The Order of Skull and Bones, once known as The Brotherhood of Death, is a senior or secret society based at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. The society's alumni organization, which owns its properties and oversees all the organization's activity, is known as the Russell Trust Association (R.T.A.), and is named after one of Bones' founding members. In conversation, the group is known as "Bones", and members have been known as "Bonesmen".Skull and Bones is known for its secrecy. Mid-nineteenth century Yale enjoyed the presence of freshmen, sophomore and junior societies. Undergraduates then, with their fickled allegiances, would share the rites and practices of their class society upon elevation within the undergraduate ranks. When seniors departed campus, little verifiable information was left about the rites and practices of the senior or secret societies, particularly Bones, then Scroll and Key, and then Wolf's Head. George W. Bush described his experience as "so secret we can't talk about it". When asked what it meant that he and Bush were both Bonesmen, former presidential candidate, and current U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry said, "Not much because it's a secret".