Inside Skull and No Bone Society
A look at one of Simon's Rock's newest clubs
by Robin Caskey | Llama Ledger Staff
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: News
If you're anything like Junior Jo Albert, stuck on campus and bored out of your mind, you might find yourself saying, despite your homework load, "What the f*ck am I going to do today?"
"He used to say it twenty times every five minutes," Junior C.J. Foss, Albert's housemate says.
Only Albert, however, would think of creating the Skull and No Bone Society, Simon's Rock's "only club dedicated to sexual frustration," as Albert puts it.
The Skull and No Bone Society was founded towards the end of October this semester, spearheaded by founder Jo Albert and charter member Foss. The two were convinced the group would speak to one of the student body's core social issues--sex, or the lack thereof.
But the first meeting, scheduled for a Saturday evening and to be held in Albert and Foss's Mod, didn't go quite as planned.
"It's a funny story, actually, because nobody showed up. Actually, that's not true. Two people showed up but they were 45 minutes late," Foss recounts.
Upon investigating further, the pair discovered that it wasn't due to a lack of interest that the first meeting had failed so miserably. "People thought we were going to rape them," Foss laughs.
Since switching the meeting place to the Sprague Formal Lounge, the Society has been running quite smoothly. According to sophomore and current Society President Andre Diehl, the group attracts about thirty students every meeting, including ten core members that show up to most meetings.
This type of turnout means the Skull and No Bone Society would be one of Simon's Rock's most popular on-campus clubs. If only the Society was an actual club, that is.
"We don't have a faculty or staff advisor," Diehl says, although, according to Foss, Campus Activities Director Valerie Fanarjian is hugely supportive of the society's efforts.
They don't have a charter, or a set of concrete rules, either. According to Diehl, Foss and Albert, the only rule focuses on membership eligibility.
"You can't be a member if you've had sex in the last five days, because that's how long a camel can survive without water in the summer," Diehl says.
To be an officer, the rules are a little stricter. "To be an officer you can't have had sex in the last fifty days," Foss says, because, apparently, that's how long a camel can survive without water in the winter. Recently, Albert was forced to abdicate and passed the presidency to Diehl, because even the president of the Society is subject to its rules.
The real reason the Society isn't a legitimate club is because of its subject matter. The club, which centers around a weekly discussion addressing the sex lives (or, once again, the lack thereof) of its members, directly violates the College's Sexual Harassment policy.
"Right here, on page 44," Albert says, indicating the policy in the College's Student Handbook. "'Examples of behaviors that violate the College's policies are,'" he reads, "'sexual epithets, jokes, or gossip regarding an individual's sex life; comments about an individual's body, or comments about one's own or another's sexual activity, deficiencies, or prowess.'"
Diehl, Foss and Albert aren't worried about sexual harassment, though. "I definitely think this serves a need on campus. It's nice to know that you're not alone, when, you know, you're alone," Foss comments.
Despite what some people think, the Society isn't a matchmaking service, Foss says. "We're not about setting up lonely people with lonely people. Our members can do that on their own time, like at ten, when the meetings end."
The common misconception that it's a boys' group doesn't bother the members, either. "Actually, the membership is really reflective of the student body. Most days, the majority of the turnout are girls," Diehl says.
The most awkward and difficult part of every meeting, surprisingly, isn't any of these factors. According to Albert, it's the introductions. New members are asked to introduce themselves and then are asked to say something clever. Anything clever. "It's like pulling teeth sometimes," Albert grins.
So, how does the Skull and No Bone Society stack up to other clubs on campus geared towards the disillusioned, downtrodden and socially frustrated student?
"I think we resemble Inadequacy Club in the sense that we're about being inept," Foss, who happens to be a founding member of that club, also, says.
"But we're inept in a very specific area, as opposed to being inept in general."
The Society, too, shares Inadequacy Club's lack of direction and goals. "I guess our only goal is that, eventually, we'll stop meeting because there won't be a need," Albert says.
"But you can't really call that a goal, because it means our own end. And also, we're not really doing anything to work towards that," he says, hinting, once again at the Society's overarching theme of incompetency, a sentiment, it seems, that hits close to home among this college's student body.
The Skull and No Bone Society meets Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. in the Sprague Formal Lounge.
Contact the author: rcaskey@llamaledger.com
"He used to say it twenty times every five minutes," Junior C.J. Foss, Albert's housemate says.
