Cap and Skull is a co-educational senior

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It was founded on January 18, 1900. Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent on excellence in

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

, the

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

, and

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

. The organization considers

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

and character as factors for membership. Eighteen members are selected each year.

History

On January 18, 1900, ten members of the senior class of

Rutgers College Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

met in the

Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity consisting of active chapters at 34 American colleges and universities. Chi Psi was founded in 1841 at Union College in Schenectady, New York. It was the first Greek-letter organization to b ...

lodge to form Cap and Skull. Drawing inspiration from

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

and

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University, founded in 1893. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated that election into Quill and Dagger and similar societies constituted "the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of unde ...

, Yale and Cornell's senior class honor societies, Cap and Skull aimed to form a similar honor society at Rutgers. The ten founders drew up a constitution and adopted a code of secrecy and a motto. To ensure the exclusivity of the organization, the selection of a new member required a unanimous vote of the current members. In the first two decades, no more than 80 men joined the organization. In the 1920s, the society began to reexamine its selection criteria to increase membership. Under the new system, each leadership position and honor on campus was awarded a point value, and students with the highest cumulative value were selected for induction. In 1923, in response to the growing student body, the number of members to be tapped each year was fixed at twelve and a tri-fold criterion for selection was established: # Activities, athletic, and campus # Scholarship # Character and service to Rutgers With the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, many members of the Rutgers community left college to serve in the military. Only ten members were selected for Cap and Skull in 1944, and no one was tapped in 1945. In October 1945, members of the administration who were also Cap and Skull members were asked to make nominations for the class of 1946. Cap and Skull resumed the traditional twelve-member selection in 1948. On January 31, 1950, an all-day gala celebration was held in honor of Cap and Skull's golden anniversary—the first of the ten-year reunions that are still held today. The golden anniversary celebrated the 440 men selected as members of the society during those first fifty years.

Demise and rebirth

Through the 1960s, sweeping social changes occurred and organizations such as Cap and Skull came under scrutiny. In 1969, Cap and Skull graduated its last class. Its alumni retained their ties and the underlying need for the organization remained. In 1981, Rutgers College students again discussed the need for an organization or honor that would recognize leadership contributions made by members of the senior class. Cap and Skull re-emerged in 1982, and a reunion was held to celebrate the tapping of new members. In November 1990, the Cap and Skull Room was formally leased, solidifying Cap and Skull's physical presence on campus. In 2000, a large gala event was held for the 100th anniversary of Cap and Skull and members endowed an annual scholarship to Rutgers students. Author William B. Brahms, a society member, compiled a detailed history with full biographies of all inducted members of the first 100 years. It was privately printed by the society, but is available at the Rutgers University Special Collections and Archives.

Symbols

The motto of Cap and Skull is '' Spectemur agendo'' or "Let us be judged by our actions". Its pillars are Spirit, History, and Tradition.

Membership

Today, Cap and Skull represents many of the diverse organizations on campus and is now composed of undergraduate students from any of the university's reorganized schools. Formerly only members of

(which had become co-educational in 1972) and Rutgers College affiliates from the School of Pharmacy, Engineering, and Mason Gross School of the Arts were tapped. Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent on excellence in

, the

, and

. The organization considers

and character as factors for membership. Using these criteria, only eighteen new members are selected each year.

Notable members

Following are some of the notable members of Cap and Skull.

References

External links

*
1912 ''The New York Times'' article
on Cap and Skull inductees for the year. {{Authority control Student societies in the United States Honor societies Rutgers University Student organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in New Jersey Local fraternities and sororities