Secret Societies

<p>I'm intrigued about Yale's secret socities.... does anyone have anything to share? stories.... or anything? i'm really interested in the subject</p>

<p>Societies have almost no influence on campus or in most students' lives.
The only people who do care about them are Freshman who think they're neat in the first few months of the year, a very small amount of frat boys seeking entrance, and those actually in them. I lived across the street from Scroll and Key, and the guy who lived in the room next to me was in Skull and Bones, which was what really dispelled the whole myth of them only choosing 'the best of the best' or being something to fear or seek. It's kind of neat to see their history, etc. (I know tidbits from overhearing conversations, and one of my friends stole a guidebook from Manuscript, which had A LOT of information), but movies and television shows make them seem a lot more romantic than they actually are. My only direct experience is having the power cut in my dorm the night before a Spansh exam because one of them was tapping someone...I got a B- on that exam, thanks to them... </p>

<p>Really, they are just rich, selective fraternal organizations that have big buildings...not deeply rooted conspiracy hubs.</p>

<p>I have a D at Yale, a rising senior who just went through all the secret society tapping hoopla. Here's what I have found out: there are many secret societies, not just the famous ones with streetfront "tombs." Meeting places of most are, duh, secret. They are basically social organizations whose purpose is to put students in touch with classmates who are compatible in personality/interests that they might not necessarily have met previously. At the meetings the main activity is, as my sister the social worker calls it, "oversharing" personal information and feelings. I do not believe they consist of a plot to rule the world, rather they're a plot to have fun and bond with some new people senior year -- in other words, they're basically fraternities. The secretiveness -- the anonymous invitations, the masked interviewers, the blindfolded walks through the campus, etc. -- strikes me as just one of those peculiar college traditions like fraternities painting a certain campus monument a different color every week.</p>

<p>Did my D join a secret society? Who knows? It's a secret, after all!</p>

<p>you should check out the Yale Rumpus Website. They have some interesting material on this subject. It's pretty funny.</p>

<p>There are around 20 societies, 9 with buildings on campus (i'm not counting the Elizabethan Club or St. Anthony Hall). The process basically brings in students from a diverse (or from a similar background depending on the aim of the society) to get to know each other really well, to learn from each other, and to have fun. It really enhances the senior year for those who get in / choose to do it. </p>

<p>The society process impacts everyone at some point, especially during spring of the junior year. Around 300 students are eventually involved in societies as seniors, and many more are interviewed, so a sizable amount of people at least go through the process.</p>

<p>List of senior societies:
Skull and Bones
Scroll and Key
Wolf's Head
Book and Snake
Berzilius
Elihu
Mace and Chain
Manuscript
St. Elmo's
Spade and Grave
Gryphon
Sage and Chalice (also known as YPSRT)
Ceres Athena (all female)
Aurelian
Torch
Fork and Knife
DSG (all female)
Truth and Courage (all male)
9 Ball (all male)
Ox (also known as Yale's Finest)
Whips and Chains (all female and sort of a joke)</p>

<p>Notes: </p>

<p>-The First 10 on the list have been around for decades. The last 10 are more recently formed (probably in the past 10-15 years or so). The exception is Ceres Athena, which I think was formed when women were first admitted to Yale. The first 10 are generally more serious than the last 10 or so.</p>

<p>-Truth and Courage and 9 Ball were formed by some disgruntled alumni of Skull and Bones and maybe Wolf's Head when those two societies went co-ed. They carry a bit of prestige but are mostly drinking oriented</p>

<p>-Barbara Bush was in Sage and Chalice; it's not sure if she turned down Skull and Bones or Skull and Bones turned her down. Stories conflict. Sage and Chalice is a newer party oriented society.</p>

<p>Wait a second. Since when is Skull and Bones co-ed??</p>

<p>Skull and Bones has been co-ed since 1992.</p>