of the Order is to promote friendship, good will, and social fellowship among its members. The Order of the Gorgon's Head was one of two "junior orders" established at the University in the 1890s. The two orders had written agreements that they would not attempt to recruit freshmen or sophomores. Each order had a lodge (the Gimghouls later built a castle), where members gathered for meetings and events. Each had secret rituals based on myths. Those of the Order of the Gorgon's Head centered on the myth of the Gorgons, three monstrous sisters prominent in ancient Greek and Roman lore.
The University's library also contains the archives of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. The Societies were founded in 1795 by some of the first students to attend the University, and are the oldest public school societies in the nation. While at first maintaining strict secrecy in their proceedings, the Societies' meetings are now generally open to the public; however, the Societies reserve the right at all times to call an "Executive Session", at which point all non-members are escorted from the chambers. All undergraduates may attempt to join one of the two societies by petitioning, but only a select few are admitted, upon mutual agreement between current Society members.
University of Pennsylvania
At UPenn, secret societies are smaller than their Greek counterparts, and tend to vary in degree of secrecy. There are three senior honorary societies. The Sphinx Senior Society and the Friars Senior SocietyFriars senior society
-Friars Senior Society:Founded in 1901 by Daniel Keller, Friars Senior Society is one of several senior societies at the University of Pennsylvania. It was founded to protest cliques and strive against caddishness and snobbery, and to establish uncompromising democracy in University activities...
were both founded at the turn of the 20th century, while The Mortar Board
Mortar Board
Mortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918...
Senior Society was founded in 1922. None of these societies were intended to be secret, in that their undergraduate and alumni membership were and continue to be publicly known, they share many of the characteristics of undergraduate secret societies of the time; they tap a diverse group of campus leaders to become members during their senior year, organize social and service activities throughout the year, and maintain an extensive network of successful and notable alumni. Alumni of Friars, for example, include Harold Ford Jr. and Ed Rendell
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
; the Sphinx alumni roster boasts Richard A. Clarke
Richard A. Clarke
Richard Alan Clarke was a U.S. government employee for 30 years, 1973–2003. He worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to chair the Counter-terrorism Security Group and to a seat on the United States National...
and John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
. In addition, there are several other groups called "secret societies". These groups generally denote a social club that is independent of any official organization. For this reason, the society is not regulated by the university and is not accountable to a national organization. Many of the all-male secret societies, such as "The Owl Society," (founded 1992), "THEOS," (founded 1998) and "OZ," (founded 2004) were founded by former members of fraternities after severing ties to a national organization. Most of these groups have members from a variety of class years and are more similar to single chapter fraternities. Other societies, such as the all-female "Tabard Society" (founded 1987), were founded by students who were not affiliated with any particular Greek organization.
Maryville College
Secret societies have been present at Maryville CollegeMaryville College
Maryville College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee, near Knoxville. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The College is one of the fifty oldest colleges in the...
for a very long time. Little is known about the secret societies that are at Maryville College. The current groups that are known about are The Colors (three different groups: The Reds, The Purples, and The Greens) which are designated for women. These groups have been around for many years and supposedly have roots in the college history. The groups for men are the UTs and the DUDs. Both of these groups have adopted Greek Letters in their names but they are not actually fraternities. There is only one fraternity at Maryville College and it is Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
and one local sorority Kappa Zeta Delta. During Homecoming each year, the secret societies place flowers and symbols across campus to welcome their alumni back to the campus and provide visibility that they are still present at Maryville College.
University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
student life since the founding of the Eli Banana
Eli Banana
The Eli Banana Ribbon Society is the oldest secret society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1878 as a way to encourage the fraternities to engage more directly in the life of the University, the aim of the society was to bring its members to leadership in the University community and to...
society in 1878. Early secret societies, such as Eli Banana and T.I.L.K.A., had secret initiations but public membership; some, such as the Hot Feet
IMP Society
The IMP Society is a secret society at the University of Virginia that is notable for combining philanthropy and public mischief.Originally founded in 1902 as a society called the Hot Feet, the society was known primarily for its public ceremonies in which it crowned the society's "king." The Hot...
