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--- secret_societies [2023/12/14 15:45] – bant06
+++ secret_societies [2024/03/03 22:02] (current) – bant05
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-~~REDIRECT>wiki:denied~~
 {{tag>organizations students}}
 ====== Secret Societies ======
-[{{:secretsocieties.jpg?400 |The July 1870 Trinity //Tablet// listed all known student groups, including secret societies. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives}}]
+[{{:secretsocieties.jpg?300 |The July 1870 Trinity //Tablet// listed all known student groups, including secret societies. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives}}]
 The precursor to modern-day [[fraternities|fraternities]] and [[sororities|sororities]], secret societies were exclusive student organizations that offered extracurricular social entertainment and camaraderie, often through an air of secrecy.
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 ===== List of Trinity Secret Societies =====
-[{{ :undefined:mistik.jpg?400|An invitation to a meeting of the Mystic Crew of Comus, probably 1860s. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives, Student Scrapbook}}]
+[{{ :undefined:mistik.jpg?300|An invitation to a meeting of the Mystic Crew of Comus, probably 1860s. Photo credit: Student Scrapbook, Trinity College Archives}}]
 **Theta Beta Phi (1828)**
@@ Line 24: / Line 22: @@
 **IKA (1829)**
-\\ Motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit," Latin for "No one assaults me with impunity"
+\\ Motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit" (Latin for "No one assaults me with impunity")
 \\ As campus tradition holds, IKA was organized as the Corax Club in 1829, becoming IKA, the oldest local fraternity in the country in 1832. It became the Sigma chapter of Delta Phi in 1917.
 **Phi Kappa Society (1832)**
-\\ Motto: "DiChado"
+\\ A rival organization to IKA and possible reorganization of Theta Beta Phi, it was called the "Great Southern Society" on account of its large membership of Southern students. Its membership was limited to seniors. Today, it is a chapter of Alpha Delta Phi (AD).
-\\ A rival organization to IKA and possible reorganization of Theta Beta Phi, it was called the "Great Southern Society" on account of its large membership of southern students. Its membership was limited to seniors. Today, it is a chapter of Alpha Delta Phi (AD).
 **[[grand_tribunal|Grand Tribunal (1840)]]**
@@ Line 35: / Line 32: @@
 **Beta Beta - the Black Book (1842)**
-\\ Motto: "procul o procul este profani," Latin for "Be far from the profane."
+\\ Motto: "procul o procul este profani" (Latin for "Be far from the profane")
 \\ Literary as well as social, Beta Beta's stated purpose was the "promotion of scholarship and friendly relations." It became a chapter of Psi Upsilon in 1892.
-**Delta Kappa Epsilon (1844) Alpha Chi Chapter**
+**Delta Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Chi Chapter(1844) **
 \\ Motto: "Κηςόθεν Φιλoιάει"
-**Phi Beta Kappa, Chapter (1845)**
+**Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Chapter (1845)**
 \\ Founded by [[brocklesby_john|Professor John Brocklesby]], this was the first national fraternity organized on campus. It accepted only the highest third of the graduating class.
@@ Line 49: / Line 46: @@
 **Ye Pipe of Peace (1856)**
-\\ Motto: "Nec te poeniteat calamo trivisse labellum."
+\\ Motto: "Nec te poeniteat calamo trivisse labellum" (Latin for "And let him not repent of having rubbed the lips with a pen")
 \\ Little is known about this organization, which used indigenous American stereotypes and terminology. For example, it hosted gatherings called "Pow Wows" which featured singing, orations, and passing the "pipe of peace," and members had mock indigenous American titles including "Grand Sachem," "Red-as-Dawn," "Spread Eagle," etc. It is possible that this was a sophomore organization, based on a broadside which features a "Pow Wow" hosted by the Class of 1862.
@@ Line 55: / Line 52: @@
 \\ It is possible this organization was named after the Mistick Krewe of Comus, a secret society founded by six prominent men in New Orleans to formally observe and celebrate Mardi Gras. Entry into the Mistick Krewe was secretive -- by invitation only -- and the members organized Mardi Gras parades, masquerade balls, and revelry. (([[https://miltonrevealed.berkeley.edu/videos/carnival-comus-triumphs-new-orleans|"Carnival: Comus Triumphs in New Orleans"]]))
-[{{ :img_8791.jpg?400|A letter written in code to a student inviting him to 24 Jarvis Hall for a meeting of Po Pai Paig. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives, Student Scrapbook.}}]
+[{{ :img_8791.jpg?400|A letter written in code to a student inviting him to 24 Jarvis Hall for a meeting of Po Pai Paig. Photo credit: Student Scrapbook, Trinity College Archives}}]
 **Po Pai Paig Association - Πο Παι Παιγ (ca. 1860)**
-\\ Motto: "Mens vester ego"
+\\ Motto: "Mens vester ego" (Latin for "I am your mind")
 \\ This sophomore organization surfaced sometime before 1866 ((Trinity Tablet, November 27, 1886)) and its "origins, purpose, and activity were so shrouded in mystery that some students (obviously non-members) even doubted its very existence." ((Weaver, p. 161)) The organization featured initiations, secret late-night meetings, a "mystic manifesto" and rituals -- its initiates were called "Devlings," current members were "arch-fiends" and past members "retired demons." Current membership was hidden in gibberish, only revealed once the students graduated.
