Skull and Bones: A History of Yale's Enigmatic Secret Society
Yale University, during the 19th century, stood as a formidable academic institution, producing notable figures across various fields. Among its traditions, the presence of secret societies, particularly Skull and Bones, has been a unique and intriguing aspect of the university's culture. This article delves into the history, influence, and modern transformations of this enigmatic organization.
Yale's Secret Societies: An Overview
The secret societies at Yale are institutions unique to the university, not found in other academic settings. These societies are privately owned and operate independently of Yale University. Among them, Skull and Bones, founded in 1832, holds the distinction of being the oldest and most influential. Scroll and Key, established a decade later in 1842, is considered second in prestige.
Each society possesses a mausoleum-like "tomb" where members convene. These structures, imposing and foreboding, stand as symbols of privacy and exclusivity. Although the activities within these societies remain secret, their existence and membership are not concealed. Skull and Bones, for instance, is located across High Street from Yale's old campus, adjacent to the art gallery and a residential college.
Each society comprises 15 senior class members, totaling 90 members across all six societies, representing less than 10% of the class. In the spring, on "tap day," each society selects 15 junior class members as their successors. The names of the newly selected members are then published in the Yale Daily News.
The Origins and Evolution of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones was formed in 1832 by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft, purportedly after a dispute over elections to Phi Beta Kappa. Some accounts suggest Russell modeled the society after European groups he encountered while studying in Germany. Originally known as the Eulogian Club, the society was incorporated in 1856 as the Russell Trust Association.
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The emblem of Skull and Bones features a skull and crossbones with the number "322" beneath it. This number is commonly interpreted as a reference to the year 322 BCE, marking the death of the Greek orator Demosthenes and a turning point in the transformation of ancient Athens from democracy to plutocracy. Another legend is that the number represents "founded in '32, 2nd corps", referring to a first Corps in an unknown German university. Another possible reference of 322 is the Freemasonic Lodge of Virtue and Silence no. 322, in Suffolk, England, signaling a fraternal but unspoken sponsorship between the two "secret society" organizations, regarding which silence is considered virtuous.
The Skull and Bones Hall, or "Tomb," is located at 64 High St. in New Haven, Connecticut. Constructed in three phases, beginning in 1856, the building's design features an Egypto-Doric style.
Membership and Influence
Traditionally, Skull and Bones has been associated with the Eastern establishment, drawing its members from families with old money, power, and prestige. The society's membership includes members of prominent American families: the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Fords, Phelps, Pillsburys, Walkers, and Whitneys.
Yale graduates who were members of Skull and Bones include three U.S. presidents: William Howard Taft, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.
Skull and Bones selects new members among students every spring as part of Yale University's "Tap Day", and has done so since 1879. It taps those it views as campus leaders and other notable figures for its membership.
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Traditionally, Skull and Bones will elect the football captain and perhaps another star player or two, the editor of the Yale Daily News, a Whiffenpoof, a champion swimmer or hockey player, one or two fraternity presidents, and campus leaders of every description. Traditionally, the 15th member tapped by “Bones” is the outstanding man in the class. In actuality, Yale over the years has attracted talented and intellectually gifted students to the college, and Skull and Bones has done a good job in identifying these unique individuals and rewarded them with election to the society.
From the mid-1800s to 1950, every Yale president, with a single exception, was a member of Skull and Bones. Many important administrative positions, deanships, and faculty posts at Yale were held by Bonesmen, and the governing Yale Corporation was liberally sprinkled with members from Bones and Keys.
Secrecy and Rituals
The society has always kept its affairs secret, but for many years it publicized its membership roster. Members are assigned nicknames, often drawn from literature, religion, and myth. Examples include "Long Devil" for the tallest member, "Boaz" for a varsity football captain, and "Sherrife" for the prince of the future.
A persistent rumor suggests that the stolen skull of the Apache leader Geronimo is among the relics kept in its Tomb.
