Following a long Production Night this past Wednesday, The Bucknellian, the University’s student-run newspaper publication, announced its plans to apply for a fraternity house on campus in the spring. Chartered in the fall of 2017, Nu Eta Lambda Lambda (NELL) aims to compete with the rising Delta Upsilon fraternity for the house on Strohecker Farm Lane, joining the ranks of Kappa Delta Rho, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Lambda Chi Alpha on this fraternity-filled road.

Julie Butterfly ’19, the elected social chair of NELL, has pioneered the push towards the middle-tier of University Greek life.

“It has been an uphill battle to establish ourselves since day one,” Butterfly said. “However, I think we’ve made great progress, hosting several mixers in our downtown house, affectionately named Blue Stuck House.”

According to several well-placed sources within the new co-ed fraternity, NELL took in a pledge class of 45 new members this semester, and are looking to expand even further in the coming years.

“We pride ourselves on the fact that we do not haze,” Eddie In-Chief ’19 said. “The only requirements we have to rush our fraternity is to write an article every week and have a high tolerance for both liquor and journalistic integrity.”

Despite the successes of this NELL initiative, the group has been plagued by a myriad of controversies in their inaugural year. One member of the fraternity recalls how their former president and faculty advisor stormed downtown Lewisburg with a stack of freshly-printed newspapers and a case of Natural Light.

“It was a nightmare,” Barles Cheers ’19 said. “Barbara and Brent were out of control. The minute they put on those newspaper hats, I knew that we were in for a night.”

However, NELL has made a concerted effort to right the wrongs of the past and establish a better image for the fraternity as a whole. Coordinating with the Fraternity & Sorority Affairs Office, Butterfly organized the first-ever newspaper-themed register on campus, the theme of the party promoted as “Hot News and Cold Brews.”

“The event was a massive success,” Butterfly said. “You wouldn’t think that 300 people could fit into one downtown house, but the mission statement of NELL has always been to push boundaries. Literally. The building could collapse at any second.”