ARCHON’S ADDRESS
Julian Barnes defines history as “that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.” One of the greatest pleasures as undergraduates in Psi Upsilon is reconstructing our own 173-year history from forgotten meetings’ minutes and stories from Brothers of years past.
The Brothers of the Zeta Chapter relied upon this history while preparing for the impending changes from President Hanlon’s Moving Dartmouth Forward proposal. However, the undergraduates also acknowledge that sometimes the best decision is to diverge from established precedents. The Zeta Chapter has no tradition more cherished than bringing the next succession of Brothers into our ranks each new school year. Any action that jeopardized this tradition had to go.
For this reason, Psi Upsilon worked alongside the rest of the Inter- Fraternity Council to construct a Brotherhood Term in lieu of a traditional Pledge Term. We recognize our limited time inside the U-Lodge; Psi U is about being a Brother, not being a pledge.
Yet, while we let some traditions fade away, we continue to stick to our core values and maintain excellence across all corners of campus. This past spring, the Brothers of Psi U earned the highest Grade Point Average of all fraternities at Dartmouth at a 3.65 with Ethan Portnoy ‘14 and Jake Leichtling ’14 at the helm as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
Psi Upsilon Brothers excelled outside of the classroom as well, with over 30 varsity athletes in our ranks competing for the swimming, diving, rowing, sailing, skiing, and track teams. Nejc Zupan ‘14 was voted “Best Male Athlete of the Year” by the Dartmouth student body after his 13th place finish in the NCAA championships for the 100- meter breaststroke. And Timmy Gorman ‘16 set a personal record in the mile after setting a blistering 4:01:64 pace last wintertrackseason.
In service to the Upper Valley community, Psi U’s logged over 2000 hours through their efforts in the Prouty, the Dartmouth Ski Patrol, the Outdoor Leadership Experience, Athletes United, the Dartmouth Blood Drive, and many other campus organizations. The incredibly successful “#ShaveBennett” campaign raised almost $20,000 for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth after Positive Tracks matched our contributions to shave Brother Bennett Winton’s (’16) finely manicured hair.
Our efforts were rewarded at the Psi U National convention. This year we were presented the Garnet & Gold Award for Academic Excellence, the Owl Award for Exceptional Academic Performance, the Clasped Hand Award for Philanthropy and Service, and the Diamond Award for Exceptional Chapters. We are proud of all our accomplishments and look forward to more prosperous years to come.