Brothers take on Mardi Gras
On the cold Friday afternoon of February 28th, six brothers from the Alpha Psi Chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity departed the city of Montreal towards the land of the house of the rising sun in a van red as the meridian they followed. Over the next 27 hours, this merry band traversed a continent finally reaching their destination at the Beta Tau chapter house, nestled deep in the fraternities clustering around Tulane University. Brothers there provided warm welcomes despite being in the thick of their own Mardi Gras celebrations, proving to be very accommodating hosts. As the Alpha Psi brothers shed the frigidity of the Canadian winter, the hospitality of the south warmed their spirits, as the spirits in turn warmed them. Joining a collection of brothers from all reaches of the United States, they embarked on three days of carnal celebration that merit no explicit narrative as many of the finer details are better left out of writing. With the celebrations over, a once lively city became a sullen ghost town and the once proud group slowly made its return up north like so many Canadian geese at the arrival of spring. Their journey, however, was far from over.
After leaving New Orleans on the 5th of March, these brothers ventured to Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the esteemed University of Virginia and Zeta Psi’s Beta chapter. After visiting the ancestral grounds of American founding father and 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson, accompanied by a brief tour of the University’s antiquated halls, the brothers entered the Beta house, met there by a firm handshake and a cold refreshment. That evening, the group continued their journey north arriving at the Phi Epsilon chapter at the University of Maryland with the night already in full swing. Although some of the brothers there were confined by their studies for the evening, a group was assembled and direction was given concerning the towns many haunts. The following day, the group detoured to the nation’s capital where a tour of the capitol therein was provided graciously by the staff of Arizona Senator John McCain. Upon receiving their lesson in the history of the civic process, the group tirelessly returned to the road with Lafayette College in their sights. Their sights, having grown soar from the perils of the road, found reinvigoration in the spectacle that was the house of the beloved Tau chapter, a historic landmark in Pennsylvania and the bastion of fraternity on the campus. Inside, the caliber of brothers matched that of dignity of their citadel, and once again the sojourning brothers found exemplary hosts. Now, physically depleted yet still firm in resolve, the Alpha Psi brothers made their final stop at the Nu Sigma chapter at Seton Hall University. The visit, however brief, promised a reciprocation from the brothers there to celebrate with their Alpha Psi counterparts in Montreal the coming weekend for every Zete’s favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. In sum, the adventure entailed Alpha Psi brothers conquering the better part of a continent, celebrating one of the world’s most unique festivals, educating themselves on the proud history of a nation, and most importantly, embodying the great vision of Bill Comstock for a Zeta Psi fraternity unrestricted by borders.