![]() I measured the dimensions of that large Confederate flag, and went online and ordered an Israeli flag the same exact dimensions. So, after about a week of thinking about it, I decided what I would do. I specifically joined the fraternity to embrace cultural differences, and if I wanted to be in a fraternity with just a bunch of Jewish people from the East Coast, I could just join another fraternity, but I didn’t want to. We were all brothers, and even though I disagreed with having the flag in our living room, and I knew we would all have to live together in a situation that worked for all of us. I didn’t just want to quit the fraternity because of this. Both feelings of the Confederate flag are still true today to millions of people all across the U.S. But, to him, the flag was a sign of culture, pride, and community. To me, the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate and segregation, and it made me feel very uncomfortable. But, this would be my first time living in a room with an actual Confederate flag. In Indiana, it was not uncommon to see a Confederate flag as a bumper sticker on the back of a pick-up truck or hung in the front yard of someone’s house. The Dukes not only had a Confederate flag on the top of their race car, but it also was immersed in different cultural aspects in the show. Growing up, one of my favorite TV shows was the Dukes of Hazard. Up until this point of my life, I had only ever seen Confederate flags on TV or in movies. This was all good and fun, until when, to my surprise, one of my brothers took out a large Confederate flag, and hung it on the wall of our shared living room. They put up a mounted deer head because they loved to hunt, I had a fishing rod because I loved to fish. I had a disco ball because I loved disco music, and they had albums of country music because they loved country music. We spent the first week moving into the fraternity house decorating our shared living room, and our diversity would be reflected in how we decorated. Our living room was like a normal living room with couches, a TV, and sound system. We had two rooms between the three of us: one was a large, living room that we all shared and served as our common area, and the other was our private bedroom which included our beds, closets and personal belongings. Know them well or know many people in Indiana (they grew up in Indiana, they had many friends who lived in the area). I was an outsider to them at first as I didn’t They were from the same hometown and knew each other and were friends prior to attending Indiana University. I was put into a shared room with two other brothers who were from Indiana. ![]() While there were many fraternities and sororities at Indiana University, each house had its own unique characteristics and personality.Īfter an entire semester of pledging, I was excited to finally be a brother and move into the fraternity house. Our house was two floors, with lots of living rooms, dining rooms, food halls, a patio, a basketball court, and a big lawn. Our house was a mansion that housed over 80 brothers, who all lived in different types of rooms. Senator from Indiana Evan Bayh were even brothers of our fraternity and lived in our fraternity house. 9-time Olympic Gold medalist Mark Spitz and former Indiana Governor and U.S. The nickname of our fraternity was “Gentlemen on the Hill”, and our fraternity house was situated at the highest point of Monroe County, Indiana. Lots of shenanigans traditionally take place in a college fraternity and sorority houses across the U.S., but my fraternity always strived to stay classy. There was a lot of diversity in my fraternity, and that’s what I loved that the most. Some loved hunting, and others loved animals and nature. Some loved NASCAR, and others loved hockey. Some of my fraternity brothers were from big cities, others from small towns. Many of my classmates didn’t previously know anyone who was Jewish or whose parents were from Israel, and for many students from Indiana, I was the first Jewish person they had ever met. I loved attending Indiana University for that reason. While many other students decided to join fraternities and sororities with others from their same hometown or cultural background, I specifically wanted immerse myself with people of different cultures and backgrounds. I grew up in Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., I didn’t just want to recreate my East Coast metropolitan experience at Indiana University. I specifically chose Phi Kappa Psi because most of the brothers in the fraternity were from different parts of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and across the Midwest. I chose to pledge the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.
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