As a freshman, I had no idea what to expect, yet my expectations were blown away by what W.I.L.D. actually was. Before going to the concert, I ventured into a frat for the first time at this school. All I found was about five girls dancing to Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.” At that moment, I began to question W.I.L.D.’s reputation and thus my expectations began to plummet. After my friends and I decided to leave, we ended up at a crowded frat. My expectations began to rise. But that frat got really boring really quickly and ended with the sounding of the fire alarm. That’s when my expectations reached their low. Sometime later, I ended up back on my floor, debating whether or not W.I.L.D. was worth the energy, but I eventually decided to initiate myself into the Wash. U. W.I.L.D. culture.

While I was traversing the underpass, I found myself staring at the hordes of people walking toward Brookings. My skepticism began to fade away. Never had my adrenaline begun to rush so quickly. As soon as I entered Brookings Quadrangle, I immediately felt deaf from the combination of shouting, laughter and music, but everything was wonderfully overwhelming. I rushed from place to place, meeting upperclassmen, freshmen I hadn’t seen since Multicultural Weekend, my friends and about a million other people. The atmosphere was just amazing. I ended up in a mosh pit singing songs and watching friends dance whom I would never have expected to dance.

The energy in the air was contagious. I have never felt more a part of the Wash. U. culture. For the first time, I was able to rock out with all of my peers instead of just seeing them in six hours of classes. I felt closer to my classmates, even without ever meeting them. W.I.L.D. was liberating and exciting. Nothing can beat talking to drunk people, so an organized cluster of them is even better.

Whoever said nerds don’t know how to party, has obviously never been to Wash. U.’s W.I.L.D.

Students will be able to track their progress in real time through the competition’s website, greencup.wustl.edu, which goes live Monday. The winning fraternity will receive a $500 cash prize, and the winning Residential College will be awarded a trophy made of recycled green glass in a ceremony on Earth Day.

The four-week competition starts Monday with an event in College Hall. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will address participants, and food, music, raffle prizes, and a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) exchange will be part of the event.

Over the four weeks of the competition, energy reduction will be measured by percentage in each participating residential building.

Devices called “current cost meters” have been installed in these buildings to measure electrical energy usage and have been specially programmed to only measure energy consumption for which students are directly responsible, such laptop charging and appliance use.

Residential Colleges can also earn points for everyone in the building who takes the online pledge, for the highest percentage of residents to attend the kickoff event, and for holding brainstorming sessions on each floor to discuss how best to reduce energy waste.

Individual floors will also have the opportunity to earn points for their Residential College in a sustainability-themed YouTube video making competition.

“We wanted to make sure that if your ResCollege fell behind in the competition, you wouldn’t be discouraged from participating in the competition,” said Will Fischer, a fellow in the Office of Sustainability who helped coordinate the competition.

Each week of the competition will have a theme, including “All Natural,” which will challenge students to minimize their use of electric shaving and hair care devices; “Paperless,” to reduce printing; “Lights Out,” to minimize use of artificial light; and “Total Shutdown,” to restrict their use of all unnecessary electronics.

In addition to the one winning Residential College and fraternity, individuals and suites will also have the opportunity to gain recognition within their residential building for outstanding commitment to the competition.

Each residential college director will be able to award one particularly enthusiastic individual and dorm as the Residential College MVP based upon nominations from their residential advisers.

Senior Chris Brennan proposed the idea for the Green Cup during his sophomore year, but several people told him it would be difficult to implement because there was no historical data for each dorm.

“I was told that Ameren delivered bills for the entire South 40,” he said, “but that the figures could only be divided on a square-foot basis, not by dorm.”

Brennan proposed the idea in an email to Chancellor Wrighton, who agreed to help make it happen. Brennan worked with Hank Webber, executive vice chancellor for administration, and Fischer to implement the program.

The competition will use devices made by Current Cost to measure electricity usage. This method was suggested by a University professor.

Brennan and Fischer have since partnered with the Office of Sustainability and a diverse committee of students, including representatives from the Congress of the South 40 and the Student Sustainability Fund to collaboratively plan the Green Cup.

