On behalf of myself, and all of the brothers of the Pi Colony of Phi Gamma Delta, I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the article written by Ms. Beck last week. As a new fraternity on this campus we are continuously taking steps to strive for a meaningful and beneficial experience within Greek life, both for ourselves and the community as a whole. We apologize with the utmost sincerity for any offense that the Fiji Sweetheart application caused, and as members of the Allegheny community we feel the need to reaffirm that we recognize, and value, the role of women within our fraternity. Our intentions at no time strayed toward sexism or exclusion. We had only sought to use this title as a commendation for the wonderful assistance we have received from so many people on the Allegheny campus.

Ms. Beck’s comments have raised awareness for very important issues that permeate all of our lives and, as a fraternity that prides itself on fostering gentlemen of quality, we will be more careful in any future proceedings. We would also like to take this space to invite any member of the community to approach us if they feel that an issue has arisen that needs addressed. By working together and discussing the issues we hope to provide the campus with a new organization that is receptive to the evolving environment of Allegheny. If anyone (be it student, faculty or staff) wishes to address our colony, or just our executive board, we would be glad to work with them. Once again, we apologize to any member of the community who was offended, reaffirming that we value the input of all, and invite any comments or concerns to be addressed to myself or any other member of the colony.

Matt Bocchi
FIJI Founding Fatherand Recruitment Chair
Class of 2013