The Shifters Club is a Secret society at Wittenberg University. The club was started at Wittenberg by Dr. John Barker in 1932. The club initiates new members depending on whether a person has the "right attitude", and the precise nature of this attitude is known only to the members.
The Shifters pick 15 "pledges" during the spring semester. A pledge class is called a boomer class. In the past, this pledge selection process was called "tapping," because active members approached the prospective pledge, and tapped him or her on the shoulder. When the student acknowledged, each active member bestowed a paper clip from his or her own collection on the boomer, who then followed the group as they continued tapping other members.