![]() ![]() The camaraderie is reinforced by weekly meetings and bizarre traditions. It was an opportunity to build friendships with 14 people whom I otherwise wouldnt have come across in college years, one member told Robbins. At various points they are blindfolded, jostled violently, given a secret oath, and forced to drink blood (some say its Kool-Aid, others Gatorade) from a skull called a Yorick. Eventually, the neophytes kiss the toe of a member dressed as the pope and are dubbed Knights of Eulogia. There, in rooms filled with shabby furniture, stuffed animals, and old engravings, they are met by members dressed as outlandish figures, like the devil and Don Quixote. Initiates are led to the groups unmarked, Greco-Egyptian vault, in New Haven, where the clocks run five minutes fast. ![]() But as Alexandra Robbins related in her 2002 book Secrets of the Tomb, the modern-day ceremony is far less dramaticand far more sophomoric. In the 19th century, rumors circulated that initiates were stripped, beaten, and forced to lie in a coffin while relating their sexual history, thus baring their souls to their new comrades. Yes, though for decades it was shrouded in mystery. The Eulogians adopted as their symbol a foreboding deaths-head, and that skull and bones eventually became the societys name. He called it the Eulogian Club, after the Greek goddess of eloquence. Offended that Phi Beta Kappa would succumb to such populist passions, Russell responded by forming an even more secret society with 14 other students. Anti-Masonic sentiment grew so strong, in fact, that Phi Beta Kappa, the national academic honor association, distanced itself by renouncing its own oath of secrecy. ![]() But the Masons popularity and power generated a backlash among people who resented their elitism dark rumors arose about the groups secret rituals. At the time, hush-hush fraternal organizations like the Masons were all the rage in the U.S. The group was founded in 1832, by a Yale senior named William Russell. ![]()
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