| IMP Society | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1902 University of Virginia |
| Type | Secret society |
| Scope | Local |
| Motto | Forsan et haec olim meminissi juvabit (And perhaps at some future time it may be pleasant to remember these incidents) |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Headquarters | 211 Emmet Street S Charlottesville , Virginia 22903 United States |
| Website | aig |
The IMP Society is a secret society at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States that is notable for combining philanthropy and public mischief.
The Imp Society was founded in 1902 as a society called the Hot Feet. The society was known primarily for its public ceremonies in which it crowned the society's "king". [1] The Hot Feet were disbanded in 1908 under pressure from the university's Administrative Council, who called the society "very detrimental to the University's welfare" and banned it, along with "all other organizations which promote disorder in the University." [2]
Although the society returned, it was to be disbanded once more; university historian Virginius Dabney records the final activity of the society as the 1911 distribution of stuffed animal specimens from the natural history museum about Grounds on Easter Sunday, and the assault of a student in his room. [3]
The society reconstituted itself in 1913 as the IMP Society and remains active. [4]
Current members wear a ring often recognized by their ring with the face of a devil on it, indicating their membership in the organization. Like the Seven Society and Z Society, the IMP Society is known to paint its symbol around university grounds.
Its motto is “Forsan et haec olim meminissi juvabit” or “And perhaps at some future time it may be pleasant to remember these incidents” [5]
The IMP Society engages in philanthropic activities around the University, presenting the IMP Award, given "to a faculty member who had been outstanding in promoting student-faculty relations and perpetuating the traditions of the university", [6] and the IMP Student-Athlete Award, given at graduation to a female athlete who has excelled in both the field and the classroom; and a recent student social justice-oriented community service fellowship. [7] However, much of the group's community service works are not widely publicized.
In addition to philanthropy, IMPs are known to march around the grounds carrying pitchforks, wearing horned hoods, and engaging in mild mischief and revelry. In 2004, the group was forced to apologize after using gasoline to start a bonfire on the Lawn during a nighttime ceremony. [8]
Members of the IMP Society are more public than other societies at the university. The society publicly "taps" its new members and its members wear an identifying ring.
Notable IMP and Hot Feet alumni include:
The Seven Society is the most secretive of the University of Virginia's secret societies. Members are only revealed after their death, when a wreath of black magnolias in the shape of a "7" is placed at the gravesite, the bell tower of the University Chapel chimes at seven-second intervals on the seventh dissonant chord when it is seven past the hour, and a notice is published in the university's Alumni News, and often in the Cavalier Daily. The most visible tradition of the society is the painting of the logo of the society, the number 7 surrounded by the signs for alpha (A), omega (Ω), and infinity (∞), and sometimes several stars, upon many buildings around the grounds of the university.
Virginius Dabney was an American teacher, journalist, and writer, who edited the Richmond Times-Dispatch from 1936 to 1969 and wrote several historical books. Dabney won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1948 due in part to his opposition to the poll tax. In his later years, he was criticized for not standing against Virginia's massive resistance to school integration.
The Z Society is a secret society that was founded at the University of Virginia in 1892.
Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. was an American lawyer and Democratic politician aligned with the Byrd Organization who served as U.S. Representative from Virginia, the 54th Governor of Virginia (1942–46), Chancellor of the College of William and Mary (1946–47) and the third President of the University of Virginia (1947–59). The Darden Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of Virginia was named for him.
The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is the oldest continuously existing collegiate debating society in North America. The society was founded on July 14, 1825, in Room Seven, West Lawn at the University of Virginia. Named for founder of the University, Thomas Jefferson, the society regularly meets on Friday evenings at "The Hall" in the Lawn.
The Lawn, a part of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, is a large, terraced grassy court at the historic center of Jefferson's academic community at the University of Virginia. The Lawn and its surrounding buildings, designed by Jefferson, demonstrate Jefferson's mastery of Palladian and Neoclassical architecture, and the site has been recognized as an architectural masterpiece in itself. The Lawn has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark District, and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the original buildings of the University of Virginia and Monticello, Jefferson's nearby residence; this designation is due to the site's architectural and cultural significance.
