Collegiate secret societies in North America
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/* List of selected North American collegiate secret societies */
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. In the traditional secret society, for example at [[Yale University]], "Most societies meet Thursday and Sundays for dinner... Often, a member presents his or her 'autobiography,' revealing personal details."<ref name = Mtgdetails> [http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/frosh/1998/blue/secret.html Yale Herald article] accessed 2008-06-01</ref> Because many of these societies limit their membership to college seniors, they are also commonly referred to as ''senior societies'' on many campuses.
==Categorization==
There is no strict rule on the categorization of secret societies. Any rule that can be devised has exceptions: 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, [[Fraternities and sororities|college fraternities]] and "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. Secret societies can keep their membership secret, [[Seven Society]], and some have not ([[Skull and Bones]] and the Yale societies had published their membership lists in the yearbooks and the [[Yale Daily News]]).
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 [[Yale University|Yale]]. 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 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 University]] by a process called ''tapping''.<ref> {{cite book|url=http://ia350625.us.archive.org/2/items/fouryearsatyale00bagguoft/fouryearsatyale00bagguoft_djvu.txt|title=Four Years at Yale |last=Bagg |first=Lyman Hotchkiss |year=1871 |publisher=Charles C. Chatfield & Co. |location=New Haven |pages=87-105}}</ref> 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.<ref name = Mtgdetails/> Formal tapping days used to exist at Berkeley, and still exist in a much more formal setting at Missouri.
==Significant individual institutions==
===Cornell University===
[[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 system on campus.<ref> {{cite news |url=http://cornellsun.com/node/21711|title=The Secret Life of A.D. White |work=Cornell Daily Sun |date=2007-02-28 |last=Earle |first=Corey}}</ref> 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, only two organizations operate on campus: [[Sphinx Head]] (founded in 1890) and [[Quill and Dagger]] (founded in 1893). Each society seeks to honor the top 1% of the rising senior class for significant leadership, service to Cornell University and the community, and good character. Membership is mutually exclusive between the two organizations.
===Dartmouth College===
{{Main|Dartmouth College student groups#Senior societies|l1=Dartmouth College student groups}}
[[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." ''Abaris Society'' and ''Cobra Society'' are two such examples.<ref name="DORL"> {{cite web |url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~orl/greek-soc/societies/senior.html |title=Senior Societies |publisher=Trustees of Dartmouth College |accessdate=2007-02-14}}</ref> 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."<ref name="DORL" /> The college's administration of the society system at Dartmouth focuses on managing membership and tapping lists, and differs from that of Yale's, though there are historical parallels between the two colleges' societies.<ref name="DHalls"> {{cite web |url=http://www.dartmo.com/halls/ |title=Halls, Tombs, and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth |author=Scott Meacham |date=1999 |accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref><ref name="DVeiled">{{cite news |url=http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2001051801090 |title=Secret societies remain veiled in mystery |last=Gomstyn |first=Alice |date=[[2001-05-18]] |accessdate=2007-02-14 |work=[[The Dartmouth]]}}</ref>
===Harvard University===
{{Main|Final club}}
[[Image:flyclubhouse.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Clubhouse of the ''Fly Club'', a final club at Harvard University]]
[[Harvard University|Harvard]] does not have secret societies in the usual sense, although some assert that Harvard's 'Final Clubs' are analogous. The groups are secretive about their election procedures, and they have secret initiations and meetings. They are larger than secret societies generally are, (approximately sixty students per club). Guests are admitted under restrictions. However the Porcellian and the Delphic never allow any non-member undergraduates inside their buildings, and non-member faculty only in very rare instances. "Punch Season" and the "Final Dinner" is analogous to "Tap" at Yale.
