This Fraternity Had The Best Holiday Gift For Its Neighbor

One California fraternity is getting attention this holiday season, but it's not for the the kind of behavior most people associate with frat houses. Lexi Brown, a 12-year-old with cancer (and, as NBC reports, one who has done an amazing job fundraising for other kids with the disease), was staying at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA in late October when her cancer treatment weakened her heart. The preteen and her mom posted a sign in her hospital window asking for pizza. The simple request led to a heartwarming gesture by the hospital's neighbors — members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Five frat brothers delivered the pizza and hung out with Brown, singing and playing the guitar for her. Visiting her became a routine, with the young men coming by often. And when it became time for the frat to decorate its house with Christmas lights, there was an addition among the glittery Greek letters: Lexi's name was spelled out on the roof. Brown is back at home now in Santa Barbara, but the lights remain as a tribute to the unique friendship she and the fraternity brothers created.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon has had a bad year — chapters at Yale, Stanford, and the University of Oklahoma all came under heavy scrutiny for bad behavior toward women and students of color — but the brothers of UCLA are demonstrating what the Greek system is supposed to represent.