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Manuscript also briefly played host to the 1991-92 classes of [[Skull and Bones]], who were temporarily locked out of their own tomb by alumni who objected to its undergraduates' decision to tap women for the first time in the spring of 1991.<ref>Ed. Parks, S. ''Manuscript, 1953-2002''. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven [http://orbis.library.yale.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=wrexham%20AND%20foundation&SL=None&Search%5FCode=CMD&CNT=50&PID=7QlUdQ-dhiAuVTawdmPZWhXsLAxot&SEQ=20100528221545&SID=4]</ref>
Manuscript also briefly played host to the 1991-92 classes of [[Skull and Bones]], who were temporarily locked out of their own tomb by alumni who objected to its undergraduates' decision to tap women for the first time in the spring of 1991.<ref>Ed. Parks, S. ''Manuscript, 1953-2002''. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven [http://orbis.library.yale.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=wrexham%20AND%20foundation&SL=None&Search%5FCode=CMD&CNT=50&PID=7QlUdQ-dhiAuVTawdmPZWhXsLAxot&SEQ=20100528221545&SID=4]</ref>


It holds the number [[344]] to be sacred<ref>Ed. Parks, S. ''Manuscript, 1953-2002''. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven</ref>. Possible explanations of this include the fact that this was the date that the Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, travelled from Assus to Lesbos to study natural history and marine biology.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/344_BC</ref>
It holds the number [[344_BC| 344]] to be sacred<ref>Ed. Parks, S. ''Manuscript, 1953-2002''. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven</ref>. Possible explanations of this include the fact that this was the date that the Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, travelled from Assus to Lesbos to study natural history and marine biology.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/344_BC</ref>


The Society supposedly holds [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideals, and the sun and sunflowers are both important symbols to members<ref>Havemeyer, Loomis. 1960. ''"Go to your room"; a story of undergraduate societies and fraternities at Yale.''. New Haven : 1960. http://openlibrary.org/books/OL5833019M/Go_to_your_room_a_story_of_undergraduate_societies_and_fraternities_at_Yale.</ref>. The society also retained close connections with the campus literary society ''Chi Delta Theta'' in the early 1950s<ref>http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/YHO/ExtracurricularandSocialOrganizations.pdf</ref>.
The Society supposedly holds [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideals, and the sun and sunflowers are both important symbols to members<ref>Havemeyer, Loomis. 1960. ''"Go to your room"; a story of undergraduate societies and fraternities at Yale.''. New Haven : 1960. http://openlibrary.org/books/OL5833019M/Go_to_your_room_a_story_of_undergraduate_societies_and_fraternities_at_Yale.</ref>. The society also retained close connections with the campus literary society ''Chi Delta Theta'' in the early 1950s<ref>http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/YHO/ExtracurricularandSocialOrganizations.pdf</ref>.

Revision as of 17:29, 20 February 2012

File:Tomb6.JPG
An inverted/negative portrait of the Manuscript Tomb with its hidden insignia exposed.

Manuscript Society is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Toward the end of each junior year, 16 undergraduates are "tapped" to be inducted into the society, which meets twice weekly for dinner and discussion (once per week with undergraduates only, once with alumni, honorary members and invited guests). Undergraduates are selected for their strength in academics, extracurricular activities, character and commitment to truth. Manuscript is known for having the best of the intellectual and artistic undergraduates among its members and calls itself an "Arts and Letters" society.[1]

History and Traditions

Founded in 1952, Manuscript was Yale's seventh "landed" senior society; that is, its alumni trust owns its building, or "tomb." Manuscript was the first of the "above-ground" societies to tap women along with Elihu and St. Elmo. Each delegation is elected by a consensus of Manuscript alumni, trustee members, and others, unlike other secret societies, where undergraduate members shoulder more of the burden of selecting, recruiting and initiating their descendants.[2]

The Wrexham Foundation is the society's alumni board of trustees. Since 1956, the foundation has underwritten a scholarship in the humanities for a "senior who shall be judged to have written the best senior essay in the field of the humanities." Administered by Yale, it is given in memory of Wallace Notestein, M.A. 1903, Ph.D. 1908, Litt.D. 1951.[3]

Manuscript also briefly played host to the 1991-92 classes of Skull and Bones, who were temporarily locked out of their own tomb by alumni who objected to its undergraduates' decision to tap women for the first time in the spring of 1991.[4]

It holds the number 344 to be sacred[5]. Possible explanations of this include the fact that this was the date that the Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, travelled from Assus to Lesbos to study natural history and marine biology.[6]

The Society supposedly holds Enlightenment ideals, and the sun and sunflowers are both important symbols to members[7]. The society also retained close connections with the campus literary society Chi Delta Theta in the early 1950s[8].