, now the IMP Society
IMP Society
The IMP Society is a secret society at the University of Virginia that is notable for combining philanthropy and public mischief.Originally founded in 1902 as a society called the Hot Feet, the society was known primarily for its public ceremonies in which it crowned the society's "king." The Hot...
, were very public, incurring the wrath of the administration for public revels.
The first truly "secret society" was the Seven Society
Seven Society
The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the...
, founded circa 1905. Nothing is known about the Seven Society except for their philanthropy to the University; members are revealed at their death. A few other societies that flourished around the turn of the 20th century, such as the Z Society
Z Society
The Z Society is a philanthropic organization that was founded at the University of Virginia in 1892. It comprises outstanding student leaders who give time, talent, and financial contributions to groups and individuals that exemplify the spirit of the society and uphold the ideals of the university...
(formerly Zeta), who were founded in 1892, the IMP Society, reformulated in 1913 after the Hot Feet were banned in 1908, and Eli Banana, are still active at the University today.
New societies have periodically appeared at the University during the 20th century. The most notable are the P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society, a secret group that rewards contributions to the University and which was founded prior to 1970; and the Society of the Purple Shadows, founded 1963, who are only seen in public in purple robes and hoods and who seek to "safeguard vigilantly the University traditions". Many of the secret societies listed contribute to the University either financially or through awards or some other form of recognition of excellence at the University.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Known nationally as Virginia Tech, VPI has chapters and circles of both Omnicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa which both allow applications throughout the academic school year.In the early 1900s a group of cadets modeled a senior society based on Yale University's Skull and Bones. Both the membership and initiation was kept hidden, as the university had banned all secret college societies and associations. As time passed, this Skull and Bones society absorbed the less prominent and public Scorpions Club, and merged names to become Skull and Scorpion. This senior secret society taps nine member of VPI's Corps of Cadets each spring before their senior year during a time known as Military Weekend. in the late 1960s the society changed its name officially to the Order of the Pylons, in order to more accurately represent it's military history, as well as the recognize the recent monument that had been erected on VPI's campus. members are referred to as The Nine, and are tapped to represent each pylon, as well as the centerpiece of the memorial, the cenotaph a marble block engraved with the names of VPI's medal of honor winners.
Also considered secret society in its early history, the German Club, a club unique to Virginia Tech has since stopped tapping candidates and has begun allowing applications to be prospectives for membership. The German Club still contributes significant financial and philanthropic service to the University and community as a whole.
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC has at least one secret society, known as the Order of 23. The Order is rumored to have 22 student members and a faculty advisor. The age of the society is not known, though most say that it has been around since the school's move to Winston-Salem in 1956. The goal of the society is to foster school traditions and spirit, and at Freshmen orientation every year, the society welcomes all new students by dropping leaflets from the Wait Chapel catwalk. The Order of 23 taps male and female students who are juniors (rising seniors). Membership in the 23s is secret until graduation, when all members wear a medallion over their graduation robes, which reveals their place in the society.Another known secret society on campus is the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Club. Presumably named for the characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Club (or RGC) is rumored to have been active on campus since 1961. Membership in the RGC is completely secret, even after graduation.
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
is known for two secret societies, the Cadaver Society
Cadaver Society
The “Cadaver Society” is a secret society of students at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, United States. The group's membership and organizational structure are unknown. Cadaver has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1957...
and the Sigma Society
Sigma Society
The Sigma Society is a secret society at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Founded in 1880, it is one of the older secret societies in the United States, and remains "one of the oldest continuous social organizations at Washington and Lee." The Sigma Society is roughly 70 years...
.
The membership and organizational structure of the Cadaver Society
Cadaver Society
The “Cadaver Society” is a secret society of students at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, United States. The group's membership and organizational structure are unknown. Cadaver has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1957...
are largely unknown. Cadaver has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1957. The Cadavers have a bridge that bears their name, connecting the main campus to Wilson Field, as well as their symbol in many prominent places throughout the campus. The society has been criticized for their secrecy and many of their activities which include running around dressed in all black and masks late at night as well as drawing their symbol all over campus. They have been known to run through the Sorority houses, talking in high voices and attempting to wake everyone in the houses up.
