 |
| Bishop James Madison Society | |
|---|---|
| BJMS | |
| Founded | 1812 College of William & Mary |
| Type | Secret society |
| Scope | Local |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Headquarters | Williamsburg , Virginia United States |
The Bishop James Madison Society (BJMS) is a secret society of the College of William & Mary in Virginia. The society is best known through its Last Lecture Series, held each spring semester. [1]
Students at the College of William & Mary founded the Bishop James Madison Society in 1812, immediately after the death of its namesake. [2] [3] [4] Bishop James Madison was eighth president of William and Mary and cousin to the U.S. President James Madison. [5] The society wanted to honor Madison by doing good deeds and improving its school. [3] It is said that the society considered the Bishop "the greater of the two Madisons." [4]
Like other secret societies at the college, the Bishop James Madison Society went defunct during the Civil War when William and Mary closed and was occupied by Union troops. [6]
In the 20th century, William and Mary students along with David L. Holmes, professor emeritus of religious studies, revived the society. [6] Holmes also served as the group's campus advisor. [1]
The society's symbol is an elongated quatrefoil with one letter–B, J, M, or S–at the tip of each section. [2]
The society's activities seek to foster pride in the college community and use various small and private means to recognize and thank the college's unsung heroes. Public activities include placing banners on Old Campus to welcome new students during Convocation and families on parents' weekend, hiding plastic Easter eggs filled with candy and interesting facts about the college throughout the campus, and sponsoring coffee dates designed to increase dialogue among students, administrators, and faculty members. [6]
It recognizes eight outstanding freshmen in the fall semester and eight outstanding seniors each spring semester. [7] The society also sponsors special events such as the video challenge, Eight Days of Mirth, in 2014. [6] [7]
Its most prominent activity is its Last Lecture Series, which invites one retiring faculty to speak about current social or academic issues each spring semester. [8] [9] [6] The lectures take place during the last week of classes each spring semester in Wren Building. [2] Holmes introduced each speaker. [1]
The society's membership is private, along with its selection criteria. [6] During the college's annual commencement exercises, some graduating members identify their involvement by wearing medals featuring the society's symbol. [6]
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Mount Saint Mary College is a private Catholic college in Newburgh, New York. It was founded in 1959 by the Dominican Sisters.
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.
David L. Holmes was an American church historian. He was Walter G. Mason Professor of Religious Studies at the College of William and Mary. He was the son of David L. Holmes, a university coach and director of athletics revered by his athletes. He was married to Carolyn Coggin Holmes, executive director of James Monroe's Highland from 1975 to 2012. They had two daughters.
The Virginia Informer was a student-run publication at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The newspaper contained five sections: News, Features, Sports, Arts & Culture, and Opinion. It was a member of the Collegiate Network and a member of the Associated Collegiate Press.
James Madison was the first bishop of the Diocese of Virginia of The Episcopal Church in the United States, one of the first bishops to be consecrated to the new church after the American Revolution. He also served as the eighth president of the College of William and Mary. In 1780, Madison was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
The Seven Society, Order of the Crown & Dagger is the longest continually active secret society of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The clandestine, yet altruistic group is said to consist of seven senior individuals, selected in their junior year. While, historically, graduating members formally announced their identities each spring, today's membership is steeped in mystery and is only revealed upon a member's death.
The history of the College of William & Mary can be traced back to a 1693 royal charter establishing "a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and the good arts and sciences" in the British Colony of Virginia. It fulfilled an early colonial vision dating back to 1618 to construct a university level program modeled after Cambridge and Oxford at Henricus. A plaque on the Wren Building, the college's first structure, ascribes the institution's origin to "the college proposed at Henrico." It was named for the reigning joint monarchs of Great Britain, King William III and Queen Mary II. The selection of the new college's location on high ground at the center ridge of the Virginia Peninsula at the tiny community of Middle Plantation is credited to its first President, Reverend Dr. James Blair, who was also the Commissary of the Bishop of London in Virginia. A few years later, the favorable location and resources of the new school helped Dr. Blair and a committee of 5 students influence the House of Burgesses and Governor Francis Nicholson to move the capital there from Jamestown. The following year, 1699, the town was renamed Williamsburg.
Secret societies at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, date back to the founding of the nation's first known collegiate secret society, The F. H. C. Society. Today a number of secret societies are known to exist at the College: the F.H.C Society or Flat Hat Club, P.D.A., the Seven Society, the 13 Club, the Ladies of Alpha, the Bishop James Madison Society, the Phi Society, the Wren Society, the Sage Society, the W Society, the Y's, The Penny Brigade, The Cord, The Order of the Silver Roses, Dirty Shirley Fraternity, Eagle J, The Fourth Wall, and one group "simply called the Society."