Fox & Hound

The Fox & Hound Society is a secret society based at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The society is officially organized as the F&H Trust Association.

History

The date the Fox and Hound society was founded is not clear. Claims have been made that the group is an offshoot of the older British societies at the Oxbridge university system. Rumors speculate that the society is heavily international with members from a few affluent European and corporate American families.

From on-campus rumors, the society currently has about 30 members from all undergraduate levels and schools and inducts about 10 freshman students towards the end of spring semester, after most traditional fraternities have concluded their pledging process. Newly inducted members are called “Members.” Members meet in the “Fox House” on Wednesday evenings of each week over the course of their undergraduate term. Unlike other University of Pennsylvania groups, the sharing of a personal history is the key for members in the society. Members are assigned a nickname; it is understood but unsubstantiated that each member "carries on a line" in the society, and that each line is assigned a name. Other associations at other Ivy league institutions practice this tradition. Skull and Bones at Yale University has names that are associated with Roman mythology, while it is said that at Scroll and Key the names are associated with Greek mythology, and with Egyptian mythology at Wolf's Head.

Trivia

* Membership is supposed to be completely secret, with very few people knowing the identity of the members. Although it is not perfect and the current members are relatively known by acquaintances and friends of members.

* Claims are made that Fox and Hound is a branch of other secret societies based at the University of Cambridge

* Alternatively rumors around campus also state that the society was recently started by Wharton alumni from the University of Pennsylvania working for consulting/banking group Blackstone.

* Tax records show an endowment of several thousand dollars, although there has been a substantial augmentation from records of the previous year.

* In addition to financing its own activities, Fox and Hounds also throws lavish ministry of sound-themed parties in downtown Philadelphia subcontracting promotion and management to acquaintances and friends of current members.