Scarabbean Senior Society

The Scarabbean Secret Society, with members known as “Scarabs,” is an honor society at the University of Tennessee. The group, established in 1915, has operated largely in secrecy despite being either wholly or partly responsible for many events, traditions, and activities in student life, athletics, and academics. The group’s motto is “To Be Nameless in Worthy Deeds.”

The idea of the group first came to John Ayres (’15), the son of the University President Brown Ayres. He desired to form a group that could incorporate leaders in various campus organizations to better work together and coordinate on improving student life. He approached two faculty members for help, Elliot Park Frost and George Hebert Clarke, and the group was formed. The Scarabbean Senior Secret Society looked at many different areas in the University and then sought ways to improve conditions.

It created, influenced, and encouraged the formation/construction of many features of student life, most of which are still felt today. The group established All-Students Club, now called the Student Government Association, in 1919. It started both Carnicus and the All-Sing Competition. The Society also created the predecessor the University’s Interfraternity Council, the Fraternity Relations Board.

After its early years, the group continued its impact at the school. It strongly supported the formation of the University Center and spiritual retreats. It also started, both in 1965, the school’s current student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, and the student activities fee to help pay for it and other endeavors. The group is also responsible for several University traditions, such as the Alma Mater, the Torchbearer symbol, Aloha Oe, and Torch Night. In recent years, little is known about what the group has been involved in although a few things are known. It launched the Honors Ambassador’s Program to better recruit students and the Student Gift Committee, leading to the addition of University history onto the pedestrian walkway and the clock tower near the main library, among other things. It also used its alumni to set up a teaching award at the university, the L.R. Hesler Award.

Perhaps its most visible contribution to the university from its early years is Neyland Stadium. When the University started to build a new athletic field, the school ran out of money and could not finish the project. However, during a Society meeting, it was decided that the students and faculty could help finish the construction. So in the Spring of 1921, students and faculty leveled the field, dug drainage ditches, and added other improvements. Thus the new athletic field, Shields-Watkins Field, was now finished.

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