Dragon Turns 100

The College's third-oldest senior society is celebrating its centennial this fall. Dragon was founded in 1898 by a group of six men who gathered in a dorm room for a dinner of turkey and cider and decided to make it a weekly event.

And what secret celebration is this secret society secretly planning? "We're having a commemorative dinner in Alumni Hall on October 17," says Spencer Morgan '60, president of the Dragon Alumni Association.

As it turns out, not all of the society's happenings are secret. "That's only for seniors," Morgan says, "and secrecy is an option, not a requirement. There was no secrecy when I was a student. It didn't evolve into a secret society until the late sixties."

The change stemmed from the social unrest surrounding Vietnam and the national political scene, combined with the loss of secrecy in nationally affiliated fraternities. "The traditions and rituals were being done away with," says Morgan, "and senior societies filled that gap."

(All Dragon alumni will be able to enjoy the new house, located next to Zeta Beta Chi sorority on North College Street. Formerly located on Elm Street next to Bradley and Gerry halls, the Dragon house was demolished to make way for the expansion of Baker Library. Construction of the new house—an internal replica of the old—was completed in january of 1996.