Editing Cap and Skull

{{Short description|Honor society at Rutgers University, US}}
{{Infobox fraternity
| name = Cap and Skull
| crest = The_logo_of_Cap_and_Skull.png
| image_size = 150px
| founded = {{start date and age|1900|01|18}}–1969; Reestablished 1982
| birthplace = [[Rutgers University]]
| type = Senior society
| affiliation = Independent
| status = Active
| scope = Local
| chapters = 1
| members = 18
| nickname = Skulls
| emphasis = Academics, athletics, the arts, and public service
| motto = ''{{lang|la|Spectemur agendo}}'' <br />"Let us be judged by our actions"
| pillars = Spirit, History, and Tradition
| address = 613 George Street
| city = [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]]
| state = [[New Jersey]]
| ZIP code = 08901
| country = United States
| website = {{url|http://capandskull.org/}}
}}
'''Cap and Skull''' is a co-educational senior [[honor society]] at [[Rutgers University]] in [[New Jersey]]. It was founded on January 18, 1900. Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent on excellence in [[academic]]s, [[Sports|athletics]], the [[arts]], and [[Volunteering|public service]]. The organization considers [[leadership]] and [[Moral character|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]] met in the [[Chi Psi]] lodge to form Cap and Skull.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |last=Gotieb |first=Jason |date=February 10, 1994 |title=Cap and Skull |url=https://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~zj5j-gttl/t940210.htm |access-date=September 19, 2024 |work=The Daily Targum}}</ref> Drawing inspiration from [[Skull and Bones]] and [[Quill and Dagger]], Yale and Cornell's senior class honor societies, Cap and Skull aimed to form a similar honor society at Rutgers.<ref name=":2" />

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.<ref name=":2" />

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.<ref name=":2" /> 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:<ref name=":2" />
# Activities, athletic, and campus
# Scholarship
# Character and service to Rutgers
With the onset of [[World War II]], 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.<ref name=":2" /> In October 1945, members of the administration who were also Cap and Skull members were asked to make nominations for the class of 1946.<ref name=":2" /> 

Cap and Skull resumed the traditional twelve-member selection in 1948.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /> The golden anniversary celebrated the 440 men selected as members of the society during those first fifty years.<ref name=":2" />

===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.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2" />

In November 1990, the Cap and Skull Room was formally leased, solidifying Cap and Skull's physical presence on campus.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Brahms |first=William |author-link=William B. Brahms |title=Cap & Skull Centennial History and Biographical Directory |publisher=Cap and Skull Society |year=2000 |location=[[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]}}</ref>

==Symbols==
The motto of Cap and Skull is ''[[Spectemur agendo]]'' or "Let us be judged by our actions".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Cap and Skull - getINVOLVED |url=https://rutgers.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/capandskull |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=Rutgers University}}</ref> Its pillars are Spirit, History, and Tradition.<ref name=":0" />

