Burning Spear Society

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Burning Spear Society
Formation 1993
Type Honor Society
Headquarters Tallahassee, Florida
Location United States United States
Website Official website

Burning Spear is a leadership honorary society at The Florida State University, created in 1993 and originally named the Charlie Ward for Heisman Coalition.

History

Burning Spear was founded on July 14, 1993 by three student leaders who recognized an opportunity to unite students, faculty, alumni, and community members who all shared a desire to make Florida State University one of the world's leading institutions of higher education. The founders believed that leadership and character of exceptional quality should be recognized, and that all Seminoles should meet and work together on a basis of mutual interests, ideals, and love of their alma mater. By August 1993, sixteen diverse student leaders joined together to charter this new organization, and within one year's time seven additional students would be initiated into membership.

Burning Spear is fully integrated and has a strong history of inclusion of persons of different gender and race. Burning Spear was rated the Best New Campus Organization for the 1993–94 school year in the State of Florida by the Florida Leader Magazine.

Events

Derrick Brooks

Burning Spear serves as the host of the Clock & Seal annual homecoming banquet at FSU. Former keynote speakers of Clock & Seal include:


Burning Spear also sponsors the Seminole Spirit Drum, which beats nonstop outside of Doak Campbell Stadium for 72 hours prior to a football game against a major rival.

The organization is also responsible for the Guardian of the Flame Awards, recognizing faculty member excellence annually.[2] [3]

Most recently the society has coordinated with FSU Head Football Coach Jimbo Fisher's Kidz 1st Fund.[4]

Controversies

Charlie Crist

Burning Spear has claimed existence for only eighteen years, but there are dissenting opinions that say the society has operated in one form or another for a much longer time.[5] Their control of campus and state politics has been compared to The Machine at the University of Alabama and the Skull and Bones society of Yale University.[citation needed]

There are a large number of Burning Spear alumni from Florida State now in the legislature and the organization is also said to control a political action committee that gives campaign contributions to candidates that attended Florida State.

Student membership consists of the most elite of student government and fraternal/sorority leaders on campus and never exceeds forty members.[citation needed]

Burning Spear holds clandestine meetings in various places on campus and at the off campus Burning Spear Mansion. They are said to have ritual meetings in the underground passageway connecting Landis Hall and Robert Manning Strozier Library, but there are no confirmed reports as of now.[citation needed]

Secret marks and symbols appear in historically relevant areas of campus on dates that hold significance to Burning Spear. Such dates are said to include: Student Government election day when a Burning Spear member is running for high office, Burning Spear's Clock & Seal, SGA Inauguration and dates that new members are tapped and initiated.[citation needed]

Burning Spear is also reputed to have secretly worked with fraternities and sororities to control strategic positions in student government and other key student organizations.[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 White, Tiffany (November 1, 2009). "Spirit in the 'Spear'". FSView. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Guardian of the Flame Faculty Award". Burning Spear. Retrieved 22 May 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Faculty News". Florida State University. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  4. ↑ "JOIN THE FIGHT". Kidz 1st Fund. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  5. ↑ Bailey, Jay (February 14, 2010). "A new 'government'?". FSView. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 

External links

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