Final Clubs at Harvard include the [[Fly Club]], (1836), a successor of [[Alpha Delta Phi]]; [[The Phoenix - S K Club]] (1897); [[Porcellian]] (1791, originally called The Argonauts). The [[Signet Society|The Signet Society]], a Harvard literary club rather than a Final Club, is also regarded on campus and by members as a "semi-secret" society.<ref> {{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=152267|title=Facts on Final Clubs|date=1999-03-03|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref><ref> {{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=504263|title=Cutting Final Clubs Out of the Picture|last=Yee|first=April H.N.|date=2004-11-04|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref>
===University of Illinois===
The [[University of Illinois]] has the ''Ma-Wan-Da Senior Society''.<ref name="ma-wan-da"> {{cite web |url=https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/Ma-Wan-DaSeniorHonorary/home.html |title=Ma-Wan-Da Home |accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref>
[[Image:Dianthus caryophyllus L (Clove pink).JPG|thumb|left|200px| Dianthus caryophyllus, a symbol of ''Ma-Wan-Da'', represents "true endeavor" when in white]] ''Ma-Wan-Da'', now honorary, used Native American symbolism. Emblems include the bronze [[arrowhead]] and the white carnation flower, [[Dianthus caryophyllus]].<ref name="ma-wan-da" /> Each spring, only 15 of the most prestigious campus leaders were invited to join, after which, their names were inscribed onto an arrowhead-shaped plaque and hung on the ''Ma-Wan-Da Tree''. This tradition continued until 1959 before the tree was cut down to make room for the [[Illini Union]].<ref name="ma-wan-da" /><ref name="plaque"> {{cite web |url=http://www.library.uiuc.edu/archives/archon/?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=2593 |title=Ma-Wan-Da Plaque |work=University of Illinois Archives |accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref>
===University of Iowa===
The [[University of Iowa]] has an all-female secret society, ''The Tennyo''.
===University of Michigan===
Michigan's society, ''Michigamua'', has been inspired by the rituals and culture of the [[Native Americans of the United States]]. Since its founding, it has evolved into the [[Order of Angell]], which first used the tower of their campus union as their "tomb".<ref name="michigamua"> {{cite web |url=http://www.goodspeedupdate.com/michigamua-images.html |title=Michigamua Image Gallery |accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref><ref name="michigamuaexposed">{{cite web |url=http://michigamuaexposed.blogspot.com |title=Michigamua Exposed |accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref> The University of Michigan also has a secret society just for technology students, the ''Vulcan Senior Engineering Society''.
===University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill===
{{main|Order of Gimghoul}}
[[Image:Gimghoul Castle.JPG|200px|right|thumb|Hippol Castle, headquarters of the [[Order of Gimghoul]]]]
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.<ref name="gimghoulcastle1"> {{cite news |last=West |first=Elliot |url=http://www.raleighchronicle.com/2006103100.html |title=Halloween: Secret Society In [[Chapel Hill]] Owns Gimghoul Castle |publisher=Raleigh Chronicle |date=2006-10-31 |accessdate= 2008-05-04}}</ref><ref name="gimghoulcastle2"> {{cite web |url=http://www.welcometonc.com/detail/252.cfm |title=Gimghoul Castle |accessdate=2008-05-04}}</ref> 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.<ref name="gimghoularchives"> {{cite web |url=http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/uars/ead/40262.html |title=Inventory of the Order of Gimghoul Records, 1832-2006 (bulk 1940-1997) |format= |work= |publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries |accessdate=2008-05-04 }}</ref>
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.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/ghosts/gimghoul.html |title=The Legend of Gimghoul |work=Ghost Stories of North Carolina|accessdate=2008-05-04}}</ref> 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.<ref name="gimghoularchives"/>
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.<ref name="gimghoularchives"/>
===Ohio State University===
[[Ohio State University]] is noted for its ''Sphinx Senior Society''.
===University of Pennsylvania===
There are several "secret societies" at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. At UPenn, the term "secret society" generally denotes a social club that is independent of any official organization. For this reason, the society cannot be regulated by the university, and is not accountable to a national fraternal or sororal organization. Most of the all-male secret societies, such as "Owl Society," "OZ," and "THEOS," were founded by former members of fraternities after the fraternity to which they belonged had had been suspended by the university for disciplinary reasons. But other societies, such as the all-female "Tabard Society" (founded 1987), were founded by students who were not affiliated with any particular Greek organization.
