Reply to Secret Societies - Eating Clubs, Finals Clubs etc. at Elite Universities.?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Secret Societies - Eating Clubs, Finals Clubs etc. at Elite Universities.?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Aren’t you not supposed to disclose you were in a secret society? How do people know their co-worker was, etc?[/quote]

That was my understanding.  I'm skeptical of some of these answers, especially from women.  Most of these societies were all male.[/quote]

None of the “big” societies are all men anymore, though there was one junior society that is men’s only, at least during my time at Yale. There’s a sense that we’re not supposed to disclose the particular traditions of our society, but really, people don’t take it that seriously anymore. I was not in the three mentioned by a PP, but had friends in them.

Another PP was right that some had “lines.” When I was in college, Skull & Bones definitely had a football captain line and I think a Yale Daily News editor-in-chief line if I remember correctly (so whoever is the next captain or EIC would automatically be drafted for interviews and likely get a spot). These lines can sometimes end if a bad candidate comes through. Alumni can submit candidates for interview as well, and because alumni donations help fund the societies, sometimes there can be pressure to tap based on alumni involvement (e.g. child of large and involved donor is interviewing).  The point of tapping the next class is to find balance in the next class year in terms of diversity and to integrate people who may not have known each other.

Generally, there is a bit of a difference between the “landed” societies and non-landed ones, with landed meaning the society has a property/house dedicated to the seniors. The more prominent ones had bedrooms, study spaces, chef, etc. It was easier to meet up and get to know each other if you had a place to go.

The different societies all have different traditions, so it’s hard to otherwise give blanket statements about them. But generally every society, regardless of prominence, would meet every Thursday and Sunday and each member is required to give a self biography, lasting anywhere between 2 hours (shortest I experienced) to 8+ hours. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics