The men of Koon deliver milk and cookies to the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house.
Courtesy | Micah Yarlott
When residents of men’s dorms or fraternity houses open the door to see 20 fellow men, they may expect a prank. This semester, one dorm is bringing baked goods, a personalized letter, and an invitation to prayer to other Hillsdale men.
Every Sunday night around 9 or 10 p.m., the men of Koon Residence make deliveries to another men’s dorm or fraternity house on campus — a service known as “Daddy Koon’s Delivery.”
Senior Noah Fuller, the head resident assistant in Koon, takes credit for coming up with the name, which he said he chose primarily because it’s funny and lighthearted.
“I came up with it through divine inspiration,” Fuller said. “It just popped into my head.”
Fuller said Daddy Koon’s Delivery is a way to encourage positivity and community between men on campus amidst prank wars and dorm rivalries.
“We love pranking,” Fuller said. “It’s a lot of fun to make some noise and stir up rivalry. I also think it’s nice to sometimes bring a little quiet and friendship as well. I think that those two things together are lovely and good for the culture.”
Fuller said he wants to bring a stronger men’s culture to campus and encourage people who might be going through hard times.
A couple of Koon residents volunteer each week to help bake cookies and handwrite a note for the other dorm. After their nightly dorm meetings on Sundays, the men of Koon walk over as a group to deliver the surprise.
Freshman Samuel Goetz wrote the letter to Sigma Chi fraternity, the first place Daddy Koon’s Delivery visited, and addressed it to some of his friends who currently live in the house.
“I just wrote them words of encouragement,” Goetz said. “It’s really nice to know that you’re able to help move people and help encourage them. I heard from the people that I addressed the letter to specifically that it really helped bring up their spirits when they might have just been having a rough day or week.”
The men of Koon have visited Sigma Chi, Whitley Residence, and Delta Tau Delta fraternity so far, and plan to continue this tradition even after they visit every dorm once. According to Fuller, each men’s dorm or fraternity should expect frequent visits — at least a couple of times a semester — from Daddy Koon’s Delivery.
Freshman Noah Gavric said Daddy Koon’s Delivery has helped him become more well-acquainted with campus and get to know the other dorms better.
“It’s nice to see people that I’m in classes with and have been cordial with but maybe not gone the extra mile to be friends with them,” Gavric said. “We go over, we have a little celebration, we pray, but usually we hang around and talk for a little while and check in. We just have fun and make connections outside of class or whatever activities we’re a part of.”
Gavric said participating in Daddy Koon’s Delivery helped him get to know other freshmen in Koon as well, because he helped shop and prepare baked goods with other Koon residents, which he said allows him to bond with them and make memories as a dorm.
When the men of Koon visit a dorm or fraternity, they take a moment to pray together, which Koon resident and freshman Josiah Manna said is central to their mission.
“The whole point of Daddy Koon’s Delivery is to refocus on what’s most important, which is brotherhood and faith in Christ,” Manna said. “Hopefully through that we can unite together as Christian brothers.”
Fuller agreed with Manna and said Koon is working to glorify God through this newfound tradition.
“We try to be very intentional about pleasing God,” Fuller said. “We’ll beat each other up at land battle and naval battle and slug each other at homecoming and it’ll be great. But ultimately, they’re our brothers in Christ, and we’re representing Christ to them. We’re told to count others as more significant than ourselves, and so this is a way we can do that, and show people that we care about them, that they’re worth our time.”