 According to students, Po Pai Paig arose as a rival and successor to the Grand Tribunal. It was a "living menagerie of frightful animals, whose ferocity even a learned scholar feared." A possibly satirical article describes the students meeting in the middle of the night while singing "Po Pai Paig" to the tune of "Three Blind Mice" until they found themselves "in front of the chapel...arrayed themselves in their robes, and joining hands, danced around their altar." ((Trinity Tablet, February 19, 1876))
-In November 1871, the organization held its "annual revival," and "the good that has been done by the society during the past year is almost incalculable, i. e., infinitesimally small." ((Trinity Tablet, November 1871)) The following year, the Tablet reported that "of its recent actions, nothing is known, except that one young 'townie' was heard to remark to another, one morning last fall, 'You ought to have heard them students howling out on Rifle avenue last night.' Strangely enough, if any mischief is done in college, it is always laid at the door of this respectable association. We can't understand the reason." ((Trinity Tablet, February 1872))
+In November 1871, the organization held its "annual revival," and "the good that has been done by the society during the past year is almost incalculable, i.e., infinitesimally small." ((Trinity Tablet, November 1871)) The following year, the Tablet reported that "of its recent actions, nothing is known, except that one young 'townie' was heard to remark to another, one morning last fall, 'You ought to have heard them students howling out on Rifle avenue last night.' Strangely enough, if any mischief is done in college, it is always laid at the door of this respectable association. We can't understand the reason." ((Trinity Tablet, February 1872))
 In 1886, Po Pai Paig finally "'came out into the open' and held its annual initiation on the front campus." The members paraded on campus in 'regalia,' and the 'emblem of the order' (a chamber pot filled with beer) was brought forth and its contents passed around until a late hour." ((Trinity Tablet, November 27, 1886)) Po Pai Paig only revealed the names of its members after graduation, and the list comprised "many of the most prominent men graduated during that time." The organization has been described as one of little purpose besides mischief-making. It finally disappeared after 1893.
@@ Line 70: / Line 67: @@
 \\ Motto: "On Zion's Hill I Stand"
 \\ This organization stated that it is the "Spirit of '67 and Body Guard of '69," but otherwise, little is known.
+**Cue Clucks Clam (1868)**
+\\ Motto: "Unum esse clam" (Latin for: "To be one secretly")
+\\ This organization lists six members when it appeared in the //Tablet// in 1868 and had disappeared by 1870. Besides the obvious homonym to "Ku Klux Klan," which was initially founded in the late 1860s, it is unknown what the purpose was. The Mystique Seven, which was an eating club that appeared slightly later, references "C.C.C.," and might be a continuation of this club. "Cue" could also be a reference to billiards, which was popular at the time.
 **Delta Upsilon (1869) Anti-Secret Society**
 \\ Motto: Οuδev αδηλov Δικαια Υπoθγκγ\\ Symbols: Triangle and leaves
 \\ As it was never recognized as a true fraternity, it disbanded in 1876.
 **Kappa Beta Phi (1870)**
@@ Line 80: / Line 81: @@
 **The Sorites (1870)**
-\\ Motto: "Cum hocergo, propter hoc."
+\\ Motto: "Cum hocergo, propter hoc" (Latin for "With this, for this")
 \\ This organization was founded by the Class of 1870, but it remains a mystery.
+**Oxypodes (1870)**
+\\ Motto: "ποĩ, ποποι, ποĩ ἄγουσι τηλέπλανοί πλάναί" (Greek; Unknown translation)
+\\ Oxypodes is a type of spider. It is also a Greek phrase meaning "Sharp eyes."
 **Iota Phi - 'IΦ (1870s)**
-\\ Motto: "Si punchum desideret, declaret."
+\\ Motto: "Si punchum desideret, declaret" (Latin for "if he misses a punch, he will declare it")
-[{{ :pages_from_1880_ivy.pdf.jpg?400|Mu Mu Mu's image from the 1880 //Ivy//. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives.}}]
+[{{ :pages_from_1880_ivy.pdf.jpg?400|Mu Mu Mu's image from the 1880 //Ivy//. Photo credit: Trinity College Archives}}]
 **Mu Mu Mu (After 1872)**
@@ Line 92: / Line 97: @@
 **Delta Omega (1870s)**
-\\ Motto: "Honesta quædam scelera successus facit."
+\\ Motto: "Honesta quædam scelera successus facit" (Latin for "Success makes some crimes honest")
 \\ This was a sophomore organization.
