Charles “Charlie” Moran, 18, sits down at the interview in a casual, crystalline white hoodie and what appears to be an upside-down Cross necklace.
“Sorry I’m late,” he says over donuts. “I got paint thrown on the outfit I was wearing before,” he explains, trying but failing to disguise his tears as allergies. Just one of many examples of the tribulations he must undergo, this latest paint-throwing incident is testament to the hostility Charlie faces from, as he puts it, “pledging a commitment to my brothers for life.”
“I don’t consider myself a racist,” he notes, showing me the touching photo of a cop hugging a Black person he put on his story eight weeks ago. “I really believe in changing the system from within, which is actually part of the reason why I decided to pledge Kappa Kappa Kappa. Knights for life!”
Though he is vocal about his efforts to “diversify our recruitment” – Charlie is particularly proud of pioneering their outreach efforts to BIPOC, including “the historically marginalized redneck peoples,” – the constant hate Charlie receives takes a toll on him.
“As a white man, this burden is really hard to shoulder when it’s coupled with things like the #MeToo movement. I just don’t get the hate– we’re trying to help purify greek life. Isn’t that what everyone wanted?”
On the hilly ride to the frat house, whose austere ivory columns hold a sharp, white roof, Charlie explains that he “tries not to put too much blame on himself” for the prejudice faced by members of the group.
“I’m living with Tucker, Arthur, and Jeff in the David Duke House. Well, we actually live in the little shed next to the main house, but anyways, they’ve taken it really hard. How come Muslim women can wear hijabs but we can’t wear our hoods? I’m trying to make it more inclusive. I even made us matching masks, but no one wants to hear what they don’t want to believe, I guess,” he says with the smug expression donned by many an econ major.
For now, Tucker, Arthur, and Jeff, alongside the rest of the brotherhood, are playing the devil’s advocate from their shed as the Duke Campus has become “too hostile” for them to “practice free speech.” As for Charlie, well, he’s not giving up just yet.
“Kappa Kappa Kappa is my life. We’re greek life in its purest form, and we’re going to make sure all of Duke knows it,” he says with a cheeky grin.
Kappa Kappa Kappa is holding their first mixer with the Duke Female Conservative Alliance this October. Drinks, hoods, and confederate flags will be available at the door.
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