“I’ve never been involved in any of the green groups on campus, but I’ve always been interested in [sustainability],” Brennan said.

Freshman Jake Lyonfields, a chemical engineering major who serves on the committee, views the competition as a creative way to promote energy reduction on a college campus.

“Not only does this event kind of bring to light what actions students can take to reduce their energy use, but it also does it in a format in which they can get excited about it. I think it’s unique and really cool in that regard,” Lyonfields said.

The Green Cup will conclude on Earth Day on April 22.

According to many students, Washington University has a very distinct fraternity culture—in that it doesn’t really have a “fraternity culture” at all. But that hasn’t kept hundreds of Wash. U. students from signing up on Facebook to purchase jerseys featuring the word “Fratty.”

The purple and yellow reversible jerseys, made by the student business Off the Row, were intended to be a playful statement about Wash. U.’s distinct lack of a “fratty” culture. Junior and co-owner of Off the Row Michael Fink claimed that though the five co-owners of the business did not have an original message behind creating the jersey, “a lot of students can appreciate owning a ‘fratty’ jersey at Wash. U. [because it’s] a school that everyone can agree does not fit the typical definition of ‘fratty.’”

On its website, Off the Row describes itself as “the only all-in-one screen printing, monograms, and Greek goods store in Missouri.” The majority of its business is usually through special orders placed by student groups and Greek organizations on campus.

“We normally do not make apparel directly for sales to students,” Fink said, “But we agreed that if we had enough confidence in an idea, then we would go through with making them.”

The “Fratty.” jerseys were just such an idea. Marketing the jerseys via Facebook proved to be a profitable decision for the execs of Off the Row. “One of the things we discussed when we purchased the company was ways we could better use social media sites like Facebook to better market [the company],” Fink said.

Fink and his coworkers initially expected orders from between 20-50 students, which would have been enough to make the idea profitable for the business. After just under two weeks of Facebook attention, however, they have garnered more than 250 orders.

For sophomore and Pi Beta Phi member Vivien Goh, the appeal of the jersey is in its humor.

“I haven’t entirely decided on ordering one yet, but I probably will,” Goh said. “One of my things is to collect all the shirts I can from college, so I thought it would be a nice comical addition that really represents college life.”

Senior Rachel Metter does not plan to purchase a jersey—but not because she didn’t like the idea. Unlike Goh, Metter is trying to weed out one Wash. U. shirt from another.

“I have more Wash. U. t-shirts than I know what to do with, and it’s kind of just another one among many that I don’t need.”

Metter did, however, understand the appeal of the jerseys: “[I think] they are meant to be funny and satirical, which I appreciate,” she said.

“Perhaps our school holds our own definition of what constitutes ‘fratty’ altogether,” Fink suggested.

Maybe for Wash. U. students, having fun with friends and relaxing on the patios of frat row is “fratty.” Or maybe turning a Greek chapter meeting into a study session for tomorrow’s Anthropology midterm is “fratty.”

“‘Fratty’ has so many different definitions, both good and bad, and people want to express themselves through their clothing choices,” Fink said. These jerseys are just that, a means of self expression—and an incredibly popular one.

According to David Wallace, coordinator of the Greek housing program, this was the last step in a three-year plan for enforcing the University’s alcohol policy.

The plan was invoked in stages at fraternity houses over the past two years. At first, beer bottles and glasses were banned from being displayed outside chapter houses. In the plan’s second year, students were only allowed to drink from plastic cups.

This year, the third since the plan has been implemented, fraternity members are penalized for drinking in public. The policy extends to the porches outside of fraternity houses as well.

Every municipality in Missouri has an open alcohol container law, and citizens may be handed citations for possessing open alcohol containers in public. According to Wallace, the three-year plan is being implemented to align the Greek housing program’s practices with local and state laws.

“Right now it’s just an inconsistency that we want to fix,” Wallace said.

However, fraternity members are less than pleased about the new measure.

“Personally, I enjoy drinking on the porch,” said a junior in Sigma Phi Epsilon, who requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid drawing criticism from other fraternity members. “I feel like as long as it’s in a cup, I don’t see what the big deal is, especially if we’re keeping it on our property and not wandering around campus with it.”

