I don’t mention it all the time, but I spent a couple of years of my college career living in a house with twenty-four other guys. The address was 1100 W Riverside and the guys in the house, like me, were brothers of Theta Chi Fraternity.
And that’s not a typo, it was twenty five guys living in a house. I remember one time, a person conducting a market-research survey called the fraternity house phone and asked how many people lived in my residence and I remember how that person simply paused and said “oh…well…wow” when I replied with “25”
Naturally, as you can imagine, living in a house with this many guys, conflicts arose and sometimes we got on each others’ nerves. The bathrooms weren’t always clean, and we weren’t always nice to each other. On more than one occasion, I remember having to ask guys to turn their music down, and I remember being asked to turn mine down.
But whether it was resolving conflicts, building trust or learning about ourselves, the house provided this microcosm, a little society, this place to come into our identities before trying it out in the real world.
I will say however, Growing up in Carmel, I knew very little about historically black colleges or “Divine Nine” Greek-letter organizations. Maybe if the eighteen year old me had known about Alpha Phi Alpha or Phi Beta Sigma or Kappa Alpha Psi, I would’ve made a different choice.
But that’s not what happened, and there was something special about the people in that house on Riverside. It provided friendship at a time when I needed friends. In society, this concept of friendship as a whole is still undervalued.
But I won’t forget how Shaun Dolbeare introduced me to his friends from his hometown who were members, and how within months I found myself an initiated brother of the Delta Kappa chapter of Theta Chi fraternity.
Is the house perfect? Far from it. But I will say, there are ideals and ritual that when fully lived into bring out the best in people.
It’s Founders’ Day today, and so I give a shoutout to all of my Theta Chi Fraternity – Delta Kappa Chapter Alumni and Theta Chi Fraternity brothers. May we keep the ideals of love and friendship going.
*And I’ll add…If you’re a brother in college or an alum and you know anyone who needs someone to talk to, I’m all ears (it’s part of the job as a pastor anyway…)
Love & Respect,
Ronnie
Fall ‘07
Pin #1245
