Research paper on the secret society of the skulls - Essay Example

that, the “Skull & Bones”, as it is more formally referred to, is a group of significant magnitude that, since the time of its creation, has left an indelible mark on different facets of the world around it. In light of this, the question becomes more about what impact(s) the group has had, rather than being about whether or not the group existed in the first place. Historically speaking, “The story of Skull and Bones begins in December of 1832. Upset (according to one account) by changes in the Phi Beta Kappa election process, a Yale senior named William Russell and a group of classmates decided to form the Eulogian Club as an American chapter of a German student organization.

The club paid obeisance to Eulogia, the goddess of eloquence, who took her place in the pantheon upon the death of the orator Demosthenes, in 322 B.C., and who is said to have returned in a kind of Second Coming on the occasion of the societys inception. The Yale society fastened a picture of its symbol-- a skull and crossbones-- to the door of the chapel where it met. Today the number 322, recalling the date of Demosthenes death, appears on society stationery. The number has such mystical overtones that in 1967 a graduate student with no ties to Skull and Bones donated $322,000 to the society,” (Robbins, p.1). The financial contribution of its membership after graduation from Yale is something that is alluded to in the motion picture “The Skulls”, starring Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker.

Having these men provide a portion of their estates to the greater trust fund of the society is something that has long been done by members since the beginning. With many college organizations offering membership to students who have a desire to become a part of something, the Skulls offer a particularly unique opportunity to those who are accepted as part of their fold. Before entrance into any group, it is commonplace for there to be an induction ceremony, so that the present