Those were the words Alumni President Biff Butler ’68 shared with the Board of Directors earlier this month upon hearing that the Kenyon Student Council had approved the reinstatement of Lambda Chapter at Kenyon. The Council action was the last of three hurdles that were required this semester to bring the Fraternity back to campus.

This brings to a conclusion a 3-year gauntlet that, for older alumni, would make The Road of Life seem like a Springtime romp in a field of daisies. Through it all, the seven DKE pledges that are now Seniors were unwavering in their commitment to their Lambda Brotherhood. And, we’ll chronicle that journey in a future edition of this newsletter.

Now, the real and, in a way, more difficult work begins. The new Actives are currently working on recruitment issues, which are complicated by the fact that there will be no Freshmen on campus in the Spring. From a virtual second semester rush via Zoom to the possibility of recruiting new members in the upper classes, our guys are dedicated to bringing a new group of gentlemen into the Chapter before they graduate.

Eternal appreciation (and possible knighthood?) to Biff Butler, Jim Irwin ’67 and all the alumni that worked behind the scenes to assist our guys through this long, debilitating nightmare. And, to the seven young men who never gave up, DKE International President Doug Lanpher had this to say:

“The fact that this group of guys hung in there through all of this is unprecedented in my 11 years at DKE. Never has a group of young men shown so much persistence and grit, and put up with everything they did, in the face of one hurdle after another. On the surface, it's not obvious what motivated them to do this. But the answer has to be that they felt an extraordinary bond with each other and with the guys who are now alumni who recruited them into DKE. Whatever created that bond, it's pretty special...and whatever the future brings, I'll never forget what they did.”

Nor will we. And, we are proud to call these men Brothers.