At UPenn, secret societies are smaller than their Greek counterparts, and tend to vary in degree of secrecy.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2006/11/08/Opinion/Gabe-Oppenheim.The.Jekyll.And.Hyde.Of.Zbt-2446294.shtml|title=The Jekyll and Hyde of ZBT|last=Oppenheim|first=Gabe|date=2006-08-11|publisher=The Daily Pennsylvanian|accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref><ref> {{cite web|url=http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2003/01/14/News/Mystique.Of.Secret.Societies.No.Secret.Among.College.Students-2156078.shtml|title=Mystique of secret societies no secret among college students|last=Ghiselli|first=Margherita|date=2003-01-14|publisher=The Daily Pennsylvanian|accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref>
===Penn State University===
[[Penn State University]] is known for the ''Skull and Bones Senior Society''<ref name="Skull_and_Bones_PSU"> {{cite web |url=http://www.skullandbones.org |title=Skull and Bones Senior Society (Home Page) |accessdate=2008-05-12}}</ref> 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===
{{Main|Eating clubs (Princeton University)}}
[[Image:Colonialclub.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Colonial Club]]
[[Princeton University|Princeton's]] [[Eating clubs (Princeton University|eating clubs]] are not fraternities, nor are they secret societies by any standard measure, but they are often seen as being tenuously analogous. The majority of upperclassmen at take their meals in one of ten eating clubs, which are private organizations resembling both dining halls and social houses. Nearly three-quarters of upperclassmen (third- and fourth-year students) at Princeton take their meals at the eating clubs, the clubs are private institutions and are not affiliated with [[Princeton University]]. Each club occupies a large mansion. The primary function of the eating clubs is to serve as dining halls for the majority of third- and fourth-year students. All of the clubs admit both male and female members, and members (with the exception of some of the undergraduate officers) do not live in the mansion.
Currently, there are ten eating clubs. Five clubs — [[University Cottage Club]], [[Cap and Gown Club]], [[The Ivy Club]], [[Tiger Inn]] ("TI"), and [[Princeton Tower Club]] (in addition to [[Cannon Club]], which will reopen in spring 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/05/18/news/18498.shtml| title=Cannon to reopen in Spring 2008|accessdate=2007-08-31}}</ref>) — are selective, choosing their members through a process called "bicker." Five clubs - [[Cloister Inn]], [[Princeton Charter Club]], [[Colonial Club]], [[Quadrangle Club]], and [[Terrace Club]] - are non-selective. These clubs' members are chosen through a lottery process called "sign-in."
===University of Virginia===
{{Main|Secret societies at the University of Virginia}}
[[Image:Rotundafrontwinter CM.jpg|thumb|right|200px|North Steps of the Rotunda, with ''Z Society'' logo]]
Secret societies have been a part of [[University of Virginia]] student life since the founding of the [[Eli Banana]] society in 1878.<ref name="bruce"> {{cite book
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ns0zAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=%22eli+banana&source=web&ots=1okn1bWjwn&sig=hO9HCOBlV-FWerMXJmgYK5NlnbY
|title=History of the University of Virginia: The Lengthening Shadow of One Man |volume=IV |pages=97-99, 338 |last=Bruce |first=Philip Alexander |authorlink=Philip Alexander Bruce |date=1921 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing|Macmillan]] |location=New York }}</ref> Early secret societies, such as Eli Banana and [[Secret societies at the University of Virginia#T.I.L.K.A.|T.I.L.K.A.]], had secret initiations but public membership; some, such as the [[IMP Society|Hot Feet]], now the [[IMP Society]], were very public, incurring the wrath of the administration for public revels.<ref name="bruce-hotfeet-disband">{{cite book|last=Bruce|first=Philip Alexander|authorlink=Philip Alexander Bruce|title=History of the University of Virginia: The Lengthening Shadow of One Man|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing|Macmillan]]|location=New York|date=1922|volume=V|pages=283|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=i68VAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:0QijWlKe5gOccv#PPA283,M1}}</ref>
