Cornell Secret Societies

[mariambaby3]

<p>How does one go about getting into a secret society? Are they just people who don't like to socialize or party and want to feel exclusive as they feel socially belittled by the greeks?</p>

[Docility]

<p>Dear Uncle Ezra,
I have heard rumors that there are secret society’s on Cornell’s Campus. I also heard that some of them have access to special secret rooms and buildings. Does this mean that those places are off-limits to everyone except the members? How does one join these societies? How does one obtain their own secret room?</p>

<p>Sincerely,
Just want to be in a Society
Dear Secret Seeker,</p>

<p>Most secret societies do not have an open recruitment policy where you can join or rush like you would for a student organization or a sorority. New members are nominated and approved by current members or sometimes nominated by others at the request of current membership. At Cornell, the secret societies look for new members who have strong leadership roles on campus.</p>

<p>Prospective members learn they are selected to be part of the group through a process called “tapping.” Interest in secret societies has waxed and waned. There are currently two well known organizations on the Cornell campus, Quill and Dagger and Sphinxhead. Search the Ezra Archives to learn more. Perhaps there are more secret societies on campus, but who knows, because shh it’s a secret! They do have meeting places and those places are also secret.
The mysterious nature of these organizations generates intrigue, speculation and sometimes ill will not because of their actions but because of the veil of secrecy. The famous Yale society, Skull and Bones was featured accurately or not (who knows!) in the 2006 film The Good Shepherd.</p>

<p>Uncle Ezra </p>

<p>(Source: ezra.cornell.edu)</p>

<p>^There’s the answer to your first question. :)</p>

[richs73cas]

<p>

Secrecy
The meetings and proceedings of Quill and Dagger are closed, and the society’s contributions and activities on campus are typically concealed. The public is not admitted to the society’s sanctuary on the top floor of Lyon Tower, although anyone who is not a Cornell University undergraduate or eligible to become one can be escorted into the sanctuary by a member of the society. Membership remained secret for a brief period after its founding, but the names of newly-tapped members are now published in The Cornell Daily Sun each semester.

[Quill</a> and Dagger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quill_and_Dagger]Quill”>Quill and Dagger - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>

Each year, Sphinx Head usually taps fewer than forty men and women of the senior class for membership. Since the Society’s founding, membership has been “reserved for the most respected” members of the senior class. The names of newly tapped Sphinx Heads were published in The New York Times through the 1930s, but are now published exclusively in The Cornell Daily Sun. Sphinx Head also awards honorary membership to Cornell administration, faculty, staff, and alumni for their “significant personal and/or professional accomplishment, outstanding leadership, distinguished service to the university and interest in and commitment to undergraduate student life and development.”

[Sphinx</a> Head - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_Head]Sphinx”>Sphinx Head - Wikipedia)</p>

[mariambaby3]

<p>Can you be in a sorority and Secret Society at the same time?</p>

[chendrix]

<p>yes 10char.</p>

[jcas323]

<p>i think the head of ifc and panhel are always in Q&D, as is the editor of the sun, the pres of the SA, sometimes sports captains. dont really worry about joining a secret society, just try to do activities you are passionate about on campus, and if you happen to excel/make an impact/become a leader then maybe youll join one… the presence isnt big at cornell like at yale, princeton, etc.</p>