Torch Honor Society

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Torch Honor Society
Badge of the Torch Honor Society of Yale University.jpg
Badge or watch fob of the Torch Honor Society, 1918
FoundedMarch 8, 1916;108 years ago (1916-03-08)
Sheffield Scientific School, Yale College
TypeSenior secret society
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
ScopeLocal
MottoSimus Lux Obscuro in Mundo
("Let us be Light in a Dark World")
Chapters1
Members950+ lifetime
NicknameTorch
Headquarters New Haven , Connecticut
United States

The Torch Honor Society, also known as Torch, is a student secret society at Yale College that was initially established in 1916 and reformed in 1995. [1] [2] Its members include former President George H. W. Bush and William F. Buckley Jr. [3] [4]

Contents

History

Two seniors at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College established the Torch Honor Society on March 8, 1916. [1] [5] [6] However, the establishment of the group was kept secret until December 20, 1916. [7] It was formed as an honor society to recognize the achievements and merit of undergraduate students. [1] Its ideals were "enlightening leadership and beneficent service". [1] The founders selected a charter class of ten men from the junior class and two professors. [1] [6] These charter members were recruited based on both literary and athletic prominence. [6] The group secured rooms in Strathcona Hall. [8]

The society continued to recruit or tap ten juniors each spring but eventually expanded its number to fifteen. [1] [2] Selection for membership in Torch became "one of the most important extracurricular campus honors". [9] In 1915, society members began to advocate for a student-edited publication for science and engineering. [10] The result was The Yale Scientific Magazine which first published on May 3, 1917. [10] The society was incorporated in the State of Connecticut on January 21, 1922. [11]

In January 1950, Torch started a controversial campaign to reduce the emphasis on sports at Yale and other Ivy League schools. [2] The society disbanded in the 1960s.

Torch Honor Society was reestablished as a secret society for seniors in 1995. [1] Unlike most of Yale's secret societies, it is non-landed and does not own an off-campus building. [12] The society met on the 4th floor of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall (SSS), across from Aurelian Honor Society, but was banned from this space for damaging university property in 2005. [12] It now meets off campus in the Yale-China Association building on Temple Street. [12]

Symbols

The society's badge consists of an uplifted torch, representing devotion to its ideals and its allegiance to Yale University's motto Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth). [1] The torch is backed by a broad circle that represents comradeship and equality in mutual endeavors. On top of the torch is the Roman numeral X, representing the original ten members. [1]

The society's motto is "Simus Lux Obscuro in Mundo" or "Let us be Light in a Dark World".

Members

Historically, Torch selected or tapped a delegation of ten juniors each spring. [1] [9] Because it was an honor society, Torch could tap members of other societies or fraternities. [1] The society occasionally selected Yale faculty or graduates for honorary membership. [1]

After its reformation In the 1990s, the society started selecting sixteen members for each delegation during "Tap Night" with the other secret societies.

Notable alumni

See also

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References

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  19. ↑ United States Congress Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, ed. (1981). Nomination of William H. Draper, III: Hearing Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, First Session, on the Nomination of William H. Draper, III. to be Chairman/president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, June 23, 1981. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 18 – via Google Books.
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