Talk:Wolf's Head (secret society)/Archive 1

Cash Warren and Jessica Alba
I read somewhere within wikipedia a question on the uptick in visits to this entry. Google searches of the society yield news that a member is married to a "heartthrob". I suggest those curious about the "lucky" guy have visited the entry.SLY111 (talk) 20:18, 22 February 2013 (UTC)SLY111

Comments
Both Berzelius and Wolf's Head are said to be the "third-oldest secret society at Yale". Someone needs to research this before it can be said on either page. -- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.132.198.208 (talk • contribs) 22:47, 26 March 2006

Thank you Cornell 2010, and good luck in 2007! ````SLY111

Look to cap WHS notables at 40, and it will change over time. The famous E.A. Merritt, mentioned in the article, makes 41 in total, but in the notables, a Top 40 will be listed. ````SLY111 The Notable list now numbers 53. It deserves trimming to 40, and I'm working on it.SLY111 (talk) 15:54, 9 June 2008 (UTC)SLY111

Third oldest society debate:
Berzelius was founded in 1848 and Wolf's Head was founded in 1883, so Berzelius is clearly an older institution. Nevertheless, there is a good reason why Wolf's Head claims to be the third oldest. Back when these societies were founded, Yale was actually made up of two different institutions - Yale College, which taught classics, social sciences and the humanities, and Sheffield Scientific School, which taught natural science. Berzelius was founded as a final club at Sheffield Scientific School and did not convert to a "senior society" of Yale College until 1933. Wolf's Head, on the other hand, was founded as a senior society from the get-go. Technically speaking, that would make Wolf's Head the third oldest senior society, and Berzelius would be the fifth oldest (behind Elihu, which was founded in 1903 as a senior society). Various factual and fictional accounts of Yale College in the early 20th century show that Yale College students did not recognize Berzelius or Book and Snake as senior societies. Owen Johnson's novel "Stover at Yale," for example, shows that Yale College students in the 1890's were concerned only with Bones, Keys, and Wolf's Head, even though both Berzelius (Colony) and Book and Snake (Cloister) were already in existence. The distinction between "Sheff societies" and senior societies is nonexistent nowadays, and Yale students are mainly concerned with "tombed" societies (societies with their own buildings), including Bones, Keys, Wolf's Head, Berzelius, Book and Snake, Elihu, Manuscript, Mace and Chain, St. Elmo, and the "unnamed" society, more commonly referred to as Hale Foundation. -- — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gotgc9191 (talk • contribs) 07:21, 14 June 2006

Discussion of Freemasonry should occur more often when the societies at Yale or Dartmouth or anywhere in American collegiate life are discussed. Granted, it's a Phd mother lode of discussion, but with a shovel....SLY111

Tone
This article needs to be rewritten in an encyclopedic style. Right now, it reads like boosterism with a lot POV and weasel words. Some citations would be nice as well. Some examples:
 * "Then as now, some observers suspect the ultimate purposes of any secret society." (weasel words)
 * "The society system distinguishes Yale among American universities with global gravity." (distinguishes how? what is 'global gravity'?)
 * "To be frank, and to paraphrase a knowledgeable alumnus and former Boston mayoral hopeful: WHS stands in relation to Bones as the Boston Red Sox stand in relation to the New York Yankees. To continue the comparison, Keys could be considered the St. Louis Cardinals: in a different "league" than the other two, with more acclaim than one competitor but less than the other." ('To be frank'? An encyclopedia should always be frank. Which alumnus are you referring to? Why so coy? Shouldn't he be quoted, rather than paraphrased? As it is, it's POV. A direct quotation and citation would fix this. It probably needs to be explained further for the majority of our readers who aren't baseball fans. Remember, this is a global encyclopedia.)

There are many other examples, but you get the idea. --dm (talk) 15:29, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Thank you to each editorial voice. Hopeful to cap "Notables" at 45 (3 (for Big Three) x 15 (all-male delegation before coeducation among said groups)). Once I complete research on founding (summer weekends are ripe for such work), I'll edit accordingly, and when someone wins the Nobel Peace Prize....SLY111 17:02, 21 May 2007 (UTC)SLY111

WP:V
Everything here needs to meet our verifiability standard. Anything that does not, will be removed. Thanks. --John (talk) 18:45, 29 September 2009 (UTC)
 * WP:BLP is also a consideration here. --John (talk) 18:35, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Diversity
Who, without trail, "killed" content and attempts to restore content on when society tapped its first Jewish, African, African-American, female, etc. undergraduate members? Though the Membership text reads excellently, it does so seemingly as a function of an agenda. SLY111 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.66.31.24 (talk) 18:14, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

The Wolf's Head Halls
This was removed without discussion or edit summary from the section:
 * James Gamble Rogers, who designed Harkness Tower and the Memorial Quadrangle among other buildings at Yale and other buildings for Ed Harkness, wasn't offered the commission for the "New Hall" given his membership in another society

I thought this wording helps a little:
 * James Gamble Rogers, designer of Harkness Tower, Memorial Quadrangle, and others at Yale and for Ed Harkness, was not offered "New Hall", as a member of another society.[1]

and mumble mumble about the Society's insularity...

--Lexein (talk) 07:50, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

VigilantCitizen.com
Without naming the author, the source is of dubious reliability, this interview notwithstanding. --Lexein (talk) 15:05, 4 August 2011 (UTC)

Why...
were the excised members restored?SLY111 (talk) 16:51, 31 August 2011 (UTC)SLY111
 * As far as I can see, none were restored. This series of edits seems to be all you. I was actually curious if you were checking the extant sources before deleting... --Lexein (talk) 18:37, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

smokershistory.com
This is used as a source for two members, but it is a deeply partisan site which cannot be considered reliable. Please find better sources. This site is a  candidate for blacklisting, really. --Lexein (talk) 07:12, 7 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Clarification in italics above. I was referring to Spam blacklist, a mechanism for preventing spam URLs from being used in refs. --Lexein (talk) 14:39, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 04:50, 24 July 2016 (UTC)

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