The Beta Xi chapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity has been reinstated on the William Jewell College campus, ending its almost 13 year long hiatus from the Hill.
However, at the start of the spring semester, when the members of the fraternity began moving their 5th generation couches and framed Fight Club posters into the residence hall, their efforts were halted by members of the William Jewell College baseball team. Matt Crawford, junior, understands the necessity of cooperation between the two groups but wants to be forthright regarding the 2005 version of the house versus its current “vibe.”
“Here’s the thing. We can’t stop anyone from moving in, and hey, the more the merrier. And we can always use more pins for our Human Bowling league, but they should know that we’ve made . . . well, some slight changes around here.”
The changes of which Crawford speaks include the fraternity creed once featured on the wall of the top floor of the house. It has since been repurposed as a shrine to Coach Stockton, and current residents of the Baseball House have issued a request that all Sigma Nu brothers maintain the traditions of the residence by performing the nightly, candlelit group sing-a-long to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” at the base of the alter.
“The photo collage is sacred to me. To all of us. It took weeks of crafting and hundreds of hours of cutting and pasting. We spent about a third of the Athletic Department’s budget on making this magazine collage of Coach’s college yearbook headshots, karaoke song choices and bowling high scores,” an anonymous first-year who for some reason has taken up residence in the house, said.
In place of rituals of the fraternity, the baseball team has created a new set of traditions in which they will ask newcomers to participate.
“The frat guys are totally invited to take part in the House traditions. We’ve got a pretty competitive Spikeball game going most nights, and we put a 1500 piece puzzle of a famous American landmark together like, every weekend. We want to be welcoming; we want them to feel like part of the family, so I mean, they could even work some of the night shifts when we keep watch over the baseball field to make sure no one is out there vandalizing it again,” a player said.
There are also physical changes that are likely to surprise the Sigma Nu members since they were last in the now-Baseball House, including the College’s initiative to gut and pawn off all of the kitchen appliances and the fact that half of the campus mistakenly calls the residence the “Senior House.” Additionally, there are rumored to be others also residing in the house, including several women and men that are not on the baseball team, but such ludicrous reports remain unconfirmed.
