News Section
The Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity House at UGA
The brothers of Phi Kappa Theta took advantage of the warm spring weather to do some repairs and apply fresh coats of paint to the house at 677 S. Milledge Ave. . The big projects involved replacing the tiling in the landing, landscaping the garden next to the deck, and painting the upstairs hallway. Many Actives, both in and out-of-house, lent their hands to the task, which took the better part of a weekend. We would like to thank recent graduates Tyler Stinson and Cody Pearson for their considerable donations to the workday.
Spring was also time for our yearly Consolidation dinner. Alumni attendance was higher than last year, and we were glad to see their continued display of support. Older brother Ray Daniels (former president) gifted the chapter a framed copy of its Charter and left us with wise words that will resonate in our minds for days to come.
Seth Brown and Johnny Lee at formal
As a Neophyte Member of Phi Kappa Theta, one day away from initiation into the greatest fraternity at UGA, I reflect back on the transitions from the Associate Member phase to the Neophyte phase and now culminating in initiation as a Brother. When a bid to join Phi Kap was first extended to me, I remember questioning just what would be involved in being in a brotherhood of this type. I now know that it means willingly sacrificing many things you may want for what is best for your brothers as a whole. This may seem to be a lot to ask, especially for an organization that is meant to be social and fun in nature, but I have found that I got much more satisfaction from service to my brothers than in taking from them. However, a transformation had to take place within me to cause this to occur. The transformation I speak of came about through the various events and happenings during my AM phase.
As an Associate Member, I was required to meet certain obligations. Some of these were meeting study hours every week and cleaning parts of the chapter house. Twice a week, my fellow Ams and I would meet and learn of the history of Phi Kap and just what it means to be a Brother. Studying with my pledge brothers and cleaning the house with them taught me how to put the needs of my brothers ahead of my own, whether it was helping out with a particularly difficult math problem or doing 30 minutes of extra cleaning so a friend could study for an exam.
As our pledge project, we renovated one of the rooms in the house. After much cleaning, painting, and redecorating, we made an old room fit for many purposes that hopefully will be used in the years to come. Planning and remodeling the room taught all of us how to work as one cohesive unit and where exactly individual strengths lie. These things will be needed in future semesters when it is we that are running the fraternity. Overall, our AM phase succeeded in doing its primary job: it made us fit to be called Brothers.
Seth Brown