OBC (secret Society) - Significance

Significance

OBC is the oldest known secret society operating at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Its historical significance lies not as heavily in its existence as a secret society, but as an academically-oriented society in favor of a liberal arts curriculum, as amongst North Carolina's many higher education institutions, UNCA is the only designated liberal arts institution in the UNC system.

Historically, the group is also suggested to have been responsible for keeping the college afloat during the long years of economic instability following the Depression, and for the construction of bomb shelters beneath many of the academic buildings during the Cold War. They are held to have begun the traditional autumnal ceremony of the Turning of the Maples, now hosted by the Alumni Office, in 1969 under the administration of Chancellor William E. Highsmith, to showcase the beauty of the campus.

Today, the society is accredited with a wide range of activities, from major financial donations to minor humorous pranks. The completed construction of the newest building on the University of North Carolina at Asheville campus, Zeis Hall, is reported to have been possible only thanks to the donation of a large sum of money from the society. The symbol believed to be linked to the society, a large letter B surrounded by a circle with two hash marks at 45 and 135 degrees, appears on buildings and sidewalks in out-of-the-way locations on campus approximately once every semester. Most recently, the group is publicly held to be the source of the nickname "Chan Anne" for current (2005- ) UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder.