James Kamedulski AmSt 2001 C. Earle April 28, 2014 Secrecy, Traditions, and Cornelliana: A Brief History of the Secret Societies at Cornell University
“ ‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.’ The Latin term for the sentence is ‘Carpe Diem’.” —William Keating, Dead Poet’s Society
Cape Diem, seize the day, became the official motto of the secret society the Dead Poet’s Society of the 1989 classic movie that shares the name. Secret Societies have always been a fascination, a matter of intrigue, and mystery at the Great Schools of the United States. From the boarding schools of New England to the Great Universities (Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, etc.), secret societies have existed and thrived; their traditions, intricacies, and pastimes have been simultaneously mysterious and omnipresent. Although their lists of powerful alumni are long, their actual influence on campus life is often questioned. What is the point of the secret societies today, and how did they get here? What was their influence, and does it continue to this day? This research paper seeks to answer these questions by going through the history and accomplishments of Cornell’s most influential and famous secret societies: the Quill and Dagger Society and the Sphinx Head Society.
The Formations of The Societies on Campus The history of Cornell’s secret societies and their beginnings is the history of the beginnings of social clubs or societies at Cornell. During the mid-1800’s, fraternal organizations began to develop across the American college campuses. The objective of the fraternities, at that time, was more of a promotion of liberal thinking and free thought, a place where students could organize and thrive intellectually. At Cornell, the first fraternities were the first “secret societies” in a way. They weren’t open to public as they are today. Furthermore, all of the social societies; fraternities, sororities, literary societies, drinking clubs, and class societies; were in a way “secret” and “exclusive”. As the campus traditions and social life developed, there came about a split: There was the Greek system, which developed into the organizations that we know today, and the class societies, which evolved into secret, honorary societies (Tata 1) Class societies historically have looked to find and select distinguished members of each respective class, freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior. These societies, objectively as a whole, look to not only select prominent and influential students of said class, but then in the hopes of cultivating them they can bring about positive change to the college’s community and traditions, by preserving them and creating new ones. The first of these class societies at Cornell was Sphinx Head Honorary Society. As Cornelliana lore goes, it was A.D. White, the University’s first president, who suggested and encouraged students to create and develop a secret society system. A. D. White himself is known to have been a member of one of the most famous collegiate societies, Skull and Bones at Yale University. A. D. felt that secret, honorary class societies would benefit his new University in the ways mentioned above (Earle “Secret Life). The Sphinx Head Society was established on October 11, 1890 by members of the class of 1891 (Northup 10). At its inception, Sphinx Head was a male-only society (it did not become co-educational until later in the 20th century), and it was also only for seniors, a qualification that remains to this day. It was under the Sphinx Head model that other secret societies began to be developed. The next secret society to be established at the University was Quill and Dagger honorary society. Quill and Dagger was established on May 28th, 1893. According to popular belief, Quill and Dagger’s formation was encouraged by members of Sphinx Head, supposedly to foster a friendly rivalry between the two societies and thus to foster growth and preservation of University traditions (Northup, 10). Aleph Samach was an all-male, junior honorary society founded the same year as Quill and Dagger (Its Fencers). The society was named after two Hebrew letters and their symbol was an owl; its motto: " ‘…Honor. Morality and Brotherly Love.’” Aleph Samach was established as a non-secret society, believing that a secret nature would diminish the strength and the purpose of the society (Aleph). Not much is known about the Aleph Samach Junior Honorary Society, as it been disbanded and inactive for most of the 20th century and onward. Although the mentioned class societies were all-male organizations, women also formed their own societies, representing Cornell’s founding mission and vision of “any person, any study.” The most known society that has continued to this day is Der Hexenkreis, the female compliment Quill and Dagger and Sphinx Head. Like its counterparts, Der Hexenkreis was a senior secret society. The society, which formed in 1892, merged with the Mortar Board Senior Honor society in 1918. The Mortar Board society, which still exists today, became co-educational in the 1970’s (Cornell). Additionally, unlike its compliments, Sphinx Head and Quill and Dagger, Mortar Board’s members apply and then are chosen by current members; they are not selected through the traditional “tapping” process (Mortar).
