A Letter from the President

After three years of school, I can confirm without a doubt that MIT offers its students one of the best learning experiences they can hope to have. The administration ensures that every student is given a solid amount of core experience in the sciences and in the humanities (though with an obvious emphasis on the former). The faculty are truly the authorities in their fields, and are happy to teach and learn with students both inside and outside of the classroom. The school boasts the highest number of extracurricular activities and sports offerings in the nation, creating an environment where already talented students can continue with those activities that got them into MIT, while also encouraging exploration of previously untapped ability. In every aspect of traditional education, MIT is committed to excellence.

But there is an aspect of college that is often overlooked by eager high school graduates when they make the life-changing decision of what school to attend in the fall. It is not something quantitatively measurable, nor is it obvious from the school’s literature, or even a campus visit. Yet, it is this aspect that, above all others, will define the quality of education and, most likely, the choices that every student makes both in and after college. This is, of course, the social interactions that students have outside of the classroom; where they live, who they see, and the type of things that they do together. It is something that the MIT administration, the faculty, and all of the clubs at the Institute cannot assist with, and a difficult choice that each student can only make when they arrive on campus.

I had no intention of joining a fraternity when I came to MIT’s campus. Fraternities, I assumed, were places where those stupid kids who somehow slipped through the cracks of the MIT admissions process went to drink their way through college until they went on to mediocre jobs and endeavors. And then I was informed that more than half of MIT’s male population was affiliated, that there were 26 hugely varied fraternities, and that there were at least as many MIT fraternity alums as non-fraternity alums who were ultra-successful multi-millionaires (and Nobel Prize winners). So I participated actively in rush. I ate the free food, went on the lavish trips through the greater Boston area, and let the realization soak in that the kids rushing me were actually pretty cool. And at the end of it all I pledged PBE.

I used to try to explain why I picked PBE, but I’ve long since realized that I don’t remember at all, and that any reason I gave would just be an educated guess. Maybe it was all the great food, prepared by the chef that we actually keep all year long (and yes, sometimes she just decides to make us lobster). Maybe it was playing poker for hours on end and just talking about all of the crazy experiences the older PBE brothers had had at MIT. Maybe it’s because some of my best freshman friends had better reasons than I did to join, and I followed them along. What’s important is that I did, and that because of that decision, I’ve had an incredible three years at MIT.

And that’s really the crux of it. The academics here are fine; I’m pursuing two very different majors and am fascinated by both. The extra-curriculars are fine; I’ve been on a sports team, in several music groups, in various other clubs. Even the Physical Education requirement is fine; where else would anybody ever let me shoot a pistol and play badminton and call it a workout? But amongst all of those fine things, it has been PBE that has been more than fine; it is the reason that I can call MIT home.

So what is it about PBE that makes it great? Foremost, it has to be the people, because that’s what a fraternity is; a group of men going to school together. It is getting advice from older brothers about what major to choose, and what jobs to do during the summer. It is going to movies, clubs and meals with my pledge class. It is throwing huge roofdeck parties that attract hundreds (sometimes thousands) of students from around Boston. It is staying up until 4AM with other brothers, doing homework and discussing politics or philosophy or girls. It is relying on my brothers for good times, good advice, and great support.

But at some point, I realized the difference between the fraternity as a group of people, and the fraternity as an institution. What makes PBE truly remarkable is that it is a place where you reap the benefits of the efforts of many people who came before you, and leave a footprint when you leave that will affect many people after you. Although a single brother will only know people from the three classes immediately before and after him, he will be profoundly influenced by the house traditions, culture, and reputation that have reached back as far as our 1890 inception. Our pursuit of constant self-improvement, as well as our closeness as brothers, is a product of the house’s membership, and of the houses institutional frameworks. The combination of these two things creates a self-reinforcing loop.

As we go into rush this fall, I can’t help but get excited once again. We have a responsible and driven core of 08s, a huge powerhouse of an 09 class, and an enthusiastic new class of 2010, and I expect that we will be able to be a home for a great new group of 11s. I never expected when I came to MIT that I would someday be the president of a fraternity. But after three years of reaping the benefits of life at PBE, I’m excited to be in a place where I can try to further those values that have made it such an ideal place for me to spend my college years. And so I go into the fall with the intention of continuing to make the house an institution dedicated to giving its membership every available opportunity to grow; academically, artistically, socially, culturally, and emotionally. I go into fall with the hope that future students will also let PBE be that final, missing part of their MIT education.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Levick
Phi Beta Epsilon President, Fall 2007