The first truly "secret society" was the [[Seven Society]], founded circa 1905.<ref name="dabney"> {{cite book|last=Dabney|first=Virginius|authorlink=Virginius Dabney |title=Mr. Jefferson's University: A History |url=http://repo.lib.virginia.edu:18080/fedora/get/uva-lib:178665/uva-lib-bdef:100/getFullView |publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]]|location=[[Charlottesville]]|year=1981|pages=305-306|isbn=081390904X}}</ref> 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 century, such as the [[Z Society]] (formerly Zeta), who were founded in 1892,<ref name="bruce-z"> Bruce, IV:100.</ref> the IMP Society, reformulated in 1913 after the Hot Feet were banned in 1908, and Eli Banana, are still active at the University today.<!--This should be removed. This is not a secret society, but a literary society. Literary societies predated fraternities and yet shared some of their characteristics. -->
New societies have periodically appeared at the University during the 20th century. The most notable are the [[Secret societies at the University of Virginia#P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society|P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society]], a secret group that rewards contributions to the University and which was founded prior to 1970;<ref name="pumpkin-cd"> {{cite news |url=http://scripta.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-textwg/cavdaily.pl?str=pumpkin&offset=35976732&fileid=19701030 |title=P.U.M.P.K.I.N.'s To Make Yearly Roll |work=[[Cavalier Daily]] |date=1970-10-30}}</ref><ref name="pumpkin-dabney"> Dabney, 502.</ref> and the [[Secret societies at the University of Virginia#Purple Shadows|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".<ref name="dabney-shadows">Dabney, 501.</ref><ref name=cd-purple">{{cite news |url=http://scripta.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-textwg/cavdaily.pl?str=purple%20shadows&offset=9700607&fileid=19680911 |title=Noted For Eccentricity, Mysteriousness: Societies Beneficial to University |last=Steer |first=Jay |work=[[Cavalier Daily]] |date=1968-09-11}}</ref> 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.
The [[Jefferson Literary and Debating Society]], founded in 1825, is the oldest organization at the University and among the oldest continuously active student societies in the nation. Its proceedings were kept strictly secret in the early years of its existence. Though it continues to induct new members with a selective process today, its meetings are no longer closed to the public<ref>Patton, John S. (1906). Jefferson, Cabell, and the University of Virginia. New York: Neale Publishing Company</ref>.
===The College of William and Mary ===
The [[College of William and Mary]] in [[Williamsburg, Virginia]] was the home to one of the nation's first known college societies, the [[Flat Hat Club]], founded in 1750. The initials of the F.H.C. 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 always been known jokingly as 'the Flat Hat Club'. William & Mary alumnus and third U.S. President,[[Thomas Jefferson]], is perhaps the most famous member of the Flat Hat Club.<ref name="dogstreet-fhc">{{cite web |url=http://www.dogstreetjournal.com/story/2049 |title=Shhh! The Secret Side to the College’s Lesser Known Societies |last=Milfeld |first=Becca |date=2004-11-04 |accessdate=2008-07-09}}</ref> Other notable members of the original Society included Col. James Innes, St. George Tucker, and George Wythe.<ref>"F.H.C. Society," [http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/controlcard.php?id=6514 University Archives Subject File Collection], Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary</ref> 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."<ref name = Hastings1> {{cite book |author = Hastings, William T. |year = 1965 |title = ''Phi Beta Kappa as a Secret Society with its Relations to Freemasonry and Antimasonry Some Supplementary Documents'' |location = [[Richmond, Virginia]] |publisher = United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa |pages = 38-39}} </ref> The best opinion is that the society did not survive the invasion by British forces during the Revolution.<ref name="dogstreet-fhc" /> The society was revived from 1916 to 1943 and again in 1972.<ref>[[Flat Hat Club]]</ref>
