Public Survey
As part of our research into secret societies, our group realized that we had to have an understanding of current thought and opinion regarding secret societies. Without an understanding of the present moment, we could not accurately capture how perception of secret societies had changed over time. To address this, our group put out a survey that questioned three points: "Please list any and all secret societies you've heard about at Washington and Lee University," " What do these secret societies do?" and " What is the point of a secret society?" In addition, we asked what a respondent's class year was, and if they were not a current student, what their university affiliation was.
The survey was placed on Washington and Lee's Campus Notices for five days, from 11/3/21 to 11/8/21. The Campus Notices is a public email that all members of the W&L community recieve, inviting them to fill out the survey. To supplement the Campus Notice listing, the three project members each promoted the survey to their friends and social groups. In the end, we recieved thirty eight responses in five days.
This graph aggregates our respondent's ability to name the secret societies they have heard about at Washington and Lee University. Clearly, the Cadaver Society is the most commonly known secret society at Washington and Lee, with thirty six responses naming it. The Sigma Society and Elixirs took a close second and third with ten and nine responses respectively, indicating the grip that the Cadaver Society has on Washington and Lee's common consciousness. Nearly every single respondent reported the Cadaver Society as being a secret society they had heard about, with some people only reporting Cadaver Society.
However, not every response listed is actually a secret society, and some are not societies at all. No responses were removed in order to preserve the integrity of the survey. However, the Colonnade Club, Five Star General, and SNUperhero groups are not secret societies, but an informal social status validating a student's completion of certain behaviors. "Skulls" refers to an informal name for a particular fraternity, but is also a common image associated with the Cadaver Society. Out of respect for this potential ambiguity or respondent confusion, the "Skull" response was also retained.
If you are interested in reviewing our survey responses in their entirety, you can find the spreadsheet with all its data here.