Campus Secret Societies

April 23, 2021 JR Herman

JR Herman explores campus lore regarding the College of William and Mary’s many secret societies. Continue reading to learn more about the history of these societies, presence throughout the decades, rumoured membership, secrecy levels, and objectives.

ANGELA VASISHTA // THE FLAT HAT

The College of William and Mary is home to a plethora of student organisations and clubs — around 500 can be found on TribeLink accompanied by descriptions of the organisations’ activities, constitution, information about whom to contact about membership, and links to the clubs’ social media pages.

In addition to these well-known and easily identifiable clubs, the College has its fair share of secret societies, which, of course, are not listed on TribeLink — these clandestine organisations, whose members, founding principles, meeting times, locations, and activities are shrouded in mystery, include the Seven Society, Ladies of Alpha, Flat Hat Club, Bishop James Madison Society, Members XIII, Wren Society, and more.

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

The Seven Society is presumed to be the College’s longest, continuously-running secret society, consisting of seven members, most likely seniors. The Seven Society is perhaps the most recognised of the campus’s secret societies, and although members are anonymous, the group is not shy about flouting their emblem, a seven accompanied by a crown and dagger — their insignia has often appeared around campus.

The Seven Society is mainly philanthropic, with the apparent goal of performing random acts of kindness for those who serve the community. In 2003, the Seven Society secretly donated 14 umbrellas to the Admissions Office. The umbrellas, all emblazoned with the crown and dagger seven, appeared shortly after a member of the admissions team mentioned how helpful umbrellas would be in the rainy weather.

In 2008, the Seven Society donated a plaque in honour of retiring Vice President of Student Affairs W. Samuel Sadler B.A. ’64, M.Ed. ’71 and also purchased a banner to be displayed on campus to congratulate Sadler on his retirement and thank him for his service to the College.

Rumour has it that the Seven Society first began operating in 1826 but was interrupted by the Civil War, several campus fires, and the temporary closing of the College. However, it was continually revived. In the September 19th 1939 edition of The Flat Hat (a scanned copy of which can be found in the College’s Digital Archive), the Seven Society claimed to be the only secret society on campus, although that is certainly a questionable claim, given the clandestine nature of these societies — the reasoning seems to be that the other organisations should be classified as very selective clubs, rather than secret societies.

According to the same statement by the Seven Society, their constitution vaguely states, “The purpose of the Seven Society shall be to discuss such affairs of proper import as to bear directly upon the welfare of the student body at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and, after due consideration by the members of the Society, to work to bring about the results desired at the College.”

Since no such other official statement from the club has found its way into a school publication in recent years, it is unknown whether the club has an updated constitution or if its goals and founding principles have changed in any way.

Interestingly, the Seven Society in the past revealed members’ identities, with one batch of members even being listed in a 1942 Flat Hat article. This revealing of identity has since come to an end — today, membership is of the utmost secrecy and is rumoured to only be revealed after a member’s death. The seven are said to meet at Shields Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg but given the state of the pandemic (and the temporary closure of Shields Tavern), the seven could very well be meeting on Zoom.

A PRESIDENTIAL LEGACY

The Bishop James Madison Society is named after the College’s eighth president and is responsible for hosting the Last Lecture, an event during which a beloved, retiring professor gives a final lecture at the end of the spring semester in Wren — words of wisdom, as well as reflections on life and being part of the community, are shared with former students, colleagues, and friends.

The society began in 1812 but was eventually discontinued due to the Civil War. It was later re-established, and David Holmes, professor emeritus of religious studies, is credited with helping revive the society. Membership is strictly confidential, as are the criteria for entrance, but members supposedly can (discreetly) reveal themselves at commencement by wearing the society symbol.

The Bishop James Madison Society has in the past posted flyers and posters, many of which are available for viewing in Swem’s Special Collections, as are the David L. Holmes Papers, which include information related to the reviving of the society.

In addition to the Last Lecture series, the society has also been credited with other campus goodwill gestures, including banners welcoming new classes during orientation, hidden treats and Easter eggs on campus, and other random acts of kindness to promote connectivity and community. The group has also sponsored events in the past like Eight Days of Mirth, a set of video challenges featuring faculty and members of the administration in the hopes of encouraging members of the community to appreciate those around them — one video challenge asked students to go out of their way and thank a professor.

ALPHA FEMALES

The Ladies of Alpha, also known as the Alphas, is a secret society said to have been created in 1918 by alumna Martha Barksdale ’21. Barksdale was a member of the first class of women enrolled in the College, as well as the first president of the Women’s Student Council and the first house president of the original Tyler Hall. The College notes on its website that Barksdale was also the first woman to graduate from the College, given her name was first in alphabetical order of all the women in her class. The contents of Martha Barksdale’s diary are available for viewing in the Special Collections Research Center.