Founded in 1880, the Sigma Society
Sigma Society
The Sigma Society is a secret society at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Founded in 1880, it is one of the older secret societies in the United States, and remains "one of the oldest continuous social organizations at Washington and Lee." The Sigma Society is roughly 70 years...
is one of Washington and Lee's "oldest, continuous social organizations." While membership information is not necessarily anonymous, the group's purpose and inner workings remain a secret. The group has long had a connection to President George Washington, though the extent of that relationship is unknown to the public at large. Similarly, the acronym P.A.M.O.L.A. R.Y.E. - which can seen inscribed on buildings and in classrooms throughout the Lexington area - also bears an unknown significance to the group. The group has largely gone underground since undergoing a public spat with the University in 1994 when University officials paid the Sigmas $15,000 after it tore down the Sigma cabin. As noted by Chief Justice William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
, Associate Justice to the Supreme Court Lewis Powell, Jr. is one of the group's most prominent members.
Yale University
The term "Secret society" at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
encompasses organizations with many shared but not identical characteristics. The oldest surviving undergraduate secret societies at Yale parallel various 19th century fraternal organizations.
In the traditional Yale system societies were organized by class year. There were two, (then three), senior societies, three junior societies, two sophomore societies, and two freshman societies. All the societies were independent, all had their own traditions, and each class-year pair or trio shared common traits appropriate to their class year; the freshmen societies were rambunctious and owned little real property, the sophomore and junior ones were progressively more elaborate, (the sophomore ones regularly maintained live theater in their halls), and the senior ones were extremely small and elite, and with quite expensive property and celebrations.
Each of the societies had a link to a society in the class year before it and after it; that is, members of one freshman society would all get elected to the same sophomore society year after year, and so on, so that there were two or three parallel sets of linked societies. From time to time, there would be a coup, and one society would break the pattern, forcing the other societies to likewise change election strategies, or cause the creation of a new society. Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
, a junior society, was created in reaction to a botched election process to the junior class societies in 1844.
This process held from the 1840s to the 1910s. This system kept Yale out of the more typical intercollegiate college fraternity system, although some regular college fraternities were created out of the Yale system. Yale-type class societies also extended across northeastern colleges.
| Class year | Society | years |
|---|---|---|
| Senior | Skull & Bones Skull and Bones Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale.... |
1833–present |
| Senior | Scroll & Key Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society... |
1841–present |
| Senior | Wolf's Head Wolf's Head (secret society) Wolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Membership is recomposed annually of fifteen or sixteen Yale University students, typically juniors from the college... |
1883–present |
| Senior | Aurelian Honor Society Aurelian Honor Society The Aurelian Honor Society is a landed senior honor society founded in 1910 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.- Founding Mission :... |
1910–present |
| Junior | Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S.... |
1836–1873, 1888–1935, 1990–present |
| Junior | Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only... |
1839–1934, 2004–present |
| Junior | Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies... |
1844–present |
| Sophomore | Kappa Sigma Theta | 1838–1857 |
| Sophomore | Alpha Sigma Phi | 1846–1864 |
| Sophomore | Phi Theta Psi | 1864 - ? |
| Sophomore | Delta Beta Xi | 1864–1875 |
| Freshman | Kappa Sigma Epsilon | 1840–1880 |
| Freshman | Delta Kappa | 1845–1880 |
| Freshman | Sigma Delta | 1849–1860 |
| Freshman | Gamma Nu | 1860 - ? |
This system has not survived the introduction of regular fraternities and other changes. The senior class societies continue prosper today without any of the lower class societies. A similar system was introduced at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in nearby Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
, but with a pair of societies in each class year and dual memberships between class societies and college fraternities, so that most class society members were also fraternity members. The older societies survived because of their endowments, real estate, and the vigor of their respective alumni organizations and their charitable Trusts.
In the past century, the size of Yale has allowed for a wider variety of student societies, including regular college fraternity chapters, and other models, so that it can be difficult to categorize the organizations. And there are societies like Sage and Chalice and St. Anthony Hall which cross ordinary categories.
There are typical attributes of the Yale societies. They are often restricted by class year, especially the senior class. They usually have fifteen members per class year. They "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) The normal pattern now is that a group of secret societies places an advertisement in the Yale Daily News in early spring that informs students when Tap Night is taking place and when students should expect to receive formal offers (usually 1 week before official Tap Night). Tap Night is typically held on a Thursday in mid April; the most recently held Tap Night was April 15, 2010.
