There are many collegiate secret societies in North America. They vary greatly in their level of secrecy and the degree of independence from their universities. A collegiate secret society makes a significant effort to keep affairs, membership rolls, signs of recognition, initiation, or other aspects secret from the public.
Some collegiate secret societies are called "class societies", which restrict membership to one class year. Most class societies are restricted or limited to senior class members, and are therefore called senior societies on many campuses. Some include junior class members, hence, upperclassmen and women. There is no strict rule on the categorization of secret societies, although a secret membership role is key.
Secret societies can have ceremonial initiations , secret signs of recognition gestures, handshakes , passwords , formal secrets the 'true' name of the society, a motto, or society history. Traditional college fraternities or sororities, literary societies, honorary groups, and pre-professional fraternal can have similarly secret rituals but do not keep their membership secret.
Some secret societies have kept their membership secret until graduation; others never reveal membership until death. One key concept in distinguishing secret societies from traditional fraternities and sororities is that, on campuses that have both kinds of organizations, one can be a member of both. That is, membership is not mutually exclusive. Usually, being a member of more than one traditional fraternity or sorority is not considered appropriate, because that member would have divided loyalties.
However, typically, there is no issue with being a member of a secret society and a fraternity, because they are not considered similar organizations or competing organizations. Many secret societies exist as honoraries on one campus and may have been actual meeting societies at one time, kept alive by one or two dedicated local alumni or an alumni affairs or dean's office person, who see to it that an annual initiation is held every year.
