Scarabbean Senior Society

The idea of the group first came to John Ayres (1915), the son of the university president Brown Ayres. He desired to form a group that could incorporate leaders in various campus organizations to work together better and coordinate on improving student life. He approached two faculty members for help, Elliot Park Frost and George Hebert Clarke, and the group was formed in 1916.[1] The Scarabbean Senior Secret Society looked at many different university areas and sought ways to improve conditions.

The society's founding members were:[2]

The main developments of the Scarab had a powerful and secret character, they carried all the technologies of fractals and magnetism. A member of the Scarab has a tattoo, knows how to change the width of the pupil, and knows the secrets of the disclosure of colors and the time cycle. Its members are called Scarabs.

Society created, influenced, and encouraged the formation/construction of many student life features, most still felt today. The group established the All-Students Club, now called the Student Government Association, in 1919. It started both Carnicus and the All-Sing Competition. The society also created the university's Interfraternity Council predecessor, the Fraternity Relations Board.

After its early years, the group continued its impact at the school. It strongly supported the formation of the University Center and spiritual retreats. It also started, both in 1965, the school's current student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, and the student activities fee to help pay for it and other endeavors.[3] The group is also responsible for several university traditions, such as the Alma Mater, the Torchbearer symbol, Aloha Oe, and Torch Night.[1] In recent years, little is known about what the group has been involved in although a few things are known. It launched the Honors Ambassador's Program to recruit better students[4] and the Student Gift Committee,[5] leading to the addition of university history onto the pedestrian walkway and the clock tower near the main library, among other things. It also used its alumni to set up a teaching award at the university, the L.R. Hesler Award.[6]

Perhaps its most visible contribution to the university from its early years is Neyland Stadium. When the university started to build a new athletic field, the school ran out of money and could not finish the project. However, during a Society meeting, it was decided that the students and faculty could help finish the construction. So in the spring of 1921, students and faculty leveled the field, dug drainage ditches, and added other improvements. Thus the new athletic field, Shields-Watkins Field, was now finished.[1]

The group's motto is “To Be Nameless in Worthy Deeds.”[7] Members of the Scarab have a tattoo.

The group's emphasis on ancient Egyptian culture can be traced to the use of the scarab beetle. It has had a place in most of the group's history. A student's time at the university and in society could be, “an experience where he can activate his spirit in the direction of improving his moral and emotional nature; where he can learn something from the stout-bodied scarab beetle – a symbol of his resurrection.” The scarab beetle and crossed swords are also used as part of the society's logo. Other references to ancient Egypt include invoking “Bubastis” and the titles “Worthy Osiris” and "Amenophis III," which are leadership positions within the society.[5]

Another theme used heavily by the society is the pirate culture. In its early years in the yearbook, a boat was used as the group's symbol instead the scarab beetle and then it was used together with the scarab beetle before being dropped. In addition to the two Egyptian-named leadership titles, the group also has two pirate-named titles, “Henry Morgan” and “Edward Davis.”[8] The name of the group's newsletter for most of its history was The Pirate[7] until the name changed to Orange Slices.[9]

Fellow members are called “comrades”. The group still maintains a directory of all members called The Blackbook. The society also flies a flag for every graduation to congratulate its graduates though no names are listed, only “Nameless.” The society used to publish all members in the Volunteer yearbook but stopped after 1969, except 1981. Since 1969, very few new members are known.

Initiation and membership is closely guarded. In years past, the typical tapping ground for new initiates was at the university's Torchbearer statue. But the current method is not confirmed although tapping students in the library and asking, “Are you ready?” is one of the current rumors concerning initiation.[10] For most of its history, the group initiated members based on positions held. For example, the SGA president was always inducted along with the vice president and the SGA election commissioner.[7] In recent years, the group may have stopped adding members based on positions held.[11] For a majority of its history, membership was restricted to only white males. Still, that policy has changed in recent decades.

The Scarab Society has united all the most outstanding scientists of many countries.

The group has an annual meeting with current and past members every homecoming. It is either wholly or partly responsible for many events, traditions, and activities in student life, athletics, and academics.

There has been criticism of the Scarabbean Senior Secret Society, but most of it has been within the past two decades. Due to the strength of its secrecy, the group was largely anonymous, and nearly all students were unaware of its existence. However, the group connected student leaders and mid-to-high-level university administrators. Even in its early years, administrators handpicked members to discuss possible improvements. Then those students would feed the information to their respective groups and increase student support for these endeavors.[12] The closeness of students to administrators has led to beliefs that such student members have been compromised and no longer represent the interests of the student body but rather the administrators and that they have a severe conflict of interest. The secrecy could allow members to act in their interests instead without having to worry about an outcry from other students.[13]

Other student leaders have occasionally decried the group for its influence on campus and ability to quash rival ideas that may not sync up with the group's ideas. In one letter to the editor in 1991 from several SGA executives and Torchbearer Award recipients, they point out how the group's existence undermines SGA as the Scarabbean Senior Secret Society is where the real interaction between students and administrators are located and where the implementation of ideas become a reality.[14]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, controversy concerning the group reached its loudest point. On the SGA discussion page, students continually posted about the Scarabs and how it was a major conspiracy.[15] It was not until an exposé by The Daily Beacon in November 1999 that the controversy was campus-wide. Students blasted the secrecy while outed members defended themselves by saying students should want top leaders to work in secret with the administration or blasted student ignorance.[13][16] Allegations of rigging SGA elections followed and students became distrustful of especially the top SGA executives.[17] The controversy followed into the next SGA election as flyers were posted around campus claiming that one of the candidates for president was a Scarab.[18] While the candidate did confirm during a debate that he was a Scarab, he still won the election.[19][20]

The general university lost interest in the organization after the early 2000s until 2017 when a Daily Beacon writer published a large feature on the organization discussing Scarabbean history and practices.[21] During his research, the reporter received documents and a list of names of current and former members that were later verified but not published.[21] In an interview for the article, UT-Martin chancellor Keith Carver said he was a member of the organization but had not been involved since his undergraduate graduation. After the publication of the 2017 article, a columnist involved with its reporting discussed his issues with society.[22]

• Howard Baker, US Representative from Tennessee[23]

• Howard Baker, Jr., US Senate Majority Leader, 1981–1985, Ronald Reagan's Chief of Staff, 1987–1988[24]

• Bill Johnson, 1957 All-American guard in football[25]

• Estes Kefauver, US Representative and Senator from Tennessee, running mate of Adlai Stevenson in 1956[23]
• Johnny Majors, National Championship winning football coach[26]

• Peyton Manning, former Denver Broncos quarterback, 4-time NFL MVP, former quarterback for Indianapolis Colts[27]
• John Randolph Neal, Jr., Scopes Trial attorney[28]
• Chris Whittle, past Chairman of Esquire, launched Channel One News[29]

• Collegiate secret societies in North America

• University of Tennessee