Hillsdale’s American Men of God Society U.S. (A.M.O.G.U.S.) chapter officially disbanded on Feb. 1 after a roughly three-month experiment in self-government.
The club’s name is a joke based on the hit online game “Among Us,” in which crewmates complete tasks on a spaceship while trying to uncover the identity of the “Impostor,” a role secretly assigned to one player at the beginning of the game. Any player acting suspicious, or “sus,” as it’s said in the game, risks being voted out.
The society was initially formed in pursuit of acquiring what is referred to colloquially as the “track table” in Knorr Family Dining Hall. Every Monday during the lunch hour a small laminated card reading “The A.M.O.G.U.S Society” sat atop the coveted location.
“It’s an ideal location because we have the food really close to the table, but it’s not so close to the door that you get all the cold air when it’s open,” sophomore Shura Ermakov said. “It’s also one of the larger seating areas.”
The society had an initiation process and a leadership board. During the ceremony, new members placed their hands on the salt shaker and said the lengthy oath borrowed from Reddit.
“There is a swearing in thing you have to do,” junior and former member Judith Allison said. “I don’t really know what it is. I didn’t do it. I didn’t need to swear in. I was just like, ‘I am now part of this.’”
According to former chancellor of the club freshman Donny McArdle, some of the various leadership positions included “the Mystical Prince,” held by freshman Mark Sprague, and “Chief Ponderer of Orbs,” a position held by freshman Alex Mitchell.
“Alex Mitchell is the one who ponders orbs,” McArdle said. “Micah VanderKooi — I forget his official title — something about finances. Those are probably the key players at the moment.”
“The A.M.O.G.U.S Society isn’t an organization formed for a particular purpose or activity,” McArdle said. “It’s different for each of our members. It’s very specific to what each person wants to get out of it. And one of the main goals of the group is just to really focus on that.”
The chapter contemplated big plans of international expansion before disbanding. A.M.O.G.S.A (South Africa chapter), A.M.O.G.B.A, (Barbados chapter) and A.M.O.G.U.K. (British chapter) were some of the names discussed.
The acronym was also malleable in terms of the “M,” since not all members were men.
“Sometimes we refer to the females as ‘The A.W.O.G.U.S Society,’ so it’s really not exclusive,” Ermakov said. “Some females like myself have even been given positions in the society. I’m technically a spokesperson now.”
While the A.M.O.G.U.S Society has finished its tasks for the last time, they will always be among us. McArdle sent an exclusive statement regarding their termination.
“The A.M.O.G.U.S. Society was exposed as fraudulent and, therefore, exiled to northern Albania where there are no salt shakers for initiation rituals,” McArdle said. “A.M.O.G.U.S. was sus. We vented and have been voted out; gone but never forgotten.”