Only Albert, however, would think of creating the Skull and No Bone Society, Simon's Rock's "only club dedicated to sexual frustration," as Albert puts it.
The Skull and No Bone Society was founded towards the end of October this semester, spearheaded by founder Jo Albert and charter member Foss. The two were convinced the group would speak to one of the student body's core social issues--sex, or the lack thereof.
But the first meeting, scheduled for a Saturday evening and to be held in Albert and Foss's Mod, didn't go quite as planned.
"It's a funny story, actually, because nobody showed up. Actually, that's not true. Two people showed up but they were 45 minutes late," Foss recounts.
Upon investigating further, the pair discovered that it wasn't due to a lack of interest that the first meeting had failed so miserably. "People thought we were going to rape them," Foss laughs.
Since switching the meeting place to the Sprague Formal Lounge, the Society has been running quite smoothly. According to sophomore and current Society President Andre Diehl, the group attracts about thirty students every meeting, including ten core members that show up to most meetings.
This type of turnout means the Skull and No Bone Society would be one of Simon's Rock's most popular on-campus clubs. If only the Society was an actual club, that is.
"We don't have a faculty or staff advisor," Diehl says, although, according to Foss, Campus Activities Director Valerie Fanarjian is hugely supportive of the society's efforts.
They don't have a charter, or a set of concrete rules, either. According to Diehl, Foss and Albert, the only rule focuses on membership eligibility.
"You can't be a member if you've had sex in the last five days, because that's how long a camel can survive without water in the summer," Diehl says.
To be an officer, the rules are a little stricter. "To be an officer you can't have had sex in the last fifty days," Foss says, because, apparently, that's how long a camel can survive without water in the winter. Recently, Albert was forced to abdicate and passed the presidency to Diehl, because even the president of the Society is subject to its rules.
The real reason the Society isn't a legitimate club is because of its subject matter. The club, which centers around a weekly discussion addressing the sex lives (or, once again, the lack thereof) of its members, directly violates the College's Sexual Harassment policy.
"Right here, on page 44," Albert says, indicating the policy in the College's Student Handbook. "'Examples of behaviors that violate the College's policies are,'" he reads, "'sexual epithets, jokes, or gossip regarding an individual's sex life; comments about an individual's body, or comments about one's own or another's sexual activity, deficiencies, or prowess.'"
Diehl, Foss and Albert aren't worried about sexual harassment, though. "I definitely think this serves a need on campus. It's nice to know that you're not alone, when, you know, you're alone," Foss comments.
Despite what some people think, the Society isn't a matchmaking service, Foss says. "We're not about setting up lonely people with lonely people. Our members can do that on their own time, like at ten, when the meetings end."
The common misconception that it's a boys' group doesn't bother the members, either. "Actually, the membership is really reflective of the student body. Most days, the majority of the turnout are girls," Diehl says.
The most awkward and difficult part of every meeting, surprisingly, isn't any of these factors. According to Albert, it's the introductions. New members are asked to introduce themselves and then are asked to say something clever. Anything clever. "It's like pulling teeth sometimes," Albert grins.
So, how does the Skull and No Bone Society stack up to other clubs on campus geared towards the disillusioned, downtrodden and socially frustrated student?
"I think we resemble Inadequacy Club in the sense that we're about being inept," Foss, who happens to be a founding member of that club, also, says.
"But we're inept in a very specific area, as opposed to being inept in general."
The Society, too, shares Inadequacy Club's lack of direction and goals. "I guess our only goal is that, eventually, we'll stop meeting because there won't be a need," Albert says.
"But you can't really call that a goal, because it means our own end. And also, we're not really doing anything to work towards that," he says, hinting, once again at the Society's overarching theme of incompetency, a sentiment, it seems, that hits close to home among this college's student body.
The Skull and No Bone Society meets Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. in the Sprague Formal Lounge.
Contact the author: rcaskey@llamaledger.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
I.
posted 12/03/08 @ 8:39 PM EST
Jo Albert had to abdicate?
=[
L
posted 12/04/08 @ 11:02 PM EST
This is quite possibly my favorite article ever published in the Llama Ledger.
anon
posted 12/11/08 @ 4:52 PM EST
"People thought we were going to rape them," Foss laughs.
......NOT FUNNY.
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