From 1854-1956, "'Sheff'," the Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was...
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.
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
(1832), Scroll and Key
Scroll and Key
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society...
, (1841) and Wolf's Head
Wolf's Head (secret society)
Wolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Membership is recomposed annually of fifteen or sixteen Yale University students, typically juniors from the college...
, (1883). The surviving landed Sheffield societies are Berzelius (1848) and Book and Snake
Book and Snake
The Society of Book and Snake is the fourth oldest secret society at Yale University. Book and Snake was founded at the Sheffield Scientific School in 1863 as a three-year society bearing the Greek letters Sigma Delta Chi...
(1863), St. Elmo
St. Elmo (secret society)
St. Elmo Society is a secret society at Yale University. It was founded in 1889 as an independent entity for seniors within the nationally chartered fraternity, Delta Phi , Omicron Chapter .-History:...
(1889), and the Aurelian Honor Society
Aurelian Honor Society
The Aurelian Honor Society is a landed senior honor society founded in 1910 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.- Founding Mission :...
(1910). St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
(1867) calls itself a "final society". Three newer societies that own property include Elihu
Elihu (secret society)
Elihu, founded in 1903, is the sixth oldest secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT. While similar to Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head societies in charter and function, Elihu favors privacy over overt secrecy...
(1903) – whose building is the oldest of the senior society buildings at Yale – Manuscript Society
Manuscript Society
Manuscript Society is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Toward the end of each junior year, 16 undergraduates are "tapped" to be inducted into the society, which meets twice weekly for dinner and discussion...
(1952), and Mace and Chain
Mace and Chain
Mace and Chain is the youngest of the eight "landed" secret societies at Yale University.-History:The society was founded by Thornton Marshall with the help of poet and Yale professor Robert Penn Warren in 1956...
(1956). Yale's Buildings and Grounds Department lists the societies with halls in its online architectural database.
There may be any number of unknown or underground secret societies at Yale. Any group of students may self-constitute themselves as a society at any time. Certainly there have been many which did not last long enough to leave any significant records. Indeed, the Yale Rumpus has in recent years published names of students it believes are in various secret societies. According to the Rumpus, in addition to the secret societies listed in this Wikipedia page, numerous other societies (such as WIPS, Spade and Grave, Ox, Truth and Courage, Llama and Cardigan, Red Mask, Ceres Athena, Gryphon, Fork and Knife, Ink and Needle, etc.) are either active or have been active recently. They typically meet in off campus apartments, fraternity common rooms, classrooms, and other available spaces. Some groups have enough resources to rent a permanent meeting space. Given the extracurricular zeal and competition for society spots evident in the Yale student body culture, a definitive list of secret societies that exist on the campus (or on any campus) can change year by year.
List of notable North American collegiate secret societies
| Name | Year | College or University | Location | Country | Member Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NoZe Brotherhood | 1924 | Baylor University Baylor University Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:... |
Waco, TX | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Turtle Mound Society | 1901 | Beloit College Beloit College Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college... |
Beloit, WI | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| CARBON Carbon Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds... |
1990's? | Boston College Boston College Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early... |
Chestnut Hill, MA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior men |
| Sic Sic | 1946 | Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State... |
Bowling Green, OH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Freshmen |
| Franklin Society Franklin Society The Franklin Society is a secret society based at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, and is one of the oldest student secret societies in the United States... |
1824 | Brown University Brown University Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,... |
Providence, RI | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Seven Society, Order of the Crown & Dagger | College of William and Mary College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States... |
Williamsburg, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior men | |
| Flat Hat Club Flat Hat Club The Flat Hat Club is the popular name of a society founded after 1916 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and revived there in 1972. The organization was named after the F.H.C. Society, which had been founded at the College on November 11, 1750, and was itself known... |
1916 | College of William and Mary College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States... |
Williamsburg, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| The Orange Society | 1965 | College of William and Mary College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States... |
Williamsburg, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Bishop James Madison Society Bishop James Madison Society The Bishop James Madison Society is a secret society of the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Students founded the society in the year 1812 as a tribute to the life of the late Bishop James Madison, eighth president of William and Mary and cousin to the U.S. president James Madison... |
20th c. | College of William and Mary College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States... |
Williamsburg, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Wren Society Wren Society The Wren Society, is one of the many secret societies on the campus of the College of William and Mary.Founded in 1832, to honor the two hundredth birthday of Sir Christopher Wren, the society quickly grew in prominence . The society, like many other traditions of the Royal College, fell victim to... |
