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Skull And Keys (Fraternity / Secret Society?; Berkeley)

EnolaGaia

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This fraternity at the University of California, Berkeley, was modeled after Yale's Skull and Bones - i.e., a highly selective and secretive fraternity whose membership was mainly drawn from elites.
Skull & Keys was founded in 1892 by, among others, the novelist Frank Norris.[4][5] Skull & Keys was founded as an upperclassman society for members of Theta Nu Epsilon, with many of its early members having affiliations with societies from Yale. The society intended to hold "Tap Day" ceremonies at Berkeley, in following the traditions of Yale as well.[2][3][4] The Zeta or Berkeley chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon was founded as a Sophomore society at Berkeley eleven years before in 1881. Skull & Keys membership was initially drawn from Senior and Junior classes at the university.[2][5]

Historically, it meets semi-monthly in a facility known only as the Tomb.[6] It is led by the Uncle, who is elected by voice vote of the active members. Invitees endure the initiation ritual known as the Running.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_&_Keys
 
This summary review of the society's history casts them as a sort of OTT Animal House group.
Obscure Bay Area: The secret society 'tomb' hiding in plain sight in Berkeley

It looks like a garage or a very large shed, windowless and sunk down below street level. But that unassuming gray building was once the “Tomb” of Berkeley’s most hated secret society, and it was so putrid the city eventually stepped in to shut it down.

Skull and Keys was founded in the 1890s by a group of UC Berkeley fraternity members, most prominent among them writer Frank Norris. It was modeled after the famed Skull and Bones secret society at Yale, and like them, invited select members from other fraternities to join. An invitation was an honor — only social elites were considered. Almost immediately, they became a source of fascination and disdain on campus. ...

ike any notorious secret society, their primary activities were drinking and causing trouble. Each year during initiation, crowds gathered to watch the Skull and Keys lads parade through town in costumes. An 1899 sampling of the typical attire is predictably offensive, with initiates pretending to be “a Chinese woman,” “a darky belle” and “a Turk.” ...

In 1920, Skull and Keys members impersonated specific female students, shaming them by name in what the Daily Californian memorably called “a smut carnival.” The “filthy exhibition” was so angrily received by the student body, Skull and Keys held an assembly at Harmon Gym to publicly apologize. But it was too little, too late. The society was banned from campus. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/berkeley-skull-and-keys-secret-societies-buildings-16238911.php
 
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