My name is Shak Saidjanov, and I am the sitting president of Zeta Psi at UCSB. I am a third-year Philosophy major and a student journalist, a United States Marine Corps veteran, and an avid motorcyclist. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, and now hang my hat in Isla Vista. 

I arrived at UCSB knowing no one. I am naturally introverted, and after the rigid structure of the Marine Corps, the idea of finding a place here to belong felt distant. But on the Friday night of my first weekend in Isla Vista, my roommate dragged me down Del Playa Dr to a band show at a mountain-side house. I resisted the entire walk. 

Before we saw the party, we heard it. Muddy, distorted bass rolled down Del Playa, followed by drums and guitar. The good noise grew louder until we reached a house with a tall fenced yard perched above the sidewalk. Inside the gate, the front lawn was alive with a hundred students packed shoulder to shoulder, laughing, shouting, and moving in rhythm. A violent mosh pit churned near the front door of the house while others sat on the roof, legs dangling, watching it unfold. The noise, the people and the smell of ocean salt blended together into a kaleidoscope in my mind. It didn't feel like a party, but a living organism. I had never seen anything like it in my life. 

I didn’t know it then, but that house was (and still is) a Zeta Psi satellite. And that party was thrown by the gentlemen of Zete, not for status or recognition, but for the love of the people in our community. On that night, for the first time since arriving in Isla Vista, I felt like I belonged. 

That’s why I joined Zeta Psi, and it’s why our chapter is vital for the beating heart of Isla Vista. At Zete, I felt like I had arrived where I was meant to, like I was a piece in a larger machine that had been waiting for my installation. I also felt I was where life was happening, like an active participant in my own story rather than watching from the sidelines. 

Today, nearly four years later, I still sometimes walk down Del Playa past the houses that first welcomed me. And if I listen closely, I can still hear the echoing sound of that music emanating from a backyard, or the buzz of laughter spilling out from an open upstairs window. And if I look to the west, I can make out the silhouettes of surfers riding foamy crests or couples sitting on the beach, and as I watch the waves break and pull back, I thank Zete for helping make this

—Shak Saidjanov, 3rd Year Philosophy Major