The University’s Xi chapter won four awards at the National Psi Upsilon (Psi U) Convention in Boston this summer, including The Garnet and Gold Award of Academic Excellence. Other honors garnered by the chapter included: the Diamond Award of Exceptional Chapters; The Clasped Hands Award for Outstanding Philanthropy and Service; and an Award of Distinction for a banquet the chapter held in honor of the late Captain Joseph Pagano of the Middletown Fire Department.
The Xi Chapter was one of only two chapters in the country to receive the prestigious Diamond Award. Along with the fellow Diamond Award winner Tau Chapter of the University of Pennsylvania, the University’s chapter is considered the best in the country.
“[Wesleyan’s chapter] has shown outstanding growth in member size, significant academic achievement, continued leadership and involvement in its campus and community, and impressive philanthropic efforts,” read the convention’s minutes.
Current chapter president Chris Goy ’09 said he’s inherited the chapter’s current triumphs from his predecessor, former chapter president Benjie Messinger-Barnes ’09.
“I believe [Messinger-Barnes] is most directly responsible for the many recent successes that our house has had,” Goy said.
According to Goy, these awards have been long in the making.
“From producing the first Undergraduate Philosophy Journal to the many student representatives that serve on the WSA and elsewhere, we feel that members of our organization simply highlight the same excellence that Wesleyan produces in many other students as well,” Goy said.
The Psi U national office also said that the University’s chapter was operating well beyond the standards of the organization.
Tom Fox, director of chapter services for Psi Upsilon’s national office, lauded the University’s chapter.
“They’re doing a number of things well,” Fox said. “I don’t have to go down there a lot, which is good.”
These achievements have not gone unnoticed by members of the administration.
“I’m pleased that our Psi Upsilon chapter has been acknowledged for their efforts,” said Interim Dean of the College Mike Whaley. “These awards are an indication that the members take their mission seriously and aim to contribute in positive ways to the Wesleyan community.”
These awards show a different side to frat life on campus, Whaley says.
“The fact a fraternity at Wesleyan has been recognized for academic achievement and philanthropy suggests that some revisit their stereotypes of what Greek life is all about,” he said.
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