Secret societies have been a part of University of Virginia student life since the first class of students in 1825. While the number of societies peaked during the 75 years between 1875 and 1950, there are several newer societies and six societies that have been active for more than 100 years, including Seven Society, Z Society, IMP Society, Eli Banana, T.I.L.K.A. Society, and The 13 Society. The earliest societies, Eli Banana and T.I.L.K.A. Society, function as social clubs, while the Z Society, IMP Society, and Seven Society have a record of philanthropy and contribution to the university. Some of the more recent societies focus on the recognition or disapprobation of positive and negative contributions to the university.
The Washington Literary Society and Debating Union is a literary and debating group at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. While its current incarnation is modern, the society has roots back to the first decade of operation of the University and was founded in the mid-1830s.
Edwin Anderson Alderman served as the President of three universities. The University of Virginia's Alderman Library is named after him, as is Edwin A. Alderman Elementary School in Wilmington and Alderman dorm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Memorial Gymnasium is a 2,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. It opened in 1924. It replaced Fayerweather Gymnasium as home to the University of Virginia Cavaliers basketball team until University Hall opened in 1965.
Jesse Wakefield Beams was an American physicist at the University of Virginia.
The Raven Society is an honor society at the University of Virginia, founded in 1904 by University student William McCully James, and named in honor of the famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe, who attended UVa in 1826. According to its constitution, one of the Raven Society's main goals is "to bring together the best men in the various departments of the university for mutual acquaintance and for cooperation in their efforts to protect the honor and dignity of the university."
"The Good Old Song" is the de facto school song of the University of Virginia. It is often said to be the university's fight song, although the actual fight song is "The Cavalier Song". It is set to the music of "Auld Lang Syne", a song frequently sung on New Year's Eve.
"The Cavalier Song" is the University of Virginia's fight song. The song was a result of a contest held in 1923 by College Topics, the University's student newspaper. "The Cavalier Song," with lyrics by Lawrence Haywood Lee, Jr., and music by Virginia Glee Club member Fulton Lewis, Jr., was chosen as best fight song while John A. Morrow's "Virginia, Hail, All Hail" was chosen as the best alma mater song.
John Lloyd Newcomb was an American educator. He served as the second president of the University of Virginia, ascending to the position after the death of Edwin Alderman. Newcomb, a member of the engineering faculty of the university, oversaw the university through the Depression and the Second World War and managed its physical expansion, including the building of Scott Stadium, the Bayly Art Museum, and Alderman Library.
Edgar Finley Shannon Jr. was a professor of English and president of the University of Virginia from 1959 to 1974.
Paul Goodloe McIntire (1860–1952) was an American stockbroker, investor, and philanthropist from Virginia. He served on the Chicago and New York Stock Exchanges. He was a generous donor to the University of Virginia and its home, the city of Charlottesville.
Gilbert J. "Gilly" Sullivan was the longtime director of the University of Virginia Alumni Association for 35 years. Appointed to the position in 1958 after the retirement of J. Malcolm "Mack" Luck, Sullivan remained in the position until his retirement in 1993. During his years at the Alumni Association, he helped develop the Virginia Student Aid Foundation and significant expansion of the Jefferson Scholarship Program.
The Yellow Journal is a satirical student-run publication at The University of Virginia. Similar to Harvard's Harvard Lampoon, The Yellow Journal is the longest-running, though not continuously published, humor and satire publication at Jefferson's university. The Yellow Journal's overarching outlook was summarized early on by The New York Times, which in a 1913 edition wrote, "The Yellow Journal [...] did not spare individuals, events or institutions in its ridicule and quips. It was well illustrated with appropriate cartoons. The character of the sheet can be best gathered from its motto, which is one of Mark Twain's witticisms: Truth is precious--therefore economize with it."
Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of several fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).
