Deep in the heart of Wren Hall lies a hidden gem of brotherhood. Some may think of a suite as just a place to live, but the boys of the Wren 430s prefer to think of their home on the Hill as a fraternity.
Individually, they are a cluster of sophomore and junior boys, but together, they are Da Kewl Krew or Delta Kappa Kappa (DKK).
It all started when sophomore Harrison Stamell gave a title to the spreadsheet he created so the boys could snag a suite in Wren.
"I gave it a lot of thought," Stamell said. "I was trying to think of what label could describe this group of people — this smorgasbord of people of great variety — and one thing that tied us together was that we were all cool and we were all in a crew."
The name didn't stick immediately, but soon they picked it up again.
"It was revived when we threw a frat-themed party … and we were trying to put up letters on the door," sophomore Bradley Starr said. "We were playing around with different ideas, and then somebody said, ‘Wait a minute — DKK!' and the rest is history."
The brothers of DKK have expanded upon the traditions they signed up for by decorating their common room as their ideal version of a fraternity.
"The theme is themeless," junior Gene Kurtysh said. "I feel the spontaneity makes it so interesting, because you can come here every day and be so entertained by what you're looking at."
The seating is ample, the walls are adorned with a variety of artwork and different doodads are scattered throughout. The suite has an eclectic feel as almost everything was either found or made by a brother, such as the vertical DKK sign that hangs to the side of the window.
"It all began last year with a party where we decided to drink 100 bottles of beer and then put them on a wall," a DKK member said. "To commemorate our party … I decided to form the letters delta kappa kappa with the 100 bottle caps. So I took them home, bought this board and after a few hours work we got the first sign of DKK."
Sophomore Jacob Kreimer is proudest of the enormous speakers that are situated on either side of the main couch.
"[The speakers] were found on the way back from the DKK fall dinner at Rudy's," Kreimer said. "Someone so foolishly discarded [them], so I carried one all the way back … Luckily I know a lady who had a car, and I was able to get use of the car to bring back the other speaker."
The brothers use their speakers to blast Lord of the Rings transition music and thus describe their common room as feeling like "intermission in a theater show."
Like the speakers, much of the furniture in DKK was found on the side of the street at the beginning of the school year. As Kreimer says, "If it's quality, you need to take it." The brothers carried couches, ottomans, chairs and a table all the way from Davis Square. Not all of it, however, was up to standard.
"We had a couch," Stamell said. "We carried it all the way up here — this deliciously perfect couch — and it got taken away [due to] fire safety."
And the boys do have standards of their own.
"We had another big couch [that I carried uphill]," said sophomore Aalok Kanani, who is also a photo editor for the Daily. "There was poop on it. I didn't realize till I got back to the suite and I smelled my hands. You definitely gotta check what you pick up, preferably before you carry it uphill."
Kanani and most of the other boys lived on the same floor in South Hall last year, but some — such as Kreimer and Kurtysh — found their way into the brotherhood later.
The Wren common room holds many representations of their friendship such as the silver television, the main focus of the room.
"The TV was actually purchased with 100 dollars won in the [programming board] scavenger hunt; we came in third place," Kreimer said. "We got 100 dollars, and that was directly invested in the TV."
A chest of drawers is snuggled into the alcove of the room.
"The top drawer is stocked usually with candy," sophomore Artem Efremkin said. "We had this huge split about how you pick out the candy: Do you pick out the candy you like or do you have to go in blindly with the ‘crane method?' … The other drawer [has] a collection of condoms and condiments. [We use the] crane method [for that drawer]. [You] have to use whatever you get."
Most wall decorations, including framed pictures of a tiger and the pope, were purchased for a discount price at places like Goodwill.
Sophomore resident Julian Charnas started a photo series on the strip of wall above the TV to capture the essence of each DKK member.
"The rest of the suite really represents DKK as a group, and I decided I wanted to focus on DKK individually," Charnas said. "We are stronger than the sum of our parts, but you know each of us individually is pretty nice … One [photo] is of my wonderful ginger roommate [sophomore Mark Brenckle] in the wonderful New England autumn foliage. It's him doing the American Beauty thing with the red leaves, shirtless. God, that was one of the best photo shoots I've ever had."
The series is a work in progress, but Charnas has photographs to represent other brothers as well.
The rest of the room is iced with white Christmas lights. Paper snowflakes, found at the theater holiday party, glitter in the window, and a hat rack greets visitors at the main entrance.
"I think it's a good place to come home to," Kreimer said.
--
Want to see DKK for yourself? Check out tuftsdaily.com for video footage.
If you have or know of a sweet campus crib, email Alison Lisnow at Alison.Lisnow@tufts.edu.
