A Note from the Rush Chair

First, I want to thank you for your time in taking seriously the experience of getting to know AEΠ. Most of our time in AEΠ is about having the most fun possible and really making the best of our college years collectively. We love to joke around together, play games, hang out, party, and all of those great college activities that you can read about on other pages of this website or see in the first 30 seconds you spend hanging out with a brother. But the experience of brotherhood is something that means an immense amount to each one of us personally and cannot be overlooked when considering the importance of fraternity. Here I want to take the time to speak seriously and personally about my experience with AEΠ.

Many people come to Brown because of the small role that fraternities play on campus. I came to Brown with ambivalence because of the presence of fraternities at all. I could never have imagined myself joining a fraternity here, let alone becoming so active in it so quickly. The reason I was so opposed to fraternity was because I saw it as simply a euphemistic term for a house of pigs constantly throwing parties a la Animal House. I didn’t believe there was anything beyond simply the external displays of crazy parties, blasting music, younger members being taken advantage of and then face-saving community service “initiatives.”

What changed my mind was not coming to the house for parties and having a lot of fun, although I did, because I knew that no matter where I lived as a sophomore I would be welcomed to events and could always enjoy the study breaks and parties open to the Brown public and fraternity friends. Rather, as I got to know members of the house individually, and saw how interested they were to get to know me as a rush, pledge, and future brother, I realized the cohesiveness that this group could offer me from the inside. At first, people invited me to events and I came by as a good excuse to get out of doing homework that night, but soon I realized how joining AEΠ would open me up to a new world at Brown without forcing me to close my walls to the friends I had made as a freshman or the activities I had become involved in.

Yet, as I began to get to know other brothers and meet some of the people who were rushing the fraternity with me, I still had questions about the idea of fraternity. Namely, I thought of my high school senior English teacher, a great guy who I had become friends with over the year. He had said that he joined a fraternity in college because he was on the baseball team and while he had fun with them, it was merely born out of convenience – a group to get drunk with – but nothing that lasted beyond college. I did not want such a loose experience to follow me in my time at college. Furthermore, perhaps I could understand that the potential benefits to being a brother were more than my English teacher described, but in the mind of my friends, wouldn’t I be “that frat guy?” I would say three things allowed me to overcome these concerns and accept the bid that eventually awaited me. First, as I started talking to people around me, especially upperclassmen who knew members in AEΠ, my doubts about the “frat boy” image which I thought would follow me were assuaged. People’s faces lit up with smiles when I told them I was considering joining and everyone from my older friends to the few professors I talked to had good things to say about the fraternity as a whole and individuals they knew who were members. Second, for those who wouldn’t understand what being a brother meant, I realized that the opportunities I would be giving up to avoid the stereotyped image – good housing, good fun, and most importantly a community that would have my back no matter what happened – were too much to sacrifice for a few misunderstanding people. And lastly, I understood that even the pledge process would be about building community and deriving an inherent connection with people who I otherwise could not share such a fundamental bond with.

So despite the experiences of my high school teacher, I knew that this fraternity was different. The people here are not shaped by the events but rather the things we do together are shaped by the commitment we make to eachother as brothers. Because of this difference, brotherhood is what holds AEΠ together, not the parties, study breaks, or activities we plan.

These sentiments have been reaffirmed to me in countless memorable experiences from pledging and living in house. Just this past winter, members of our fraternity went on a Brown birthright trip to Israel. While there, watching the sunrise atop the gorgeous Mt. Masada, we took photographs with our AEΠ apparel, commemorating our trip, our homeland, and our fraternity in one. I have a friend in another AEΠ chapter who said that at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, he was stopped left and right by brothers who recognized him by his AEΠ sweatshirt, thus reaffirming the extensive notion of community and brotherhood that AEΠ represents. Since joining, I have met just as many alums and brothers from other chapters who have greeted me with open arms because of the significance of the brotherhood connection. Whether in Israel finding an alum who wants to meet with you, in Boston over the summer, or at school in the center of my AEΠ community, the bonds of brotherhood are tangible and powerful.

Many of you may be able to see through to the essential values of joining AEΠ in which case your thought process with respect to AEΠ will be much easier, which is great. But for those who have trouble grappling with the idea and have reservations, I wanted to let you know that you are not alone and many before you have shared those thoughts. When brothers tell you “joining AEΠ is the best decision I ever made in college” it’s more than a catch phrase – they really mean it. Make sure to come to us with your questions and probe through to find out what is behind that statement – you will hear some tremendous answers. And please call me, come to my room, and share your thoughts, concerns, and questions. More than a rush chair, I’m a “brother” and I want to help you feel confident in making the right decision for you, whatever that may be.

Happy spring!

Dan Block Pi ‘10
617 610 1769
Marcy House Room 342

Interested in AEΠ? Click here and tell us about yourself!