Wednesday, December 2, 2015 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 // The Statement
5B
A
sign tells guests to remove shoes to avoid tracking snow
into the house. A chessboard, with all of its pieces intact,
sits next to a couch. I’m invited to sit in and wait. The
BYX insignia hangs on the wall, and at the bottom, under an
intricately designed cross, the words proudly state the house’s
motto: “Brothers Under Christ.”
This is not your average fraternity house.
With only three on campus currently, Christian fraternities
and sororities have slowly been growing at the University. They
are all different, one traditionally old (Phi Alpha Kappa), one
newer and growing (Beta Upsilon Chi), and the last newly mint-
ed (Sigma Alpha Omega).
Beyond the obvious religious affiliations, these houses differ
in other noticeable ways from their non-religious counterparts.
The lack of alcohol at events, for instance, marks one of the
biggest divides between Christian fraternities and sororities
and most of “normal” Greek life. BYX still hosts dry mixers
with Pan-Hellenic sororities like Delta Gamma and does joint
charity events with Gamma Phi Beta. But it lacks the prevailing
party atmosphere that seems to attract so many new students to
Greek life in the first place.
The fact that such organizations survive and grow speaks to
their other offerings — those beyond traditional Greek organi-
zations.
***
There are many assumptions that come with the phrase
“Christian fraternity/sorority.”
As a Muslim, I entered these houses expecting conversa-
tions about Jesus and piety, things I hadn’t heard since Sunday
school. This wasn’t exactly the image I came away with.
My initial interview inquiry to PAK was met with the reply,
“We as a house are very interested.” (This is not the usual
response I get to an interview request.) Getting the brand out
there, it turns out, is very important for them.
At PAK, I’m seated at an impeccably clean roundtable with
four brothers across from me. The living room to the right of
me is also impeccably clean, and the small den in front of me
is, incredibly, impeccably clean. I didn’t go upstairs, but I could
guess: impeccable.
“We try to really strive to encourage involvement in the
house,” Engineering senior Ryan Wawrzaszek said.
The fraternity originated at Calvin College in Grand Rap-
ids in 1929. Eventually, the organization moved to Ann Arbor,
where it is now based in a considerably large house on East Ann
Street.
Surprisingly, original links still survive. The group has elev-
en active members and a number of pledges, and all of them are
connected to either Calvin College or Grand Rapids, PAK Presi-
dent John Swets said. New members join through connections,
not general interest.
“To me, the house is a living, dynamic, breathing thing,”
Swets said. “It remains a group of guys that are founded in the
same core beliefs.”
The halls of the house are adorned with class pictures from
each year dating back to 1929, filling in a long history of lineage
and tradition. It retains a somewhat medieval and traditional
aura. The brothers say this setting is integral to how they func-
tion and interact with one another.
Wawrzaszek tells me about the time he stumbled upon a con-
versation in the hallway about a certain scripture, and ended up
spending many hours into the night standing there discussing,
laughing.
“Religion, for whatever reason, has become one of those top-
ics that you don’t broach with someone that you don’t know that
well, and I think that’s kind of sad,” Warzaszek says. “It’s some-
thing that our culture kind of stigmatizes, but just sharing on
that deep of a level just brings you closer to people.”
This sentiment is easily noticed in conversations with these
fraternity and sorority members. They speak so casually about
faith and religion that it sometimes catches me off-guard.
PAK has a student chaplain, Matthew Rouhana, who orga-
nizes events for the fraternity. He notes that his main, day-
to-day duty is simply leaving his door open and talking to any
brother who needs a chat.
“If you can see that someone’s missing some kind of aspect in
their spiritual life, you try to start up some event to kind of see
what that is,” said Rouhana, who wears a long, visible wooden
cross around his neck.
The fraternity holds a weekly “Praise and Worship Night,”
but they also plan more casual events, such as a Whirlyball
night. They shovel snow up and down their road as an act of
good faith toward their neighbors. The Christian part is impor-
tant, yes, but it’s not all-consuming.
Their relationship with alcohol is a little different. Swets, the
president, admits to me, a little sheepishly, that their fraternity
is not technically dry. At their annual Casino Night party, they
do, in fact, have a cocktail bar, but the majority of their events
do not feature alcohol.
Rouhana adds on that he believes the current culture of
going out and partying is “kind of self-indulgent and inwardly
focused.”
“We try to show that you can have fun without having an
excess,” Swets said. “You don’t have to be drunk off your mind
to have a good time, so we want to emphasize the human inter-
actions with people, and I think it’s more genuine when you can
do that in an environment where the focus isn’t alcohol.”
***
LSA junior Julia Hopkins is one of the founders of Sigma
Alpha Omega, the University’s only Christian sorority. Only in
its second active semester, SAO was founded as a response to
the lack of a Christian sisterhood while two fraternities existed.
As Hopkins puts it, the founders felt it was “God’s calling.”
“We’re all at different places in our spiritual walks, so that’s
what ties us all together,” she said.