[[John Heath (politician)|John Heath]] and [[William Short]] (Class of 1779) founded the [[Phi Beta Kappa Society]] at William & Mary on December 5, 1776 as a secret literary and philosophical society. Additional chapters were established in [[1780]] & [[1781]] [[Yale]] and at [[Harvard]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/frat_hist.html |title=Phi Beta Kappa: The First Fraternity |work=Sigma Chi/Brief History of Fraternities |accessdate=2008-07-09}}</ref>, and there are now 276 chapters nationwide.<ref name="pbkabout">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbk.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=History&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2345 |title=Phi Beta Kappa Society | History |work=Phi Beta Kappa homepage |accessdate=2008-07-09}}</ref> Alumni [[John Marshall]] and [[Bushrod Washington]] were two of the earliest members of [[Phi Beta Kappa]], elected in 1778 and 1780, respectively.<ref name="pbkmembers">{{cite journal |url=http://www.pbk.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=TKR_Archives&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=1386 |format=[[PDF]] |title=Letters |journal=The Key Reporter |volume=69 |number=4 |pages=13 |accessdate=2008-07-09}} </ref>
Although the pressures of the American Civil War forced many Societies to disappear, most were revived during the 20th century. Some of the secret societies known to currently exist at the College are the [[Seven Society]], Order of the Crown and Dagger, [[Wren Society]], [[Bishop James Madison Society]], [[Flat Hat Club]], Alpha Club, The Society, 13 Club, and W Society<ref name="dogstreet-fhc" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.flathatnews.com/variety/2284/peeking-into-closed-societies |title=Peeking Into Closed Societies |work=The Flat Hat |date=2008-04-08 |last=Johnson |first=Chase }}</ref>.
===Yale University===
{{Main|List of Yale University student organizations#Senior societies|l1=List of Yale University student organizations}}
The term "Secret society" at [[Yale University]] encompasses organizations with many shared but not identical characteristics. The oldest surviving undergraduate secret societies at Yale derive from various 19th c. fraternal organization traditions, rooted in the Enlightenment society-founding boom,<ref name="DHalls"/> and therefore the term "secret society" at Yale encompasses a variety of models: senior-only versus three-year, with or without Greek letters, affiliated with other campus chapters or stand-alone entities. From 1854-1956, "'Sheff'," the [[Sheffield Scientific School]] was the sciences and engineering college of Yale University, and it also had a fraternal culture that differed in some respects from the humanities campus, further enriching (and complicating) the picture.<ref> {{cite journal |url=http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/01_03/popup/landmarks/22.html |title=Yale's Lost Landmarks |journal=Yale Alumni Magazine |last=Branch |first=Mark Alden |date=2001-03}}</ref> In the Yale traditional secret society, meetings (typically held twice a week) focus on personal revelation and can involve arcane rituals.<ref name = Mtgdetails/>
[[Image:Skull and Bones tomb.jpg|left|thumb|200px|''Skull and Bones'' "tomb" at Yale University]]
Yale's history contains numerous fraternal organizations that have become defunct, those remaining survived owing to confluences of endowments, real estate, and the vigor of their respective alumni organizations and their charitable Trusts.<ref> {{cite journal|date=2001|title=Tombs and Taps: An inside look at Yale's Fraternities, Sororities and Societies|journal=Light & Truth: The Yale Journal of Opinion and Investigative Reporting|volume=8|issue=1|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20020306142114/www.yale.edu/lt/archives/v8n1/index.htm|accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Francis-Wright|first=Tim|date=2001|title=These are Charities? The Seamy Side of Yale's Most Exclusive Clubs|journal=Bear Left!|volume=1|url=http://www.bear-left.com/original/2001/0506yale.html|accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref> Across this spectrum, common features of Yale secret societies are that they (usually) have fifteen members per class, they own their "tomb" which is ''wholly or partially closed to non-members'' (unlike a club such as the [[Elizabethan Club]] whose members may bring their guests).
Secret societies at Yale "tap" their members, mostly on the same "Tap Night," and a member is off-limits to recruitment by another secret society, i.e. reciprocal exclusivity -- in contrast to Yale's singing groups which also "tap," but whose members may also join a society.