The Influence of the Societies on Campus As Cornell grew and developed, so did the societies that became part of the campus culture and tradition. The two societies that had the most influence on the campus were Quill and Dagger and Sphinx Head. It was the goal of the secret societies to help influence student opinions, and be the guardians of campus culture and tradition. That being said, the societies felt as though it was their duty to help create the culture. Quill and Dagger and Sphinx Head have had a large influence on “Cornelliana” that students experience today. One notable example of “Cornelliana” that still exists today are the campus fight songs, in particular “Give My Regards to Davy”, a song enjoyed by students and faculty alike song at Cornell athletic events, especially the hockey games. This song was written in 1905 by members of Quill and Dagger Society (Northup 142). Another area that the Societies had an influence, especially Quill and Dagger, were their meeting spaces, which in a way helped to create the culture of the campus vis-à-vis buildings and spaces for students to enjoy and marvel. At the beginning of Quill and Dagger and Sphinx Head, the society did not have a meeting place; they were not situated on the top floors of Lyon Tower as they are today. In fact, Quill and Dagger “…for most of the society’s history [up until the creation of the Tower], they met in a downtown room, various chapter houses, Sibley Dome, etc. …” (Northup 15). The first meeting of the society was claimed to be in Cascadilla Hall, which was one the first dormitory on the campus. With this in mind, however, a more “…suitable and permanent hall was dreamed of by the members of Quill and Dagger” (Northup 13). Sphinx Head of course had already raised funds to build a tomb similar to those inhabited by Skull and Bones, Wolf’s Head, and Scroll and Key secret societies at Yale University. The tomb owned by Sphinx Head was situated on Stewart Avenue, across the gorge from the Rockledge fraternity and near the Delta Chi fraternity house and still stands today; it is a stone, windowless Egyptian styled tomb with an “engraved winged serpent and solar disc above the door” (Sagan, 1). The tomb passed out of the Sphinx Head’s hands in the late 1969 and was owned by a various people until the late Carl Sagan finally bought it and converted in a single-family home (Lui 1). The Sphinx Head Society currently meets in a seminar room in Sage Hall. The Quill and Dagger Society, upon learning of the $26,000 spent on the Sphinx Head tomb (when they still owned it), petitioned Cornell to build the War Memorial, which was to be a tribute to the Cornellians who fought in WWI. The memorial was completed in 1930, and was dedicated in 1931. Because of Quill and Dagger’s support for the construction and their help in the fundraising efforts, which totaled around $85,000 (Northup 143), Cornell made a deal with the Society: The upper two floors of the Tower were for the use and meeting space of Quill and Dagger. Additionally, the Society had its own private entrance with a private elevator. The arrangement Quill and Dagger had with the University was “…$450 a year for services, which included light, elevator power, heat, janitorial service, insurance, and repairs” (Nothrup 19). The beautiful gothic styled buildings that adorn our Western campus at Cornell are in part because of the Quill and Dagger society. The societies helped shaped campus life in other ways as well. For example, many of the well-known celebrations we have today were in part due to the contribution of secret society members. For example, Dragon Day and Slope Day, although evolved from their original manifestations, were ideas brought on by a famous figure of Cornell history, Willard Straight, who was a member of Sphinx Head. In 1901, Willard Straight led his fellow senior students on a campaign across campus carrying a model of a dragon, an inspiration drawn from the myths of St. Patrick. Willard Straight was a member of the Sphinx Head society. Willard Straight also had a hand in the creation of the event we now know as Slope Day. It was originally a fundraiser for the athletic teams for at the time athletics were not university sponsored. However in 1901, Willard Straight, and in addition fellow Sphinx Head peer John Senior and Quill and Dagger senior Henry Schoellkopf, helped turn the fundraiser into an end-of-year celebration. From there, “Spring Day” was born, and went through a number of evolutions until it became the event it is today. Another interesting addition to cultural tradition brought on by the secret societies was the creation of Cornell Days. Quill and Dagger proposed the idea of “…inviting school boys to meet at Ithaca for a 2-day period…” in 1934 (Northup 142). They felt at the time that the number of private school boys had been relatively small, and Quill and Dagger felt that they were lost to the prestige of the “great Eastern colleges” (i.e. Harvard, Princeton, Yale). Quill and Dagger felt that they “…ought to learn what Cornell had to offer” (Northup 142). Cornell Days, as it is today, is a chance for high-school accepted senior to experience Cornell and hopefully decide to attend. It is interesting to note that this tradition, which seems a modern and novel idea, was actually originally arranged not by the university, but by Quill and Dagger. A final way that the societies have contributed to Cornell is through donations. Quill and Dagger members have donated financially back to the school, as well as having donated books and periodicals to the campus libraries (Northup 144). Sphinx Head members and alumni have also donated back to campus. For example, Henry Bartles ’48 as well as at least 23 other alumni donated money to Sage Hall for classroom space.
