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By Root 259 0

to my room and got dressed. I put on a long-sleeved cotton crew-neck sweater of aqua, pink, yellow, and white squares, a Guess denim skirt, and a pair of navy leather flats. A strand of pearls and matching earrings completed my ensemble, along with a navy blue reversible Bermuda bag with wooden handles, so popular among the preppy set, which held my student identification card, room key, lipstick, small comb, and a bit of cash. Folding my sweats neatly on my bed and stacking my work on my desk, I bid good-bye to my friends and headed to the party with Jim and a few of the others from my dorm, including a pretty blonde girl named Cricket and her date. As we walked down Rugby Road, the redolent scent of Virginia dirt commingled with the sickening odor of the gingko tree berries and the stale beer stench that permanently wafted down the street lined by fraternity houses.

The Phi Kappa Psi house was a massive Georgian pile of bricks on Madison Lane, off Rugby Road, standing directly across from the Rotunda. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, music was blaring, and we could see revelers gathered with cups of beer on the porch and dancing in the large rooms inside. The party was in full swing.

I recognized a casual friend, Hudson Millard, a fifth-year resident adviser, working the door that night. Short, dark-haired, and affable, he greeted us happily. “Hud” was known by the younger students as a responsible and respectable guy who was always there with a ready ear to listen or advice to give if we needed it. He waved our group in and we entered the main rooms of the first floor of Phi Psi. To the left, foosball and music, keg beer, and casual dancing were the main attractions. To the right, brothers and partygoers were gathered around a large round table playing quarters, the beer-drinking game, and a small staircase led up to the house kitchen. To the far left was a large, dark room filled with leather sofas and armchairs with composite photographs of the brothers hanging over the massive fireplace mantels. Here, some couples cuddled, oblivious to the din of revelers and blasting music. Still tired and feeling a bit self-conscious in such a big crowd, I tried to rally and get into the spirit of the party. We all approached one of the many kegs and Jim poured a beer for each of us into those large, red plastic cups that are still a fixture at college parties today. We tried to figure out who was a brother at the house. Those were the people Jim would need to talk to if he wanted to gain entry to the next round of parties and, eventually, the brotherhood itself.

Feeling awkward, we sipped on our beers and staked our claim on the foosball table. I set my red cup of beer down on the windowsill and lamely attempted a game or two with Jim and some of our friends, jamming the levers of the table. Clearly, foosball was not my best game.

At one point, a few of the brothers came up to introduce themselves as members of Phi Psi, and chatted with Jim about his rush ambitions. A couple of them asked if our group, which included Cricket and her friend, would enjoy a house tour, explaining that it was traditional during rush to show prospective members what the house looked like. We agreed and carefully climbed the grand staircase in a group to the second floor. That floor had a large living room, a rumpus room that was set with furniture, a bar, and some music blaring from a stereo. Revelers moved in and out of the room as the brothers showed us the common areas and some of the bedrooms, which clearly had recently been cleaned for such tours. The bedrooms were spacious, most decorated with Oriental rugs and bookshelves, some with the Confederate flag tacked to the ceiling. Jim seemed excited to be shown around and was chatting animatedly to the brothers who came and went. I simply stood next to him, smiling. I had an early class, and hoped this wouldn’t take much longer. At one point, I realized I had emptied my red beer cup and I refilled it from a keg on that floor, trying to look busy and sociable.

Back in the main room on the second