As hybrids like Sage and Chalice and St. Anthony Hall demonstrate, it is not possible to draw clear distinctions between these secretive organizations. Yale's Buildings and Grounds Department refers to some as "senior societies" in its online architectural database.<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.facilities.yale.edu/Campus/Buildings.asp|title=Buildings and Grounds|publisher=Yale University Office of Facilities|accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref>
The Yale Alumni Magazine contains historical references to fraternities also possessing "tombs." A series of articles on Dartmouth and Yale secret society architecture provides an overview of the buildings as "a uniquely American representation of the joining spirit, (that) are crucial to an understanding of the organizations they represent."<ref> {{cite journal|last=Branch|first=Mark Alden|date=2001|title=Yale's Lost Landmarks: Delta Kappa Epsilon "Tomb," 1861-1927|journal=Yale Alumni Magazine |url=http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/01_03/popup/landmarks/11.html|accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref>
The current 'landed' societies (societies which own real property) include [[Skull and Bones]] (1832), [[Scroll and Key]], (1841) and [[Wolf's Head]], (1883). The surviving Sheffield societies are [[Berzelius]] (1848), [[Book and Snake]] (1863), and St. Elmo (1889), (senior societies), and St. Anthony Hall (1867), which calls itself a "final society".<ref name="finalsociety">{{cite journal |url=http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/01_03/groups.html |title=An Irrepressible Urge to Join |journal=Yale Alumni Magazine |date=2001-03}}</ref> There are any number of others without property.
The certain existence of societies without physical real property (Sage and Chalice), and the archives of this wikipedia article suggests that there may be any number of unknown secret societies at Yale. Certainly there have been many which did not last long enough to leave any significant records.
The secret society tendency for mortuary-themed concepts, and the prevalence of Yale men in the creation of the U.S. intelligence community<ref> {{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2003/12/28/school_for_spies/|title=School for spies: What the CIA learned (and mislearned) in the groves of academe.|last=Heer|first=Jeet|date=2008-12-28|publisher=The Boston Globe|accessdate=2008-05-09}}</ref> is often suggested to be why the term "spook" (an undergraduate society member) became a colloquialism for a spy. (For more on Yale secret society members' influences on intelligence agencies, see the book ''Cloak and Gown: Scholars in the Secret War, 1939-1961'' by historian Robin W. Winks). However, there is no verifiable source for this.
==List of Notable North American collegiate secret societies==
<!-- Please help keep this list sorted appropriately.-->
{| class="sortable prettytable"
|-
!Name!!Year Established!!College or University!!Location!!Member Limit
|-
|[[The NoZe Brotherhood]]
|1924
|[[Baylor University]]
|[[Waco, Texas]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Franklin Society]]
|1824
|[[Brown University]]
|[[Providence, RI]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Seven Society]], Order of the Crown and Dagger
|?, 1826
|[[College of William and Mary]]
|[[Williamsburg, VA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior Men''
|-
|[[Bishop James Madison Society]]
|1812, revived 20th c.
|[[College of William and Mary]]
|[[Williamsburg, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Flat Hat Club]]
|1750, revived 1916
|[[College of William and Mary]]
|[[Williamsburg, VA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Wren Society]]
|1832, revived 20th c.