Wallace stressed that the policy is not specific to fraternities.

“Because [fraternities] are more likely to have opportunities to drink, the three-year alcohol policy plan looks like as if it has been made only for them,” Wallace said.

Other fraternity members see an inconsistency between being permitted to drink inside but not outside. Others say that the policy alters a culture of drinking outdoors.

“I’m vehemently against the policy. It would discourage us from being more visible in the community, and I don’t think it’s unfair for us to drink out in the porch because we don’t operate on the same level as the rest of the student body,” said a sophomore in Kappa Sigma who also wished to remain anonymous.

According to Wallace, fraternity members at Wash. U. have previously been responsive regarding drinking rules, and chapter members have rarely been caught abusing their drinking privileges.

“The policy helps improve public image if you get people to comply with it, but I don’t think it’s a very good reason [to implement the policy] because students would drink anyway and tourists see people drinking in restaurants,” the anonymous sophomore said.

Some fraternity members say that drinking restrictions should not be imposed on them, not only because many are at least 21 years old but also because they feel that they have been respectful of the University’s rules.

Four hundred and fifty-three men had registered online, although the actual numbers are estimated to be lower, said Dave Wallace, coordinator for Greek housing programs. This was because “some active brothers [registered to show] people how to register, and some double registered,” he said. Others might have registered over break and changed their minds later on.

The main difference this year compared to previous years was the shortened recruitment period.

“Last year, they had about three to four weeks,” said sophomore Sam Propis, co-recruitment chair of Sigma Chi. “This year it was two to three, although I think more people rushed this year. One hundred and seventy kids came through our doors.”

The time frame was set by the Interfraternity Council.

“Last year, it was a little too long, this year was a little bit too short,” said Matt Hoffman, co-recruitment chair of Beta Theta Pi. “It was kind of demanding for brothers and freshmen to be coming to that many events.”

Despite this change, recruitment was structured similarly to previous years.

“The first week they get back, that Friday night is open house,” Propis said. “Rushees from 5 [p.m.] to 9 [p.m.] go to any house, meet brothers, stop by and put their name down.”

Each fraternity held three to four open events, otherwise known as open rush, during which brothers got to know rushees and cut down their list of potential pledges to invite to closed events.

“You want people who would be a good fit and good contributing brothers down the road,” Hoffman said.

Closed events are intended to provide a fun environment in which brothers and rushees get to know each other in a more intimate setting to see if the rushee is a good fit.

This year, events held by fraternities included broomball, paintball, Skyzone, bowling, laser tag, and dinners at fraternity houses and locations off campus.

According to Hoffman, spring recruitment is designed mostly for freshmen, although some sophomores also rush. Fall recruitment, on the other hand, targets mainly sophomores, and tends to be a smaller event. For instance, 25 men are pledging Beta Theta Pi this spring, while only seven had pledged this past fall.

When asked how the rush process went, freshman Stan Rosenthal, who is currently pledging Kappa Sigma, said that it was a good time and “more or less what I expected.”

“I hung out there first semester and knew a lot of brothers already,” Rosenthal said. “I enjoyed stopping by the house and I feel comfortable…I think everyone there takes care of their academics and saves plenty of time to hang out and have a good time.”

When marijuana was found in the house in December 2006, housing contracts for the individuals living in the house were cancelled. The fraternity (SAE) then lost its University recognition in July 2007 after being put on probation and exercising improper behavior at its formal. In December 2008, the Greek Life Office gave SAE permission to be fully recognized once again for the Spring 2009 semester.

Now, according to SAE president Garrett Schreiber, getting the house back is the next step in SAE’s recovery. SAE recently approached the University and expressed interest in receiving a house again.

According to Michael Hayes, the executive director of Campus Life, SAE wanted to know if the University would approve its request for on-campus housing.

They consequently have been in close contact trying to work out the details and ensure that SAE was doing everything it was supposed to be doing to obtain housing.