SAO is small, and it doesn’t yet have a house. Nationally, they
don’t own property either.
Like PAK, SAO is a predominantly white organization. But
Hopkins says this is a result of their size and the pool of stu-
dents from which they can recruit.
“It’s a hard topic to deal with, because we’re already catering
to such a small population of people that would be interested,”
Hopkins said.
Hopkins says the group does not define itself by religious
standards, but that faith informs many aspects of what it does.
The sorority members open and close their chapter meetings
with prayers. Many come from separate churches around Ann
Arbor and separate denominations entirely, but they all come
together for the same Bible study nights.
Their social events include apple-picking and wood-carving,
and community service with churches and other organizations
is one of their main activities. And, like its fraternal counter-
parts, the sorority is completely dry.
Hopkins, though, wants to clear things up.
“I’m not against alcohol,” she said. “I really want that sister-
hood, but I don’t like to drink or party.”
Hopkins says their sorority is not allowed to have alcohol at
its events. As she puts it, Christians sometimes carry a reputa-
tion for being “very goody two-shoes and strict,” but she’s quick
to note that they have a lot of fun.
“We’ve found that we can still have fun, but not play with
fire, so to speak,” she said.
***
BYX is a relatively new fraternity. It is nationally recognized,
but this is only its fourth active semester at the University.
LSA senior Wesley Cimmarrusti says because his fraternity
is dry, they have a different turnout than Greek life parties. He
tells me, though, that when BYX invites sororities to its dry
mixers, the recipients of the invitations often reply that they
would be thrilled to join. And a recent Halloween party, he says,
was “like a rave,” with black lights and music and all the thrills
of a normal party.
“Instead of simply removing drinking from the equation, we
kind of fill it with other things,” he said.
Cimmarrusti, much like the representatives from the other
two organizations, is eager to confirm that they’re not some
holier-than-thou group of people with weird parties. Christian-
ity isn’t the dominant aspect of their social life.
“Hopefully, everything we’re doing is God-honoring in one
way or another, but it’s definitely not like at our parties only
Christian music is played, or people are taking Communion as
they walk through the door,” he said.
PAK, BYX and SAO all mention their commitment to rela-
tionships quite often, and how their organizations are struc-
tured to favor close bonds and lasting friendships over alcohol
and parties. At both BYX and PAK, pledges are required to
interview each brother as a part of pledging, a common practice
in many fraternities.
It is, however, tough to recruit as a Christian fraternity.
SAO, which currently has only six active members, meets
with prospective candidates and votes on each one.
“We rarely turn people away,” Hopkins said.
***
I was once a wide-eyed freshman, and while I always knew
Greek life wasn’t meant for people like me, it will always be
something that is still more attractive and enticing than I want
it to be in my head — loud, boisterous tailgates sounded much
more fun than spontaneous community service events. For
those in the latter camp, however, service is something Chris-
tian fraternities and sororities “love to do,” says Cimmarrusti.
And community outreach is integral to the appeal of such
fraternities and sororities. This is BYX’s first semester in their
house on North Ingalls Street, after its past tenants, members of
a fraternity known as “Sig,” were kicked out by the landlord for
“destroying the house every year,” Cimmarrusti said.
After such experiences, the landlord personally approached
BYX to take over the lease.
“There wasn’t a ton of love from the neighbors initially,”
Cimmarrusti said, referencing the reputation the previous fra-
ternity had garnered in the neighborhood.
BYX baked cookies for the neighbors and performed Rake-
and-Runs, which are, as they sound, simply unfathomably nice
versions of ding-dong ditching.
In return, the fraternity has started to receive some posi-
tive feedback from the community. Cimmarrusti makes sure to
mention, however, that outreach is simply a part of their fra-
ternal contract, and not something that’s done with an agenda.
***
After my hour-long chat with brothers of PAK, they all
thanked me, humbly and graciously, and asked me about my
religious background, humbly and respectfully. I responded
that I’m Muslim, and for a fleeting moment, I began to lament
the lack of a “Muslim fraternity.” I like to think a small part of
them did, too.
At the end of my conversation with Julia, she simply wanted
to mention the obvious: “We’re normal.”
And near the end of my interview with Wesley, a brother
came down to the dining hall and dropped off his jacket.
“What event are you most excited for next semester, Ed?”
Cimmarrusti asked, trying to add some closing thoughts to the
proceedings.
Ed paused, then admitted, “There’s a mixer with Delta
Gamma that I’m super excited about.”
“Is there a girl you got your eye on?”
When God meets Greek life
DAVID SONG/Daily
Some of the brothers of PAK compete against each other in a game of Super Smash Brothers at their house on Monday.
DAVID SONG/Daily
The brothers of Phi Alpha Kappa enjoy their dinner together on Monday.
DAVID SONG/Daily
LSA sophomore Michael Boctor leads his brothers in prayer before their dinner at Beta Upsilon Chi on Sunday.