20th c. | College of William and Mary College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States... |
Williamsburg, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Sphinx Head Sphinx Head The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Cornell University... |
1890 | Cornell University Cornell University Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions... |
Ithaca, NY | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent collegiate societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones of Yale University... |
1893 | Cornell University Cornell University Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions... |
Ithaca, NY | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Sphinx Sphinx (senior society) The Sphinx, founded in 1885, is the oldest of the eight senior societies at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Though sometimes also claimed to be the oldest all male secret society in the country, both the Flat Hat Club at the College of William and Mary and Sigma at Washington and Lee... |
1886 | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Casque and Gauntlet Casque and Gauntlet Casque and Gauntlet is the second-oldest of the eight senior societies at Dartmouth College. C&G was founded in 1886, just after the Sphinx, and moved to its current location at 1 South Main Street in 1893... |
1887 | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Dragon Society Dragon Society The Dragon Society or Society of Dragons is a secret society of senior men at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The group's membership and organizational structure are unknown... |
1898 | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Fire & Skoal | 1975 | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Abaris | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior | |
| Phoenix | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior | |
| Gryphon | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior | |
| Cobra | Dartmouth College Dartmouth College Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences... |
Hanover, NH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior | |
| Raven's Claw Society Raven's Claw Society The Raven's Claw is an all male senior honorary society at Dickinson College. It was founded in 1896, making it the first society unique to Dickinson College and one of the oldest in the country. Membership is limited to seven senior men who are selected by the seven previous members... |
1896 | Dickinson College Dickinson College Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly... |
Carlisle, PA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior men |
| D.V.S. Senior Honor Society D.V.S. Senior Honor Society The D.V.S. Senior Honor Society is an honor society at Emory University in Atlanta. Founded in 1902, D.V.S. admits seven seniors each year based on their campus leadership, dedication to Emory, and academic excellence. It is the oldest of Emory's five secret societies. The other societies are... |
1902 | Emory University Emory University Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of... |
Atlanta, GA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Order of the Torch | 2003 | Florida International University Florida International University Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park... |
Miami, FL | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Fontaneda Society | 2010 | Florida International University Florida International University Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park... |
Miami, FL | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Fraternity and sorority leaders & athletes |
| Burning Spear Society Burning Spear Society Burning Spear is a leadership honorary society at The Florida State University, created in 1993 and originally named the Charlie Ward for Heisman Coalition.-History:... |
1993 | Florida State University Florida State University The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation... |
Tallahassee, FL | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| ANAK Society ANAK Society The ANAK Society is the oldest known secret society and honor society at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1908, ANAK's purpose is "to honor outstanding juniors and seniors who have shown both exemplary leadership and a true love for Georgia Tech"... |
1908 | Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States... |
Atlanta, GA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Junior and Senior |
| Pithotomy Club | 1896 | Johns Hopkins University Societies at Johns Hopkins - Societies at Johns Hopkins :Through the years, many secret societies, senior societies and other interesting groups have been founded at Johns Hopkins. They are similar to the societies found at peer institutions, similar to a Eating club or Final club. The dominance of Greek letter societies... |
Baltimore, MD | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Men |
| Chi | 1900 | Longwood University Longwood University Longwood University is a four-year public, liberal-arts university located in Farmville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 and became a university on July 1, 2002... |
Farmville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| 1540 | 1998 | Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola... |
New Orleans, LA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Eucleian Society Eucleian Society The Eucleian Society is a student society begun at New York University in 1832. - Origins :In 1832 sixteen students began the Eucleian Society at New York University, originally under the name “Adelphic Society”... |
1832 | New York University New York University New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan... |
New York, NY, United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
||
| Red Dragon Society Red Dragon Society The Red Dragon Society is a secret society based at New York University, in New York, New York. The Red Dragon has long held the title to the most selective society at NYU, and has been notorious for its secrecy since its founding in 1898.... |
1898 | New York University New York University New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan... |
New York, NY, United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
||
| Mufti | 1940 | Pomona College Pomona College Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member... |
Claremont, CA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
|
