The attempt on the part of these groups to create an aristocracy based on gender, race, old money and blue-blooded lineage is increasingly difficult now that the Ivy League has made a concerted effort to foster equality and diversity and to increase the availability of financial aid.

The ability of these secret organizations to secure power and prestige for themselves through their connections only ensures mediocrity at the highest levels of achievement. The best and the brightest who lack these connections would not necessarily receive a coveted law school acceptance if these societies had their way. Luckily, nowadays, while the sexism and elitism of the societies was accurately portrayed in The Skulls, their influence was clearly over-dramatized.

Despite the contrived plot and deus-ex-machina ending, The Skulls, possibly unwittingly, demonstrates how there is clearly no place for these exclusive, self-interested groups on a modern campus.

Allison A. Melia is a first-year living in Canaday Hall.