Reconsider Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE): Gents, Scholars, and Jolly Good Fellows

The name Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) seems to conjure a specific image to University students, one that I have never understood. Some students see a barred house on High Street, a long lawsuit against the University, and a perceived representation of pushing against inclusion. As a brother of DKE, that is not how I see it. I acknowledge that history is complicated. However, this perception could not be further from my reality.

I do not write to you, the reader, to change your mind, I just want you to hear me out. Give me a moment of your day to show you how I see DKE from my experiences as a student and as a brother. 

I have seen a side of DKE that feels genuinely at odds with everything that I had been told to expect. I find that I am often asked questions about DKE from friends and classmates: Why DKE? Who’s in DKE? Why would you ever join DKE? Where is your house? These are fair questions, but they could not be more at odds with my actual experience.

Before arriving at the University from Singapore, I was introduced to DKE through my friend Tomo Ishikawa ’27, who I had grown up with in Tokyo. He told me his DKE experience was one of finding deeper friendship at a school where he had initially struggled to do so. To me, DKE was not controversial, it was just a fraternity. That contrast shaped my perspective. If you’ve formed an opinion about DKE, what was it based on: your own experience, or what you’ve been told? Have you ever met anyone in DKE?

The moment I arrived on campus, I learned quickly that at the University, the name DKE and the concept of an all-male organization carries a certain weight. I did not take it lightly, and I do not ask you to either. Have you ever dismissed something based solely on what others told you, only to find the reality was completely different? 

What I found in DKE on the other end of my initial hesitation to pledge was what I think every student at the University comes to learn on campus: How to build something meaningful in four years, how to show up for the people around them, and how to leave this place better than they found it. That may sound extremely PR-trained, but that is exactly what I have found with the brothers of DKE.

As an international non-athlete student thinking of pledging, I was welcomed with open arms to a community of largely athletes who enthusiastically sought to know me. As a pledge, I was treated with respect and kindness through invitations to lunches and dinners with people that I otherwise would have never met.

As a brother, I have been shown that the version of DKE that I was warned about and the one I actually joined are two entirely different things. The difference between perception and reality is why I am writing this piece. Wouldn’t you appreciate a place that welcomed you and allowed you to develop deeper friendships? 

Previous chapter president Colin Campbell ’25 spoke with The Argus about the changes being made within DKE. “The traditional frat culture that you see in movies, from my intuition, is changing [across the country],” he said.

This month’s Greekapolooza event felt like the epitome of these changes. DKE and Psi Upsilon (Psi U) came together and found common ground for this event. We raised over $3,000 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research, which was matched by alumni donations.

DKE is not a fraternity trying to wall itself off from the University community as an athlete-driven, strictly male, exclusive organization. This year’s events like Greekapooloza and tabling in Usdan show our commitment to becoming an integrated part of the University community. It was incredible to support research for ALS, which affected the mom of one of our brothers.

We are working to be an integrated part of the University community, and that can only happen through the openness of finding common ground. What would it take for you to reconsider a group you’ve been told negative things about if members consistently show respect, kindness, and genuine commitment to community?

Working with Psi U was a fantastic experience for us as brothers of DKE, especially as we attempt to further understand how we can demonstrate to the University community that their perception is based on a history we were not a part of and a history that has been misconstrued. 

I want to be clear about what actually led to our house ban that began in 2014: It was the University’s coeducational mandate, not a sexual assault lawsuit. In fact, Title IX, has protections for the membership practices of same-sex fraternities and sororities. This exemption seems at odds with the coeducational mandate that has been used to stop DKE from entering and living at our home. The house sits completely empty on High Street, a wasted opportunity for perfectly good, recently renovated program housing for students of all gender identities.

Being an all-male organization is not remotely indicative of unwillingness to connect with the University community. Greekapolooza was a great example of our goal to reach more of the community. We are committed to returning to campus stronger than before, and we want that to be done with the support of the student body through events that bring positive value to it. 

We aren’t a secret society. We aren’t hiding. We aren’t ashamed to be a part of DKE in any way. 

We invite your criticism, your hesitancy, and your questions. But meaningful conversation cannot occur without a chance for us to answer. Our efforts to get the house back have opened up something that I’m genuinely excited about: The chance to engage with every pocket of the University community. Living in the house means we’ll be more visible, more accessible, and more integrated in campus life. That’s the opportunity I see at this moment, and it is a goal I am so excited to continue to pursue.

So I invite you to meet us. Reach out. Ask questions. We would be happy to connect and answer them.

Gray West is a member of the class of 2028 and can be reached at gwest@wesleyan.edu.