<p>Does Columbia have a secret society such as the The Order of Skull and Bones at Yale?</p>
<p>Well, I beleive that many of the ivys have some kind of society, club, fraternity. As a graduate of both Yale and Columbia, I have had the opportunity to be asked to join. As for my graduate days at Columbia, I do not think there were any societies, most of us, had too much work to do, leaving little time for other activities.</p>
<p>Societies are pretty much the standard for the undergrads, particularly the end of junior and senior year. It was an experience that you can never forget. Undergraduate life at Yale is quite different from many other institutions, but then again, each place has its own traditions.</p>
<p>Be noticeable, in a good way, stand out, contribute something, stand for something, make friends, do well in classes, and who knows, you may well be approached one day.</p>
<p>Thank You SCB, Your reply certainly is quite insightful. I'm curious to ask; in your experience why was Yale that much different from Columbia?</p>
<p>Like I said before, I was grad at Columbia at Teachers College, so my experience may differ from yours as you are probably undergrad, I assume. The difference for me, in general, was the space on the campus, obviuosly, although beautiful, Columbia had less space on the campus than Yale. The residential life in Yale seemed a lot less formal, at least to me, than it did to me, but don't take my word on that as I was able to live at home during my graduate studies at Columbia and needed no dorm.</p>
<p>Many things stayed the same, but of course the biggest difference for me at Yale was the closeness of my "society" brothers and the countless number of traditions Yale offered from the whifenpoofs to baker's dozen to Morys, to the societies themselves, what else can I say?</p>
<p>Good luck at Columbia, it is a great school, and will definitely put you on the right path to where you want to go. It does seem to get a bad rap when compared to Yale and Harvard, but Columbia was no joke and I learned a heck of alot from profs who used to work for presidents.</p>
<p>If I told you I'd have to kill you.</p>
<p>Generalities are OK, specifics are never mentioned, at least not from me and not on net bulletin boards. ;)</p>
<p>Note: persons who really are members of serious secret societies will never indicate even the slightest hint of knowledge about them. That means they won't post about them on bboards.</p>
<p>Okay, okay, this thread should be deleted cause no one here knows nothing about nothing.</p>
<p>"persons who really are members of serious secret societies will never indicate even the slightest hint of knowledge about them."</p>
<p>Wrong !!!</p>
<p>yes, if you are the president of the U.S., you tend to keep ultra secret about these things. Others are well aware of societies, people are tapped out in public view in front of the whole campus. Yes, there are secret societies, many people know other people who are in secret socieities, and many people don't know anything about anything.</p>
<p>If everyone who was in secret socieites never spoke of them, then how is it that so many people know about them, and some of the goings ons? Yes, there are loudmouths who go around giving speeches about themselves to others. I don't think anyone here has done that. Relax, take a breath, and before you start deleting posts like it's the end of the world, get a grip and listen to what some people say. There's no harm in it.</p>
<p>And what have we learned, nothing. No specific society has been mentioned, and there are many. Nothing secret has been divulged, so let's not rush to panic.</p>
<p>I was just kidding. <em>shakes head in disbelief</em> Wow.</p>
<p>No hard feelings at all !! I was simply stating some facts, and love these boards. I think it gives the undergrads that little jump ahead that they need, that some of us older classmen never got.</p>
<p>Our schools are family, whether we like it or not. Columbia, Harvard, Yale, etc....Ivy all the way !</p>
<p>Stay well !</p>
<p>scb, I'm a little unclear (although I suppose that's your intention):</p>
<p>Are you saying that Columbia does or does not have something along the lines of Skull & Bones? Nothing specific necessarily, just yes (they do) or no (they don't)?</p>
<p>Ok, since I was a graduate student at TC, I have not had the opportunity to associate with any of the undergraduate classmen. I cannot speak for the past, but as far as I know, no secret society exists at Columbia, at least not comparable to SB, wolfs head or manuscript at Yale.</p>
<p>But, as I said, as a grad student, I was not privy to what went on in the undegrad culture scene, which is the time when initiations occur. I have never heard of post-graduate taps.</p>
<p>Just my opinion.</p>
<p>If people here are looking to join societies that are open to some of the interested public, try the freemasons. Just so you understand, societies like the freemasons are not allowed to ask you to join, nor are they even allowed to ask you if you are interested. You must take the first step and call them.</p>
<p>Like other societies, the freemasons have their own set of traditions, and practices that may be considered stange to some, and interesting to others. Once again, they won't tell you anything of their order, until you are initiated.</p>
<p>"Okay, okay, this thread should be deleted cause no one here knows nothing about nothing."</p>
<p>I agree</p>
<p>If everyone knows nothing about nothing, then it comes to common sense that everyone knows something about something.</p>
<p>I won't ask what prompts ivyman to want to delete this post so quickly. Fear not, I won't divulge any secrets, will he?</p>
<p>Just kidding. Wow, I have an idea, let's just delete every post that we don't agree with. Sounds good ??</p>
<p>And that is enough on this thread, obviously it has struck a nerve somewhere. Good luck to all who will be entering Columbia this new school year.</p>
<p>Oh don't get your panties in a bind. We're just making fun. Oy.</p>
<p>"Oh don't get your panties in a bind"</p>
<p>Just wondering, are you even 18 yet??</p>
<p>Have I used this kind of talk with you?, sorry, I forgot, this board is filled with undergrads. Usually they are great, intuitive, and open to suggestions, but every now and then I get to see a little sophomoric behavior. </p>
<p>No offense, only kidding ! ;)</p>
<ol>
<li>Don't make assumptions simply because one uses colloquialisms with which you are unfamiliar.</li>
</ol>