“We’ve been in contact with them over the past couple months figuring out if now would be a good time for them to come back in,” Hayes said.

SAE’s return to housing is not yet official, but according to Hayes, it is expected to occur soon.

“We’ve been talking with the alumni, the undergraduate chapter, and when all the t’s are cross[ed] and the i’s are dotted, we’ll make it an official announcement,” Hayes said. “But if everything continues going as good as it’s been going, that will clearly happen soon.”

SAE’s House Corporation sent a security deposit check to the Greek Life Office a few weeks ago. According to Schreiber, the Greek Life Office is just waiting for the contracts to be signed, and he was under the impression that SAE’s return to House 6 should be official within a week.

SAE’s president is very excited for their return to fraternity row.

“[House 6] was where our house always was and it’s…a goal that we had to get back on the Row,” Schreiber said.

Schreiber mentioned that a lot of work has gone into earning their spot back on fraternity row, and many of the older members have spent several years working to get their house back.

“We worked hard in the first semester to do philanthropy and community service and everything that a good fraternity should do,” Schreiber said.

SAE’s housing, like that of the other chapters, will be governed by the Interfraternity Council, and will not have any special conditions or rules.

Hayes mentioned that the University is glad that SAE is set to get its housing back.

“This is the next logical step [for the chapter], and we’re clearly excited for them and we want them to be successful,” Hayes said.

Greek Life officials recently discovered an unknown, potentially harmful material in the Theta Xi fraternity house’s attic. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The material has not been tested, and its identification cannot be confirmed, but none of the residents living in the house are at risk, according to David Wallace, coordinator for Greek housing programs.

Following this discovery, the Greek Life Office (GLO) took air samples of the living areas to ensure that the house’s residents were not in danger and hired a contractor to contain the area and extract the material. An air quality test came back negative.

“We don’t know [if] it’s dangerous, but we’re treating it as we would if it was asbestos,” Wallace said. “We decided it was better to just remove it.”

Wallace said the work will take five to seven days and will “have little to no impact on the men living inside the chapter house.”

Theta Xi, located on the Upper Fraternity Row, is home to 16 fraternity brothers housed in its 15 bedrooms.

Theta Xi brothers, according to Wallace, were initially concerned about their safety and were provided alternative living options should they feel that they were exposed to hazardous material.

“The air-quality test put them at a lot more ease,” Wallace said.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be toxic or carcinogenic when inhaled in high concentrations over a long period of time. The Environmental Protection Agency issued a ban and phase-out on asbestos in 1989, which was overturned by a ruling in 1991.

Only a portion of the parking lot adjacent to Whitaker Hall will be used during the ThurtenE carnival this year due to the construction of the new engineering school building. (Evan Wiskup | Student Life)

ThurtenE Carnival, which will occur the weekend of April 18 and 19, has been moved this year to Brookings Drive, the grassy median in front of Brookings Hall. This is a break from previous years, when the carnival was held in the parking lot closest to Whitaker Hall.

The site has changed because of the reduction of parking lot space this year due to the construction of the Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Hall, a new building for the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering.

The responsibility of coordinating the carnival lies with ThurtenE Honorary, which selects its cohort every year.

The change in location has posed problems that the honorary has not previously experienced.

The setup of the façades traditionally made by Greek organizations for the carnival will constitute one challenge of the new location, according to junior Andrew Weisberg, co-chair of public relations in the Honorary.

“[The setup of façades] in itself is a challenge, because it will not be on concrete but on grass,” Weisberg said.

Dean Henry Biggs, director of the Undergraduate Research Office and faculty adviser to ThurtenE Honorary, said that this setup on the grass will be one of the carnival’s greatest obstacles this year.

“The challenge is going to be that we’re going to be on the grass this year. That involves a whole new technology called event decking,” Biggs said.

By putting down an event deck—temporary flooring that will protect the grass—fraternities and sororities will be able to display their façades on Brookings Drive.

The University will be providing funding for the event deck.

“The University has been incredibly helpful—administration, parking and transportation, WUPD,” Weisberg said.

The school has also provided construction hats and floodlights to help ensure students’ safety when building the façades.