@@ Line 99: / Line 104: @@
 **Sophomore Secret Society (1880)**
-\\ This organization used the phrase Σιγμα Ταυ Σιγμα (Greek letters Sigma Tau Sigma).
+\\ This organization used the letters Σιγμα Ταυ Σιγμα (Greek letters Sigma Tau Sigma).
 \\ An image appeared in the 1880 //Ivy// of a skull holding a dagger in its mouth, with burning torch or wick, shovel and pickaxe, ball and chain, block and axe, and coffin. Like Po Pai Paig and Mu Mu Mu, this organization used odd titles such as "Moloch," "Great Blood Eater" and "Rakehell," as well as alphanumeric codes to identify its members.
 **Freshman Secret Society (1883)**
-\\ Motto: "Nobilissimus, fuge" ("Most noble, flee")
+\\ Motto: "Nobilissimus, fuge" (Latin for "Most noble, flee")
 \\ This organization used the Greek letters Kappa Mu Phi and "Bibulus Muneribus," as well as gibberish titles and codes for its members.
@@ Line 111: / Line 116: @@
 **OI BAKXOI (The Bacchus) (1888)**
-\\ Motto: "ιω Βακχαι, ιω Βακχαι" (Oh Bacchus, Oh Bacchus)
+\\ Motto: "ιω Βακχαι, ιω Βακχαι" (Greek for "Oh Bacchus, Oh Bacchus")
 \\ This organization seems to have been Bacchanalian, dedicated to Bacchus, the Roman equivalent of Dionysus, God of wine, vegetation, fertility, festivity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. The group, featured in the //Ivy//, lists all information in Greek.
 **Sigma Pi Gamma - Σπγ (1889)**
-\\ This Secret Organization stated that it has 11 members, but no other information.
+\\ This Secret Organization stated that it had 11 members, but no other information.
 **Pi Pi Pi - πππ (1889)**
@@ Line 121: / Line 126: @@
 **Beta Delta - ΒΔ (1890)**
-\\ This group used a mask as imagery, and stated that it has 6 members. It only existed for two years.
+\\ This group used a mask as imagery, and stated that it had 6 members. It only existed for two years.
 **[[medusa|Medusa (1892)]]**
@@ Line 135: / Line 140: @@
 \\ Elm and Key hand-selects "the best and brightest" of the Trinity community for its membership and purposes, which is to "make Trinity a better place." ((Trinity Tripod, 11/05/2019))
-The earliest mention of Elm and Key is 2012, in which members of Elm and Key created and distributed papers containing a dialogue between the [[brownell_statue|Brownell Statue]] and [[roosevelt_plaque|Roosevelt Plaque.]] The dialogue condemned students and faculty for "slacktivism."
+The earliest mention of Elm and Key is 2012, in which members of Elm and Key created and distributed papers containing a dialogue between the [[brownell_statue|Brownell Statue]] and [[roosevelt_plaque|Roosevelt Plaque]]. The dialogue condemned students and faculty for "slacktivism."
-In a 2019 exposé of Elm and Key that featured in the //[[tripod|Trinity Tripod]]//, a student described her experience being selected for initiation. The student, upon receiving an initial email, was directed to her mailbox where she had been sent a coded letter. The student was sent through the library to find notes hidden in books and instructed to leave behind an "item of significance" until finally, she was invited to the Greenberg Center basement for initiation.
+In a 2019 exposé of Elm and Key featured in the //[[tripod|Trinity Tripod]]//, a student described her experience being selected for initiation. The student received an email directing her to the Mather mailboxes, where she had been sent a coded letter. The student was sent through the library to find notes hidden in books and instructed to leave behind an "item of significance" until finally, she was invited to the Greenberg Center basement for initiation.
-Like the secret societies of the 19th century, Elm and Key utilizes codes, its own symbol, rituals, and secrecy. Members are anonymous until graduation, when they wear large key necklaces to designate themselves. They meet in secrecy at designated locations (including the Chapel roof) dressed in black robes, while initiates are blindfolded and not allowed to speak. Students responded to the expose with concerns that the shadowy group hand-picking membership contributed to elitism at Trinity, while others questioned the good intentions of a group that operates in anonymity and secrecy. They called upon student leadership and groups to denounce Elm and Key, whereupon it was discovered that the current SGA President was a member. ((Trinity Tripod, 11/12/2019))
+Like the secret societies of the 19th century, Elm and Key utilizes codes, its own symbol, rituals, and secrecy. Members are anonymous until graduation, when they wear large key necklaces to designate themselves. They meet in secrecy at designated locations (including the Chapel roof) dressed in black robes, while initiates are blindfolded and not allowed to speak. Students responded to the exposé with concerns that the shadowy group hand-picking membership contributed to elitism at Trinity, while others questioned the good intentions of a group that operates in anonymity and secrecy. They called upon student leadership and groups to denounce Elm and Key, whereupon it was discovered that the current SGA President was a member. ((Trinity Tripod, 11/12/2019))
 It is unknown whether Elm and Key and Medusa are operational post-2020.