| Cap and Skull Cap and Skull Cap and Skull is a senior-year coeducational honors society at Rutgers University, founded on January 18, 1900.Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent upon excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and public service. Leadership as well as character are also considered crucial factors for... |
1900 | Rutgers University Rutgers University Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American... |
New Brunswick, NJ | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Khoda | 1909 | Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading... |
Hoboken, NJ | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Stickers | 1898 | Texas A&M University Texas A&M University Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school... |
College Station, TX | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| The Machine The Machine The Machine, the former Alpha Rho chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at the University of Alabama, is a coalition of traditionally white fraternities and sororities which formed a secret society with some degree of influence over campus and Alabama state politics... |
1914 | University of Alabama University of Alabama The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States.... |
Tuscaloosa, AL | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Fraternity & sorority leaders |
| Order of the Golden Bear Order of the golden bear The Order of the Golden Bear is a fellowship of UC Berkeley students, faculty, and alumni who are committed to serving and bettering the University of California. Founded in 1900, The Order of the Golden Bear is a group that loves the University and its traditions and is dedicated to ensuring its... |
1900 | University of California, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA... |
Berkeley, CA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Gun Club The Gun Club (secret society) The Gun Club is a secret society of students at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law . Chief Justice Earl Warren is the Gun Club's only known member.... |
1912 | University of California, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA... |
Berkeley, CA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Junior |
| Society of the Golden Rose | 1942 | University of California, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA... |
Berkeley, CA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Junior and Senior women |
| Sigma Sigma | 1898 | University of Cincinnati University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio.... |
Cincinnati, OH\ | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Junior and Senior men |
| Men of Metro | 1946 | University of Cincinnati University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio.... |
Cincinnati, OH | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Men |
| Florida Blue Key Florida Blue Key Florida Blue Key is a student honor and service society at the University of Florida. It is often written and referred to by the initialism "FBK."This organization was started at the University of Florida in 1923 under the presidency of Albert Murphree... |
1923 | University of Florida University of Florida The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906... |
Gainesville, FL | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Order of the Greek Horsemen Order of the Greek Horsemen Order of the Greek Horsemen is a secret society at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia. Founded in 1955, the organization annually inducts five new members from among the male leaders of the Greek system at the University of Georgia... |
1955 | University of Georgia University of Georgia The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States... |
Athens, GA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Fraternity men |
| Ma-Wan-Da | 1912 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system... |
Urbana, IL Urbana, Illinois Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area.... |
US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Senior Skull | 1906 | University of Maine University of Maine The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System... |
Orono, ME | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior Men |
| Iron Arrow | 1926 | University of Miami University of Miami The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12... |
Coral Gables, FL | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Order of Angell | 1902 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| QEBH QEBH QEBH is a senior honor society at the University of Missouri. Founded in 1897, it is the oldest of six recognized secret honor societies on campus.-History:The society was founded in November 1897 by eight men... |
1897 | University of Missouri University of Missouri The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses... |
Columbia, MO | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| LSV Society LSV Society L.S.V. is a secret honorary society at the University of Missouri dedicated to "promoting and improving the status of women" and recognizing "the most outstanding upperclass women" at the university, who "strive to promote and improve the status of women." L.S.V. was revealed to the campus in... |
1907 | University of Missouri University of Missouri The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses... |
Columbia, MO | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior women |
| Mystical Seven Mystical Seven (Missouri) Mystical Seven is one of the secret societies of the University of Missouri. Mystical Seven taps seven outstanding seniors for membership based on their good deeds and selfless leadership and service to the campus and community. Mystical Seven is the second oldest of the secret honor societies... |
1907 | University of Missouri University of Missouri The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses... |
Columbia, MO | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Coffin and Keys | 1916 | University of Nevada, Reno University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA... |
Reno, NV | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| OBC OBC (Secret Society) OBC is the oldest known collegiate secret society currently operating at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Its existence has been documented as early as May 1938; however, there is no confirmed documentation of its founding or membership.... |
University of North Carolina at Asheville University of North Carolina at Asheville The University of North Carolina at Asheville is a co-educational, four year, public liberal arts university. The university is also known as UNC Asheville. Located in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, UNCA is the only designated liberal arts institution in the University of North... |
