Last week, I found myself, like so many others, stretched out on the Lawn with friends, soaking up the sunshine and absolutely saturated with love for this place. Something about the breakthrough of the spring weather and the buzz of activity around was making me unbelievably happy to be a part of such a special school. Surrounded by the history and tradition of the Academical Village, our conversation naturally turned to the subject of secret societies.
Suddenly, we were positing about our own hypothetical secret society. What would we stand for, what would we be called and, most importantly, how does someone even go about starting one? Apparently, one of my friends had already done a little research on the subject, and proceeded to relay what she knew about all the ways in which a secret society could become officially recognized by the University. She told us she wanted to be able to leave her mark here, to return in 10 or 20 years and see that something she had started was still in motion, still potentially making a difference. Secret societies all had to start somewhere, she said, and why not start with her?
That desire to be a part of something special and important is something recognizable in most of the students here at the University, myself included. Involvement in a secret society is something of a paradox: the height of status on Grounds, without the public prestige that comes from putting a sticker on your laptop or wearing the name of your organization on a t-shirt. This contradiction got me thinking about the various ways students choose to spend their time here, and the ways they find meaning in them. In a way, we’re all part of our own secret societies — formed through a collection of special moments we’ve shared with people over the years, an amalgamation of the relationships we form during our time at the University.
My secret society meets in the hallways of New Cabell, where a friend of mine and I kill time between classes, swapping stories and laughing so hard that a professor came out of his office to ask us if we could please quiet down. It meets during afternoons outside a house on Chancellor Street, rocking lazily on the porch swing and attempting to stall an imminent return to the library. Occasionally, they happen during whispered conversations on Clem one, when Alderman has closed and we still have pages of essays to write, novels to read and problem sets to complete. They frequently include snacks, like the fried Oreos my roommates and I decided to make in our apartment at 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night, or the Insomnia cookies one of them brought home to cheer me up after a rough day.
Sometimes, in a pinch, these meetings happen over the phone. Sometimes, they don’t involve any talking at all, just a quiet presence, an arm around a shoulder. There are no formal proceedings, and if I am lucky, the list of members will never stop growing. While others have played an integral part in the creation of these moments — the meetings of my society — I am the only one who truly can appreciate the wonderful ways in which they fit together.
It’s possible for a place this historic and important to make students feel pressured to accomplish something of equal measure, whether it can be boiled down to a line on a resume or simply comes with the knowledge that you’re involved in something exclusive and special. However, I’ve realized this year that the most important parts of my time here are not necessarily things I can leverage during a job interview, and they certainly aren’t things that have been shrouded in mystery.
Regardless of our level of involvement at the University, we all get to hold hundreds of little meetings of our own secret societies every day. As this year draws to a close, and I reflect on all the memories I’ve made here so far, read through the minutes of my society’s meetings, if you will, I can’t help but think about how lucky I am to spend my time at such an incredible place, with so many incredible people. The relationships I’ve formed are worth so much more to me than a pair of devil’s horns, a ring or seven chimes of the Chapel bell. And what’s even better is that I get to share these moments with whomever I choose.
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