The society holds an annual gathering in its tomb on Hallowe'en. A Manuscript event is described in the novel Joe College by Tom Perrotta.[9]

Architecture

Designed by King-lui Wu, Manuscript's tomb is mid-century modern, unusual amid other societies' elaborate mid- to late-19th Century buildings. It appears from the outside to have only one level, yet conceals eight subterranean floors. The tomb holds a vast collection of notable modern and contemporary art. The Yale University Art Gallery is said to have temporarily stored pieces there.[10] Wu was often heard to say that he designed the building "for privacy, not for secrecy."[11]

Notable members

Prominent senator H. John Heinz III (1938-1991) was a member of the class of '64
Rodger Kamenetz ||1970|| Professor and certified dream therapist [23]
Name Yale Class Known for
Matthew Bruccoli 1953 Preeminent expert on F. Scott Fitzgerald [12]
Ted Morgan 1954 Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist [13]
David Calleo 1954 Intellectual historian, political economist at Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University [14]
Michael Pertschuk 1954 Consumer advocate, author and former government official [15] -
Stephen F. Williams 1958 Senior Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [16]
Richard Maltby, Jr. 1959 Tony Award-winning director [17]
Richard Rhodes 1959 Pulitzer Prize-winning author
H. John Heinz III 1960 US senator [18]
David Gergen 1963 Presidential Advisor and Political Commentator [19]
Paul Steiger 1964 Editor-in-Chief of ProPublica, formerly the Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal [20]
Richard H. Brodhead 1968 9th President of Duke Univ. [21]
Alan Bernheimer 1970 Poet [22]
Jodie Foster 1985 Actress [24]
Jen Banbury 1989 Playwright, author of novel Like a Hole in the Head and journalist [25]
Anderson Cooper 1989 News Anchor [26][27]
Jonathan Zittrain 1991 Professor of Internet Law at Harvard Univ.[28]
Brooke Lyons 2003 Actress [29][30]
Cleanth Brooks Hon. Literary Critic [31]
Steven Smith Hon. Political Scientist [32]
Vincent Giroud Hon. Historian of French Opera [33][34]
Robert A. Dahl Hon. Professor of Political Science at Yale University, considered the "Dean" of political science [35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven [1]
  2. ^ "Tombs & Taps" section of online Magazine http://www.yale.edu/lt/archives/survivalguide/
  3. ^ Yale University | Office of the Secretary
  4. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven [2]
  5. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  6. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/344_BC
  7. ^ Havemeyer, Loomis. 1960. "Go to your room"; a story of undergraduate societies and fraternities at Yale.. New Haven : 1960. http://openlibrary.org/books/OL5833019M/Go_to_your_room_a_story_of_undergraduate_societies_and_fraternities_at_Yale.
  8. ^ http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/YHO/ExtracurricularandSocialOrganizations.pdf
  9. ^ Perotta, T. Joe College (New York, St. Martins : 2005) pp. 105-116
  10. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002, (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven [3]
  11. ^ Architectural Record, November, 1965. "Ingenious Use of a Narrow Site"
  12. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  13. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  14. ^ Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002)
  15. ^ Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002)
  16. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  17. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  18. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  19. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  20. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  21. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  22. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  23. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  24. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  25. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  26. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  27. ^ http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biography-of-anderson-cooper.html
  28. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  29. ^ http://yalebase.freebase.com/view/base/yalebase/views/secret_society
  30. ^ http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biography-of-anderson-cooper.html
  31. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  32. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  33. ^ http://www.amazon.com/French-Opera-History-Vincent-Giroud/dp/0300117655
  34. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven
  35. ^ Ed. Parks, S. Manuscript, 1953-2002. (New Haven, Phoenix Press : 2002) at Manuscripts and Archives Reference library, Sterling Memorial Library, New Haven

Sources

  • Robbins, Alexandra. Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. Back Bay Books, 2003. ISBN 0-316-73561-2
  • Perrotta, Tom. Joe College: A Novel (2000) ISBN 0-312-36178-5
  • Light & Truth Publication
  • King-lui Wu
  • Architectural Record, November, 1965. "Ingenious Use of a Narrow Site".
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