The Raven's Claw is an all male senior honorary society still in effect
today. It was founded at Dickinson in 1896, making it the first of three
honorary societies unique to Dickinson College; the other two societies,
in order of founding on campus, being Skull
and Key in 1909 and Wheel
and Chain in 1924. Raven's Claw membership is limited to seven senior
men who are selected by the seven previous members. The new members are
chosen based on a variety of factors. These include campus leadership,
a solid academic record, and athletic participation. New members are inducted
in a "Tapping Ceremony" which is held on the "Old Stone Steps of Old West."
The ceremony is traditionally conducted during commencement weekend. They
are called "claws" or "white hats", denoting the white caps they wear to
signify unity and loyalty. In 1934 it consisted of seven student members
and two faculty advisors. The advisors were Wilbur
Norcross and Gilbert Malcom. The students were Wesley Day, John Fowler
Jr., George Hansell, Lloyd Hughes, Benjamin James, Charles Kennedy, and
William Mark. The young men were members of Sigma Chi, Phi Delta Theta,
Beta Theta Pi, Phi Sigma Epsilon, and Phi Kappa Sigma fraternities, representing
a very diverse group of men on campus and showing no signs of bias or exclusiveness
outside of the secretive Raven's Claw society. They were and are a very
loyal group as was witnessed by the societies 100th anniversary celebration
in 1996. The festivities had a huge turnout with the attendance of members
from classes as far back as the 1920's. Claw class of '34 member Benjamin
James served as co-chair of the planning committee of the 100th anniversary
celebration. All in all, the group is very loyal and has been a part of
Dickinson's history for over 100 years.
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Dickinson 1934 is a project of Prof. Osborne's History 204 Class, Fall Semester 2000. |