Fraternity serves high schoolers, community
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 20, 2002 9:00 p.m.
Students may think of drinking and partying when they hear the
words “Greek life.”
But members of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity were busy serving
25 high-school students turkey and mashed potatoes Wednesday as
part of the first Thanksgiving Luncheon and Speakers Program.
In cooperation with the Provisional Accelerated Learning Center,
students participating in the Upward Bound program spent an
afternoon touring the UCLA campus and meeting members of the
fraternity. The program is designed to academically prepare
low-income and first-generation students to attend and succeed in a
college environment.
Christian McKenly, who was the tour guide and a member of the
fraternity before he graduated from UCLA last spring, said Greek
life, in general, suffers from a negative image when in fact many
members are involved in the community.
“There is a perception that the Greek system just parties.
That is untrue,” McKenly said.
For McKenly, hosting the luncheon and making it an annual event
is a way to dispel this image.
“We are doing this just to get the word out that the Greek
system is not just about partying,” he said.
Berky Nelson, Director of the UCLA Center for Student
Programming, was one of the guests who received the Delta Award for
career achievement in service to students. He applauds the
fraternity for being involved and for trying to chip away the
negative image of Greek life.
“Seeing this fraternity expending itself and helping young
kids is a positive for me because usually we only see the negative
aspect of Greek life,” Nelson said in a speech he gave after
being presented with an award from the fraternity.
Alan Hanson, the retiring Director of the UCLA Office of
Residential Life and also a recipient of the Delta Award, said the
partnership being fostered by the PAL Center and the fraternity is
an “excellent idea.”
“UCLA is in a situation where there is an awful lot of
interest in having a mist of students,” Hanson said.
“The outreach can help produce that, and it’s the
best kind of educational experience for everyone,” he
added.
Delta Sigma Phi is not the only fraternity active in the
community.
Alpha Tau Omega, for instance, is conducting a toy drive for
abused children. The toys will go to the Westside Children’s
Hospital just in time for the Christmas season.
According to Mike Huber, president of Alpha Tau Omega, many
sororities and fraternities are also involved in a canned food
drive and a book drive.
When Steve Morris, the president of Delta Sigma Phi, was asked
what he hopes the kids learned from this experience, he hoped only
that they had a good time.
“The primary reason we are doing this is to motivate them.
But we also hope that they felt welcomed at UCLA and at the Delta
Sigma house,” he said.
