Though new students from the class of 2012 have already settled onto campus, an influx of Texans could soon hit College Hill.
The mayor of Houston sent a letter to the Delta Tau fraternity on Friday saying he is taking steps to make them honorary Houstonians - an honor bestowed upon foreign dignitaries, prominent individuals, entertainers or artists, according to the mayor's Web site.
"It's a little surreal, almost," DTau Treasurer Matt Khan '10 said of the honor. "We feel pretty honored to be recognized by someone so important as the mayor of Houston."
In the letter, which Mayor Bill White sent DTau Vice President David Tagle '11 via e-mail on Friday, White thanked the members of DTau for donating the proceeds from a Sept. 19 charity auction toward relief for the victims of Hurricane Ike.
DTau's "Date-a-Delt" auction raised more than $800 for the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund, part of the Greater Houston Community Foundation. The fraternity was put on probation Sept. 30 by the Greek Council for failing to register the event, since organizations that host parties that sell alcohol or have more than 100 attendees must be registered. Khan said DTau members did not have time to register the event because they were trying to aid Ike's victims as quickly as possible.
In his letter, White said though he did not "advocate violating good rules," DTau's effort to send aid quickly showed a Texan "can-do spirit."
He suggested that some of the brothers consider moving to Houston after graduation. "After all, we have great jobs; we hate bureaucracy; and we have many great women who will be willing to 'Date-a-Delt' without even a benefit auction," he wrote.
Tagle said that when he received the letter, he immediately forwarded it to the DTau listserv. He said at first some of the brothers were skeptical, but when they found their tale mentioned in an Oct. 3 Houston Chronicle article about the total $7 million dollars that have been donated to recovery from Hurricane Ike, they were convinced the letter was legitimate.
Tagle said a public relations person from the city of Houston got his contact information from President Ruth Simmons' office and contacted him to find out the names of DTau's members.
The letter came out of the blue, Tagle said. But he added, "It kind of makes us feel like we're doing something right."