==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 [[Rutgers College]] (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 [[academic]]s, [[Sports|athletics]], the [[arts]], and [[Volunteering|public service]]. The organization considers [[leadership]] and [[Moral character|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.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Name
!Initiation 
!Notability
!Reference
|-
|[[Richard H. Askin]]
|1969
|CEO of [[Tribune Entertainment]] and president of [[Samuel Goldwyn Television]]
|<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Skulls |url=http://capandskull.org/#!/skulls |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=Cap & Skull Senior Honor Society}}</ref>
|-
|[[Al Aronowitz]]
|1959
|Writer and friend of [[Allen Ginsberg|Ginsberg]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[Neal Cassady]], [[Amiri Baraka]], and [[George Harrison]]
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=American Legends Interviews..... Al Aronowitz recalls the Beat Generation |url=https://www.americanlegends.com/Interviews/al_aronowitz.htm |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=www.americanlegends.com}}</ref>
|-
|[[Jay M. Bernhardt]]
|1991
|President of [[Emerson College]] 
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Samuel G. Blackman]]
|1927
|Editor with the [[Associated Press]] and reporter who broke the [[Lindbergh kidnapping]] story
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/08/obituaries/samuel-g-blackman-news-executive-90.html "Samuel G. Blackman; News Executive, 90" (obit)], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 8, 1995.</ref>
|-
|[[William B. Brahms]]
|1989
|[[Librarian]], [[encyclopedist]], author, and historian 
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[John J. Byrne]]
|1954
|Chairman and GEO of [[GEICO]] and chairman and CEO of [[White Mountains Insurance Group]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Clifford P. Case]]
|1925
|[[United States Senate]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Jay Chiat]]
|1953
|Founder of [[TBWA/Chiat/Day|TBWA\Chiat\Day]] advertising agency
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Harry Cicma]]
|2004
|Tennis player and sports anchor
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Stanley Norman Cohen]]
|1956
|Pioneer of [[gene splicing]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Robert Cooke (physician)|Robert Cooke]]
|1900
|First researcher to identify [[antihistamines]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[James Dale (activist)|James Dale]]
|1993
|[[Gay rights activist]], and litigant in ''[[Boy Scouts of America v. Dale]]''
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Homer Hazel]]
|1925
|All-American football player and member of the [[College Football Hall of Fame]]
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>[{{College Football HoF/url|id=1386}} "Homer Hazel" at The College Football Hall of Fame] Accessed August 22, 2008.</ref>
|-
|[[Alfred Ellet Hitchner]]
|1904
|Football player and coach,
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Franklyn A, Johnson]]
|1947
|President of [[Jacksonville University]] and [[Southwest Florida College]]
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=1921-2013: Former JU President Franklyn Johnson dies at 91 |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2013/07/25/1921-2013-former-ju-president-franklyn-johnson-dies-91/15819705007/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=The Florida Times-Union |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|[[Robert E. Kelley]]
|1956
|Youngest [[lieutenant general]] in [[US Air Force]] history; superintendent of the [[United States Air Force Academy]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Herb Klein (politician)|Herbert Klein]]
|1951
|[[United States House of Representatives]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Norm Ledgin|Norman M. Ledgin]]
|1950
|Journalist and author
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-07-14 |title=Norm Ledgin, author |url=http://normledgin.com/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714194526/http://normledgin.com/ |archive-date=2011-07-14 }}</ref>
|-
|[[Bob Lloyd (basketball)|Robert E. Lloyd]]
|1967
|Professional basketball player with the [[New York Nets]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[T. David Mazzarella]]
|1962
|Editor of ''[[USA Today]] and'' president of [[Gannett]] International
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-03-02 |title=USA TODAY EDITOR RESIGNS |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/12/16/usa-today-editor-resigns/2aee6e2f-41a1-4812-8473-88bb0605fc3c/ |access-date=2024-09-19 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
|-
|[[Anne Milgram]]
|1992
|[[Attorney general of New Jersey]] 
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Charles Molnar]]
|1956
|Inventor of the [[personal computer]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[David A. Morse]]
|1929
|Director-general of [[International Labour Organization]] who accepted the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1969 on behalf of the ILO
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Bob Nash (American football)|Robert Nash]]
|1916
|First player traded in the [[National Football League]] and the first captain of the [[New York Giants]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Ozzie Nelson]] 
|1927
|Actor known for ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]''
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Richard Newcomb]]
|1936
|Author
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Randal Pinkett]]
|1993
|President and CEO of BCT Partners and winner of [[The Apprentice (US Season 4)|''The Apprentice'' 4]]
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>[http://www.bctpartners.com/ BCT Partners] Accessed August 22, 2008.</ref>
|-
|[[Rebecca Quick]]
|1993
|Anchor for [[CNBC]] ''[[Squawk Box]]''
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Rey Ramsey]]
|1982
|[[Social justice]] [[entrepreneur]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Roland Renne]]
|1927
|President of [[Montana State University-Bozeman]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Paul Robeson]] 
|1919
|[[Bass-baritone]] concert artist, actor, and professional [[American football|football]] player
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>[{{College Football HoF/url|id=1339}} "Paul Robeson" at The College Football Hall of Fame], Accessed August 22, 2008.</ref><ref name="auto"/>
|-
|[[Austin Wakeman Scott]]
|1903
|Professor at [[Harvard Law School]] 
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[John Scudder (physician)|John Scudder]]
|1923
|Physician and research pioneer in the field of blood storage and replacement
|<ref name=":1" />
|-
|[[Walter Spence]] 
|1934
|Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
|<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Spence Brothers (Walter, Leonard, Wallace) |url=http://www.ishof.org/honorees/67/67spencebrothers.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023190649/http://www.ishof.org/honorees/67/67spencebrothers.html |archive-date=October 23, 2007 |access-date=August 22, 2008 |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=[[International Swimming Hall of Fame]]}}</ref>
|-
|[[Dick Standish]]
|1964
|Anchor and reporter on television and radio at [[KYW-TV]] in [[Philadelphia]]
|<ref name=":1" />
|}
==See also==
* [[Honor society]]
* [[Rutgers University student organizations]]
* [[Collegiate secret societies in North America]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://capandskull.org/#!/}}
* [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/09/100370063.pdf 1912 ''The New York Times'' article] on Cap and Skull inductees for the year.

{{Rutgers|New Brunswick}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Student societies in the United States]]
[[Category:Honor societies]]
[[Category:Rutgers University]]
[[Category:Student organizations established in 1900]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Local fraternities and sororities]]