Points of Departure: Brotherhood
Ethan Pravetz (SED’12, CAS’12)
When Ethan Pravetz entered BU as a freshman, he never imagined that he’d establish a fraternity. But in the fall of 2009, the science education and biology major did just that. Along with seven classmates, Pravetz began laying the groundwork to create the Boston University colony of Delta Lambda Phi, a fraternity for gay, bisexual, and progressive men. He soon found himself serving as the colony’s president and pledge educator. DLP had founded a Boston-wide chapter in 2001, but membership dwindled and the group dissolved in 2007—a year before Pravetz arrived at BU.
“It’s always important for someone to find something that they can call home,” says Pravetz (SED’12, CAS’12), “where they can feel safe and welcome.”
This fall, the fraternity completed its first rush, and it was recently voted Best New Student Organization of the Year. The BU colony now has 20 members and Pravetz is confident that the organization will continue to grow long after his departure from BU. “This thing I crazily started on a whim three years ago is now going to be changing lives, hopefully for many years to come,” he says. “And that’s a chance few people get.”
Pravetz says that “brotherhood is taking someone as they are, but seeing them as they can be.” Looking back on the whole experience, he notes, “It’s been an incredible ride, and I’m so grateful to be with this since the beginning.”
Additional editing by Alex Stout (COM’13).
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