Scarabbean Senior Society

The son of the university president Brown Ayres, he desired to form a group that could incorporate leaders in various campus organizations to work together better and coordinate on improving student life.

Symbols of membership were purported to be a tattoo, control of pupil dilation, and knowledge of secrets relating to colors and the passage of time [citation needed].

The group established the All-Students Club, now called the Student Government Association, in 1919, along with the Carnicus and the All-Sing Competition.

The society also created the university's Interfraternity Council predecessor, the Fraternity Relations Board [citation needed].

[3] The group is also responsible for several university traditions, such as the Alma Mater, the Torchbearer symbol, Aloha Oe, and Torch Night.

In the spring of 1921 in an initiative driven by the Society, students and faculty leveled the field, dug drainage ditches, and added other improvements to finish the project.

It was said that a student's time at the university and in society could be, “an experience where he can activate his spirit in the direction of improving his moral and emotional nature; where he can learn something from the stout-bodied scarab beetle – a symbol of his resurrection.” The scarab beetle and crossed swords are also used as part of the society's logo.

Other references to ancient Egypt include invoking “Bubastis” and the titles “Worthy Osiris” and "Amenophis III," which are leadership positions within the society.

It is either wholly or partly responsible for many events, traditions, and activities in student life, athletics, and academics, although the secret nature of the society makes the exact extent of its involvement unknown.

Purportedly, the group connected student leaders and university administrators, who would choose members to discuss possible improvements[citation needed].

On the SGA discussion page, students continually posted about the Scarabs, claiming the Society to be a major conspiracy.

[21] In an interview for the article, UT-Martin chancellor Keith Carver said he was a member of the organization but had not been involved since his undergraduate graduation.