Asheville, NC | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
||
| Society of Innocents Society of Innocents The Innocents Society is the Chancellor's senior honorary society at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, composed of 13 men and women who apply during the spring of their junior year and are selected on the basis of academic excellence, unparalleled leadership, and selfless service to the... |
1903 | University of Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Order of Gimghoul Order of Gimghoul The Order of Gimghoul is a collegiate secret society headquartered at Hippol Castle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W... |
1889 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... |
Chapel Hill, NC | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Order of the Golden Fleece Order of the Golden Fleece The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe... |
1904 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... |
Chapel Hill, NC | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Order of the Grail-Valkyries | 1920 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... |
Chapel Hill, NC | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Loyal Knights of Old Trusty | 1920 | University of Oklahoma University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its... |
Norman, OK | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Engineering |
| Sphinx Senior Society Sphinx Senior Society The Sphinx Senior Society of the University of Pennsylvania is the oldest honor society at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1900, the organization is self-perpetuating and today usually consists of 25-30 members. Its members represent a diverse and varied... |
1900 | University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution... |
Philadelphia, PA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Friars | 1901 | University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution... |
Philadelphia, PA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Mortar Board Mortar Board Mortar Board is an American national honor society whose purpose is to recognize outstanding students dedicated to the values of scholarship, leadership, and service. The Cornell University Der Hexenkreis chapter, founded in 1892, is the oldest and predates the national society's founding in 1918... |
1922 | University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution... |
Philadelphia, PA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Druids | 1923 | University of Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of... |
Pittsburgh, PA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Scarabbean Senior Society Scarabbean Senior Society The Scarabbean Senior Society, with members known as “Scarabs,” is an honor society at the University of Tennessee. The group, established in 1915, has operated largely in secrecy despite being either wholly or partly responsible for many events, traditions, and activities in student life,... |
1915 | University of Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States... |
Knoxville, TN | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Eyes of Texas | 1975 | University of Texas | Austin, TX | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Friar Society Friar Society The Friar Society is the oldest honor society at the University of Texas at Austin.-Origins:The Friar Society was founded in 1911 by Curtice Rosser and Marion Levy. Eight members were initially selected in the charter group... |
1911 | University of Texas | Austin, TX | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Episkopon Episkopon Episkopon is a controversial secret society at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, which has been active since 1858 when its male branch was founded. The 225th reading was held in 2011. A female branch of Episkopon has been active since 1899, holding their 150th Reading in 2009... |
1858 | University of Trinity College University of Trinity College The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of... |
Toronto, ON | Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
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| Castor Castor Castor derives from the , meaning "beaver", or "he who excels". It originally referred to Castor, one of the Dioscuri/Gemini twins of Graeco-Roman mythology.Castor or CASTOR may also refer to:-Science and technology:... |
University of Toronto University of Toronto The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada... |
Toronto, ON | Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
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| Gentlemen's Club Gentlemen's club A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of... |
2011 | University of Toronto, OISE | Toronto, ON | Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Senior |
| Eli Banana Eli Banana The Eli Banana Ribbon Society is the oldest secret society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1878 as a way to encourage the fraternities to engage more directly in the life of the University, the aim of the society was to bring its members to leadership in the University community and to... |
1878 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| T.I.L.K.A. | 1889 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Z Society Z Society The Z Society is a philanthropic organization that was founded at the University of Virginia in 1892. It comprises outstanding student leaders who give time, talent, and financial contributions to groups and individuals that exemplify the spirit of the society and uphold the ideals of the university... |
1892 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| IMP Society IMP Society The IMP Society is a secret society at the University of Virginia that is notable for combining philanthropy and public mischief.Originally founded in 1902 as a society called the Hot Feet, the society was known primarily for its public ceremonies in which it crowned the society's "king." The Hot... |
1902 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Seven Society Seven Society The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the... |
1905 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Society of the Purple Shadows | 1963 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society | 1967 | University of Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson... |
Charlottesville, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Gentlemen's Club Gentlemen's club A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of... |
