FarmHouse Fraternity Initiates Josh Bank, First Member With Down Syndrome

On Sept. 24, University of Kentucky’s FarmHouse fraternity initiated Josh Banks, its first member with Down syndrome. In a statement on Facebook, Ben Bohannon, chapter president wrote, “Josh is already one of our Brothers, but now we get to make it official.”

The fraternity said it believes Banks is the first man with Down syndrome to be inducted to FarmHouse as well as the first man with Down syndrome to join a social fraternity.

Banks befriended Brack Duncan, a FarmHouse member, three years ago. The pair met while Duncan was a volunteer at STRIDE, a therapeutic recreation program for teens and young adults with disabilities. Their friendship continued beyond the program, and Duncan invited Banks to hang out at the fraternity and attend events, where Banks connected with other members.

Big Shoutout to our brother @BrackDuncan for bringing home Overall Fraternity Division Winner as well as Crowd Favorite in Kentucky’s Got Talent! Thanks to @UKTriDelta for having us! pic.twitter.com/8yNeakcDlH

— Kentucky FarmHouse (@UKFarmHouse) April 9, 2018

In an interview with University of Kentucky News, Duncan said, “I think that a lot of people were intrigued. They started to hang out with him and see how cool he really is — he likes to do all the stuff they like to do and started inviting him to be part of things.” The more Banks got to do with the group, the more the fraternity’s members saw his as a friend, Duncan added.

Duncan presented the idea of initiating Banks. He spoke with Bohannon and other members of the fraternity, who were all supportive of the idea.

Duncan believes the members of the Fraternity saw the importance and value Banks brought to their group, “We took that first step and now, we’re here” he said. “He’s a FarmHouse man now.”