Transformations and Modern Challenges
In the 1960s, secret societies adapted in response to criticism for elitism and discrimination. Yale became coeducational in 1969, prompting some other secret societies such as St. Anthony Hall to transition to co-ed membership, yet Skull and Bones remained fully male until 1992. The Bones class of 1971's attempt to tap women for membership was opposed by Bones alumni, who dubbed them the "bad club" and quashed their attempt. Buckley obtained a temporary restraining order to block the move, arguing that a formal change in bylaws was needed. Other alumni, such as John Kerry and R. Inslee Clark, Jr., spoke out in favor of admitting women.
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In recent years, Skull and Bones, like other elite Yale institutions, has "utterly transformed". The society tapped its first entirely non-white class in 2020. Few descendants of alumni get in, and progressive activism is an asset.
Today, members of Yale’s secret societies face the question roiling America’s elite campuses taken to its logical extreme: whether the modern social-justice politics advanced by college students can coexist with the staggering selectivity and privilege that benefit those same students.
Deer Island
Skull and Bones members spend a week in the late summer getting to know each other at Deer Island. The society owns and manages Deer Island, an island retreat on the St. Lawrence River. The forty-acre retreat is intended to allow Bonesmen to "get together and rekindle old friendships." A century ago the island sported tennis courts and its softball fields were surrounded by rhubarb plants and gooseberry bushes. Catboats waited on the lake.
Skull and Bones in Popular Culture
Skull and Bones have been satirized from time to time in the Doonesbury comic strips by Garry Trudeau, Yale graduate and Scroll and Key member. There are overt references, especially in 1980 and December 1988, concerning George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. In Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway calls Tom Buchanan "Boaz". Tom in turn calls Nick "Shakespeare". Nick said earlier that he met Tom at Yale. In Season 1, Episode 33 of the 1966 Batman TV series, "Fine Finny Fiends" there is a gathering at Wayne Manor during which one guest points out a portrait of Bruce Wayne's great-grandfather wearing a Yale sweater. In The Simpsons season 8 episode "The Canine Mutiny" (1997), after doing a secret handshake with a dog, Mr. Burns is admitted to a secret society. In Family Guy episode, "No Chris Left Behind", (2007) when Chris Griffin is being bullied by the richer students at Morningwood Academy, Lois Griffin asks her father, Carter Pewterschmidt, to help Chris. So Carter invites Chris to join Skull and Bones with the other students, who begin to accept him. On Meet The Press, Tim Russert asked both President George W. Bush and presidential nominee John Kerry about their membership in Skull and Bones. In The Simpsons season 28 episode "The Caper Chase" (2017), Mr. Burns is seen wearing a Skull and Bones sweater. In Gossip Girl season 2 episode "New Heaven Can Wait" (2008), Chuck Bass is kidnapped by Skull and Bones members while visiting Yale. They make him pass a series of tests to assess his loyalty as they think Chuck is the ideal Skull and Bones candidate.
Daniel Coit Gilman: A Notable Bonesman
Daniel Coit Gilman, the founding president of The Johns Hopkins University, was a prominent member of Skull and Bones. Born in 1831, Gilman's ties to Yale and Skull and Bones were strong through his mother's family. He attended Yale from 1848 to 1852 and was elected to Skull and Bones in 1851.
During his tenure at Yale, in 1856, Gilman was instrumental in incorporating Skull and Bones as the Russell Trust Association. The founder of Skull and Bones, William H. Russell, was named president and Gilman became the treasurer.
Influence on Education
Gilman used his abundant intellect to further the aims of the Sheffield School, preparing a pamphlet entitled A Plan for the Complete Organization of a School of Science. He contributed articles on the scientific schools in Europe and decried the woeful lack of opportunity for those in this country who wished to study science for its own sake.
Gilman also became, in succession, the assistant librarian and then head librarian for Yale College. The library at that time was woefully inadequate, had relatively few books, and was unheated in the wintertime, hardly a place for serious scholarship. But Gilman persevered and made the best he could of a poor situation, as there were no funds available to remedy the condition.
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