2010 | University of Waterloo University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff... |
Waterloo, ON | Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Senior |
| Iron Cross Iron Cross (Secret Society) The Iron Cross Society is University of Wisconsin–Madison's oldest and most prestigious secret societies. Election to the Iron Cross Society has been considered the highest honor a UW–Madison undergraduate could achieve.- Background :... |
1902 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, WI | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Junior and Senior |
| Cadaver Society Cadaver Society The “Cadaver Society” is a secret society of students at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, United States. The group's membership and organizational structure are unknown. Cadaver has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1957... |
1957 | Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of... |
Lexington, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Sigma Society Sigma Society The Sigma Society is a secret society at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Founded in 1880, it is one of the older secret societies in the United States, and remains "one of the oldest continuous social organizations at Washington and Lee." The Sigma Society is roughly 70 years... |
1880 | Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of... |
Lexington, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Immortals | Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of... |
Lexington, VA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
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| Mystical 7 Mystical Seven (Wesleyan) The Mystical Seven is a society founded in 1837 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut that currently is in existence as two separate groups. Publicly, members are called Mystics.-Early history:... |
1867 | Wesleyan University Wesleyan University Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and... |
Middletown, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Theta Nu Epsilon Theta Nu Epsilon Founded at Wesleyan University in 1870 as a chapter of Skull and Bones, Theta Nu Epsilon is a sophomore class society that accepts members regardless of their fraternity status.-Early history:... |
1870 | Wesleyan University Wesleyan University Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and... |
Middletown, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Sophomore |
| Skulls of Seven | 1898 | Westminster College Westminster College, Missouri Westminster College is a private, selective, liberal arts institution in Fulton, Missouri, USA. It was founded by Presbyterians in 1849 as Fulton College and assumed the present name in 1851. The are located on the campus. The National Churchill Museum is a national historic site and includes... |
Fulton, MO | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Mountain Mountain Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River... |
1867 | West Virginia University West Virginia University West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;... |
Morgantown, WV | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Skull Skull The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates... |
1911 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private university located in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States.Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities... |
Worcester, MA | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Skull and Bones Skull and Bones Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale.... |
1832 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Scroll and Key Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the wealthiest and second oldest Yale secret society... |
1842 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Berzelius | 1848 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Book and Snake Book and Snake The Society of Book and Snake is the fourth oldest secret society at Yale University. Book and Snake was founded at the Sheffield Scientific School in 1863 as a three-year society bearing the Greek letters Sigma Delta Chi... |
1863 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Wolf's Head Wolf's Head (secret society) Wolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Membership is recomposed annually of fifteen or sixteen Yale University students, typically juniors from the college... |
1883 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| St. Elmo St. Elmo (secret society) St. Elmo Society is a secret society at Yale University. It was founded in 1889 as an independent entity for seniors within the nationally chartered fraternity, Delta Phi , Omicron Chapter .-History:... |
1899 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Elihu Elihu (secret society) Elihu, founded in 1903, is the sixth oldest secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT. While similar to Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head societies in charter and function, Elihu favors privacy over overt secrecy... |
1903 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Aurelian Honor Society Aurelian Honor Society The Aurelian Honor Society is a landed senior honor society founded in 1910 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.- Founding Mission :... |
1910 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Manuscript Society Manuscript Society Manuscript Society is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Toward the end of each junior year, 16 undergraduates are "tapped" to be inducted into the society, which meets twice weekly for dinner and discussion... |
1952 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
| Mace and Chain Mace and Chain Mace and Chain is the youngest of the eight "landed" secret societies at Yale University.-History:The society was founded by Thornton Marshall with the help of poet and Yale professor Robert Penn Warren in 1956... |
1956 | Yale University Yale University Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... |
New Haven, CT | US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Senior |
External links
- "How the Secret Societies Got That Way", Yale Alumni Magazine (September 2004)
- "Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth"
- "Four Years at Yale" A late 19th century contemporary account of fraternal societies at two Connecticut Universities: Yale & Wesleyan (courtesy of Google Books)
- The Peter Dromgoole legend
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