Most of the fraternities and all of the sororities on campus will build façades, and more than 50 student groups will have booths to sell food and host fun events during the carnival.

The roller coasters and other rides traditionally set up at the carnival will be located in the reduced parking lot closest to Whitaker Hall.

Before the final decision was reached on this arrangement, students and faculty discussed the possibility of moving ThurtenE to somewhere off campus. One possibility at the time was West Campus.

“Alumni development and undergraduate admissions were very interested in ThurtenE staying on this campus and not sending off to West Campus,” Biggs said.

All proceeds from this year’s carnival, excluding the money allocated toward operating expenses, will go to the Foundation for Children with Cancer.

The charity provides financial support to families with children undergoing cancer treatment.

“When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the average cost for that family is over $623,000,” Weisberg said.

Although hospitals may negotiate with families with insurance, families still need to focus on paying other expenses and can benefit greatly from financial support, according to Weisberg.

A carnival “larger than the student body”

The carnival has brought the Washington University student body and the St. Louis community together since its inception in 1904.

Weisberg, a member of the University’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, believes that the carnival, “unlike an event like W.I.L.D., where it is mostly for the Wash. U. community, not only brings the community together but also brings in the St. Louis community.”

“When I grew up in St. Louis, the one thing I remember of Washington University is that ThurtenE Carnival was great. It became one of the events that is larger than the student body,” Biggs said.

Despite some students’ criticism of the honorary’s tradition in keeping the books closed, “the most important goal is to increase the interaction between the Washington University and St. Louis community and to maintain the self-funded carnival,” Weisberg said.

Rather than focusing on the amount of donations as a measure of success, Weisberg said the honorary is most invested in making sure that people enjoy the façades and that students who have worked diligently on the carnival take pleasure in the fruits of their labor.

More than 200 students, and at least eight from each fraternity, attended. In addition to the students already in chapters, 60 students currently considering joining Greek life participated. The men undertook different projects to improve the school, such as painting walls in classrooms, the cafeteria and the gym, packing boxes and fixing desks.

This is the only event during recruitment in which all the fraternities collaborate.

“The purpose of the event was to bring the Greek community together in a positive way and add service to the recruitment process—something that has been lacking in the past,” senior Dan Cate, president of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), said. “Fraternities take philanthropy and service extremely seriously. Almost everyone has their own signature philanthropy event, and it only makes sense that we would all come together during recruitment to help a school in need of work.”

According to Ryan Henne, director of Greek life, community service is a vital part of Greek life that adds to the more visible aspects of fratenities and sororities on campus.

“I think that the potential new members got to see a real side of Greek life and that they liked what they saw. Fraternity life is more than just a social outlet. Joining a fraternity connects you to something bigger than yourself. Serving our community is one aspect of that mission,” Henne said.

Cate added that the fraternities will be involved with community service programs throughout the year.

“I believe that Greek life and community service have always been linked together and will continue to be in the future,” Cate said.

The Service Recruitment Day was a successful program, from both the point of view of the fraternities and of Langston Middle School.

“The school was incredibly thankful for all of our help. They couldn’t thank us enough,” Henne said. “I think in the end, through a lot of hard work by the Interfraternity Council and each chapter, we were able to give back to the community and add something special to the entire recruitment process.”

In addition to this event, the Greek Life Office works with other campus groups on community service events throughout the year for the whole student body. Greek life is a part of Service First, Dance Marathon and Relay for Life, among other events.

Senior Andrew Kline, former president of Theta Xi, said he hopes that this event will occur again in the future.

“We’re hopefully going to try and do it every year,” Kline said.

Junior Jeff Lesser, president of Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT), agreed with Kline and hopes to see Greek life join together for more events like this because of the effect they have on the area surrounding the University.

As part of that desire to increase community service activity, the ZBT chapter at the University is partnering with United Way this year to tutor at schools and to help in old-age homes.

“Ideally, these service days should happen not only once a year but once every semester or a couple times every semester,” Lesser said. “It was really a terrific day, a great idea and an excellent way to make a positive difference in the St. Louis community.”

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