When I was a freshman here, like most of my classmates, I went out to fraternity parties to see what the campus had to offer on weekend nights. I remember going to a few houses where I had a lot of fun and where the brothers seemed similar to me. However, when Rush week came and I was trying to decide if I should rush a fraternity, I knew that the parties on the weekends would not be the most important factor to consider. Instead, the values of the brothers and the way of life in the houses would sway me most.
Ever since I rushed the sometimes dirty and dingy dwelling that occupies 80 Professors Row, I have been drawn to the tight bonds and the tolerant attitudes among the fraternity's members. There is a closeness that is shared by the brothers here that I have rarely seen elsewhere among other groups of friends. The high level of confidence, trust, and teamwork at Zeta Psi attracted me. The hilarious antics of brothers, such as the famous Bluto, as well as the best parties in and around Tufts also captured me. It is for these reasons that I decided to pledge Zeta Psi.
Whether I am mopping the thick and grimy residue-layered common room floor after a party or throwing a lacrosse ball around on the front lawn, it feels great to be a brother at Zeta Psi. However, it seems that members of the Tufts student body rarely associate this idea of brotherhood with Zeta Psi. Rather, labels such as wild, uncouth and underachieving are connected to our name. Furthermore, it has even been constructed in the minds of some Tufts students that ours is the "date rape" fraternity! I believe these remarks are heinous and show little understanding for our house.
Maybe the halls aren't spotless and maybe there aren't any brass chandeliers to hang from the ceilings, but those things are not a top priority at our fraternity. And I admit that when people walk into our house for the first time, they are sometimes shocked not to find expensive fixtures or whatever other status symbols of which they might think. The atmosphere in our house is a result of the fact that brothers in our house are very unique, and that uniqueness is what fosters our open views and our lack of superficiality and pretentiousness. The value of a brother in our house is measured by his strength of character and by his devotion to the common good of the fraternity. We say and do what we believe, because that is who we are, though maybe that is what scares other students or disengages our relationship with some members of the student body.
As for the whole "date rape" label that we have been branded with, I have no clue as to how this started. It is a ridiculous and most slanderous connotation that is totally unfounded. In addition, I am disgusted when I hear such an ignorant comment. It implies that Zeta Psi is not the friendly and accepting organization that it truly is.
Christopher Kollar is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He is a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.