The Value of the Secret Societies in the Information Era Every April when Sphinx Head and Quill and Dagger have their annual tapping for the next year, complete with their black hooded and cloaked initiation ceremony on the Arts Quad, students naturally ponder the mysteries and secrets that surround the two societies. It is often postulated among the non-members student body for those who are not members: What is their purpose? Has the era of good deeds and cultural campaigns passed? In a conversation I recently had with a Cornell alumnus (class of 2010, who confessed he was in one of the societies, although did not specify which), I asked the question: What does your society actually do? He responded sarcastically: “Quietly uplift Cornell”, but mostly drinking. Whether that statement has any veracity is hard or impossible to determine, but nevertheless forces one to think: What is the point? Although Quill and Dagger and Sphinx Head’s historical contribution to the campus certainly cannot be questioned, one does wonder what their contributions are today. The secret societies at Cornell are almost too secret in the sense that they scarcely have a campus presence. Oke-FUN-Oke, a “secret” prank society at the Loomis Chaffee School, a boarding school in Connecticut, maintains an air of secrecy; no one knows who the members are, but it has a notable presence on campus. About 4-8 times a year, the society anonymously hosts events or plays pranks on the school for the student body to enjoy (Oke-FUN-Oke). The same cannot be said for Quill and Dagger and Sphinx Head, or at least in an obvious and open way. And perhaps that is the point. Similarly at Yale, the Ivy League college known for their secret societies, the same idea of value is often pondered. Alexandra Robbins, Yale class of 1998 and alumna of Scroll and Key society, states in that being a member of a society doesn’t “…come with any major perks attached … ‘beyond the multicourse meals, and, in some cases, the free beer.” She goes on to say that the “ ‘…societies… are mostly hype, exclusivity, and a dash of entitlement. [Skull and Bones] can be a powerful alumni network for those aiming for certain career paths, but as a member once told me ‘there is no golden key’’” (Schenkel 1). Perhaps we live now in an era where the societies have lost their once treasured campus influence, after all the aforementioned deeds by the Cornell secret societies did take place before the 1970s, which was a time when “exclusivity”, “authority” and “elitism” were questioned. If the societies no longer contribute and influence the campus as they once did, perhaps their value lies in tradition; the idea of the secret societies, and the lore, and the mystery that surrounds them is enough to help create and preserve the campus cultures; the societies, in a way, have become their own kind of tradition. Cornell would not be the same without a traditional and historical society, supposedly keeping a watchful eye. Regarding the Yale societies, it has been by faculty that “ ‘the societies seem here to stay… but most of us [Yalies] see it as such a low percentage of the student involvement that they don’t necessarily influence college life that much’ “ (Schenkel 1). This could be the case with Cornell, that like at Yale, they are simply a decoration that makes Cornell unique and interesting. Or perhaps it’s different. Perhaps we have yet to see the result of the societies’ influence on Cornell, its culture, and its traditions; in the future it may be more obvious how they were an integral part of the campus and protecting the community. Hindsight, as they say, is always twenty-twenty.
Works Citied
1. "Aleph Samach." The Cornell Daily Sun 5 January 1901 — The Cornell Daily Sun. The Cornell Daily Sun, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
8. Lui, Ann. "Cornell Architecture Myths: Busted." The Sun. The Cornell Daily Sun, 29 Jan. 2009. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. 9. "Mortar Board's Proud History." Mortar Board. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.