Liberty, equality, fraternity. These are the founding principles of the Western world. Monuments have been built to these principles in order to foster them. For example, New York City's Statue of Liberty was constructed as a gift from France to honor America's dedication to these values. Fraternity, however, is the principle with the most physical presence. Greek organizations on college campuses survive because they are anchored in ritual, tradition, and memory. By manipulating and repeating certain actions and beliefs, an institution can create a sense of continuity with the past within a specific community. In this case, the institution is a fraternity and the community consists of its brothers.
Macfarlane House, serves as a site of memory for a very specific group of people - the brothers of the Zeta Delta Xi fraternity. From 1916 to 1944, the property served as the fraternity house for the Zeta Psi chapter (Epsilon) at Brown University, from which Zeta Delta Xi was born. (The Brown University chapter of Zeta Psi decided to admit women in 1986, which forced them to sever ties with their national and form Zeta Delta Xi).
Here is a timeline of the building's history:
1845-47: The house was built for William Jones King. The house was constructed during the Greek Revival period, which accounts for its classical elements, such as the use of ionic columns in front. Mr. King was originally a bank cashier, but gained most of his wealth after leaving that position to become a cotton broker in 1836. During this time, he purchased the plot of land and built the house that would become 48 College Street.
The original floorplans: 
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1917: Zeta Psi, Inc. of Rhode Island purchased the house for $13,000, to move from their former house in Slater Hall.
1944: Brown University passed the Wriston Agreement, in which the fraternities agreed to move onto campus in exchange for university-maintained housing. The University used the house as apartments for Brown employees.
1960: The building was renovated and became studios and rehearsal rooms for the Music Department.
1979: The building was renovated under the patronage of the Macfarlane family in honor of their son, W. Kilgore Macfarlane Jr., class of 1923. After the renovations, the house became the Classics Department. (Previously, it had been called King House, after its founder.)
Although the house served many purposes since its construction, its period as a frat house has rendered it a lieu de memoire. Nora states that fraternities create an "illusion of eternity" because of their emphasis on continuity, both personally (between members of the brotherhood) and ritually (through traditions that have been carried on by the fraternity over many years). For example, during each Commencement, brothers and elders (alumni) of the house stand on the steps to salute the graduating seniors with the fraternity's chant.
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None of the brothers chanting on the steps have ever lived in 48 College Street, yet they still have a sense of personal ownership of the house, at least for a few hours during Commencement each year. While the notion that the brothers own the house is legally incorrect, in terms of lieux de memoire, the house is theirs. Lieux de memoire can not be owned or regulated, just as memory can not be. One can attempt to shape someone's memory of an event, but their perception will always be unique. This is also the reason why Macfarlane House is only a lieu de memoire with respect to the communities of Zeta Psi and Zeta Delta Xi. Without the "memoire", there is no lieu de memoire. Without memory, the property becomes a mere place and loses its symbolic importance. Those who are uneducated in its significance know nothing of its past, and thus can not link its past to the present.
But why is the Classics Department not a lieu de memoire in itself? Is it not trying to bring the past into the present? Although the house facilitates the study of the past, there is no practice through which people can feel that the past and present are intertwined through action; there is no active participation in the past. The participation gives the people the idea that they have the power to affect the past because they are still experiencing it, or something incredibly similar to it. The Classics Department attempts to reconstruct the past - it is involved with what Nora would call history rather than memory.
The group chant to the seniors from the steps of the building serves to reinforce the relationship between the brothers of Zeta Delta Xi (called "Zetes") and the physical area of 48 College Street, and to illustrate the ceremonious ending to their collegiate and fraternal careers. The walk past 48 College Street is symbolic of the life cycle of seniors' place in the fraternity. Zeta Psi first attained their own house on that space. The fraternity was born there. When the senior brothers walk past, their time at Brown, and thus their time at Zeta Delta Xi, ends. This collegiate life cycle also adds to the Classics Department's monumental quality, as it is also a monument of birth and death.
Fear not - the chant is viewed as something much less cryptic than the death of a college career. Among Zetes, it is seen as a congratulatory act on behalf of the brotherhood and a celebration of brotherly unity. The chant serves to perpetuate pride amongst Zetes through cultivating a common experience and collective memory. Pre-pledges (Zetes who have not yet become brothers) are also invited to partake in cheering on the seniors. Participating in one of the fraternity's most visible and stable traditions early on in their lives as Zetes impresses the strength of the brotherhood upon them. In the case of the pre-pledges, the tradition of Commencement and the action of honoring the past is manipulated in order to perpetuate the future. Nora affirms the effectiveness of this method by discussing the importance of a collectively experienced memory. He states that "The less memory is experienced collectively, the more it will require individuals to undertake to become themselves memory-individuals, as if an inner voice were to tell each Corsican 'You must be Corsican' and each Breton 'You must be Breton.'" The more the pre-pledges (and the brothers) experience together, the less conscious convincing they will need that . They are educated by action rather than word.
While 48 College Street was used as a fraternity house for less than 30 years, it was during this time period that the foundation for much of the memories surrounding it was established. The symbolic importance of 48 College Street would not exist if it were not for its brief stint as a frat house. I found the continuity of the Commencement tradition impressive and thought that it spoke volumes about the significance of Macfarlane House with respect to the fraternity and the closeness of the brotherhood. The house continues to play a large role in the past, present and future of Zeta Delta Xi. This Commencement, I will see the chanting fraternity brothers in a completely new light!
