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Re: creepy symbolism



Symbols are indeed powerful in our modern life; witness the intense emotions
that are brought to the surface when the Confederate battle flag is
displayed, regardless if it is on a reenactor's mock battlefield, a state
capitol dome, or a yankee truck driver's license plate...

But, returning to the subject at hand, these odd fraternal trappings show up
in a number of university archives and occasionally within the old yearbooks
of the institutions.   I dimly recall at the University of Arkansas there
was such a group that used skulls and crossbones, and there was one here at
Montana Agricultural College (now Montana State University) in the early
decades of the twentieth century.  The important thing to remember as
archivists is that there does not seem to be any racial or religious hatred
associated with groups like this, and we might consider adding such an
adviso to our finding aids when describing such symbols lest our patrons
with shorter attention spans think the worse of us.

Kim (wears an American flag lapel pin these days, which strangely irritates
some colleagues) Scott

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