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Road trips
David “Secret Agent Man” Karseboom
Beta Omicron – Arizona State University
have been given a nasty
stigma in recent times...
At the mention of the term “road
trip”, most people imagine flaky
gas stations, sniveling siblings,
and angry parents, or even worse,
the endless winding roads through
the mountains that often lead to
the phrase, “Pull over, I think I’m
gonna be sick!”. Perhaps that was
just me with the motion
sickness problem. With the
speed and relative affordability
of airline tickets, the
road trip has been relegated
to a means of transit good
enough for only the poor
and the insane.
Last time I checked, we are
all college students that
joined a fraternity for band.
I think that qualifies as
poor and insane!
Road trips do not have to be the
terrifying, depressing, and nauseating
experience that some of us may
have experienced in our childhood.
By making some fellow brothers
passengers and changing the destination
to another awesome chapter
somewhere in the Western District,
you can have an absolutely thrilling
time building brotherhood.
Take, for example, some of my
escapades. ΚΚΨ Gamma Kappa at
NAU conducted Second Degree for
their new Beta Kappa prospective
class. It was on a Sunday afternoon,
the day after ASU Band Day, which
all of us worked from start to
finish. But instead of giving in
to fatigue or using schoolwork as
an excuse, three of us got in the
car and drove to Flagstaff for the
day. Degree was great, photos
were fun, and food was delicious.
We managed to meet a few of the
new prospective members and
reconnect with the Brothers we
already knew. But instead of bidding
farewell and heading right
back home, we asked the question,
“What else are you doing?”
With that, we ended up at an
apartment shared by brothers
(and a particular ΤΒΣ sister
that we freaked out by showing
up to the door, still dressed up
from Degree, looking like crazy
door-to-door missionaries trying
to spread the faith). We enjoyed
watching some comedy skits on
video, reading parliamentary
procedure (perhaps just me),
TableofContents
and having an all-out Nerf gun
war between the upper landing
and the open living room of the
two-story apartment. The war
lasted for hours, and disrupted a
committee meeting at one point,
forcing the members to join the
fight or find cover.
Our group of three visiting
brothers dropped in on
a membership education
class later that evening and
had the opportunity to learn
about ΚΚΨ Gamma Kappa
and ΤΒΣ Alpha Chi, especially
their Joint Hymn. Following
that and a stop at a
birthday party for a sister, we
begrudgingly acknowledged
the lateness of the hour and
headed home in order to
make our morning classes.
The lesson from the story?
There are so many simple yet
absolutely fulfilling experiences
within the brotherhood that most
individuals miss because they
are unwilling to make the trip.
District-wide events, like WD
Convention and DLC, are good
for catching up, but schedules are
always crammed full of business
and events, leaving no time for
true bonding. To really know and
enjoy brotherhood, one must seek
out other chapters, be friendly,
and find time to just have a Nerf
gun fight.