Dragon Society
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The Dragon Society or Society of Dragons is a secret society of senior men at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The group's membership and organizational structure are unknown. Dragon was founded in 1898 and continues to operate as of 2008.
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[edit] Halls and tombs
The society has occupied at least four locations in Hanover: a house at 21 North Main Street (by 1905); the former Kappa Kappa Kappa Hall on College Street (occupied before 1917, when it was remodeled into a Greek temple by Dragon); a hall on Elm Street designed by Jens Larson (1931-1996); and the current hall on College Street overlooking the McLaughlin dorms designed by Randall Mudge (1996).
[edit] Activities
Dragon is generally considered the most secret of Dartmouth's secret societies as members do not carry identifying canes at commencement, nor do they identify themselves in Dartmouth's yearbook, The Aegis. Members of Dartmouth's other secret societies identify themselves in either or both ways.
Rumors surrounding the Dragon Society include the claims that the society owns an estate somewhere in Quebec, and that annual initiation rites involve a wilderness vision quest and mock sacrifice based on a supposed ancient tradition of Welsh Druids.
[edit] Membership
Membership consists of a small number of senior men who are selected during their junior year in the school-wide process known as "tapping". Every winter and spring, juniors are tapped through a process semi-coordinated through the College.
Members are thought to be leaders of Dartmouth's athletic teams and fraternities. It is not clear whether taps are voted on by the membership or are handled "one-for-one," with each member selecting his successor.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Dartmouth (newspaper) January 31, 1997
- Halls Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth
- "General Electric CEO Made Rapid Rise," The Harvard Crimson (newspaper), June 8, 2005
- "Covered Undercover," The Dartmouth Independent (newspaper), September 19, 2005
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