Over the past three years, seven men that were preparing to be initiated into the Lambda Chapter of DKE have pressed forward, never abandoning the commitment they were about to make. Robbed of their sophomore and junior years of fraternity life, they never gave up hope that they would, one day, be DKEs. Last month, they successfully passed through the first gauntlet in that quest. Andrew Kotler ‘21 picks up the story from here....

Brothers:

My name is Andrew Kotler, and I am writing on behalf of the group of Kenyon students petitioning to reinstate Delta Kappa Epsilon on campus. We petitioners are members of the 165th pledge class and were nearly finished with the pledging process in spring of 2018 when the Chapter was sanctioned. The petitioning members of the pledge class are:

• Andrew Kotler ‘21, Political Science major, Skillman, NJ
• Nate Saindon ‘21, Chemistry major, Takoma Park, MD
• Amir Brivanlou ‘21, Biology major, New York, NY
• John Scandale ‘20, Biology and Spanish majors, Glen Rock, NJ
• Andrew Gibbens ‘21, Economics major, New Canaan, CT
• Winston Reid ‘21, History major, Los Angeles, CA
• Bryan Yoshino ‘21, Math major, Dublin, OH

On May 4th, our petition for reinstatement passed the Kenyon Greek Council. We will need to pass Student Life Committee and Student Council this coming fall to gain full admittance as an organization on Kenyon’s campus. By virtue of passing Greek Council, however, we are able to function as a “prospective organization.” This is extremely helpful and important for us as we move forward. Our classification as a prospective student organization enables us to function as a fraternity/organization on campus. We can have meetings, hold elections and market DKE to the campus. In addition, since the sanctions on Lambda DKE were officially lifted at the end of this past semester, our class can now get initiated (which we are extremely excited about). This initiation will take place most likely in late summer or early fall. We will be in constant communication with DKE National Executive Director Doug Lanpher, Gamma ‘77 and Director of Student Engagement Sam Filkins to hammer out details for initiation...and those details will be shared amongst the Lambda DKE alumni.

As noted, we are now able to hold officer elections. With this in mind, we are thrilled to announce our new tribunal:

• Brother Beta: Andrew Kotler
• Brother Sigma: Nate Saindon
• Brother Kappa Rho: Amir Brivanlou

Other elected positions (including Brother Pi) will be filled pending approval from Student Life Committee and Student Council.

These are extremely exciting times for Lambda DKE. While we face two more hearings to gain full approval, we are moving in the right direction. Thank you for your unwavering support throughout the last few years. We are excited to meet as many alumni as possible as we continue on our journey with DKE. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. You can reach us at: kotler1@kenyon.edu (Andrew Kotler), saindon1@kenyon.edu (Nate Saindon), or brivanlou1@kenyon.edu (Amir Brivanlou).

ITB,

Andrew Kotler ‘21

Image: (from left to right) Nate Saindon, Amir Brivanlou, Andrew Gibbens, Andrew Kotler.