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While Yale University's Skull and Bones Society lacks an official web site, it does have its own Yahoo! Category. The shadowy collegiate cabal has received a fair amount of press over the last decade, owing to its illustrious members. Little is actually known about Skull and Bones, though much has been written. We know it was co-founded in 1833 by the father of future president William Howard Taft. The secret order is housed in a grim mausoleum-like
building on the Yale campus. Fifteen new members are chosen, or "tapped," every year, but are active only during their senior year. Rumored hazing rituals include mud wrestling and a recitation of one's sexual history while lying in a coffin. Members are said to receive a sizeable chunk of cash upon graduation. Conspiracy theories aside, it seems highly likely that Skull and Bones is an old boy network -- the older members, or "patriarchs," help the younger with jobs and such. Notable "bonesmen" include conservative columnist William F. Buckley, ex-Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas
Brady, Morgan Stanley co-founder Harold Stanley, and Senator John Kerry.
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