Ask about the Madison statue. Ask about the financial gifts. Ask about any generous donation the university receives and a string of praise and press releases will follow. But don’t ask about the sundial.
Just east of the Quad, the sundial marks the end of a long walkway that joins the stone plaza with the James Madison statue. In the base of flowerbeds surrounding the feet of Madison, a plaque identifies the statue’s donors. But without a similar plaque at the sundial, identifying its donors gets tricky.
Ask around in the university’s Office of Media Relations. Although they’ll take the time to check, there’s no press release to find. Business Services will try, but they say there’s not much to tell. Give the school’s spokesman a go and Andy Perrine will tell you he’s not much help either. But students are. Ask them and you’ll find answers — because students are, after all, the donors of the gift.
| From the Author: By May 6, 2006, the members of Madison's secret society won't be so secret. They'll attend graduation bearing the infinity symbol of the society emblazoned on their lapels with pins. Others will flash their tattoo to friends and family, divulging their membership in IN8, a society that has committed itself to honoring the university's diligent and dedicated. Until then, we'll be paranoid. It stands to reason that anybody in JMU's community of 16,000 could be a member. It's a gigantic student body to weed through and one that will, at least on the surface, produce few leads. And that's where this story began -- in whispers and rumors, with no obvious source to seek. But, eventually, the leads came. Our pursuit led us to Madison's alumni -- one of the few demographics willing and able to speak on the society. Lyndsey Walther-Thomas, a 2004 graduate, and Tom Culligan, a 2005 grad, both were members. They shed some light on how IN8's secrecy serves it mission of honoring others. Throughout the year, the society writes anonymous thank you letters and aims to record the experiences of students with journals that are circulated through the student body. But there's also a lot they, and other sources interviewed for this story, couldn't answer. Some things, they explain, are just meant to remain secret. Read on for the mystery that is IN8. |