In 1918, while women were able to receive an education from the College, they were unable to participate in most of the College’s extracurricular activities, being barred from fraternities, athletic teams, and many clubs, so Barksdale hoped to create a group where women could not only socialise but hopefully impact the community. In 1918, the first Ladies of Alpha were pictured in the College’s yearbook, The Colonial Echo, a trend not continued by later generations of society members, as the society has become increasingly secretive.

The goals of the Ladies of Alpha are not only to provide an all-female secret society to complement the all-male secret societies on campus but also to promote female empowerment and recognise outstanding women on campus, done by anonymously presenting them with yellow roses and notes. Current membership and the group’s methods and criteria for choosing women to recognise are unknown. The group did not respond to a Flat Hat media inquiry regarding this subject, so it is safe to assume that even selection is based on secret criteria.

WE SWEAR WE’RE NOT RELATED

The Flat Hat Club is a revival of the F.H.C. society which was founded in 1750; the F.H.C. is to date not only the College’s oldest secret society but also the oldest recorded secret society of a college in the country. While the purpose of the original society and their objectives are unknown, the members of the F.H.C. are thought to have met regularly for meetings at Raleigh Tavern, distinguishing members from nonmembers with handshakes and a special medal.

President Thomas Jefferson was a member of the F.H.C. society, evidenced by a June 14th 1819 letter (which can be found online in the National Archives). Jefferson wrote, “when I was a student of Wm & Mary college [sic] of this state there existed a society called the F.H.C. society, confined to the number of six students only, of which I was a member, but it had no useful object, nor do I know whether it now exists.” At least in its early days, the F.H.C. society appears to have just been a social club, rather than having concrete objectives. Other well-known members include St George Tucker and George Wythe.

F.H.C is thought to stand for the Latin phrase “Fraternitas, Humanitas, et Cognitio” (fraternity, humanity, and knowledge). It is rumoured that the number of members is now 12 (or perhaps even more), and that this secret society has continued the tradition of only recruiting men for membership. Another unconfirmed rumour is that a high-ranking Flat Hat editor is inducted every year.

DON’T FORGET UNLUCKY NUMBER THIRTEEN

The Members XIII, also referred to as the 13 Club or the 13s, is a secret society at the College which aims to promote connectivity and appreciation for the college experience. According to their extremely difficult to find website (which has not been updated since 2015), the society was originally founded in 1890 and revived in 1994 by three students. Membership is strictly confidential — their website states that “Membership is undisclosed solely to promote the spirit of anonymous acts that benefit our campus and society at large.”

The Members XIII has established the “Be Here Now” campaign which seeks to discourage students from feeling the need to constantly prove themselves. The group hopes to promote the mindset of savouring experiences to help students truly live in the present. The group also seeks for students to value the “imperfections and beauties, failures and successes, sorrows and joys” of their college experience.

The Members XIII also hosts the “One Last Thing” series in conjunction with Humans of William & Mary. Every spring, toward the end of the semester, ten graduating seniors are selected to speak before classmates and friends in the Sunken Garden, their lecture being on any topic, with the exact prompt being: “If you could speak to a group of William and Mary students about absolutely anything, what would it be?” While the pandemic forced the “One Last Thing” series to be completely online in 2020, last year’s featured seniors’ speeches can be found online.

The process is so steeped in secrecy that at the time of writing, the current leadership of Humans of William & Mary is not sure who traditionally chooses the speakers or if there will be a Spring 2021 collaboration.

IF FOUND, RETURN TO WREN

The Wren Society was founded in 1832 to commemorate Christopher Wren. The Wren Society’s most public contribution to campus is the 1832 Award, given annually to a student organisation, eight seniors, three professors, and two staff members. The 1832 Award seeks to recognise exemplary academic achievement and community involvement. Little else is known about this society.

SECRET EVEN FOR SECRET SOCIETIES

Other secret societies on campus almost certainly exist, but even less is known about them. Some rumoured secret societies include the Phi Society, the Cord, and the W Society, although there is very little evidence of their existence. For those hoping to be inducted into a campus secret society, best of luck — chances are you will need it.

Sources

W&M Digital Archive: September 19, 1939 Flat Hat issue, see Seven Society statement

W&M Digital Archive: March 18, 1942 Flat Hat issue, see Seven Society member reveal

W&M Digital Archive: April 8, 2008 Flat Hat issue, see secret society information

W&M Digital Archive: Colonial Echo 1918

Founders Online National Archives

Flat Hat News

Thirteen Club Website

W&M Website: Secret Societies information

W&M Website: Martha Barksdale

W&M Website: 8 Days of Mirth

W&M Website: Last Lecture