 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2023) |
| Skull and Dagger | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1913 University of Southern California |
| Type | Secret society |
| Scope | Local |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles , California United States |
| Website | skullanddagger |
Skull and Dagger Society is the oldest secret honor society at the University of Southern California. [1]
Hallam H. Anderson and Cloyd H. Marvi founded Skull and Dagger Society at the University of Southern California in 1913. The Society is primarily for graduating seniors consisting of leaders, scholars, and student-athletes. [2]
The society is known for its tradition of secrecy and discretion, and its members are sworn to keep the group's activities and identity confidential.
Newly inducted members each year pull a prank on the University and the student body. [3] [4] In the past, members have pranked the school by announcing an on campus early screening of the Star Wars Episode I trailer, only to greet the hundreds of students lined up outside the auditorium with U-Haul trailer with a poster that read: "Star Wars Trailer--Episode 1. [3] "Another notable prank includes the Society's 1997 prank, where it staged a memorial for Traveler IV, the University's horse mascot. During the event, a trailer supposedly containing the replacement of Traveler IV arrived only to reveal a donkey, wrapped in a banner that read, "Traveler IV is alive. Don't you feel like an ass?" [3] Recently, the Society has been criticized for its annual prank practice with opponents stating that some of the pranks "damage the trustworthiness and credibility of respected campus services." [5]
On the day of the prank the newly initiated members reveal themselves wearing odd hats and tailcoats. [4] [6]
| |
The Skull and Dagger Society is known for its involvement in many important USC events and traditions, such as the homecoming parade and the senior class gift. Members of the society also participate in community service projects and charitable activities, and many go on to achieve great success in a variety of fields after graduation.
It hosts an annual dinner dance at an upscale venue for its new members.
Skull and Dagger has made gifts to the University. In 1994, the Society donated "The Wall of Scholars" to honor students who have won national and international fellowships, as well as recipients of USC awards. [7] In 2011, the Society embarked to restore the University's class marker tradition and has been donating class markers ever since. [8]
The Skull and Dagger Foundation has established two scholarships in memory of former Permanent Masters of the Society. The first was established in 1989 and is named in memory of Dr. Kenneth Owler Smith, a professor of Journalism, who served as Permanent Master of the Society from 1983 until he died in 1988. [9] The second was established in 2002 in memory of Dr. Harrison M. Kurtz, a professor of Biological Sciences, who served as Permanent Master from 1989 until he died in 2001. Both scholarships are awarded annually to the continuing USC students (graduate or undergraduate) who have demonstrated significant campus and/or community leadership. [10]
| |
Membership in Skull and Dagger is highly selective and is offered to USC students and alumni who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, service, and achievement in their academic, personal, and professional lives.
Many great USC alumni have been members of the Skull and Dagger Society, though the identities of the members are kept a secret.
| |
Notable members include:
Alumni
Faculty
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT) is a private research university in Pasadena, California. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States which are strongly devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences. Due to its history of technological innovation, Caltech is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious universities.
The University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880 by Robert Maclay Widney, it is the oldest private research university in California. The university is composed of one liberal arts school, the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and 22 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, enrolling roughly 21,000 undergraduate and 28,500 post-graduate students from all fifty U.S. states and more than 115 countries. It is a member of the Association of American Universities, which it joined in 1969, and is also one of the wealthiest academic institutions in America.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the California State Normal School. It was absorbed with the official founding of UCLA as the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919, making it the second-oldest of the ten-campus University of California system.
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class society at the university, Skull and Bones has become a cultural institution known for its powerful alumni and various conspiracy theories. It is one of the "Big Three" societies at Yale, the other two being Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head.
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, when its schools were confederated and the institution was renamed Yale University. It is ranked as one of the top colleges in the United States.
The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Yale secret societies and reputedly the wealthiest. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies at Yale, along with Skull and Bones and Wolf's Head. Each spring the society admits fifteen rising seniors to participate in its activities and carry on its traditions.
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television; Interactive Media & Games; Media Arts + Practice; Peter Stark Producing Program.
Wolf's Head Society is a senior society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies at Yale, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key. Active undergraduate membership is elected annually with sixteen Yale University students, typically rising seniors. Honorary members are elected.
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.
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America. Chiefly, the term refers to scholastic honor societies, those that recognize students who excel academically or as leaders among their peers, often within a specific academic discipline.
Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. In 1929, The New York Times stated that election into Quill and Dagger and similar societies constituted "the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of undergraduates."
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-year period between 1875 and 1950, there are still seven societies active that are over 100 years old, and several newer societies. The earliest societies, Eli Banana, the Watchers, and T.I.L.K.A, functioned as social clubs; the Zs, IMPs, and Sevens have built a record of philanthropy and contribution to the university; and some of the later societies have focused on recognition or disapprobation of positive and negative contributions to the university.
There are many collegiate secret societies in North America. They vary greatly in their level of secrecy and the degree of independence from their universities. A collegiate secret society makes a significant effort to keep affairs, membership rolls, signs of recognition, initiation, or other aspects secret from the public.
The Masked Rider is the primary mascot of Texas Tech University. It is the oldest of the university's mascots still in existence today. Originally called "Ghost Rider", it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl. The Masked Rider has led the team onto the field at nearly every football game since. It is the nation's first school mascot to feature a live horse at a football game, ahead of Florida State's Chief Osceola and Renegade and 25 years before USC's Traveler and all other such mascots in existence today.
The Trojan Knights are an American service and spirit organization associated specifically with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. The organization is officially dedicated to "Brotherhood, Service, & Spirit" and its members have been recognized by USC as the "Official Hosts of the University" and "Guardians of Tradition." The group has been a part of many university traditions and remains active in on- and off-campus events and causes. While not a traditional Greek fraternity, the Trojan Knights have many characteristics similar to fraternities, including their emphasis on brotherhood. The Trojan Knights currently involve themselves in several service events including the USC founded "Swim with Mike," benefiting a scholarship for disabled persons aspiring to attend college, and the annual "Trojan Knights Carnival," a carnival held on Los Angeles's Skid Row benefiting the children of those families.
The Cadaver Society is a secret society for male students at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1957.
The college rivalry between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is stemming from the colleges' reputations as the top science and engineering schools in the United States. The rivalry is unusual given the geographic distance between the schools, one being in Pasadena, California, and the other in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as its focus on elaborate pranks rather than sporting events.
The Tejas Club is one of the oldest student organizations at the University of Texas at Austin. It was founded in 1925, and only has male members. The official purpose of the club is "to allow our members to live a more complete life by sharing their personalities, abilities and efforts to promote good fellowship and a high standard of conduct among ourselves and our fellow students, to encourage loyalty and usefulness to our school, and to further good scholarship." The membership process of the organization is secretive and not open to the public.
Armen Margarian is an American entrepreneur, strategist and the CEO/co-founder/CEO of, Inc. a Berkeley Skydeck accelerator company which provides litigation support to attorneys and law firms. Formerly the CEO of NexusLab Inc. which was recognized as one of fastest growing private companies in the US in 2009 by the Inc.5000 Magazine.
The Trident Society is a secret society at Duke University. The Trident Society is rumored to have inherited the mission of The Order of the Red Friars and The Order of the White Duchy. The Society seeks to promote dedication and loyalty to Duke University while promoting the goals of the university, and to reward students for merit and achievement. The Trident Society is the most secretive, and largely thought of as the most prestigious of the secret societies at Duke University.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)