an siu φκτ brother relates life with indies

Ray Sophie is a Phi Kappa Tau brother at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, its flagship campus. Writing in his last column of the semester, he offers a squib in the form of a bestiary of his independent roommates — amusing both for its light style and colorful descriptions. All seven are fellow swimmers, but range from an inveterate hibernator to an eclectic tinkerer. What Sophie sees as uniting them all is that they “make fun of the fact I am in a fraternity, despite the fact they really liked all of my brothers whom they have met.” Unfortunately, not exactly unusual sentiments. Sophie hasn’t had the opportunity to live with brothers yet. “I hope to remedy that situation shortly,” he says.