Ramos1

Jovan Ramos

English 113B

Professor Lawson

May 12, 2017

Project Space

Word Count: 1100

The Fraternity House

The Month of February means spring recruitment for fraternities at the Cal State

University of Northridge. Zeta Beta Tau is the oldest Jewish fraternity on campus and it is also

the only fraternity that does not haze. Zeta Beta Tau is known for recruiting gentlemen for the

present and future. The Fraternities Alumni speak for itself, all over the nation Zeta Beta Tau

alumni improve our country in their own way. Alumni such as, Robert Kraft; the owner of the

New England Patriots, William Paley; Founder of CBS and many others. Before the intersection

of Roscoe and Corbin Avenue there is a driveway that leads deep into a two-story house filled

with history that only the brothers of Zeta Beta Tau are honored to know. For decades, the Zeta

Beta Tau fraternity has created itself an image of firm brotherhood and has succeeded in

developing men to their full potential in our society today.

Walking into the driveway one would get the feeling of honor and commitment, while

retracing the steps of their founding fathers. One will notice the orange and palm trees that are

the neighbors have grown but have outgrown themselves into the fraternities driveway; creating

shade in multiple areas of the house. Once you reach the end of the driveway you come across

the giant blue and gold words of, Zeta Beta Tau and the honorable crest that has been admired

continuously by generations of the past and will continued to be honored by the men of the
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future. On the left, one could also see our front lawn well cut and taken care of by the gardeners

that come once every week to trim the tress and cut the lawn. Entering the house, one would

instantly sense the smell of febreeze and pizza. As soon as you enter the house on the left side

beside the stairs there is a room known as The Chapter Room. This room is filled with awards,

documents and photographs that have been passed down for generations and saved as archives.

In the room, you could see awards on the walls for placing in sorority philanthropies and for

having the best GPAs. There are composites of the founding fathers and their pledge classes on

the wall. In middle of the room there is a pool table in case anyone wants to play pool while they

are surrounded by history. Zeta Beta Tau is also happy to be considered an IFC fraternity for

years. Since chartered in 1968, Zeta Beta Tau has held the torch of dominant brotherhood and

prominent leadership to not only help make decisions for making CSUN a better campus but also

for Northridge becoming the great community it is today.

Across the chapter room there is another room known as the poker room where brothers

not only enjoy playing poker but also blackjack and cards against humanity. Next to the poker

room theres the laundry room, where brothers that live in the fraternity house do their laundry

and dry their clothes. Brothers that dont even live in the house are welcomed to do their laundry

if needed. Next to that is the kitchen that is known for having food, a sink, dishwasher and other

typical kitchen things. Across from that you could see the floor transitioning from tiles to

wooden floor. Once you reach the wooden floor, you are now stepping into what is known as the

living room. There on a wall A giant crest frame is honored as a shrine by all the brothers. At a

90 degree angle you could see the gold letters hanging from the chimney spelling out ZBT.

The floor is a bit worn out from the amount of parties and rituals the brothers have had. The next

morning you get the smell of home, bacon and eggs. Brothers usually arrive to the house early in
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the morning to cook breakfast and spend a good morning with their brothers by cooking, eating

then later watching a classic film like Pulp Fiction.

In the grand house, there are five rooms and two brothers live in each room, every brother

has their own bathroom. Going up the stairs you walk into the game room where brothers play

guitar hero, super smash bros brawl, call of duty etc. Some brothers usually use that as a

kickback spot to watch movies, eat In n Out and hang out. Next to the game room there is a

balcony where brothers layback on a couch with a speaker by their side looking upon the

wilderness in front of them and the tennis court/basketball court the house has. There are

Christmas lasers on each side and middle so that the tress and small forest behind the house isnt

pitch dark but instead it is covered with moving lasers.

The Brothers of Zeta Beta Tau have shown throughout their history that they indeed are a

powerhouse of excellence. Entering the fraternity house, you realize there are brothers that have

interests in a variety of things. For example, having one brother that is currently majoring in

marketing and has an internship with a record label. Another brother has in interest in public

health and is currently working as a part time nurse. Brothers rush this Fraternity to find

themselves, while they are lost in the beginning of their journey to pursue what they desire.

Overtime these men come across obstacles, they learn how to build themselves and conquer their

issues with the help of not only experience but integrity. All this leads to the brothers finding

their passion for certain activities. Alumni relations are very highly praised in our fraternity; Zeta

Beta Tau has alumni all over the nation in a variety of fields. The fraternity keeps a close

connection so that new members can realize what it is like after the Greek life. Alumni usually

go out of their way to help an active brother position himself in a stable career. Over the years
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alumni have helped active brother find careers in the business, CTVA, Kinesiology and

journalism field.

The Zeta Beta Tau house on Corbin and Roscoe has history written all over it, the

brothers of ZBT find it an honor to arrive to that house knowing their founding fathers once

stepped in this house and made a difference to the world. The house has had its downfall but the

active brothers are happy enough to say they are on the top and plan to staying at the top for a

while.