DARTMOUTH UNDYING
1821
Students found the Literary Adelphi for the "cultivation of extemporaneous speaking." The society later becomes Alpha Delta fraternity and eventually serves as inspiration for the movie "Animal House."
1886
A small group of men meet behind closed doors to engineer the election of Seward Livermore as 1887 class marshall. Their plan succeeds, and the students continue to hold meetings. They eventually take on the emblem of the Sphinx, symbol of silence and secrecy. The membership includes student leaders, athletes, poets, journalists, Phi Betes, and a yodeler.
1887
Casque & Gauntlet is modeled after Arthurian chivalry and the fellowship of the Table Round, "whereat no Baron might sit above his fellows."
1898
Six men begin a tradition of dining on turkey and cider in a dorm. They eventually become a secret senior honor society. Criteria for membership include "earnestness, unselfish Once clothed in secrecy, senior societies such as Casque & Gauntlet have changed since the 19th century, when they got their inspiration from Yale's literary clubs.
friendship, and wholehearted appreciation of their fellow man." The students select the name Druids but switch to Dragon when they learn that Druids is also the brand name of a "much-advertised commodity" in Hanover.
1905
The Sphinx "tomb" is constructed by a Frater Tuttle, who completed the Harvard stadium a year earlier. The inside of the windowless building including a body of water called "Cleopatra's swimming pool"is shrouded in mystery. When the pool requires renovation at the end of World War II, the plumbers, electricians, and carpenters are sworn to secrecy. Rumor has it that the tomb has an enormous water bill.
1970s
Women assert their presence. Fire and Skoal is conceived as a "coeducational forum." Cobra, the first all-female senior society, is recognized by the College. (The second, Phoenix, is started in 1982.) After several years of pressure from Trustees, alumni, and honorary member John Kemeny, the Casque & Gauntlet membership votes unanimously to make women eligible for nomination.
1989
Artwork worth thousands of dollars disappears from College buildings along with photographs of every Dartmouth president. The photos of Kemeny and Freedman are eventually found buried in the Bema. Further excavation reveals two life preservers, a wreath stolen from the president's door, and a Valley News mailbox. Four members of Sphinx admit to the theft, which was part of a traditional scavenger hunt. Meanwhile, the six senior societies revise their initiation procedures. Students "tapped" in the future will be given three days instead of the traditional hours or minutes to decide about joining.
August 1989
Longstanding rumor debunked. The Hanover Water Company reports the following quarterly billing: Sphinx, $24.90; Alumni Gym, $557.88.
