The Pundits

The founder of the Pundits, as an undergraduate at Yale, was the illustrious William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943). Phelps went on to become essentially the leading Humanities scholar in the United States in his day, and an enormously admired professor at Yale. Billy Phelps was, in fact, the original prototype of the star professor, whose lectures were so witty, so brilliant, and entertaining, that attendance at his course became known as a not-to-be-missed feature of the Yale undergraduate experience.[9]

The Full Logo for the Pundits

The Pundits doubtless did not originally hold naked parties, but contented themselves with assembling the wittiest and most brilliant members of the Senior Class for a weekly dinner, and participating in a series of elaborate pranks and lampoons intended to deflate pomposity and pretension among the student body.[8][9]

The society has gained a reputation as "Yale's Merry Pranksters," and has been referred to as "the Antithesis of Skull of Bones."[10] There is a rumor that they possess a secret island located between mainland Canada and the United States, which they use as a hide-out when fleeing the publicity caused by their pranks.

An image of a different version of the Pundits Logo, taken from the Yale Manuscripts and Archives Library's Collection on the History of the Pundits

The society accrued many names during its time, including "The United People's Front of La Pundita."[10] Speculation exists that the contemporary use of the term "Pundit" may have its origins with the Pundits, which developed a reputation for including among its members the school's most incisive and humorous critics of contemporary society. The group's late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century focus on lampooning the social and political world were well-documented in the university's yearbook and the Yale Daily News, the entries of which are considered among the first use of the term "Pundit" to refer to a critic of or expert on contemporary matters.[11][9]

The Pundits select new members among Yale's students every spring, outside of Yale University's normal senior "Tap Day" process. The society values diversity and respect in recruiting its new membership, selecting students who it believes embody its values of love, affection, humor, political commentary, nudity, absurdity, and body-positivity.

Several members of the society have also gone on to become leading political pundits, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author and energy expert Daniel Yergin, and the 68th United States Secretary of State John Kerry. Other notable Yale Pundits include A. Whitney Griswold, Lewis H. Lapham and Joe Lieberman.[11][9]