|[[College of William and Mary]]
|[[Williamsburg, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[St. Anthony Hall]]
|1847
|[[Columbia University]]
|[[New York, NY]], [[United States]]
|''Three Year''
|-
|[[Sphinx Head]]
|1890
|[[Cornell University]]
|[[Ithaca, NY]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Quill and Dagger]]
|1893
|[[Cornell University]]
|[[Ithaca, NY]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Sphinx (senior society)|The Sphinx]]<ref name = Dartlist> [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~orl/greek-soc/societies/senior.html Dartmouth list of senior societies] accessed 2008-05-16.</ref>
|1886
|[[Dartmouth College]]
|[[Hanover, NH]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Casque and Gauntlet]]<ref name = Dartlist/><ref name="caskgauntlet">{{cite web |url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Apr2000/Good.html |title="King Arthur made new knights": The Founding of Casque & Gauntlet |last=Good |first=Jonathan |work=Dartmouth Library Bulletin |date=2000-04}}</ref>
|1887
|[[Dartmouth College]]
|[[Hanover, NH]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Dragon Society]]<ref name = Dartlist/>
|1898
|[[Dartmouth College]]
|[[Hanover, NH]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Dartmouth College student groups#Fire & Skoal|Fire & Skoal]]<ref name = Dartlist/>
|1975
|[[Dartmouth College]]
|[[Hanover, NH]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Raven's Claw Society]]
|1896
|[[Dickinson College]]
|[[Carlisle, PA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[D.V.S. Senior Honor Society]]
|1902
|[[Emory University]]
|[[Atlanta, GA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Burning Spear Society]]
|1939
|[[Florida State University]]
|[[Tallahassee, FL]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[ANAK Society]]
|1908
|[[Georgia Institute of Technology]]
|[[Atlanta, GA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Longwood University#CHI|Chi]]
|1900
|[[Longwood University]]
|[[Farmville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Red Dragon Society]]
|1898
|[[New York University]]
|[[New York, NY]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Eucleian Society]]
|1832
|[[New York University]]
|[[New York, NY]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Basiliaz]]{{fact}}
|1911
|[[Northwestern University]]
|[[Evanston, IL]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Cap and Skull]]
|1900
|[[Rutgers University]]
|[[New Brunswick, NJ]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Pomona_College#.27Mufti.27|Mufti]]
|1940
|[[Pomona College]]
|[[Claremont, CA]], [[United States]]
|-
|[[Khoda]]
|1909
|[[Stevens Institute of Technology]]
|[[Hoboken, NJ]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Order of the Golden Bear]]<ref name="berkeley-goldenbear">{{cite journal |url=http://www.berkeley.edu/news/magazine/summer_99/feature_bear.html |title=Order of the Golden Bear |journal=Berkeley Magazine |date=Summer 1999 |last=Frost |first=Jacqueline}}</ref>
|1900
|[[University of California, Berkeley]]
|[[Berkeley, CA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Petal and Thorn]]
|1927
|[[University of Delaware]]
|[[Newark, DE]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Ma-Wan-Da]]<ref name="ma-wan-da" />
|1912
|[[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]]
|[[Urbana, Illinois|Urbana, IL]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[The Senior Skull Honor Society]]<ref name="me-seniorskull">{{cite web |url=http://www.mainealumni.com/Skulls/History.html |title=Senior Skull Honor Society |work=University of Maine Alumni Association |accessdate=2008-05-30}}</ref>
|1906
|[[University of Maine]]
|[[Orono, ME]], [[United States]]
|''Senior Men''
|-
|[[Order of Angell]]
|1902
|[[University of Michigan, Ann Arbor]]
|[[Ann Arbor, MI]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|-
|[[QEBH]]
|1897
|[[University of Missouri]]
|[[Columbia, MO]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Mystical Seven]]
|1907
|[[University of Missouri]]
|[[Columbia, MO]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[LSV Society]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religiousstudies.missouri.edu/programscourses/undergradhonorsocieties.html|title=Honors Societies|publisher=University of Missouri–Columbia Department of Religious Studies|accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref>
|1907
|[[University of Missouri]]
|[[Columbia, MO]], [[United States]]
|''Senior Women''
|-
|[[Order of Gimghoul]]
|1889
|[[University of North Carolina]]
|[[Chapel Hill, NC]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Friars senior society]]<ref name="upenn-friars">{{cite web |url=http://www.friarsseniorsociety.com |title=Friars Senior Society of the University of Pennsylvania (Home Page) |accessdate=2008-05-30}}</ref>
|1901
|[[University of Pennsylvania]]
|[[Philadelphia, PA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Sphinx Senior Society]]<ref name="upenn-sphinx">{{cite web |url=http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~pharisee/ |title=Sphinx Senior Society of the University of Pennsylvania |accessdate=2008-07-02}}</ref>
|1900
|[[University of Pennsylvania]]
|[[Philadelphia, PA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Friar Society]]<ref name="ut-friar">{{cite web |url=http://www.friarsociety.org/history/ |title=The Beginnings of the Society: Friar Society History |work=Friar Society (Home Page) |accessdate=2008-05-30}}</ref>
|1911
|[[University of Texas at Austin]]
|[[Austin, TX]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Episkopon]]
|1858
|[[University of Trinity College]]
|[[Toronto, ON]], [[Canada]]
|''All''
|-
|[[Eli Banana]]
|1878
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Secret societies at the University of Virginia#T.I.L.K.A|T.I.L.K.A.]]
