Wheeling Jesuit University/Groups/Board of Governors
The Wheeling Jesuit University Board of Governors is a powerful and highly secretive organisation that has controlled a significant amount of Wheeling Jesuit University for thousands of years. The Board of Governors has no direct affiliation with any one individual or group. Instead, its agenda revolves around ensuring that Wheeling Jesuit University continues to exist until the very end of the Jesuit Wars, where it is said that whether the Society of Jesus or the Jesuit Resistance comes out the winner, the victorious faction will control the universe.
The highly sensitive nature of the Board of Governors' operations makes study of their movements and involvement throughout history difficult and fragmented at best, but reports leaked from meetings and former members as well as information stolen from resistance groups has brought their movements to light in recent years. They have played a significant role in almost every event that has transpired on Wheeling Jesuit University soil and to members of the community.
Role[edit]
Overtly, the WJU Board of Governors' primary function is to the aid in the selection of presidents on the school. In some cases, such as with the decision to "hire" Io the Invincible in 1899, this decision-making process has been more direct. Other times, such as with the return of Immortal Jesuit Emperor Fed Acker Huang or with the ceasing of power by the Council of About Twenty Dudes and Two Hot Chicks, the Board of Governors deliberately stepped aside in order to allow for more peaceful transitions.
The WJU Board of Governors also acts as a final "check" on primary campus operatives, including Residence Life, Financial Aid, ITS, and others. Occasionally, the Board of Governors has pressed down hard against organisations that attempt to push an agenda that they deem to run contrary to what they feel is the proper direction of the university. The overseeing of student organisations such as The Infallibles, COSBI, and the WJU Civitan is usually left to the Vice-President of Student Affairs (currently Great White Mother), although the Board of Governors has had to step in on more than one instance in order to stop catastrophic events that threatened to tear apart the school (such as the war between The Purifyers and the Terrorists' Network in 1351).
Several organisations, however, have succeeded in functioning outside of the Board of Governors' influence. Naturally, the Society of Jesus and the Jesuit Resistance are not subject to the whims of the Board of Governors. Father Bantufavi, the 8th president of WJU, was even able to place the Board under his control for the duration of his presidency. The Council of Light and the League of Evil have both succeeded in achieving partial autonomy in terms of pushing their own agenda, although it has been suggested that the centuries-old conflict between these two organisations has been masterminded by the Board of Governors itself in order to create rallying points to draw attention away from their own movements.
History[edit]
Early History[edit]
The early history of the Board of Governors is hazy, but most evidence points to the founding of the group sometime between 350 and 400 A.D. Ironically, the Board of Governors itself began as a rebel group that secretly opposed Fed Acker Huang, the then-ruler of Wheeling College Slave Colony. Although their activities were mostly limited to low-level terrorist activities such as attacks on supply ships and murders of members of the Old Campus Insecurity. Most notably, the rebel group almost succeeded in destroyed the Domus Aurea by diverting the waters of Big Wheeling Creek into the university in 461 A.D. Those who took part in this operation were rounded up and forced to drink from Big Wheeling Creek before being tied face-up, naked, to a small canoe and floated out to the Ohio River.
After Fed Acker Huang was ripped from Normal Continuity in 480 A.D., their organisational structure became more rigid. Around 500 A.D., in the absence of a true leader, the formed the first incarnation of the Board of Governors, taking care of the day-to-day operations of the slave colony.
Establishing the Board[edit]
Due to scarcity of resources and manpower, the Board of Governors' accomplishments remained modest during the first few centuries of secret reign, although notable projects such as the construction of the Library of the Damned and the Bookstore of the People still bear their legacy to present day.
The Board of Governors was also instrumental in aiding the Jesuit Resistance in setting up their headquarters at Wheeling College. Father Stark himself, along with fellow resistance member Servabot, brokered a deal with the Board of Governors that allowed for the establishment of the resistance headquarters in West Virginia. The Board of Governors would repeatedly use this fact throughout history as leverage against both the Society of Jesus and the Vatican.
During the first wave of the French and Indian War (often confused with the later French and Indian War over British and French acquisitions in North America), the Board of Governors allowed British forces to gain control of Wheeling College in 1280 to fight against the unlikely alliance of French and Native American soldiers. In return, the British agreed to send grain to the slave colony but, more importantly, the French were forced to control West Liberty State College, giving the British a sudden advantage in terms intellectual quality of natives, allowing them victory. This move is considered to be the first example of the Board of Governors manipulating external events for the benefit of the college. It would certainly not be the last.
Backstabbing and Betrayal 101[edit]
The Board of Governors was always quick to switch allegiances when a more powerful force came along. Hence, they betrayed the British in 1310, allowing the Dschinghis Khan protectorate free passage into Wheeling College, where they slaughtered the retreating Europeans. In return, the Board of Governors saw their slave colony evolve into an institute of higher learning, ushering in a new age of science, culture, and boozing. The Board of Governors was quick to fill many staff positions with key allies, most notably Job, a Jesuit, for the post has head of the philosophy department. As the protectorate consolidated power in Wheeling College, the Board of Governors' operations became more and more secretive, and their public duties became less administrative and more figurehead-like in nature, although they still retained control of the important duty of selection of the president. The Board of Governors worked closely with the Dschinghis Khan protectorate and the Jesuit Resistance, allowing Wheeling College to grow.
Then, when Fed Acker Huang broke free from his transdimensional prison in 1683, the Board of Governors began to slowly change their tune in favour of the Society of Jesus, whose resurgence they brilliantly anticipated. Beginning with the Wet Salmon Conflict in 1714, the Board of Governors began a series of secret betrayals aimed at making the protectorate look weak. By the 19th century, the crumbling Ottoman Empire (also anticipated by the Board) forced the protectorate to slowly withdraw their forces, allowing the Board of Governors to place Jesuits into power. Although this greatly angered the Jesuit Resistance, they were bound by Father Stark's promise (which he has since stated was "a huge fucking mistake") to remain. Although Stark himself was able to place a resistance member, Father Jazzman, as the first Jesuit president of Wheeling College in 1872, this trend would not follow.
Modern Times[edit]
Resurgence of Jesuit activity in the 20th century has increased the intensity of the Board of Governors' activities. The rise of student organisations such as The Infallibles in 1855, the Justice Association in 1910, the Young National Bocialists Club in 1939, and the Churchill Society, Wheeling in 2002 have made monitoring of campus activities critical. The Board of Governors has rarely stepped in between League of Evil and Council of Light conflicts, although the Infinity Saga in 2005 and both Stallitron V Incidents have caused the Board to question their policy of non-involvement. They were also very forceful in their selections of both El Presidente and Don Immortal due to the key necessity of not allowing another power vacuum to form.
Membership[edit]
The membership of the Board of Governors is a closely-guarded secret, and few things are known about who the members truly are. The Board of Governors is said to be a conglomerate of about 20 to 30 individuals, some of which are rumoured to possess metahuman abilities. A member of the Board of Governors must not be related to any member of the Wheeling Jesuit University community - student, faculty, or otherwise - and must have a pet. This last criteria is confusing, but one hypothesis offered is that secrets are transferred into the minds of an animal for storage and retrieval, and the animal is destroyed should a Governor leave the Board - whether by choice or by force.