The room fell silent as the words came out of his mouth, "and so we no longer recognize Delta Sigma Phi as a fraternity associated with the University, effective immediately, until the end of May 2018."

Many cried, some cursed, and others just simply stared at the ground, speechless. There we were as brothers, watching something we built from the ground up, quickly coming to an end.

So what do we take from all of this? What do I, as a member of a fraternity, take from this?

It made me realize, as famously put by Bob Dylan that, "the times they are a-changin", especially in regards to being in a fraternity. In today's world, with all the connectivity of social media, it almost seems impossible to see a bright side to being in a fraternity. Hazing, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, racial slurs.

All of these have unfortunately been associated with the actions of some fraternities recently, whether at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Virginia, or even right here in Tucson at the University of Arizona. As not just a member of the Greek system, but also as a gentleman, I find all of these actions sickening, absolutely sickening.

Having said that though, I find it saddening that many, if not all fraternities have quickly become targeted as entities automatically associated with these actions because this, my friends, is completely false.

As Wikipedia states, a fraternity, "is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood dedicated to the intellectual, physical, moral, religious, and/or social development of its members." A society of men. Men who respect women, people of all walks of life and who ultimately want the best for humanity.

Before initiation, every single member of my fraternity had to memorize the preamble to our constitution. Every.Single.Word. Here is, in my opinion, the most powerful part of it all, "that the sanctity of the home and the sacredness of the family bond, the hearthstone of our enlightened civilization, and the chivalry of man toward woman, shall be maintained and protected by us, not only for ourselves and our posterity, but also for the good of all mankind."

For the good of all mankind.

I remember as I read it over and over again, that I meant every single word of it, and that I wanted to prove to the world the very sincerity of my fraternities purpose.

I will admit that we as a fraternity made mistakes, a lot of mistakes. Some with more long lasting consequences than we could have foreseen. We as men of character have some things to fix within our chapters. Mistakes have been made but lessons have and will have to be learned.

However, I will not regret having joined a fraternity. Amid the chaos at chapter meetings or the arguments over certain things, my mind has never changed. From the minute I walked into the room during rush week or when I stepped out of the house as an official member, I have only been proud to be known as a fraternity man.

Why, you might ask?

Well, the real question is why not?

Why not join an organization of men with the same positive ideals as you? Men who do hours of community service, like building homes for Habitat for Humanity or raising money for the American Red Cross. Men who try to set their ideals higher than the average person in order to make their community and campus a better place.

For one corrupted fraternity member that is excessively shown by the media, I can show you 100 members who are the opposite; who are brave and honest, caring, and truly believe in the words that they have had to memorize.

So I can tell you, that although our fraternity may be unrecognized by the University of Arizona, and even disowned nationally, that there is not a soul in the world who can tell me that I am not a member of Delta Sigma Phi.

As we received the news and sanctions towards our fraternity, we joined together, in that very room, encircled, brother next to brother, and sang our fraternity song once more. It was louder than I had ever sang it before.

Just as metal under a fire, our bond as brothers will only become stronger and we will rise from the ashes, pick up the pieces and create something even better, because we will always believe in the improvement of ourselves and others, whether morally, intellectually, or physically.

I will still proudly wear my letters on campus, for everyone to see, despite of what they may think, because I am a gentleman and I am a fraternity man.