|1889
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[IMP Society]]
|1902
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Seven Society]]
|1905
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Z Society]]
|1892
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Secret societies at the University of Virginia#Purple Shadows|Society of the Purple Shadows]]
|1963
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Secret societies at the University of Virginia#P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society|P.U.M.P.K.I.N. Society]]
|ca. 1967
|[[University of Virginia]]
|[[Charlottesville, VA]], [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Mystical Seven (Wesleyan)|Mystical Seven]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wesleyan.edu/weshistory/mystical7/|title=Mystical 7: A History|last=Wyatt-Greene|first=Benjamin|publisher=Wesleyan History Project|accessdate=2008-05-10}}</ref>
|1867
|[[Wesleyan University]]
|[[Middletown, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Theta Nu Epsilon]]
|1870
|[[Wesleyan University]]
|[[Middletown, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Sophomore''
|-
|[[Skulls of Seven]]<ref name="skullsofseven">{{cite web |url=http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/current_students/student_life/skulls_of_7/index.asp |title=Skulls of Seven Home |work=Student Life, Westminster College |accessdate=2008-07-09}}</ref>
|1898
|[[Westminster College, Missouri|Westminster College]]
|[[Fulton, MO]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Skull society]]<ref name="wpi-skull">{{cite web |url=http://users.wpi.edu/~skull |title=The Skull (Home Page) |accessdate=2008-05-30}}</ref> <ref name="wpi-skulltomb">{{cite web |url=http://www.wpi.edu/About/Tour/skull.html |title=Virtual Tour: Skull Tomb |work=WPI Virtual Tour |accessdate=2008-05-30}}</ref>
|1911
|[[Worcester Polytechnic Institute]]
|[[Worcester, MA]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Skull and Bones]]
|1832
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Scroll and Key]]
|1842
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Berzelius]]
|1848
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Book and Snake]]
|1863
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[St. Anthony Hall]]
|1867
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Three Year''
|-
|[[Wolf's Head (secret society)|Wolf's Head]]
|1883
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Elihu (secret society)|Elihu]]
|1903
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Manuscript Society]]
|1952
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Sage and Chalice]]
|
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|[[Mace and Chain]]
|1956
|[[Yale University]]
|[[New Haven, CT]], [[United States]]
|''Senior''
|-
|}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{clear}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
| last = Robbins
| first = Alexandra
| year = 2004
| title = Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
| publisher = Hyperion
| location = New York, NY
| id = ISBN 0-7868-8859-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Winks
| first = Robin W.
| year = 1996
| title = Cloak and Gown: Scholars in the Secret War, 1939-1961
| publisher = Yale University Press; 2nd edition
| location = New Haven, CT
| id = ISBN 0-30006524-8
}}
==External links==
*[http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2004_09/old_yale.html "How the Secret Societies Got That Way"], ''Yale Alumni Magazine'' (September 2004)
*[http://www.dartmo.com/halls/ "Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth"]
*[http://www.theamericanminerva.com/thetanuepsilon/06Articles/Articles/1871FourYearsAtYale.html "Four Years at Yale"] A late 19th century contemporary account of fraternal societies at two Connecticut Universities: Yale & Wesleyan
[[Category:Collegiate secret societies|North America]]
[[Category:United States student societies]]
[[Category:Lists of organizations|Collegiate secret societies]]
[[es:Sociedades Secretas colegiadas]]